cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone heterogeneity: assessment of biologic activities of each follicle-stimulating hormone form.

The multiple species of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) present within pituitary tissue were separated by the technique of Polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing. The ability of each FSH species to stimulate the secretion of plasminogen activator from cultured granulosa cells was tested (FSH in vitro bioassay). A wide range of biologic/radioimmunologic FSH activity was observed when FSH species were compared. As the isoelectric point of the FSH molecule declined, so did the biologic activity. A second series of studies was performed to determine which forms of FSH were secreted by pituitary tissue in vitro. All of the forms of FSH present in pituitary tissue were secreted into culture medium. However, the relative proportions of FSH forms in the pituitary and medium were not always similar. Exposure of pituitary tissue to luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone elicited an increase in the relative proportion of the more biologically active forms of FSH that were secreted. These studies suggest that the hormonal milieu surrounding the pituitary affects not only the quantity but also the potency of the FSH signal emitted. Thus, the basis for observed differences between biologic and immunologic FSH activities observed during some endocrine states may be the result of preferential secretion of certain FSH species.
Selective targeting of cancer stem cells: a new concept in cancer therapeutics.

Although the concept of ‘cancer stem cell’ was first proposed more then a century ago, it has attracted a great deal of attention recently due to advances in stem cell biology, leading to the identification of these cells in a wide variety of human cancers. There is accumulating evidence that the resistance of cancer stem cells to many conventional therapies may account for the inability of these therapies to cure most metastatic cancers. The recent identification of stem cell markers and advances in stem cell biology have facilitated research in multiple aspects of cancer stem cell behavior. Stem cell subcomponents have now been identified in a number of human malignancies, including hematologic malignancies and tumors of the breast, prostate, brain, pancreas, head and neck, and colon. Furthermore, pathways that regulate self-renewal and cell fate in these systems are beginning to be elucidated. In addition to pathways such as Wnt, Notch and Hedgehog, known to regulate self-renewal of normal stem cells, tumor suppressor genes such as PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog on chromosome 10) and TP53 (tumor protein p53) have also been implicated in the regulation of cancer stem cell self-renewal. In cancer stem cells, these pathways are believed to be deregulated, leading to uncontrolled self-renewal of cancer stem cells which generate tumors that are resistant to conventional therapies. Current cancer therapeutics based on tumor regression may target and kill differentiated tumor cells, which compose the bulk of the tumor, while sparing the rare cancer stem cell population. The cancer stem cell model suggests that the design of new cancer therapeutics may require the targeting and elimination of cancer stem cells. Therefore, it is imperative to design new strategies based upon a better understanding of the signaling pathways that control aspects of self-renewal and survival in cancer stem cells in order to identify novel therapeutic targets in these cells.
Aging, Complexity, and Motor Performance

Publisher Summary This chapter emphasizes that there is a substantial body of experimental work in motor control that has tested aspects of the aging and complexity relationship. Across a range of posture, locomotion, and manipulation tasks; it is shown that there is a strong link between the complexity of the motor output and the level of task performance. In many tasks, particularly postural, the enhanced sway or loss of performance is related to a significant loss of complexity in the output over the aging years. The complexity–performance relationship is not limited to postural tasks, as many movement tasks have a relatively high dimension movement solution and it is hypothesized that they would be influenced similarly by the processes of aging. However, there is not a unidirectional relationship between complexity and performance, and hence there is the necessity or universality of a loss of complexity in behavioral outcome with aging.
Testing Brantingham’s Neutral Model: The Effect of Spatial Clustering on Stone Raw Material Procurement

Changes in the frequency of stone tool raw materials are observed in stone age records across the world and throughout time. These are normally interpreted as showing important changes in human behavior. Brantingham (2003) proposes a neutral model to explain observed data on stone tool raw material procurement as an alternative to behavioral interpretations of raw material changes, but his model used unrealistic distributions of raw material across a landscape. Here we provide the results of investigating how real source locations, and their spatial clustering affect the raw material pattern outcome of the neutral model. Our findings suggest that spatial distributions mimicking empirical data challenge the validity of the neutral model. More specifically, increasing the source clustering increases the amount of time where the forager is without raw materials. In terms of foraging behavior, it is not realistic to expect that foragers go extended periods of time without raw materials to create and repair tools if a stone cache is not available to return too.
Case 238: Spontaneous Pneumothorax Secondary to Intrapulmonary Necrobiotic Rheumatoid Nodule.

Spontaneous pneumothorax from necrobiotic nodule is rare, with increased morbidity and mortality; familiarity with key imaging findings, including subpleural location, internal cavitation, and presence of bronchial connection, is crucial to making the correct diagnosis.
Infallible Divine Foreknowledge Cannot Uniquely Threaten Human Freedom, But Its Mechanics Might

It is not uncommon to think that the existence of exhaustive and infallible divine foreknowledge uniquely threatens the existence of human freedom. This paper shows that this cannot be so. For, to uniquely threaten human freedom, infallible divine foreknowledge would have to make an essential contribution to an explanation for why our actions are not up to us. And infallible divine foreknowledge cannot do this. There remains, however, an important question about the compatibility of freedom and foreknowledge. It is a question not about the existence of foreknowledge, but about its mechanics.
Mobile Genetic Elements and Evolution of CRISPR-Cas Systems: All the Way There and Back

The Clustered Regularly Interspaced Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)-CRISPR-associated proteins (Cas) systems of bacterial and archaeal adaptive immunity show multifaceted evolutionary relationships with at least five classes of mobile genetic elements (MGE). First, the adaptation module of CRISPR-Cas that is responsible for the formation of the immune memory apparently evolved from a Casposon, a self-synthesizing transposon that employs the Cas1 protein as the integrase and might have brought additional cas genes to the emerging immunity loci. Second, a large subset of type III CRISPR-Cas systems recruited a reverse transcriptase from a Group II intron, providing for spacer acquisition from RNA. Third, effector nucleases of Class 2 CRISPR-Cas systems that are responsible for the recognition and cleavage of the target DNA were derived from transposon-encoded TnpB nucleases, most likely, on several independent occasions. Fourth, accessory nucleases in some variants of types I and III toxin and type VI effectors RNases appear to be ultimately derived from toxin nucleases of microbial toxin-antitoxin modules. Fifth, the opposite direction of evolution is manifested in the recruitment of CRISPR-Cas systems by a distinct family of Tn7-like transposons that probably exploit the capacity of CRISPR-Cas to recognize unique DNA sites to facilitate transposition as well as by bacteriophages that employ them to cope with host defense. Additionally, individual Cas proteins, such as the Cas4 nuclease, were recruited by bacteriophages and transposons. The two-sided evolutionary connection between CRISPR-Cas and MGE fits the "guns for hire" paradigm whereby homologous enzymatic machineries, in particular nucleases, are shuttled between MGE and defense systems and are used alternately as means of offense or defense.
Genomic trade-offs: are autism and schizophrenia the steep price of the human brain?

Evolution often deals in genomic trade-offs: changes in the genome that are beneficial overall persist even though they also produce disease in a subset of individuals. Here, we explore the possibility that such trade-offs have occurred as part of the evolution of the human brain. Specifically, we provide support for the possibility that the same key genes that have been major contributors to the rapid evolutionary expansion of the human brain and its exceptional cognitive capacity also, in different combinations, are significant contributors to autism and schizophrenia. Furthermore, the model proposes that one of the primary genes behind this trade-off may not technically be “a gene” or “genes” but rather are the highly duplicated sequences that encode the Olduvai protein domain family (formerly called DUF1220). This is not an entirely new idea. Others have proposed that the same genes involved in schizophrenia were also critical to the rapid expansion of the human brain, a view that has been expressed as “the same ‘genes’ that drive us mad have made us human”. What is new is that a “gene”, or more precisely a protein domain family, has been found that may satisfy these requirements.
Use of routine and breakthrough analgesia in home care.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES To describe current use of routine analgesics in home care and the treatment of breakthrough pain. DESIGN Descriptive, companion study. SETTING Homecare agencies in southern California. SAMPLE Convenience sample of 369 patients with cancer participating in a pain-education study. METHODS Data regarding breakthrough pain were derived from the homecare medical records and patient interviews. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES Analgesic medications prescribed and used for treatment of routine and breakthrough cancer pain. FINDINGS Results demonstrate discrepancy between recommended pain management in clinical practice guidelines and the actual practice of pain management at home. Deficiencies were found in medications prescribed as well as in actual use by patients. CONCLUSIONS Optimum relief of cancer pain is contingent on adequate treatment of routine and breakthrough pain, including greater use of recommended analgesics in adequate doses and clinical care consistent with clinical practice guidelines. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE Breakthrough pain is a common problem affecting the quality of life of patients with cancer. Improved management of breakthrough pain is contingent on accurate pain assessment, optimum use of analgesics, and patient education. Nurses should address the important topic of breakthrough pain as new analgesic drugs and methods of delivery become available.
CODE SWITCHING IN CHILDREN'S LANGUAGE

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews code switching in children's language. In order to investigate code switching in children's language, it is necessary to observe the same child in a number of different speech situations. In listening to the tapes of the children's speech, the generally recognized kinds of language styles that linguists talk about are to be kept in mind. The chapter presents a study to see if children talk in different ways to different people. Infants are selective about whom they talk to at all. Four-year-olds may whine at their mothers, engage in intricate verbal play with their peers, and reserve their narrative, discursive tales for their grown-up friends. By the time they are eight-years old, children have added to the foregoing some of the politeness routines of formal adult speech, baby-talk style, and the ability to talk to younger children in the language of socialization. The details of the emergence of these codes are yet to be elaborated.
Biculturalism and International Interdependence

One of the most intensely motivating forces in the last few decades has been the urge within the individuals of the modern world to get back to their origins. There has begun a deep and probing search for one’s roots, one’s basis, one’s foundation. Continuously over these years, voices have been raised in defense of and in proud declaration of their own particular racial or ethnic origins. In an effort to counteract feelings of alienation, emptiness, and meaninglessness engendered by our increasingly complex and technological world, individuals have turned to re-discovering, embracing, and asserting their perceived basic origins. This urge is certainly apparent in the Black Movement, the American Indian Movement, and even in the Youth Movement of the 1960’s which urged “a return to the land” and a return to basic values. Consequently, many of the ethnic groups have had a resurgence of pride in their heritage. This has been especially fostered by the younger members of these groups.
History of autoimmune conditions and lymphoma prognosis.

Autoimmune conditions are strong risk factors for developing lymphoma, but their role in lymphoma prognosis is less clear. In a prospective cohort study, we evaluated self-reported history of eight autoimmune conditions with outcomes in 736 diffuse large B-cell, 703 follicular, 302 marginal zone (MZL), 193 mantle cell (MCL), 297 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and 186 T-cell lymphomas. We calculated event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS), and estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for sex, prognostic score, and treatment. History of any of the eight autoimmune conditions ranged from 7.4% in HL to 18.2% in MZL, and was not associated with EFS or OS for any lymphoma subtype. However, there was a positive association of autoimmune conditions primarily mediated by B-cell responses with inferior EFS in MCL (HR = 2.23, CI: 1.15–4.34) and HL (HR = 2.63, CI: 1.04–6.63), which was largely driven by rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune conditions primarily mediated by T-cell responses were not found to be associated with EFS or OS in any lymphoma subtype, although there were few events for this exposure. Our results indicate that distinguishing autoimmune conditions primarily mediated by B-cell/T-cell responses may yield insight regarding the impact of this comorbid disease, affecting ~10% of lymphoma patients, on survival.
Dermatologic Reactions to Novel Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Dermatologic toxicities secondary to immune checkpoint inhibitors are prevalent and can be difficult to manage in the setting of underlying malignancy. This review summarizes the mucocutaneous adverse events associated with these agents and provides management options for varying degrees of presentation. Pruritus and rash are the most common dermatologic findings, but other manifestations such as vitiligo, lichenoid reactions, bullous pemphigoid, alopecia, and mucosal lesions have been observed. More recently, novel cases of rarer side effects, such as immunotherapy-induced scleroderma, fasciitis, and dermatomyositis, have been reported. Management often involves topical corticosteroids while more severe reactions require systemic treatment or discontinuation of immunotherapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors comprise a newer class of agents used in the treatment of various cancers. There is an increasing number and variety of cutaneous toxicities being reported as more of these immunotherapies are being used. Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial in effective management of these skin toxicities.
Generalized rank-breaking: computational and statistical tradeoffs

For massive and heterogeneous modern datasets, it is of fundamental interest to provide guarantees on the accuracy of estimation when computational resources are limited. In the application of rank aggregation, for the Plackett-Luce model, we provide a hierarchy of rank-breaking mechanisms ordered by the complexity in thus generated sketch of the data. This allows the number of data points collected to be gracefully traded offs against computational resources available, while guaranteeing the desired level of accuracy. Theoretical guarantees on the proposed generalized rank-breaking implicitly provide such trade-offs, which can be explicitly characterized under certain canonical scenarios on the structure of the data. Further, the proposed generalized rank-breaking algorithm involves set-wise comparisons as opposed to traditional pairwise comparisons. The maximum likelihood estimate of pairwise comparisons is computed efficiently using the celebrated minorization maximization algorithm (Hunter, 2004). To compute the pseudo-maximum likelihood estimate of the set-wise comparisons, we provide a generalization of the minorization maximization algorithm and give guarantees on its convergence.
Bad news and good news in AD, and how to reconcile them.

2018 saw the failure of several large clinical trials that were based on the premise that reduction of amyloid-β levels is an effective treatment for symptomatic Alzheimer disease. Yet, over the same time period, good news also emerged about the diagnostic value of tau PET imaging.
GMP-compatible and xeno-free cultivation of mesenchymal progenitors derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells

Human mesenchymal stem cells are a strong candidate for cell therapies owing to their regenerative potential, paracrine regulatory effects, and immunomodulatory activity. Yet, their scarcity, limited expansion potential, and age-associated functional decline restrict the ability to consistently manufacture large numbers of safe and therapeutically effective mesenchymal stem cells for routine clinical applications. To overcome these limitations and advance stem cell treatments using mesenchymal stem cells, researchers have recently derived mesenchymal progenitors from human-induced pluripotent stem cells. Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived progenitors resemble adult mesenchymal stem cells in morphology, global gene expression, surface antigen profile, and multi-differentiation potential, but unlike adult mesenchymal stem cells, it can be produced in large numbers for every patient. For therapeutic applications, however, human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived progenitors must be produced without animal-derived components (xeno-free) and in accordance with Good Manufacturing Practice guidelines. In the present study we investigate the effects of expanding mesodermal progenitor cells derived from two human-induced pluripotent stem cell lines in xeno-free medium supplemented with human platelet lysates and in a commercial high-performance Good Manufacturing Practice-compatible medium (Unison Medium). The results show that long-term culture in xeno-free and Good Manufacturing Practice-compatible media somewhat affects the morphology, expansion potential, gene expression, and cytokine profile of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived progenitors but supports cell viability and maintenance of a mesenchymal phenotype equally well as medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum. The findings support the potential to manufacture large numbers of clinical-grade human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal progenitors for applications in personalized regenerative medicine.
The Redox Properties of a Cysteine Tryptophylquinone-Dependent Glycine Oxidase Are Distinct from Those of Tryptophylquinone-Dependent Dehydrogenases

GoxA is a cysteine tryptophylquinone (CTQ)-dependent glycine oxidase that is a member of a family of LodA-like proteins. The electrochemical midpoint potential ( Em) values for the quinone/semiquinone couple and the semiquinone/quinol couple were determined to be 111 and 21, respectively. The Em value for the overall two-electron quinone/quinol couple was similar to those of CTQ- and tryptophan tryptophylquinone (TTQ)-bearing dehydrogenases. However, for the well-studied TTQ-dependent methylamine dehydrogenase, the quinone/semiquinone couple is more negative than the semiquinone/quinol couple, the opposite of what was determined for GoxA. The change in Em value for the two-electron quinone/quinol couple of CTQ in GoxA with pH indicates that the overall two-electron transfer process is associated with the transfer of one proton. Thus, the quinol is anionic. The data reported herein further suggest that in GoxA the CTQ semiquinone is neutral, in contrast to the TTQ-dependent dehydrogenases, in which it is an anionic TTQ semiquinone. These results are discussed in the context of the structure and function of this glycine oxidase, compared to that of the tryptophylquinone-dependent dehydrogenases.
Interface effects on self-forming rechargeable Li/I2-based solid state batteries

Solid state batteries are an emerging alternative to traditional liquid electrolyte cells that provide potential for safe and high-energy density power sources. This report describes a self-forming, solid state battery based on the Li/I2 couple using an LiI-rich LiI(3-hydroxypropionitrile)2 electrolyte (LiI–LiI(HPN)2). As the negative and positive active materials are generated in situ, the solid electrolyte–current collector interfaces play a critical role in determining the electrochemical response of the battery. Herein, we report the investigation of solid electrolyte–current collector interfaces with a self-forming LiI–LiI(HPN)2 solid electrolyte and the role of varying interface design in reducing resistance during cycling.
Spontaneous Hemorrhagic Pericardial and Pleural Effusion in a Patient Receiving Apixaban

Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are used for many conditions where anticoagulation is needed such as non-valvular atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). These novel agents have become popular since they do not require monitoring of therapeutic levels and there is a lower risk of certain bleeding complications when compared to warfarin. However, the efficacy and side effect profile of these agents have not been widely studied in certain patient cohorts, namely cancer patients and patients on immunomodulators or hormone analogs. We present a case of a patient with a history of malignancy and autoimmune disease who developed pericardial and pleural effusions shortly after initiating apixaban for treatment of a PE. In addition, we aim to increase awareness of the role that the newly available reversal agents for anticoagulants would offer in the acute management of hemorrhagic pericardial and pleural effusions caused by DOACs in patients with and without malignancy.
Variety of clinical trial enrollment by actionable tumor suppressor genotype.

e15674Background: In the last decade, genomics has been increasingly used for therapeutic management of cancer. In precision oncology, genes that can be directly or indirectly targeted with therape...
Fibroplasty (venoplasty) to facilitate transvenous lead placement: A single-center experience.

Introduction Venous stenosis is a well-recognized complication of transvenous leads (TVLs) that is encountered during lead revisions or device upgrades. We here report the outcomes of TVL placement facilitated by fibroplasty or tunneling (TUN) procedure. Methods We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of all patients undergoing TVL implantation requiring fibroplasty or TUN from 2005 to 2017. Medical records and procedure reports were reviewed for relevant data. Outcomes for fibroplasty and TUN to facilitate TVL placement were compared. Results Sixty patients had fibroplasty and thirty-five patients had a TUN procedure. There was no difference in procedure success rates between the two groups (97% fibroplasty vs. 100% TUN; p = .98). The fluoroscopy time was longer (fibroplasty = 39.7 ± 21.5 min vs. TUN = 29.2 ± 21.3 min; p = .01) and the total procedural time was shorter in the fibroplasty group (fibroplasty = 247 ± 77.8 min vs. TUN = 287 ± 77.1 min; p = .01). TUN was associated with a significantly higher incidence of acute complications (fibroplasty = 0 vs. TUN = 8; p = .002) most requiring invasive intervention and/or transfusion with blood products. Long-term complications requiring additional device-related procedures were comparable between the two groups (fibroplasty = 6 vs. TUN = 6; logrank p = .21). Conclusions For patients with venous stenosis requiring additional TVL, balloon fibroplasty is associated with similar rates of success and a significantly decreased incidence of acute complications when compared with subcutaneous TUN.
Diffuse Alveolar Damage Correlation with Clinical Diagnosis of Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) is one of the pathological hallmarks of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We aimed to compare pathological findings of DAD with clinical ARDS criteria. We re-evaluated 20 patients whose clinical autopsy revealed DAD. Total 11/20 patients with DAD (55%) met the 1994 American–European Consensus Conference and 7/17 (41%) met the 2012 Berlin clinical criteria. DAD showed only moderate correlation with current clinical ARDS definition. Oxygenation index (OI), seems to be the most valuable tool in predicting pulmonary damage severity, though OI is not listed in either of the previous definitions. We support the recommended use of OI by 2015 consensus conference.
Does Subglottic Squamous Cell Carcinoma Warrant a Different Strategy Than Other Laryngeal Subsites

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Subglottic squamous cell carcinoma (SSCC) is a rare cancer with limited evidence-based treatment guidelines. This study aimed to describe the treatment patterns for SSCC and to determine which treatments provide the best overall survival. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective database review. METHODS The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was queried for patients treated for SSCC from 2004 through 2014. Overall survival (OS) rates were determined by the Kaplan-Meier method. Clinicopathologic characteristics were assessed by univariable and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models, which corrected for age, sex, race, insurance status, income quartile, residence, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity score, facility type providing treatment, tumor grade, and clinical N and T category. RESULTS In this cohort of 549 patients with SSCC, the 5-year OS was 48.2%. SSCC presented at an advanced stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III or IV) in 60.1% of cases; 78.3% of cases had no nodal metastases. Among only stage IV cases, multivariable analysis showed that radiotherapy (RT) (hazard ratio [HR] = 5.944; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.76-12.8; P < .001) and chemoradiotherapy (CRT) (HR = 2.321; 95% CI: 1.36-3.97; P = .002) were both associated with decreased 5-year OS compared to a group consisting of all surgeries. When this analysis was repeated for only stage III cases, RT (HR = 1.134; 95% CI: 0.38-3.37; P = .821) and CRT (HR = 1.784; 95% CI: 0.78-4.08; P = .170) were equivalent to surgery. CONCLUSIONS Using the NCDB to study the largest cohort of SSCC with known staging and treatment, primary surgery may provide a better 5-year OS in advanced-stage SSCC. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E1117-E1124, 2021.
Effects of Wax-Impregnated Nanozeolites on Bitumen's Thermomechanical Properties

This study presents a new carrier for wax-based additives used in bitumen; the new carrier alleviates wax crystallization while improving bitumen’s cohesion, adhesion, and elastic properties. The a...
Accommodating Legal Ignorance

Despite the maxim that “ignorance of the law is no excuse,” ignorance of public and private law is pervasive and often sensible. Acquiring perfect information about the legal rules that might have an impact on their activities would leave many consumers (and others) with little time and few resources to pursue those activities. Holding individuals accountable for their failure to obtain costly legal information would be unfair in many circumstances, and would also create incentives to conduct inefficient legal investigation. Legal doctrine has developed three distinct strategies to account for reasonable ignorance of law. First, where feasible, doctrine provides incentives for those with better access to legal information to transmit that information to otherwise ignorant parties. Second, when incentives are not feasible, doctrine often excuses reasonably ignorant actors – so long as their actions do not significantly interfere with the private rights of others. Third, in circumstances where excusing the reasonably ignorant actor would affect victims in ways that might generate unfairness or inefficiency, doctrine limits the remedies available to those victims in ways that reduce incentives for inefficient legal investigation. These strategies ameliorate the unfairness and inefficiency associated with rigid adherence to the maxim. Although doctrine employs these strategies across a wide range of legal issues, the strategies are underutilized in some areas of law, most notably copyright law. Those areas remain ripe for reform.
Adaptive Bayesian phase I clinical trial designs for estimating the maximum tolerated doses for two drugs while fully utilizing all toxicity information

The combined treatments with multiple drugs are very common in the contemporary medicine, especially for medical oncology. Therefore, we developed a Bayesian adaptive Phase I clinical trial design entitled escalation with overdoing control using normalized equivalent toxicity score for estimating maximum tolerated dose (MTD) contour of two drug combination (EWOC-NETS-COM) used for oncology trials. The normalized equivalent toxicity score (NETS) as the primary endpoint of clinical trial is assumed to follow quasi-Bernoulli distribution and treated as quasi-continuous random variable in the logistic linear regression model which is used to describe the relationship between the doses of the two agents and the toxicity response. Four parameters in the dose-toxicity model were re-parameterized to parameters with explicit clinical meanings to describe the association between NETS and doses of two agents. Noninformative priors were used and Markov chain Monte Carlo was employed to update the posteriors of the four parameters in dose-toxicity model. Extensive simulations were conducted to evaluate the safety, trial efficiency, and MTD estimation accuracy of EWOC-NETS-COM under different scenarios, using the EWOC as reference. The results demonstrated that EWOC-NETS-COM not only efficiently estimates MTD contour of multiple drugs but also provides better trial efficiency by fully utilizing all toxicity information.
Clinical Study of Postoperative Bleeding after Tonsillectomy in 497 Cases

We conducted a retrospective analysis of 497 patients who underwent tonsillectomy at Kamio Memorial Hospital from September 2015 to August 2018. A total of 35 cases (7.0%) developed postoperative bleeding and three cases (0.6%) needed a second operation under general anesthesia to stop the bleeding. Postoperative bleeding most frequently occurred between 24 hours and 6 days after the operation. The incidence of postoperative bleeding was significantly higher in males and in patients aged 20 to 39 years old. The operation time, body mass index, smoking habit, and history of hypertension were not identified as clinical risk factors for bleeding after tonsillectomy in this study.
Thermal Cycling Reliability of Lead-Free Solder Alloys using Surface Mount Resistors Considering Aging

There have been several new solder alloys developed for high reliability applications. As with any new product, the reliability has been the primary concern even in the case of new solder alloys, and the stakes are high when it comes to critical applications where failure is not an option. Several new elements such as Bi (Bismuth), Sb (Antimony), In (Indium), Ni (Nickel) are added to SnAgCu (SAC) based systems in order to mitigate the effect of aging and improve the reliability. In this study, a thorough investigation of the performance of such three new alloys are conducted using surface mount resistors (SMR) and are then compared with SAC305 solder alloy. The test vehicle consists of 2512SMRs along with BGAs and LGAs with OSP surface finish, even though only data regarding the SMRs are analyzed in this study. Each test vehicle has six SMRs connected in series, and all alloys have five boards in each aging condition. One set of boards are aged for a period of three months at 125°C before thermal cycling. The aged and non-aged boards were then thermally cycled for 8000 cycles from -40°C to +125°C with a ramp rate of 10°C per minute and dwell times of 15 minutes at high and low temperatures.Two parameter Weibull analysis is used to quantify the performance of the different alloy materials. B10 life is also used to analyze the early failures in each case. It was found that aging had a negative impact on the fatigue life, even though the extend of this impact could vary according to the solder alloy, aging period and component, among several other factors. In most cases, a drop of about 30%-40% in characteristic life was observed.
Transient Stability Assessment of Large-scale AC/DC Hybrid Power Grid Based on Separation Feature and Deep Belief Networks

Transient stability greatly challenges the safe and stable operation of the power system. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to assessment transient stability quickly and accurately. This paper proposes an intelligent model for transient stability assessment (TSA) based on the separation feature and deep belief networks (DBN) for large-scale AC/DC hybrid power grid. With this model, a training method which is suitable for large-scale AC/DC hybrid power grids was proposed. According to the correlation degrees between different electrical characteristics and power system transient stability, the input features are separated into operation mode and disturbance mode, and then, using DBN to extract the features of the two types of input data respectively. In order to adapt the large-scale AC/DC hybrid power grid, different pre-training sample sets are applied for different DBN feature extraction networks to improve the generalization ability and reduce the complexity of model training. Test results with the proposed model on the 265-bus AC/DC hybrid power grid designed by the China Electric Power Research Institute indicated that the new model is easy to train, and it can effectively reduce the influence of imbalanced samples, with good generalization ability.
Poor sleep quality and daytime fatigue are associated with subjective but not objective cognitive functioning in clinically relevant hoarding

Abstract Background Hoarding disorder (HD) is a chronic psychiatric condition of increasing public health concern. Recent investigation suggests a positive association between hoarding severity and insomnia symptoms. However, these findings have yet to be replicated and the prevalence and type of sleep impairment experienced by individuals with clinically relevant hoarding symptoms (CHS) are not known. Methods This analysis of 20,473 members of the internet-based Brain Health Registry uses multivariate logistic regression modeling and structural equation modeling to evaluate the relationship between hoarding symptoms, sleep impairment, adverse health, and cognitive functioning. Results More than 12% of study participants endorsed CHR or subclinical hoarding symptoms (SCHS). After adjustment for demographic characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity, individuals with CHS reported increased odds of sleep impairment in nearly all domains. The odds of poor sleep quality (aOR: 2.07, 95% CI:[1.83, 2.34]), sleep disturbances (aOR: 2.15, 95% CI:[1.91, 2.43]), and daytime dysfunction (aOR: 5.84, 95% CI:[5.12, 6.65]) were 2 to 5-fold higher for individuals with CHS compared to those without. For all measures, the proportion of individuals reporting sleep impairment increased with hoarding severity. In our structural equation model, sleep impairment acted as a partial mediator on the indirect pathways from hoarding to subjective cognitive complaints and poorer quality of life. Conclusions Identification of sleep problems among those with hoarding symptoms is a critical component of hoarding assessment. Additional research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the observed relationships, including neurobiological underpinnings, and to examine the role of sleep management in treatment for hoarding behaviors.
The moderating role of gift recipients' attachment orientations on givers' gift‐giving perceptions

Romantic gift-giving perceptions in dyadic relationships are examined in this research as informed by attachment theory. In two studies, we investigate the moderating role of the recipient's attachment orientation on the giver's gift-giving perceptions and the mechanism through which the interaction between the giver's and recipient's attachment orientations influence gift-giving perceptions. We show that the recipient's attachment orientation could accentuate or attenuate the impact of the giver's attachment orientation on gift-giving perceptions and that this effect is carried through the giver's satisfaction with the relationship. We provide implications for future research and practitioners. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Conversion of 1-O-[3H]alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine to lyso platelet-activating factor by the CoA-independent transacylase in membrane fractions of human neutrophils

The first step in the synthesis of platelet-activating factor (PAF) in stimulated neutrophils is generally accepted to be hydrolysis of 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-GPC), with 1-O-alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPC being the preferred precursor. Characterization of the enzymatic activity responsible for the hydrolysis of 1-O-alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPC has been hampered by lack of an active and reliable cell-free system for study. In the present studies, membrane preparations containing 1-O-[3H]alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPC were prepared from intact human neutrophils that had been labeled using 1-O-[3H]hexadecyl-2-lyso-GPC. When the labeled membrane preparations were incubated in the presence of unlabeled 1-O-alkyl-2-lyso-GPC (5 microM), rapid deacylation (up to 25% of the label in 10 min) of the 1-O-[3H]alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPC to 1-O-[3H]alkyl-2-lyso-GPC (lyso-PAF) was observed. The deacylation activity appeared to be the same in preparations from resting or stimulated cells. No requirement for Ca2+, various nucleotides, or protein kinase activation could be demonstrated. A number of observations indicated that [3H]lyso-PAF is formed in the system by the action of the CoA-independent transacylase present in the cells rather than by phospholipase A2. Both 1-O-alkyl-2-lyso-GPC and 1-acyl-2-lyso-GPC elicited deacylation of 1-O-[3H]alkyl-2-arachidonoyl-GPC, whereas neither 3-O-alkyl-2-lyso-GPC nor 1-O-alkyl-2-O-methyl-rac-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine, which should act as detergents but are not transacylase substrates, effected deacylation. The deacylation activity and CoA-independent transacylase activities were blocked in parallel by a number of inhibitors and by heat inactivation. In preparations containing 1-O-alkyl-2-[3H]arachidonoyl-GPC, no release of free [3H]arachidonic acid was observed. However, a shift of the [3H]arachidonate into exogenous 1-O-tetradecyl-2-lyso-GPC was observed in the system. These findings are consistent with the generation of [3H]lyso-PAF by the CoA-independent transacylase activity.
Central Banks and Financial Stability: A Survey

In recent years, many central banks have increased their focus on financial stability, as evidenced for example by the growing number of financial stability reports published by central banks. This text reviews this new area of central banks' work, concentrating on central banks' role in financial stability, definition of financial stability, objectives of financial stability reports, their role in central banks' accountability, links to other central central bank responsibilities, and the overall assessments presented in these reports. It identifies the main issues and challenges in this area of central bank work.
CaMKII regulates the density of central glutamatergic synapses in vivo

Synaptic connections undergo a dynamic process of stabilization or elimination during development, and this process is thought to be critical in memory and learning and in establishing the specificity of synaptic connections1. The type II calcium- and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaMKII) has been proposed to be pivotal in regulating synaptic strength2,3,4 and in maturation of synapses during development5. Here we describe how CaMKII regulates the formation of central glutamatergic synapses in Caenorhabditis elegans. During larval development, the density of ventral nerve cord synapses containing the GLR-1 glutamate receptor is held constant despite marked changes in neurite length. The coupling of synapse number to neurite length requires both CaMKII and voltage-gated calcium channels. CaMKII regulates GLR-1 by at least two distinct mechanisms: regulating transport of GLR-1 from cell bodies to neurites; and regulating the addition or maintenance of GLR-1 to postsynaptic elements.
Injuries related to snow blowers in the United States: 2002 through 2008.

Objectives: The objective was to examine injuries related to the use of a snow blower among patients treated in an emergency department (ED). Methods: Data were obtained from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) for the years 2002-2008. National estimates of ED visits for injuries associated with the use of a snow blower were obtained, and descriptive epidemiologic characteristics assessed. Results: From 2002 through 2008, there were an estimated 32,307 ED visits for injuries related to the use of a snow blower in the United States. Older adults had a higher proportion of ED visits for such injuries than younger age groups. The majority of injuries involved injuries to the hand, with 42% of cases diagnosed with fractures and 20% resulting in amputations. Conclusions: Findings indicate that injuries from snow blowers remain a public health problem. Efforts to reduce injury incidence are discussed in accordance with inherent challenges of prevention of injuries associated with these products. Language: en
Digitized Youth: Constructing Identities in the Creative Knowledge Economy

The article elaborates on the notion of building knowledge cultures and the creative knowledge economy, referring largely to work jointly written with Michael A. Peters. It then discusses some of the recent research findings about US youths' engagement and identities in the digital world that have become available since 2007. It examines the creativity of youths and the constructive means they use to develop new identities and subjectivities that resist the worst excesses of the market while engaging and negotiating the emergent social media and developing their own hybridized sense of style in music and culture. Finally, the article looks at youth and creativity—the implications for the creative knowledge economy with this new generation of digital natives and how education might finally take an active role rather than banning children's participation.
Assessing the competitive ability of Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus

Abstract Leicht, S. A., J. A. Silander Jr., and K. Greenwood (University of Connecticut, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 75 North Eagleville Rd. U-3043, Storrs, CT 06269). Assessing the competitive ability of Japanese stilt grass, Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 132: 573–580. 2005— Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass) is an invasive grass in the eastern half of the United States which can form dense monocultures in forest understories, displacing native species. Although the loss of native species has been observed in the field, the actual competitive ability of this grass has not been examined. Microstegium vimineum was grown under controlled environment, greenhouse conditions in competition with Lolium perenne ssp. multiflorum (annual rye grass) and Muhlenbergia mexicana (Mexican muhly) in varying density ratios in full and low light treatments. Microstegium vimineum had a greater aboveground biomass, relative growth rate, and reproductive output than ...
Sperm Autoantigens and Fertilization. I. Eftects of Antisperm Autoantibodies on Rouleaux Formation, Viability, and Acrosome Reaction of Guinea Pig Spermatozoa

Fab and IgG were isolated from the sera of 1) guinea pigs immunized with their own epididymal spermatozoa or testis homogenate in complete Freund’s adjuvant, or 2) normal guinea pigs. Their effects on rouleaux formation, the viability, and the acrosomal reaction of guinea pig epididymal spermatozoa were studied in vitro. Monovalent (Fab) antibodies to epididymal spermatozoa and testis homogenate, but not Fab of normal guinea pig serum, rapidly dispersed sperm rouleaux in a dosedependent and time-dependent manner. The effect was reversed by the addition of epididymal spermatozoa and was prevented if the Fab antibody was previously absorbed with guinea pig spermatozoa but not with guinea pig spleen cells or Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Compared with spermatozoa in Fab of normal guinea pig serum, the dispersed spermatozoa were less viable, and the rate of acrosomal reaction was significantly reduced. Contrary to expectation, bivalent (IgG) antibody to epididymal spermatozoa did not agglutinate sperm rouleaux. It prevented head-to-head agglutination of sperm rouleaux and significantly prolonged sperm viability. Most significantly, the acrosome reaction was completely inhibited in the presence of 3.2 X 10’ antibody molecules (to surface antigens of guinea pig spermatozoa) per spermatozoon. The results strongly implicate 1) guinea pig sperm and testicular cell surface autoantigens in the cell adhesion phenomenon leading to rouleaux formation, and 2) guinea pig sperm surface autoantigens in the induction of capacitation and/or acrosome reaction. We further suggest that, in the guinea pig; sperm rouleaux prevent premature acrosome reaction
Investigation of thermal residual stresses in layered composite using the finite element method and X-ray diffraction

A SiC particulate-reinforced 2024Al matrix composite was fabricated using a spray atomization and codeposition process to produce a layered macrostructure. The thermal macro- and microresidual stresses that develop in this layered 2024Al/SiC composite during cooling from the codeposition temperature to ambient temperature were studied using thermoelastoplastic finite element analysis. The calculated residual stresses from finite element method were compared with those obtained from X-ray diffraction (XRD), and good agreement was observed between them. The macroresidual stress distribution was very distinct for the Al and the SiC-rich layers. The macroradial stress was tensile in the Al layers and compressive in the SiC-rich layers. The macroaxial stress was found to be compressive in the vicinity of the center region of the spray-deposited material and to have mostly a continuous distribution in the Al and the SiC-rich layers. The magnitude of the macroaxial stress was noted to decrease with increasing deposition thickness from the bottom. In addition, the spray-deposited material exhibited the highest macro-von Mises’ stress around the outer edge of the deposited material. The microradial stress was in a compressive state in the SiC particulate and in the Al matrix in the vicinity of the SiC particulate. The SiC particulate exhibited compressive microhoop stress, whereas the Al matrix exhibited tensile microhoop stress. The micro-von Mises’ stress was of the highest value at the interface between the SiC particulate and the Al matrix.