cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Interfering Effects of Music with Imagery

The effect of music on imagery was examined by having 164 subjects rate the vividness of suggested images presented with matching music, mismatched music, or no music. Mismatched music led to less vivid images, but there was no overall difference between the matching-music and no-music groups. In comparing subjects on the basis of cognitive style (hemisphere orientation), however, it was found that subjects with a right hemisphere orientation reported less vivid images with matching music than with no music. The same effect occurred with a free image developed with and without music. The results can be interpreted within a hemisphere-sharing interference model, and clearly illustrate individual differences in responses to music and imagery.
Designing and Implementing a Unique Website Design Project in an Undergraduate Course

The following paper describes a distinctive collaborative service-learning project done in an undergraduate class on web design. In this project, students in a web design class contacted local community non-profit organizations to create websites (collections of web pages) to benefit these organizations. The two phases of creating a website, planning and implementation, are an integral part of the project and are explained in this paper. The project, suitable for both online and face-to-face instruction, required that students keep a journal. The instructor did a follow-up investigation to assure that the resulting websites were indeed what the non-profits wanted.
Placebo Response in Pediatric Anxiety Disorders: Implications for Clinical Trial Design and Interpretation

Abstract Objectives: The characterization and prediction of placebo response in clinical trials of youth with anxiety disorders have received little attention, despite the critical effects of placebo response rate on the success or failure of clinical trials. With this in mind, we sought to examine the factors that predict or influence placebo response in randomized controlled trials of youth with anxiety disorders. Methods: Prospective, randomized, parallel-group controlled trials of psychopharmacologic interventions in pediatric patients with anxiety disorders were identified using a search of PubMed/Medline (1966–2015). Weighted least squares regression models and z-tests were utilized to examine the impact of continuous and categorical variables, respectively, on placebo response. These variables included demographic (e.g., age, percent white, percent female), clinical (e.g., baseline symptom severity), and trial characteristics (sample size, duration, funding). Finally, the relationship between the c...
Mechanical Properties of Diverse High-Temperature Compounds–Thermal Variation of Microhardness and Crack Formation

Microhardness vs temperature and elastic moduli have been measured for a suite of intermetallic compounds that melt above 1400°C. Binary intermetallics were selected to represent a variety of crystal structures and yet have optimal combinations of high melting temperature (T m ) and low specific gravity. Some deliberately two-phase alloys were prepared in which one phase is a terminal-phase metal and the other an intermetallic compound. Binary compounds can be described by two patterns. In those where plasticity is difficult, hardness decreased slowly with temperature up to T m /2, the decrease being no more than that normally shown by the elastic moduli. In those compounds where single crystal plasticity is known (or at least plausible), microhardness decreases more rapidly than do elastic moduli, presumably due to thermally activated slip.
Securing Cities: Innovations for the Prevention of Civic Violence

The character of large-scale deadly violence around the world is changing. Since World War II, wars between nation states have declined in both number and deadliness. And while it is commonly perceived that wars within states have risen in place of wars among them, intrastate wars have also declined since the end of the Cold War. Nevertheless, as interstate and intrastate wars decline, large-scale violence is increasing in a different form—endemic and oftentimes warlike civic violence or reactive and recurrent violent expressions of grievances among citizens, individuals, and groups that can range from spontaneous protests to gang warfare to even intentional mass violence by the state against its citizenry. Importantly, such violence is largely particular to rapidly growing cities in the developing world, leading to observations that “urban zones are fast-becoming new territories of conflict and violence.” In addition, the development of military and humanitarian doctrine is beginning to reflect a more primary concern with the violent city. With this type of endemic and increasingly large-scale urban civic violence representing one of the growing threats to human security around the world, it is critical to outline a research agenda for identifying effective approaches for addressing this threat.
Synthesis and Crystal Structure of a Manganese Complex with 3-Methyl-4-(p-bromophenyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole

A new manganese(Ⅱ) complex,cis-[MnL2(NCS)2],(L=3-methyl-4-(p-bromophenyl)-5-(2-pyridyl)-1,2,4-triazole),was synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography,FTIR and ESI-MS spectra.The complex crystallizes in monoclinic system with space group P21/n,a=1.648 0(2),b=0.907 07(13),c=2.191 9(3) nm,β= 97.454(2)°,V=3.248 8(8) nm3,Z=4 with final R=0.043 9.The manganese atom lies in a distorted octahedral environment with two NCS-ions in the cis positions.The ligand L coordinates via one triazole nitrogen and one pyridine nitrogen atom.CCDC: 790351.
Immunoassay of pesticides.

Determination of the presence and levels of pesticide residues in food is fundamental in monitoring and regulatory programs. Residues are separated from the food matrix by solvent extraction, followed by cleanup steps. The residues are most often identified and quantitated by instrumental analysis, usually liquid or gas chromatography. Extraction and cleanup are often laborious and time-consuming; determination requires expensive, sophisticated instrumentation. There is a need for rapid, easily performed tests, such as immunoassays, that could be used for screening under field conditions or for quantitation of residues in foods in the laboratory. Although a large number of immunoassays have been developed for pesticide chemicals, very few have been specifically applied to foods, and only a very small number are currently available commercially. The agencies charged with monitoring and regulatory responsibilities--Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, and U.S. Department of Agriculture--as well as professional societies such as AOAC and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, are investigating and developing guidelines for test kit evaluation and standards to be met before a kit can be accepted as a practical and useful method of analysis for use in their programs.
Ambiguous Genitalia and Pseudohermaphroditism

Genital ambiguity in the newborn infant should be considered to be a medical emergency since the speed and appropriateness with which a gender is assigned are often the deciding criteria for a successful outcome. Management of the child with ambiguous genitalia must include adequate genetic and family counseling.
On the design and analysis of protocols for Personal Health Record storage on Personal Data Server devices

Abstract The electronic Personal Health Records (PHRs) such as medical history, lab reports, and insurance are stored in systems such as Microsoft Health Vault where a medical care provider or a patient is responsible for uploading and managing the health information. Storing PHRs in such a manner prohibits the patients from having complete control over their data and also may make the PHR system the target of security attacks. Towards this end, we proposed a new architecture, namely Personal Data Server overlay, where the data is stored on a set of Secure Portable Tokens (SPTs) that are under the control of individual users. SPTs are cheap, portable, and secure devices that combine the computing power and tamper-resistant properties of the smart cards and the storage capacity of NAND flash memory chips and they can act as a Personal Data Server (PDS). We need formal assurance of data availability when information is stored in PDS overlays. Thus, data must be replicated at multiple PDSs. We propose a data replication protocol that ensures that the PHRs for each user have replicas in the PDS overlay. It is crucial to ensure correctness of the data replication protocol. Consequently, we formalize the protocol using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and specify a number of desirable properties. We need to provide formal assurance of these properties in an automated manner. We demonstrate how the UML model can be transformed into Alloy using the UML-to-Alloy transformations. This obviates the need for the protocol designer to know Alloy. The analysis uncovers a significant error in the protocol. Uncovering such errors help refine the protocol and ensures its correctness before deployment.
An assessment of models for pancreatic secretion.

Pancreatic secretion was obtained from the cannulated main ducts of man and dog and analyzed for ionic and protein content. In the dog, as [HCO3] increased, [Cl] and [Ca] decreased while [Na] and [K] increased linearly from their equilibrium levels with interstitial fluid concentrations. In both species, the slope ( − 0.86 to − 0.87) of the inverse linear relation between [HCO3] and [Cl] was significantly less than − 1. The relation between flow rate and anion concentration was described by a family of curves, the course of each curve being determined by the Cl content of its constituent samples. These findings were shown to be consistent with explicit formulations given to each of three models for pancreatic exocrine secretion (“two-component,” “unicellular,” and “exchange-diffusion” models). The same findings, however, served to exclude certain variants of these models in the case of man and dog, such as a 1:1 exchange of Cl for HCO3 or a unicellular model based on a constant sum of the anions.
From Theory to Practice: Utilizing Competency-Based Milestones to Assess Professional Growth and Development in the Foundational Science Blocks of a Pre-clerkship Medical School Curriculum

Physicians in training require skills and attitudes beyond medical knowledge in order to mature into successful clinicians. However, because assessments in pre-clerkship curricula historically have focused almost exclusively on medical knowledge, faculty contributions to early student development often have been limited. To address this challenge and enhance student progress, we re-designed our pre-clerkship curriculum to include settings in which diverse facets of student performance could be observed and fostered. Concurrently, we transitioned to an assessment strategy focused on competency-based milestones. The implementation of this strategy has allowed pre-clerkship science faculty to provide early-stage students with rich holistic feedback designed to stimulate their professional growth.
Stephen Mobley and His X-Chromosome

Gene variants influencing behavior are introduced as evidence in trials. From examples of famous cases and specific genetic variants and their interacting factors, it can be seen that these have so far been applied in ways that are incomplete, simplistic, overexaggerated or erroneous. However, an understanding of workings of genetic variants, including specific rare and uncommon variants that interact with endocrine factors such as testosterone and stress presages continued progress towards explanation and prediction of behavior, including the worst of behaviors.
Antithrombotic Issues in Women

Despite the numerous randomized trials that have evaluated the use of antithrombotic therapy in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and atrial fibrillation (AF), the heterogeneity of the population enrolled in the majority of these studies represents an important limitation and extrapolating data to underrepresented populations does not come without concerns. In particular, women are underrepresented in most trials [1–4]. In line with this, in general gender differences in clinical response to antithrombotic therapies, in terms of thrombosis and bleeding risks, remains poorly understood. Accordingly, the association between possible sex differences in platelet biology and pharmacodynamic response to antithrombotic therapies warrants further understanding [5–7]. Table 15.1 provides a detailed description of the existing sex-related features regarding antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies and the main studies conducted, which will be better outlined in the sections below [8–38]. The present chapter provides an overview on the impact of antithrombotic therapy, from bench to bedside, thus evaluating basic aspects of biology of thrombosis, response to antithrombotic therapies, and their impact in various clinic setting in which these are utilized.
U.S. FDA Approval Summary: Nivolumab for Treatment of Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma Following Progression on Ipilimumab

On December 22, 2014, the FDA granted accelerated approval to nivolumab (OPDIVO; Bristol-Myers Squibb) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma and disease progression following ipilimumab and, if BRAF V600 mutation positive, a BRAF inhibitor. Approval was based on a clinically meaningful, durable objective response rate (ORR) in a non-comparative analysis of 120 patients who received 3 mg/kg of nivolumab intravenously every 2 weeks with at least 6-month follow-up in an ongoing, randomized, open-label, active-controlled clinical trial. The ORR as assessed by a blinded independent review committee per RECIST v1.1 was 31.7% (95% confidence interval, 23.5-40.8). Ongoing responses were observed in 87% of responding patients, ranging from 2.6+ to 10+ months. In 13 patients, the response duration was 6 months or longer. The risks of nivolumab, including clinically significant immune-mediated adverse reactions (imARs), were assessed in 268 patients who received at least one dose of nivolumab. The FDA review considered whether the ORR and durations of responses were reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, the adequacy of the safety database, and systematic approaches to the identification, description, and patient management for imARs in product labeling. Clin Cancer Res; 23(14); 3484-8. ©2017 AACR.
Protracted (Continuous 5-Fluorouracil) Infusion with Concomitant Radiation Therapy: Indications and Results

The favorable therapeutic exploitation by the combination of two cytotoxic agents, namely ionizing radiation and an antimetabolite, in this case the fluorianted pyrimidine, 5-fluorouracil, (5-FU), has been attempted over the past 25 years with variable success. After the discovery of a synergistic effect on cancers in laboratory animals by this combination therapy (Heidelberger et al. 1958), clinical trials in the early 1960s with 5-FU and radiotherapy showed only moderate success, and in some trials there was no superiority over irradiation alone. Nevertheless, investigation continued until the pioneering work at the Mayo Clinic (Moertel et al. 1969) which provided the guidelines for the maximum permissible dose of 5-FU administered by rapid intravenous injection with radiotherapy. Clinical studies using these guidelines ensued in the 1970s and 1980s and a majority of the nonrandomized and randomized trials for patients with adenocarcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract demonstrated a benefit in local control and survival for those receiving chemoradiation (Schein et al. 1982). More recently, interest has grown in using 5-FU given as a continuous infusion employing either short (96–120 h) or protracted (more than 30 days) infusion schedules combined with conventionally fractionated irradiation (“chemoradiation”) (Rich et al. 1985b). In this chapter, emphasis will be placed on the use of protracted infusion 5-FU in the Department of Clinical Radiotherapy at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC), Houston, Texas.
Outcomes and renal function trajectory after acute kidney injury: the narrow road to perdition

Analyses of the Grampian Laboratory Outcomes Morbidity and Mortality Study-II cohort support the notion that acute kidney injury (AKI) increases the risk of progression of glomerular filtration rate after recovery from AKI to a new baseline. However, the findings have to be considered in the bigger context of the absolute event rates for de novo progression versus nonrecovery and the competing risk of death after AKI. Examination of the data raises important implications for the design and implementation of clinical trials with interventions that target the AKI-to–chronic kidney disease transition.
Object classification through scattering media with deep learning on time resolved measurement

We demonstrate an imaging technique that allows identification and classification of objects hidden behind scattering media and is invariant to changes in calibration parameters within a training range. Traditional techniques to image through scattering solve an inverse problem and are limited by the need to tune a forward model with multiple calibration parameters (like camera field of view, illumination position etc.). Instead of tuning a forward model and directly inverting the optical scattering, we use a data driven approach and leverage convolutional neural networks (CNN) to learn a model that is invariant to calibration parameters variations within the training range and nearly invariant beyond that. This effectively allows robust imaging through scattering conditions that is not sensitive to calibration. The CNN is trained with a large synthetic dataset generated with a Monte Carlo (MC) model that contains random realizations of major calibration parameters. The method is evaluated with a time-resolved camera and multiple experimental results are provided including pose estimation of a mannequin hidden behind a paper sheet with 23 correct classifications out of 30 tests in three poses (76.6% accuracy on real-world measurements). This approach paves the way towards real-time practical non line of sight (NLOS) imaging applications.
Chapter 26 - African Migration

Factors shaping international migration, over the last half century, from and into the countries and territories of sub-Saharan and North Africa, as well as the economic and some social implications of those movements, are examined. Existing analyses of these issues are critically reviewed, including topics particularly pertinent to the African context and evidence on cross-cutting themes studied in the African context. The most recent data available on each aspect are summarized and fresh results, based on these data, are presented on several topics.
Associations Between Nonnutritive Sweetener Intake and Metabolic Syndrome in Adults.

Objective: Individuals looking to improve their health or weight status often use nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS), yet NNS consumption has been associated with increased risk factors for metabolic sy...
The desire to emulate parental emotional strategies and its relation to emotion dysregulation among emerging adults

Emotion regulation (ER) is an integral aspect of emerging adults’ mental health, yet little is known about interpersonal factors that influence ER in during this period. This investigation examines...
Updates in the Pathology of Precursor Lymphoid Neoplasms in the Revised Fourth Edition of the WHO Classification of Tumors of Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissues.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL) are malignant disorders of immature B or T cells that occur characteristically in children, usually under the age of 6 (75%). Approximately 6000 new cases of ALL are diagnosed each year in the USA, 80–85% of which represent B-ALL forms. Most presentations of B-ALL are leukemic, whereas T-ALL presents with a mediastinal mass, with or without leukemic involvement. The revised fourth edition of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification (2017) has introduced some changes in both B and T-ALL. Here, we summarize the categories of lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphomas as defined by the WHO and recent developments in the understanding of this group of hematologic malignancy. Two provisional categories of B-ALL have now been identified including B-ALL, BCR-ABL1-like, and B-ALL with iAMP21. The Philadelphia chromosome-like B-ALL includes forms of the disease that shares the expression profiling of B-ALL with t(9;22) but lack such rearrangement. The second one shows amplification of part of the chromosome 21. Both entities are associated with worse prognosis. Within the T-ALL group, an early precursor T cell form has now been introduced as a provisional category. Such group demonstrates expression of stem cell and myeloid markers in conjunction with the T cell antigens. The current review summarizes the recent updates to the WHO classification.
Meanings of Success in Science

In this discussion of the five chapters in Part 1: K-12 Science Learners In and Out of Schools of this book, I will take the cue from Carlone’s chapter and ask a set of questions about the research projects that provide a somewhat different lens for viewing the cases than taken by the authors themselves.Carlone argues that our research often describes the ways in which students are authoring their own identity in ways that do not account for how student identities are constrained by social structures that are both historical and temporal.
Identifier-Based Discovery in Large-Scale Networks An Economic Perspective

The design of any network mechanism that requires collaboration among selfish agents could only benefit from accounting for the complex social and eco- nomic interactions and incentives of the agents using the design. This chapter presents a broad treatment of the main economic issues that arise in the context of identifier-based discovery on large scale networks, particularly on the Internet. An "identified" object (such as a node or service), referred to as a player, demands to be discoverable by the rest of the network on its "identifier". A discovery scheme provides such a service to the players and incurs a cost for doing so. Providing such a service while accounting for the cost and making sure that the incentives of the players are aligned is the general economic problem that we address in this work. After introducing the identifier-based discovery problem, we present a taxonomy of discovery schemes and proposals based on their business model and we pose sev- eral questions that are becoming increasingly important as we proceed to design the inter-network of the future. An incentive model for distributed discovery in the context of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and path-vector protocols in general is then presented. We model BGP route distribution and computation using a game in which a BGP speaker advertises its prefix to its direct neighbors promising them a reward for further distributing the route deeper into the network. The neighbors do the same thing with their direct neighbors, and so on. The result of the this cas- caded route distribution is a globally advertised prefix and hence discoverability. We present initial results on the existence of equilibria in the game and we motivate our ongoing work.
Ablation of Cytochrome c in Adult Forebrain Neurons Impairs Oxidative Phosphorylation Without Detectable Apoptosis.

Cytochrome c (Cyt c), a heme-containing mitochondrial protein, has a critical function in both respiration and apoptosis. Consistent with these vital functions, somatic Cyt c mouse knockout is embryonic lethal. In order to investigate the sensitivity of postnatal neurons to Cyt c depletion, we developed a neuron-specific conditional knockout model. Neuron-specific Cyt c KO mouse (nCytcKO) was created by crossing the floxed Cyt c mouse with a CamKIIα-cre transgenic mouse, which deletes the floxed alleles postnatally. nCytcKO mice were normal at birth but developed an abnormal phenotype starting at 8 weeks of age with weight loss, tremor, decreased sensorimotor coordination, and sudden death between 12 and 16 weeks. Histological analysis did not show major neuronal degeneration. Analyses of oxidative phosphorylation showed a specific reduction in complex IV levels. Markers of oxidative stress were also increased. This novel model showed that neuronal complex IV is destabilized in the absence of Cyt c. It also showed that ablation of Cyt c in neurons leads to severe behavioral abnormalities and premature death without detectable neuronal loss, suggesting that neurons have the potential to survive for extended periods of time without a functional OXPHOS.
Initial arterial pH as a predictor of neurologic outcome after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A propensity-adjusted analysis.

Abstract Background Lower pH after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) has been associated with worsening neurologic outcome, with Methods Consecutive OHCA patients treated with targeted temperature management (TTM) at multiple US centers from 2008 to 2017 were evaluated. Poor neurologic outcome at hospital discharge was defined as cerebral performance category ≥3. The exposure was initial arterial pH after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) analyzed in decremental 0.05 thresholds. Potential confounders (demographics, history, resuscitation characteristics, initial studies) were defined a priori and controlled for via ATT-weighting on the inverse propensity score plus direct adjustment for the linear propensity score. Results Of 723 patients, 589 (80%) experienced poor neurologic outcome at hospital discharge. After propensity-adjustment with excellent covariate balance, the adjusted odds ratios for poor neurologic outcome by pH threshold were: ≤7.3: 2.0 (1.0–4.0); ≤7.25: 1.9 (1.2–3.1); ≤7.2: 2.1 (1.3–3.3); ≤7.15: 1.9 (1.2–3.1); ≤7.1: 2.4 (1.4–4.1); ≤7.05: 3.1 (1.5–6.3); ≤7.0: 4.5 (1.8–12). Conclusions No increased hazard of progressively poor neurologic outcomes was observed in resuscitated OHCA patients treated with TTM until the initial post-ROSC arterial pH was at least ≤7.1. This threshold is more acidic than in current guidelines, suggesting the possibility that post-arrest pH may be utilized presently as an inappropriately-pessimistic prognosticator.
Prognostic significance of subdural hygroma for post-traumatic hydrocephalus after decompressive craniectomy in the traumatic brain injury setting: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Post-traumatic hydrocephalus (PTH) is a potentially morbid sequela of decompressive craniectomy for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Subdural hygromas are commonly identified following decompressive craniectomy, but the clinical relevance and predictive relationship with PTH in this patient cohort is not completely understood. Survey of seven electronic databases from inception to June 2019 was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Articles were screened against pre-specified criteria. Multivariate hazard ratios (HRs) for PTH by the presence of subdural hygroma were extracted and pooled by meta-analysis of proportions with random effects modeling. We systematically identified nine pertinent studies describing outcomes of 1010 TBI patients managed by decompressive craniectomy. Of the overall cohort, there were 211 (21%) females and median age was 37.5 years (range 33–53). On presentation, median Glasgow Coma Scale was 7 (range, 5–8). In sum, PTH was reported in 228/840 (27%) cases, and subdural hygroma was reported in 449/1010 (44%) cases across all studies. Pooling multivariate-derived HRs indicated that subdural hygroma was a significant, independent predictor of PTH (HR, 7.1; 95% CI, 3.3–15.1). The certainty of this association was deemed low due to heterogeneity concerns. The presence of subdural hygroma is associated with increased risk of PTH after decompressive craniectomy among TBI patients based on the current literature and may mandate closer clinical surveillance when detected. Prospective studies, including those of intracranial hydrodynamics following decompressive craniectomy in the setting of TBI, will better validate the certainty of these findings.
Cadmium, lead, and zinc removal by expression of the thiosulfate reductase gene from Salmonella typhimurium in Escherichia coli

The thiosulfate reductase gene (phsABC) from Salmonella typhimuriumwas expressed in Escherichia coliin order to produce sulfide from inorganic thiosulfate and precipitate metals as metal sulfide complexes. The sulfide-engineered strain removed significant amounts of heavy metals from the medium within 24 h: 99% of zinc up to 500 μM, 99% of lead up to 200 μM, 99% of 100 μM and 91% of 200 μM cadmium. In a mixture of 100 μM each of cadmium, lead, and zinc, the strain removed 99% of the total metals from solution within 10 h. Cadmium was removed first, lead second, and zinc last. These results have important implications for removal of metals from wastewater contaminated with several metals.
Repeated evolution of eye loss in Mexican cavefish: Evidence of similar developmental mechanisms in independently evolved populations

Evolution in similar environments often leads to convergence of behavioral and anatomical traits. A classic example of convergent trait evolution is the reduced traits that characterize many cave animals: reduction or loss of pigmentation and eyes. While these traits have evolved many times, relatively little is known about whether these traits repeatedly evolve through the same or different molecular and developmental mechanisms. The small freshwater fish, Astyanax mexicanus, provides an opportunity to investigate the repeated evolution of cave traits. A. mexicanus exists as two forms, a sighted, surface-dwelling form and at least 29 populations of a blind, cave-dwelling form that initially develops eyes that subsequently degenerate. We compared eye morphology and the expression of eye regulatory genes in developing surface fish and two independently evolved cavefish populations, Pachon and Molino. We found that many of the previously described molecular and morphological alterations that occur during eye development in Pachon cavefish are also found in Molino cavefish. However, for many of these traits, the Molino cavefish have a less severe phenotype than Pachon cavefish. Further, cave-cave hybrid fish have larger eyes and lenses during early development compared with fish from either parental population, suggesting that some different changes underlie eye loss in these two populations. Together, these data support the hypothesis that these two cavefish populations evolved eye loss independently, yet through some of the same developmental and molecular mechanisms.
The Vascularity of Ayurvedic Leech Therapy: Sensory Translations and Emergent Agencies in Interspecies Medicine

This article offers vascularity as a multi-dimensional imaginary for the interspecies entanglements constituting Ayurvedic leech therapy. Whether, when, where, and how a leech decides to bite, suck, and release comprise pivotal junctures in leech therapy as practiced in southern Kerala, India. In the course of leech-human intra-actions, leeches translate matter, providing sensory mediation, relief, and amusement. Enmeshed in social and ecological relations inflected by gender, religion, class, and caste, this analysis of Ayurvedic leech therapy reframes questions of agencies starting with and from the viewpoint of the vascular capacities of leeches in their interactions with humans. This image of vascularity provides an analytic for the emergent agencies of humans and leeches constituted by sensory intra-actions at branching points in this multispecies clinical practice.
Virtual Pathology Elective Provides Uninterrupted Medical Education and Impactful Pathology Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As students do not qualify as essential health care workers, medical education faced severe disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic including initial suspension of all in-person lectures and on-site rotations. Our Pathology Department was among the first at Northwestern to offer a completely virtual rotation with the goals of: (1) providing a comprehensive introduction to the practice of anatomic and clinical pathology, (2) emphasizing uninterrupted and continued excellence in education, and (3) minimizing exposure risk during the pandemic. The innovative 2-week curriculum incorporated diverse teaching modalities including live and recorded lectures; live and recorded video demonstrations; interactive small group discussions; interactive virtual sign-outs; and written and multimedia assignments, quizzes, and projects. The virtual elective ran from March to July 2020 with 52 total participating medical students. On post-rotation evaluations, students rated the pathology virtual elective 4.7/5.0 compared to other virtual rotations and 4.0/5.0 compared to all rotations (including in-person and virtual). Furthermore, continual improvements were made to the established framework based on rotation feedback such that curriculum content was more abundant and more favorably rated by the last cohort when compared to the first. Finally, although students identified interest in over 10 different medical specialties, all participants expressed increased interest in choosing pathology as a specialty and better understanding of pathology's role in patient care. We hope our detailed description of creating and evaluating a completely virtual elective rotation serves as a model for other departments to improve pathology education and visibility.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor Pathway and the Thyroid

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway comprises two activating ligands (IGF-I and IGF-II), two cell-surface receptors (IGF-IR and IGF-IIR), six IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) and nine IGFBP related proteins. IGF-I and the IGF-IR share substantial structural and functional similarities to those of insulin and its receptor. IGF-I plays important regulatory roles in the development, growth, and function of many human tissues. Its pathway intersects with those mediating the actions of many cytokines, growth factors and hormones. Among these, IGFs impact the thyroid and the hormones that it generates. Further, thyroid hormones and thyrotropin (TSH) can influence the biological effects of growth hormone and IGF-I on target tissues. The consequences of this two-way interplay can be far-reaching on many metabolic and immunologic processes. Specifically, IGF-I supports normal function, volume and hormone synthesis of the thyroid gland. Some of these effects are mediated through enhancement of sensitivity to the actions of TSH while others may be independent of pituitary function. IGF-I also participates in pathological conditions of the thyroid, including benign enlargement and tumorigenesis, such as those occurring in acromegaly. With regard to Graves' disease (GD) and the periocular process frequently associated with it, namely thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), IGF-IR has been found overexpressed in orbital connective tissues, T and B cells in GD and TAO. Autoantibodies of the IgG class are generated in patients with GD that bind to IGF-IR and initiate the signaling from the TSHR/IGF-IR physical and functional protein complex. Further, inhibition of IGF-IR with monoclonal antibody inhibitors can attenuate signaling from either TSHR or IGF-IR. Based on those findings, the development of teprotumumab, a β-arrestin biased agonist as a therapeutic has resulted in the first medication approved by the US FDA for the treatment of TAO. Teprotumumab is now in wide clinical use in North America.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Family Communication in the COVID-19 Pandemic

This introduction discusses the importance of researching how the COVID-19 has affected family relationships. Additionally, it introduces the articles in the special issue “Family Communication in ...
Social determinants of health exacerbate disparities in COVID-19 illness severity and lasting symptom complaints

Abstract BACKGROUND Increasing reports of long-term symptoms following COVID-19 infection, even among mild cases, necessitates systematic investigation into the prevalence and type of lasting illness. Notably, there is limited data regarding the influence of social determinants of health, like perceived discrimination and economic stress, which may exacerbate COVID-19 health risks. The primary goals of this study are to test the bearing of subjective experiences of discrimination, financial security, and quality of care on illness severity and lasting symptom complaints. METHODS 1,584 recovered COVID-19 patients that experienced mild to severe forms of the disease provided information about their illness, medical history, lasting symptoms, and psychosocial information. Prevalence data isolated differences in patients infected early versus late in the pandemic. Path analyses examined hypothesized associations between discrimination, illness severity, and lasting symptoms. Post hoc logistic regressions tested social determinants hypothesized to predict neurological, cognitive, or mood symptoms. RESULTS 70.6% of patients reported presence of one or more lasting symptoms after recovery. Neural systems were especially impacted, and 19.4% and 25.1% of patients reported mood or cognitive/memory complaints, respectively. Path models demonstrated that frequency and stress about experiences of discrimination predicted increased illness severity and increased lasting symptom count, even when adjusting for sociodemographic factors and mental/physical health comorbidities. Notably, this effect was specific to stress related to discrimination, and did not extend to general stress levels. Further, perceived but not objective socioeconomic status (SES) was associated with increased lasting symptom complaints after recovery. Finally, associations between discrimination and illness differed with individual perceptions about quality of medical care. CONCLUSIONS Lasting symptoms after recovery from COVID-19 are highly prevalent and neural systems are significantly impacted. Importantly, psychosocial factors (perceived discrimination and perceived SES) can exacerbate individual health risk. This study provides actionable directions for improved health outcomes by establishing that sociodemographic risk and medical care influence near and long-ranging health outcomes.
Quantification of Liver Fat Content with CT and MRI: State of the Art

Hepatic steatosis is defined as pathologically elevated liver fat content and has many underlying causes. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease worldwide, with an increasing prevalence among adults and children. Abnormal liver fat accumulation has serious consequences, including cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma. In addition, hepatic steatosis is increasingly recognized as an independent risk factor for the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and, most important, cardiovascular mortality. During the past 2 decades, noninvasive imaging-based methods for the evaluation of hepatic steatosis have been developed and disseminated. Chemical shift-encoded MRI is now established as the most accurate and precise method for liver fat quantification. CT is important for the detection and quantification of incidental steatosis and may play an increasingly prominent role in risk stratification, particularly with the emergence of CT-based screening and artificial intelligence. Quantitative imaging methods are increasingly used for diagnostic work-up and management of steatosis, including treatment monitoring. The purpose of this state-of-the-art review is to provide an overview of recent progress and current state of the art for liver fat quantification using CT and MRI, as well as important practical considerations related to clinical implementation.
ApproxIFER: A Model-Agnostic Approach to Resilient and Robust Prediction Serving Systems.

Due to the surge of cloud-assisted AI services, the problem of designing resilient prediction serving systems that can effectively cope with stragglers/failures and minimize response delays has attracted much interest. The common approach for tackling this problem is replication which assigns the same prediction task to multiple workers. This approach, however, is very inefficient and incurs significant resource overheads. Hence, a learning-based approach known as parity model (ParM) has been recently proposed which learns models that can generate parities for a group of predictions in order to reconstruct the predictions of the slow/failed workers. While this learning-based approach is more resource-efficient than replication, it is tailored to the specific model hosted by the cloud and is particularly suitable for a small number of queries (typically less than four) and tolerating very few (mostly one) number of stragglers. Moreover, ParM does not handle Byzantine adversarial workers. We propose a different approach, named Approximate Coded Inference (ApproxIFER), that does not require training of any parity models, hence it is agnostic to the model hosted by the cloud and can be readily applied to different data domains and model architectures. Compared with earlier works, ApproxIFER can handle a general number of stragglers and scales significantly better with the number of queries. Furthermore, ApproxIFER is robust against Byzantine workers. Our extensive experiments on a large number of datasets and model architectures also show significant accuracy improvement by up to 58% over the parity model approaches.
Covalently crosslinked 1,2,4-triazolium-containing polyester networks prepared by Michael addition polymerization

Abstract Michael addition polymerization was used to generate a series of 1,2,4-triazolium-based covalently crosslinked polyester networks. Within the series, the acetoacetate to acrylate ratio as well as the counteranion were varied in an attempt to correlate structural changes with the thermal and mechanical properties of the corresponding networks. An increase in acrylate concentration, as expected, led to an increase in the apparent crosslink density ρx as well as glass transition temperature (Tg), thermal stability (Td5%) and rubbery plateau storage modulus (E′). Use of larger, non-coordinating anions such as triflate [OTf] and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTf2] led to a decrease in Tg and E′ but an increase in the thermal stability (Td5% > 295 °C). Overall, the thermal and mechanical properties of the 1,2,4-triazolium-containing network, at an acrylate to acetoacetate ratio of 1.4:1.0, were found to be on par with the analogous imidazolium-based network.
The anatomy and function of the contents of the human tarsal sinus and canal.

The ligaments of the tarsal sinus and canal, including the roots of the inferior extensor retinaculum, the cervical ligament and the ligament of the tarsal canal, have been restudied and their function has been correlated with the movements of inversion and eversion. The ligaments are extracapsular and their attachments are somewhat more complex than previously reported. A band of fibers, heretofore undescribed, has been designated as the “oblique talocalcaneal band.” It passes from the calcaneal attachment of the intermediate root of the inferior extensor retinaculum to join the talar attachment of the ligament of the tarsal canal. The ligament of the tarsal canal averages 5.6 mm in width and 1.6 mm in thickness compared with the cervical ligament which is 11.6 mm wide and 2.8 mm thick. The axis of talocalcaneal movement passes between the articular surfaces of the talocalcaneonavicular and subtalar joints and, as a consequence, these articulations move in directions opposite to one another in inversion and eversion. Direct observation during passive movement indicates that the cervical ligament limits inversion whereas the ligament of the tarsal canal plays little or no role in limiting either inversion or eversion. The ligament of the tarsal canal appears to maintain apposition of the talus and calcaneus in all positions.
Local detection of voltage imbalance in three-phase power systems based on PMU output

The problem of voltage imbalance detection in a three-phase power system using phasor measurement unit (PMU) data is considered within a hypothesis testing framework. A general model for the symmetrical sequences from a PMU measurement at off-nominal frequencies is presented. The new formulation takes into account the fact that minor degree of imbalance in the system is acceptable and does not indicate interruptions, failures, or degradation of physical components. Therefore, a generalization of the locally most powerful test (LMP), named the generalized LMP (GLMP) test, is developed for local detection in the presence of additional nuisance parameters. The GLMP concept is similar to that of the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) and is obtained by substituting the maximum likelihood (ML) estimators of the nuisance parameters into the LMP test. The numerical performance analysis shows improved performance over benchmark techniques and detection performance robustness to ML estimation errors.
Joint Sequential Target Estimation and Clock Synchronization in Wireless Sensor Networks

We propose a method to jointly estimate sequential target states and network synchronization status based on observations obtained by an unsynchronized wireless sensor network. We build an unsynchronized multi-sensor state-space model to connect asynchronous observations with target state transition. Under the built model, we solve the joint estimation problem via the expectation-maximum (EM) algorithm, assuming known temporal order of sensor clocks. Based on the solution and a Bayesian inference method developed to learn temporal order from observations, we solve the joint estimation problem in a distributed manner, assuming unknown temporal order. We use Monte Carlo methods to approximate our solutions, in order to account for nonlinear models and non-Gaussian noise. Moreover, we develop a recursive and parallel algorithm to compute the EM covariance matrix under Monte Carlo approximations. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, and show that sequential target estimation benefits from the concurrent clock synchronization.
The weak dimensions of Gaussian rings

We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for a Gaussian ring R to be semihereditary, or more generally, of w.dimR < 1. Investigating the weak global dimension of a Gaussian coherent ring R, we show that the only values w.dimR may take are 0,1 and oc; but that fP.dimR is always at most one. In particular, we conclude that a Gaussian coherent ring R is either Von Neumann regular, or semihereditary, or non-regular of w.dimR = oo.