cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adverse Events After Radiofrequency Ablation in Patients With Barrett's Esophagus: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background & Aims Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with or without endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is routinely used for treatment of Barrett's esophagus with dysplasia. Despite the relative safety of this method, there have been imprecise estimates of the rate of adverse events. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the rate of adverse events associated with RFA with and without EMR. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Central through October 22, 2014. The primary outcome of interest was the overall rate of adverse events after RFA with or without EMR. We used forest plots to contrast effect sizes among studies. Results Of 1521 articles assessed, 37 met our inclusion criteria (comprising 9200 patients). The pooled rate of all adverse events from RFA with or without EMR was 8.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.5%–11.9%); 5.6% of patients developed strictures (95% CI, 4.2%–7.4%), 1% had bleeding (95% CI, 0.8%–1.3%), and 0.6% developed a perforation (95% CI, 0.4%–0.9%). In studies that compared RFA with vs without EMR, the relative risk for adverse events was significantly higher for RFA with EMR (4.4) ( P = .015). There was a trend toward higher proportions of adverse events in prospective studies compared with retrospective studies (11.3% vs 7.8%, P = .20). Other factors associated with adverse events included Barrett's esophagus and length and baseline histology. Conclusions In a systematic review and meta-analysis, we found the relative risk for adverse events from RFA to be about 4-fold higher with EMR than without; we identified factors associated with these events. Endoscopists should discuss these risks with patients before endoscopic eradication therapy.
A Comparison of Economic Impact Measurement Techniques for a Tourism Special Event

The study’s purpose was to examine and update the research methods and measurement issues associated with assessing the economic impact (EI) of an extended duration, regional tourism event. Specifically examined were the issues with the implementation of EI studies in regard to further testing and re-verifying the methods used in (1) measuring a representative sample from an information-seeking/sharing web site and social media registration and engagement lists; (2) comparing locals and nonlocals within a region using different definition techniques; (3) examining the impact of VFRs within the local markets; and (4) comparing the estimation of purchasing within versus outside an impact area. Recommendations for further analysis and implementation for EI studies and the management of tourism special events are presented.
The prognostic value of acute adrenal suppression and stimulation tests in hyperandrogenic women

A group of 106 consecutively seen hyperandrogenic women were subjected to an acute adrenal suppression and stimulation test. The results of these tests were analyzed with respect to androgen suppression achieved after chronic glucocorticoid therapy in the same patients. The data suggested that an acute dexamethasone test may identify the group of hyperandrogenic women who respond poorly to chronic glucocorticoid therapy. This group of patients were found to have elevated luteinizing hormone (LH) levels and LH/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) ratios, suggesting the possibility of an LH-related hyperandrogenism. In patients whose elevated testosterone levels were suppressed by dexamethasone, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) induced a prompt return of the testosterone levels to baseline, suggesting an ACTH-dependent hyperandrogenism. In these patients, the degree of testosterone suppression after dexamethasone was not quantitatively related to the degree of testosterone suppression after chronic glucocorticoid therapy. In all cases chronic therapy resulted in a greater suppression of androgen levels than the acute dexamethasone test. In conclusion, an acute dexamethasone suppression test appears to be of clinical value in the management of the hyperandrogenic female, particularly in identification of women who will not respond to chronic glucocorticoid suppression therapy.
A cause of right ventricular dysfunction after cardiac operations

We examined the impact of mediastinal healing on right ventricular performance in three groups of five piglets by performing gated blood pool scans in two planes to determine right ventricular ejection fraction. Animals in Group I then had sternotomy and excision of anterior pericardium. Group II animals had a similar operation plus insertion of a silicone rubber sheet as a pericardial substitute. Group III animals (controls) had no operation. Each group was followed up for 60 days, after which gated blood pool scans were repeated in a manner identical to the initial study. Experimental animals in Groups I and II were then put to death and autopsied. Adhesion formation between the right ventricle and sternum was graded on a 0 to 3 scale. Group I animals showed a significant average decline in right ventricular ejection fraction of 19.2% (p less than 0.02). Group II animals demonstrated an average decrease in ejection fraction, although not significant, of 12.2%. Groups I and II combined showed a significant average loss in ejection fraction of 15.7% (p less than 0.01). Severity of adhesions between the right ventricle and sternum correlated well with loss of right ventricular ejection fraction (p less than 0.01). Group III controls demonstrated no significant change in ejection fraction. Mediastinal healing and fibrous attachment of the right ventricle to the sternum may play a significant role in loss of right ventricular ejection fraction after cardiac operations. Variability in loss of right ventricular ejection fraction is related to intensity of the mediastinal healing process.
Public and Private Education: Conceptualizing the Distinction

Common wisdom and public discourse seem to suggest that there are two types of schools, private and public. Policy debates, media outlets, and comparisons of outcomes on standardized tests and interscholastic athletic competitions make use of the distinction. This essay argues that while such a distinction can be helpful, it also tends to obscure differences in the social organization of schools. Employing a sociological analysis and providing a historical overview of educational developments, the authors focus on centralization versus decentralization of school controls and discuss the ramifications of a broad versus a narrow market niche for schools.
Obsolescence: an architectural history

All buildings experience wear and tear and many outlive the uses for which they were originally designed. Urban areas are subject to similar forces and, in the early twentieth century, such buildin...
CRITIR: model-based reconstruction for x-ray phase contrast tomography(Conference Presentation)

X-ray phase contrast imaging provides greater contrast compared to conventional absorption contrast imaging. It has higher sensitivity in discriminating mass density difference in a sample. Therefore phase contrast imaging has broad applications in dynamic tomography in which signal-to-noise ratio is usually traded off to the desired temporal resolution. Single-distance propagation phase contrast tomography is the most popular approach at many synchrotron facilities. The simple and flexible setup facilitates complicated in situ experiments. There are few phase retrieval algorithms available for phase-contrast image data processing. All the algorithms rely on certain models. In this talk we present a phase retrieval algorithm for phase-contrast tomography that is suitable for large propagation distance under phase-attenuation duality assumption. The validity of the algorithm is proved with both simulated and experimental data. The reconstruction results with the new algorithm show improved accuracy compared to other model based algorithms. The framework of this algorithm may be extended to the scenario in which phase-attenuation assumption is not satisfied, therefore a general model-free phase retrieval approach for single-distance phase contrast tomography.
Tetracyclic dihydronaphthalene derivatives via gold-catalyzed aminative homodimerization of ortho-alkynylbenzaldehydes

Gold(I) catalyzes domino homodimerization of o-alkynylbenzaldehydes via a sequence of 6-endo-dig-cyclization, amine addition, and [4+2] cycloaddition involving two bicyclic intermediates. The resulting products integrate medicinally relevant 1,2-dihydronaphthalene and isochromene moieties into a single amine-substituted tetracyclic framework.
Dynamics and Steady-State Behavior of Self-Healing Cyber-Physical Networks in Light of Cyber-Node Delays

The interconnected nature of cyber-physical networks gives rise to numerous engineering challenges and opportunities. An important challenge is the propagation of failure from one network to another, that can lead to large-scale cascading failures. On the other hand, the \textit{self-healing} ability emerges as a valuable opportunity where the overlaying cyber network can cure failures in the underlying physical network. This paper extends an analytical framework established in a previous work to study the interaction of failure propagation and healing in cyber-physical networks. In particular, the case where propagation of failure in the physical network is faster than the healing response of the cyber network is investigated. Such scenarios are of interest in many real-life applications such as smart grid. The analysis results in a closed-form formula that captures the dynamics of failure propagation and healing in the network. In addition, it is shown that as the time goes by, the network reaches a steady state condition that would be either a complete healing or a complete collapse. Extensive numerical results are provided to verify the analysis and investigate the impact of the network parameters on the resiliency of the network. Particularly, it is shown that even small delays in cyber-nodes' response to physical failures may significantly reduce the network resiliency.
Porous polymeric materials by 3D printing of photocurable resin

Porous polymeric materials have a wide range of applications, including as tissue scaffolds, catalyst supports, and membrane filters. This paper presents a new fabrication method to prepare components of porous materials by combining 3D printing with salt leaching. Sacrificial salt particulates and photocurable resin are mixed and used as the ink. 3D objects are then printed in a customized digital light processing printer. Owing to the interconnection of salt particles in the objects, porous polymeric components can be obtained upon salt leaching. Multiple pore sizes can be achieved by using selectively sieved salt powders in the ink formula. This method is very simple to implement for different photocurable resins to create 3D porous objects with complicated shapes. It has the advantage of being self-supporting and can be used to print hollow components, especially parts exhibiting the Droste effect. Shape memory foams by using shape memory polymers and dual-pore scaffolds can also be 3D printed with potential applications in tissue engineering. In addition, the porous components can be used as a template for embedding a conductive material to obtain 3D printed objects that function as flexible conductive components or filling with a second polymer to obtain a composite with a tunable modulus.
Influence of a silicon-bearing film on the early stage oxidation of pure titanium

Oxidation of pure titanium with and without silicon-bearing thin films was investigated using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and nanoindentation to understand the initial stages of scale formation mechanisms. For pure titanium, results showed a two-layer oxide scale with dense outer and porous inner layers attributed to the simultaneous outward titanium and inward oxygen diffusion fluxes assessed through the use of a marker layer. Titanium specimens coated with Si before oxidation yielded a thinner oxide with an outer columnar scale and minimal porous inner oxide growth. These findings suggest that Si hinders oxygen transport to the oxide/metal interface, thus reducing overall oxide growth and oxygen ingress into the titanium metal substrate over short-term exposures.
Cacna1g is a genetic modifier of epilepsy in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome.

Summary Dravet syndrome, an early onset epileptic encephalopathy, is most often caused by de novo mutation of the neuronal voltage-gated sodium channel gene SCN1A. Mouse models with deletion of Scn1a recapitulate Dravet syndrome phenotypes, including spontaneous generalized tonic–clonic seizures, susceptibility to seizures induced by elevated body temperature, and elevated risk of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Importantly, the epilepsy phenotype of Dravet mouse models is highly strain-dependent, suggesting a strong influence of genetic modifiers. We previously identified Cacna1g, encoding the Cav3.1 subunit of the T-type calcium channel family, as an epilepsy modifier in the Scn2aQ54 transgenic epilepsy mouse model. In this study, we asked whether transgenic alteration of Cacna1g expression modifies severity of the Scn1a+/− Dravet phenotype. Scn1a+/− mice with decreased Cacna1g expression showed partial amelioration of disease phenotypes with improved survival and reduced spontaneous seizure frequency. However, reduced Cacna1g expression did not alter susceptibility to hyperthermia-induced seizures. Transgenic elevation of Cacna1g expression had no effect on the Scn1a+/− epilepsy phenotype. These results provide support for Cacna1g as a genetic modifier in a mouse model of Dravet syndrome and suggest that Cav3.1 may be a potential molecular target for therapeutic intervention in patients.
Submicrometer Epsilon-Near-Zero Electroabsorption Modulators Enabled by High-Mobility Cadmium Oxide

Epsilon-near-zero materials provide a new path for tailoring light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. In this paper, we analyze a compact electroabsorption modulator based on epsilon-near-zero confinement in transparent conducting oxide films. The nonresonant modulator operates through field-effect carrier density tuning. We compare the performance of modulators composed of two different conducting oxides, namely, indium oxide (In2O3 ) and cadmium oxide (CdO), and show that better modulation performance is achieved when using high-mobility (i.e., low loss) epsilon-near-zero materials such as CdO. In particular, we show that nonresonant electroabsorption modulators with submicron lengths and greater than 5 dB extinction ratios may be achieved through the proper selection of high-mobility transparent conducting oxides, opening a path for device miniaturization and increased modulation depth.
Business History, the Great Divergence and the Great Convergence

This working paper provides a business history perspective on debates about the Great Divergence, the rise of the gap in incomes between the West and the Rest, and the more recent Great Convergence, which has seen a narrowing of that gap. The literature on the timing and causes of the Great Divergence has focussed on macro analysis. This working paper identifies the potential for more engagement at the micro level of business enterprises. While recognizing that the context of institutions, education and culture play a role in explanations of wealth and poverty, the paper calls for a closer engagement with the processes how these factors translated into generating productive firms and entrepreneurs. The challenges of catching-up were sufficiently great in the Rest that initially minorities held significant advantages in capital-raising and trust levels which enabled them to flourish as entrepreneurs. Yet by the interwar years there is evidence of more general emergence of modern business enterprise in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Many governmental policies after 1945 designed to facilitate catch-up ended up crippling such emergent business enterprises without putting effective alternatives in place. The second wave of globalization from the 1980s provided more opportunities for catch up from the Rest. Firms from emerging markets had the opportunity to access the global networks which replaced large integrated firms. There were also new ways to access knowledge and capital, including through management consultancies and hiring graduates from business schools. The upshot was the rise to global prominence of firms based in the Rest, including Foxcomm, Huawei, HNA, Cemex, and TCS.
Dinner and a Movie

Scholars have shown that food is integrated into films' mise en scene and narrative design in ways that shape viewers' perception of the characters and their interactions, the social dynamics explored in a film, and the ideological perspectives conveyed by a film. Their studies of food and film viewing have revealed ways that food behaviors are components of individual negotiations with contemporary mass culture. An increased exchange between food studies and film studies has the potential to enrich both fields. Political economy scholarship in both disciplines continues to unearth information that could enhance understanding in both fields of inquiry. The foodways paradigm lends support for film scholars' work in ethnography and audience reception; the vocabulary and methods of analysis used in film studies facilitates nuanced studies of food in film.
Assessing the STEM landscape: the current instructional climate survey and the evidence-based instructional practices adoption scale

The efficacy of active learning within STEM education is clear, and many institutions are working to help faculty adopt evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) which can promote active learning. In order to know the current status of our campus regarding these goals, measures of current instructional climate and the adoption of evidence-based instructional practices (EBIPs) are desired. Using a campus-wide online survey approach with remuneration for faculty participants, the 28-item current instructional climate survey (CICS) and the 6-item EBIP adoption scale were developed. When CICS and EBIP adoption scale outcomes are compared, patterns emerge which reflect the climate, conditions, and personal characteristics of faculty at different stages of EBIP adoption. Although not causal relationships, understanding both climate and personal change characteristics can be helpful to campus change agents in assessing the current STEM landscape of faculty practices.
How will East African maize yields respond to climate change and can agricultural development mitigate this response

We analyze the response of Kenyan maize yields to near-term climate change and explore potential mitigation options. We model county level yields as a function of rainfall and temperature during a period of increased regional warming and drying (1989–2008). We then do a counter factual analysis by comparing existing maize yields from 2000 to 2008 to what yields might have been if observed warming and drying trends had not occurred. We also examine maize yields based on projected 2026–2040 climate trends. Without the observed warming and drying trends, Eastern Kenya would have had an 8% increase in maize yields, which in turn would have led to a net production increase of 500,000 metric tons. In Western Kenya, the magnitude of change is higher but the relative changes in predicted values are smaller. If warming and drying trends continue, we expect future maize yields to decline by 11% in Eastern Kenya (vs. 7% in Western Kenya). We also examine whether these future losses might be offset through agricultural development. For that analysis, we use a household panel dataset (2000, 2005) with measurements of individual farm plot yields, inputs, and outputs. We find that under a scenario of aggressive adoption of hybrid seeds and fertilizer usage coupled with warming and drying trends, yields in Western Kenya might increase by 6% while those in Eastern Kenya could increase by 14%. This increase in yields might be larger if there is a corresponding increase in usage of drought-tolerant hybrids. However, wide prediction intervals across models highlight the uncertainty in these outcomes and scenarios.
Longitudinal impact into viscoelastic media

We consider several one-dimensional impact problems involving finite or semi-infinite, linear elastic flyers that collide with and adhere to a finite stationary linear viscoelastic target backed by a semi-infinite linear elastic half-space. The impact generates a shock wave in the target which undergoes multiple reflections from the target boundaries. Laplace transforms with respect to time, together with impact boundary conditions derived in our previous work, are used to derive explicit closed-form solutions for the stress and particle velocity in the Laplace transform domain at any point in the target. For several stress relaxation functions of the Wiechert (Prony series) type, a modified Dubner–Abate–Crump algorithm is used to numerically invert those solutions to the time domain. These solutions are compared with numerical solutions obtained using both a finite-difference method and the commercial finite element code, COMSOL Multiphysics. The final value theorem for Laplace transforms is used to derive new explicit analytical expressions for the long-time asymptotes of the stress and velocity in viscoelastic targets; these results are useful for the verification of viscoelastic impact simulations taken to long observation times.
Computerized Clinical Decision Support for Patients with Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is present in approximately 23 % of the 24 million Americans with diabetes. In order to prevent end stage renal disease and decrease mortality in this population, the American Diabetes Association and the National Kidney Foundation have published clear evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of these patients. Despite these guidelines, patients with diabetes and CKD remain undertreated. In this chapter we will examine existing deficiencies in the treatment of patients with diabetes and CKD. We will then review recent efforts to use computerized clinical decision support to augment the treatment of these patients. Finally, we will describe characteristics of an optimal computerized clinical decision support system to treat patients with diabetes and CKD.
The Trust Res and Donative Intent

This Article examines the way in which courts have treated the requirement that a trust have as its subject a definite or ascertainable interest in property, that is, a res. In numerous instances, donors attempt to create relationships that resemble private express trusts, but inadvertently fail to specify precisely what property is to be held by the trustee. In such instances, the donor’s failure to delineate precisely the property which is to be held in trust makes it difficult to define either the beneficiary’s rights or the trustee’s duties, and yet the settlor’s donative intent, and the objects of that intent, may be quite clear. Even when that intent is clear, courts often hold that the alleged trusts fail for want of a res. Under these holdings, the requirement that a trust have a res operates as a covert formality analogous to the execution formalities required for wills and the delivery formality required for inter vivos gifts. This Article argues that the res requirement ought not to be treated as a formality because such treatment may defeat donative intent without addressing or furthering any of the legitimate concerns that arise in determining whether or not a trust has been created. Part I describes the res requirement and its potential for defeating clear donative intent. Part II sets forth the rationales which have been offered to explain the res requirement and argues that none of them convincingly justifies the requirement. Part III identifies a set of "core" concerns that arise in disputes over whether a trust has been created, and outlines a new approach to applying the res requirement -- an approach that truly takes those concerns into account.
The Use of Case Studies in Library Administration Courses and Work: Student and Practitioner Perceptions and Insights

The findings summarized in this paper illustrate both the benefits and shortcomings to the use of case studies in library education. Some implications for both library science students and practicing librarians are considered.
Early uplift in Tibet

The Tibetan Plateau was raised by the collision of India and Asia. Scientists often speak of it as if describing a piston that has risen as a single unit 20 million years ago, but now there are signs that the relatively unexplored northeastern part of the plateau was uplifted 15 million years earlier, perhaps contributing to global cooling at the time.
The strategic value of advertising expenditures in the tourism and hospitality industry

The purpose of this study is to investigate the strategic value of advertising expenditures in the tourism and hospitality industry. Adopting a market-based valuation approach and longitudinal anal...
Vehicular FSO Communication Systems Applying Real-time Recognition and Tracking

Free-space optical (FSO) communication has drawn significant interest from automobile industries because of its complementary advantages compared to radio frequency (RF). If the transceivers can be tracked under vehicular environments, the performance of FSO communication will be enhanced to a large extent. Hence, we labeled the transceiver on the vehicle by a specific marker and track it. In this paper, we are presenting the demonstration of a vehicular FSO communication system which has a small field-of-view (FOV) and tracks the transceiver applying real-time recognition and tracking.
The Microbiome Stress Project: Toward a Global Meta-Analysis of Environmental Stressors and Their Effects on Microbial Communities

Microbial community structure is highly sensitive to natural (e.g., drought, temperature, fire) and anthropogenic (e.g., heavy metal exposure, land-use change) stressors. However, despite an immense amount of data generated, systematic, cross-environment analyses of microbiome responses to multiple disturbances are lacking. Here, we present the Microbiome Stress Project, an open-access database of environmental and host-associated 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing studies collected to facilitate cross-study analyses of microbiome responses to stressors. This database will comprise published and unpublished datasets re-processed from the raw sequences into exact sequence variants using our standardized computational pipeline. Our database will provide insight into general response patterns of microbiome diversity, structure, and stability to environmental stressors. It will also enable the identification of cross-study associations between single or multiple stressors and specific microbial clades. Here, we present a proof-of-concept meta-analysis of 606 microbiomes (from nine studies) to assess microbial community responses to: (1) one stressor in one environment: soil warming across a variety of soil types, (2) a range of stressors in one environment: soil microbiome responses to a comprehensive set of stressors (incl. temperature, diesel, antibiotics, land use change, drought, and heavy metals), (3) one stressor across a range of environments: copper exposure effects on soil, sediment, activated-sludge reactors, and gut environments, and (4) the general trends of microbiome stressor responses. Overall, we found that stressor exposure significantly decreases microbiome alpha diversity and increases beta diversity (community dispersion) across a range of environments and stressor types. We observed a hump-shaped relationship between microbial community resistance to stressors (i.e., the average pairwise similarity score between the control and stressed communities) and alpha diversity. We used Phylofactor to identify microbial clades and individual taxa as potential bioindicators of copper contamination across different environments. Using standardized computational and statistical methods, the Microbiome Stress Project will leverage thousands of existing datasets to build a general framework for how microbial communities respond to environmental stress.
A Flawed Framework: Why the Liberal International Order Concept Is Misguided

Well before President Donald Trump began rhetorically attacking U.S. allies and the open international trading system, policy analysts worried about challenges to the liberal international order (L...
Nasal decolonization: What antimicrobials are most effective prior to surgery?

Background Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common health care–associated infections. Staphylococcus aureus remains the most common etiologic agent causing SSIs. Studies confirm S aureus carriage increases the risk of S aureus SSIs. The purpose of this article is to review the strategies to reduce SSIs due to S aureus focusing on nasal decolonization. Results Published studies indicate screening patients for S aureus nasal carriage and decolonizing carriers during the preoperative period decreases the risk of S aureus SSIs in cardiac and orthopedic surgery. Mupirocin remains the best topical agent at eradicating nasal S aureus however, concerns over resistance have led to development of alternative agents. Nasal povidone-iodine, alcohol-based nasal antiseptic, and photodynamic therapy are promising new interventions, but more studies are needed. Conclusions Short term nasal mupirocin is still the most studied and effective topical agent in eradicating S aureus nasal colonization. However, increasing mupirocin resistance remains an ongoing concern and newer agents are needed. Currently, preoperative S aureus decolonization often uses combination chlorhexidine gluconate bathing and nasal mupirocin considering that colonization of multiple body sites is commonly seen.
Measurement of Post-Shock Temperatures in Aluminum and Stainless Steel

Until recently experimental measurements of post-impact temperatures have been obtained only for metals at high pressures [1,2]. Our aim has been to develop a technique for measuring post-shock temperatures in a variety of materials, including metals and silicates, at pressures in the range of 5 to 50 GPa, providing further insight into the shock process in these substances and additional constraints to available equation of state data. This paper describes the method we have developed, and its application to the determination of post-shock temperatures in aluminum-2024 and stainless steel-304.
Thrifty science: making the most of materials in the history of experiment

The history of science in early modern Europe is an expansive discipline given that modern conceptions of science did not begin to emerge until the Victorian era. It encompasses natural knowledge m...
Erosion and deposition

To paraphrase American artist Robert Smithson (1968): ‘The strata of cities are jumbled museums.’1All places begin with hope. Then time kicks in. At the building scale, Mohsen Mostafavi and David L...
The Legal Void of Unpaid Internships: Navigating the Legality of Internships in the Face of Conflicting Tests Interpreting the FLSA Note

Unpaid internships have come under increased scrutiny for their potential illegality under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Due to the limited case law and statutory guidance regarding interns, lower courts have issued conflicting opinions on the proper analysis to engage in to determine whether interns are considered “employees” under federal law. Such conflicting judicial interpretation is detrimental to both employers and interns. A bright line rule for determining when an intern qualifies as an employee under the FLSA is critical to settling the uncertainty in this area of law.
Abstract 2732: NLRP12 suppresses colorectal cancer progression and invasion via downregulation of the Wnt/b-catenin pathway

Metastatic CRC is associated with increased mortality, underscoring the importance of understanding the molecular mechanism of CRC invasion and metastasis. We recently demonstrated that mice deficient in NLRP12, an innate immune sensor, are susceptible to CRC with increased incidence of invasive adenocarcinoma. Here, we investigated the molecular mechanism of NLRP12-mediated suppression of cancer progression and invasion using mouse models and in vitro biochemical studies. Nlrp12−/− mice treated with azoxymethane plus dextran sodium sulfate developed higher tumor burden and invasive adenocarcinoma compared to WT mice. RNA-seq analysis showed significantly higher levels of protooncogenes, matrix metalloproteinases (Mmp 3, 7,8, 10, 12), and epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers (Vim, Fn1, Foxc2, Zeb2, Ezh2) in Nlrp12−/− tumors. To understand the underlying mechanism of increased expression of cancer promoting genes in Nlrp12−/− tumors, we analyzed activation of various cell signaling pathways. To our surprise, there was no major difference in the activation NF-κB, ERK, JNK, and STAT3, which have previously been shown to be downregulated by NLRP12, between WT and Nlrp12−/- tumors. However, we observed strikingly higher levels of β-catenin and expression of Wnt target genes (Ctnnb1, Axin2, Yap1, Tcf3, Lgr5, etc.) in Nlrp12−/− tumors. Consistently, deletion of NLRP12 in APCmin/+ mice led to higher polyp development and activation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Notably, hyperactivation of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is a hallmark of CRC and about 80% of CRC patients carry mutations in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. To further explore the link between NLRP12 and the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, we overexpressed NLRP12 in HEK293T cells and CRC cell line MC38. NLRP12-overexpressed cells showed reduced activation of β-catenin and expression of Wnt target genes following stimulation with Wnt3a. An opposite result was observed when NLRP12 was knocked out from these cell lines. Consistently, Nlrp12-KO MC38 cells exhibited increased proliferation, colony formation, and migration. These data for the first time demonstrate that NLRP12 is an intrinsic negative regulator of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Overall, these findings reveal a novel CRC suppression pathway involving NLRP12 and suggest that the NLRP12/β-catenin signaling axis could be therapeutically targeted for the treatment of CRC invasion and metastasis. Citation Format: Shahanshah Khan, Hasan Zaki. NLRP12 suppresses colorectal cancer progression and invasion via downregulation of the Wnt/b-catenin pathway [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 2732.
Data Analysis Methods Applied in the Antarctic Atlas

Between the collection of raw altimeter data by the ERS-1 satellite and the presentation of maps showing surface elevation of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, there are many steps of data corrections and data processing, carried out by several groups of people at different institutions. Principles and methods of these corrections, processing and analysis algorithms are introduced in this chapter, in the order in which they are applied. Emphasis is placed on the context of each step and its necessity for creation of maps of the Antarctic ice surface, more than on presentation of the specifics of the algorithms.
IgG4-Related Disease of the Skull and Skull Base-A Systematic Review and Report of Two Cases.

Objective IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an inflammatory process that uncommonly can present in the skull base and calvarium and mimic a tumor but the nature of this condition is not well summarized in the neurosurgical literature. Methods A review was performed of 2 cases of IgG4-RD in the skull base highlighting the diagnostic challenges with assessment of these skull base lesions, and a systematic review of relevant literature was carried out. Results A systematic review of the literature conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines identified 113 articles, with 184 cases of IgG4-RD in the skull base or calvarium. The most commonly affected locations include the meninges, cavernous sinus, base of the posterior fossa, clivus, and mastoid bone. Headache, visual and auditory disturbances, cranial nerve dysfunction, and seizures were the most common presenting symptoms. Medical treatment was highly successful and most commonly consisted of corticosteroids coadministered with immunosuppressive agents such as rituximab. Prevalence seemed to be equal between sexes, and serum IgG4 levels were increased in 61% of patients. Delayed diagnosis and a need for multiple biopsies were reported in numerous cases. Two cases of skull base IgG4-RD from the authors' institution show the variable presentations of this disease. More invasive surgical biopsies were required in both cases, and corticosteroid treatment led to significant clinical improvement. Conclusions IgG4-RD is an uncommon condition with an increasing body of reported cases that can affect the skull base and calvarium and should be in the differential diagnosis, because delay in diagnosis and treatment may be common.
CircTLK1 modulates sepsis-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis via enhancing PARP1/HMGB1 axis-mediated mitochondrial DNA damage by sponging miR-17-5p.

Introduction Septic cardiomyopathy is a common complication of sepsis with high morbidity and mortality, but lacks specific therapy. This study aimed to reveal the role of circTLK1 and its potential mechanisms in septic cardiomyopathy. Materials and methods The in vitro and in vivo models of septic cardiomyopathy were established. Cell viability and apoptosis were detected by CCK8, TUNEL and flow cytometry, respectively. LDH, CK, SOD, MDA, ATP, 8-OHdG, NAD+/NADH ratio, ROS level, mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome C distribution were evaluated using commercial kits. qRT-PCR and western blotting were performed to detect RNA and protein levels. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number and transcription were assessed by quantitative PCR. Dual-luciferase assay, RNA immunoprecipitation and co-immunoprecipitation were performed to verify the interaction between circTLK1/PARP1 and miR-17-5p. Results CircTLK1, PARP1 and HMGB1 were up-regulated in the in vitro and in vivo models of septic cardiomyopathy. CircTLK1 inhibition restrained LPS-induced up-regulation of PARP1 and HMGB1. Moreover, circTLK1 knockdown repressed sepsis-induced mtDNA oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and consequent cardiomyocyte apoptosis by inhibiting PARP1/HMGB1 axis in vitro and in vivo. In addition, circTLK1 enhanced PARP1 expression via sponging miR-17-5p. Inhibition of miR-17-5p abolished the protective effects of circTLK1 silencing on oxidative mtDNA damage and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Conclusion CircTLK1 sponged miR-17-5p to aggravate mtDNA oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiomyocyte apoptosis via activating PARP1/HMGB1 axis during sepsis, indicating that circTLK1 may be a putative therapeutic target for septic cardiomyopathy.
Full-Resolution Two-Color Infrared Detector

We discuss thinned InAsSb resonant infrared detectors that are designed to enable high quantum efficiency by using interleaved nanoantennas to read out two wavelengths from each pixel simultaneously.
Certification of Local Laboratories Analyzing Drinking Water in Nonprimacy States

This paper discusses the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) certification procedures for certifying local laboratories analyzing drinking water for compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act. A local laboratory is defined as a nonprincipal state laboratory and may include state, county, municipal, federal, or commercial laboratories. The EPA certification program has recently been updated and clarified in the 1983 edition of the EPA certification manual. Critical elements for certification in chemistry, microbiology, and radiochemistry have been revised and include the preparation of a quality assurance (QA) plan. Requirements to maintain certification as well as criteria and procedures for downgrading a laboratory's certification status are described in the manual. Technical services to be provided by EPA have been expanded. The paper briefly describes the certification program, changes that are incorporated in the new manual that will affect the certification of local laboratories, and potential future changes. 5 references, 4 tables.
Abstract 18343: Antisynthetase Syndrome-Associated Myocarditis

Background: The antisynthetase (AS) syndrome is characterized by fever, non-erosive arthritis, inflammatory myopathy, interstitial lung disease, cutaneous involvement, and antibody specificity. Cardiac involvement is extremely rare; we present one of two cases of AS syndrome-associated myocarditis from our institution. Clinical Case: A 51 year old woman with history of inflammatory arthritis and hypothyroidism presented with 6 months of increasing fatigue, bilateral proximal muscle weakness, leg edema, dyspnea, and orthopnea. Physical examination revealed a Caucasian woman, markedly dyspneic while speaking, with signs of acute decompensated heart failure (HF) including elevated jugular venous pulse, bilateral rales, S3 gallop, and massive peripheral edema with bilateral proximal upper and lower extremity weakness. Diagnostic Testing: Her muscle weakness was concerning for myopathy along with new HF symptoms. Laboratory studies revealed elevations of serum creatine kinase, aldolase, and cardiac troponin I....
THE USE OF BENZEDRINE SULFATE IN OBESITY

Excerpt Recent studies have led to the conclusion that a continuous gain in weight resulting in obesity is caused by eating more than is needed for growth, maintenance and energy requirements. In t...
Forgetting bad behavior: memory for case-based navigation

In this paper, we present successful strategies for forgetting cases in a case-based reasoning (CBR) system applied to autonomous robot navigation. This extends previous work that involved a CBR architecture, which indexes cases by the spatio-temporal characteristics of the sensor data, and outputs or selects parameters of behaviors in a behavior-based robot architecture. In such a system, the removal of cases can be applied when a new situation unlike any current case in the library is encountered, but the library is full. Various strategies of determining which cases to remove are proposed, including metrics such as how frequently a case is used and a novel spreading activation mechanism. Experimental results show that such mechanisms can increase the performance of the system significantly and allow it to essentially forget old environments in which it was trained in favor of new environments it is currently encountering. The performance of this new system is better than both a purely reactive behavior-based system as well as the CBR module that did not forget cases. Furthermore, such forgetting mechanisms can be useful even when there is no major environmental shift during training, since some cases can potentially be harmful or rarely used. The relationship between the forgetting mechanism and the case library size is also discussed.
Lean and Green? Exploring the Spillovers from Lean Production to Environmental Performance

Lean production may have a significant public good spillover – improved environmental performance (Florida, 1996; Hart, 1997). However, empirical evidence of the link between lean production practices and environmental performance has not resolved the nature of the relationship. To explore this issue, we conduct an empirical analysis of the environmental performance of 17,499 U.S. manufacturing establishments during the time period 1991-1996. We find that those establishments that adopt the quality management standard ISO 9000 are more likely to adopt the environmental management standard ISO 14000. We also find strong evidence that lean production, as measured by ISO 9000 adoption and low chemical inventories, is complementary to waste reduction and pollution reduction.
Cheap labor can be expensive

We study markets in which consumers are trying to hire a team of agents to perform a complex task. Each agent in the market prices their labor, and based on these prices, consumers hire the cheapest available team capable of doing the job they need done. We define the cheap labor cost in such a market as the ratio of the best Nash equilibrium of the original market and the best possible Nash equilibrium of any of its submarkets, where "best" is defined with respect to consumers, i.e., we are looking at Nash equilibria in which the consumer pays the least. This definition is motivated by a "Braess-style" paradox: in certain kinds of marketplaces, competition, in the form of the availability of "cheap labor", can actually cause the prices paid by consumers to go up.We present tight bounds on the cheap labor cost for a variety of markets including s-t path markets, matroid markets and perfect bipartite matching markets. The differences in cheap labor cost across markets demonstrate the complex relationship between the combinatorial structure of the marketplace and the advantages or more precisely, disadvantages to consumers due to competition.
Apical movement during interkinetic nuclear migration is a two-step process

Neural progenitor cells in the pseudostratified neuroepithelium in vertebrates undergo interkinetic nuclear migration, which results in mitotic cells localized to the apical surface. Interphase nuclei are distributed throughout the rest of the epithelium. How mitosis is coordinated with nuclear movement is unknown, and the mechanism by which the nucleus migrates apically is controversial. Using time-lapse confocal microscopy, we show that nuclei migrate apically in G2 phase via microtubules. However, late in G2, centrosomes leave the apical surface after cilia are disassembled, and mitosis initiates away from the apical surface. The mitotic cell then rounds up to the apical surface, which is an actin-dependent process. This behavior is observed in both chicken neural-tube-slice preparations and in mouse cortical slices, and therefore is likely to be a general feature of interkinetic nuclear migration. We propose a new model for interkinetic nuclear migration in which actin and microtubules are used to position the mitotic cell at the apical surface.
Serving the State: Constitutionalism and Social Spending, 1860s‐1920s

In the 19th century, courts supervised states’ social spending by limiting taxation to public purposes. The focus of this article is the courts’ approach to pensions. Under a 19th-century doctrine, states could pay money to those who had served the state or, under the rubric of charity, to those who were the indigent helpless. States first paid pensions to people for military service and for serving as firemen; later in the century, the doctrine from these cases provided a framework for expanding civil service pensions as states expanded their civil service. Courts characterized the earlier pensions as earned because the service had been dangerous, requiring bravery from men and possibly leaving helpless women and children without protection. This characterization later shaped evaluations of civil service pensions. The doctrine persisted as states enacted pensions for widowed mothers; when these pensions were challenged in state courts, the courts approved of them as payments to helpless people, not as rewards to those who had served. This characterization counters recent scholarship that argues that mothers’ pensions rewarded service as military pensions did.