cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
BCL9 Promotes Tumor Progression by Conferring Enhanced Proliferative, Metastatic, and Angiogenic Properties to Cancer Cells

Several components of the Wnt signaling cascade have been shown to function either as tumor suppressor proteins or as oncogenes in multiple human cancers, underscoring the relevance of this pathway in oncogenesis and the need for further investigation of Wnt signaling components as potential targets for cancer therapy. Here, using expression profiling analysis as well as in vitro and in vivo functional studies, we show that the Wnt pathway component BCL9 is a novel oncogene that is aberrantly expressed in human multiple myeloma as well as colon carcinoma. We show that BCL9 enhances beta-catenin-mediated transcriptional activity regardless of the mutational status of the Wnt signaling components and increases cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and the metastatic potential of tumor cells by promoting loss of epithelial and gain of mesenchymal-like phenotype. Most importantly, BCL9 knockdown significantly increased the survival of xenograft mouse models of cancer by reducing tumor load, metastasis, and host angiogenesis through down-regulation of c-Myc, cyclin D1, CD44, and vascular endothelial growth factor expression by tumor cells. Together, these findings suggest that deregulation of BCL9 is an important contributing factor to tumor progression. The pleiotropic roles of BCL9 reported in this study underscore its value as a drug target for therapeutic intervention in several malignancies associated with aberrant Wnt signaling.
Baculovirus-mediated expression and purification of human serum paraoxonase 1A.

Abstract Human paraoxonase 1 (hPON1) is a lipid-associated enzyme transported on HDL. There is considerable interest in hPON1 because of its putative antioxidative/antiatherogenic properties. We have created a recombinant baculovirus (BV) to generate hPON1A in large quantities for structure-function studies and here describe the method for production and isolation of the enzyme. A high level of recombinant hPON1 type A (rPON1A) was produced by Hi-5 insect cells (40 mg/l); a fraction (~10 mg/l) was secreted into the cell culture medium, but the majority (~30 mg/l) remained associated with the host insect cells. Cell-associated rPON1A was purified by detergent extraction (Tergitol NP-10) followed by three simple chromatography steps (DEAE-Sepharose, Sephacryl S-200, and concanavalin A). The purified enzyme bound to concanavalin A and was converted to a lower molecular mass by endoglycosidase H digestion, suggesting that rPON1A contained high-mannose N-glycan chains. There was a significant decrease in arylesterase activity (>99%) concomitant with enzymatic deglycosylation. rPON1A was dependent on Ca2+ for arylesterase activity, exhibiting kinetic parameters similar to native hPON1A (Km = 3.8 ± 2.1 vs. 3.7 ± 2.0 mM and Vmax = 1,305 ± 668 vs. 1,361 ± 591 U/mg protein, rPON1A and hPON1A, respectively). Both rPON1A and hPON1A efficiently inhibited lipoxygenase-mediated peroxidation of phospholipid. In contrast to the arylesterase activity, which was sensitive to endoglycosidase H treatment, enzymatic deglycosylation did not inhibit the antioxidant activity of rPON1A. In conclusion, our BV-mediated PON1A expression system appears ideally suited for the production of relatively large quantities of rPON1A for structure-function studies. —Brushia, R. J., T. M. Forte, M. N. Oda, B. N. La Du, and J. K. Bielicki. Baculovirus-mediated expression and purification of human serum paraoxonase 1A.
Ultrastructural Studies of the Lung of Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) Inoculated Intratracheally with Escherichia coli

To test the hypothesis that walls of air capillaries are a site for Escherichia coli to pass the air-blood barrier, fimbriated and nonfimbriated strains of E. coli were inoculated intratracheally into 18-day-old turkeys. Venous blood was cultured, and turkeys were necropsied from 0.5 to 8 hours post-inoculation. Lungs were processed for histopathology and electron microscopy. E. coli 078 was identified ultrastructurally using rabbit anti-lipopolysaccharide antibody and protein A-colloidal gold. All birds developed bacteremia; there was no significant difference between groups given fimbriated or nonfimbriated bacteria. Bacteria adhered to the plasma membrane of air capillary epithelial cells and were seen within vacuoles of portions of these cells that lined the fornices of air capillaries. Bacteria were also seen in the basement membrane at the basal surface of air capillary epithelial cells and, rarely, in vacuoles of subjacent endothelial cells. Infected granular and non-granular cells that lined air atria were necrotic 4 hours post-inoculation. Bacteria were within the overlying trilaminar substance and between reticular fibers of the interstitial stroma and pleura at 30 minutes post-infection and thereafter. Thus, the pulmonary air capillaries are a site for entrance of E. coli into the pulmonary blood capillaries, but fimbriae play little or no role in passage across the air-blood barrier.
SPECIAL ARTICLE Development of Form in the Embryonic Heart An Experimental Approach

It is no longer necessary to guess at why embryonic malformations occur. Techniques are now available to test almost any hypothesis concerning developmental phenomena. These include the entire armamentarium of modern cell biology: organ and tissue culture, microsurgery, time-lapse cinematography, autoradiography, and many other related methodologies. The developmental events which lead to the formation of a functional heart in the early embryo can be analyzed with these techniques. Of the pertinent questions concerning developmental processes related to congenital heart disease, those of dextrocardia and differential growth, ventricular septal defects, and cell migration and adhesion in cardiogenesis are discussed. Several experimental systems useful for attacking these questions are described. Relative growth of specific segments of the primitive tubular heart contributed by the right and left wings of the cardiogenic crescent has been examined to elucidate the mechanism of dextral looping of the tube. Migration of precardiac cells to form the heart has been traced with cinematography in the intact embryo, and by following movements of cells labeled in situ with tritium using autoradiographic techniques. To analyze the mechanisms of guidance of such cells, endoderm plus adherent precardiac mesoderm can be explanted and manipulated in tissue culture.
Chiral Effects and Cosmic Magnetic Fields

In the presence of cosmic chiral asymmetry, chiral-vorticity and chiral-magnetic effects can play an important role in the generation and evolution of magnetic fields in the early universe. We include these chiral effects in the magnetic field equations and find solutions under simplifying assumptions. Our numerical and analytical results show the presence of an attractor solution in which chiral effects produce a strong, narrow, Gaussian peak in the magnetic spectrum and the magnetic field becomes maximally helical. The peak in the spectrum shifts to longer length scales and becomes sharper with evolution. We also find that the dynamics may become nonlinear for certain parameters, pointing to the necessity of a more complete analysis.
Substrate Recognition, Protein Dynamics, and Iron-Sulfur Cluster in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Adenosine 5′-Phosphosulfate Reductase

Abstract APS reductase catalyzes the first committed step of reductive sulfate assimilation in pathogenic bacteria, including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and is a promising target for drug development. We report the 2.7 A resolution crystal structure of Pseudomonas aeruginosa APS reductase in the thiosulfonate intermediate form of the catalytic cycle and with substrate bound. The structure, high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry, and quantitative kinetic analysis, establish that the two chemically discrete steps of the overall reaction take place at distinct sites on the enzyme, mediated via conformational flexibility of the C-terminal 18 residues. The results address the mechanism by which sulfonucleotide reductases protect the covalent but labile enzyme-intermediate before release of sulfite by the protein cofactor thioredoxin. P. aeruginosa APS reductase contains an [4Fe-4S] cluster that is essential for catalysis. The structure reveals an unusual mode of cluster coordination by tandem cysteine residues and suggests how this arrangement might facilitate conformational change and cluster interaction with the substrate. Assimilatory 3′-phosphoadenosine 5′-phosphosulfate (PAPS) reductases are evolutionarily related, homologous enzymes that catalyze the same overall reaction, but do so in the absence of an [Fe-S] cluster. The APS reductase structure reveals adaptive use of a phosphate-binding loop for recognition of the APS O3′ hydroxyl group, or the PAPS 3′-phosphate group.
Refining a definition of reflection for the being as well as doing the work of a physician

AbstractBackground: Reflection is core to professional competency and supports the active, constructive process of professional identity formation.Aims: Medical educators thus grapple with operationalizing and effectively integrating reflection as a foundational construct within health care professions education and practice.Methods: Core elements of reflection including role of emotions and awareness of self, other and situation, do not appear within various working definitions of reflection.Results: This observation as well as noted recent shift in medical education toward emphasis on the “being” as well as “doing the work” of a physician led to the author’s proposed refining of Sandars’ reflection definition and expansion of Nguyen et al.’s reflection model.Conclusions: A refined reflection definition is offered for a more inclusionary approach. A caveat regarding potential for expected reflective learning outcomes (given reflection as a process) is provided and the integral role of mentor-enhanced ref...
Detection of mitochondrial depolarization/recovery during ischaemia–reperfusion using spectral properties of confocally recorded TMRM fluorescence

Timing and pattern of mitochondrial potential (m) depolarization during no-flow ischaemia-reperfusion (I-R) remain controversial, at least in part due to difficulties in interpreting the changes in the fluorescence of m-sensitive dyes such as TMRM. The objective of this study was to develop a new approach for interpreting confocal TMRM signals during I-R based on spatial periodicity of mitochondrial packaging in ventricular cardiomyocytes. TMRM fluorescence (FTMRM) was recorded from Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts immobilized with blebbistatin using either a confocal microscope or an optical mapping system. The hearts were studied under normal conditions, during mitochondrial uncoupling using the protonophore FCCP, and during I-R. Confocal images of FTMRM were subjected to spatial Fourier transform which revealed distinct peaks at a spatial frequency of ∼2 μm(-1). The area under the peak (MPA) progressively decreased upon application of increasing concentrations of FCCP (0.3-20 μm), becoming undetectable at 5-20 μm FCCP. During ischaemia, a dramatic decrease in MPA, reaching the low/undetectable level comparable to that induced by 5-20 μm FCCP, was observed between 27 and 69 min of ischaemia. Upon reperfusion, a heterogeneous MPA recovery was observed, but not a de novo MPA decrease. Both confocal and wide-field imaging registered a consistent decrease in spatially averaged FTMRM in the presence of 5 μm FCCP, but no consistent change in this parameter during I-R. We conclude that MPA derived from confocal images provides a sensitive and specific indicator of significant mitochondrial depolarization or recovery during I-R. In contrast, spatially averaged FTMRM is not a reliable indicator of m changes during I-R.
Genetic and cytogenetic analysis of the Adh region in Drosophila melanogaster.

Eighteen Adh-negative mutations were selected with 1-pentyn-3-ol after feeding of formaldehyde. Twelve of the 18 were shown by cytological and genetic analysis to be deletions. Cytological examination of the deletions allowed us to localize the Adh gene to a region including bands 35B3–5 on the left arm of chromosome 2. The deletions were also used to order known visible loci located near Adh.—The vital loci near Adh were also investigated. A total of 109 lethal mutations were generated with EMS and 33 of these, localized within a region defined by the overlap of two of the deletions, were found to belong to 13 complementation groups. If one includes three other loci known to belong there (el, Adh and Sco), a total of 16 complementation groups have been identified in the region close to Adh.
In vivo association of lamins with nucleic acids in Drosophila melanogaster

A 32P-labeling strategy was developed to study the interaction(s) in tissue culture cells between proteins and nucleic acids. Interphase and mitotic nuclear lamins were studied in Drosophila Kc cells. After bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and in vivo photo-crosslinking with 366 nm light, it was found that interphase lamins were associated with nucleic acid. Interactions with DNA as well as RNA were detected. In contrast, interaction of nucleic acids with mitotic lamin was not observed. Photo-crosslinking in the presence of antibiotics distamycin and/or chromomycin suggested that interphase lamins interacted with both A-T-rich DNA and G-C-rich DNA; interactions with G-C-rich DNA predominated. These results have implications for understanding the interphase organization of the higher eukaryotic cell nucleus as well as the transition of cells from interphase to mitosis. A model of nuclear organization, consistent with our results, is proposed.
Past Unlawful Injunctions Shouldn't Cloud Samsung Galaxy S III's Future

Can Apple leverage its August trial victory over Samsung to achieve a court-ordered prohibition on the Galaxy S III, presently the world’s best-selling smartphone? Technology and legal reporters around the world have raised the possibility. Indeed, consumers themselves appear to fear an impending Galaxy S III sales ban. Shockingly, these predictions are almost certainly wrong. One reason for widespread confusion is the surprising fact that district courts routinely issue injunctions that violate the law. This essay discusses injunction breadth, Apple's prospects for banning sales of the Galaxy S III, and possible solutions to the proliferation of unlawful injunctions.
Shotgun pellet embolization to the posterior cerebral artery.

Introduction Projectile embolization to the cerebral vasculature and is almost exclusively seen in the anterior circulation due to the greater diameter and flow of the internal carotid arteries. In children, this phenomenon is ever rarer.
Neural Networks Applied to Cell Signaling and Chemical Communication in Cell Networks

The network approach to complex systems, established and successfully employed in the field of electronics, is becoming increasingly fruitful as an approach to problems of complexity in other fields. The field of Network Thermodynamics was created in order to approach a wide variety of systems, including living systems, with the same power as was demonstrated in electronic systems1–3.
Garnering Civic Hope: Social Studies, Expectations, and the Lost Civic Potential of Immigrant Youth

AbstractSocial studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with national survey data to explore how adults’ expectations shape immigrant youths’ civic identity formation. Although immigrant parents consistently express high academic expectations of their children, teachers’ civic expectations emerged as a critical factor in immigrant youths’ civic development. While teachers and immigrant youth reported rich civic discourse in advanced social studies classes, we counter that limited social studies course taking may restrict exposure to teachers’ civic expectations, and result in the unrealized civic potential of immigrant youth. We close with a cautionary note regarding the limits of social studies to develop a transformati...
NewsCubeSum: A Personalized Multidimensional News Update Summarization System

Popular online publishers produce huge amount of news articles every day, so it is important to summarize the most up-to-the-minute information to help users quickly know the progresses of their interested news events. In this paper, we develop NewsCubeSum, a novel personalized news summarization system utilizing OLAP and supervised sentence selection techniques to generate brief summaries delivering news updates in multiple dimensions (such as time, entity, and topic). An illustrative case study and experimental results on summarization performance comparisons are provided to show the effectiveness of NewsCubeSum.
Mechanism of the Effect of Epinephrine on Bioluminescence of the Firefly

SummaryThe action of epinephrine is not mediated through direct chemical stimulation of the luminescence reaction. Consideration of relative potencies of its congeners in evoking constant luminescence in fireflies suggests that the site of action is at the tracheal end-cells and that no nicotine-like effect is involved.
Halide-Bridged Binuclear HX-Splitting Catalysts

Two-electron mixed-valence compounds promote the rearrangement of the two-electron bond photochemically. Such complexes are especially effective at managing the activation of hydrohalic acids (HX). Closed HX-splitting cycles require proton reduction to H2 and halide oxidation to X2 to be both accomplished, the latter of which is thermodynamically and kinetically demanding. Phosphazane-bridged Rh2 catalysts have been especially effective at activating HX via photogenerated ligand-bridged intermediates; such intermediates are analogues of the classical ligand-bridged intermediates proposed in binuclear elimination reactions. Herein, a new family of phosphazane-bridged Rh2 photocatalysts has been developed where the halide-bridged geometry is designed into the ground state. The targeted geometries were accessed by replacing previously used alkyl isocyanides with aryl isocyanide ligands, which provided access to families of Rh2L1 complexes. H2 evolution with Rh2 catalysts typically proceeds via two-electron p...
Working Women, Class Relations, and Suffrage Militance: Harriot Stanton Blatch and the New York Woman Suffrage Movement, 1894-1909

More than any other period in American reform history, the Progressive Era eludes interpretation. It seems marked by widespread concern for social justice and by extraordinary elitism, by democratization and by increasing social control. The challenge posed to historians is to understand how Progressivism could simultaneously represent gains for the masses and more power for the classes. The traditional way to approach the period has been to study the discrete social programs reformers so energetically pushed in those years, from the abolition of child labor to the Americanization of the immigrants. Recently, historians' emphasis has shifted to politics, where it will probably remain for a time. Historians have begun to recognize that the rules of political life, the nature of American "democracy," were fundamentally reformulated beginning in the Progressive Era, and that such political change shaped the ultimate impact of particular social reforms. Where were women in all this? The new focus on politics requires a reinterpretation of women's role in Progressivism. As the field of women's history has grown, the importance of women in the Progressive Era has gained notice, but there remains a tendency to concentrate on their roles with respect to social reform. Modern scholarship on the Progressive Era thus retains a separate spheres flavor; women are concerned with social and moral issues, but the world of politics is male. Nowhere is this clearer than in the tendency to minimize, even to omit, the woman suffrage movement from the general literature on the Progressive Era.1
Real-time communication in low-power mobile wireless networks

Real-time wireless communication infrastructure is increasingly deployed to support industrial and cyber-physical applications. A limitation of existing real-time protocols is that they do not support mobility. This paper presents the development of a real-time network composed of a multi-hop infrastructure, and mobile nodes that associate with infrastructure nodes as they move. Once a mobile node joined the network, its real-time communication is guaranteed irrespective to the number and mobility pattern of mobile nodes. To develop this network, we propose Mobility-Aware Scheduling Algorithm (MASA), which benefits from new transmission scheduling approaches that cleverly combine potential packet transmissions to increase real-time capacity. We have developed a realistic trace-based simulator to evaluate the performance of MASA against two baseline algorithms. Experimental results indicate that MASA increases the number of admitted mobile nodes by 7× and 1.6×, and extends the network lifetime by 110% and 30%, compared to the baselines.
Vibration Behavior of Roll System under Nonlinear Constraints of the Hydraulic Cylinder

With four-high plate mill as an example, two nonlinear constraints that are segmented elastic force and friction force of hydraulic screw-down cylinders and bending cylinders in rolling mill roll system vibration are analyzed, the model that nonlinear roll system vibration under the nonlinear constraint action from hydraulic cylinder is established, and amplitude-frequency response of the vibration system is obtained by using average method. The behavior characteristic of roll system under the action of segment elastic force and friction force is studied by analysis of vibration curves under the function produced by two kinds of nonlinear factors. The law of amplitude-frequency characteristics of roll system influenced by two kinds of nonlinear factors respectively is studied by taking different segmented elastic force and friction force. The results show that vibration speed is affected by the magnitude of elastic force, the instability frequency area is wider with increases of segmented elastic force increasing, and the influence on the vibration behavior of the roll system turns damping into nonlinear with friction force increasingly. This conclusion provides a theory reference for roll system vibration control.
Research on the Biological Effects of Mechanical Vibration to the Cardiovascular

At present,the mechanical vibration as a means of intervention in areas such as muscle strength training of athletes,multiple sclerosis,Parkinson's disease,the promotion of fracture healing and preventing osteoporosis has been widely used.And using low-frequency vibration as a means for rehabilitation treatment has been also applied to these areas such as weight loss(locating on the surface of the fat or thick parts of body to accelerate fat to break down),the elimination of fatigue(locating on the bottom of foot or the part of ankle to relax the body),the elimination of muscle cramps(locating on the local muscle spasm,accelerate the clearance of local metabolic products) and so on.This paper combines methods of retrospective study and forward-looking analysis to sort out and summarize the documents about the effects of mechanical vibration to the cardiovascular system.It is hoped that these studies could provide some references for the formulation of the vibration training parameters and avoid unnecessary harm to the athletes while improving the training effects.
Patient Satisfaction After Outpatient Appendectomy

Abstract Background: Outpatient laparoscopic appendectomy has been shown to be safe, with low morbidity and readmission rates, but whether outpatient appendectomy produces poorer patient satisfaction has been questioned. Materials and Methods: Preoperatively, patients with uncomplicated appendicitis were counselled regarding outpatient management and instructed on postoperative care, follow-up appointments, and contact information. Telephone surveys of patients who underwent an outpatient laparoscopic appendectomy for uncomplicated appendicitis from January through October 2013 were performed. A Likert scale from very dissatisfied (1) to very satisfied (5) was employed. Patients were also queried that if, given the opportunity, they would have chosen to stay in the hospital. Results: Qualified patients included 41 men and 31 women with an average age of 36 years (range 19–79 years). Fifty-four (75%) were reached for satisfaction surveys. Patients were dismissed from the recovery room following a previousl...
THE CLASSIFICATION OF SURFACES

This chapter presents examples of topological polygons, representations of polygons by edge equations, combinatorial equivalence, and combinatorial invariants of a surface. A set of points in a Euclidean space is a surface if the set can be subdivided into a finite number of polygons such that (1) polygons intersect only in edges and vertices, (2) polygons have common vertices only to the extent required by the common edges, (3) no curve is used more than twice as a polygonal edge, and (4) the polygons cannot be divided into two sets of polygons with no edge in common. The chapter describes a method of reducing the equations of a surface to a single canonical equation. Two surfaces will be combinatorially equivalent only if their canonical equations are trivially equivalent. Geometrically interpreted, the reduction of the equations of a combinatorial representation of a surface to a single canonical equation is a systematic procedure for determining the number of crosscaps, handles, and cuffs on a surface.
Antarctic Ice‐Core Water (USGS49) – A New Isotopic Reference Material for δ2H and δ18O Measurements of Water

As a result of the scarcity of isotopic reference waters for daily use, a new secondary isotopic reference material for international distribution has been prepared from ice-core water from the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. This isotopic reference material, designated as USGS49, was filtered, homogenised, loaded into glass ampoules, sealed with a torch, autoclaved to eliminate biological activity and measured by dual-inlet isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. The δ2H and δ18O values of USGS49 are −394.7 ± 0.4 and −50.55 ± 0.04 mUr (where mUr = 0.001 = ‰), respectively, relative to VSMOW, on scales normalised such that the δ2H and δ18O values of SLAP reference water are, respectively, −428 and −55.5 mUr. Each uncertainty is an estimated expanded uncertainty (U = 2uc) about the reference value that provides an interval that has about a 95% probability of encompassing the true value. This isotopic reference material is intended as one of two isotopic reference waters for daily normalisation of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopic analysis of water with an isotope-ratio mass spectrometer or a laser absorption spectrometer. It is available by the case of 144 glass ampoules or as a set of sixteen glass ampoules containing 5 ml of water in each ampoule.
Designing a Neuropsychological Battery

There is no single test battery that is used by everyone or even a majority of people working on these issues. Neuropsychology offers a wide range of tests across many areas which can be considered by users. Tests selected from each area if any depends on the training and preferences of each user and the specific population being studied.
Development of a smart wheelchair for people with disabilities

The intelligent power wheelchair (iChair) is designed to assist people with mobility, sensory, and cognitive impairment lead a higher quality, more independent lifestyle. The iChair includes a power wheelchair (PW), laptop computer, laptop mount, multi-modal input platform, and a custom plastic enclosure for the environmental sensors, made with a 3D printer. We have developed the configuration of sensors to facilitate scientific observation, while maintaining the flexibility to mount the system on almost any power wheelchair, and remain easily removed for maintenance or travel. The first scientific observations have been used to compile ACCESS Reports that quantify a location or event's level of accessibility. If barriers exist we collect a 3D point cloud to be used as evidence and to make recommendations on how to remedy the problem. The iChair will serve a wide variety of disability types by incorporating several input methods, voice, touch, proximity switch, and head tracking camera. The HD camera and 3D scanner have been mounted in such a way as to provide reliable data with the precision necessary to detect obstacles, build 3D maps, follow guides, anticipate events, and provide navigational assistance. We evaluate the human factors in the current prototype to ensure that the technology will be accepted by those it is designed to serve, and propose a wheelchair skills test for future trial participants.
Automatic intraoperative fiducial-less patient registration using cortical surface

In image-guided neurosurgery, patient registration is typically performed in the operating room (OR) at the beginning of the procedure to establish the patient-to-image transformation. The accuracy and efficiency of patient registration are crucial as they are associated with surgical outcome, workflow, and healthcare costs. In this paper, we present an automatic fiducial-less patient registration (FLR) by directly registering cortical surface acquired from intraoperative stereovision (iSV) with preoperative MR (pMR) images without incorporating any prior information, and illustrate the method using one patient example. T1-weighted MR images were acquired prior to surgery and the brain was segmented. After dural opening, an image pair of the exposed cortical surface was acquired using an intraoperative stereovision (iSV) system, and a three-dimensional (3D) texture-encoded profile of the cortical surface was reconstructed. The 3D surface was registered with pMR using a multi-start binary registration method to determine the location and orientation of the iSV patch with respect to the segmented brain. A final transformation was calculated to establish the patient-to-MR relationship. The total computational time was ~30 min, and can be significantly improved through code optimization, parallel computing, and/or graphical processing unit (GPU) acceleration. The results show that the iSV texture map aligned well with pMR using the FLR transformation, while misalignment was evident with fiducial-based registration (FBR). The difference between FLR and FBR was calculated at the center of craniotomy and the resulting distance was 4.34 mm. The results presented in this paper suggest potential for clinical application in the future.
Orthopaedic special tests and diagnostic accuracy studies: house wine served in very cheap containers

House wine is the abstruse alcoholic drink sold by restaurants to thirsty, unquestioning individuals who are looking for the path of least resistance. House wine is easily accessible, simplifies an oft-complex process and ‘feels’ like its highbrow cousins. House wine is alluring to sellers of wine because it appeals to the masses and is profitable. House wine meets a need; but its packaging (usually a box) is generally looked down upon by discerning consumers since it signals lack of quality. > Unfortunately, orthopedic special tests are the house wine of the research community and diagnostic accuracy studies are the cheap containers in which they are served. Before you object too strenuously, we submit the following case (or box, sticking with the theme). Like cheap wine, orthopaedic special tests are ubiquitous. Our quick search of PubMed using ‘diagnostic accuracy and orthopaedic tests’ revealed 539 articles (most of them relevant). Beyond primary literature, a Google search for orthopaedic special tests elicited 967, 000 results including textbooks and websites. Textbooks frequently introduce a litany of tests; often including similar tests with variable names and no discriminating properties. YouTube is laden with demonstrations of selected tests. This popularity begs the question, ‘Why?’ For the sellers of the ‘house wine’, for example, researchers and journals, orthopaedic tests …
Neutropenia in the Neonate

Neutropenia, a below normal concentration of neutrophils in the circulating blood, can be the kinetic result of diminished neutrophil production, excessive neutrophil margination, or accelerated neutrophil utilization and destruction. The significance of neutropenia to the well-being of the subject is dependent, in part, on the responsible kinetic mechanism. In this review of the causes of neutropenia in newborn infants, the authors examine neutrophil production and kinetics in the human fetus and newborn infant. The recognized causes of neutropenia in neonates are categorized and discussed according to their underlying kinetic mechanism.
An alcohol withdrawal test battery measuring multiple behavioral symptoms in mice

Despite acceptance that risk for alcohol-use disorder (AUD) has a large genetic component, the identification of genes underlying various components of risk for AUD has been hampered in humans, in part by the heterogeneity of expression of the phenotype. One aspect of AUD is physical dependence. Alcohol withdrawal is a serious consequence of alcohol dependence with multiple symptoms, many of which are seen in multiple species, and can be experienced over a wide-ranging time course. In the present three studies, we developed a battery of withdrawal tests in mice, examining behavioral symptoms from multiple domains that could be measured over time. To permit eventual use of the battery in different strains of mice, we used male and female mice of a genetically heterogeneous stock developed from intercrossing eight inbred strains. Withdrawal symptoms were assessed using commonly used tests after administration of ethanol in vapor for 72 continuous hours. We found significant effects of ethanol withdrawal versus air-breathing controls on nearly all symptoms, spanning 4 days following ethanol vapor inhalation. Withdrawal produced hypothermia, greater neurohyperexcitability (seizures and tremor), anxiety-like behaviors using an apparatus (such as reduced transitions between light and dark compartments), anhedonia (reduced sucrose preference), Straub tail, backward walking, and reductions in activity; however, there were no changes in thermal pain sensitivity, hyper-reactivity to handling, or anxiety-like emergence behaviors in other apparatus. Using these data, we constructed a refined battery of withdrawal tests. Individual differences in severity of withdrawal among different tests were weakly correlated at best. This battery should be useful for identifying genetic influences on particular withdrawal behaviors, which should reflect the influences of different constellations of genes.
Improvements to harmonic model for extracting better speech features in clinical applications

Abstract Acoustic properties of speech samples can provide important cues in the assessment of voice pathology and cognitive function. The goal of this study is to develop novel algorithms for robust and accurate estimation of speech features and employ them to build probabilistic speech models for characterizing and analyzing clinical speech. Toward this goal, we adopt a harmonic model (HM) of speech. We overcome certain drawbacks of this model and introduce an improved version of HM that leads us to accurate and reliable estimation of voiced segments, fundamental frequency, HNR, jitter, and shimmer. We evaluate the performance of our improved HM in the context of voicing detection and pitch estimation with other state-of-the-art techniques on the Keele data set. Through extensive experiments on several noisy conditions, we demonstrate that the proposed improvements provide substantial gains over other popular methods under different noise levels and environments. Next, we investigate the utility of developed measures on the speech-based assessment of cognitive impairments including clinical depression and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our preliminary results on two clinical tasks demonstrate the promise of our improved HM features in practical applications.
How to Teach in Busy Clinical Settings

The opportunity to teach medical students and resident physicians is not only one of our highest callings as doctors but also a source of immense career satisfaction. Although the increasingly complex medical landscape threatens to diminish the opportunity and effectiveness of clinical education, focused preparation and flexibility are key strategies. Recognizing institutional “protected time” for educational activities and seizing the proverbial “teachable moment” serve to enhance learners’ experience. Prudent use of case-based learning, team-based learning, and available technologies is also effective. Perhaps even more critical to the student’s educational experience than the assimilation of facts is the observation of the attending physician’s professionalism and bedside manner. It is important to be ever mindful that we serve as role models for trainees, who are apt to pick up on our habits. Attending physicians’ demonstration of enthusiasm, compassion, and integrity is known to positively influence medical students’ educational experience. Excellence in clinical communication, in all its applications (physician–patient, physician–family, ­physician–staff, and physician–physician), demonstrates the highest degree of our professionalism.
Measurement Invariance Across Gender for the Metacognitive Self-Regulation Revised Scale:

The Metacognitive Self-Regulation scale (MSR) was recently improved after subjecting the scale to a comprehensive reanalysis and replacing it with the Metacognitive Self-Regulation Revised scale (M...
Enthalpy recovery of ultrathin polystyrene film using Flash DSC

Abstract Enthalpy recovery for a single polystyrene ultrathin film of 20 nm thickness is studied using Flash DSC over an extended time and temperature range. Results are compared to a bulk sample of the same polystyrene using a similar experimental protocol and analysis procedure in an effort to determine the effects of nanoconfinement. Examined is the cooling rate dependence of the glass transition temperature (Tg) of unaged films which informs the initial fictive temperature (Tfo) and thus the jump size (Tfo - Ta) for a given aging temperature (Ta). Isothermal enthalpy recovery is investigated as a function of both Ta for various cooling rates and as a function of jump size at constant Ta. The apparent activation energies at Tg and along the glassy line are determined and compared, as is the enthalpy recovery aging rate. Although the apparent activation energy along the glass line is the same within experimental error as the bulk, the aging rate is found to be slightly faster in the ultrathin film. Increasing the cooling rate prior to aging increases the aging rate. The results are discussed in the context of the two competing factors which influence the aging rate, namely, the driving force and the molecular mobility. The driving force for aging is dictated by the jump size or cooling rate, i.e., the value of Tfo - Ta. The mobility, on the other hand, is dictated by the relaxation time at the aging temperature, which increases during aging from the value on the initial glass line to that at equilibrium. The initial mobility in the glassy state is dictated by the jump size, being related to Tfo - Ta and the temperature dependence of the relaxation time along the glass line, whereas the mobility at equilibrium is dictated by Ta, Tg, and the temperature dependence and breadth of the equilibrium relaxation time.
Ecological Momentary Assessment methodology in chronic pain research: A systematic review

Abstract Self-reported pain intensity assessments are central to chronic pain research. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodologies are uniquely positioned to collect these data, and are indeed being used in the field. However, EMA protocols are complex, and many decisions are necessary in the design of EMA research studies. A systematic literature review identified 105 articles drawing from 62 quantitative EMA research projects examining pain intensity in adult chronic pain patients. Study characteristics were tabulated to summarize and describe the use of EMA, with an emphasis placed on various dimensions of decision-making involved in executing EMA methodologies. Most identified studies considered within-person relationships between pain and other variables, and a few examined interventions on chronic pain. There was a trend toward the use of smartphones as EMA data collection devices more recently, and completion rates were not reported in nearly one third of studies. Pain intensity items varied widely with respect to number of scale points, anchor labels, and length of reporting period; most used numeric rating scales. Recommendations are provided for reporting to improve reproducibility, comparability, and interpretation of results, and for opportunities to clarify the importance of design decisions. Perspective Studies that use EMA methodologies to assess pain intensity are heterogeneous. Aspects of protocol design, including data input modality and pain item construction, have the potential to influence the data collected. Thorough reporting on design features and completion rates therefore facilitates reproducibility, comparability, and interpretation of study results.
Tomato type and post-treatment water rinse affect efficacy of acid washes against Salmonella enterica inoculated on stem scars of tomatoes and product quality.

Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of post-treatment rinsing with water on the inactivation efficacy of acid treatments against Salmonella inoculated onto stem scar areas of two types of tomatoes. In addition, impact on fruit quality was investigated during 21 days post-treatment storage at 10 °C. A four-strain cocktail of Salmonella enterica (S. Montevideo, S. Newport, S. Saintpaul, and S. Typhimurium) was inoculated onto stem scar areas of grape and large round tomatoes. The inoculated fruits were then treated for 2 min with the following solutions: water, 2% lactic acid +2% acetic acid +2% levulinic acid, 1.7% lactic acid +1.7% acetic acid +1.7% levulinic acid, and 3% lactic acid +3% acetic acid. After treatments, half of the fruits were rinsed with water while another half were not rinsed. Non-inoculated grape tomatoes for quality analysis were treated with the same solutions with and without subsequent water rinse. Results demonstrated that the acid combinations reduced populations of Salmonella enterica on the stem scar area of grape tomatoes by 1.52–1.90 log CFU/fruit, compared with the non-treated control while water wash and rinse removed the bacterium by only 0.23–0.30 log CFU/fruit. On the stem scar of large round tomatoes, the same acid treatments achieved 3.54 log CFU/fruit reduction of the pathogen. The varying response to the acid washes between grape and large round tomatoes seems to be related to the differences in surface characteristics of stem scar areas observed with SEM. Rinsing with water after acid combination treatments did not significantly affect the efficacy of the treatments in either grape or large round tomatoes. Acidic off-odor was detected on fruits treated with acid combination without water rinse 1 day after treatment while water rinse eliminated the off-odor. The acid treatments with and without water rinse did not consistently affect appearance, color, firmness, or lycopene or ascorbic acid contents of tomatoes during 21-days storage at 10 °C. Considering the similarity in antimicrobial efficacy between the fruits with and without water rinse following acid treatments, and the elimination of acidic odor by water rinse, fruits should be rinsed with water after acid treatments. Overall, our results demonstrated that the acids were more effective in inactivating Salmonella on large round tomatoes than on grape tomatoes, and water rinses following acid treatments eliminated the acidic odor without affecting the efficacy of the acids against Salmonella.
Larvae in Invertebrate Development and Evolution

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the role of larvae in the development and evolution of invertebrates. The larvae of marine invertebrates are intricately functioning organisms in their own right. Their anatomical complexity and structural and functional diversity are all the more remarkable because marine larvae are so minute. Fascination with the beauty and diversity of larval forms is reflected in the broad range of empirical, comparative, and theoretical perspectives within the field of invertebrate larval biology. This chapter explores what marine invertebrate larvae have to offer on the ongoing synthesis of evolutionary and developmental biology when they are viewed as structurally and functionally complicated organisms, selected to operate efficiently in their own distinctive milieu. The concept of stage in larval development is fruitful for organizing both information about structural traits and information about the order (sequence of events) and timing (onset and completion relative to a fixed point) of changes in organization. Many invertebrate groups have more than one kind of structurally distinct larva in their life history. Larval developmental types may share suites of similar structural features as a consequence of convergence. For example, the teleplanic larval type has evolved independently in a number of caenogastropod clades.
MULTISCALE MODELING OF GRANULAR MATTER: A HIERARCHICAL SCHEME

This paper briefly describes a hierarchical multiscale method used to model the behavior of granular matter by linking the fundamental granular scale with the continuum scale, which is being modeled using frictional elasto-plasticity. We show a particular example where grain kinematics are extracted from discrete element calculations and successfully coupled with finite element procedures, without resorting to any hardening evolution functions. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified via a numerical example.
Constraint Induced Movement Techniques To Facilitate Upper Extremity Use in Stroke Patients.

A new therapeutic approach to the rehabilitation of movement after stroke, termed constraint-induced (CI) movement therapy, has been derived from basic research with monkeys given somatosensory dea...