cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Islam, Polygyny and Modern Contraceptive Use in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa

Francophone sub-Saharan African countries have among the highest fertility rates and lowest modern contraceptive prevalence rates worldwide. This analysis is intended to identify the factors driving contraceptive prevalence in this population. In addition to testing the usual correlates, we have included three other variables potentially related to lower contraceptive use in the Francophone African context: being Muslim, being in a polygynous union, and participation in crucial decision-making processes. We obtained descriptive statistics for 11 Francophone African countries with DHS data collected since 2000 for relevant variables. As expected, education, place of residence, age and number of children were significant for most countries in predicting modern contraceptive use. The final three factors yielded inconclusive results. The conventional correlates were by far the most predictive of MCPR, although women’s participation deserves further analysis. These results dispel anecdotal evidence that being Muslim and in a polygynous union explain low CPR in this region.
Brain-metastatic melanoma: a neurotrophic perspective

The brain is a unique microenvironment enclosed by the skull and maintaining a highly regulated vascular transport barrier. To metastasize to the brain, malignant tumor cells must attach to microvessel endothelial cells, invade the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and respond to brain survival and growth factors. Neurotrophins (NT) are important in brain invasion because they stimulate this process. In brain-metastatic melanoma cells, NT can promote invasion by enhancing the production of extracellular matrixdegradative enzymes such as heparanase, an enzyme capable of locally destroying both the extracellular matrix and the basement membrane of the BBB. We have examined human and murine melanoma cell lines exhibiting varying abilities to form brain metastases, and have found that they express low-affinity neurotrophin receptor p75NTR in relation to their brain-metastatic potentials. They do not, however, express trkA, the gene encoding the tyrosine kinase receptor TrkA, the high-affinity receptor for nerve growth factor (NGF), the prototypic NT. Presence of functional TrkC, the putative receptor for the invasion-promoting neurotrophin NT-3, was also expressed in these cells. Brain-metastatic melanoma cells can also produce autocrine factors and inhibitors that influence their growth, invasion, and survival in the brain. Synthesis of these factors may influence NT production by brain cells adjacent to the neoplastic invasion front, such as oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. In brain biopsies, we observed increased amounts of NGF and NT-3 in tumor-adjacent tissues at the invasion front of human melanoma tumors. Additionally, we found that astrocytes contribute to the brain-metastatic specificity of melanoma cells by producing NT-regulated heparanase. Trophic, autocrine, and paracrine growth factors may therefore determine whether metastatic cells can successfully invade, colonize, and grow in the central nervous system (CNS).
Medical use of psychostimulants: an overview.

This overview addresses the basic chemistry, pharmacology, activity, medical uses, drug interactions and adverse side effects of the psychostimulants.
Time frequency analysis of the electromyogram during fatigue

Spectral parameters obtained from the surface electromyogram (EMG) signal have been used as indicators of fatigue during a sustained contraction. A new technique, time frequency analysis, was applied to the EMG signal. This technique generates a continuous representation of the changing spectrum of the signal through time. Three types of time frequency distributions were applied to the EMG signal. As predicted, differences existed between the distributions. The amplitude differential from the first time slice of the distribution to the last was the smallest for the short time Fourier transform. The Wigner-Ville distribution was spread out across the most frequencies. Walls appeared in the Choi-Williams distribution, but otherwise it was the most compressed. All the distributions displayed the expected spectral compression; however, more work is necessary to clarify the results. >
Determinants Of Instructors Influence On Selection Of A Major In An Integrated Introductory Business Course

Increasingly, as part of a desire to improve student understanding of the integrative nature of business, more and more schools are introducing interdisciplinary courses into the curriculum. These courses may also assist students with their choice of major. Generally, courses of this type are offered at the introductory level and may be structured in a variety of ways. Many questions still exist about the overall effectiveness of these courses with respect to teaching an understanding of integration, the appropriateness of alternative course designs, and how they might influence the selection of a major. Our institution has had such an Introductory Business Course for more than a decade. The course has always contained a process of continuous quality improvement .The course has evolved rather significantly during the last decade. One of its most recent and substantive changes has been to move from having multiple faculty members teaching each section to having each section taught by a single instructor. We felt that it was critical to examine the effectiveness of this change with regard to teaching, and also to see if the use of the single instructor model impacted student selection of a business major. The paper evaluates the effectiveness of faculty members to teach material outside their discipline. It also examines for the possible influence by instructors on selection of majors in the instructor’s discipline in an introductory business course.
Reactivity of acyclic (pentadienyl)iron(1+) cations with phosphonate stabilized nucleophiles: application to the synthesis of oxygenated metabolites of carvone

Abstract The addition of phosphonate stabilized carbon nucleophiles to acyclic (pentadienyl)iron(1+) cations proceeds predominantly at an internal carbon to afford (pentenediyl)iron complexes. Those complexes bearing an electron withdrawing group at the σ-bound carbon (i.e., 13 / 14 ) are stable and isolable, while complexes which do not contain an electron withdrawing group at the σ-bound carbon undergo CO insertion, reductive elimination and conjugation of the double bond to afford cyclohexenone products ( 21 / 22 ). Deprotonation of the phosphonate 13 / 14 or 21 and reaction with paraformaldehyde affords the olefinated products. This methodology was utilized to prepare oxygenated carvone metabolites (±)- 25 and (±)- 26 .
Is Nationalism Legitimate? A Sociological Perspective on a Philosophical Question

(1997). Is Nationalism Legitimate? A Sociological Perspective on a Philosophical Question. Canadian Journal of Philosophy: Vol. 26, Supplementary Volume 22: Rethinking Nationalism, pp. 93-108.
Advancement of Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines with Improved Pharmacokinetics and nM Activity vs. Mycobacterium tuberculosis

A set of 14 imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carboxamides was synthesized and screened against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of 12 of these agents were ≤1 μM against replicating bacteria and 5 compounds (9, 12, 16, 17, and 18) had MIC values ≤0.006 μM. Compounds 13 and 18 were screened against a panel of MDR and XDR drug resistant clinical Mtb strains with the potency of 18 surpassing that of clinical candidate PA-824 by nearly 10-fold. The in vivo pharmacokinetics of compounds 13 and 18 were evaluated in male mice by oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) routes. These results indicate that readily synthesized imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carboxamides are an exciting new class of potent, selective anti-TB agents that merit additional development opportunities.
IMAGING DEBAKEY’S DEBACLE: AN UNUSUAL CASE OF PAINLESS ACUTE ST ELEVATION MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Acute STEMIs are in 1-2% of cases associated with cardiovascular catastrophes other than acute coronary thrombosis. We present a case of an acute aortic dissection presenting as a case of acute inferior ST elevation without chest pain. A 77-year-old female smoker with a history of COPD was
Protective Effect of Ischemia Postconditioning on Hepatic Ischemia-reperfusion Injury in Rabbits

Objective To investigate the protective effect of ischemia postconditioning on hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury in rabbits. Methods Thirty New Zealand white rabbits weighting 1.5～2.0 kg with either sex were randomly divided into three groups (10 for each): Group S with shame operation, group IR with reperfusion at 25 minutes after hepatoduodenal ligament blocking, and group IP with ischemia postconditioning before reopening of blocked hepatoduodenal ligament. HR, SBP, DBP and ALT were measured at the time after anesthesia induction(T0), at 25 minutes after hepatoduodenal ligament clamping (T1), 30 minutes (T2) 、1 h (T3)、2 h (T4) and 4 h (T5) after hepatoduodenal ligament reopening. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) of hepatic tissue were measured respectively in Group IR and IP. Result Compared with Group IR, HR at T2, SBP at T2 and T5, and DBP at T5 were significantly higher, and ALT was obviously descending after reperfusion (at T2 to T5) in group IP (P0.05). The concentration of MDA was remarkable lower and SOD was significantly higher in group IP than those in group IR (P0.05). Conclusion Ischemia postconditioning could protect liver from ischemia-reperfusion injury in some extent.
[Analysis of 3 cases with Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated hemophagocytic syndrome and review of literature].

Objective To analyze the clinical characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae-associated hemophagocytic syndrome (MP-HLH). Method A retrospective investigation of the clinical manifestation, laboratory test, imagelogy, clinical course and outcome of 3 cases with MP-HLH seen between June 2013 and July 2013 in Shenzhen Children's Hospital, and review of relevant literature were conducted. Result Of the 3 cases of MP-HLH, 2 were males, one was female, the ages were 1 year, 3 years and 6 years, respectively. They had no underlying disease previously. All the 3 cases had onset of fever, cough as main symptoms. Diagnosis of refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia was made, which was accompanied by decreased neutrophils [(0.08-0.68)×109/L], hemoglobin [(79-103)g/L ], platelet [(64-157)×109/L], plasma fibrinogen [(1.3-1.5)g/L], lactate dehydrogenase [(1 170-1 285) U/L] and increased serum ferritin [(936.7-39 789.0)μg/L] in the third week of course. In two cases the T lymphocytes decreased, and the NK cell activity decreased significantly in one. Bone marrow cytology showed prompted bone marrow hyperplasia, and the phenomenon of phagocytosed blood cells. CT scan was performed for all the cases and consolidation with pleural effusion were shown. Two cases were admitted to PICU, and required endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. Flexible bronchoscopy and bronchial lavage were performed and bronchial cast was found in two cases. All of them were treated with macrolide combined with other antibiotics, glucocorticoids and gamma globulin combination therapy, including one case given dexamethasone [10 mg/(m2 ·d)], cyclosporine[6 mg/(kg·d)], etoposide [150 mg/ (m2 ·d)] chemotherapy. Two cases were cured, and 1 case died. The authors summarized the 18 cases reported in domestic and foreign literature. Foreign children were diagnosed and treated with steroids in 1-2 weeks, and 10 cases were cured, and 2 cases died. They died of massive hemorrhage and meningoencephalitis, and domestic children were diagnosed and treated within two to 4 weeks after onset, 5 cases were cured, one case died of severe pneumonia. Conclusion MP-HLH is a rare disease in children, and had acute onset, rapid progression and high mortality. Early treatment with steroids was associated with a good prognosis, the key to successful treatment is early diagnosis and treatment, avoiding the immune cascade. Too late a diagnosis or development of serious complications may lead to death. Key words: Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Hemophagocytic syndrome; Child
Muscarinic receptors, protein kinase C isozymes and proliferation of astroglial cells: effects of ethanol.

Activation of cholinergic muscarinic receptors (primarily the M 3 subtype) causes proliferation of astroglial cells and this effect is inhibited by low concentrations (10-50 mM) of ethanol. Investigations on the signal transduction pathways activated by muscarinic receptors in a human astrocytoma cell line (1321N1) have focused on protein kinases C (PKC). Among PKC isozymes expressed in this cell line (a, e, ζ), the atypical PKC ζ appears to play a primary role in the mitogenic action of muscarinic agonists. We investigated whether activation of these PKC isozymes may be affected by ethanol at concentrations that can inhibit muscarinic receptor-induced proliferation. Carbachol caused an increase in phorbol ester binding and translocation of PKC e, however these were inhibited only by 100-200 mM ethanol. On the other hand, translocation of the atypical PKC ζ to the perinuclear area by carbachol was inhibited by ethanol in a dose-dependent manner (10-100 mM). These results suggest that activation of PKC ζ may represent a relevant target for the inhibitory effect of ethanol on muscarinic receptor-induced glial cell proliferation.
Keeping the Internet Free: Why the DMCA’s Safe Harbor Provision Should Be Expanded to Help Curb Overregulation of Content by Removing the Financial Benefit with Right and Ability to Control Exclusion

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) was passed in 1999 as an attempt to update copyright law to the age of the internet. The law was intended to serve as a compromise for both sides, giving copyright holders an easy means of taking action against infringements while giving websites reduced liability. To that end, the DMCA included the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA), which created Safe Harbors for service providers.While creating a Safe Harbor was a good idea, it has not been encouraging sites to be less fearful of lawsuits. With the rise of video hosting sites like YouTube, the internet is a far larger and more critical part of society than it was in 1999. Unfortunately, there has been a recent trend of sites like YouTube regulating their content more strictly than the Safe Harbor provision requires in order to avoid any chance of liability. This has resulted in the unnecessary take down and removal of countless videos, and if things are left alone, content removal across the internet will only become more frequent.The issue of over regulation stems from an ambiguous section of the Safe Harbor provision which removes protection from content hosting sites that gain a financial benefit from the infringing content and have a right and ability to control it. This has been interpreted several ways by courts. Some have said that a site must do more than just have the content on their site, while others have used the common law vicarious liability test, which raises its own problems and ambiguities when applied to a content hosting site. An uncertainty on what to do has lead to sites over regulating to avoid liability. Because of this, the financial gain with right and ability to control language should be struck from the Safe Harbor provision to resolve this ambiguity and over regulation. While the concept that the OCILLA is ambiguous has been discussed in academic literature before, the outright removal of the financial benefit with right and ability to control language is a new solution.
Cell states: stability, oscillation, differentiation

In the previous chapter we considered the forces leading to subdivision of the fertilized egg and the large-scale morphological consequences of successive cleavages. We followed the processes leading to the generation of the blastula, an important developmental step. In our treatment, however, the blastula was represented as a mass of identical cells. In reality, at the blastula stage not all cells of the embryo are identical: the “totipotent” zygote (with the potential to give rise to any cell type) first generates cells that are “pluripotent”– capable of giving rise to only a limited range of cell types. These cells, in turn, diversify into cells with progressively limited potency, ultimately generating all the (generally unipotent) specialized cells of the body. At the same time, in the life of each dividing cell, regardless of its level of developmental potency, there are transitions from state to state as the cell performs various functions of the cell cycle. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a framework for understanding how genetically identical cells can change their physical states in reliable and stable ways in time and space. We will also explore how these states, in turn, can provide a physical basis for a cell's performance of different tasks at different phases of its life cycle and for its descendants' performance of different specialized functions in different parts of the developing and adult organism. The transition from wider to narrower developmental potency is referred to as determination .
Venous Aneurysm of the Upper Limb

Objective:To report a case of primary venous aneurysm arising in the antecubital fossa.Design:Case report.Setting:Department of General Surgery, Norfolk & Norwich Hospital, Norwich.Patient:Patient with clinical and radiological evidence of venous aneurysm.Interventions:Surgical repair.Main outcome measures:Avoidance of pulmonary embolism.Results:Satisfactory post-operative recovery. No complications or subsequent pulmonary embolus.
Practices for Teacher Development

Confirmation bias refers to the tendency to seek and find confirmatory evidence in support of already existing beliefs and ignore or reinterpret disconfirming evidence and is a major barrier to evidenced-based practice (Lilienfeld et al., 2013). Confirmation bias is a universal human tendency that applies to everyone, so what distinguishes the mindful person from an unmindful one is not the presence or absence of the bias, but rather the willingness to acknowledge and challenge the bias in the service of “seeing clearly.” The following is an exercise for investigating the sources of our own confirmation biases.
Molecular basis for the interaction between Integrator subunits IntS9 and IntS11 and its functional importance.

The metazoan Integrator complex (INT) has important functions in the 3′-end processing of noncoding RNAs, including the uridine-rich small nuclear RNA (UsnRNA) and enhancer RNA (eRNA), and in the transcription of coding genes by RNA polymerase II. The INT contains at least 14 subunits, but its molecular mechanism of action is poorly understood, because currently there is little structural information about its subunits. The endonuclease activity of INT is mediated by its subunit 11 (IntS11), which belongs to the metallo-β-lactamase superfamily and is a paralog of CPSF-73, the endonuclease for pre-mRNA 3′-end processing. IntS11 forms a stable complex with Integrator complex subunit 9 (IntS9) through their C-terminal domains (CTDs). Here, we report the crystal structure of the IntS9–IntS11 CTD complex at 2.1-A resolution and detailed, structure-based biochemical and functional studies. The complex is composed of a continuous nine-stranded β-sheet with four strands from IntS9 and five from IntS11. Highly conserved residues are located in the extensive interface between the two CTDs. Yeast two-hybrid assays and coimmunoprecipitation experiments confirm the structural observations on the complex. Functional studies demonstrate that the IntS9–IntS11 interaction is crucial for the role of INT in snRNA 3′-end processing.
Abstract 282: Chemically Tailoring Cardiovascular Drugs for Alzheimer's Disease Drug Discovery

We previously reported that carvedilol, a brain bioavailable and bioactive antihypertensive agent, significantly reduces brain contents of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-type β-amyloid (Aβ) oligomers experimentally. Currently, we are exploring clinical applications of carvedilol to prevent or attenuate the progression of AD dementia. However, the potential development of carvedilol for AD is complicated by its cardiovascular activities, including bradycardia and hypotension, particularly among patients already undergoing treatment with other cardiovascular medications. Based on this, using structure-activity relationship (SAR) medicinal chemistry we are developing novel modified carvedilol lead compounds with decreased cardiovascular features for treating AD. Testing commercially available compounds identified from a preliminary screening of a library of carvedilol analogs, we identified 6 bioactive small-molecule compounds that significantly reduce Aβ oligomerization in vitro. Anti-Aβ oligomerization activity was confirmed by circular diachroism and electron microscopy. One compound, (R)-(+)-4-hydroxyphenyl carvedilol, showed improved anti-oligomerization activity and reduced α-1 adrenergic receptor binding activity compared to carvedilol. Short-term proof-of-concept in vivo testing showed that treatment with 1.5 mg/kg/day (R)-(+)-4-hydroxyphenyl carvedilol significantly reduced levels of oligomeric Aβ and total Aβ in the brains of a transgenic mouse model of AD-type Aβ neuropathology without cardiovascular complications. We are currently evaluating the effects of (R)-(+)-4-hydroxyphenyl carvedilol on cardiovascular functions and the attenuation of Aβ-mediated cognitive dysfunction in experimental AD models. Our study provides the critical basis for exploring the bioavailability and pharmacokinetic characteristics of novel cardiovascular lead compounds with enhanced brain activities and reduced adverse events in IND-directed pre-clinical safety assessments and eventually Phase I clinical applications in AD.
Copulation Call Coordinates Timing of Head-Tossing and Mounting Behaviors In Neighboring Glaucous-Winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens)

ABSTRACT Reproductive behaviors such as mounting and copulation calls spread through gull breeding colonies via social facilitation. We showed that broadcasts of model copulation calls to breeding Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens) did not increase the overall numbers of bouts of head tossing or mounts, but they did coordinate the timing of subsequent head-tossing and mounting behaviors. By contrast, silent controls and non-gull sounds with similar spectral features and duty cycles did not coordinate the timing of either head tossing or mounts. Disturbances by humans, such as those occurring during an egg census, caused increases in head tossing in the short term but did not affect the number or timing of mounts. Eagle disturbances reduced the frequency of head tossing and mounting overall, and coordinated the timing of head tossing but on a longer time scale compared to the effect of a human disturbance. Our data demonstrate that the copulation call, without associated wing-flagging, is sufficient...
Somatoform pain disorder and work disability

Over the past few years, the number of i.v. pensioners has risen drastically. According to BSV statistics the diagnosis for the new pensions was mainly based on psychological disorders and problems with the musculoskeletal system. A large portion of these people with new disabilities are probably suffering from somatoform disorder, whereby the insured person complains about pain for which there are no demonstrable organic findings. The author contests the fact that this condition automatically leads to disability and makes an appeal for stricter, more exacting diagnostic screening: psychiatric co-morbidity must be considered in order to be able to determine the degree of work disability. Due to its multiplicity and inconsistencies, current practice is no longer able to ensure equal handling of all insured persons.
The Verbal Behavior Stimulus Control Ratio Equation: a Quantification of Language

Language is a much sought-after yet elusive subject matter for scientific investigation. Entire fields of study have evolved to address the complexities of language, with most using a structural analysis as the framework for examination. Skinner (Verbal Behavior, 1957) proposed that language fell within the scope of a science of behavior and was therefore open to functional analysis and interpretation. Over the past 60 years, much has been done to further the scientific explanation, prediction, and control of verbal behavior as a function of environmental variables. However, we still need to more accurately describe the subject matter of investigation. The stimulus control ratio equation (SCoRE) is a metric to summarize a behavioral repertoire by comparing the relative frequency of its component parts. The verbal behavior SCoRE compares the observed proportions of responding against the null hypothesis to yield a statistic to describe the present level of functional performance. Such information may be useful for measuring change over time and comparing treatment effects within individuals and across groups. This article provides a conceptualization of the interdependence of the verbal operants identified by Skinner (1957), a model for analyzing the entirety of the verbal repertoire, and implications for research and practice.
A robust smartphone based multi-channel dynamic-range audio compressor for hearing aids

Hearing impairment degrades perception of speech and audio signals due to low frequency-dependent audible threshold levels. Hearing aid devices (HADs) apply prescription gains and dynamic-range compressor for improving users’ audibility without increasing the sound loudness to uncomfortable levels. Multi-channel dynamic-range compressor enhances quality and intelligibility of audio output by targeting each frequency band with different compression parameters such as compression ratio (CR), attack time (AT), and release time (RT). Increasing the number of compressor channels can result in more comfortable audio output when appropriate parameters are defined for each channel. However, the use of more channels increases computational complexity of the multi-channel compressor algorithm limiting its application to some HADs. In this paper, we propose a nine-channel dynamic-range compressor with an optimized structure capable of running on smartphones and other portable digital platforms in real time. Test results showing the performance of proposed method are presented too.
A Personal Perspective on School Social Work

Despite the many problems permeating schools, there is enough flexibility in the system today for a social worker to significantly change children's lives
Text-to-Speech Alignment

Text-to-speech alignment is the alignment of a textual transcript to an audio stream. The computed synchronization data is a mapping from words in the text transcript to temporal intervals in the audio. This alignment provides a basic tool that facilitates many applications and has wide-spread general applicability.
Transcripts associated with herpes simplex virus latency.

It has been almost 20 years since herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) was first shown to establish latent infections in the neurons of sensory ganglia (1). As might be expected, a considerable amount of work on the latent state followed this finding. In spite of the volume of work which has been published, the mechanisms employed by the agent and cell in establishing, maintaining, and reactivating from this state are just now beginning to be understood. The reasons for this extended period of relative ignorance relate principally to the complexities and difficulties of manipulating both virus and host cell. The virus has a complex morphological structure with a unique DNA arrangement, and it replicates in an involved fashion in which there is a temporal appearance of transcripts and protein products that arise from some 72 different viral genes (reviewed in [2]). The host cell is a member of a group of cells which is among the most poorly understood within the mammalian body, and they continue to be difficult to isolate, maintain, and study in vitro.
Case Ellipsis: Acquisition of Variability by Young Heritage Speakers of Korean.

Korean employs case ellipsis (CE), in which nouns are permitted to appear without case markers in certain contexts, particularly in informal settings. Heritage speakers (HS) are typically exposed t...
Evaluating a Video-Based, Personalized Webpage in Genitourinary Oncology Clinical Trials: A Phase 2 Randomized Trial.

Background: The pace of drug discovery and approvals has led to expanding treatments for cancer patients. Although extensive research exists regarding barriers to enrollment in oncology clinical trials, there are limited studies evaluating processes to optimize patient education, oral anticancer therapy administration, and adherence for patients enrolled in clinical trials. In this study, we assess the feasibility of a video-based, personalized webpage for patients enrolled in genitourinary oncology clinical trials involving 1 or more oral anticancer therapy. Objective: The primary objective of this trial was to assess the differences in the number of patient-initiated violations in the intervention arm compared with a control arm over 4 treatment cycles. Secondary objectives included patient satisfaction, frequently asked questions by patients on the intervention arm, patient-initiated calls to study team members, and patient-reported stress levels. Methods: Eligible patients enrolling on a therapeutic clinical trial for a genitourinary malignancy were randomized 2:1 to the intervention arm or control arm. Patients randomized to the intervention arm received access to a video-based, personalized webpage, which included videos of patients’ own clinic encounters with their providers, instructional videos on medication administration and side effects, and electronic versions of educational documents. Results: A total of 99 patients were enrolled (89 were evaluable; 66 completed 4 cycles). In total, 71% (40/56) of patients in the intervention arm had 1 or more patient-initiated violation compared with 70% (23/33) in the control arm. There was no difference in the total number of violations across 4 cycles between the 2 arms (estimate=−0.0939, 95% CI−0.6295 to 0.4418, P value=.73). Median baseline satisfaction scores for the intervention and control arms were 72 and 73, respectively, indicating high levels of patient satisfaction in both arms. Median baseline patient-reported stress levels were 10 and 13 for the intervention and control arms, respectively, indicating low stress levels in both arms at baseline. Conclusions: This study is among the first to evaluate a video-based, personalized webpage that provides patients with educational videos and video recordings of clinical trial appointments. Despite not meeting the primary endpoint of reduced patient-initiated violations, this study demonstrates the feasibility of a video-based, personalized webpage in clinical trials. Future research assessing this tool might be better suited for realms outside of clinical trials and might consider the use of an endpoint that assesses patient-reported outcomes directly. A major limitation of this study was the lack of prior data for estimating the null hypothesis in this population.
Medical Provider Promotion of Oral Health and Women’s Receipt of Dental Care During Pregnancy

Objectives Dental care during pregnancy is important. We examined whether promotion of oral health by medical providers during pregnancy and pregnant women’s receipt of dental care improved between 2009 and 2012 in California. Methods We used population-based postpartum survey data collected during 2009 (n = 3105) and 2012 (n = 6810) to compare the prevalence of women’s reports that, during pregnancy, (a) their medical providers discussed oral health and/or suggested they see a dentist, and (b) they received dental care. Results Between 2009 and 2012, the proportion of women reporting that their medical providers talked about oral health or referred them to a dentist increased significantly overall (from 36 to 42%, and 21–26%, respectively, p < 0.001). The proportion of women with a dental visit during pregnancy also increased, from 38% in 2009 to 42% in 2012 (p < 0.005). The improvements were largely among women of lower income and education levels, those covered by Medi-Cal, and Latinas. Women whose medical providers promoted oral health care were approximately two times more likely to report having had a dental visit during pregnancy, even after adjusting for several potential confounders. Conclusions for Practice Characteristics of women reporting that their medical providers promoted, and that they received, dental care during pregnancy in 2012 suggests that the increases in promotion and use of oral health care were largely concentrated among Medi-Cal recipients. Further improvement is needed for all populations of pregnant women. Both public and private providers need to incorporate promotion of and referral for dental care into routine prenatal care protocols.
Reevaluating our understanding of lactulose breath tests by incorporating hydrogen sulfide measurements.

Background and aim Breath testing has become a commonly used tool in gastroenterology to evaluate changes in the fermentation pattern of the gut microbiome. Currently, hydrogen and methane gas concentrations are measured in breath testing and evaluated against specific cut-off values for interpretation as normal or abnormal. However, microbial gas kinetics is a complex process that is not currently fully considered when interpreting breath gas results. Gas exchange between hydrogen producers and hydrogen consumers (methanogens and sulfate-reducing bacteria) is a process whereby hydrogen availability is determined by both its production and removal. Hydrogen sulfide is a crucial gas involved in this process as it is a major hydrogen-consumptive pathway involved in energy exchange. Methods This is a cross-sectional study evaluating lactulose breath testing with the inclusion of hydrogen sulfide measurements in patients referred for breath testing for gastrointestinal symptoms of bloating, excessive gas, and/or abdominal pain. Results A total of 159 patients were analyzed between October 2016 and June 2017. Mean hydrogen concentrations with a positive trend through a 3-h period (R 2 = 0.97), mean methane concentrations with a positive trend (R 2 = 0.69), and mean hydrogen sulfide concentrations with a negative trend (R 2 = -0.71) were observed. Conclusion By incorporating energy exchange in the interpretation of the lactulose breath test, we reevaluated specific breath gas profiles, including those commonly described as "hydrogen nonproducers" and the "double-peak" phenomenon.
A quasi-experimental study examining the effects of online traumatic brain injury professional development on educator knowledge, application, and efficacy in a practitioner setting.

Background: Each year ∼700 000 U.S. children ages 0–19 years sustain a traumatic brain injury. Children who experience brain injury are at risk for impairments in executive function, processing spe...
A Review of Recreation Requirements in U.S. Juvenile Justice Facilities

In the United States, the mission of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention includes the development and implementation of prevention and intervention programs. While many of the...
Contact hypersensitivity stomatitis in response to Suboxone use: A case report

Abstract Contact hypersensitivity stomatitis is a type-4 hypersensitivity reaction of the oral mucosa. Suboxone is a sublingual film that combines buprenorphine and naloxone. In this report, we document the first case of contact hypersensitivity stomatitis in response to Suboxone, which led to a hospital admission. The patient was noted to have painful floor of mouth swelling and red-and-white lesions. Symptoms resolved after removal of the offending agent and treatment with IV and PO steroids. When patients present with floor of mouth edema, potentially concerning for an underlying sublingual space infection, it is important to perform a thorough review of potential medication side effects.
Automated Versus Manual Band Counts for the Diagnosis of Invasive Bacterial Infections in Infants Who Are Febrile.

We conducted a secondary analysis of a prospective study of infants ≤60 days of age who were febrile to assess the diagnostic accuracy of automated vs manual immature neutrophils for invasive bacterial infections. Although manual counts were superior compared with automated counts, bands had suboptimal accuracy overall and had significant variability in test characteristics based on methodology.
Increased reporting but decreased mortality associated with adverse events in patients undergoing lung cancer surgery: Competing forces in an era of heightened focus on care quality?

Introduction Advances in surgical techniques have improved clinical outcomes and decreased complications. At the same time, heightened attention to care quality has resulted in increased identification of hospital-acquired adverse events. We evaluated these divergent effects on the reported safety of lung cancer resection. Methods and materials We analyzed hospital-acquired adverse events in patients undergoing lung cancer resection using the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS) database from 2001–2010. Demographics, diagnoses, and procedures data were abstracted using ICD-9 codes. We used the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Patient Safety Indicators (PSI) to identify hospital-acquired adverse events. Weighted analyses were performed using t-tests and chi-square. Results A total of 302,444 hospitalizations for lung cancer resection and were included in the analysis. Incidence of PSI increased over time (28% in 2001–2002 vs 34% in 2009–2010; P<0.001). Those with one or more PSI had increased in-hospital mortality (aOR = 11.1; 95% CI, 4.7–26.1; P<0.001) and prolonged hospitalization (12.5 vs 7.8 days; P<0.001). However, among those with PSI, in-hospital mortality decreased over time, from 17% in 2001–2002 to 2% in 2009–2010. Conclusions In a recent ten-year period, documented rates of adverse events associated with lung cancer resection increased. Despite this increase in safety events, we observed that mortality decreased. Because such metrics may be incorporated into hospital rankings and reimbursement considerations, adverse event coding consistency and content merit further evaluation.
Lower temperature influences Cauliflower mosaic virus systemic infection

Lower temperatures delayed development of systemic symptoms by Cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) in two different plant hosts. However, lower temperature exposure increased CaMV nucleic acid levels in leaves of systemically-infected turnips. Furthermore, lower temperature altered the formation of aggregates formed by the CaMV major inclusion body (IB) protein, P6. Finally, lower temperature altered the architecture of the actin cytoskeleton. These data may suggest that lower temperatures alter the actin cytoskeleton, facilitating the formation of larger IBs that hold on to their internal virions more strongly than small ones, impairing virus particle release and causing a delay in systemic infection.
Citizenship in Hard Times: How Ordinary People Respond to Democratic Threat

What do citizens do in response to threats to democracy? This book examines the mass politics of civic obligation in the US, UK, and Germany. Exploring threats like foreign interference in elections and polarization, Sara Wallace Goodman shows that citizens respond to threats to democracy as partisans, interpreting civic obligation through a partisan lens that is shaped by their country's political institutions. This divided, partisan citizenship makes democratic problems worse by eroding the national unity required for democratic stability. Employing novel survey experiments in a cross-national research design, Citizenship in Hard Times presents the first comprehensive and comparative analysis of citizenship norms in the face of democratic threat. In showing partisan citizens are not a reliable bulwark against democratic backsliding, Goodman identifies a key vulnerability in the mass politics of democratic order. In times of democratic crisis, defenders of democracy must work to fortify the shared foundations of democratic citizenship.
Some Matrix Patterns Arising in Queuing Theory

A remarkably versatile dynamical system is given by $$ d{p_i}/dt = \sum\limits_{{\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {j = 1} \\ {j \ne i} \\ \end{array} }}^n {{a_{{ij}}}{p_j} - (\sum\limits_{{\begin{array}{*{20}{c}} {j = 1} \\ {j \ne i} \\ \end{array} }}^n {{a_{{ji}}}} )} {p_i} $$ where n ≥ 2, {p 1, p 2,..., p n } are system variables, and {a ij } is a matrix of nonnegative real numbers. Diagonal entries in {a{ do not occur in the model in the sense that they are both added and subtracted in the given sum; for secretarial purposes we set a ii = 0. The system variables themselves arise from probabilities, so we also assume throughout that at time t = 0, all p i are nonnegative and the component sum p 1 + p 2 +... + p n is equal to 1.
Monocular deprivation induces homosynaptic long-term depression in visual cortex

Brief monocular deprivation during early postnatal development can lead to a depression of synaptic transmission that renders visual cortical neurons unresponsive to subsequent visual stimulation through the deprived eye. The Bienenstock–Cooper–Munro (BCM) theory1 proposes that homosynaptic mechanisms of long-term depression (LTD) account for the deprivation effects2,3. Homosynaptic depression, by definition, occurs only at active synapses. Thus, in contrast to the commonly held view that the synaptic depression caused by monocular deprivation is simply a result of retinal inactivity, this theoretical framework indicates that the synaptic depression may actually be driven by the residual activity in the visually deprived retina4. Here we examine the validity of this idea by comparing the consequences of brief monocular deprivation by lid suture with those of monocular inactivation by intra-ocular treatment with tetrodotoxin. Lid suture leaves the retina spontaneously active, whereas tetrodotoxin eliminates all activity. In agreement with the BCM theory, our results show that monocular lid suture causes a significantly greater depression of deprived-eye responses in kitten visual cortex than does treatment with tetrodotoxin. These findings have important implications for mechanisms of experience-dependent plasticity in the neocortex.
Real-time image de-blurring and image processing for a robotic vision system

This paper proposes a method for real-time de-blurring of images captured by a robotic system. De-blurring is achieved by combining a dynamics-based approach and parallel computing. Existing methods have successfully restored a blurry image but were not suitable for real-time applications. The dynamics-based method with parallel programming in the FPGA is used to estimate the PSF during the camera exposure window. The deconvolution process, which involves iterative matrix calculations with millions of pixels, is then performed on the GPU to achieve real-time performance. The proposed method has been evaluated by using a robotic system which has a total of 32 piezoelectric actuators and one vision sensor. The frame rate of image de-blurring ranges from 20.32 to 40.68 fps and thus real-time performance is achieved. In comparison to existing methods, the proposed method produces the best image quality. The dynamics-based approach is extended to real-time image stitching which is computationally cheap and robust to motion blur. It is demonstrated from image stitching that real-time de-blurring is beneficial for image processing.
From Self-To-Other-Centric: The Impact of Team (Dis)Satisfaction and Psychological Safety on Performance Evaluation Biases

Research on self-serving bias in teams has focused on bias after team feedback. Many teams, however, work for extended periods of time before receiving feedback. This paper proposes that team members exhibit biases prior to receiving feedback, depending on the level of team satisfaction. The results of a field study of 35 MBA teams demonstrate that members of unsatisfied teams make more self-serving claims about contribution toward the team’s task, while the most highly satisfied teams demonstrate an "other-centric" bias -- assigning more credit to other team members than to themselves. Both biases -- self-serving and other-serving -- are eliminated in teams with strong psychological safety norms.
Human development report 2007/2008: Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in a divided world

Climate change is the defining human development challenge of the 21st Century. Failure to respond to that challenge will stall and then reverse international efforts to reduce poverty. The poorest countries and most vulnerable citizens will suffer the earliest and most damaging setbacks, even though they have contributed least to the problem. Looking to the future, no country — however wealthy or powerful — will be immune to the impact of global warming.The Human Development Report 2007/8 shows that climate change is not just a future scenario. Increased exposure to droughts, floods and storms is already destroying opportunity and reinforcing inequality. Meanwhile, there is now overwhelming scientific evidence that the world is moving towards the point at which irreversible ecological catastrophe becomes unavoidable. Business-as-usual climate change points in a clear direction: unprecedented reversal in human development in our lifetime, and acute risks for our children and their grandchildren.There is a window of opportunity for avoiding the most damaging climate change impacts, but that window is closing: the world has less than a decade to change course. Actions taken — or not taken — in the years ahead will have a profound bearing on the future course of human development. The world lacks neither the financial resources nor the technological capabilities to act. What is missing is a sense of urgency, human solidarity and collective interest.As the Human Development Report 2007/8 argues, climate change poses challenges at many levels. In a divided but ecologically interdependent world, it challenges all people to reflect upon how we manage the environment of the one thing that we share in common: planet Earth. It challenges us to reflect on social justice and human rights across countries and generations. It challenges political leaders and people in rich nations to acknowledge their historic responsibility for the problem, and to initiate deep and early cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Above all, it challenges the entire human community to undertake prompt and strong collective action based on shared values and a shared vision.
Novel endoscopic diagnosis for bladder cancer

Advances in endoscopic imaging technology may improve sensitivity for the detection of bladder cancer and provide a more complete understanding of the urothelial landscape, and it also may lead to improved short-term and long-term cancer control. Fluorescence cystoscopy requires intravesical administration of a photosensitizing agent (5-aminolevulinic acid or hexaminolevulinate), and imaging with a blue-light endoscopy system demonstrably improves the detection of papillary and flat bladder lesions compared with conventional white-light cystoscopy. Prospective phase 3 clinical trials have demonstrated improved diagnostic ability, enhanced tumor resection, and a small but significant reduction in recurrence-free survival. Optical coherence tomography delineates subsurface microarchitecture information about bladder lesions in real time and has the ability to discriminate between noninvasive and invasive cancers. Narrow-band imaging may augment white-light cystoscopy by providing increased contrast between normal and abnormal tissue on the basis of neovascularity. Confocal laser endoscopy has been applied to the urinary tract using thinner probes adapted from use in gastrointestinal malignancies and provides exquisite images at microscopic resolution. More technology is on the horizon that may further enhance our ability to detect and accurately stage bladder tumors and distinguish benign from malignant or dysplastic lesions.