cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of C−H Oxidizing Ability in Co–O2 Complexes through an Isolated Heterobimetallic Oxo Intermediate

The characterization of intermediates formed through the reaction of transition-metal complexes with dioxygen (O2 ) is important for understanding oxidation in biological and synthetic processes. Here, the reaction of the diketiminate-supported cobalt(I) complex LtBu Co with O2 gives a rare example of a side-on dioxygen complex of cobalt. Structural, spectroscopic, and computational data are most consistent with its assignment as a cobalt(III)-peroxo complex. Treatment of LtBu Co(O2 ) with low-valent Fe and Co diketiminate complexes affords isolable oxo species with M2 O2 "diamond" cores, including the first example of a crystallographically characterized heterobimetallic bis(μ-oxo) complex of two transition metals. The bimetallic species are capable of cleaving C-H bonds in the supporting ligands, and kinetic studies show that the Fe/Co heterobimetallic species activates C-H bonds much more rapidly than the Co/Co homobimetallic analogue. Thus heterobimetallic oxo intermediates provide a promising route for enhancing the rates of oxidation reactions.
Computational analysis of the mesenchymal signature landscape in gliomas

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and mimicking processes, contribute to cancer invasion and metastasis, and are known to be responsible for resistance to various therapeutic agents in many cancers. While a number of studies have proposed molecular signatures that characterize the spectrum of such transition, more work is needed to understand how the mesenchymal signature (MS) is regulated in non-epithelial cancers like gliomas, to identify markers with the most prognostic significance, and potential for therapeutic targeting. Computational analysis of 275 glioma samples from “The Cancer Genome Atlas” was used to identify the regulatory changes between low grade gliomas with little expression of MS, and high grade glioblastomas with high expression of MS. TF (transcription factor)-gene regulatory networks were constructed for each of the cohorts, and 5 major pathways and 118 transcription factors were identified as involved in the differential regulation of the networks. The most significant pathway - Extracellular matrix organization - was further analyzed for prognostic relevance. A 20-gene signature was identified as having prognostic significance (HR (hazard ratio) 3.2, 95% CI (confidence interval) = 1.53–8.33), after controlling for known prognostic factors (age, and glioma grade). The signature’s significance was validated in an independent data set. The putative stem cell marker CD44 was biologically validated in glioma cell lines and brain tissue samples. Our results suggest that the differences between low grade gliomas and high grade glioblastoma are associated with differential expression of the signature genes, raising the possibility that targeting these genes might prolong survival in glioma patients.
SHORT-TERM OUTCOMES OF HYBRID 23-, 25-, AND 27-GAUGE VITRECTOMY FOR COMPLEX DIABETIC TRACTIONAL RETINAL DETACHMENT REPAIR.

Purpose:To describe the short-term outcomes of complex diabetic retinal detachment repair using hybrid 23-gauge or 25-gauge vitrectomy instruments with a 27-gauge vitrectomy system.Methods:Retrospective, interventional, consecutive case series. Ten eyes of 10 patients undergoing hybrid pars plana vi
A single-center, cross-sectional, observational study of heart failure patients

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is an important emerging public health problem of the modern world. The scenario of HF in developing and underdeveloped countries is largely unknown. This study was carried out to understand the clinical profile of HF patients treated at a tertiary care center. Methods: It was a single-center, prospective, observational study carried out during the period 2011–2012 at MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, Bengaluru. All the patients admitted to the cardiology unit with a diagnosis of HF were selected, and baseline patient characteristics were noted. Patients were investigated as per the clinical need and data documented. Results: Of the 97 patients included, 41 (42.3%) were female, and 56 (57.7%) were male. Majority belonged to 65–79 years age group (59.79%) and octogenarians constituted 15.46% of our study participants. Almost all the males (94.64%) were overweight (body mass index between 25 and 29.9 kg/m2), whereas 48.78% females were overweight, 12.19% belonged to obesity Class I. 85.37% females had the waist circumference >80 cm and 73.21% males >90 cm. Hypertension (79.38%), diabetes mellitus (DM) (62.89%), and coronary artery disease (CAD) (44.33%) were the commonly associated comorbidities. Among other factors studied, anemia was seen in 24.39% female, and 32.14% of male patients. Conclusion: This study showed that a significant proportion of inpatients belonged to elderly age group. Octogenarians also formed a sizeable proportion of patients. Hypertension, CAD, DM, overweight, and anemia were identified as the commonly associated comorbidities and understanding the complex interplay of these factors to plan optimal treatment strategy is of great challenge to the physician, especially when dealing with the elderly and very elderly group.
Enhancing Public Health Practice Through a Regional Student Field Placement Program

Experiential learning links knowledge to real practice through seasoned mentor support, professional reflection, and hands-on experience in authentic work environments. While academic public health...
Low-grade and high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma: A National Cancer Database study

Abstract Objective To provide refined prognostic information from large cohorts of women with low-grade or high-grade endometrial stromal sarcoma (ESS). Methods We performed an observational retrospective cohort analysis of women diagnosed with low-grade or high-grade ESS from the 1998–2013 National Cancer Database. Kaplan-Meier and multivariable accelerated failure time survival analyses were performed to identify prognostic factors after multiple imputation of missing data. Recursive partitioning methods were used to rank prognostic factors in high-grade ESS. Matched cohort analyses were performed to hypothesis-test effects of adjuvant treatments. Results We identified 2414 and 1383 women with low-grade or high-grade ESS, respectively. Women with high-grade ESS had markedly decreased survival compared to women with low-grade ESS (five-year survival (95% CI): 32.6 (30.1–35.3%) versus 90.5% (89.3–91.8%), P Conclusion The contrasting excellent versus poor prognosis of low-grade versus high-grade ESS, respectively, was confirmed. The best treatment of high-grade ESS is early and complete surgical resection including lymphadenectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy may increase survival of women with high-grade ESS.
Sikh Women’s Biography: Bibi Harnam Kaur and the Education of Sikh Women

This article examines the biography of Bibi Harnam Kaur, the young co-founder of the Sikh Kanya Mahavidyalaya, established in 1892 in Ferozepur, Punjab as one of the earliest schools for the educat...
Sparse variational inference for generalized Gaussian process models

Gaussian processes (GP) provide an attractive machine learning model due to their nonparametric form, their flexibility to capture many types of observation data, and their generic inference procedures. Sparse GP inference algorithms address the cubic complexity of GPs by focusing on a small set of pseudo-samples. To date, such approaches have focused on the simple case of Gaussian observation likelihoods. This paper develops a variational sparse solution for GPs under general likelihoods by providing a new characterization of the gradients required for inference in terms of individual observation likelihood terms. In addition, we propose a simple new approach for optimizing the sparse variational approximation using a fixed point computation. We demonstrate experimentally that the fixed point operator acts as a contraction in many cases and therefore leads to fast convergence. An experimental evaluation for count regression, classification, and ordinal regression illustrates the generality and advantages of the new approach.
The “Molecular Tinkertoy” Approach to Materials

A macroscopic “Tinkertoy” [1] construction kit consists of rods and connectors that permit the production of nearly arbitrary constructs in the hands of a child. The current state of our attempts to develop a nanoscopic construction kit on a molecular scale, suitable for the synthesis of designer solids, is reviewed.
Negotiation Via Text Messaging

“Never!” That’s the typical reply, says the author, when he queries a negotiator about negotiating through text messages. Not so fast, Ebner says — look closely at how your day goes and how your various forms of communication fit together, and you may well find yourself already handling part of that traffic via text. Furthermore, he says, in the future you can expect to use this medium more, as more and more of your counterparts depend on it. Yet negotiating via text is significantly different even from email negotiation. Ebner walks you through the challenges and the benefits of using this medium for negotiation.
Global private higher education: an empirical profile of its size and geographical shape

Societies’ relative use of private and public services is an abiding and significant issue of scholarly and policy interest. For higher education, however, there has hitherto been no comprehensive dataset and, accordingly, no extensive, reliable analysis of the private-public distribution. As this article provides both the dataset and the analysis, it allows us to discover both the size and geographical shape of global private higher education. Having grown greatly for decades, the private sector now holds a third (32.9%) of the world’s total higher education enrollment. We find striking patterns of concentration and dispersion. The several largest country systems account for much of the private enrollment but, simultaneously, private sectors now exist in all but a few systems; a stunning 97.6% of the world’s present enrollment is in systems with dual-sector provision. Societies no longer rely exclusively on public provision. We discover too that private enrollment concentrates mostly in developing regions, though it is noteworthy in developed regions as well. Asia and Latin America are the twin giants but in all regions, at least 10% of students are in the private sector.
Rehabilitation of corroded H-piles using friction-type bolted plate-based repair system

Abstract This paper presents the details of an experimental and numerical study that was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a friction-type bolted steel plate-based system for underwater rehabilitation of steel H-piles with severe but localized corrosion. The repair system allows the applied axial load to be transferred from the original pile to the steel repair plates through friction at the interface between the pile flanges and the steel repair plates. To evaluate the performance of the repair system, seven 4.57 m-long HP12 × 53 (U.S. designation) piles were deteriorated to simulate corrosion of the flange and web. The piles were repaired using friction-type bolted steel plates and tested under axial compression to investigate the behavior of repaired piles. The test results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed repair system in terms of restoring the axial stiffness and capacity of the deteriorated piles. A rational approach for the design of the friction-type steel plate-based repair system is also summarized. A FE model was developed to simulate the repaired piles. Validated by the full-scale experimental results of seven retrofitted piles, the numerical model was used for a parametric study to investigate different factors that might affect the axial capacity of the strengthened piles. The research findings demonstrate that the proposed friction-type steel plate-based repair system can be easily used to restore the capacity of steel H-piles with severe but localized corrosion.
Emotion: History of the Concept

The history of the concept of emotion deals inevitably with theories of emotion, that is, where the concept is lodged. The article emphasizes the cultural context in the development of these theories. The story starts with ancient Greek thought and its successors that mixed quasiscientific thought with practical, ethical considerations. With the advent of the Renaissance and Rene Descartes, the new spirit called for the enumeration of phenomena—in this case, the emotions. This was followed by the scientism of the nineteenth century that demanded classificatory schemes. At the turn of the century the need for general theories and the dominant materialism required specific theories leading to William James and his ideological brethren. The current period is characterized by analysis and synthesis, the isolation of visceral and cognitive factors as the constituents of emotion, and the search once again for general principles of emotional arousal.
Using exposure-response and biomarkers to streamline early drug development.

Biomarkers (BMs) are biological measures of PD drug effects or disease markers that may represent clinically significant patient outcomes, either efficacy or toxicity. Their use in drug development, especially as an integral part of PK/PD modeling, has become a popular strategy for optimizing development time and resources. This approach supports quantitative integration of information across different species and throughout the clinical phases I–III. If the BM is based on the mechanism of action (MOA) of the drug, it is expected to follow an exposure-response relationship (E-R). If it is also involved in causal pathways in the pathophysiology of the disease (POD), it may become a surrogate marker (SM). SMs allow prediction of clinical outcomes for different dosing regimens of drug candidates and patient individualization of treatment in clinical practice. Appropriate evaluation of BMs by mechanistic, epidemiological, and clinical pharmacology studies as part of the drug development process allow scientists to establish clinically relevant ER. In early drug development, known ERs for BMs facilitate translation of in vitro findings to in vivo consequences, interspecies PK/PD comparisons, and streamlining of dose-finding phase I and II studies, as well as assessment of new dosing regimen candidates for their likely clinical efficacy and safety, extrapolation of clinical study results to special populations (e.g., pediatrics), and interpretation of exposure differences found in food, drug interaction and special populations studies. Recently, two novel BMs, namely, p50, a measure of ex vivo/in vitro whole blood oxygen affinity and S pO2, i.e., in vivo pulse oximetry, were used in the development of an allosteric synthetic hemoglobin modifier (SAM), efaproxiral, as PD endpoints; these BMs are based on the MOA of SAMs. Early use of these BMs established excellent in vitro/in vivo PK/PD correlations, appropriate interspecies PK and PD scaling as well as PD-guided phase I and II dose-finding studies. This approach allowed appropriate translation of in vitro and preclinical information along with early identification of sources of PK/PD variability. Frontloading drug development with the identification and use of mechanism-based (MOA/POD) BMs constitutes a rational strategy to quantitatively integrate PK/PD information and optimize dose finding.
Recent CIE work on color difference evaluation

Since the 1976 provisional recommendation of the CIELAB and CIELUV uniform color spaces and color difference formulae, a Committee of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) has continued to work on the problemof color difference evaluation. In 1978 the committee published some guidelines in an effort to stimulate and coordinate research in the area. Following that, a number of studies were undertaken in which color difference ellipsoids were derived from observations of object colors. These studies have measured the effect (or lack of effect) of parameters such as the size of the color difference, the severity of the observer, and the type of dividing line between the samples. Other studies have shown that different relative weights for lightness, chroma, and hue indices may be needed for different viewing conditions and for different types of sample. Work planned for the next four years includes an attempt to assemble a single representative set of data with which color difference formulae can be tested.
Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella serovars in conventional and organic chickens from Louisiana retail stores.

In this 1-year survey from October 2006 to September 2007, we isolated and characterized 126 Salmonella isolates from conventionally raised (n = 141) and organically raised (n = 53) chicken carcasses obtained from 27 retail stores in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Salmonella was isolated from 22% of conventional and from 20.8% of organic chicken samples. Eight Salmonella serovars were identified; predominant ones included Kentucky, Hadar, and Enteritidis. The vast majority of isolates within the same chicken sample possessed the same pulsed-field gel pattern. All Salmonella isolates were susceptible to amikacin, ceftriaxone, and ciprofloxacin; however, decreased susceptibility to quinolones (7.1 %) or extended-spectrum cephalosporins (45.2%) was observed. Resistance to multiple antimicrobials (two or more) was found among 52.4% of the Salmonella isolates. Antimicrobial resistance profiles differed greatly among Salmonella serovars and also depended on the type of chicken from which they were recovered. Salmonella Kentucky isolates from organic chicken samples were susceptible to 11 of the antimicrobials tested, whereas those from conventional chickens were only susceptible to 4 antimicrobials. Three Salmonella Kentucky isolates from conventional chickens possessed multidrug resistance phenotype MDR-AmpC. Results of this study provide baseline data on both prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in retail chickens in this region and emphasize the need for implementing effective control measures to reduce Salmonella contamination and the levels of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella in both conventionally and organically raised poultry products. Further studies involving larger sample sizes over time are needed to better monitor and assess the trend of prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility among Salmonella serovars in retail chickens.
TEM Observation of Microstructures of Sintered Diamond Compacts

ABSTRACT The microstructures of high-pressure sintered diamond compacts were observed by transmission electron microscopy. Slip bands extending along {lll} planes and dislocation forests were found within diamond grains. In very fine-grained (below 1μm) sintered compacts, these defects in grains were rarely seen. The matrix phases of the compacts were also investigated, and stacking faults in the Co phases were found.
Workplace bullying policies, higher education and the First Amendment: Building bridges not walls

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that higher education institutions should change their Faculty Codes of Conduct to reflect workplace bullying as a form of unacceptable harassment. The...
Evaluation of energy release rate-based approaches for predicting delamination growth in laminated composites

A variety of energy release rate-based approaches are evaluated for their accuracy in predicting delamination growth in unidirectional and multidirectional laminated composites. To this end, a large number of unidirectional and multidirectional laminates were tested in different bending and tension configurations. In all cases, the critical energy release rate was determined from the tests in the most accurate way possible, such as by compliance calibration or the area method of data reduction. The mode mix from the tests, however, was determined by a variety of different approaches. These data were then examined to determine whether any of the approaches yielded the result that toughness was a single-valued function of mode mix. That is, for an approach to have accurate predictive capabilities, different test geometries that are predicted to be at the same mode mix must display the same toughness. It was found that variously proposed singular field-based mode mix definitions, such as the β=0 approach or basing energy release rate components on a finite amount of crack extension, had relatively poor predictive capabilities. Conversely, an approach that used a previously developed crack tip element analysis and which decomposed the total energy release rate into non-classical components was found to have excellent predictive capabilities. It is postulated that this approach is more appropriate for many present-day laminated composites.
Occupancy Detection and Localization by Monitoring Nonlinear Energy Flow of a Shuttered Passive Infrared Sensor

Passive infrared (PIR) sensors are the current choice for individual presence detection in buildings. A major problem is that PIR sensors only detect moving individuals, which often provides false negative detections, resulting in uncomfortable lighting/temperature swings, short lifetime of the equipment, and waste of energy. In this paper, a rotating shutter is introduced to the rotationally shuttered PIR (Ro-PIR) sensor to explore its functionalities beyond motion sensing, including stationary individual localization, tracking, and facing direction detection. More specifically, by monitoring and analyzing polarity-phase of the nonlinear infrared energy flow induced by the rotating shutter, Ro-PIR is capable of zone-level localization for stationary individuals. By further analyzing the duty cycle of the output, occupancy facing direction can be predicted. Two theoretical models are created to identify facing directions (front/back or side) by analyzing three infrared radiation covering configurations, shaped by shutter movement. Combining sequence of covering configurations represents the induced polarity-phase output voltage, illustrating the occupancy localization information during one segmented scanning period. Parametric analysis, and empirical studies are performed to obtain the optimal setting of the shutter in terms of its width and shuttering period. Experimental results reveal 100% presence accuracy for stationary detection for up to 3 m, and moving detection for up to 8 m. Zone-level localization can reach 98% accuracy by applying machine learning classifier using two features extracted from polarity-phase signals. Experimental results also show less than 0.44 m root mean square error for tracking, and over 83% in detecting front/back or side facing direction.
The Quantum Mechanics of a Rolling Molecular "Nanocar"

We formulate a mathematical model of a rolling “molecular wheelbarrow”—a two-wheeled nanoscale molecular machine—informed by experiments on molecular machines recently synthesized in labs. The model is a nonholonomic system (briefly, a system with non-integrable velocity constraints), for which no general quantization procedure exists. Nonetheless, we successfully embed the system in a Hamiltonian one and then quantize the result using geometric quantization and other tools; we extract from the result the quantum mechanics of the molecular wheelbarrow, and derive explicit formulae for the quantized energy spectrum. We also study a few variants of our model, some of which ignore the model’s nonholonomic constraints. We show that these variants have different quantum energy spectra, indicating that in such systems one should not ignore the nonholonomic constraints, since they alter in a non-trivial way the energy spectrum of the molecule.
Output Feedback Q-Learning Control for the Discrete-Time Linear Quadratic Regulator Problem

Approximate dynamic programming (ADP) and reinforcement learning (RL) have emerged as important tools in the design of optimal and adaptive control systems. Most of the existing RL and ADP methods make use of full-state feedback, a requirement that is often difficult to satisfy in practical applications. As a result, output feedback methods are more desirable as they relax this requirement. In this paper, we present a new output feedback-based Q-learning approach to solving the linear quadratic regulation (LQR) control problem for discrete-time systems. The proposed scheme is completely online in nature and works without requiring the system dynamics information. More specifically, a new representation of the LQR Q-function is developed in terms of the input–output data. Based on this new Q-function representation, output feedback LQR controllers are designed. We present two output feedback iterative Q-learning algorithms based on the policy iteration and the value iteration methods. This scheme has the advantage that it does not incur any excitation noise bias, and therefore, the need of using discounted cost functions is circumvented, which in turn ensures closed-loop stability. It is shown that the proposed algorithms converge to the solution of the LQR Riccati equation. A comprehensive simulation study is carried out, which illustrates the proposed scheme.
Network Planning optimization of Long Term Evolution Radio Transmitter Using Taguchi’s Method

Long Term Evolution (LTE) is newest technology for mobile telecommunication, it has some advantages that are high data rates, low Iatency and using all Internet Protocols (IP) network architecture. The implementation of LTE requires high cost and takes a long time therefore we need network planning to reduce the risks, some calculations, simulations and optimization is done in network planning. We use software named Atoll as tool for network planning and use Taguchi’s Method (TM) as optimization technique. The objective of this paper is to obtain the optimal parameters value of azimuth, mechanical downtilt, antenna gain and antenna height. The result is the responses that determine the most influential factors due to result depending on their delta value. From this paper, the most influential factor based on SN ratio is antenna height which have delta value 9.47. Then we implement the optimized LTE radio transmitter parameters into LTE network design. The result gave more 12.2% coverage area by signal level, increase average signal received power by 0.69 dBm and increase the coverage area by throughput downlink by 1.5%.
Patterns of Postoperative Visits Among Medicare Fee-for-Service Beneficiaries.

Objective To describe patterns of postoperative visits reported for Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) patients. Background Payment for most surgical procedures bundles postoperative visits within a global period of either 10 or 90 days after a procedure. There is concern that payments for some procedures are excessive because the number of postoperative visits provided is less than the number of postoperative visits used to help determine payment. To obtain data to inform this concern, Medicare required select surgeons to report on their postoperative visits starting July 1, 2017. Methods We analyzed Medicare FFS claims data from surgeons who billed Medicare for 1 or more of the 293 common procedure codes between July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 in the 9 states where surgeons were required to report postoperative visits. We examined the share of procedures with any reported postoperative visits and the proportion of expected postoperative visits provided. To address concerns about underreporting, we also examined procedures performed by a subset of surgeons actively reporting postoperative visits. Results We linked 663,681 procedures to 422,432 postoperative visits. The share of procedures with any postoperative visits was higher for procedures with 90-day global periods (70.1%) than for procedures with 10-day global periods (3.7%). The proportions of expected postoperative visits provided for 90-day global and 10-day global periods were 0.37 and 0.04 respectively. Among surgeons actively reporting postoperative visits, the proportions of expected postoperative visits provided were modestly higher (procedures with 90-day global periods=0.46 and 10-day global periods=0.16). Conclusions The proportion of expected postoperative visits that were provided is low. These results support the need for a reassessment of payment for surgical procedures.
Towards Efficient U-Nets: A Coupled and Quantized Approach

In this paper, we propose to couple stacked U-Nets for efficient visual landmark localization. The key idea is to globally reuse features of the same semantic meanings across the stacked U-Nets. The feature reuse makes each U-Net light-weighted. Specially, we propose an $order$ o r d e r - $K$ K coupling design to trim off long-distance shortcuts, together with an iterative refinement and memory sharing mechanism. To further improve the efficiency, we quantize the parameters, intermediate features, and gradients of the coupled U-Nets to low bit-width numbers. We validate our approach in two tasks: human pose estimation and facial landmark localization. The results show that our approach achieves state-of-the-art localization accuracy but using $\sim 70\%$ ∼ 70 % fewer parameters, $\sim 30\%$ ∼ 30 % less inference time, $\sim 98\%$ ∼ 98 % less model size, and saving $\sim 75\%$ ∼ 75 % training memory compared with benchmark localizers.
Laser Imaging: Unraveling Laser Atherectomy Mechanisms of Action with Optical Coherence Tomography

The goal is to review the current data regarding excimer laser coronary atherectomy (ELCA) through optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. We aim to reveal the mechanisms of action and principles of use for laser, and to analyze the current supportive data. ELCA is an adjuvant procedure to percutaneous coronary intervention, aimed at properly preparing coronary lesions to optimize stenting. It is an effective atherectomy device that requires a short period of training and works on a standard 0.014″ guidewire. Laser modifies coronary vessels by three distinct mechanisms: photoablation, chemoablation and thermoablation. Accordingly, it plays an important role in the management of lesions that require appropriate debulking, such as in-stent restenosis, chronic coronary occlusions (chronic total occlusion), stent underexpansion, and non-crossable/non-expandable lesions. OCT imaging of ELCA demonstrates that the most important mechanism of action is tissue debulking, facilitating pressure delivery to the vessel and tissue compression. In addition, laser light pulses weaken the connection between tissues, facilitating expansion. With combined laser use and OCT guidance, procedures may be properly planned to maximize final lumen gain and decrease predictors of restenosis.
Distill-to-Label: Weakly Supervised Instance Labeling Using Knowledge Distillation

Weakly supervised instance labeling using only image-level labels, in lieu of expensive fine-grained pixel annotations, is crucial in several applications including medical image analysis. In contrast to conventional instance segmentation scenarios in computer vision, the problems that we consider are characterized by a small number of training images and non-local patterns that lead to the diagnosis. In this paper, we explore the use of multiple instance learning (MIL) to design an instance label generator under this weakly supervised setting. Motivated by the observation that an MIL model can handle bags of varying sizes, we propose to repurpose an MIL model originally trained for bag-level classification to produce reliable predictions for single instances, i.e., bags of size $1$. To this end, we introduce a novel regularization strategy based on virtual adversarial training for improving MIL training, and subsequently develop a knowledge distillation technique for repurposing the trained MIL model. Using empirical studies on colon cancer and breast cancer detection from histopathological images, we show that the proposed approach produces high-quality instance-level prediction and significantly outperforms state-of-the MIL methods.
In Vivo Pulse Labeling Studies of Murine LPC-1 Plasmacytoma Using 6-14C-Arginine*

Guanido labeled arginine (6-14C-arg) was used as an in vivo pulse label of murine LPC-1 plasmacytoma M component (IgG 2a,κ) to study early events immediately following tumor cell transfer in BALB/c mice. This radiolabeling technique was found more sensitive than conventional staining methods in detecting newly synthesized tumor protein. Significant labeling in the plasma γ region corresponding to the M component electrophoretic mobility was observed only in mice injected with tumor cells and isotope. The effective duration of 6-14C-arg availability for protein biosynthesis was less than 30 mins. Using 6-14C-arg pulse labeling technique, a reduction of M component labeling was observed from days 1 to 7 with a nadir on day 3. Recovery of M component labeling to the 30 min level was complete by day 13. This period of dramatic decrease “eclipse” in newly synthesized M component was two days shorter in mice pretreated with pristane or cyclophosphamide (CY) prior to tumor cell injection and in athymic BALB/c nu/nu mice. The “eclipse” period seems to correspond to the classical lag following tumor cell transfer before tumor growth can be detected by conventional methods. Modification of the eclipse period suggests that plasmacytoma cells respond to variations in the condition of the host. Some of the host variables that modify tumor growth may include normal regulatory functions. In vivo 6-14C-arg pulse labeling technique thus serves to probe early dynamic events of host-tumor cell interactions.
Laser fistula surgery [Filac]: When and how?

Abstract Anorectal fistula repair is still one of the most challenging conditions treated by surgeons. Despite modern advances in surgical care, failure rate of surgical treatment exceeds 30%. One of the challenges that surgery cannot properly address is the obliteration of the fistula tract epithelium. Another challenge is the treatment of high fistulas which involve significant portion of the anal sphincter muscles. Unfortunately, surgical treatment of these fistulas may cause long term anal incontinence in some of the patients. Fistula-tract Laser Closure (FiLaC™, Biolitec AG, Jena, Germany) was developed to overcome these issues, by using a radially energy emitting laser probe that obliterate the epithelial tract while closing the defect without causing any damage to the sphincters. Up to date, 11 studies have been published with promising results. In this review, we will be evaluating the indications, the technical steps, short and long-term results of laser fistula surgery.
Colon cancer in the young: contributing factors and short-term surgical outcomes

The incidence in young patients has increased significantly over the last few decades. The aim of this study is to evaluate demographic and tumor characteristics of young patients and analyze the short-term surgical outcomes of patients undergoing surgery. We performed a 2-year review (2015–2016) of the ACS-NSQIP and included all patients with CC who underwent surgical management. Patients were stratified into two groups: early-onset CC (< 50 years old) and late-onset CC (≥ 50 years old). Outcome measures were hospital length of stay, 30-day complications, mortality, and readmission. We included a total of 15,957 patients in the analysis. Mean age was 65 ± 13 years, and 52% were male. Overall 10% of the patients had early-onset CC. Patients with early-onset CC were more likely to be black (11% vs 7%, p = 0.04) and Hispanic (8% vs 4%, p = 0.02). Additionally, they presented with a more aggressive tumor and higher TNM staging. Patients with early onset CC had lower 30-day complications (18% vs 22%, p = 0.02), shorter hospital length of stay (6[3–8] vs 8[5–11], p = 0.03) and lower 30-day mortality (0.4% vs 1.8%, p = 0.04) compared to their counterparts. However, there was no difference between the two groups regarding 30-day readmission. On regression analysis, there was no difference between the two groups regarding study outcomes. Racial disparity does exist in the incidence of colon cancer in the young with higher incidence in blacks. Younger patients with CC tend to have better surgical outcomes on univariate analysis. On regression analysis, the surgical outcomes between the two groups are comparable.
JAK1 inhibition blocks lethal sterile immune responses:implications for COVID-19 therapy

Abstract Cytokine storms are drivers of pathology and mortality in myriad viral infections affecting the human population. In SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, the strength of the cytokine storm has been associated with increased risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome, myocardial damage, and death. However, the therapeutic value of attenuating the cytokine storm in COVID-19 remains to be defined. Here, we report results obtained using a novel mouse model of lethal sterile anti-viral immune responses. Using a mouse model of Down syndrome (DS) with a segmental duplication of a genomic region encoding four of the six interferon receptor genes (Ifnrs), we demonstrate that these animals overexpress Ifnrs and are hypersensitive to IFN stimulation. When challenged with viral mimetics that activate Toll-like receptor signaling and IFN anti-viral responses, these animals overproduce key cytokines, show exacerbated liver pathology, rapidly lose weight, and die. Importantly, the lethal immune hypersensitivity, accompanying cytokine storm, and liver hyperinflammation are blocked by treatment with a JAK1-specific inhibitor. Therefore, these results point to JAK1 inhibition as a potential strategy for attenuating the cytokine storm and consequent organ failure during overdrive immune responses. Additionally, these results indicate that people with DS, who carry an extra copy of the IFNR gene cluster encoded on chromosome 21, should be considered at high risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. One Sentence Summary Inhibition of the JAK1 kinase prevents pathology and mortality caused by a rampant innate immune response in mice.
Introduction: For the Second Time

Rasch techniques are of immense value because Rasch techniques allow researchers to develop and use high quality tests, surveys, and other measurement tools. Advances in Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences presents a range of topics that were not presented in Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences (e.g. partial credit analysis of data, common person equating, use of Item Characteristic Curves). Advances in Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences also includes extensions of several topics discussed in Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences. For example, to augment use of Wright Maps, we include a lengthy discussion of Wright Maps.
Citation Context Analysis as a Method for Conducting Rigorous and Impactful Literature Reviews

Citation context analysis is a detailed and rigorous form of literature review that goes beyond traditional narrative and systematic reviews to better understand the impact of seminal works and inf...
Treatment of an anterior cerebral artery pseudoaneurysm secondary to a transsphenoidal surgery using stent-assisted coiling.

Background Injury of the internal carotid artery (ICA) during transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is a rare but critical complication. There are several reports on endovascular treatment of ICA injury during TSS. With the recent flourishing of extended TSS, injuries to the distal arteries such as the anterior cerebral artery (ACA) are more likely to occur. Case description In the present case, we report a pseudoaneurysm of the right ACA due to injury during extended TSS for aggressive prolactinoma. Due to the absence of collateral vessels, the pseudoaneurysm had to be obliterated while preserving the parent artery. Hence, we decided to treat the pseudoaneurysm using stent-assisted coiling (SAC). The pseudoaneurysm was completely obliterated and he was discharged without any complications. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case in which an ACA pseudoaneurysm caused by injury during the TSS was treated with SAC and the parent artery was preserved.
Enjoyment of Unoriginal Characters: Individual Differences in Nostalgia-Proneness and Parasocial Relationships

The current study examined how parasocial relationships with both original (i.e., newly created and unfamiliar) and unoriginal (i.e., previously existing and familiar) characters and nostalgia-pron...
The struggle for the soul of economics

Macroeconomics faced substantial internal and external criticism related to the 2007-09 financial crisis. Much of it was based on the unsustainable idea that its goal could or should be unconditional forecasting of business cycles. Critics specially singled out dynamic, stochastic general-equilibrium (DSGE) models, and called for various fundamental re-orientations of the field. Predictably, the critic’s proposals have not won the day. Critics exaggerated the role of DSGE models in actual policymaking, and their advocates developed the models to address some of the issues raised by the crisis. But DSGE modelers oversold its success, with some prominent advocates having argued that it is the sine qua non of successful macroeconomics. They revive an old controversy in economics between those who prioritize a priori theory and those who prioritize empirical data – a controversy classically exemplified in the Measurement without Theory Debate of the 1940s between the Cowles Commission and the National Bureau of Economic Research. That debate is reviewed for its implications for the recent controversy. In adopting the Cowles Commission position, some DSGE modelers would essentially straight-jacket macroeconomics and undermine economic science and the pursuit of knowledge in an open-minded, yet critical framework. Some alternative approaches are noted.
The Hotspot Cities Project: The case study of Bogotá 2050

This paper summarizes an urban and regional planning case study concerning urban growth in relation to biodiversity in the city of Bogota, Colombia. The case study is the third phase of an ongoing ...
Disorders of facial emotional expression and comprehension.

Abstract One of the most important means of communicating emotions is by facial expressions. About 30–40 years ago, several studies examined patients with right and left hemisphere strokes for deficits in expressing and comprehending emotional facial expressions. The participants with right- or left-hemispheric strokes attempted to determine if two different actors were displaying the same or different emotions, to name the different emotions being displayed, and to select the face displaying an emotion named by the examiner. Investigators found that the right hemisphere-damaged group was impaired on all these emotional facial tests and that this deficit was not solely related to visuoperceptual processing defects. Further studies revealed that the patients who were impaired at recognizing emotional facial expressions and who had lost these visual representations of emotional faces often had damage to their right parietal lobe and their right somatosensory cortex. Injury to the cerebellum has been reported to impair emotional facial recognition, as have dementing diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia, movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease, traumatic brain injuries, and temporal lobe epilepsy. Patients with right hemisphere injury are also more impaired than left-hemisphere-damaged patients when attempting to voluntarily produce facial emotional expressions and in their spontaneous expression of emotions in response to stimuli. This impairment does not appear to be induced by emotional conceptual deficits or an inability to experience emotions. Many of the disorders that cause impairments of comprehension of affective facial expressions also impair facial emotional expression. Treating the underlying disease may help patients with impairments of facial emotion recognition and expression, but unfortunately, there have not been many studies of rehabilitation.
The impact of visiting restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric patients.

Visitor restriction policies have been implemented on many hospital units as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. These policies are integral to the strategies that hospitals are using to limit exposure risks during the pandemic. However, visitor restriction policies disproportionally affect hospitalized children. The trauma caused by lack of family at the bedside of adult patients during the Covid-19 pandemic has been studied but there is a lack of primary research on the impact of the Covid-19 visiting policy restrictions on pediatric patients. Long term studies are needed to understand the effect of this separation on children and their caregivers.
Outcomes of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who progress on first restaging imaging

Background Objective responses to first-line systemic chemotherapy in metastatic pancreatic cancer patients are seen in less than one third of cases. Unfortunately, a significant amount will have disease progression (PD) on their first restaging imaging. With patients' short life expectancy, it is crucial for clinicians to be prudent when deciding whom and when to treat. Our study aimed to evaluate outcomes of patients that progressed on their first restaging imaging on 1st line therapy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients diagnosed between 2010-2017 whose first restaging imaging demonstrated PD. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS) from metastatic diagnosis date to death. Patients who were lost to follow-up were excluded. Results Out of 262 total patients reviewed, 98 patients (37%) were included. Sixty-five (66%) received 2nd line therapy, and 33 (34%) did not. Reasons patients did not pursue 2nd line therapy were performance status (PS) decline, organ dysfunction, or patient choice for alternative therapy. Median ages for patients who did and did not receive 2nd line therapy were 61 and 67, respectively (P<0.001). More patients had a poor PS at the time of initial diagnosis in the non-2nd line therapy group (7.5% vs. 31.0%, P=0.021). Median OS for those receiving 2nd line therapy was 9 months (95% CI: 7-11 months) compared to 4 months (95% CI: 3-5 months) for those not receiving 2nd-line therapy (P<0.001). Conclusions Although likely biased due to better performance status and younger age, our patients who progressed rapidly on 1st line therapy showed an OS benefit if they received 2nd line therapy. These results suggest that patients maintaining a good PS after immediate progression on 1st line therapy should be offered 2nd line therapy.
Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey: Historical and ideological background

Sometimes major revolutions take place quietly, their importance obscured by the hubbub of more dramatic events. Only with time does the shift become perceptible. Turkey has changed, but not because of a war or a major crisis; it has changed because of the emerging Anatolian bourgeoisie with its EU ambitions. The catalysts for this change have been the February 28 coup of 1997, the 2001 economic crisis and the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership. The EU process has played an important role in the speed and focus of the political reforms since 1999. However, the impact of the process is very much conditioned by the dynamics of Turkish domestic politics, especially the commitments of the major civil society organizations, as well as the governing party's commitment to the EU process. Although many scholars tend to explain the current wave of democratization in terms of the Copenhagen criteria, I tend to treat external factors as facilitators rather than direct causes of this ongoing democratization of the state and society in Turkey, and I stress the role of opportunity spaces in the constitution of a greater democratic and more civic consciousness in Turkey. This book also explains the mechanism through which and under what conditions the EU process has shaped Turkish domestic politics. The current transformation of Turkish politics is an outcome of the interplay between internal and external events. It is the product of a bizarre blend of Islamic tradition and EU norms, acting on local and global policies.