cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Repression of Na,K-ATPase β1-Subunit by the Transcription Factor Snail in Carcinoma

The Na,K-ATPase consists of two essential alpha- and beta-subunits and regulates the intracellular Na+ and K+ homeostasis. Although the alpha-subunit contains the catalytic activity, it is not active without functional beta-subunit. Here, we report that poorly differentiated carcinoma cell lines derived from colon, breast, kidney, and pancreas show reduced expression of the Na,K-ATPase beta1-subunit. Decreased expression of beta1-subunit in poorly differentiated carcinoma cell lines correlated with increased expression of the transcription factor Snail known to down-regulate E-cadherin. Ectopic expression of Snail in well-differentiated epithelial cell lines reduced the protein levels of E-cadherin and beta1-subunit and induced a mesenchymal phenotype. Reduction of Snail expression in a poorly differentiated carcinoma cell line by RNA interference increased the levels of Na,K-ATPase beta1-subunit. Furthermore, Snail binds to a noncanonical E-box in the Na,K-ATPase beta1-subunit promoter and suppresses its promoter activity. These results suggest that down-regulation of Na,K-ATPase beta1-subunit and E-cadherin by Snail are associated with events leading to epithelial to mesenchymal transition.
Surgical management and outcome in patients with radial nerve lesions

Object. The goal of this paper was to review surgical management and outcomes in patients treated for radial nerve (RN) lesions at Louisiana State University Health Sciences over a period of 30 years. Methods. Two hundred sixty patients with RN injuries were evaluated. The most common mechanisms of injuries involving the RN included fracture of the humerus, laceration, blunt contusions, and gunshot wounds. One hundred and eighty patients (69%) underwent surgery. Lesions not in continuity required primary or secondary end-to-end suture repairs or graft repairs. With the use of direct intraoperative nerve action potential recording, RN injuries in which the lesion was in continuity required external or internal neurolysis or resection of the lesion followed by end-to-end suture or graft repair. A minimum of 1.5 years follow-up review was available in 90% of the patients who underwent surgery. Motor function recovery to Grade 3 or better was observed in 10 (91%) of 11 patients who underwent primary suture re...
Risk selection in the Massachusetts State employee health insurance program

Using the Diagnostic Cost Group (DCG) model developed from a national sample, we examine biased selection among one fee-for-service (FFS) plan, one preferred provider organization, and several health maintenance organizations (HMOs) in Massachusetts. The proportions of enrollees in low-risk groups are higher in the HMO plans and lower in the FFS plan. The average age in the FFS plan is 9 years greater than that in the HMO plans. Actual premiums are not consistent with risk levels among HMO plans, resulting in gains in some HMO plans and losses in others as high as 20% compared to expected expenses as computed by the DCG model.
Alterable predictors of child well-being in the Chicago longitudinal study

Abstract The Chicago Longitudinal Study investigates the life course development of 1539 children (93% African American and 7% Hispanic) who were born in 1979–1980, grew up in the highest-poverty neighborhoods in Chicago, and attended early childhood intervention programs beginning in preschool. The goals of the study are to determine the effects of participation in the Child–Parent Center Program, document patterns of child and family well-being over time and identify child, family, school and community factors that can promote children's well being. We describe major intervention findings of the study and summarize the contributions of a variety of personal, family, and school experiences in promoting long-term educational and social success.
Analysis of Serum Inflammatory Mediators Identifies Unique Dynamic Networks Associated with Death and Spontaneous Survival in Pediatric Acute Liver Failure

Background: Tools to predict death or spontaneous survival are necessary to inform liver transplantation (LTx) decisions in pediatric acute liver failure (PALF), but such tools are not available. Recent data suggest that immune/inflammatory dysregulation occurs in the setting of acute liver failure. We hypothesized that specific, dynamic, and measurable patterns of immune/inflammatory dysregulation will correlate with outcomes in PALF. Methods: We assayed 26 inflammatory mediators on stored serum samples obtained from a convenience sample of 49 children in the PALF study group (PALFSG) collected within 7 days after enrollment. Outcomes were assessed within 21 days of enrollment consisting of spontaneous survivors, non-survivors, and LTx recipients. Data were subjected to statistical analysis, patient-specific Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Dynamic Bayesian Network (DBN) inference. Findings: Raw inflammatory mediator levels assessed over time did not distinguish among PALF outcomes. However, DBN analysis did reveal distinct interferon-gamma-related networks that distinguished spontaneous survivors from those who died. The network identified in LTx patients pre-transplant was more like that seen in spontaneous survivors than in those who died, a finding supported by PCA. Interpretation: The application of DBN analysis of inflammatory mediators in this small patient sample appears to differentiate survivors from non-survivors in PALF. Patterns associated with LTx pre-transplant were more like those seen in spontaneous survivors than in those who died. DBN-based analyses might lead to a better prediction of outcome in PALF, and could also have more general utility in other complex diseases with an inflammatory etiology.
An obituary for Steven C. Hebert, MD.

This elegy is written on the occasion of the sudden death, on April 15, of Steven C. Hebert, MD, the C.N.H. Long Professor of Physiology and Medicine, Chairman of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale School of Medicine, and Treasurer of the ISN. This elegy is all the more
Laryngospasm after administration of gadopentetate dimeglumine

Few serious adverse reactions associated with the use of gadopentetate dimeglumine in magnetic resonance imaging have been reported. The present case involves an 8-year-old girl who developed laryngospasm after administration of gado-pentetate dimeglumine.
TRAINING OF GROUP PSYCHOTHERAPISTS An Evaluation Procedure

The training ojgroup psychotheraprsts contmues to expand, with consensus appearing on what to offer in a training program. However, httle attention is given to formal evaluation and feedback procedures within a training program. The Group Psychotherapy Program Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa, developed a procedure to give supervision and feedback to students in trammg using written and verbal feedback as well as a ratmg scale to assess change m psychotherapy skills. Supervision and evaluations followed along a development model developed by Hogan (1964). Feedback providers included supervisors, cotherapists, and peers. The ratmg scale developed had an mterrater reliability significant beyond the .05 level. A case study is presented as well as recommendations for future exploration.
P-Selective Sets and Reducing Search to Decision vs Self-Reducibility

We distinguish self-reducibility of a languageLwith the question of whether search reduces to decision forL. Results include: (i) If NE?E, then there exists a setLin NP?P such that search reduces to decision forL, search doesnotnonadaptively reduce to decision forLandLis not self-reducible. (ii) If UE?E, then there exists a languageL?UP?P such that search nonadaptively reduces to decision for L, but L is not self-reducible. (iii) If UE?co-UE?E, then there is a disjunctive self-reducible languageL?UP?P for which search doesnotnonadaptively reduce to decision. We prove that if NE?BPE, then there is a languageL?NP?BPP such thatLis randomly self-reducible,notnonadaptively randomly self-reducible, andnotself-reducible. We obtain results concerning trade-offs in multiprover interactive proof systems and results that distinguish checkable languages from those that are nonadaptively checkable. Many of our results are proven by constructing p-selective sets. We obtain a p-selective set that isnot?Ptt-equivalent to any tally language, and we show that if P=PP, then every p-selective set is ?PT-equivalent to a tally language. Similarly, if P=NP, then every cheatable set is ?Pm-equivalent to a tally language. We construct a recursive p-selective tally set that isnotcheatable.
Polygraphy revisited: U.S. v. Scheffer

U.S. v. Scheffer is a case that poses two questions. First, must a defendant who wishes to place polygraphic evidence before the court be allowed to do so for fear that refusal will create a Constitutional issue by depriving him of due process? Second, is polygraphic evidence admissible evidence at all, as defined by the Military Rule of Evidence or the Federal Rules of Evidence? The case, originally tried in Court-Martial, was reviewed by two military courts of appeal, with resulting judicial dissention leading to the granting of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court. In its decision, the Supreme Court affirmed the refusal of the Court-Martial to admit the requested polygraphic evidence.
The Changing State of the Market: Common Factors and Impulse Responses for Cointegrated Spreads and Depths

We investigate the impulse response path through which an information or liquidity shock reveals itself first in depths and then in subsequent adjustments of the spread. Our three-equation error correction model investigates the equilibrium properties of spread and depth adjustment. In particular, we estimate orthogonalized impulse responses and Gonzalo-Granger common factor weights to discern whether spreads or depths are first to permanently impound the common stochastic trends in liquidity and information fundamentals. Using three years of NYSE quote data on the DJIA stocks, we show that depths decline in response to positive shocks to the spread but that this effect is not permanent. In contrast, spreads widen initially in response to positive depth shocks as orders "walk the book" but subsequent net tightening occurs within less than two minutes and proves to be a permanent effect. As order flow imbalance appears, the resulting quote changes quickly elicit undisplayed (off-market) liquidity. We conclude that the NYSE book refreshes very quickly.
FRESHWATER MUSSELS (BIVALVIA: MARGARITIFERIDAE AND UNIONIDAE) OF THE LOWER DUCK RIVER IN MIDDLE TENNESSEE: A HISTORIC AND RECENT REVIEW

Freshwater mussels were surveyed in the mainstream Duck River downstream of Centerville, Tennessee, during June and October 2000. A total of 32 species (1 Margaritiferidae and 31 Unionidae) representing 23 genera was found. Comparisons with species reported in the literature revealed that three species, spectaclecase, Margaritinopsis monodonta (Say, 1829); Wabash pigtoe, Fusconaia flava (Rafinesque, 1820); and clubshell, Pleurobema clava (Lamarck, 1819), were new records for the Duck River drainage. One of these, Pleurobema clava, is a federally listed endangered species. Our survey also documented downstream range extensions within the Duck River for six spe- cies, Tennessee pigtoe, Fusconaia barnesiana (Lea, 1838); wavyrayed lampmussel, Lampsilis fasciola Rafinesque, 1820; slabside pearlymussel, Lexingtonia dolabelloides (Lea, 1840); Ohio pigtoe, Pleurobema cordatum (Rafinesque, 1820); rabbitsfoot, Quadrula cylindrica (Say, 1817); and painted creekshell, Villosa taeniata (Conrad, 1834). The range extensions included one federally endangered candidate species, Lexingtonia dolabelloides, and the re- maining five species are reported by the Tennessee Valley Authority, Natural Heritage Project, as listed or candidates for conservation status by one or more states within their range. The results from this limited survey indicate the presence of unusual mussel diversity and calls attention to the need for increased conservation activities on the Duck River.
Increased risk of coronary heart disease in male patients with central serous chorioretinopathy: results of a population-based cohort study.

In the recent article published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, Chen et al 1 investigated whether patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) have an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The authors conclude that those with CSCR (specifically males) had a higher rate of developing CHD than those without CSCR. However, in our opinion, …
The Relationship of Discourse and Topic Knowledge to Fifth Graders' Writing Performance.

This study examined whether discourse and topic knowledge separately predicted the overall quality and the inclusion of basic genre elements in 5th grade students’ stories, persuasive papers, and informational text once the other type of knowledge as well as topic interest, spelling, handwriting fluency, length of text, and gender were controlled. Fifty students (25 girls, 25 boys) wrote a story, persuasive paper, and informative text about outer space. In addition, students’ discourse knowledge, knowledge about the writing topic, interest in the topic, and handwriting fluency were measured. Discourse knowledge made a unique and statistically significant contribution to the prediction of the quality and inclusion of genre-specific elements in story, persuasive, and informational writing beyond topic knowledge and 5 control variables (i.e., gender, topic interest, handwriting fluency, spelling accuracy, and text length). Topic knowledge also predicted story, persuasive, and informational writing quality beyond discourse knowledge and the 5 control variables. Further, topic knowledge predicted the inclusion of genre-specific elements in informational text. These findings supported the proposition that discourse and topic knowledge are important ingredients in children’s writing and provided support for the architecture of the knowledge-telling model (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987).
Antonio de Espejo and the Mexican Inquisition 1571-1586

AFTER the Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition was established in Mexico in 1571, one of its functionaries, Antonio de Espejo, became a wealthy cattle rancher and entrepreneur in the Bajio (lowlands) region north of Mexico City, an area which today stretches from San Juan del Rio through Queretaro to Aguascalientes. During November 1582 until September 1583, Espejo made a reconnaissance of New Mexico and he became a strong contender for the royal contract to colonize New Mexico as the Spanish king and the Mexican viceroy began to screen suitable applicants. It is probable that Antonio de Espejo would have been awarded the New Mexico patent had he not fled central Mexico for the north in the spring of 1581, because there was a warrant out for his arrest on a murder charge. As a Familiar of the Inquisition Espejo attempted to claim immunity from criminal persecution. His uncle and legal representative, Francisco de Santiago, handled his affairs during the civil trial and as the Inquisition investigated the murder charges, because Espejo had already gone to the Nueva Vizcaya frontier.
Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Augments Tau Pathology and Glial Activation in Aged hTau Mice

Extensive tau-immunoreactive neurons and glial cells associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) have been documented in the brains of some professional athletes and others with a history of repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (r-mTBI). The neuropathology and tau involvement in mTBI have not been extensively studied in animal models, particularly in aged animals. We investigated the effects of single mTBI (s-mTBI) and r-mTBI in 18-month-old hTau mice, which express wild-type human tau isoforms on a null murine tau background (n = 3-5 per group). At this age, hTau mice already demonstrate tau pathology, but there was a significant increase in phospho-tau immunoreactivity in response to r-mTBI, but not to s-mTBI,as determined using multiple phospho-tau-specific antibodies. Repetitive mTBI also resulted in a marked increase in astrocyte/microglia activation notably in the superficial layer of the motor/somatosensory cortex and the corpus callosum. We did not observe the perivascular tau pathology, neuritic threads, or astrocytic tangles that are commonly found in human CTE. The increase in phospho-tau in the r-mTBI mice suggests that this may be a useful model for investigating further the link between mTBI, particularly r-mTBI, and tau pathobiology in CTE and in understanding responses of the aged brain to mTBI.
Effect of the Catalyst Bed Configuration on the Partial Oxidation of Liquid Hydrocarbons

Rh-substituted pyrochlores have been shown to be excellent diesel reforming catalysts. However, it is desirable to reduce the amount of this expensive material while maintaining an acceptable level of hydrogen production. This study demonstrates that a segmented catalyst bed approach can be used to achieve this objective. Two strategies were examined: (1) promotion of the indirect reforming mechanism with a combustion catalyst in the reactor inlet, followed by a reforming catalyst, and (2) placement of catalysts in regions of the reactor that have conditions in which they are less likely to deactivate. The first approach demonstrated that a Ni-substituted barium hexaaluminate catalyst can be used in the reactor inlet to promote combustion with a Rh-substituted pyrochlore in the reactor outlet, but the combustion catalyst should fill less than 50% of the reactor. The second approach showed a benefit in the use of a sulfur-tolerant noble metal catalyst in the reactor outlet and that a significant portion of...
Abstract 2910: Oncogenic role of MUC1 in context of TGF-β production and signaling

Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL Introduction: Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death in United States. Most human pancreatic cancers overexpress MUC1, which is associated with high metastasis and poor prognosis of the disease. We have recently shown that MUC1 initiates the process of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and promotes metastasis in pancreatic cancer cells via signaling through the seven tyrosines present in its cytoplasmic tail (CT) motif. When the 7 tyrosines were mutated to phenylalanine, EMT was completely abrogated. Since TGF-β has been extensively studied as a mediator of EMT and invasion in pancreatic cancer, we hypothesized that MUC1 may be inducing its effect through regulating TGF-β production and signaling. We also aimed at identifying the specific tyrosine residue(s) responsible for MUC1 induced EMT. Method: We made the following plasmids containing a) full length MUC1 (MUC1), b) all 7 tyrosine residues of MUC1 CT were mutated to Phenylalanine (Y0), c) Y6 (Tyrosine 6 present, the rest replaced by Phenylalanine), d) Y7 (Tyrosine 7 present, the rest replaced by Phenylalanine), e) Y2,5 (Tyrosine 2 and 5 present, the rest replaced by Phenylalanine), f) Y3,6,7 (Tyrosine3, 6 and 7 present, the rest replaced by Phenylalanine) and g) empty vector (Neo). These plasmids were stably expressed in human pancreatic cancer cell lines, BxPC3 and Su86.86 that express low levels of endogenous MUC1. We first assessed the levels of functional TGF-β secreted by BxPC3 Neo, MUC1 and Y0 cells as well as the levels of TGF-βI and II receptors. We then treated these cells with exogenous human recombinant TGF-β and assessed both, the process of EMT and the capacity to invade through growth-reduced matrigel. Results: We found that BxPC3.MUC1 cells produced strikingly larger amounts of TGF-β compared to BxPC3 Neo and Y0 cells. We also found that MUC1-expressing cells became more invasive in response to exogenous TGF-β while the Y0 cells did not respond to exogenous TGF-β although the receptor levels were similar in all three cell lines. However, none of the mutants of MUC1 CT could rescue the function of full length MUC1, in the context of induction of EMT. Conclusion: 1) We believe that TGF-β mediated EMT and TGF-β signal propagation requires the tyrosine residue of MUC1, which is evident from the data that mutating the tyrosine residues in MUC1CT abrogates TGF-β mediated EMT in these cells. 2) Induction of EMT by MUC1 is a complex process, which involves a particular combination of tyrosine residues of MUC1. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2910. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2910
Effect of Bethanechol (Urecholine) on Gastric Acid and Nonparietal Secretion in Normal Subjects and Duodenal Ulcer Patients: Comparison with Atropine, Pentagastrin, and Histamine

There is limited information on the effect of cholinergic agonists on gastric acid secretion in humans. In the present study we found that a large intravenous dose of bethanechol (50 µ/kg · h) significantly increased gastric juice output and salivary flow but did not significantly affect gastric acid output or acid concentration in healthy subjects. Gastric juice osmolality decreased significantly during bethanechol infusion, suggesting neutralization of gastric acid by bicarbonate. Assuming that parietal (acid) secretion contains 160 mM of H+ and that nonparietal (alkaline) secretion contains 25 mM of bicarbonate we calculated that bethanechol increased both parietal and nonparietal secretion in each of 6 healthy subjects and also in 9 of 10 patients with duodenal ulcer. Thus the increase in gastric juice output in response to bethanechol was due to stimulation of both acid and alkaline secretion. Parietal secretion during bethanechol infusion averaged 27% ± 4% of maximal pentagastrin-stimulated parietal secretion in healthy subjects and averaged 44% ± 8% of maximal pentagastrin- or histamine-stimulated secretion in duodenal ulcer patients. Unlike bethanechol, neither pentagastrin- nor histaminestimulated nonparietal secretion. Atropine (2.3 µg/ kg) also did not affect basal nonparietal secretion, although this dose of atropine significantly reduced basal parietal (acid) secretion.
When perceived innovation job requirement increases employee innovative behavior: A sensemaking perspective

Summary Building on the sensemaking perspective, we theorize and test conditions under which perceived innovation job requirement increases employee innovative behavior. Using data consisting of 311 employee–supervisor pairs from two companies in China, we found that perceived innovation job requirement had a more positive relation with innovative behavior for employees with low intrinsic interest in innovation than for those with high intrinsic interest. In addition, this positive effect for low-intrinsic-interest employees was achieved only when these employees interpreted the job requirement as important either because performance-reward expectancy was high or because perceived value for the organization was high. We discuss the implications of these results for research and practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Teaching Introductory Robotics Programming: Learning to Program with National Instruments' LabVIEW

This article considers strategies for teaching beginning students how to program mobile robots for autonomous operation. Many high school and beginning undergraduate students desire to learn about robotics, but they may lack the required knowledge. Experiences from an undergraduate course are described to illustrate the robot, its programming environment, software design, and algorithms, which faculty can use to guide beginning students from a place of no prior experience to writing impressive, autonomous mobile-robot programs. Autonomous algorithms that perform well and are appropriate for beginning students, including a new wall-following algorithm, are reviewed.
Varieties and induced modules

We end these notes with a brief sketch of an application of the idempotent module technology. The application is a slight generalization of a theorem due to Dave Benson [B3]. Its proof involves several concepts which have not been previously covered in these notes. We give a brief description of the necessary material.
VALERA: an effective and efficient record-and-replay tool for android

We demo VALERA, a Versatile-yet-lightweight Record- and-replay tool for Android. Record-and-replay is useful across the Android development lifecycle, from bug reproducing to systematic testing. VALERA uses a novel technique named sensor-oriented replay (recording and replay- ing sensor and network input, event schedules, and inter-app communication via intents) to achieve high accuracy and low overhead. VALERA can be used as an effective replay tool on both real phones and emulators. Evaluation on more than 50 popular Android apps shows that VALERA’s performance overhead for either record or replay is just 1%. We demonstrate how VALERA can be used in many development scenarios: bug reproducing, regression testing, event- driven race reproduction and verification, mutation testing via fuzzy replay, and cross-app testing.
A computational strategy to adjust for copy number in tumor Hi-C data

Motivation The Hi-C technology was designed to decode the three-dimensional conformation of the genome. Despite progress towards more and more accurate contact maps, several systematic biases have been demonstrated to affect the resulting data matrix. Here we report a new source of bias that can arise in tumor Hi-C data, which is related to the copy number of genomic DNA. To address this bias, we designed a chromosome-adjusted iterative correction method called caICB. Our caICB correction method leads to significant improvements when compared with the original iterative correction in terms of eliminating copy number bias. Availability and implementation The method is available at https://bitbucket.org/mthjwu/hicapp CONTACT: michor@jimmy.harvard.eduSupplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Multifunctional Systems for Planetary Exploration

We summarize the findings and recommendations of the Adaptive Multifunctional Systems for Micro-climate Control Study held at the Caltech Keck Institute for Space Studies. The objective of the Study was to adapt the most recent advances in multifunctional reconfigurable and adaptive systems to enable a microenvironment control to enable space exploration in extreme environments of the Solar System. The technical goal was to identify the most efficient materials, architectures, structures, system autonomy and energy management solutions needed to optimally project or generate a micro - environment around space assets. An important aspect of the Study was the consideration of distributed cellular systems as an architecture for multifunctional systems.
Ornithine Transcarbamylase Deficiency: A Possible Risk Factor for Thrombosis

Abstract We describe four infants with ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC) deficiency, who developed arterial and venous thromboses prior to undergoing liver transplantation. These patients prompted a retrospective chart review of children with inborn errors of metabolism associated with hyperammonemia seen at our institution between 1998 and 2008; no additional cases with thrombosis were detected. Data abstracted from medical records include patient demographics, details about thrombus, treatment, associated risk factors and metabolic abnormalities. OTC deficiency was diagnosed during the first week of life in all patients (median age – 4 days; age range 1–7 days). Thrombotic complications developed prior to liver transplant in all patients (median age - 63 days; age range 6–71 days). One patient had arterial thrombus; the rest developed venous thromboses. Possible risk factors for thrombosis are summarized in the table below. Risk factors Patient 1 Patient 2 Patient 3 Patient 4 Indwelling catheter at the site of thrombus Yes Yes Yes Yes Hyperammonemia (>94 mmol/L) Yes No Yes Yes Low plasma arginine ( Yes Yes Yes Yes Hypercoagulable risk factors None Elevated factor 8, fibrinogen Elevated fibrinogen, low AT III* Dysfibrinogenemia Infection (positive blood culture) None C albicans Coag neg Staph None Table 1. Patient characteristics that are potential risk factors for thrombosis * AT III - Anti-thrombin III Multiple pro-thrombotic risk factors were present. Hyperammonemia was seen in 3 patients and low plasma arginine level was present in all patients around the time of thrombosis. As L-arginine is a substrate for nitric oxide synthesis, arginine deficiency leads to low nitric oxide levels. Recent studies have linked nitric oxide insufficiency to platelet hyperaggregability, thrombosis and endothelial damage. Infants with OTC deficiency, indwelling vascular catheters, hyperammonemia and low plasma arginine may be at increased risk for thrombosis. Further studies in patients with OTC deficiency, to evaluate the role of hyperammonemia and low plasma arginine in thrombogenesis are warranted.
The Science and Art of Integrating Psychodrama and Bernard’s Discrimination Model

This article presents the useful technique of Jacob L. Moreno’s psychodrama in counselor education supervision training. This article addresses how psychodrama can be used with student supervisors ...
Exploring Online Learning Data Using Fractal Dimensions

Data collected from online learning and tutoring systems for individual students showed strong autocorrelation or dependence because of content connection, knowledge-based dependency, or persistence of learning behavior. When the response data show little dependence or negative autocorrelations for individual students, it is suspected that students are randomly guessing the answers or that they are inconsistent in learning behavior. In addition, the global and local rates of correct responses may reflect students' proficiency in the learning process. This study shows that the dependence of online data may be characterized by the fractal dimension as a summary statistic locally and globally. The rate of correct responses and the global and local fractal dimensions of individual students' responses may indicate their learning behavior in short and long learning windows. The results may shed light on when individual students are experiencing difficulties in the learning process.
Policy and advocacy for informal caregivers: How state policy influenced a community initiative

With a growing proportion of elderly in the global population, the role of 'informal caregivers' gains importance. Informal caregivers are unpaid family members or friends who provide assistance to home-dwelling adults with health-related needs or limitations. Internationally, informal caregivers provide important medical support to those with a variety of diseases. While informal caregivers will remain vital to the growing aging population's pursuit of healthy aging, they often suffer from 'caregiver burnout,' a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion caused by their caregiving work. Policy and legislation are needed to diminish the burden on caregivers and to help assure that resources are allocated for these caregivers. We describe an initiative aimed at providing appropriate social support for caregivers by partnering among local organizations, hospitals, and health authorities.
Visual characteristics of Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers.

BACKGROUND: The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) had 902 troopers on duty at the time of this study. The purpose of this study was to determine, for the first time, the visual characteristics of this group. METHODS: All 902 troopers were requested to be screened during early 1993 at their local MSHP troop headquarters. Vision screening was done by Department of Motor Vehicle Personnel using Keystone/Mast DVS II Driver Vision Screeners. The results, along with current prescriptions obtained from their eye care practitioners, were mailed to the author. RESULTS: A 94 percent response rate was achieved. The group's mean age was 38.7 years and most (98 percent) were male. Forty-seven percent wear an optical correction either some or all of the time and these were evenly divided between single vision and multifocal corrections. Seventy-four percent of eyes had uncorrected distance acuity of 20/20 increasing to 94 percent of eyes with 20/20 when corrections were worn. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study will be used as a basis to update MSHP vision standards for acquisition and retention of troopers. Language: en
Fostering Undergraduate Data Science

Data Science is one of the newest interdisciplinary areas. It is transforming our lives unexpectedly fast. This transformation is also happening in our learning styles and practicing habits. We adv...
Improvement of medication adherence in adolescents and young adults with SLE using web-based education with and without a social media intervention, a pilot study

Self-management skills, including medication management, are vital to the health of adolescents and young adults with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility and preliminary effects of an online educational program in a cohort of adolescent and young adults with SLE with and without a social media (SM) experience. Adolescents and young adults with SLE participated weekly for 8 sessions on a web-based educational program about SLE created specifically for this project. Subjects were randomized to respond to questions at the end of each weekly module in a journal or on a SM forum with other SLE subjects. Patients were surveyed prior to initiating the study, (T0) and 6 weeks after completion of the sessions (T1). Medication adherence for hydroxychloroquine, utilizing the medication possession ratio (MPR), was compared for the 3 months preceding T0 and for the 3 months following T1. Twenty-seven of the 37 subjects (73%) enrolled completed the study, including the two required sets of surveys. Reasons for being lost to follow up included being too busy, forgetting, and/or not seeing email reminders. Medication adherence improved in all subjects (p < 0.001). The percentage of the SM intervention group that was adherent (MPR ≥ 80%) significantly improved from 50% to 92% (p = 0.03), while the control group did not. Secondary outcome measures that improved, only in the SM group, included self-efficacy, sense of agency (SOA), sense of community (SOC), and empowerment. There was a strong correlation between empowerment with SOA and SOC and in turn a strong correlation with SOA and SOC with MPR, providing a possible explanation for why social media participation helped to improve medication adherence. Subjective reporting of medication adherence was not reliably correlated to MPR. This pilot study has demonstrated feasibility for the use of an online educational SLE website, recruitment, and measurement of chosen outcome measures. This study provides evidence for a larger multi-site trial which has the potential to address an important service gap by delivering self-management education and peer interactions in a format that is accessible, and engaging to young people with SLE. Trial registration: NCT03218033 . Retrospectively registered 14 July 2017.
Terrestrial CO2 Flux: The Challenge of Interdisciplinary Research

Land-use change is one of the major contributions to increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations. The interdisciplinary approach to addressing the carbon flux issue presented in this volume combines historical analysis, biomass estimates as provided by a geographic-information-systems model, bookkeeping models that track factors affecting the carbon flux, and evaluation of how economic factors affect tropical deforestation. The challenge of such interdisciplinary research is managing the research for the frequent communication necessary for research interactions and for developing and using interdisciplinary models.
Johnson, Lawrence E: A life-centered approach to bioethics: biocentric ethics

In A Life-Centered Approach to Bioethics, Lawrence Johnson extends the discussion he began in A Morally Deep World (1991), except now the focus is on bioethics—or what he calls biocentric ethics (BCE)—rather than on environmental ethics. Johnson makes what he considers a non-trivial distinction between anthropocentric bioethics, which places humans at the heart of bioethical discussion and which he claims represents the common approach of most bioethicists, and BCE, which places life, of all organisms, at the core of bioethical deliberation. The distinction is non-trivial because BCE does not isolate or individuate humans from one another or from their environment but interconnects and integrates them in both social and ecological terms. Briefly, Johnson predicates BCE upon a foundation composed of the following notions: life as process, health as maintaining life processes, and the moral significance of living organisms proportional to their interest in continuing their life processes. After a brief introductory chapter that examines the nature of bioethics and the issue of moral skepticism and canvasses BCE’s major themes, Johnson provides the reader—in four chapters—with the background material required for analyzing conventional bioethical issues, such as euthanasia, abortion, genetic engineering, and reproductive cloning, among others, from a BCE perspective. In chapter 2, he discusses the traditional notion of self in terms of the rational, which he claims is often responsible for the confusion emanating from bioethical pronouncements. Rather than a hierarchical approach to the self with reason at the pinnacle, he advocates a systems approach consisting of complex interactions and relationships that include even the spiritual or transcendental. BCE’s underlying approach is thus holistic in contrast to the traditional biomedical assumption of reductionism, which is key to contemporary bioethics’s emphasis on autonomy. In the next chapter, he reviews the two dominant post-Enlightenment approaches to ethics: utilitarianism
Cognitive Training with Learning-Disabled Pupils

Considering the broad array of symptoms and conditions that characterize children identified as exceptional, it is reasonable to hypothesize that learning-disabled children are likely candidates for cognitive training programs. Learning-disabled children learn many things well, yet show puzzling patterns of inconsistency in achievement and performance. Their school work may be satisfactory one day but dramatically inadequate the next; they may be deficient in reading but do average work in arithmetic; they may be attentive and task-directed at one moment, but erratic and distracted the next. It is these very inconsistencies that, although puzzling, provide the intuitive basis for the belief that learning-disabled children would profit from cognitive training techniques. Said directly, if learning-disabled children can learn and perform well in some situations, they may be helped through cognitive training to learn and perform well in many situations.
Persistent racial/ethnic disparities in AIDS diagnosis rates among people who inject drugs in U.S. metropolitan areas, 1993-2007.

Objectives. We estimated race/ethnicity-specific incident AIDS diagnosis rates (IARs) among people who inject drugs (PWID) in U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) over time to assess the change in disparities after highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) dissemination. Methods. We compared IARs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for black/ African American and Hispanic/Latino PWID with those of white PWID in 93 of the most populous MSAs. We selected two three-year periods from the years immediately preceding HAART (1993–1995) and the years with the most recent available data (2005–2007). To maximize stability, we aggregated data across three-year periods, and we aggregated data for black/African American and Hispanic/Latino PWID for most comparisons with data for white PWID. We assessed disparities by comparing IAR 95% CIs for overlap. Results. IARs were significantly higher for black/African American and Hispanic/ Latino PWID than for white PWID in 81% of MSAs in 1993–1995 and 77% of MSAs in 2005–2007. MSAs where disparities became non-significant over time were concentrated in the West. Significant differences were more frequent in comparisons between black/African American and white PWID (85% of MSAs in 1993–1995, 79% of MSAs in 2005–2007) than in comparisons between Hispanic/Latino and white PWID (53% of MSAs in 1993–1995, 56% of MSAs in 2005–2007). IARs declined modestly across racial/ethnic groups in most MSAs. Conclusions. AIDS diagnosis rates continue to be substantially higher for black/African American and Hispanic/Latino PWID than for white PWID in most large MSAs. This finding suggests a need for increased targeting of prevention and treatment programs, as well as research on MSA-level conditions that may serve to maintain the disparities.
Potential Biases in Machine Learning Algorithms Using Electronic Health Record Data.

A promise of machine learning in health care is the avoidance of biases in diagnosis and treatment; a computer algorithm could objectively synthesize and interpret the data in the medical record. Integration of machine learning with clinical decision support tools, such as computerized alerts or diagnostic support, may offer physicians and others who provide health care targeted and timely information that can improve clinical decisions. Machine learning algorithms, however, may also be subject to biases. The biases include those related to missing data and patients not identified by algorithms, sample size and underestimation, and misclassification and measurement error. There is concern that biases and deficiencies in the data used by machine learning algorithms may contribute to socioeconomic disparities in health care. This Special Communication outlines the potential biases that may be introduced into machine learning–based clinical decision support tools that use electronic health record data and proposes potential solutions to the problems of overreliance on automation, algorithms based on biased data, and algorithms that do not provide information that is clinically meaningful. Existing health care disparities should not be amplified by thoughtless or excessive reliance on machines.
Common Functional Brain States Encode both Perceived Emotion and the Psychophysiological Response to Affective Stimuli.

Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has critically advanced the neuroanatomical understanding of affect processing in the human brain. Central to these advancements is the brain state, a temporally-succinct fMRI-derived pattern of neural activation, which serves as a processing unit. Establishing the brain state’s central role in affect processing, however, requires that it predicts multiple independent measures of affect. We employed MVPA-based regression to predict the valence and arousal properties of visual stimuli sampled from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) along with the corollary skin conductance response (SCR) for demographically diverse healthy human participants (n = 19). We found that brain states significantly predicted the normative valence and arousal scores of the stimuli as well as the attendant individual SCRs. In contrast, SCRs significantly predicted arousal only. The prediction effect size of the brain state was more than three times greater than that of SCR. Moreover, neuroanatomical analysis of the regression parameters found remarkable agreement with regions long-established by fMRI univariate analyses in the emotion processing literature. Finally, geometric analysis of these parameters also found that the neuroanatomical encodings of valence and arousal are orthogonal as originally posited by the circumplex model of dimensional emotion.
Utilization of a pneumatic exoskeleton after total knee arthroplasty.

Abstract Exoskeletons are wearable, powered devices intended to support and augment limb function. With the aging population and increasing demand for total knee arthroplasty, exoskeletons could prove a valuable tool for regaining function and minimizing the number of patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities. However, the safety of these devices in postoperative populations remains unexplored. A lightweight pneumatic device was piloted on three patients after primary total knee arthroplasty. The patients were asked to perform simple locomotive tasks followed by a questionnaire to assess their experience and safety using the exoskeleton. All patients indicated the exoskeleton did not interfere with their wound and made them feel stable on their feet, and two of the three patients stated it was manageable and safe to operate. This report pilots the general safety of a pneumatic exoskeleton, laying the groundwork for larger and more comprehensive studies.
Civil Rights Policy

This essay offers an overview of US civil rights policy from the nineteenth century to the present. The expansion of the range of substantive interests covered by the term “civil rights” has been accompanied by an increasing emphasis on the connection between equality and civil rights. From the late nineteenth century through the first half of the twentieth, the term referred to racial equality with respect to whatever fit into the category, whether property rights, the right to vote, or social rights. Starting roughly in the middle of the twentieth century, “civil rights” began to be connected to other categories, such as gender, religion, sexual orientation, and by the twenty-first century quite a bit more. After examining the history of the idea and its implementation, the essay concludes with a discussion of contemporary controversies over disparate impact versus disparate treatment, affirmative action, and accommodation mandates.
PRCD is essential for high-fidelity photoreceptor disc formation

Progressive rod-cone degeneration (PRCD) is a small protein residing in the light-sensitive disc membranes of the photoreceptor outer segment. Until now, the function of PRCD has remained enigmatic despite multiple demonstrations that its mutations cause blindness in humans and dogs. Here, we generated a PRCD knockout mouse and observed a striking defect in disc morphogenesis, whereby newly forming discs do not properly flatten. This leads to the budding of disc-derived vesicles, specifically at the site of disc morphogenesis, which accumulate in the interphotoreceptor matrix. The defect in nascent disc flattening only minimally alters the photoreceptor outer segment architecture beyond the site of new disc formation and does not affect the abundance of outer segment proteins and the photoreceptor's ability to generate responses to light. Interestingly, the retinal pigment epithelium, responsible for normal phagocytosis of shed outer segment material, lacks the capacity to clear the disc-derived vesicles. This deficiency is partially compensated by a unique pattern of microglial migration to the site of disc formation where they actively phagocytize vesicles. However, the microglial response is insufficient to prevent vesicular accumulation and photoreceptors of PRCD knockout mice undergo slow, progressive degeneration. Taken together, these data show that the function of PRCD is to keep evaginating membranes of new discs tightly apposed to each other, which is essential for the high fidelity of photoreceptor disc morphogenesis and photoreceptor survival.
Should Dialysis Be Stopped for an Unrepresented Patient With Metastatic Cancer

Unrepresented patients (also referred to as unbefriended, patients alone, patients without proxy, or isolated patients) are among the most vulnerable persons entering the health care system. Legislation concerning these patients varies across the United States, resulting in disparities in care. For example, the statutory definition of who is unrepresented varies. In some states, clergy or close friends may act as surrogates; in other states, they cannot do so. Available end-of-life options also differ, creating significant disparities in end-of-life care for these patients.