cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The STARBRITE trial: a randomized, pilot study of B-type natriuretic peptide-guided therapy in patients with advanced heart failure

Abstract Background STARBRITE, a multicenter randomized pilot trial, tested whether outpatient diuretic management guided by B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and clinical assessment resulted in more days alive and not hospitalized over 90 days compared with clinical assessment alone. Methods and Results A total of 130 patients from 3 sites with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% were enrolled during hospitalization for heart failure (HF) and randomly assigned to therapy guided by BNP and clinical assessment (BNP strategy) or clinical assessment alone. The clinical goal was resolution of congestion without hypotension or renal dysfunction. In the BNP arm, therapy was adjusted to achieve optimal fluid status, defined as the BNP level and congestion score obtained at the time of discharge. In the clinical assessment arm, therapy was titrated to achieve optimal fluid status, represented by the patient’s signs and symptoms at the time of discharge. Exclusion criteria were serum creatinine >3.5 mg/dL and acute coronary syndrome. Follow-up was done in HF clinics. BNP was measured with the use of a rapid assay test. There was no significant difference in number of days alive and not hospitalized (hazard ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.41–1.27; P = .25), change in serum creatinine, or change in systolic blood pressure (SBP). BNP strategy was associated with a trend toward a lower blood urea nitrogen (24 mg/dL vs 29 mg/dL; P = .07); BNP strategy patients received significantly more angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, beta-blockers, and the combination of ACE inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker plus beta-blockers. Conclusions BNP strategy was not associated with more days alive and not hospitalized, but the strategy appeared to be safe and was associated with increased use of evidence-based medications.
Induction of preputium eversion by peptides, serotonin receptor antagonists, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in Biomphalaria glabrata

. Eversion of the preputium is one of the initial steps in the male copulatory behavior of freshwater pulmonates. Previous experiments have shown that serotonergic mechanisms are involved in eversion in the snail Biomphalaria glabrata because the vertebrate 5-HT1 receptor antagonist methiothepin caused long-lasting eversion in a dose-dependent manner. In this study, we tested a variety of serotonergic receptor ligands, bioactive peptides, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for their ability to induce preputium eversion in B. glabrata in order to elucidate the physiological mechanism of eversion. Of 15 compounds tested, five significantly induced preputium eversion: the serotonin receptor antagonists methiothepin (1 and 10 μM; p<0.0001), cyproheptadine (1–10 μM; p<0.007–0.0001), and mianserin (5–50 μM; p<0.01–0.001), the molluscan cardioactive peptide FMRFamide (10 and 50 μM; p<0.0002–0.0001), and the SSRI fluoxetine (=Prozac, 10–100 μM; p<0.0003–0.0001). Serotonin itself neither induced eversion nor blocked methiothepin-induced eversion. This suggests that fluoxetine is not acting as an SSRI, but potentially as a receptor ligand. These preliminary data shed light on the possible physiological mechanism of preputium eversion in B. glabrata and suggest similarity with that of the model freshwater gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis.
Prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer by curcumin in combination with omega-3 fatty acids.

Pancreatic cancer BxPC-3 cells were exposed to curcumin, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), or combinations of both and analyzed for proliferation and apoptosis. Pancreatic tumor xenografts were established by injecting BxPC-3 cells into each flank of nude mice. After the tumors reached a size of approximately 190–200 mm3, animals were fed diets with or without 2,000 ppm curcumin in 18% corn oil or 15% fish oil + 3% corn oil for 6 more wk before assessing the tumor volume and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygeanse-2 (COX-2), 5-lipoxinase (5-LOX), and p21. A synergistic effect was observed on induction of apoptosis (approximately sixfold) and inhibition of cell proliferation (approximately 70%) when cells were treated with curcumin (5 μ M) together with the DHA (25 μ M). Mice fed fish oil and curcumin showed a significantly reduced tumor volume, 25% (P 72% (P < 0.0001) tum...
Dynamics of Donor Cell Persistence and Recipient Cell Replacement in Orthotopic Corneal Allografts in Mice

PURPOSE. To determine the extent to which donor cells persist and recipient cells repopulate each of the three cell layers of orthotopic corneal grafts in mice. METHODS. BALB/c, C57BL/6, and enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP) transgenic mice (B6 background) were used as donors and recipients for orthotopic syngeneic and allogeneic corneal grafts. Graft-bearing eyes were harvested at 5, 10, 15, 28, and 56 days, stained with propidium iodide, and observed (layer by layer) by confocal microscopy. Bone marrow- derived cells in the grafts were assessed immunohistochemically. RESULTS. Donor epithelium was totally replaced by recipient epithelial cells within 15 days in both syngeneic and allogeneic grafts, whereas donor stromal keratocytes and endothelial cells were retained virtually intact in syngeneic grafts and in accepted allografts. In rejected allografts, neither donor-derived keratocytes nor endothelial cells were detected, and, instead, recipient-derived stromal fibroblasts, neovessels, and infiltrating leukocytes were heavily represented. The posterior surface of rejected grafts was devoid of corneal endothelium and was covered incompletely with bone marrow- derived cells of recipient origin. CONCLUSIONS. Whereas in mice graft-derived epithelium is largely irrelevant to corneal allograft outcome, persistence of donor-derived endothelium and keratocytes correlates perfectly with graft acceptance. Recipient endothelium is incapable of covering the posterior surface of accepted or rejected corneal grafts, whereas bone marrow- derived cells of recipient origin come to occupy this site in rejected grafts.
Thermodynamic examination of the ordering of lipid hydrocarbon chains in the presence of protein

Thermodynamic relationships have been derived to describe the change in the entropy (ΔS) of lipid vesicles in the presence of a protein in terms of experimental quantities, the concentration of protein (C), the temperature (tm), and the enthalpy (ΔH) of the main lipid phase transition. Knowledge of the change in ΔS can provide an insight into the effect of a protein on the ordering of the lipid hydrocarbon chains. For a general case, evaluation of the entropy change requires information on the changes of ΔH and tm with respect to C. In a special cae where tm remains inchanged and (ΔH) varies, the change in ΔS can be represented simply as (ΔHc − ΔHo)/Tm, where the subscripts c and o denote the presence and absence of a protein, respectively. Data for 1,2-dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholone in the presence of lysozyme was used to illustrate a thermodynamic analysis.
PatientsLikeMe: An Online Community of Patients (TN)

PatientsLikeMe (PLM) is an online community where patients share their personal experiences with a disease, find other patients like them, and learn from each other. The company was founded by Jamie and Ben Heywood when their 29-year-old brother was diagnosed with ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. In less than five years, PLM has grown to 15 patient communities where over 80,000 patients discuss 19 diseases. In December 2010, PLM is discussing its planned launch of a General Platform that would expand the number of diseases covered from 19 to over 3,500. Is it the right move, and what does PLM need to do to make it a success?Learning Objective: To understand how an online community is built and monetized and to highlight the challenges in growing the platform to a larger scale.
Circuit improvements for a voltage multiplier

A voltage (or flux) multiplier is a device which multiplies applied SFQ pulses. Due to the quantum nature of an SFQ pulse the device can be used as a voltage (or flux) amplifier with a fundamentally accurate (integer) gain. Earlier we showed that the device can be used for improvement of dc and ac voltage standards. Recently we have found that a long voltage multiplier can display complex dynamic behavior, which can lead to undesirable collective oscillations. This report is devoted to theoretical optimization and experimental investigation of long voltage multipliers connected in series for dc current. Experimentally we have obtained accurate current steps with about 0.1 V voltage drop for a 5 mm/spl times/5 mm chip fabricated in Nb technology and tested at 4 K.
C-reactive protein, arterial endothelial activation, and development of transplant coronary artery disease: a prospective study.

Summary Background Arterial endothelial expression and raised serum concentrations of the soluble form of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) are implicated in development of transplant coronary artery disease. We investigated whether C-reactive protein, known to stimulate ICAM-1, was associated with increased ICAM-1 concentration and subsequent development of coronary artery disease. Methods With sandwich ELISAs, we measured C-reactive protein and soluble ICAM-1 in serial serum samples obtained during the first 3 months after transplantation in 109 heart-transplant patients. Matching endomyocardial biopsy samples were screened immunohistochemically for arterial endothelial ICAM-1. Serial coronary angiograms were assessed for development, severity, and progression of coronary artery disease. Findings We showed a significant correlation (p=0·001) between raised concentrations of C-reactive protein and arterial endothelial ICAM-1 expression in endomyocardial biopsy samples. We also noted a significant relation between C-reactive protein and soluble ICAM-1 concentrations soon after transplantation (p=0·003). Early raised C-reactive protein concentrations were associated with development (p=0·004), increased severity (p=0·02), and enhanced rate of progression (p=0·01) of coronary artery disease, and with heightened frequency of ischaemic events (p=0·049) and graft failure (p=0·04). Interpretation C-reactive protein concentration can be used to identify heart-transplant patients at increased risk of coronary artery disease and graft failure. Treatments directed at reduction of C-reactive protein concentration could improve patients' outcome.
A Review of: “Kimerling, R., Ouimette, P., & Wolfe, J. (Eds.) (2002)”

Gender and PTSD presents a well-researched, comprehensive, novel look at the intricacies of gender issues in the context of the etiology, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of posttraumatic stres...
Epidemiology of Cosmetic Procedures: An Update for Dermatologists

The relatively nascent field of cosmetic dermatology has seen a rapid rise in the number of products and procedures used to restore and enhance appearance. Millions of Americans undergo nonsurgical cosmetic procedures every year in the United States. The constant evolution of cosmetic dermatology introduces issues of safety and efficacy, as many of the innovative products and procedures have yet to endure the test of time. Practitioners who perform cosmetic procedures will benefit from recognizing the evidence to support the safety and efficacy of current trends in cosmetic dermatology. This article updates dermatologists on the epidemiology of cosmetic procedures in the United States, reviews recent research studying the motivations of the growing numbers of cosmetic patients, and briefly reviews the safety and efficacy of some of the most popular new nonsurgical cosmetic procedures.
A simple method for estimating parameters of the location–scale distribution family

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the parameters of the location–scale distribution family. As a special case, the method is used for estimating the parameters of the normal distribution and Cauchy distribution. For the Cauchy distribution, neither the moment estimation method nor the maximum likelihood estimation method works properly for estimating the parameters. The quantiles for obtaining confidence intervals and point estimates for the parameters of the two-parameter Cauchy distribution are given in the paper. It is shown that the estimators obtained in this paper are unbiased with respect to the median and possess some optimal properties.
Developmental progress and current status of the Animal QTLdb

The Animal QTL Database (QTLdb; http://www.animalgenome.org/QTLdb) has undergone dramatic growth in recent years in terms of new data curated, data downloads and new functions and tools. We have focused our development efforts to cope with challenges arising from rapid growth of newly published data and end users’ data demands, and to optimize data retrieval and analysis to facilitate users’ research. Evidenced by the 27 releases in the past 11 years, the growth of the QTLdb has been phenomenal. Here we report our recent progress which is highlighted by addition of one new species, four new data types, four new user tools, a new API tool set, numerous new functions and capabilities added to the curator tool set, expansion of our data alliance partners and more than 20 other improvements. In this paper we present a summary of our progress to date and an outlook regarding future directions.
Scalable obesity solutions (S.O.S.)

The know-how is available to reverse the obesity epidemic. Reversing obesity is a societal necessity because it is the predominant contributor to chronic ill health in developed countries and a growing precipitant of illness in middle and low-income countries. In the United States, for example, obesity is the chief driver of health care costs in a country that can no longer afford health care. Although some might advocate population-wide medication use to mitigate the effects of obesity on health, the more direct response is to end obesity. The goal of this paper is explain how mass-scalable obesity containment can be designed, built, and disseminated. Scalable Obesity Solutions (S.O.S.) are discussed from concept through deployment.
Impact of Polymorphic Variations of Gemcitabine Metabolism, DNA Damage Repair, and Drug-Resistance Genes on the Effect of High-Dose Chemotherapy for Relapsed or Refractory Lymphoid Malignancies

The goal of this study was to determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in gemcitabine metabolism, DNA damage repair, multidrug resistance, and alkylator detoxification influence the clinical outcome of patients with refractory/relapsed lymphoid malignancies receiving high-dose gemcitabine/busulfan/melphalan (Gem/Bu/Mel) with autologous stem cell support. We evaluated 21 germline SNPs of the gemcitabine metabolism genes CDA, deoxycytidine kinase, and hCNT3; DNA damage repair genes RECQL, X-ray repair complementing 1, RAD54L, ATM, ATR, MLH1, MSH2, MSH3, TREX1, EXO1, and TP73; and multidrug-resistance genes MRP2 and MRP5; as well as glutathione-S-transferase GSTP1 in 153 patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma or myeloma receiving Gem/Bu/Mel. We studied the association of genotypes with overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and nonhematological grade 3 or 4 toxicity. CDA C111T and TREX1 Ex14-460C>T genotypes had a significant effect on OS (P = .007 and P = .005, respectively), and CDA C111T, ATR C340T, and EXO1 P757L genotypes were significant predictors for severe toxicity (P = .037, P = .024, and P = .025, respectively) in multivariable models that adjusted for clinical variables. The multi-SNP risk score analysis identified the combined genotypes of TREX1 Ex14-460 TT and hCNT3 Ex5 +25A>G AA as significant predictors for OS and the combination of MRP2 Ex10 + 40GG/GA and MLH1 IVS12-169 TT as significant predictor for PFS. Polymorphic variants of certain genes involved in gemcitabine metabolism and DNA damage repair pathways may be potential biomarkers for clinical outcome in patients with refractory/relapsed lymphoid tumors receiving Gem/Bu/Mel.
Economic empathy in family entrepreneurship: Mexican-origin street vendor children and their parents

ABSTRACTResearch on ethnic entrepreneurship has shown that children of immigrants may experience an economic advantage associated with their entrepreneurial parents’ ‘modes of incorporation’ – the individual, group, and structural opportunities and characteristics that facilitate entrepreneurial participation and consequent economic progress. This ethnographic study examines street vending as a family enterprise and finds that the entrepreneurial, but nevertheless, disadvantaged Latino street vending parents experience economic stagnation. Child street vendors in this study experience compounded disadvantages stemming from their parents’ social locations rooted in unauthorized status, informal work, and stigma, as working together shortens the distance between ‘adulthood’ and ‘childhood’. Yet, street vending also sets the stage for children to develop economic empathy, a resiliency that results from experiencing their parent's position of oppression that helps prevent an authority shift in favour of the c...
Marketing's Coming of Age:

Marketing is a maturing discipline. That it is sometimes difficult to recognize as such may be traced to the variety of perspectives used to approach it. This article identifies three such perspect...
Dermal and respiratory exposure to applicators and occupants of residences treated with dichlorvos (DDVP).

Single-family residences were treated with a 0.5% (AI) solution of dichlorvos (DDVP) to control Blattella germanica (L.). Pesticide applicators and residents of treated structures were monitored for evidence of DDVP exposure with exposure pads, air samplers, serum and erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase tests, and urinalyses. Toxic doses were 0.028%/h for applicators and 0.030%/h for residents who were present during application and remained in the treated structure for 24 h after treatment. There was no evidence of DDVP or the dichloracetic acid metabolite in the urine of the applicators or residents. There were slight but statistically significant differences in serum acetylcholinesterase activity of residents of treated structures, but erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase was unchanged. We concluded that there was not a significant risk, in terms of acute toxicity, to either the pesticide applicators or the residents of treated structures when DDVP was used for cockroach control.
Design of a Surface Passivation Scheme for Gallium Arsenide Nanowire Solar Cells

We design a surface passivation scheme for axial junction GaAs nanowire solar cells using an AlGaAs shell layer. This design achieves 19.8% efficiency and is insensitive to doping level, surface quality, and junction position.
Storage consolidation: Not always a panacea, but can we ease the pain?

The system administrator, faces an arduous task of figuring out whether to consolidate storage workloads, which workloads to isolate, which workloads to co-locate, and how to reduce the interference on co-located workloads? This paper presents an approach to ease this arduous task. We consider different mixes of enterprise storage applications on a high-end SSD to study their performance, system throughput and fairness in their consolidated execution. The paper also considers a static approach using an integrated combination of resource partitioning and data placement to reduce the interference between the workloads.
Implementation of fixed-nuclei polyatomic MCTDHF capability and the future with nuclear motion

We discuss the implementation (https://commons.lbl.gov/display/csd/LBNL-AMO-MCTDHF) of Multiconfiguration Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock for polyatomic molecules using a Cartesian product grid of sinc basis functions, and present absorption cross sections and other results calculated with it.
P343 Addressing health and safety risks for tradeswomen in the construction industry

Objectives Construction work can be dangerous, with exposure to toxic chemicals, heavy equipment, electrocution, and ergonomic stressors. Little is known about women-specific hazards, and whether their minority status – less than 3% of skilled trades workers in the United States are women – subjects them to additional health and safety risks. Our study explores the nature, range, and extent of tradeswomen’s workplace hazards, with a goal of reducing their risks through effective program development. Methods Four focus groups were held in 2015 with 19 tradeswomen and 6 tradesmen, identified by community partners, from Washington State. Groups discussed physical and psychosocial workplace hazards and strategies to reduce them. Findings were independently analysed and informed development of a conceptual model on occupational and psychosocial stressors for tradeswomen. The theoretical framework guided creation of a questionnaire assessing the impact of health and safety hazards on women workers’ well-being. The survey was pilot tested with 3 tradeswomen and 2 tradesmen, and later administered using online, paper, and phone methods. Results Focus group findings revealed the challenges tradeswomen face in the male-dominated industry. From inadequate safety equipment to fears of asking for help or reporting their needs, tradeswomen are concerned about their health and safety. Preliminary survey data support the qualitative results. As of March 11, 2016, our survey had 211 participants. Almost three-quarters (73%) are women, and trades include 22% electricians, 19% labourers, and 13% plumbers/pipefitters. Conclusions The condition of tradeswomen is improving, but the industry lags in supporting their health and safety needs. Focus group findings and preliminary survey data suggest that gender-related stressors (including discrimination, tokenism, and overcompensation) play an important role in determining tradeswomen’s risk for negative health outcomes. Our conceptual model highlights the complicated nature of women’s workplace risks and indicates within-trade mentorship programs as a good area for future intervention.
Heart rate variability as a biomarker for sedation depth estimation in ICU patients

An automated patient-specific system to classify the level of sedation in ICU patients using heart rate variability signal is presented in this paper. ECG from 70 mechanically ventilated adult patients with administered sedatives in an ICU setting were used to develop a support vector machine based system for sedation depth monitoring using several heart rate variability measures. A leave-one-subject-out cross validation was used for classifier training and performance evaluations. The proposed patient-specific system provided a sensitivity, specificity and an AUC of 64%, 84.8% and 0.72, respectively. It is hoped that with the help of additional physiological signals the proposed patient-specific sedation level prediction system could lead to a fully automated multimodal system to assist clinical staff in ICUs to interpret the sedation level of the patient.
Emotional Safety: Viewing Couples Through the Lens of Affect

Emotional Safety is designed to help couple therapists identify and conceptualize the problems of their clients and to provide solutions, focusing on the two central elements of emotion and attachment. Problems occur in relationships when the partners no longer feel safe being open and vulnerable with each other. Emotional Safety: Viewing Couples Through the Lens of Affect enables couple therapists to recognize and articulate the emotional subtext of their clients’ interactions. The emotional safety model is based on modern affect theory and focuses on the affective tone of messages in the areas of attachment and esteem. The model allows therapists to address the subtle interplay of perceived threat and emotional reaction which underlies their clients’ difficulties and disrupts emotional safety.
Devotional Culture and Intellectual Community in the English Convents in Exile

Throughout the 17th century, English convents located in France, Portugal, and the Low Countries offered Catholic women an alternative to England's religious settlement. These exilic communities enabled multiple forms of exchange, grounded in the devotional cultures that flourished within specific religious orders, including Mary Ward's unenclosed order modeled on the Jesuits; new foundations of Benedictine, Augustinian, and Poor Clare convents, among others; and the continuous community of Syon Abbey, forced into exile at the dissolution. In the last decade, editorial projects and data collection have begun to reveal the richness and variety of surviving textual materials, and recent scholarly work has built upon these recovery efforts to demonstrate the significance of the convents in exile to the national and religious identity of English Catholics, Civil War and Interregnum politics, and the development of canonical literary history.
Pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic to non-transgenic switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) in the field.

Switchgrass is C4 perennial grass species that is being developed as a cellulosic bioenergy feedstock. It is wind-pollinated and considered to be an obligate outcrosser. Genetic engineering has been used to alter cell walls for more facile bioprocessing and biofuel yield. Gene flow from transgenic cultivars would likely be of regulatory concern. In this study we investigated pollen-mediated gene flow from transgenic to nontransgenic switchgrass in a 3-year field experiment performed in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, U.S.A. using a modified Nelder wheel design. The planted area (0.6 ha) contained sexually compatible pollen source and pollen receptor switchgrass plants. One hundred clonal switchgrass ‘Alamo’ plants transgenic for an orange-fluorescent protein (OFP) and hygromycin resistance were used as the pollen source; whole plants, including pollen, were orange-fluorescent. To assess pollen movement, pollen traps were placed at 10 m intervals from the pollen-source plot in the four cardinal directions extending to 20 m, 30 m, 30 m, and 100 m to the north, south, west, and east, respectively. To assess pollination rates, nontransgenic ‘Alamo 2’ switchgrass clones were planted in pairs adjacent to pollen traps. In the eastward direction there was a 98% decrease in OFP pollen grains from 10 to 100 m from the pollen-source plot (Poisson regression, F1,8 = 288.38, P < 0.0001). At the end of the second and third year, 1,820 F1 seeds were collected from pollen recipient-plots of which 962 (52.9%) germinated and analyzed for their transgenic status. Transgenic progeny production detected in each pollen-recipient plot decreased with increased distance from the edge of the transgenic plot (Poisson regression, F1,15 = 12.98, P < 0.003). The frequency of transgenic progeny detected in the eastward plots (the direction of the prevailing wind) ranged from 79.2% at 10 m to 9.3% at 100 m. In these experiments we found transgenic pollen movement and hybridization rates to be inversely associated with distance. However, these data suggest pollen-mediated gene flow is likely to occur up to, at least, 100 m. This study gives baseline data useful to determine isolation distances and other management practices should transgenic switchgrass be grown commercially in relevant environments.
Polyoxovanadate–Alkoxide Clusters as a Redox Reservoir for Iron

Inspired by the multielectron redox chemistry achieved using conventional organic-based redox-active ligands, we have characterized a series of iron-functionalized polyoxovanadate–alkoxide clusters in which the metal oxide scaffold functions as a three-dimensional, electron-deficient metalloligand. Four heterometallic clusters were prepared through sequential reduction, demonstrating that the metal oxide scaffold is capable of storing up to four electrons. These reduced products were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, IR, electronic absorption, and 1H NMR spectroscopies. Moreover, Mossbauer and X-ray absorption spectroscopies suggest that the redox events involve primarily the vanadium ions, while the iron atoms remained in the 3+ oxidation state throughout the redox series. In this sense, the vanadium portion of the cluster mimics a conventional organic-based redox-active ligand bound to an iron(III) ion. Magnetic coupling within the hexanuclear cluster was characterized using SQUID magnetometry. Overa...
Have we reached proton beam therapy dosimetric limitations? – A novel robust, delivery-efficient and continuous spot-scanning proton arc (SPArc) therapy is to improve the dosimetric outcome in treating prostate cancer

During the recent years, proton beam therapy practice has been dramatically advanced from passive-scattering (PS) to Pencil Beam Scanning (PBS) technique [1]. Such evolution not only has improved t...
Toward Consistent Methodology to Quantify Populations in Proximity to Oil and Gas Development: A National Spatial Analysis and Review.

Background: Higher risk of exposure to environmental health hazards near oil and gas wells has spurred interest in quantifying populations that live in proximity to oil and gas development. The ava...
Objective and Subjective Cancer Knowledge Among Faith-Based Chinese Adults.

This study examined cancer knowledge between church-going younger versus older Chinese adults. Hou's 8-item validated cancer screening knowledge test (CSKT) and a new 14-item cancer warning signs t...
The multicenter outcome survey for spinal cord monitoring: monitoring reduces neurologic deficits

Somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) monitoring can be used in surgery to identify early impending spinal cord damage from mechanical or ischemic causes. Scoliosis surgery is a major clinical setting for such monitoring.
Service Employment and Unemployment in the Great Recession: Trends in OECD Countries and U.S. States

As OECD country economies have developed stronger service economies, the level of employment fluctuations in business cycles has been reduced. The Great Recession precipitated strong downturns in service employment across OECD countries, although this percentage reduction was smaller than experienced within the manufacturing sector. Within the United States, states with very strong growth rates in real estate before the Great Recession were particularly hard hit in downturns in manufacturing, construction, and types of service employment linked to real estate investment. This chapter argues models of the investment cycle must include explicit links to producer services linked to the investment process.
Efficient Electrocatalytic Proton Reduction with Carbon Nanotube-Supported Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Hydrogen production from Earth-abundant catalysts remains an important but difficult challenge. Here we report the growth of Hf12-porphyrin metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) on carbon nanotubes (CNTs...
Long-Term Tumor Control Rates Following Gamma Knife Radiosurgery for Acoustic Neuroma.

Background Acoustic neuromas (ANs) are benign intracranial tumors that arise from myelin-forming Schwann cells surrounding the vestibular branch of the vestibulocochlear nerve (cranial nerve VIII). Treatment options for AN include observation, radiosurgery, and microsurgical resection. Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) for AN has well-documented short-term safety and efficacy for carefully selected patients. Recent innovations in GKRS technology may improve long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to report long-term tumor control and complication rates after GKRS for sporadic AN. Methods A retrospective review was performed of patients with sporadic ANs at Keck Hospital of USC who underwent GKRS from 1995 to 2015 with a minimum follow-up of 12 months. Results Median age at treatment was 63.7 years (range, 19.4–84.2 years). Median follow-up time was 69 months. Median tumor diameter was 17.5 mm (range, 5.0–29.0 mm), and median treatment volume was 2.41 cm3 (range, 0.09–12.8 cm3). Median prescribed dose was 12.50 Gy. Tumor control was achieved in 51 (98.1%) patients over the follow-up period (12–192 months). One patient experienced tumor progression at 22 months after GKRS, requiring surgical intervention, which ultimately resulted in remission. Complications included hearing loss (17.3%), worsened balance/ataxia (7.7%), and hydrocephalus (1.92%). Conclusions Patients undergoing GKRS for sporadic ANs had high rates of tumor control over a median follow-up time of >5 years. Improvements in radiosurgery treatment planning were seen in the most recent cohort of patients. GKRS is a safe and effective modality for treating sporadic ANs in selected patients.
A registry-based analysis of survival outcomes in mast cell leukemia.

Abstract Introduction Mast cell leukemia (MCL) is rare and carries a poor prognosis. No standard-of-care has been established. No USA registry-based analyses have examined clinical correlates of overall survival (OS) in MCL patients, thus we aimed to do this using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, and the National Cancer Database (NCDB). Materials/methods We included 25 patients from SEER, and 50 patients from NCDB diagnosed with MCL through 2015. Kaplan-Meier and multivariable regression analyses were used to assess the impact of clinical characteristics on OS in each dataset, and on a pooled cohort of both datasets. Results Median age at diagnosis for the pooled cohort was 63 years, and median OS was 9.4 months. The proportion of patients surviving 12, 36, and 60 months was 42.9%, 23.2%, and 16.6%, respectively. Males (n = 44, 58.7%) outnumbered females (n = 31, 41.3%). Caucasians formed a majority (n = 66, 88%). With Cox regression accounting for database of origin, age at and year of diagnosis, sex, race, sequence number, and receipt of chemotherapy, no variable was significantly associated with OS. However, in the same analysis, when stratified by sex, receipt of chemotherapy was associated with improved OS in males (HR = 0.41, 95% CI 0.14-0.89, p Conclusions Our study reaffirms that MCL carries a poor prognosis. Chemotherapy may improve survival in subsets of patients, though generalizability is limited by biases inherent in registry-based datasets. Due to poor outcomes for MCL patients, more study is needed to determine optimal care.
Incidence of invasive Haemophilus influenzae infections in children with sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at increased risk for invasive infection with encapsulated bacteria. Antibiotic prophylaxis and immunizations against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) have decreased the overall incidence of invasive infections and have shifted distribution of serotypes causing disease toward those not covered by immunizations. We sought to determine the current incidence of invasive H. influenzae infections in children with SCD and to describe the clinical features and management of these infections. METHODS Microbiology reports of a large pediatric tertiary care center were reviewed to identify all isolates of H. influenzae detected in sterile body fluid cultures from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2017. Results were compared with the center's comprehensive clinical database of all children with SCD to identify all cases of children ages 0 to18 years with SCD with invasive H. influenzae disease for the same time period. RESULTS We captured 2444 patients with SCD, with 14,336 person-years. There were eight episodes of H. influenzae bacteremia in seven children with SCD (five type f, two non-typable, one type a). Most episodes (7 of 8) were in children < 5 years. The incidence rate of invasive H. influenzae in SCD was 0.58/1000 person-years for ages 0 to 18 years and 1.60/1000 person-years for children age < 5 years. There were no deaths from H. influenzae infection. CONCLUSIONS In the era of universal antibiotic prophylaxis and immunization against Hib, invasive H. influenzae disease due to nonvaccine serotypes remains a risk for children with SCD, particularly those under five years of age.
The effect of pediatric patient temperament on postoperative outcomes.

BACKGROUND Research has improved practitioner awareness of the impact of individual characteristics on responses to painful procedures. However, there is little data relating preexisting temperament profiles and postsurgical/anesthesia outcomes in pediatric patients. In particular, it is not clear how best to identify which patients are at risk of poor postsurgical outcomes. AIM In this prospective study, we examined relationships between preoperative measures of child temperament and postoperative pain/behavioral outcomes of children undergoing tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy surgeries. We sought to determine which temperament profiles were predictive of poor outcomes. METHODS After IRB approval and informed consent, validated temperament surveys were administered to the parents of a cohort of children undergoing tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy surgery. These data were combined with preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative outcome measures collected from the electronic medical record utilizing a large integrated anesthesia outcome database. The dataset was further augmented with surveys addressing remote postoperative behaviors. Analysis of the temperament data yielded four groups (positive, negative, excitable, and inhibitory). The probability of high perioperative pain, agitation, emesis, and postoperative behavior changes based on cluster membership was then assessed. RESULTS A total of 260 patients undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy surgeries were enrolled in the study. ANOVA and chi-squared analyses indicated no statistically significant age, gender, or anesthesia technique differences across the four temperament clusters. Temperament cluster membership was not related to emesis, agitation, or behavioral changes. However, it was found to be predictive of high postoperative pain. Members of the excitable cluster (high positive and negative emotionality) were more likely to report high pain than those in positive cluster (high positive, low negative emotionality) (OR 7.97, 95% CI: 1.62-39.26; P < 0.05). Comparisons among other clusters were not significant. CONCLUSION Our data indicate that preoperative temperament characteristics may differentially influence pediatric postoperative pain experience in children. Specifically, children with high levels of positive and negative emotionality may exhibit more postsurgical pain behaviors.
Quantum Cascade Laser Dual-Comb Spectroscopy for Multi-Species Detection

Multi-species detection of analytes in gas-phase by dual-comb spectroscopy using quantum cascade laser frequency combs is demonstrated. These chip-scale, electrically-pumped, semiconductor light sources are highly appealing for portable multi-component chemical spectroscopic sensors.
In vitro effects of resistin on epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells - qRT-PCR and Westen blot analyses data.

Abstract Resistin is an adipokine produced by the white adipocytes and adipose-derived macrophages, which mediates inflammation and insulin resistance Huang et al., 1997 and Renehan et al., 2008 Feb. Here, we provide data on the effect of resistin on epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in breast cancer cells in vitro. As model systems, we used human MCF-7 (low-metastatic) and MDA-MB-231 (high-metastatic) breast cancer cell lines. To optimize experimental conditions, we treated the cells with various concentrations of resistin (12.5, 25 and 50 ng/ml) for different time intervals (6 and 24 hours), and measured SOCS3 mRNA expression by using qRT-PCR analysis. Further, we used qRT-PCR and Western blot analyses to measure the expression of various epithelial (E-cadherin, claudin-1) and mesenchymal (SNAIL, SLUG, ZEB1, TWIST1, fibronectin, and vimentin) markers after resistin treatment. This data article is part of a study Avtanski et al., 2019 May, where detailed interpretation and discussion can be found.
184: DUSP11 is a critical regulator of innate immune responses mediated by dendritic cells

Dual specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) have been shown to play a critical role in regulation of various cellular processes and aberrations in their expression patterns are associated with pathogenesis of wide range of diseases. The atypical dual-specificity phosphatase DUSP11 was previously demonstrated to bind to ribonucleic acid–ribonucleoprotein (RNA–RNP) complexes and RNA-splicing factors and is a p53 target gene. Recent in vitro studies highlighted the importance of this molecule in cell proliferation, cancer suppression and chronic inflammation. Our in vitro studies showed that DUSP11 expression is induced in dendritic cells upon stimulation by TLR ligands and in T cells upon CD3/CD28 activation suggesting the prominence of DUSP11 in immune responses. To examine the function of DUSP11 in regulating immune responses, we generated and analyzed DUSP11 deficient mice. We found that DUSP11 KO antigen presenting cells produce decreased levels of proinflammatory cytokines during innate immune responses and CD4 T cells have enhanced IL-2 production and proliferation in response to TCR activation compared to the wild type cells but no apparent defect in in vitro T cell differentiation. However, our in vivo experiments demonstrated that DUSP11 deficient mice are defective in antigen-specific T cell responses and that they are more susceptible to Listeria monocytogenes infection. Using dendritic cell (DC) and T cell co-culture experiments we established that the DUSP11 signalling in DCs eventually regulates CD4 T cell activation. Together, these results demonstrate that DUSP11 is critical for innate immune responses and that the defects in innate responses ultimately affect the adaptive immune responses. This supports the growing body of evidence that intrinsic pathways in innate immune cells can modulate T cell lineage differentiation. Currently our efforts are dedicated to understanding the molecular mechanisms regulated by DUSP11.
Access to Urologic Care Through Clinical Integration in a Large, Underserved Population.

This study explores the near-term results of an effort to improve the access of a large, underserved urban population to appropriate urologic specialty care through clinical integration.
How Private Foundation Sophistication Affects Capital Campaign Grant Decisions

ABSTRACT We examine how charity financial information related to efficiency and financial vulnerability is used by private foundations in determining how much they grant to charities during capital...
Emotions and Ethical Decision Making at Work: Organizational Norms, Emotional Dogs, and the Rational Tales They Tell Themselves and Others

Organizations have become essential institutions that facilitate the vital coordination and cooperation necessary to create value across societies. Recent research within moral psychology and behavioral ethics indicates that emotions play a pivotal role in promoting ethical decision making. The theory developed here maintains that most organizations retain norms that disfavor the experience and expression of many strong emotions while at work. This dynamic inhibits individual’s ability to generate moral intuitions and reason about ethical issues they encounter. This occurs as individuals utilize specific emotion regulation mechanisms that stifle the experience and expression of emotion in organizational decision making. Over time, individuals fail to register emotion within organizational decision processes, which increases the prevalence of amoral decision making. Organizational emotion norms also influence the chronic accessibility of specific moral foundations that effect the contents of both moral intuitions that do occur, as well as deliberate reasoning that generates moral judgments.
Working with high-dimensional feature spaces: the example of voxel-wise encoding models

Abstract This chapter discusses the issue of high-dimensional data in the context of machine learning studies of brain disorders, using the voxel-wise modeling of functional neuroimaging data as exemplar framework. First, we contrast voxel-wise modeling to other approaches such as multivariate pattern analysis. Second, we lay out the critical components in developing a voxel-wise encoding model: these include a feature space encapsulating a set of hypotheses about what the brain activity represents and a (near-linear) regression of that feature space in brain activity. Third, we discuss two complementary approaches to perform the regularization of the regression that is necessary to tackle very high-dimensional feature spaces: these include training regularization and structural regularization, i.e., constraints on the parameter space of the model. Finally, we point out how the quantitative aspect of voxel-wise modeling can lead to better hypothesis testing and improve multisubject comparison in the context of brain disorders.
Marital stability after brain injury: an investigation and analysis.

Objective: To examine rates of separation and divorce after traumatic brain injury and identify factors relating to risk of marital breakdown. Participants: 120 persons who sustained a mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury and who were married at the time of injury. Methods: Survivors were contacted between 30 and 96 months postinjury when demographic and marital status information was solicited. Injury information was obtained from medical records. Findings: A majority of patients remained married. The rate of divorce was 17% and 8% was the separation rate. People who were married longer before their injury, victims of non-violent injuries, older persons, and persons with less severe injuries were more likely to remain married. Gender, ethnicity, educational level, time elapsed since injury, and postinjury employment status were unrelated to risk for marital breakdown. Conclusion: Research findings do not support contentions that persons with brain injury are at greater risk for divorce relative to the general population. Nor do findings suggest that males are more likely to leave injured female partners. More research is needed to assess marital quality and the potential benefits of intervention programs designed to develop and maintain mutually supportive relationships.
EXTENSIONS OF ISOMORPHISMS OF SUBVARIETIES IN FLEXIBLE VARIETIES

Let X be an algebraic variety isomorphic to the complement of a closed subvariety of dimension at most n − 3 in $$ {\mathbbm{A}}_{\mathrm{k}}^n $$. We find some conditions under which an isomorphism of two closed subvarieties of X can be extended to an automorphism of X. We also study the similar problem for subvarieties of affine quadrics and SL(n, k).