cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A global perspective of neurology in Japan

The Japanese Society of Neurology, founded in 1960, gained momentum after the 12th World Congress of Neurology held in Kyoto (1981) and currently enjoys an indisputable reputation as a major contributor in the field of neuroscience. Clinical training, however, has fallen behind research achievements with a shortage of teaching staff. This necessitated the traditional, but now obsolete, tie to internal medicine. It is high time to seek the sovereignty of neurology as an independent discipline to further promote this field of medicine as advocated by the World Federation of Neurology. We must also participate in global affairs with confidence despite a perceived language barrier. It is said that science speaks English, which is now used universally as the official language, but from my vantage point, science actually speaks "broken" English in the spirit of international cooperation.
Live-cell single-molecule tracking reveals co-recognition of H3K27me3 and DNA targets polycomb Cbx7-PRC1 to chromatin

The Polycomb PRC1 plays essential roles in development and disease pathogenesis. Targeting of PRC1 to chromatin is thought to be mediated by the Cbx family proteins (Cbx2/4/6/7/8) binding to histone H3 with a K27me3 modification (H3K27me3). Despite this prevailing view, the molecular mechanisms of targeting remain poorly understood. Here, by combining live-cell single-molecule tracking (SMT) and genetic engineering, we reveal that H3K27me3 contributes significantly to the targeting of Cbx7 and Cbx8 to chromatin, but less to Cbx2, Cbx4, and Cbx6. Genetic disruption of the complex formation of PRC1 facilitates the targeting of Cbx7 to chromatin. Biochemical analyses uncover that the CD and AT-hook-like (ATL) motif of Cbx7 constitute a functional DNA-binding unit. Live-cell SMT of Cbx7 mutants demonstrates that Cbx7 is targeted to chromatin by co-recognizing of H3K27me3 and DNA. Our data suggest a novel hierarchical cooperation mechanism by which histone modifications and DNA coordinate to target chromatin regulatory complexes.
Abstract 313: Phosphorylation of Runx2 and Osteochondrogenic Differentiation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Vascular calcification, the abnormal deposition of calcium phosphate salts in the vasculature, is associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with chronic kidney disease and diabetes mellitus. Through a genetic fate mapping strategy, our laboratory has identified vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) as a major cell source contributing to bone- and cartilage-like cells in calcifying arteries. Runx2, a transcription factor critical for osteoblast and hypertrophic chondrocyte differentiation, is upregulated in the early stages of a wide range of calcific arterial diseases. Treating SMCs in vitro with elevated phosphate resulted in an increase in phosphorylated Runx2 at serine 319, while total Runx2 remained unaffected. We also found that ERK1/2 signaling and Runx2 were required for SMC osteogenic differentiation and calcification in vitro . To further explore whether Runx2 phosphorylation and activation are critical to Runx2 function in vascular calcification, we mutated Runx2 at serine 301 and 319, the sites phosphorylated by active ERK and shown to be crucial for Runx2 transcriptional activity in osteoblasts, to create ERK-resistant (S310A/S319A) and constitutively active (S301E/S319E) variants. We have generated Runx2 knockout SMCs from Runx2- flox/flox mice carrying SM22α-Cre recombination transgenic allele. Wild type Runx2 and its mutants were introduced into these cells retrovirally. Preliminary Runx2 functional analyses suggest a successful introduction of the constructs and a phosphate-dependent activation of Runx2. Experiments to address a role of Runx2 phosphorylation by ERK in SMC osteogenic differentiation and matrix calcification are ongoing. In conclusion, our current findings along with the ongoing experiments will provide important inside into mechanisms of SMC osteochondrogenic differentiation and vascular calcification, findings that may serve as basis for the development of appropriate therapeutic strategies for this devastating complication.
Creation of a novel risk score for surgical site infection and occurrence after ventral hernia repair.

Complex ventral hernia repair (VHR) is a common surgical operation but carries a risk of complications from surgical site infections (SSI) and occurrences (SSO). We aimed to create a predictive risk score to identify patients at increased risk for SSO or SSI within 30 days of surgery. Data were prospectively collected on all patients undergoing VHR between January 2008 and February 2015 by a single surgeon. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify independent factors predictive of SSO and SSI. Significant predictors of SSO and SSI were assigned point values based on their odds ratios to create a novel risk score, the Hopkins ventral hernia repair SSO/SSI risk score; predicted and actual rates of outcomes were then compared using weighted regression. During the study period, 362 patients underwent open VHR. Thirty-day SSO and SSI occurred in 18.5 and 10% of patients, respectively. After risk adjustment, ASA class ≥3 (1 point), operative time ≥4 h (2 points), and the absence of a postoperative wound vacuum dressing (1 point) were predictive of 30-day SSO. Predicted risk of SSO utilizing this scoring system was 9.7, 19.4, 29.1, and 38.8% for 1, 2, 3, and 4 points (AUC = 0.73). For SSI, operative time ≥4 h (1 point) and the lack of a wound vacuum dressing (1 point) were predictive. Predicted risk of SSI based on this scoring system was 12.5% for 1 point and 25% for 2 points (AUC = 0.71). Actual vs. predicted rates of SSO and SSI correlated strongly for risk model with a coefficient of determination (R 2) of 0.92 and 0.91, respectively. The novel Hopkins ventral hernia repair risk score accurately predicts risk of SSO and SSI after complex VHR. Further studies using a prospective randomized controlled trial will be needed to further validate our findings.
Abstract P070: Exercise Prevents Cardiac Diastolic Dysfunction in a Female Model of Over-Nutrition Induced Obesity by Reducing Oxidant Stress and Fibrosis without Lowering Bodyweight

Obesity is being classified as a global epidemic by both the WHO and the CDC. Sedentary lifestyle and consumption of a high-fat/high-fructose Western diet (WD) are implicated in this epidemic. Women are particularly vulnerable to obesity related cardiovascular disease. Obese women suffer higher rates of hypertension, insulin resistance and heart failure, especially diastolic heart failure early in their lives. There are no evidence based treatments for diastolic heart failure. We hypothesized that voluntary daily exercise would prevent WD induced diastolic dysfunction by reducing oxidant stress, fibrosis and inflammation. To test this hypothesis, we developed a diastolic heart failure model by subjecting C57BL6/J female mice to a solely WD fed regimen for 16 weeks. We treated a parallel cohort with daily exercise, via voluntary wheel running, for the entire 16 weeks of WD feeding alongside control diet (CD) groups (n=7 for each group). We monitored food consumption, running activity and body weight. After 16 weeks, we assessed diastolic function by cardiac MRI and echocardiography. Detailed myocardial staining and Western blotting were done for cardiac oxidant stress, fibrosis and inflammatory markers. Both imaging modalities revealed diastolic dysfunction with WD feeding that was normalized by voluntary exercise. Mice ran similarly high intensities on both CD (6.5 km/d) and WD (7.1km/d). While WD feeding increased bodyweight, there was no reduction in weight with exercise. Body composition analysis showed WD fed mice treated with voluntary exercise had increases in visceral fat weight similar to sedentary WD fed mice. There was a notable increase in lean body mass with exercise. WD feeding resulted in insulin resistance that was prevented by exercise. Finally, while WD feeding markedly increased oxidant stress and fibrosis in sedentary mice, exercise prevented myocardial oxidant stress and fibrosis. Our work provides seminal evidence that diastolic dysfunction of over-nutrition induced obesity can be prevented by exercise. Surprisingly, our study suggests that the mechanisms behind the amelioration of diastolic dysfunction are predominantly through reductions in oxidant stress and fibrosis without reductions in body weight or visceral fat.
Building Better Bridges: Teaching Adolescents Who Are Poor Readers in Eighth Grade to Comprehend History Text

Helping struggling readers to learn history content in middle school can be difficult due to heavy reading demands. In this study, researchers taught poor readers with and without disabilities in eighth grade to generate main idea statements; create, compare, and contrast paragraphs; and identify cause and effect relations, along with relevant multisyllabic word study and vocabulary, as they read history text. The 34 participating students included 14 with disabilities and 20 without disabilities, who scored below the 5th percentile in reading, on average. The results were compared across special education and English learner status and with 81 typical readers from the same classes who studied the same units of history. Treated students made significant gains in use of these strategies, and poor readers with and without disabilities performed similar to their typical reader classmates in two of the three strategies following instruction. The instructional routines for each strategy are described.
Accuracy of 82Rb PET/CT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging with Regadenoson Stress, Including 3-Year Clinical Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical accuracy of 82Rb PET/CT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) when performed with regadenoson stress in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) population of patients. Methods: The initial cohort of 480 patients undergoing vasodilator PET MPI with regadenoson stress at our institution from September 2009 through July 2010 was closely tracked for short-term outcomes based on correlation with invasive coronary catheterization. Long-term outcomes were determined by major adverse cardiac event rates based on data extraction from the electronic medical record and grouped by summed stress score (SSS) for a 3-y period. Results: At the 3-y follow-up, there had been 31 patient deaths, 5 of which were heart-related. Twenty-four patients had documented myocardial infarctions. Event rates and cardiac death rates were highly predicted by the results of PET MPI. Seventy patients underwent invasive cardiac catheterization within 60 d of the PET MPI. Patients were increasingly likely to undergo catheterization as their SSS increased. Catheterization correlation demonstrated a sensitivity of 95%, a positive predictive value of 88.4% for significant coronary artery disease, and an overall accuracy of 86% for PET MPI with regadenoson stress when compared with invasive catheterization. Conclusion: PET MPI with regadenoson stress demonstrates high accuracy when correlated with invasive catheterization and clinical outcomes. The SSS was highly predictive of cardiac events and patient survival in a VA population over a 3-y period of clinical follow-up.
No More Excuses: Making the Case for Equal Employment Laws in Utah A Comparative Analysis of Laws, Rhetoric and Arguments on ENDA Legislation

Since 1974, members of Congress have been trying to pass legislation that would afford employment nondiscrimination protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual employees. This year, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) came closer to becoming law than ever before. However, ENDAâ€™s progress has not been achieved easily. Along the way, opposition from conservative individuals, legislators and groups, as well as factions within the queer community, have divided and stalled the progress of federal ENDA legislation. Until all-inclusive ENDA legislation is passed to protect all members of the queer community at the local, state and federal levels, these able and ready members of the workforce will continue to suffer from injurious employment discrimination, at detriment to them as well as state and federal employment markets. For many reasons, now is the time to pass ENDA laws to afford equal employment protections to all workers in Utah.
Redefining Professional Knowledge in Athletic Training: Whose Knowledge Is It Anyway?

Context: As athletic training continues to evolve as a profession, several epistemological considerations must be considered. These include how we generate professional knowledge and how we secure ...
Photovoice: A user-centered design method to understand apparel needs of Female to Male (FTM) in gender identity and expression

Apparel plays a significant role in gender identity and expression. For females who are transitioning to male (FTM), clothing can be used to decrease stigma, discrimination, and body dysphoria during periods of transition. This project involved transgender men as active participants in a user-centered design process, known as photovoice. Photovoice is a participant-driven qualitative research strategy in which participants use images and discussions to express themselves, share ideas, and shape future apparel design by visually describing their design needs. To date, no apparel researchers have used photovoice methods for apparel design. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to use the photovoice method to understand trans apparel needs to make apparel a health-supportive part of the FTM transition experience. Sixteen FTM participants took part in the study in four focus groups of that lasted approximately 90 minutes each. Through the data analysis, it was revealed that the two primary roles of apparel in FTM identity are to reduce body dysphoria and help people "pass" as their desired gender. These findings were further broken down into symbolic and functional values where it is acknowledged that the symbolic and functional values are not mutually exclusive. The symbolic values were: Clothing can reveal group membership and grow self-confidence through self-expression while attempting to achieve body satisfaction. The functional values were: For FTM Individuals, clothing can be the source of physical and physiological discomfort and body shape and fit issues. Most of the clothing items used by participants to "pass" as male do not have any negative health implications. However, improperly wearing a chest binder can result in physical and physiological discomfort. Because of the intense pressure of the garment on the body, participants in our study experienced restricted breathing, reduction in arm range of motion, and thermal discomfort as it cannot be ventilated easily. In this exploratory research, both symbolic and functional values of apparel for FTM were addressed. Through the photovoice process, the participants were able to visually express the relationship of gender and clothing, possibly better than through dialogue alone. The next stage of this research will use the results of this data to specify design features that can be used to address symbolic and functional properties to inform novel design concepts for FTM.
The Effects of State Delinquent Tax Collection Outsourcing on Administrative Effectiveness, Efficiency, and Procedural Fairness:

Since the 1980s, state governments have been using private debt collection agencies as facilitators and expediters in the delinquent tax collection process. The use of private collection agencies i...
Influence of Imidacloprid and Horticultural Oil on Spider Abundance on Eastern Hemlock in the Southern Appalachians.

Hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae Annand (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), is an exotic pest of eastern hemlock, Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere (Pinales: Pinaceae), in the eastern United States. Two commonly used insecticides to manage adelgid are imidacloprid, a systemic neonicotinoid insecticide, and horticultural oil, a refined petroleum oil foliar spray. We have investigated the influence of imidacloprid and horticultural oil on spider abundance at different canopy strata in eastern hemlock. In total, 2,084 spiders representing 11 families were collected from the canopies of eastern hemlock. In beat-sheet and direct observation samples, the families Theridiidae, Araneidae, Salticidae, and Anyphaenidae were the most abundant. Significantly higher numbers of spiders were recorded on untreated control trees compared with trees treated with imidacloprid using soil drench and soil injection applications. Spider abundance in trees injected with imidacloprid and horticultural oil applications did not significantly differ from control trees. Spider abundance was significantly greater in the top and middle strata of the canopy than in the bottom stratum, where imidacloprid concentrations were the highest. Regression analysis showed that spider abundance was inversely associated with imidacloprid concentration. This research demonstrates that imidacloprid, when applied with selected methods, has the potential to result in reductions of spider densities at different strata. However, slight reductions in spider abundance may be an acceptable short-term ecological impact compared with the loss of an untreated hemlock and all the associated ecological benefits that it provides. Future studies should include investigations of long-term impact of imidacloprid on spiders associated with eastern hemlock.
Constructing New Realities: Integrating Womanist Traditions in Pastoral Counseling with African-American Women

Womanist cultural and spiritual themes are rich resources for pastoral counseling with African-American women. The authors describe womanist cultural themes, present a case example of an African-American woman struggling with identity issues, and provide specific strategies for incorporating womanist cultural and spiritual patterns in counseling African-American women.
Assessment of Vitamin D Status in the 21 st Century

The field of Vitamin D assay technology has progressed significantly over the past 4 decades. Further, the clinical utility of these measurements has moved from esoteric into mainstream clinical diagnosis. This movement has been fueled by the realization that Vitamin D is involved in bodily systems beyond skeletal integrity. The clinical assay techniques for circulating 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D have progressed away from competitive protein-binding assay (CPBAs) that utilize tritium reporters to radioimmunoassay (RIAs) that utilize both I125 and chemiluminescent reporters. These advances have allowed direct serum analysis of 25(OH)D in an automated format that provides a huge sample throughput. Detection of circulating 25(OH)D can also be achieved utilizing direct high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) techniques. These methods are accurate, however, they require expensive equipment and restrict sample throughput in the large clinical laboratory. Direct serum detection of 1,25(OH)2D is unlikely to occur for many reasons as a sample pre-purification will always be required. However, a semi-automated chemiluminescent detection system with automated sample preparation is in final development for the determination of circulating 1,25(OH)2D. These advances will allow both 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)2D to be detected in an accurate, rapid fashion to meet the clinical demands we see emerging.
Posterior Parietal Cortex Dysfunction Is Central to Working Memory Storage and Broad Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia

PFC dysfunction is widely believed to underlie working memory (WM) deficits in people with schizophrenia (PSZ), but few studies have focused on measures of WM storage devoid of manipulation. Research in neurotypical individuals has shown that storage capacity is more closely related to posterior parietal cortex (PPC) than PFC, suggesting that reductions in WM storage capacity in schizophrenia that are associated with broad cognitive deficits may be related to neural activity in PPC. In the present human neuroimaging study, 37 PSZ and 37 matched healthy control subjects of either sex completed a change detection task with varying set sizes while undergoing fMRI. The task was designed to emphasize WM storage with minimal top-down control demands. Whole-brain analysis identified areas in which BOLD activity covaried with the number of items maintained in WM (K), as derived from task performance at a given set size. Across groups, K values independent of set size predicted BOLD activity in PPC, including superior and inferior parietal lobules and intraparietal sulcus, and middle occipital gyrus. Whole-brain interaction analysis found significantly less K-dependent signal modulation in PSZ than healthy control subjects in left PPC, a phenomenon that could not be explained by a narrower K value range. The slope between K and PPC activation statistically accounted for 43.4% of the between-group differences in broad cognitive function. These results indicate that PPC dysfunction is central to WM storage deficits in PSZ and may play a key role in the broad cognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT People with schizophrenia exhibit cognitive deficits across a wide range of tasks. Explaining these impairments in terms of a small number of core deficits with clearly defined neural correlates would advance the understanding of the disorder and promote treatment development. We show that a substantial portion of broad cognitive deficits in schizophrenia can be explained by a failure to flexibly modulate posterior parietal cortex activity as a function of the amount of information currently stored in working memory. Working memory deficits have long been considered central to schizophrenia-related cognitive deficits, but the focus has been on paradigms involving some form of top-down control rather than pure storage of information, which may have unduly narrowed the focus on prefrontal dysfunction.
School starting age and long‐run health in the United States

School starting age has been shown to have long-run effects that persist throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Using variation from state-level school starting age laws in the United States, we find that males who are older when they enter school are more likely to have higher levels of self-reported health later in life. We are largely able to rule out education and labor market outcomes as significant channels for this finding. Building from the previous studies that have found conflicting evidence on the effect of school starting age on educational attainment and labor market outcomes in the United States, we find that school starting age decreases the likelihood of high school completion among males but has no significant effect for females. We do not find that labor market outcomes are affected by school starting age.
Model Neurons of Bifurcation Type 2

A neuron is said to be of bifurcation type 2 if the transition that occurs as I crosses I c is a Hopf bifurcation [47, 75, 129]. Examples of model neurons of bifurcation type 2 include the classical Hodgkin-Huxley model, and the Erisir model described in Section 5.3 The Hopf bifurcation in the classical Hodgkin-Huxley model is analyzed in great detail in [67]. For numerical evidence that the transition from rest to firing in the Erisir model involves a subcritical Hopf bifurcation, see [17], and also Fig. 17.9.
Race and overall survival in men diagnosed with prostate cancer in the Department of Defense Military Health System, 1990-2010.

In the U.S. general population, black men experience poorer survival after prostate cancer (CaP) diagnosis compared to white men, and findings may be impacted by unequal access to healthcare. The objective of the study is to investigate racial differences in overall survival (OS) among Department of Defense beneficiaries diagnosed with CaP. A retrospective cohort study was conducted utilizing the Automated Central Tumor Registry within the Military Healthcare System, a system designed to provide equal access. Men diagnosed with primary prostate adenocarcinomas between 1990 and 2010 [n = 18,484; 24% Non-Hispanic black (NHB), 76% Non-Hispanic white (NHW)] were followed through 2013 for vital status. Unadjusted Kaplan–Meier estimation curves and multivariable Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression models were used to examine racial differences in OS. Age-specific Kaplan–Meier analyses showed equivalent OS for NHW and NHB men in all age groups, except for 75+, where NHB had poorer OS (p = 0.0048). Multivariable Cox PH models revealed no significant differences in OS for race (HR 1.02; 95% CI 0.95–1.08), except in men aged ≥ 75 years, where NHB men had poorer OS (HR 1.27; 95% CI 1.08–1.49). Findings suggest that in a healthcare system designed for equal access, disparities in OS among men diagnosed with CaP may not exist.
A neurologist says

Only a neurologist with a petrified diaphragm could fail to enjoy the description of the neurologist's bag. The article also highlights certain salient aspects of the delivery of medical care. Neurologists in the United Kingdom spend most time in practice, evaluating and managing patients, doing so called direct patient care. By contrast, in the United …
Count me in: using a patient portal to minimize implicit bias in clinical research recruitment.

Objective Determine whether women and men differ in volunteering to join a Research Recruitment Registry when invited to participate via an electronic patient portal without human bias. Materials and methods Under-representation of women and other demographic groups in clinical research studies could be due either to invitation bias (explicit or implicit) during screening and recruitment or by lower rates of deciding to participate when offered. By making an invitation to participate in a Research Recruitment Registry available to all patients accessing our patient portal, regardless of demographics, we sought to remove implicit bias in offering participation and thus independently assess agreement rates. Results Women were represented in the Research Recruitment Registry slightly more than their proportion of all portal users (n = 194 775). Controlling for age, race, ethnicity, portal use, chronic disease burden, and other questionnaire use, women were statistically more likely to agree to join the Registry than men (odds ratio 1.17, 95% CI, 1.12-1.21). In contrast, Black males, Hispanics (of both sexes), and particularly Asians (both sexes) had low participation-to-population ratios; this under-representation persisted in the multivariable regression model. Discussion This supports the view that historical under-representation of women in clinical studies is likely due, at least in part, to implicit bias in offering participation. Distinguishing the mechanism for under-representation could help in designing strategies to improve study representation, leading to more effective evidence-based recommendations. Conclusion Patient portals offer an attractive option for minimizing bias and encouraging broader, more representative participation in clinical research.
Education in the Common School Period (ca. 1830s–1860s)

This chapter examines the perennialist tradition behind Horace Mann and the Common School Movement. It details the rise of normal schools and the development of a common pedagogy and curriculum. It questions exactly how common was common in the public schools, opening up questions regarding the treatment of historically marginalized populations. It concludes with a discussion on the educational legacies of this period and recommendations for further reading.
Threshold and Resistive Switching Behaviors in Epitaxially Regrown GaN P-N Diodes for High Temperature Applications

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) has been extensively investigated due to its great potential in synaptic and neuromorphic computing applications. In the crossbar array of RRAM architecture, threshold switching selector devices are one of the crucial components to cut off the sneak current path of the unselected cells. In this paper, we report the first observation of threshold and resistive switching behaviors in epitaxially regrown vertical GaN p-n diodes. This mechanism was ascribed to the conductive path formed by traps in the insulating layer at the regrowth interface after soft breakdown. The device can reliably switch more than 1000 cycles at both room temperature and 300 °C with small fluctuation on the set and reset voltage. The set voltage increased with the increasing temperature due to the enhanced thermal detrapping effect that made it harder to form conductive path at high temperatures. The device showed memory behaviors when the reset voltage was higher than 4.4 V. These devices can be integrated with mature III-nitride high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) technology and facilitate the development of GaN-based integrated circuits, especially for harsh environments such as high temperature and radiation environments.
Technology and protest: the political effects of electronic voting in India

Electronic voting technology is often proposed as translating voter intent to vote totals better than alternative systems such as paper ballots. We suggest that electronic voting machines (EVMs) can also alter vote choice, and, in particular, the way in which voters register anti-system sentiment. This paper examines the effects of the introduction of EVMs in India, the world's largest democracy, using a difference-in-differences methodology that takes advantage of the technology's gradual introduction. We find that EVMs are associated with dramatic declines in the incidence of invalid votes, and corresponding increases in vote for minor candidates. There is ambiguous evidence for EVMs decreasing turnout, no evidence for increases in rough proxies of voter error or fraud, and no evidence that machines with an auditable paper trail perform differently from other EVMs. The results highlight the interaction between voter technology and voter protest, and the substitutability of different types of protest voting.
Differentiating Retinal Detachment and Retinoschisis Using Handheld Optical Coherence Tomography in Stage 4 Retinopathy of Prematurity.

Importance Progression of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) to stage 4 may require surgical intervention. The partial retinal detachment of stage 4 ROP may involve the fovea (stage 4B ROP) or may not (stage 4A ROP). This determination has heretofore been based on indirect ophthalmoscopy and documented with color fundus photography. Objective To investigate optical coherence tomography (OCT) features of eyes with stage 4 ROP and compare them with indirect ophthalmoscopy findings and grading of photographs. Design, Setting, and Participants In this study, research and clinical medical records of 15 infants with clinically diagnosed stage 4 ROP were retrospectively reviewed. Infants were treated at an academic center from May 2011 to January 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures Review of OCT images for the presence and foveal involvement of retinoschisis, retinal detachment, and/or vitreomacular traction masked to indirect ophthalmoscopy findings. Results Of the 15 included infants, 9 (60%) were male, the mean (SD) gestational age at birth was 23.9 (1.1) weeks, and the mean (SD) postmenstrual age at surgery was 42.4 (4.9) weeks. A total of 21 eyes were analyzed, of which 19 had adequate OCT imaging. Optical coherence tomography imaging extended to the retinal midperiphery but did not cover the entire region of possible detachment in each eye. Among these eyes, 7 eyes had peripheral retinoschisis without retinal detachment or foveal involvement, 5 eyes had peripheral retinoschisis and retinal detachment without foveal involvement, 7 eyes had either retinoschisis or retinal detachment involving the fovea, and 2 eyes had poor OCT signal owing to high retinal detachment. Conclusions and Relevance Handheld OCT imaging is useful in clinical evaluation of stage 4 ROP to determine foveal involvement and differentiate retinal detachment and retinoschisis. Many infants diagnosed as having stage 4A ROP had retinoschisis without OCT evidence of retinal detachment. This group of infants may represent a substage of stage 4A ROP, ie, stage 4A–schisis by OCT. These findings suggest handheld OCT imaging may be useful in the clinical evaluation of stage 4 ROP. Further investigations are needed to determine if this subgroup portends a different prognosis and if this observation should alter future clinical practice.
Simulation technique enabling calibration-free frequency-modulation spectroscopy measurements of gas conditions and lineshapes with modulation frequencies spanning kHz to GHz.

A simulation technique enabling calibration-free measurements of gas properties (e.g., temperature, mole fraction) and lineshapes via wavelength- or frequency-modulation spectroscopy (WMS or FMS) is presented. Unlike previously developed models, this simulation technique accurately accounts for (1) absorption and dispersion physics and (2) variations in the WMS/FMS harmonic signals, which can result from intensity tuning induced by scanning the laser’s carrier frequency [e.g., via injection-current tuning of tunable diode lasers (TDLs)]. As a result, this approach is applicable to both WMS and FMS experiments employing a wide variety of light sources and any modulation frequency [typically kilohertz (kHz) to gigahertz (GHz)]. The accuracy of the simulation technique is validated via comparison with (1) simulated signals produced by established WMS and FMS models under conditions where they are accurate and (2) experimental data acquired under conditions where existing models are inaccurate. Under conditions where existing WMS and FMS models are accurate, this simulation technique yields nearly identical (within 0.1%) results. For experimental validation, the wavelength of a TDL emitting near 1392 nm was scanned across a single absorption line of H2O with a half-width at half-maximum of 350 MHz while frequency modulation was performed at 100 MHz. The best-fit first-harmonic (1f) signal produced by this simulation technique agrees within 1.6% of the measured 1f signal, and the H2O mole fraction and transition collisional width corresponding to the best-fit 1f spectrum agree within 1% of expected values.
Links Between Performance Measures and Local Economic Development: Examination of a Two-Stage Model of Internal and External Factors

This study employs a two-stage model to investigate city government efforts to collect and report performance measures of economic development. In the first stage, a city decides whether to use per...
Elite discourses, sexuality and HIV/AIDS interventions in Malawi

In this book, Samantha Page tracks how different political actors, such as workers in national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), local health workers, lawyers, researchers an...
Abstract A08: Loss of noncanonical Hippo signaling in fusion-positive alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma increases invasiveness and a dedifferentiated phenotype associated with metastasis

A hallmark of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) is the presence of a chromosomal translocation encoding the PAX3-FOXO1 fusion oncogene (FP-ARMS). Patients presenting with FP-ARMS represent the subset of rhabdomyosarcoma patients with the worst prognosis, and when metastatic, survival for these children and adolescents is less than 10%. Nevertheless, standard of care has not changed in the clinic in decades due to a lack of novel effective therapeutics, and as a result, efforts are ongoing to develop better models of this disease in vivo and identify new and more predictive biomarkers. Recently, our group identified a role for Hippo/MST signaling in a genetically engineered mouse model (GEMM) of FP-ARMS that demonstrates Stk3F/F;Stk4F/F; Pax3PF/PF;Cdkn2aF/F;Myf6ICN/+ ARMS tumor-derived cells are less differentiated and more invasive in vitro as compared to Pax3PF/PF;Cdkn2aF/F; Myf6ICN/+ counterparts. Preliminary in vivo studies show that FP-ARMS GEMM tumor-derived cells form secondary metastases in both the lungs and livers of recipient animals, suggesting a new utility of the model for studies of metastatic potential. Studies of bone marrow metastasis, a lethal disease progression in PF-ARMS patients, are ongoing. Further, canonical signaling down the kinase cascade from MST1/2 to YAP1 is largely unchanged in this model, implicating instead noncanonical Hippo signaling and a potential role for MOB1, a Hippo pathway modulator implicated in mitotic exit and expressed highly in the bone marrow niche. Together, these data present an opportunity to interrogate the biology driving the predisposition of PF-RMS patients to develop metastases, and a foundation to identify novel preclinical targets. Citation Format: Kristianne M. Oristian, Lisa E.S. Crose, Napasorn Kuprasertkul, Rex C. Bentley, Yi-Tzu Lin, Nerissa Williams, David G. Kirsch, Corinne M. Linardic. Loss of noncanonical Hippo signaling in fusion-positive alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma increases invasiveness and a dedifferentiated phenotype associated with metastasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Hippo Pathway: Signaling, Cancer, and Beyond; 2019 May 8-11; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2020;18(8_Suppl):Abstract nr A08.
Interferon-γ/Interleukin-27 Axis Induces Programmed Death Ligand 1 Expression in Monocyte-Derived Dendritic Cells and Restores Immune Tolerance in Central Nervous System Autoimmunity

Antigen (Ag)-specific tolerance induction by intravenous (i. v.) injection of high-dose auto-Ags has been explored for therapy of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS). It is thought that the advantage of such Ag-specific therapy over non-specific immunomodulatory treatments would be selective suppression of a pathogenic immune response without impairing systemic immunity, thus avoiding adverse effects of immunosuppression. Auto-Ag i.v. tolerance induction has been extensively studied in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of MS, and limited clinical trials demonstrated that it is safe and beneficial to a subset of MS patients. Nonetheless, the mechanisms of i.v. tolerance induction are incompletely understood, hampering the development of better approaches and their clinical application. Here, we describe a pathway whereby auto-Ag i.v. injected into mice with ongoing clinical EAE induces interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) secretion by auto-Ag-specific CD4+ T cells, triggering interleukin (IL)-27 production by conventional dendritic cells type 1 (cDC1). IL-27 then, via signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 activation, induces programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression by monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) in the central nervous system of mice with EAE. PD-L1 interaction with programmed cell death protein 1 on pathogenic CD4+ T cells leads to their apoptosis/anergy, resulting in disease amelioration. These findings identify a key role of the IFN-γ/IL-27/PD-L1 axis, involving T cells/cDC1/moDCs in the induction of i.v. tolerance.
3A2A: A Character Animation Pipeline for 3D-Assisted 2D-Animation.

2D hand-drawn character animation requires a substantial amount of time and drawing experience, turning away many interested in the field based on their lack of drawing ability. In an effort to make this type of animation more accessible to new creators without drawing experience, we provide a pipeline that creates hand-drawn character keyframes from stick figures. Our 2D interface allows users to draw and edit stick figures in 3D space that are then used to pose and toon-shade any 3D character model. We give these reference images a hand-drawn effect by applying a sketch-like filter to the cel-shaded output and compose it with a painted shading effect. We evaluate our work on multiple animation cycles and various models, demonstrating the program’s ease-of-use for individuals with or without drawing experience. This strategy helps non-artists create 2D hand-drawn human character animations by reducing the entire hand-drawn character pipeline to simply drawing stick figures. We believe that if anyone can draw stick figures, then anyone can animate.
Assessing Sample Number Requirements for Municipal Solid Waste Composition Studies

Abstract Solid waste decision makers use waste composition studies in sustainability planning and as metrics to measure their environmental benefits (e.g., recycling rates). In many of these studie...
Novel murine xenograft models of human osteosarcoma and in vivo response to gemcitabine, L-alanosine, and herceptin

5131 Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant tumor of bone in children and young adults. It has a high propensity to metastasize to the lungs, liver, and bone. In fact, death from lung metastases will occur in 30% of OS patients. Nonetheless there are few good in vivo models of human osteosarcoma that can be utilized for the identification of new therapies. Between 1996 and 2003 we collected 230 osteosarcoma samples from pediatric patients at the time of diagnosis, definitive surgery, or relapse. All samples were disaggregated and placed in culture. Tumors that were successfully cultured, were subsequently injected into SCID mice. Twenty cultured and 8 xenograft lines were derived. Heterotopic flank models and orthotopic lung and tibia models are described. The xenograft lines have been characterized for in vivo response to a variety of chemotherapeutic agents, and these responses correlated to the molecular characteristics of the tumors. Treatment groups consisted of 5 to 8 mice, and each animal received treatment with either drug or normal saline when tumors reached a volume of 1cm 3 . Tumor measurements were taken at the completion of 1 week of therapy. Mice treated with twice weekly gemcitabine (60mg/kg/dose) had tumors of 0.2cm 3 versus the controls of 2.2cm 3 . Mice bearing tumors with a deletion in MTAP (responsible for the salvage of adenine back into the adenylate pool) were treated with L-alanosine (an inhibitor of de novo adenylate synthesis) and their response compared to mice with MTAP intact tumors. After one week of L-alanosine, MTAP-deleted tumors were significantly smaller (1.2cm 3 , standard deviation 0.9) than controls (7.0cm 3 , standard deviation 2.4, p 3 versus 1.8cm 3 ). We describe 8 novel xenograft models of human osteosarcoma and demonstrate that the molecular characteristics of these lines predict in vivo response to chemotherapeutics.
Improving Random Walk Performance.

Random walk simulation is employed in many experimental algorithmic applications. Efficient execution on modern computer architectures demands that the random walk be implemented to exploit data locality for improving the cache performance. In this research, we demonstrate how different one-dimensional data reordering functionals can be used as a preprocessing step for speeding the random walk runtime. Index Terms—data reordering, random walk, irregular memory access, cache performance. F
Tests for Unit Roots and the Initial Observation

The paper analyzes the impact of the initial observation on the problem of testing for unit roots. To this end, we derive a family of optimal tests that maximize a weighted average power criterion with respect to the initial observation. We then investigate the relationship of this optimal family to unit root tests in an asymptotic framework. We find that many popular unit root tests are closely related to specific members of the optimal family, but the corresponding members employ very different weightings for the initial observation. The popular Dickey-Fuller tests, for instance, are closely related to optimal tests which put a large weight on extreme deviations of the initial observation from the deterministic component, whereas other popular tests put more weight on moderate deviations. At the same time, the power of the various unit root tests varies dramatically with the initial observation. This paper therefore helps to explain the results of comparative power studies of unit root tests, and allows a much deeper understanding of the merits of particular tests in specific circumstances.
The lasting impact of the therapeutic alliance: Patient‐oncologist alliance as a predictor of caregiver bereavement adjustment

BACKGROUND Caregivers of patients with advanced cancer provide extensive care and experience high levels of psychosocial distress. The patient-oncologist therapeutic alliance may be a modifiable factor that can prevent or reduce negative caregiver outcomes. METHODS Coping with Cancer (CwC) was a prospective, longitudinal, multisite cohort study of terminally ill cancer patients (life expectancy ≤6 months) and their informal caregivers, who were followed into bereavement (n = 68). Trained raters interviewed patients and caregivers upon study entry and also interviewed caregivers 6 months after the patient's death. Patients answered quantitative questions assessing their perception of the patient-oncologist therapeutic alliance (The Human Connection scale), and caregivers completed a measure of health-related quality of life (Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36). Interviewers rated caregivers’ level of emotional well being. Associations between therapeutic alliance and caregiver outcomes were analyzed using univariate analysis of variance and logistic regression analyses, controlling for baseline caregiver measures and confounding sample characteristics. RESULTS A strong patient-oncologist therapeutic alliance was bivariately associated with caregiver self-report of less role limitation because of emotional problems, better social function and mental and general health-related quality of life, and better interviewer-rated emotional well being after the patient's death. After controlling for baseline measures and confounding sample characteristics, the correlation between patient-perceived therapeutic alliance and bereaved caregivers’ mental health and interviewer ratings of bereaved caregivers’ emotional well being remained significant. CONCLUSIONS The influence of the patient-oncologist alliance may generalize beyond the patient to positively impact the caregiver. By developing a strong relationship with the patient, the oncologist may benefit the caregiver and the patient. This caregiver benefit may extend into bereavement. Cancer 2015;121:3435–43. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
ASIC implementation of the discrete wavelet transform

Wavelets are an important and powerful signal processing tool. We describe the VHDL implementation of the constituent parts of the decomposition and reconstruction units and the top down design process used for custom IC design. The design was simulated, synthesized and optimized using CAD design tools from the Mentor Graphics Corporation.
Unusual temperature dependence of the London penetration depth in all-organic β ″ − ( ET ) 2 SF 5 CH 2 CF 2 SO 3 single crystals

The temperature dependence of the in-plane, {lambda}{sub {parallel}}(T), and interplane, {lambda}{sub {perpendicular}}(T), London penetration depth was measured in the metal-free all-organic superconductor {beta}''-(ET){sub 2}SF{sub 5}CH{sub 2}CF{sub 2}SO{sub 3} (T{sub c}{approx}5.2 K). {Delta}{lambda}{sub ||}(T){proportional_to}T{sup 3} up to 0.5 T{sub c}, a power law previously observed only in materials thought to be p-wave superconductors. {lambda}{sub {perpendicular}} is larger than the sample dimensions down to the lowest temperatures (0.35 K), implying an anisotropy of {lambda}{sub {perpendicular}}/{lambda}{sub {parallel}}{approx}400-800.
A unifying semantic model for accessing multiple heterogeneous databases in a manufacturing environment

Proliferation in database applications has resulted in the use of diverse types of database management systems (DBMS) even within a single organization. As usage has grown, the desire to link and integrate separate databases has resulted in substantial effort being directed towards the design of distributed database systems (DDS). One of the major challenges of integrating diverse databases is to hide the heterogeneity of the constituent databases from users. This paper describes the ongoing research in integrating databases at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the Automated Manufacturing Research Facility. >