cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intracellular sodium modulates the state of protein kinase C phosphorylation of rat proximal tubule Na+,K+‐ATPase

The natriuretic hormone dopamine and the antinatriuretic hormone noradrenaline, acting on alpha-adrenergic receptors, have been shown to bidirectionally modulate the activity of renal tubular Na+,K+-adenosine triphosphate (ATPase). Here we have examined whether intracellular sodium concentration influences the effects of these bidirectional forces on the state of phosphorylation of Na+,K+-ATPase. Proximal tubules dissected from rat kidney were incubated with dopamine or the alpha-adrenergic agonist, oxymetazoline, and transiently permeabilized in a medium where sodium concentration ranged between 5 and 70 mM. The variations of sodium concentration in the medium had a proportional effect on intracellular sodium. Dopamine and protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylate the catalytic subunit of rat Na+,K+-ATPase on the Ser23 residue. The level of PKC induced Na+,K+-ATPase phosphorylation was determined using an antibody that only recognizes Na+,K+-ATPase, which is not phosphorylated on its PKC site. Under basal conditions Na+,K+-ATPase was predominantly in its phosphorylated state. When intracellular sodium was increased, Na+,K+-ATPase was predominantly in its dephosphorylated state. Phosphorylation of Na+,K+-ATPase by dopamine was most pronounced when intracellular sodium was high, and dephosphorylation by oxymetazoline was most pronounced when intracellular sodium was low. The oxymetazoline effect was mimicked by the calcium ionophore A23187. An inhibitor of the calcium-dependent protein phosphatase, calcineurin, increased the state of Na+,K+-ATPase phosphorylation. The results imply that phosphorylation of renal Na+,K+-ATPase activity is modulated by the level of intracellular sodium and that this effect involves PKC and calcium signalling pathways. The findings may have implication for the regulation of salt excretion and sodium homeostasis.
Caesarean delivery for twin gestation at 32–38 weeks does not lead to improved clinical outcomes for neonates or mothers

Commentary on: Barrett JF, Hannah ME, Hutton EK, et al. A randomised trial of planned cesarean or vaginal delivery for twin pregnancy. NEJM 2013;369:1295–305.[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3][Web of Science][4] Use of caesarean delivery (CD) for twin gestation has increased dramatically worldwide in recent years.1 ,2 Although some observational studies have suggested that there may be decreased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes with CD, clear benefits of routine CD for twin gestation have not been established, especially when the primary provider is experienced in breech extraction of the second twin.3 This large multicentre trial aimed to avoid the biases of observational studies in order to answer the question of optimal delivery mode for twin gestation. This was a randomised, unblinded clinical trial occurring at 106 centres in 25 countries from 2003 to 2011. Inclusion criteria … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DNEJM%26rft.volume%253D369%26rft.spage%253D1295%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1056%252FNEJMoa1214939%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F24088091%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1056/NEJMoa1214939&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=24088091&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F19%2F3%2F119.atom [4]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=000325111200007&link_type=ISI
Transient visual obscurations with elevated optic discs

The pathogenesis of the transient obscurations of vision that occur with papilledema is a subject of speculation and debate. We present four examples of transient obscurations of vision that were clinically indistinguishable from those of papilledema; they occurred in patients with elevated optic discs from causes not related to increased intracranial pressure. The underlying mechanism for visual obscurations in all of these patients appear to be transient ischemia of the optic nerve head consequent to increased tissue pressure. Axonal swelling, intraneural masses, and increased influx of interstitial fluid may all contribute to increases in tissue pressure in the optic nerve head. The consequent reduction in perfusion pressure renders the small, low-pressure vessels that supply the optic nerve head vulnerable to compromise. Brief fluctuations in intracranial or systemic blood pressure may then result in transient loss of function in the eyes. We postulate that such mechanisms may apply in all cases of optic disc elevation, including papilledema.
Earthquake ground motion prediction using the ambient seismic field

[1] The waves generated by faulting represent the primary threat posed by most large earthquakes. The effect of complex geological structures, such as sedimentary basins, on earthquake ground motion is a source of particular concern. We show that it is possible to extract reliable phase and amplitude response that includes the effects of complex structure for the elastodynamic Green's function from the ambient seismic field using deconvolution. We demonstrate the accuracy of the approach by predicting complex ground motion for a moderate (Mw = 4.6) earthquake in southern California as recorded in the Los Angeles Basin. This suggests a novel approach to seismic hazard analysis in which ground motion from hypothetical future earthquakes is simulated directly, without the need for modeling the detailed heterogeneity of the Earth's crust as an intermediate step.
Legitimating the environmental injustices of war: toxic exposures and media silence in Iraq and Afghanistan

AbstractDuring the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the US Department of Defense burned the majority of its solid waste in open-air pits or trenches, producing large amounts of potentially hazardous emissions. While journalists have covered stories of US service members who link their illnesses to these fumes, they have almost entirely ignored potential civilian impacts. However, satellite images demonstrate that pollution from open-air trash burning on US bases could not have impacted US personnel without also harming Iraqi and Afghan civilians living near bases, indicating that burn-pit pollution is an important, if unacknowledged, environmental justice issue. Content analysis of news articles shows the extent to which civilian impacts have been left out of mainstream US media reporting on burn-pit pollution. This selective attention is symptomatic of the way military violence is legitimated, which involves a complicit news media that typically overlooks the humanitarian impacts of war.
Experimental Investigation of Residual Stresses in Water and Air Quenched Aluminum Alloy Castings

Cast aluminum alloys are usually subject to heat treatment including quenching for improved mechanical properties. A significant amount of residual stresses can be developed in aluminum castings during heat treatment. This paper investigates experimentally residual stress differences between water quenched aluminum castings and air quenched ones. The residual stresses in aluminum castings were measured mainly using resistance strain rosettes hole-drilling method. Other measured methods such as Interferometric Strain/Slope Rosette (ISSR), X-ray diffraction method and neutron diffraction method were also applied in this investigation. In comparison with water quenching, air quenching significantly reduces the residual stresses.
Culture, health, and bigotry: How exposure to cultural accounts of fatness shape attitudes about health risk, health policies, and weight-based prejudice

Abstract Rationale We conducted three experiments to examine how cultural frames shape attitudes about health, focusing on obesity, which is considered a public health crisis and is imbued with symbolic meaning. Methods College students ( N s = 99, 114, and 293) read news articles that presented high body weight according to one or more of the following frames: 1) public health crisis; 2) personal responsibility; 3) health at every size (HAES); or 4) fat rights. Results Compared to people who read the HAES and Fat Rights articles, those who read the Public Health Crisis and Personal Responsibility articles expressed more belief in the health risks of being fat ( d s = 1.28 to 1.79), belief that fat people should pay more for insurance ( d s = 0.53 to 0.71), anti-fat prejudice ( d s = 0.61 to 0.69), willingness to discriminate against fat people ( d s = 0.41 to 0.59), and less willingness to celebrate body-size diversity ( d s = 0.77 to 1.07). They were less willing to say women at the lower end of the obese range could be healthy. Exposure to these articles increased support for price-raising policies to curb obesity but not support for redistributive or compensatory policies. In Experiment 3, in comparison to a control condition, exposure to HAES or Fat Rights frames significantly reduced beliefs in the risks of obesity and support for charging fat people more for insurance. However, only people exposed to the Fat Rights frame expressed fewer anti-fat attitudes and more willingness to celebrate body-size diversity. Conclusions Our findings suggest that simply disseminating information that people can be both fat and healthy will not suffice to reduce prejudice. Given that anti-fat stigma is a health risk and barrier to collective solidarity, fat rights viewpoints can buffer against the negative consequences of anti-fat stigma and promote a culture of health by fostering empathy and social justice.
Aqueduct Capacity Under an Optimum Benefit Policy

Aqueducts are often designed to serve a number of geographic districts located in sequence along the supply line. The beneficial returns (however they are to be defined) will not, in general, be the same from district to district and will be non proportional functions of the quantity of water to be delivered. If the available supply of water will be less than the maximum demand, there exists the problem of determining the best allocation of water to the various districts. This question presents a very large number of alternatives, incapable of solution by direct comparison even with high speed digital computing machinery. In this paper a method of solving this problem using dynamic programming as an optimization device is presented. Because of the characteristics of dynamic programming, the individual allocations are obtained as a function of the total supply which might be made available at the head of the aqueduct. The total net beneficial return is also a function of the total supply. Thus, except for intangibles, the merits of increasing or decreasing the supply for this aqueduct as compared to other potential uses can be directly determined.
Clinical assessment of HD-PET reconstruction in oncology PET imaging

2518 Objectives Iterative PET image reconstruction modeling the camera response offers the advantage of improving the spatial resolution while maintaining image noise. As such algorithms are becoming more widely used, in this study we evaluate the clinical applicability of such algorithms for lesion detectability and SUV measurements Methods PET/CT studies in 10 oncologic subjects consisting of 6 females and 4 males with an average age of 57.2 years (18F-FDG in 9 and 64Cu-ATSM in 1) previously performed on a Biograph-40 PET/CT scanner were retrieved and reconstructed with 3D-OSEM (2 iterations/ 8 subsets - 5 mm Gaussian post-reconstruction filter and using HD PET reconstruction ( 2 iterations, 21 subsets, 2 mm Gaussian post-reconstruction filter). The images were evaluated by two blinded experienced nuclear medicine physicians and image quality was evaluated for the confidence in detecting lesions and the lesion’s maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) value was measured. In addition, the average SUV (SUVaverg) values of the liver and blood pool were measured and recorded in both sets of images. Results For the oncology patients, a total of 24 tumor foci were identified and those were better identified in 67% of the cases (scores of 60% and 73%, respectively for each reader) with HD PET. Peak tumor SUV values were in average 29% higher with HD PET reconstruction relative to the non-HD reconstruction. Liver SUVaverage values were not significantly different between HD and non-HD (HD = 2.45 ± 0.41 and non-HD = 2.29 ± 0.25, p Conclusions HD PET image reconstruction showed better lesion detectability and increased SUVmax in the majority of the lesions studied which leads to improved diagnostic accuracy and greater confidence in lesion detectability. Research Support Department of Radiology, Washington University and Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.
Abstract 5286: A genetic selection system for microRNA targets identification and validation.

Overwhelming evidence has indicated that microRNAs can play a fundamental role in regulation of diverse cellular functions and dysregulation of microRNA expression could lead to a variety of disorders including human cancer. Although significant progress has been made in the past years in discovery of microRNAs and their biogenesis, and their role in many cellular phenotypes, it is not fully understood how microRNAs exert their cellular functions because a single microRNA can have hundreds of targets. Hence, identification of microRNA targets is a critical step toward understanding of molecular mechanisms of microRNA-mediated gene expression in normal and disease processes. Here we reported a selection system for microRNA target identification and validation. We used Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system to generate selection vectors. The first generation of SB-based vector is named pSSMT-5/6 which carries tetO-EF1a promoter driving GFP/or mCherry-T2A-Pu and tetR-Krab under CMV promoter. We examined the feasibility of these new constructs in 293T and HeLa cells. Using GFP or m-Cherry along with Pu (puromycin resistance) as a reporter, we found that the construct carrying either a given UTR or microRNA sponge provides a significant selection advantage over the vector alone. For example, we cloned 6 different UTRs into the construct and identified 3 of them, CDH1, p53 and p27, revealed stronger mCherry signals and are more resistant to puromycin. Thus, we will test our microRNA library to identify microRNAs capable of targeting these genes (i.e., one known UTR construct against the microRNA library). Together, these results suggest that this system provides proof of principle. In the future, we will generate a UTR library so that we will be able to test for an individual microRNA against the UTR library to identify its biologically relevant targets. Citation Format: Nanjiang Zhou, Yin-Yuan Mo. A genetic selection system for microRNA targets identification and validation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5286. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-5286
218 PRESERVING LYMPHOCYTE RIBONUCLEIC ACID FOR ANALYSIS AND TRANSPORT FROM WHOLE BLOOD IN RURAL AREAS.

Background Preservation of human ribonucleic acid (RNA) from whole blood samples in rural areas with very few resources has previously been very difficult and/or expensive. This has limited clinical research trials in third world countries and distant rural areas in developed countries. The major drawback to being able to study these populations is the difficulty in transporting blood samples while maintaining the integrity and preventing degradation of the lymphocytes, DNA, protein, and RNA. Of these, RNA is the most difficult and expensive to preserve. Objective To develop an inexpensive, simple, and reliable method to collect and preserve high-quality RNA from whole blood lymphocytes for prolonged transport. Methods Blood was collected from young adult rats and treated four different ways. For the first method, blood was placed in an equal volume of RNAlater® and frozen in dry ice and then placed in −80°C for 1 week. This was then thawed on ice and processed. The second method used an equal volume of RNAlater® but was not frozen. The third method was diluted with an equal volume of water before processing. In the fourth method, fresh, undiluted blood was used. RNA was isolated with Trizol® LS immediately after collection or thawing. cDNA was then synthesized from this RNA. An RT-PCR was then run using the housekeeping gene GAPDH. Results The sample that had the highest expression was the untreated and undiluted whole blood sample at an average of 22.57 Ct. The second highest expression was the blood that was treated with RNAlater® and frozen for 1 week. This expressed at an average of 25.03 or 2.5 cycles later. The next highest expression was the blood diluted with water. The Ct value for it was an average of 30.89 or 8 cycles after the untreated blood. The fourth sample expressed at an average of 32.92 or over 10 cycles beyond the untreated blood. Conclusion We have successfully developed a simple, inexpensive, and reliable method of collection and stabilization of high-quality RNA from whole blood lymphocytes for transport and later experimental use. This preservation of RNA, when compared with fresh blood treated with RNAlater® or diluted with water, is expressed almost as highly as untreated or undiluted blood. We speculate that this procedure will greatly enhance the ability to study lymphocyte RNA in third world and rural area populations.
Pharmacotherapy for recently evacuated military casualties

In late 1990 during the massive Operation Desert Shield/Storm (ODS) deployment of United Nations troops, the VA/DoD Joint Contingency Plan was activated. Worst case scenarios projected tens of thousands of medical evacuees from the Persian Gulf and predicted that U.S. Military Communication Zone and CONUS bed capacity would quickly be saturated. As a result, a massive educational program was rapidly implemented to prepare 80 VA hospitals to receive ODS personnel within 1-3 weeks of their evacuation from battalion aid stations or other front-echelon medical facilities. This article was written as part of this educational effort. Noting that there were no published articles on pharmacotherapy for recently evacuated military casualties, the authors wrote the present manuscript for inclusion in the ODS Clinical Packet prepared by the VA's National Center for PTSD and circulated to VA mental health professionals. Since the published literature still lacks an article on this subject and since we believe that our comments on pharmacotherapy apply to survivors of most acute traumatic events, we present our observations and recommendations with the hope that they may be useful to military, VA, and civilian practitioners.
Typology and credibility of Internet health websites originating from Gulf Cooperation Council countries

The quality of information available on health websites in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has not been comprehensively assessed. From November to December 2012 we retrieved all functional health-related websites (n = 925) originating in GCC countries. Data on authorship, language, date, information content and type of site were recorded. A novel website checklist was developed based on the credibility and trust criteria of the Internet assessment organization Health On the Net Foundation (HON). Only 5 sites (0.5%) fulfilled all checklist categories. All websites except one were in English or Arabic languages. Only 10.1% of websites posted a privacy policy, 2.7% stated the authorship of information, 51.0% disclosed website ownership, 80.6% provided contact details and 58.5% dated information. Only 1.7% reported their advertising policy and 23.5% revealed sponsorships. GCC health website owners should consider working with the HON or similar organizations to meet internationally recognized credibility criteria.
Epimicrobiota Associated with the Decay and Recovery of Orbicella Corals Exhibiting Dark Spot Syndrome.

Dark Spot Syndrome (DSS) is one of the most common diseases of boulder corals in the Caribbean. It presents as sunken brown lesions in coral tissue, which can spread quickly over coral colonies. With this study, we tested the hypothesis that similar to other coral diseases, DSS is a dysbiosis characterized by global shifts in the coral microbiome. Because Black Band Disease (BBD) was sometimes found following DSS lesions, we also tested the hypothesis that DSS is a precursor of BBD. To track disease initiation and progression 24 coral colonies were tagged. Of them five Orbicella annularis corals and three O. faveolata corals exhibited DSS lesions at tagging. Microbiota of lesions and apparently healthy tissues from DSS-affected corals over the course of 18 months were collected. Final visual assessment showed that five of eight corals incurred substantial tissue loss while two corals remained stable and one appeared to recover from DSS lesions. Illumina sequencing of the V6 region of bacterial 16S rRNA genes demonstrated no significant differences in bacterial community composition associated with healthy tissue or DSS lesions. The epimicrobiomes of both healthy tissue and DSS lesions contained high relative abundances of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) assigned to Halomonas, an unclassified gammaproteobacterial genus, Moritella, an unclassified Rhodobacteraceae genus, Renibacterium, Pseudomonas, and Acinetobacter. The relative abundance of bacterial taxa was not significantly different between samples when grouped by tissue type (healthy tissue vs. DSS lesion), coral species, collection month, or the overall outcome of DSS-affected corals (substantial tissue loss vs. stable/recovered). Two of the tagged corals with substantial tissue loss also developed BBD during the 18-month sampling period. The bacterial community of the BBD layer was distinct from both healthy tissue and DSS lesions, with high relative abundances of the presumed BBD pathogen Roseofilum reptotaenium and an unclassified Bacteroidales genus, similar to previous results. Roseofilum was detected in all samples from this study, with the highest relative abundance in healthy tissue from DSS-affected corals sampled in August, suggesting that while DSS is not a precursor to BBD, DSS-affected corals are in a weakened state and therefore more susceptible to additional infections.
Justice in Asia and the Pacific Region, 1945–1952: In the Name of Asian Co-Prosperity

If defeating the Chiang Kai-shek Government was the ultimate goal of the war in the CBI theater, the Japanese fought in the South Pacific for the fulfillment of a less definitive military objective: to keep at bay the Allied armed forces while maintaining Japan’s control over the resource-rich British and Dutch colonial territories in Southeast Asia. “The task assigned to 8 Army Group by G.H.Q.,” according to Gen. Imamura Hitoshi, general officer commanding the 8th Area Army from the time of its formation in mid-November 1942 until the cessation of hostilities in September 1945, was “to co-operate with the Navy, [to] occupy the SOLOMONS, and to occupy strategic parts in NEW GUINEA and prepare for operations in that area.” Prior to Imamura’s appointment, the Japanese had fought in the region costly battles that pushed their troops to the limits of human endurance for some four months, in the Battle of Coral Sea, the Battle of Milne Bay, the Battle of Guadalcanal, and the New Guinea campaign along the Kokoda Trail over the Owen Stanley Range between Buna and Port Moresby. The American and Australian forces resisted their foes with matching determination so as not to give away either Guadalcanal or Port Moresby, two strategic points of great importance for Australia and its allies in the region. Within weeks of Imamura’s assumption of the 8th Area Army’s command at the Rabaul headquarters in New Britain, the Government of Japan reached the conclusion that the initial offensives in the South Pacific were a lost cause and that the troops in Guadalcanal and Buna must be withdrawn.
Inhibitory Effect of Furanic and Phenolic Compounds on Exoelectrogenesis in a Microbial Electrolysis Cell Bioanode

The objective of this study was to systematically investigate the inhibitory effect of furfural (FF), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), syringic acid (SA), vanillic acid (VA), and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA), which are problematic lignocellulose-derived byproducts, on exoelectrogenesis in the bioanode of a microbial electrolysis cell. The five compound mixture at an initial total concentration range from 0.8 to 8.0 g/L resulted in an up to 91% current decrease as a result of exoelectrogenesis inhibition; fermentative, nonexoelectrogenic biotransformation pathways of the five compounds were not affected. Furthermore, the parent compounds at a high concentration, as opposed to their biotransformation products, were responsible for the observed inhibition. All five parent compounds contributed to the observed inhibition of the mixture. The IC50 (i.e., concentration resulting in 50% current decrease) of individually tested parent compounds was 2.7 g/L for FF, 3.0 g/L for HMF, 1.9 g/L for SA, 2.1 g/L for VA and 2...
Associations of parent and staff factors with parent engagement in after‐school programs

This 2-study research examined staff and parent predictors of parent engagement in after-school programs. A parent engagement measure tailored to after-school programs was developed based on existing theory and literature. Two distinct factors, parent engagement and parent participation, emerged from factor analyses and were subsequently tested. A 2-level model was run on 4 program/staff and 6 parent predictors using staff and parent data from 26 after-school program sites (Study 1) and nine sites (Study 2). Program quality, staff educational levels, and length of employment in the after-school program were significantly associated with parent engagement and parent participation but in opposite directions, with other findings contrary to hypotheses. For parent factors of engagement and participation, there was a significant positive association between parental age and parent engagement, while having more than 2 children in a program was significantly and positively associated with parent participation only. Results and implications are discussed.
CRT-800.27 Conduction Disturbances After TAVR: Electrophysiology Studies and Pacemaker Dependency

Atrioventricular block necessitating permanent pacemaker (PPM) placement occurs in up to 5-20% of patients after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Although predictors of pacemaker implantation have been established, there is no broad consensus regarding electrophysiological study (EPS)
Synthesis, structural characterization and catalytic activity of indenyl complexes of ruthenium bearing fluorinated phosphine ligands

Abstract The synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity of new ruthenium complexes of fluorinated triarylphosphines is described. The new ruthenium complexes [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(p-C6H4CF3)3}] and [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(3,5-C6H3(CF3)2)3}] were synthesized in 57% and 24% isolated yield, respectively, by thermal ligand exchange of [RuCl(ind)(PPh3)2], where ind = indenyl ligand η5-C9H7−. The electronic and steric properties of the new complexes were studied through analysis of the X-ray structures and through cyclic voltammetry. The new complexes [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(p-C6H4CF3)3}] and [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(3,5-C6H3(CF3)2)3}] and the known complex [RuCl(ind)(PPh3)2}] differed only slightly in their steric properties, as seen from comparison of bond lengths and angles associated with the ruthenium center. As determined by cyclic voltammetry, the redox potentials of [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(p-C6H4CF3)3}] and [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(3,5-C6H3(CF3)2)3}] are +0.173 and + 0.370 V vs. Cp2Fe0/+, respectively, which are substantially higher than that of [RuCl(ind)(PPh3)2] (−0.023 V). After activation through chloride abstraction, the new complexes are catalytically active in the etherification of propargylic alcohols (8–24 h at 90 °C in toluene, 1–2 mol% catalyst loading, 29–61% isolated yields). As demonstrated by a comparative study for a test reaction, the three precursor complexes [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(p-C6H4CF3)3}], [RuCl(ind)(PPh3){P(3,5-C6H3(CF3)2)3}] and [RuCl(ind)(PPh3)2}] differed only slightly in catalytic activity.
Revising the Online Classroom: Usability Testing for Training Online Technical Communication Instructors

ABSTRACTThis article reports on an effort by the authors to use usability testing as a component of online teacher training for their multimajor technical communication course. The article further explains the ways in which program administrators at other institutions can create their own usability testing protocols for formative online teacher training in course design and in principles of user-centered design.
The association between physical activity and dietary inflammatory index on mortality risk in U.S. adults

Objective: Both diet and physical activity have been shown to be associated with reduced risk for mortality. The current study examined the individual and combined effects of the inflammatory quali...
La sociología sistemática de Mariano H. Cornejo

Nacio D. Mariano H. Cornejo en la ciudad de Arequipa, en el Peru, el ano de 1866. Habia sido educado en la provincia de Cujo y se graduo el ano de 1887 en la Universidad de San Marcos, en Lima, en donde se doctoro mas tarde en jurisprudencia. Fue admitido en la Barra de Abogados en 1889. Electo diputado ante la Camara Nacional de Representantes por el distrito de Cujo, pronto adquirio reputacion por su elocuencia, que tenia fama de haber sido la mas grande en toda una centuria. En el ano de 1897 se adhirio al Partido Democratico, llegando a ser uno de sus lideres. En 1902 fue electo presidente del Congreso.
Making Assignments Count: The Quest for Critical Thinking in Undergraduate Political Theory Essays

ABSTRACTPolitical theory lags behind other subfields in political science in rigorously testing what helps foster critical thinking (CT). Yet some of the greatest temptations to engage in motivated reasoning can be found in normative political contexts. This study uses multiple regression analysis to explore nine semesters of data from an introductory course in political theory. Three results stand out: (1) as the stakes of an assignment decrease, so do CT scores; (2) as the number of course assignments increase, CT scores fall; (3) when preparatory exercises matter, theory-specific CT exercises outperform generic ones. A theory of student rationality is put forth. Implications for course design, program assessment, and future research are discussed.
Wide field-of-view waveguide displays enabled by polarization-dependent metagratings

We proposed a waveguide display design based on polarization dependent metagratings. By encoding the left and right half of field of view (FOV) in two orthogonal polarization channels, we achieved an overall horizontal FOV of 67° at 460 nm using a single waveguide, which is 70% larger than that achieved with conventional diffractive gratings. Metagratings that selectively diffract out TE or TM polarized light are designed and simulated using rigorous coupled wave analysis (RCWA). High polarization selectivity is achieved, with minimal crosstalk between the two channels. The transmission spectrum at normal incidence is calculated to assess the see-through effect. Remaining challenges such as fabrication and efficiency issues are discussed. The concept of multiplexing information in the polarization domain enables wide FOV waveguide displays for future AR devices.
Borel Diagonalization and Abstract Set Theory: Recent Results of Harvey Friedman

Recently, Friedman has greatly improved the results of [04] by formulating a new family of propositions concerning Borel diagonalization properties of the spaces of groups, semigroups, linear orderings, products (all with underlying set ω) and Turing degrees. These propositions have certain meta-mathematical properties in common with those of [04], but exhibit a greater range of consistency strength and, arguably, they are more concrete, intelligible and natural. This paper presents an account of this work of Friedman, providing detailed proofs.
Evaluating the Slavonian census of 1698. Part I: structure and meaning.

Microsimulation, other demographic tools, and evidence of history and ethnography are used to evaluate an important 17th century household census. Linguistic, ethnographic, and internal evidence allow adjustment of anomalies in census categories. Microsimulation based on historically and ethnographically plausible rates and household formation scenarios produces simulated households in accord with those of the adjusted census. Results permit estimation of the true population of the region, of the kinship and age composition of households under frontier conditions, and the probable future composition of households as the frontier stabilized and land shortage began to exert pressure for greater density and household complexity. Part I concentrates on historical, ethnographic, and linguistic evidence.
PCA in High Dimensions: An Orientation

When the data are high dimensional, widely used multivariate statistical methods such as principal component analysis can behave in unexpected ways. In settings where the dimension of the observations is comparable to the sample size, upward bias in sample eigenvalues and inconsistency of sample eigenvectors are among the most notable phenomena that appear. These phenomena, and the limiting behavior of the rescaled extreme sample eigenvalues, have recently been investigated in detail under the spiked covariance model. The behavior of the bulk of the sample eigenvalues under weak distributional assumptions on the observations has been described. These results have been exploited to develop new estimation and hypothesis testing methods for the population covariance matrix. Furthermore, partly in response to these phenomena, alternative classes of estimation procedures have been developed by exploiting sparsity of the eigenvectors or the covariance matrix. This paper gives an orientation to these areas.
IS ORDERED WEIGHTED ℓ 1 REGULARIZED REGRESSION ROBUST TO ADVERSARIAL PERTURBATION? A CASE STUDY ON OSCAR

Many state-of-the-art machine learning models such as deep neural networks have recently shown to be vulnerable to adversarial perturbations, especially in classification tasks. Motivated by adversarial machine learning, in this paper we investigate the robustness of sparse regression models with strongly correlated covariates to adversarially designed measurement noises. Specifically, we consider the family of ordered weighted l 1 (OWL) regularized regression methods and study the case of OSCAR (octagonal shrinkage clustering algorithm for regression) in the adversarial setting. Under a norm-bounded threat model, we formulate the process of finding a maximally disruptive noise for OWL-regularized regression as an optimization problem and illustrate the steps towards finding such a noise in the case of OSCAR. Experimental results demonstrate that the regression performance of grouping strongly correlated features can be severely degraded under our adversarial setting, even when the noise budget is significantly smaller than the ground-truth signals.
Predictors of treatment initiation, completion, and selection among youth offered trauma-informed care.

OBJECTIVE Few studies have investigated determinants of trauma-informed care (TIC) in vulnerable youth populations. The purpose of the present study was to investigate factors associated with initiation, completion, and selection of type of TIC treatment among a sample of 128 treatment-seeking youth who experienced crime or violence. METHOD This retrospective medical record review study used data collected through routine clinical care at an outpatient, no-cost community mental health clinic. RESULTS We found that 69.5% of treatment-seeking youth (n = 89) initiated treatment, defined as attending at least 1 TIC session. Among youth who initiated treatment, 61.8% (n = 55) completed a TIC treatment. Predisposing and need characteristics were not significantly associated with initiating or completing treatment in adjusted models. Youth assigned to trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) were more likely to complete treatment compared with those assigned to child-centered therapy (CCT) approaches (odds ratio [OR] = 4.48, 95% CI [1.35, 14.91], p = .014). Logistic regression analyses suggested therapists were less likely to select TF-CBT for children with higher externalizing symptoms (OR = 0.92, 95% CI [0.85, 0.99], p = .035). CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest among youth who called in for treatment, many successfully initiated treatment, and of those who initiated, most completed treatment. Empirically supported treatments such as TF-CBT may further promote treatment completion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2,4‐diamino‐6‐methyl‐5‐substitutedpyrrolo[2,3‐d]pyrimidines as dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors

Nine novel nonclassical 2,4-diamino-6-methyl-5-mioarylsubstituted-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidines 2-10 were synthesized as potential inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase and as antitumor agents. The analogues contain various electron donating and electron withdrawing substituents on the phenylsulfanyl ring of the side chains and were synthesized from the key intermediate 2,6-diamino-6-methyl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]-pyrimidine, 14. Compound 14, was in turn obtained by chlorination of 4-position of 2-amino-6-methylpyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one, 16 followed by displacement with ammonia. Appropriately substituted phenyl thiols were appended to the 5-position of 14 via an oxidative addition reaction using iodine, ethanol and water. The compounds were evaluated against rat liver, rat-derived Pneumocystis, Mycobacterium avium and Toxoplasma gondii dihydrofolate reductase. The most potent and selective inhibitor, (2) has a 1-naphthyl side chain. In this series of compounds electron-withdrawing and bulky substituents in the side chain afford marginally active dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors. The single atom sulfur bridge in the side chain of these compounds is not conducive to potent dihydrofolate reductase inhibition.
Maxout Neural Network for Big Data Medical Fraud Detection

Globally, health care losses due to fraud rise every year, and for this reason fraud detection is an active research area that, in the U.S. alone, can potentially save billions of dollars. We explore the performance of multiple maxout activation variants on the big data medical fraud detection task using neural networks. Maxout networks have gained great success in many computer vision tasks, but there is limited work on other classification tasks. Our experiments compare Rectified Linear Unit, Leaky Rectified Linear Unit, Scaled Exponential Linear Unit, and hyperbolic tangent to four maxout variants. We evaluate the effectiveness of the activation functions on four U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services datasets. Throughout this paper, we found that maxout networks are considerably slower to train compared to traditional activation functions. We find that on average, across all datasets, Scaled Exponential Linear Unit’s classification performance is better than any maxout activation, and reported the lowest training time.
Resting-State Magnetoencephalography Source Imaging Pilot Study in Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accounts for the vast majority of all pediatric TBI. An important minority of children who have suffered an mTBI have enduring cognitive and emotional symptoms. H...
Corpus Linguistics as a Method of Legal Interpretation: Some Progress, Some Questions

Corpus linguistics is becoming a respected method of statutory and constitutional interpretation in the United States over the past decade, yet it has also generated a backlash from a group of scholars that engage in empirical work. This essay attempts to demonstrate both the contributions and the risks of using linguistic corpora as a primary tool in legal interpretation. Its legitimacy stems from the fact that courts routinely state that statutory terms, when not defined as a matter of law, are to be given their ordinary meaning. Judges have responded to this challenge, with the assistance of the linguistics community, by using corpora to determine which meanings are ordinary. However, legal analysts have not determined exactly what makes one meaning ordinary and another not ordinary. This gap has led to a level of disagreement in the field. Moreover, while linguists who engage in corpus linguistic analysis typically emphasize the importance of context, the legal application is peculiarly context-free, in keeping with legal philosophies that eschew reliance on reference to a law’s purpose and the intent of the legislature that enacted it. This move adds a political dimension to corpus analysis as a means of legal interpretation. Yet, the article concludes that by relying on a blend of general and specialized corpora, the legal system can substantially reduce the problem of contextualization, as some linguists and practitioners have already recognized.
The Racialized Costs of “Traditional” Banking in Segregated America: Evidence from Entry-Level Checking Accounts

A growing body of evidence shows that America’s racial geography shapes access to basic financial services (e.g. banking), highlighting a mechanism connecting segregation to economic vulnerability: spatially organized institutional marginalization.s While the practices and policies of “mainstream” commercial banks are central to this dynamic, the costs they impose on the communities they serve have been understudied. This study leverages survey data from a stratified random sample of 1344 banks across the United States to investigate variation in the costs and fees of entry-level checking accounts at commercial banks. Our evidence shows banks charge more to open and maintain checking accounts in neighborhoods and cities with larger Black and Latinx populations even after controlling for demographic and socioeconomic characteristics as well as market competition. The higher costs of banking imposed on Black and Latinx communities are further compounded by parallel disparities in income. These findings reveal the unequal costs of banking in segregated America.
Long-Haul COVID.

Modern medicine has faced its biggest challenge from the smallest of organisms. It is becoming increasingly apparent that many patients who recovered from the acute phase of the SARS-CoV-2 infection have persistent symptoms. This includes clouding of mentation, sleep disturbances, exercise intolerance and autonomic symptoms (table 1). Some also complain of persistent low grade fever and lymphadenopathy. Although there are no peer reviewed papers at the moment on these patients, many news articles have been written about this phenomenon1–4 and there are Facebook groups with several thousand patients describing these symptoms. They call the illness, “Long-Haul COVID” or “Long-tail COVID.” Many of these patients are health care workers who had massive exposure to the virus early in the pandemic and describe having symptoms for “100+ days.”5
Speciation and Reticulation in the Polystichum Allotetraploids of the Costa Rican Cordillera Talamanca

Polyploidy is a prominent force in the evolution of plant genomes, and the ferns are no exception. The genus Polystichum is particularly rich in polyploids, with 44% of the genus estimated to be polyploid. A waypoint between the Andean and Mayan centers of diversity, the Cordillera Talamanca of Costa Rica and Panama harbors three allotetraploid species of Polystichum, two of which are endemic. We leverage coding and non-coding DNA sequences from the chloroplast and nucleus to elucidate the allopolyploid origins of the three species. Consistent with, and building upon earlier works, we find evidence that the paramo tetraploid most recently named as Polystichum orbiculatum is derived from two distinct Andean progenitors, P. lilianiae is derived from two Mayan progenitors, and P. talamancanum is derived from one Andean and one Mayan progenitor. The Costa Rican polyploids incorporate the legacy of the Andean and Mayan regions into their genomes, forming new lineages with novel genotypes.
Telehealth Training During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Feasibility Study of Large Group Multiplatform Telesimulation Training.

Background: Video telehealth is an important tool for health care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given physical distancing recommendations, access to traditional in-person telehealth training for providers has been limited. Telesimulation is an alternative to in-person telehealth training. Telesimulation training with both remote participants and facilitators using telehealth software has not been described. Objective: We investigated the feasibility of a large group telesimulation provider training of telehealth software for remote team leadership skills with common neonatal cases and procedures. Methods: We conducted a 90-min telesimulation session with a combination of InTouch™ provider access software and Zoom™ teleconferencing software. Zoom facilitators activated InTouch software and devices and shared their screen with remote participants. Participants rotated through skill stations and case scenarios through Zoom and directed bedside facilitators to perform simulated tasks using the shared screen and audio connection. Participants engaged in a debrief and a pre- and postsurvey assessing participants' comfort and readiness to use telemedicine. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired t tests. Results: Twenty (n = 20) participants, five Zoom and eight bedside facilitators participated. Twenty-one (21) pre- and 16 postsurveys were completed. Most participants were attending neonatologists who rarely used telemedicine software. Postsession, participants reported increased comfort with some advanced InTouch features, including taking and sharing pictures with the patient (p < 0.01) and drawing on the shared image (p < 0.05), but less comfort with troubleshooting technical issues, including audio and stethoscope (p < 0.01). Frequently stated concerns were troubleshooting technical issues during a call (75%, n = 16) and personal discomfort with telemedicine applications and technology (56%, n = 16). Conclusion: Large group telesimulation is a feasible way to offer telehealth training for physicians and can increase provider comfort with telehealth software.
ICG-based dynamic contrast-enhanced fluorescence imaging guided open orthopaedic surgery: pilot patient study

Forty two patients with high energy open fractures were involved into the study to investigate whether an indocyanine green (ICG)-based dynamic contrast-enhanced fluorescence imaging (DCE-FI) can be used to objectively assess bone perfusion and guide surgical debridement. For each patient, fluorescence images were recorded after 0.1 mg/kg of ICG was administered intravenously. By utilizing a bone-specific kinetic model to the video sequences, the perfusion-related metrics were calculated. The results of this study shown that the quantitative ICG-based DEC-FI can accurately assess the human bone perfusion during the orthopedic surgery.