cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rat renal interstitial bradykinin, prostaglandin E2, and cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate. Effects of altered sodium intake.

Kinins generated intrarenally probably affect renal function by altering levels of various mediators and messengers, including prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP). Using a microdialysis technique, we monitored levels of cortical and medullary renal interstitial fluid kinins, PGE2, and cGMP after 5 days of 0.15% (low), 0.28% (normal), or 4.0% (high) sodium intake. Samples were collected from anesthetized rats (n = 5 for each diet). During normal sodium intake, renal interstitial fluid kinin, PGE2, and cGMP levels in dialysate leaving the cortex were 113 +/- 8 pg/min, 1.23 +/- 0.11 pg/min, and 0.05 +/- 0.004 pmol/min, respectively. In the fluid leaving the medulla, the levels were 93.0 +/- 17 pg/min, 2.28 +/- 0.14 pg/min, and 0.08 +/- 0.005 pmol/min, respectively. In rats consuming a low sodium diet, renal cortical interstitial fluid kinin and cortical and medullary PGE2 and cGMP appearance rates were significantly increased (P < .01). Rats consuming a high sodium diet showed renal cortical and medullary kinin levels that were decreased 100-fold (P < .01), whereas PGE2 and cGMP were increased (P < .01) compared with levels in rats with normal sodium intake. Renal interstitial fluid kinin is extremely sensitive to dietary sodium, but changes in interstitial fluid PGE2 and cGMP are not always directionally similar, suggesting different regulations of these substances in response to sodium intake.
Hot Pin Welding of Thin Poly(vinyl chloride) Sheet

This paper develops a method of welding two thin sheets of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with a heated pin, thus allowing construction of a relationship between the weld temperature and weld strength. Constructing a relationship between weld strength and temperature is necessary for modeling many welding processes, including laser transmission welding. An experimental approach to establishing this relationship is required because of the complex melting behavior of PVC. The designed experimental device uses a single heated pin to weld samples by using varying pressure and temperature for one second dwell time. An electro-mechanical loadframe pulled the welded samples until joint failure occurred, thereby allowing determination of the weld strength. An experiment varying welding pin temperature and joining pressure found the temperature to be a highly significant determiner of weld strength, while the pressure was found to be not significant. A transient numerical heat transfer model was used to calculate the weld interface temperature for each pin temperature. The relationship established in this paper can be used to predict the weld strength from the temperature output from models of alternative welding methods. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 13:110–115, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers.
A population-level analysis of abdominal wall reconstruction by component separation in the morbidly obese patient: Can it be performed safely?

AbstractMorbid obesity is increasing at an alarming rate and a significant portion of patients presenting for complex abdominal wall reconstruction (AWR) and component separation fall into this category, creating added medical and surgical challenges to an already difficult operation. The goal of this study was to utilise the Nationwide 2005–2010 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement database (ACS-NSQIP) to perform a population level analysis of the role of morbid obesity on 30-day perioperative morbidity with the hope of improving patient care, counselling and risk stratification. Morbidly obese patients (BMI > 40 kg/m2) were compared to non-obese patients (BMI < 30 kg/m2). Outcome variables assessed included major surgical complications, major medical complications, major renal complications, major wound complications, return to OR (ROR), and venous thromboembolism (VTE). Significant variables in a univariate analysis were included in a multivariate logistic regression contr...
Monotonicity of certain multivariate normal probabilities

Let (X, Y) have a (p+q)-dimensional normal distribution and let C, K be convex symmetric sets of dimensions p, q respectively. Under certain restrictions on the mean vector it is shown that P(X e C, Y e K) is a monotonically increasing function of the first canonical correlation coefficient between X and Y, provided the remaining coefficients are zero. Soit (X, Y), avec une distribution normale ayant dimension p+q et soit c, k des ensembles symmetriques convexes ayant dimensions p et q respectivement. En mettant certaines restrictions sur le vecteur moyen, on peut demontrer que P(XeC, YeK) est une fonction, qui croit de facon monotonique, du premier coefficient de correlation canonique entre X et Y, entendu que tous les autres coefficients sont zero.
Altered myocardial microvascular 3D architecture in experimental hypercholesterolemia

Background —Experimental hypercholesterolemia (HC) impairs intramyocardial microvascular function. However, whether this is associated with alterations in microvascular architecture remained unknown. Using a novel 3D micro-CT scanner, we tested the hypothesis that HC is associated with an alteration in the microvascular architecture. Methods and Results —Pigs were euthanized after 12 weeks of either normal (n=6) or 2% HC (n=6) diet. The hearts were excised and the coronary arteries injected with a radiopaque contrast material. Myocardial samples were scanned with micro-CT, and 3D images were reconstructed with 21-μm cubic voxels. The myocardium was tomographically subdivided into subepicardium and subendocardium, and microvessels (<500 μm in diameter) were counted in situ within each region. In the subendocardium of HC pigs, the intramyocardial density of microvessels was significantly higher than in normal animals (1221.4±199.7 versus 758.3±90.8 vessels/cm3, P <0.05) because of an increase in the number of microvessels <200 μm in diameter (1214.4±199.7 versus 746.6±101.5 vessels/cm3, P <0.05). The subepicardial vascular density was similar in both groups. Conclusions —HC has differential effects on the spatial density of the subendocardial microvasculature that may play a role in regulation and/or spatial distribution of myocardial blood flow. This study also demonstrates the feasibility of studying myocardial microvascular architecture with micro-CT in pathophysiological states.
Activation of the hedgehog pathway in advanced prostate cancer

The hedgehog pathway plays a critical role in the development of prostate. However, the role of the hedgehog pathway in prostate cancer is not clear. Prostate cancer is the second most prevalent cause of cancer death in American men. Therefore, identification of novel therapeutic targets for prostate cancer has significant clinical implications. Here we report that activation of the hedgehog pathway occurs frequently in advanced human prostate cancer. We find that high levels of hedgehog target genes, PTCH1 and hedgehog-interacting protein (HIP), are detected in over 70% of prostate tumors with Gleason scores 8–10, but in only 22% of tumors with Gleason scores 3–6. Furthermore, four available metastatic tumors all have high expression of PTCH1 and HIP. To identify the mechanism of the hedgehog signaling activation, we examine expression of Su(Fu) protein, a negative regulator of the hedgehog pathway. We find that Su(Fu) protein is undetectable in 11 of 27 PTCH1 positive tumors, two of them contain somatic loss-of-function mutations of Su(Fu). Furthermore, expression of sonic hedgehog protein is detected in majority of PTCH1 positive tumors (24 out of 27). High levels of hedgehog target genes are also detected in four prostate cancer cell lines (TSU, DU145, LN-Cap and PC3). We demonstrate that inhibition of hedgehog signaling by smoothened antagonist, cyclopamine, suppresses hedgehog signaling, down-regulates cell invasiveness and induces apoptosis. In addition, cancer cells expressing Gli1 under the CMV promoter are resistant to cyclopamine-mediated apoptosis. All these data suggest a significant role of the hedgehog pathway for cellular functions of prostate cancer cells. Our data indicate that activation of the hedgehog pathway, through loss of Su(Fu) or overexpression of sonic hedgehog, may involve tumor progression and metastases of prostate cancer. Thus, targeted inhibition of hedgehog signaling may have significant implications of prostate cancer therapeutics.
PRIVATIZATION AND THE DELIVERY OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

One of the most significant trends in the delivery of health care and human services in recent years has been the introduction of private providers, a phenomenon generally referred to as privatization (LeGrand and Robinson, 1984). Although it is difficult to define privatization and to assess its prevalence in a specific system, it generally has three characteristics: first, it involves the introduction or extension of market principles in the delivery of social services that have traditionally been publicly provided; second, it involves a shift of responsibility for service provision from the public to the private sector; and third, it involves the use of market criteria (mainly profitability and the ability to pay) in the allocation of services and benefits. In evaluating the effects of privatization it is important to begin by considering the case for a service-delivery system that is based on nonprofit motives. In general we expect to find that public services promote social purposes rather than serving individual or corporate interests. They should also help to prevent further exploitation of the poor, reduce inequality by redistributing resources according to needs rather than ability to pay, and bring about greater standardization and efficiency of services (Salamon and Abramson, 1982). The arguments in favor of privatization are based on the suggestion that public sector provision is wasteful of resources, inefficient, and unproductiveand therefore inherently more costly in the long run than a system that is dominated by private providers. This review paper assesses the extent to which privatization has occurred within the mental health care delivery system in the United States. Although the shift toward privatization in the mental health care system is not yet as pronounced as in the general health care system, the rate of change has been an issue of great concern in recent years (Brown, 1988). Although there is some evidence that profit-making agencies may, under certain circumstances, be efficient and effective providers, there are a number of particularly delicate issues in the case of mental health services (Gilbert,
Role of the Crosstalk between Autophagy and Apoptosis in Cancer

Autophagy and apoptosis are catabolic pathways essential for organismal homeostasis. Autophagy is normally a cell-survival pathway involving the degradation and recycling of obsolete, damaged, or harmful macromolecular assemblies; however, excess autophagy has been implicated in type II cell death. Apoptosis is the canonical programmed cell death pathway. Autophagy and apoptosis have now been shown to be interconnected by several molecular nodes of crosstalk, enabling the coordinate regulation of degradation by these pathways. Normally, autophagy and apoptosis are both tumor suppressor pathways. Autophagy fulfils this role as it facilitates the degradation of oncogenic molecules, preventing development of cancers, while apoptosis prevents the survival of cancer cells. Consequently, defective or inadequate levels of either autophagy or apoptosis can lead to cancer. However, autophagy appears to have a dual role in cancer, as it has now been shown that autophagy also facilitates the survival of tumor cells in stress conditions such as hypoxic or low-nutrition environments. Here we review the multiple molecular mechanisms of coordination of autophagy and apoptosis and the role of the proteins involved in this crosstalk in cancer. A comprehensive understanding of the interconnectivity of autophagy and apoptosis is essential for the development of effective cancer therapeutics.
Sight Line Autopilot: A New Concept in Air Weapons

/THOUGH the accuracy of the sidefiring aircraft (represented by the AC-130s) is excellent relative to other weapon systems, a detailed error analysis reveals that the pilot is by far the dominant source of remaining error. It was concluded that the accuracy of his pointing the aircraft could be dramatically improved if the sight line were aimed automatically. The sight line autopilot (SLAP) is designed to meet this need. The design accounts for the linearized motions of the sight line as seen in the pilot's reference frame and adjoins these to the aircraft attitude states and two oscillating wind states. Using optimal regulator theory, the control gains are generated. Using these gains, extensive simulations were run to validate the controller. Included were winds and sensor noise. The results show that the concept of a SLAP will significantly improve the capability of the sidefiring weapons system.
Large scale structure of f(R) gravity

We study the evolution of linear cosmological perturbations in f(R) models of accelerated expansion in the physical frame where the gravitational dynamics are fourth order and the matter is minimally coupled. These models predict a rich and testable set of linear phenomena. For each expansion history, fixed empirically by cosmological distance measures, there exists two branches of f(R) solutions that are parametrized by B{proportional_to}d{sup 2}f/dR{sup 2}. For B 0 branch, f(R) models can reduce the large-angle CMB anisotropy, alter the shape of the linear matter power spectrum, and qualitatively change the correlations between the CMB and galaxy surveys. All of these phenomena are accessible with current and future data and provide stringent tests of general relativity on cosmological scales.
Novel CE-MS technique for detection of high explosives using perfluorooctanoic acid as a MEKC and mass spectrometric complexation reagent.

Abstract To address the need for the forensic analysis of high explosives, a novel capillary electrophoresis mass spectrometry (CE–MS) technique has been developed for high resolution, sensitivity, and mass accuracy detection of these compounds. The technique uses perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) as both a micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) reagent for separation of neutral explosives and as the complexation reagent for mass spectrometric detection of PFOA-explosive complexes in the negative ion mode. High explosives that formed complexes with PFOA included RDX, HMX, tetryl, and PETN. Some nitroaromatics were detected as molecular ions. Detection limits in the high parts per billion range and linear calibration responses over two orders of magnitude were obtained. For proof of concept, the technique was applied to the quantitative analysis of high explosives in sand samples.
Modeling steel structures in OpenSees

OpenSees-Thermal module is enhanced for fire and fire following earthquake analyses.OpenSees-Thermal module is modified to allow seamless seismic and thermal analyses.OpenSees-Thermal module is adjusted to perform reliability analysis.Examples show application of thermal module and reliability analysis in OpenSees. Fire and post-earthquake fires pose a major hazard to our built environment with possible catastrophic consequences. Any framework developed for evaluating the resilience of steel structures in a multi-hazard context should incorporate tools that are capable of probabilistic structural analyses under fire and seismic loads. With a newly added thermal module, the OpenSees software has the capacity to perform structural analysis for the effects of cascading seismic and fire events. This paper presents modifications to the current source code that enable post-earthquake fire analysis for steel structures, and the enhancement to adapt reliability analysis in the thermal module.
Tests of Fill Fibers and Epoxy Resins for the Fabrication of Impregnated Superconducting Solenoids

While fabricating a 6 tesla superconducting solenoid for an EBIT experiment1 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a pair of test solenoids were wound and potted to test fill fibers and resins systems for impregnating tightly wound superconducting solenoids. Two types of fibers were used as layer to layer insulation and to fill spaces between 0.75 mm diameter formvar insulated wires. Two resin systems with different cure temperatures were tested. Ground plane insulation with and without sheets of mica was also tested. Two closely packed solenoids with an outside diameter of 150 mm were wound on an aluminum mandrel. Once the solenoids were wound and resin impregnated, they were quickly cooled to 77 K using liquid nitrogen. After the cold shock test, the coils were inspected and sectioned. The results of these tests are presented in this report.
Modeling Impaired Hippocampal Neurogenesis after Radiation Exposure

Radiation impairment of neurogenesis in the hippocampal dentate gyrus is one of several factors associated with cognitive detriments after treatment of brain cancers in children and adults with radiation therapy. Mouse models have been used to study radiation-induced changes in neurogenesis, however the models are limited in the number of doses, dose fractions, age and time after exposure conditions that have been studied. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel predictive mathematical model of radiation-induced changes to neurogenesis using a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations (ODEs) to represent the time, age and dose-dependent changes to several cell populations participating in neurogenesis as reported in mouse experiments exposed to low-LET radiation. We considered four compartments to model hippocampal neurogenesis and, consequently, the effects of radiation treatment in altering neurogenesis: (1) neural stem cells (NSCs), (2) neuronal progenitor cells or neuroblasts (NB), (3) immature neurons (ImN) and (4) glioblasts (GB). Because neurogenesis is decreasing with increasing mouse age, a description of the age-related dynamics of hippocampal neurogenesis is considered in the model, which is shown to be an important factor in comparisons to experimental data. A key feature of the model is the description of negative feedback regulation on early and late neuronal proliferation after radiation exposure. The model is augmented with parametric descriptions of the dose and time after irradiation dependences of activation of microglial cells and a possible shift of NSC proliferation from neurogenesis to gliogenesis reported at higher doses (∼10 Gy). Predictions for dose-fractionation regimes and for different mouse ages, and prospects for future work are then discussed.
Hexaprenoid Hydroquinones from the Sponge Haliclona (aka Adocia) sp.

Three new hexaprenoid hydroquinones, adociaquinol (1), adociasulfate 11 (2), and adociasulfate 12 (3), together with the known adociasulfates 2, 4, and 6, were isolated from the marine sponge Haliclona (aka Adocia) sp. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by interpretation of spectroscopic data.
The Effect of Some Worker-Related Variables on Work Ability, Work Technique, and Number of Errors in a Packing Job

A study was conducted to determine the effect of some worker-related variables on work ability, work technique, and number of errors for a group of nine female employees aged 25 to 55 working as packers at a global distribution center located in the U.S.A. Work ability questionnaires (from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health) were given, quality ratings (as indicated by the number of errors) from the previous month were obtained, and employees were videotaped. Correlation analysis indicated that tenure was inversely related to work ability. Analysis of variance indicated that age and height were significantly related to the number of errors. Post-hoc tests indicated that older employees and taller employees had fewer errors. This finding was especially interesting considering that the workstations were designed for men or very tall women. This research serves as a pilot for a study aimed at discerning different working techniques through the development of a model that uses frequency and types of...
Fault impedance and earthquake energy in the Fourier transform domain

abstract The response of the elastic medium in which a fault is contained determines one relation between the slip function and the stress function on the fault. In the space-time domain, the slip and stress functions are related by a singular integral equation. If a Fourier transformation is performed over the two space dimensions on the fault and over time, the stress transform equals the slip rate transform times an impedance function. Using this impedance function, we may determine the energy radiated or stored in the elastic medium from either the slip or the stress transform.
Craniofacial approaches to sinus malignancy

Craniofacial approaches to sinonasal malignancies that abut or penetrate the skull base allow isolation of tumor from its vascular supply, identification and preservation of neurovascular structures adjacent to tumor, and en bloc resection with meaningful margins. The transfacial access, and the adjuncts of lateral facial split and mandibular swing, have been presented. An extended frontal craniotomy, which encompasses the superior orbital rims, affords exposure of the nasal, sinus, orbital, and intracranial components of a dissection in one surgical field. The skull base team approach yields a high cure rate for aggressive but benign skull base neoplasms, such as meningiomas, and when combined with external beam irradiation the only nonpalliative regimen for sinonasal malignancies that penetrate the anterior or middle fossa.
Disability: A Sociopolitical Construct

When I was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy at age 18, I struggled with how to incorporate the construct of disability into my sense of self. Initially, the slowly progressive adult-onset type of my impairment made it easy to conceal from others and minimize for myself. I couldn’t run as fast as some of my peers and soon lost the ability to run altogether. However, as a young woman looking at herself through the male gaze, I took comfort in my “normal” appearance. It didn’t occur to me then, or for years to come, that my disability was anything more than a personal problem, something to be accepted, reckoned with, and surmounted.
Archaeological typology and practical reality: Perceptual and conceptual foundations

In Chapter 3 we discussed the physical, mental, and representational elements that go into the making of a type. Of these it is the mental elements that are the most problematical, and also, surprisingly, the least considered in the literature on typologies. As Lakoff (1984: 22) observes, “the classic theory of categories is not a cognitive theory. It is a theory about things as they are in the world, not about how the mind makes sense of the world.” He goes on to remark: “I do not know why the … theory of categories should be an Aristotelian one. But it is an issue that cognitive scientists need to address” ( ibid .: 26). The mental dimensions of typehood will be our concern in the next two chapters. In the present chapter we will discuss the relationship between types and other, related mental constructs: concepts, categories, and classes. Our purpose here is not to develop a theory of knowledge or of classification, but simply to establish working definitions for a great many terms that we will employ later in the book. Much of what we say here is not critical to the arguments that we will present later in regard to the use of types; our purpose is simply to make our meanings clear. We must stress once again that our definitions do not necessarily coincide with those of other authors (see Chapter 1). Types and scientific thought Science is defined more by its purposes (ends) than by its methods (means).
Clinical Manifestations of Vitamin B-12 Deficiency

An overview of the biochemical and physiological functions of vitamin B-12 and the symptoms of vitamin B-12 deficiency. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
The role of copulatory plugs in the mosquito-parasitic nematode Strelkovimermis spiculatus

The mosquito-parasitic nematode, Strelkovimermis spiculatus (Mermithidae: Nematoda) emerges from hosts and aggregates to form mating clusters characterized by intense male-male competition for females. Successful males deposit an adhesive copulatory plug over the female vulva after insemination. In choice experiments, males strongly preferred virgin females, whereas plugged females were ignored. Males made no attempt to displace copulatory plugs deposited by previous males. Plugged females repelled males without the need for physical contact. The observed chemical repellency was independent of females, since excised plugs alone showed the same negative male response. Removal of the plug shortly after mating reduced fecundity by 90%, presumably due to spermatids leaking from the vulva. The plug as a nutritional gift hypothesis was rejected because there was no post-mating reduction in plug size that would have indicated absorption. Despite being a male adaption to sperm competition, we conclude that the copulatory plug serves the fitness needs of both males and females in multiple roles that include paternity preservation, reduced male harassment, improved male search for mates, increased fecundity, and sperm retention.
Abstract P179: Depression Increases All-Cause Mortality in Post Cardiac Surgery Patients: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

Background: Studies have shown that depression is a prevalent condition among cardiac patients, especially after cardiac surgery, and that it9s presance has been related to negative outcomes. The purpose of this study was to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate depression as a risk factor for all-cause mortality in patients status post cardiac surgery. Methods: A search of MEDLINE (1966 - October 2009) database was performed and we selected all prospective cohort studies in which depression was measured pre-operatively, postoperatively, or both by an established depression index with all-cause mortality recorded after a minimum follow up of 1 year. The pooled relative risk (RR) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated for all cause mortality using the fixed effects method to evaluate the effects of depression on all-cause mortality in post cardiac surgery patients. Results: Our search strategy yielded 144 studies, of which only 6 met our inclusion criteria. The studies comprised of 1,906 patients, predominately white, males who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting (64% or 1228 of 1906) or cardiac valve replacement (36% or 678 of 1906) and where evaluated for depression. The RR of all-cause mortality was 1.8; 95% CI (1.4-2.5) for patients with significant depression compared to patients without. Conclusion: Depression is associated with higher all-cause mortality in patients status-post cardiac surgery. All patients should be evaluated for depression after cardiac surgery and treated aggressively.
An Accident-Prone Employee: No, Multiple Sclerosis:

An employee is labeled "accident-prone," and sustained an acute lumbar injury at work. Upon physical examination, a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis was suspected. She was referred to a public health clinic for further evaluation. This is a review article of multiple sclerosis and workplace interventions.
Addition of chemotherapy to hypofractionated radiotherapy for glioblastoma: practice patterns, outcomes, and predictors of survival.

This study evaluated practice patterns, outcomes, and predictors of survival with respect to the addition of chemotherapy to definitive hypofractionated radiation therapy (HFRT) for glioblastoma in a general patient population. The National Cancer Data Base was queried for patients diagnosed with glioblastoma between 2005 and 2012 that received definitive HFRT with or without chemotherapy. Patient, tumor, and treatment parameters were extracted. Statistics included Kaplan–Meier analysis to evaluate overall survival (OS) as well as Cox proportional hazards modeling to determine variables associated with receipt of chemotherapy and OS. Propensity score matching was performed in order to assess groups in a balanced manner while reducing indication biases. 693 patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 297 (42.9%) received HFRT alone, while 396 (57.1%) received chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Median follow-up was 5.2 months. Factors independently associated with chemotherapy delivery included age ≤ 65, methylated MGMT, and Asian race. Chemotherapy use was associated with improved median OS (6.8 vs. 4.3 months, p 65 years (6.1 vs. 4.3 months, p = 0.002) as well as on propensity-matched analysis (6.0 vs. 4.3 months, p 65 years of age. Chemotherapy was an independent predictor of OS, along with receipt of surgery and treatment at an academic institution.
Structural Sizing and Synthesis of Venera-Class Landers

An in-depth investigation of the structural design of the Venera landers was explored. A reverse engineering of the Venera-class lander was performed. The lander was broken down into its fundamenta...
Simultaneous dual-band entangled photon pair generation using a silicon photonic microring resonator

Traditional entangled photon pair generation apparatus, such as periodically-poled nonlinear crystals or microstructured fibers, require special and complex device structures to permit spontaneous nonlinear interactions at different wavelengths to occur simultaneously. This makes it difficult to design a single device that can, for example, generate high-quality, high-brightness photon pairs at both the 1310 and 1550 nm wavelength bands. Such flexibility will be useful in reconfiguring quantum communications to co-exist with data and telecommunications networks in popular use today. We show that a simple, appropriately-designed silicon microring device can achieve this objective, and explain the design and measurements of photon pair generation including coincidences-to-accidentals ratio and Franson interferometry of energy–time entanglement.
Property and Identity: Vulnerability and Insecurity in the Housing Crisis

The critical role that property plays in shaping identity influenced the housing bubble, as people competed for status, and has exacerbated the housing crisis, as people have felt a deep psychological sting from the fallout. This essay examines these dynamics and argues that the link between property and identity provides a lens through which to rebalance housing law and policy.
A Phase 2a Study of CX-8998, an Oral, Potent and Selective T-Type Calcium Modulator in Adolescents and Young Adults with Absence Epilepsy: Rationale for population and dose selection (P5.282)

Objective: To assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmaco EEG of CX-8998 in adolescents and young adults with absence epilepsy (AbsE). Background: The role of thalamic Cav3 channels in generating spike and wave discharges is well-established in AbsE with both genetic and pharmacological validation. Current treatments for AbsE have nonselective Cav3 activity, and while many patients achieve seizure freedom, nearly 50% fail to achieve adequate seizure control or experience intolerable side effects. Selective targeting of Cav3 channels may offer a more efficacious and better-tolerated treatment option. Design/Methods: This double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, study in 30 adolescents and young adults with medically resistant AE enrolls subjects >16 years of age with clinical diagnosis of AbsE and persistent seizures despite 2 prior therapies. Subjects receive single oral doses of CX-8998 (up to 10mg BID) or placebo for 4 weeks and are evaluated for safety and tolerability and with ambulatory EEG and a wearable digital epilepsy diary for changes in seizure frequency, seizure duration, spike-wave duration and spike wave density. CX-8998 trough concentrations will be analyzed to investigate the pharmacodynamic relationship to preclinical and human predicted therapeutic ranges. Results: Following single dose administration (1–24 mg) in humans, CX-8998 exposure increased roughly dose-proportionally, consistent with preclinical observations. Study doses are based on Ph1 pharmaco-EEG data showing statistically significant reductions in alpha power ≥25% in a concentration–dependent manner at plasma CX-8998 levels ≥200–300 nM and maximal reductions achieved at ~700–800 nM. These levels are consistent with human predicted efficacious exposures (480–600 nM) based on preclinical studies in the WAG/Rij genetic model of AbsE. Conclusions: This study will investigate the safety, tolerability and pharmacology of selective Cav3 modulation by CX-8998 in subjects with medically resistant AbsE. Selectively targeting Cav3 channels may offer a more efficacious and better-tolerated treatment option for this patient population. Disclosure: Dr. Papapetropoulos has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lee has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Karyopharm Inc, Cavion Inc. Dr. Boyer has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Takeda, Cavion Inc. Dr. Versavel has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Cavion Inc.
Leveraging Latent Dirichlet Allocation in processing free-text personal goals among patients undergoing bladder cancer surgery.

As we begin to leverage Big Data in health care settings and particularly in assessing patient-reported outcomes, there is a need for novel analytics to address unique challenges. One such challenge is in coding transcribed interview data, typically free-text entries of statements made during a face-to-face interview. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) offers statistical rigor and consistency in automating the interpretation of patients’ expressed concerns and coping strategies. LDA was applied to interview data collected as part of a prospective, longitudinal study of QOL in N = 211 patients undergoing radical cystectomy and urinary diversion for bladder cancer. LDA analyzed personal goal statements to extract the latent topics and themes, stratified by time, and on things patients wanted to accomplish and prevent. Model comparison metrics determined the number of topics to extract. LDA extracted seven latent topics. Prior to surgery, patients’ priorities were primarily in cancer surgery and recovery. Six months after the surgery, they were replaced by goals on regaining a sense of normalcy, to resume work, to enjoy life more fully, and to appreciate friends and family more. LDA model parameters showed changing priorities, e.g., immediate concerns on surgery and resuming employment decreased post-surgery and were replaced by concerns over cancer recurrence and a desire to remain healthy and strong. Novel Big Data analytics such as LDA offer the possibility of summarizing personal goals without the need for conventional fixed-length measures and resource-intensive qualitative data coding.
Investigating the Intersection of Career Aspirations and Engineering Beliefs in First Year Engineering Students

This research-category full paper investigates the relationship between first-year engineering students’ career aspirations and attitudes towards engineering. Career aspirations describe students’ beliefs about professional roles they might perform in the future. Attitudes towards engineering were measured using engineering identity, belongingness within engineering, and specific motivation constructs. Examining the intersection of aspirations and attitudes allows educators to understand how students’ intended career choices are related to their perceptions of their educational experience. Using survey data from 2,916 students at four large public universities, we found that an interest in industry-based careers was associated with high engineering identity, belongingness, and motivation scores. We found that gender had a moderate effect on aspirations and attitudes. Additionally, we found that an interest in mechanical engineering was associated with increased certainty in an engineering/industry career, while interests in biomedical engineering, non-engineering STM majors, and non-STEM majors were associated with decreased certainty in an engineering/industry career. These results have implications for the current discourse around how engineering students make decisions about their future careers.
The effect of Poly(Ethylene oxide) cross-linking structure on the mechanical properties and CO2 separation performance of an ion gel membrane

Abstract Ionic liquid gels of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide plasticizing a cross-linked poly(ethylene oxide) are high performance CO2 separation membranes. Here, the effect of polymer cross-link density on the ionic liquid stability, on the mechanical properties of the resulting films, and on the gas separation properties were studied. Cross-link density was modified by changing the chain length of ethoxylated diacrylate and triacrylate monomers, and by incorporating small amounts of short, multifunctional acrylate monomers. Without the ionic liquid acting as permanent plasticizer, higher cross-link density is associated with higher yield strength but lower strain at break, as expected. In a plasticized network, however, the loss in flexibility is not accompanied by higher yield strength, leaving ion gels made from highly cross-linked network more fragile than those having longer, more flexible chains. Lowering cross-link density also allowed more ionic liquids to be incorporated as a phase stable gel and led to better CO2 separation performance.
Linear Parabolic Operators

The flow of a quantity, such as heat, is described by the diffusion equation, where the total amount of the quantity does not change. Thus, both heat and mass are conserved, although their distributions may undergo slight changes. The first order time derivative in the diffusion equation signifies a complete determination of the time development of the solution subject to prescribed initial temperature or mass distribution, and presence of any sources or sinks. It also means the irreversibility of the equation in the sense that the solution is always in the direction of time; thus, a change in the sign of time also changes the behavior of the solution. The fundamental solutions for the parabolic operator play an important role in problems of heat conduction (§13.2) and neutron diffusion (§13.4).
Second-Order Multiplier Updates to Accelerate Admm Methods in Optimization Under Uncertainty

Abstract There is a need for efficient optimization strategies to efficiently solve large-scale, nonlinear optimization problems. Many problem classes, including design under uncertainty are inherently structured and can be accelerated with decomposition approaches. This paper describes a second-order multiplier update for the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) to solve nonlinear stochastic programming problems. We exploit connections between ADMM and the Schur-complement decomposition to derive an accelerated version of ADMM. Specifically, we study the effectiveness of performing a Newton-Raphson algorithm to compute multiplier estimates for the method of multipliers (MM). We interpret ADMM as a decomposable version of MM and propose modifications to the multiplier update of the standard ADMM scheme based on improvements observed in MM. The modifications to the ADMM algorithm seek to accelerate solutions of optimization problems for design under uncertainty and the numerical effectiveness of the approaches is demonstrated on a set of ten stochastic programming problems. Practical strategies for improving computational performance are discussed along with comparisons between the algorithms. We observe that the second-order update achieves convergence in fewer unconstrained minimizations for MM on general nonlinear problems. In the case of ADMM, the second-order update reduces significantly the number of subproblem solves for convex quadratic programs (QPs).
Dietary berries and ellagic acid diminish polar DNA adducts in ACI rats treated with 17β-estradiol

5499 Female hormone, 17β-estradiol (E2) is a known risk factor in the development of breast cancer. We have previously shown that due to redox cycling, Cu2+-mediated activation of 4-E2 produces polar oxidative DNA adducts, and that the adduct formation can be inhibited by known or potential antioxidants, including ellagic acid. Dietary administration of ellagic acid and raspberries, a rich source of ellagic acid, also reduced the baseline polar oxidative DNA adducts in CDl mice. In this study, we have tested the efficacy of different berries and ellagic acid on the modulation of polar oxidative adducts in E2-induced rat mammary tumorigenesis model. Female ACI rats were implanted with E2-filled silastic tubes. Animals (n = 4) were provided either control diet or diet supplemented with 2.5% powdered mixed berries (1:1 mixture of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and black raspberries), 2.5% blueberries, 2.5% blueberries plus ellagic acid (400 ppm), or ellagic acid (400 ppm). Animals received experimental diets 2 weeks prior to the implants and until the termination of the study. The animals were euthanized 60 d after the implant and the liver DNA was analyzed for polar DNA adducts by 32P-postlabeling adducteomics technology. Adducts were resolved in order of decreasing polarities and were categorized as: P-1, P-2, PL-1, PL-2 and L-1. Compared to the control diet, the adduct levels were significantly decreased by the test diets: The P-1 adducts were reduced by >75% with blueberries and >50% each with blueberries plus ellagic acid, and ellagic acid alone. Ellagic acid was more effective (60%) in diminishing the P-2 adducts, followed by blueberries, or blueberries plus ellagic acid (30-40 %). The mixed berries, however showed no change in the adduct levels. The less polar subgroup, PL-1 was also diminished with the test diets and the decline, in general, paralleled the decline observed for the more polar adducts. These results, especially with respect to ellagic acid, corroborate our earlier findings with the mice. Taken together, our data suggest that the newly discovered polar DNA adducts may, in part, originate from oxidative mechanisms, and their accumulation can be significantly prevented by dietary intervention. These findings may have a direct impact in elucidating the mechanism by which certain dietary principles inhibit carcinogenesis. (Supported by USPHS grant CA-90892.)
Diversification of host bile acids by members of the gut microbiota

Bile acid biotransformation is a collaborative effort by the host and the gut microbiome. Host hepatocytes synthesize primary bile acids from cholesterol. Once these host-derived primary bile acids enter the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbiota chemically modify them into secondary bile acids. Interest into the gut-bile acid-host axis is expanding in diverse fields including gastroenterology, endocrinology, oncology, and infectious disease. This review aims to 1) describe the physiologic aspects of collaborative bile acid metabolism by the host and gut microbiota; 2) to evaluate how gut microbes influence bile acid pools, and in turn how bile acid pools modulate the gut microbial community structure; 3) to compare species differences in bile acid pools; and lastly, 4) discuss the effects of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) administration, a common therapeutic bile acid, on the gut microbiota-bile acid-host axis.
Locating the Intersections of Disability, Race and Ethnicity in Adoption Rates among Foster Children Introduction

The promotion of speedy, permanent adoption outcomes for children in foster care whose parental rights have been terminated is a central child welfare policy goal. However, while both children of c...
Life on Earth Is Not a Passenger, but a Driver: Explaining the Transition from a Physicochemical to a Life-Constrained World from an Organizational Perspective

We address in this chapter the problem of how the transition from a physicochemical to a life-constrained world occurred. We assume an organizational view of ecological systems, according to which this transition can be conceptualized in terms of the passage from a closure of processes to a closure of constraints in the ecological realm. This perspective offers a consistent interpretation of the transition from an abiotic ecological system to a “life-constrained” ecological system. We develop this idea by applying it to the studies on the relationship between algae, clouds and the climate. Finally, we hold that different and independent approaches, including the organizational ones, propose the same general idea, although with different emphases or domains of application, namely, that life influences physicochemical conditions in a way that ultimately contributes to its self-maintenance.
Climbing the WOL: Training for Cheaper Inference.

Efficient inference for wide output layers (WOLs) is an essential yet challenging task in large scale machine learning. Most approaches reduce this problem to approximate maximum inner product search (MIPS), which relies heavily on the observation that for a given model, ground truth labels correspond to logits of highest value during full model inference. However, such an assumption is restrictive in practice. In this paper, we argue that approximate MIPS subroutines, despite having sub-linear computation time, are sub-optimal because they are tailored for retrieving large inner products with high recall instead of retrieving the correct labels. With WOL, the labels often have moderate inner products, which makes approximate MIPS more challenging. We propose an alternative problem formulation, called Label Superior Sampling (LSS), where the objective is to tailor the system to ensure retrieval of the correct label. Accordingly, we propose a novel learned hash approach, which is significantly more efficient and sufficient for high inference accuracy than MIPS baselines. Our extensive evaluation indicates that LSS can match or even outperform full inference accuracy with around 5x speed up and 87% energy reduction.
Axillary lymph node metastasis: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy sensitivity as a function of node size, percent replacement of lymph node by tumor and tumor deposit size.

BACKGROUND Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is commonly used to investigate lymphadenopathy of suspected metastatic origin. While diagnostic accuracy of FNA for lymph node disease is well described, the relationship between node size, percent tumor replacement, and size of metastatic deposit with diagnostic accuracy is less well documented. METHODS All axillary lymph nodes undergoing ultrasound-guided FNA for suspected breast metastases were correlated with subsequent surgical excision specimens. FNAs were judged as positive or negative for malignancy and the percent of false negative FNAs was correlated with node size, percent tumor replacement and size of metastatic deposit RESULTS: Sensitivities were calculated for nodes greater than 15 mm (92%), nodes 11 to 14.9 mm (83%), nodes 7 to 10.9 mm (61%), and for nodes less than 7 mm (60%). Sensitivity increases with increasing node size (P = .001). Percent tumor replacement correlated with sensitivity: 90% or greater replacement (85%) 60% to 89.9% replacement (75%), 40% to 59.9% replacement (75%) and less than 39.9% replacement (64%)(P < .001). Metastases size correlated with sensitivity: metastases greater than 10 mm (94%), 6 to 9.9 mm (70%), 4 to 5.9 mm (54%), and less than 4 mm (72%). CONCLUSIONS Percentage of false negative FNAs associate with investigation of metastatic disease correlates with node size, size of metastatic deposit and percentage of nodes replaced by tumor. Lymph nodes smaller than 7 mm, deposit diameter less than 6 mm and percentage replacement of less than 40% have the highest percentage of false negative results.