cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ancient Disease, Modern Epidemiology: A Century of Progress in Understanding and Fighting Tuberculosis

A century's worth of efforts to better understand the epidemiology of tuberculosis (TB) and to develop new vaccines, drugs, preventive interventions, and case-finding approaches have provided important insights and helped to advance the field of epidemiology as a whole. Wade Hampton Frost developed methods for cohort analysis that formed the early basis for adjustment of confounding variables. The streptomycin trial in the United Kingdom in the 1940s introduced random allocation for participants to either the treatment or control group, ensuring blinded treatment assignment and comparable treatment groups, which is now a key element in randomized clinical trials. Research into the bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccine demonstrated the importance of comparative analyses, potential difficulties in generalizability to populations not under study, and the role of meta-analysis for discrepant data-approaches now strongly recommended prior to implementing any novel public health intervention. George Comstock's work on preventive therapy for TB demonstrated the use of epidemiologic methods to evaluate interventions on a population level. Finally, studies from the Consortium to Respond Effectively to the AIDS/TB Epidemic focused on the evaluation of real-world effectiveness and of targeting of high-risk subpopulations. In this article, we discuss how TB research in each of these domains has helped to advance epidemiologic thinking and methodology over the past 100 years.
Abstract 129: My Unlimited Potential: Multidimensional Workplace Life Style Modification Program Associated With Reduction in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Among Employees With Type 2 Diabetes

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading conditions resulting in high health costs and lost productivity. In recent year there is a growing interest for managing these chronic conditions through engagement of workplace wellness programs. In this study we examined the short and long term effects of an ongoing multicomponent lifestyle intervention improvement program (My Unlimited Potential (MyUP), among employees of Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF), a large not-for-profit health care system. Method: The present analysis focuses on the efficacy of an intensive lifestyle workplace intervention among individuals presenting with diabetes mellitus. The intervention provided tools to improve physical activity, stress and dietary habits. A multi-disciplinary team made up of an advanced nurse practitioner (ARNP), registered dietician (RD), exercise physiologist (EP), certified diabetic educator (CDE), and registered nurse (RN) met with participants to provide one-on-one counseling and training. Results: The current study assessed 33 (58 years +/- 8.8, 67% female) employees with diabetes mellitus enrolled in the MyUp wellness program who completed baseline, 12-weeks, 6 months and 1 year assessments. Significant short and long term improvements in cardio-metabolic risk factors were observed (Table1). Positive change in distribution of cardiovascular risk factors was noticed at 3, 6 and 12 months (Fig1). Conclusion: These results suggest that a multi component workplace lifestyle modification program results in both short and long term improvement in cardiovascular disease risk among employees with diabetes mellitus. Further large studies are needed to confirm our study findings. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Method Development in Supercritical Fluid Extraction

When using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), a variety of chemical and physical parameter interactions must be considered in developing a sample preparation method. Those interactions, especially for an analyst who is unfamiliar with the properties and potentials of supercritical fluids, can make routine analytical method development quite rigorous. This paper is meant as a guide for a novice user of SFE. It illustrates a logical scheme to consider when removing an analyte from a difficult matrix.
SEXUAL SELECTION AND RESOURCE-ACCRUING ABILITIES IN ANOLIS GARMANI.

In 1969, I began a field study of the social behavior of two Jamaican lizards, Anolis garmani and A. valencienni. This study has developed into an attempt to measure how sexual selection has molded adult dimorphism in size and associated dimorphism in growth rates, mortality rates, and in sexual and aggressive behavior. Preliminary data for Anolis garmani were presented as part of a general theory for the evolution of sex differences (Trivers, 1972). Meanwhile, several important theoretical advances (Maynard Smith, 1971; Williams, 1975; Zahavi, 1975) have convinced me that female choice is a central factor molding male sexual dimorphism and systems of malemale competition. The data presented here for Anolis garmani tend to support the view that those males who do most of the mating are those who have tended to demonstrate the superiority of their non sexlinked genes.
Exploring the risks that affect community college decision makers

For leaders, decision making is a charge that cannot be escaped. For those who prefer to avoid this responsibility, the startling truth is that even not making a decision is a decision. Executives, including community colleges', have critical accountability to build a support network with easy access to pertinent information that carries out decisions as intended. Decision making's impending risks---particularly in this age of "I need it yesterday"---are strained by the likelihood of misunderstanding and miscommunication. The man-hours of gathering, analyzing and prioritizing information behind a good decision can be thwarted without a strategy for how to make a decision with that information. This dissertation explores the under-researched question of why organizations---whether big or small, or impacting millions or fewer than a hundred---falter as a result of decision making. To change this cycle, this long-neglected dynamic and its associated risks clearly needed an in-depth examination of the complexities within the decision process using a tailored risk management methodology including risk planning, risk assessment, and risk resolution activities. Because community colleges, federal agencies and small businesses have similar concerns about institutionalizing effective decision making, this dissertation addresses those complexities specifically within community colleges. The result is tailoring a new, specialized risk management program from one developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) to explore the risks that affect community college decision makers. Mismanaging risks in a poor decision-making infrastructure leads to damaging results that are obvious, yet all-too-often repeated, such as fostering a negative opinion about the leader among the very people the decisions are designed to serve---the people who depend on the decision making, and leaving no trail of important information and processes---leading to repeating the cycle. Implementing this author's risk management program to identify potential problems for the community college will deliver knowledge to develop risk management practitioners' abilities to handle continuing challenges such as the community colleges' increased societal demands and their decreases in funding on state and local levels. Implementing risk management programs increases organizations' successes and abilities to continue to handle our society's twenty-first century needs.
Distributed Detection With Vector Quantizer

Motivated by distributed inference over big datasets problems, we study multiterminal distributed inference problems when each terminal employs vector quantizer. The use of vector quantizer enables us to relax the conditional independence assumption normally used in the distributed detection with scalar quantizer scenarios. We first consider a case of practical interest in which each terminal is allowed to send zero-rate messages to a decision maker. Subject to a constraint that the error exponent of the type 1 error probability is larger than a certain level, we characterize the best error exponent of the type 2 error probability using basic properties of the r -divergent sequences. We then consider the scenario with positive rate constraints, for which we design schemes to benefit from the less strict rate constraints.
Allergy in the Elderly

Inflammatory and noninflammatory nonallergic rhinitis is more prevalent in the fifth decade and later in life. The elderly frequently have atrophic and medication-related rhinitis. Adults comprise the largest group with seasonal or perennial allergic rhinitis or both. In a survey by allergy immunology specialists of older adults, 6 % are older than 70 years, and these individuals represent the fastest growing population in the United States. There are many triggers for allergic rhinitis, but skin test reactivity decreases with age and symptoms tend to be milder. The elderly have variable nasal physiologic function and frequently have a dry nasal mucosa but complain of severe congestion, lack turbinate edema, and have negative skin tests. Structural changes can develop with aging due to atrophy of collagen and alterations in nasal cartilage. Other types of rhinitis in the elderly include idiopathic rhinitis and rhinitis due to granulomatous, collagen vascular diseases and neoplasia. The elderly often consume multiple medications, especially for chronic cardiac and gastrointestinal disorders. Rhinitis due to medications is a condition for elderly patients on chronic β-blockers, diuretics, and anti-reflux therapy.
Kinetic and thermodynamic framework for P4-P6 RNA reveals tertiary motif modularity and modulation of the folding preferred pathway

The past decade has seen a wealth of 3D structural information about complex structured RNAs and identification of functional intermediates. Nevertheless, developing a complete and predictive understanding of the folding and function of these RNAs in biology will require connection of individual rate and equilibrium constants to structural changes that occur in individual folding steps and further relating these steps to the properties and behavior of isolated, simplified systems. To accomplish these goals we used the considerable structural knowledge of the folded, unfolded, and intermediate states of P4-P6 RNA. We enumerated structural states and possible folding transitions and determined rate and equilibrium constants for the transitions between these states using single-molecule FRET with a series of mutant P4-P6 variants. Comparisons with simplified constructs containing an isolated tertiary contact suggest that a given tertiary interaction has a stereotyped rate for breaking that may help identify structural transitions within complex RNAs and simplify the prediction of folding kinetics and thermodynamics for structured RNAs from their parts. The preferred folding pathway involves initial formation of the proximal tertiary contact. However, this preference was only ∼10 fold and could be reversed by a single point mutation, indicating that a model akin to a protein-folding contact order model will not suffice to describe RNA folding. Instead, our results suggest a strong analogy with a modified RNA diffusion-collision model in which tertiary elements within preformed secondary structures collide, with the success of these collisions dependent on whether the tertiary elements are in their rare binding-competent conformations.
Liquid Milk Products: Pasteurized Milk

The objective(s) of milk pasteurization is to ensure the safety of fluid milk by killing pathogens known to occur in milk and to prolong shelf life by destroying undesirable enzymes as well as reducing the number of viable spoilage microorganisms. The target of pasteurization is to achieve 99.999% (5-log) reduction in viable microorganisms. Pasteurization should not be confused with commercial sterilization, where the objective is to kill all microorganisms (pathogenic and spoilage) in the food. Pasteurization is generally achieved with high-temperature–short-time equipment, which uses continuous heat processing combined with separation, standardization, and homogenization. The temperature–time combinations recommended for pasteurization have been selected to optimize microbial kill while minimizing the impact on the nutritional quality of milk. Water-soluble vitamins are especially sensitive to heat and lose 5–20% of their activity following pasteurization. As pasteurized milk is not sterile, it must be stored and distributed under refrigeration. The shelf life of pasteurized milk is linked to raw milk quality and control of post-pasteurization contamination. The common types of pasteurized milk include whole milk, reduced-fat milk, and skim milk, as well as flavored milk, organic milk, low-lactose milk, and milk beverages fortified with select nutrients.
Evaluation of Toxicity for Heart Failure Therapeutics Studying Effects on the QT Interval

One of the most feared complications in medicine is sudden death caused by drug-induced proarrhythmia. Accordingly, concerted efforts have been made to define a drug's proarrhythmic potential before regulatory approval. Monitoring for QT prolongation is one such method. Patients with heart failure represent a particularly high-risk population for torsade de pointes because of structural and electric remodeling that impair repolarization reserve. However, these patients are frequently excluded from clinical trials. Preclinical models simulate some of the electric remodeling of heart failure and form an important part of safety evaluations during early drug development. Clinical programs usually include a thorough QT study, which attempts to find a small mean change in QTc that serves as a surrogate for the risk of torsade de pointes. The impairment of repolarization reserve in heart failure goes beyond QT prolongation, however, and other clinical methods of measuring this propensity may be necessary to obtain a complete picture of a drug's arrhythmic potential. Heart failure (HF) is a common and serious affliction. HF is a listed diagnosis in as many as 65% to 70% of hospital admissions each year in the United States.1 The prevalence of this disease continues to increase because of to a rise in coronary artery disease and diabetes incidence, an increase in the age of the population, and a reduction in the probability of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in HF with aggressive use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. The net result is a larger population of patients living longer with more comorbidities, and, as a corollary, more polypharmacy. HF has been recognized as one of several clinical risk factors for drug-induced proarrythmia.2,3 Many classes of drugs have been shown to improve all-cause mortality in HF and have revolutionized both the treatment and prognosis of this condition. Although there is a …
Skewed Lung CCR4 to CCR6 CD4+ T Cell Ratio in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Is Associated with Pulmonary Function.

Rationale: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, fatal lung disease. While it has been suggested that T cells may contribute to IPF pathogenesis, these studies have focused primarily on T cells outside of the pulmonary interstitium. Thus, the role of T cells in the diseased lung tissue remains unclear. Objective: To identify whether specific CD4 T cell subsets are differentially represented in lung tissue from patients with IPF. Methods: CD4 T cells subsets were measured in lung tissue obtained from patients with IPF at the time of lung transplantation, and from age- and gender-matched organ donors with no known lung disease. Subsets were identified by their surface expression of CCR4, CCR6, and CXCR3 chemokine receptors. CD4 T cell subsets were correlated with measurements of lung function obtained prior to transplantation. Results: Compared to controls, IPF patients had a higher proportion of lung CD4 T cells, a higher proportion of CCR4 CD4 T cells, and a lower proportion of CCR6 CD4 T cells. The increase in CCR4 CD4 T cells in IPF lung tissue was not due to increased Tregs. Intriguingly, the increase in the ratio of CCR4 cells to CCR6 cells correlated significantly with better lung function. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a new paradigm that not all T cell infiltrates in IPF lungs are detrimental, but instead, specialized subsets may actually be protective. Thus, augmentation of the chemokines that recruit protective T cells, while blocking chemokines that recruit detrimental T cells, may constitute a novel approach to IPF therapy.
Introduction to Nanomedicine

This chapter presents the definition of nanomedicine and nanotechnology, describes the relation of nanomedicine to the basic sciences, introduces the functions and properties of medical nanodevices, the design and fabrication of nanorobots and nanoparticles, and discusses the current and potential applications of nanomedicine.
On the universality of local dissipation scales in turbulent channel flow

Well-resolved measurements of the small-scale dissipation statistics within turbulent channel flow are reported for a range of Reynolds numbers from to 4000. In this flow, the local large-scale Reynolds number based on the longitudinal integral length scale is found to poorly describe the Reynolds number dependence of the small-scale statistics. When a length scale based on Townsend’s attached-eddy hypothesis is used to define the local large-scale Reynolds number, the Reynolds number scaling behaviour was found to be more consistent with that observed in homogeneous, isotropic turbulence. The Reynolds number scaling of the dissipation moments up to the sixth moment was examined and the results were found to be in good agreement with predicted scaling behaviour (Schumacher et al., Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, vol. 111, 2014, pp. 10961–10965). The probability density functions of the local dissipation scales (Yakhot, Physica D, vol. 215 (2), 2006, pp. 166–174) were also determined and, when the revised local large-scale Reynolds number is used for normalization, provide support for the existence of a universal distribution which scales differently for inner and outer regions.
HDAC Inhibitors Finally Open Up: Chromatin Accessibility Signatures of CTCL.

In this issue of Cancer Cell, Qu et al. describe the chromatin accessibility profiles of cutaneous T cell lymphoma, with dynamic assessments of response and resistance to histone deacetylase inhibitor therapy. Their "personal regulome" analysis framework reveals chromatin features that may be predictive of clinical response to epigenetic therapy.
Evolution of malaria virulence in cross-generation transmission through selective immune pressure

Theoretical arguments and some mathematical models of host-parasite coevolution (e.g. [1- 6]) suggest host immunity as the driving source for the evolution of parasite virulence. Imperfect vaccines in particular, can play the role and recent work [7] sets to test these ideas experimentally, using the mouse malaria model, Plasmodium chabaudi. To this end the authors evolve parasite lines in immunized and nonimmunized (“naive”) mice using serial passage of infected blood samples. They find parasite lines evolved in immunized mice become more virulent than those evolved in naive mice. Furthermore, this feature persisted even when the evolved strains were transmitted through mosquitoes. Here we develop a mathematical model of parasite dynamics that qualitatively reproduces the experimental results of [7]. Our model accounts for the basic in-host processes: (i) production and depletion of red blood cells (RBC); (ii) immune-modulated parasite growth/ replication, (iii) immune stimulation and clearing of parasite. Besides we introduce multiple parasite strains with variable levels of virulence, and allow random mutations during replication process. The virulence is represented by a single parameter – immune stimulation threshold. So more virulent strains have higher “tolerance levels”, hence increased RBC depletion (anemia). Numeric simulations with our model exhibit, as in [7] the overall evolution of virulence in serial passage of parasite strains, and its enhancement through partial (imperfect) immunization.
An experimental and numerical study of wellbore leakage mitigation using pH-triggered polymer gelant

Abstract The potential leakage of hydrocarbon fluids or carbon dioxide from subsurface formations is a primary concern in wellbore integrity, oil and gas production, and CO2 storage. Leaky wells with fractured cement or debonded microannuli are common sources of subsurface fluid leakage. The hydrocarbon fluid or CO2 can migrate through such pathways to shallower formations and ultimately to surface. Cement fractures may have apertures on the order of microns, which are difficult to seal with typical workover techniques. A material that provides low viscosity during the injection but much higher viscosity after injection, with a minimum pressure gradient to yield flow at the target zone, is a potentially effective approach to seal the leakage pathways through cement fractures. pH-triggered polymers are such a material: aqueous solutions with low viscosity at low pH, containing pH-sensitive microgels which viscosify upon neutralization to become highly swollen gels with substantial yield stress that can block fluid flow. For the wellbore leakage application, the large alkalinity of wellbore cement provides the required neutralization. Our coreflood and rheological experiments show that pH-triggered polymer sealants such as polyacrylic acid polymer provide a robust seal if the process is properly designed; however, its long-term applicability depends on the dynamic geochemical environment of the wellbore. The process comprises three stages: (1) injection of a chelating agent as the preflush to ensure a favorable environment for the polymer gel, (2) injection of polymer solution, and (3) shut-in for the polymer gelation. A systematic study was done to understand the conditions under which the polymer gel remains stable and effectively seals the leakage pathways. A numerical model, based on polymer rheological properties and governing mechanisms observed in the laboratory experiments, was developed to simulate the reactive flow and transport of pH-triggered polymers in narrow fractures. Comparison with experiments shows a generally good agreement, despite the relative simplicity of the model. The numerical model was used to investigate further the underlying mechanisms of the process. The results can be used to design effectively the remediation process for a known fracture aperture size of the target zone.
Response by Marbán and de Couto to Letter Regarding Article, "Exosomal MicroRNA Transfer Into Macrophages Mediates Cellular Postconditioning".

In their letter regarding the article by de Couto et al,1 Chen and Shen point out that exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCexo) have certain cardioprotective properties. They then speculate that MSCexo might resemble exosomes from cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) in their bioactivity on …
Decarboxylation involving a ferryl, propionate, and a tyrosyl group in a radical relay yields heme b

The H2O2-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of coproheme III is the final step in the biosynthesis of heme b in many microbes. However, the coproheme decarboxylase reaction mechanism is unclear. The structure of the decarboxylase in complex with coproheme III suggested that the substrate iron, reactive propionates, and an active-site tyrosine convey a net 2e−/2H+ from each propionate to an activated form of H2O2. Time-resolved EPR spectroscopy revealed that Tyr-145 formed a radical species within 30 s of the reaction of the enzyme–coproheme complex with H2O2. This radical disappeared over the next 270 s, consistent with a catalytic intermediate. Use of the harderoheme III intermediate as substrate or substitutions of redox-active side chains (W198F, W157F, or Y113S) did not strongly affect the appearance or intensity of the radical spectrum measured 30 s after initiating the reaction with H2O2, nor did it change the ∼270 s required for the radical signal to recede to ≤10% of its initial intensity. These results suggested Tyr-145 as the site of a catalytic radical involved in decarboxylating both propionates. Tyr-145• was accompanied by partial loss of the initially present Fe(III) EPR signal intensity, consistent with the possible formation of Fe(IV)=O. Site-specifically deuterated coproheme gave rise to a kinetic isotope effect of ∼2 on the decarboxylation rate constant, indicating that cleavage of the propionate Cβ–H bond was partly rate-limiting. The inferred mechanism requires two consecutive hydrogen atom transfers, first from Tyr-145 to the substrate Fe/H2O2 intermediate and then from the propionate Cβ–H to Tyr-145•.
Developing and validating a center-specific preoperative prediction calculator for risk of pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Abstract Background The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Surgical Risk Calculator predicts postoperative risk based on preoperative variables. The ACS model was compared to an institution-specific risk calculator for pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD). Methods Observed outcomes were compared with those predicted by the ACS and institutional models. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated the models' predictive ability. Institutional models were evaluated with retrospective and prospective internal validation. Results Brier scores indicate equivalent aggregate predictive ability. ROC values for the institutional model (ROC: 0.675–0.881, P Conclusions Identifying higher-risk patients allows for individualized care. While ACS and institutional models accurately predict average complication occurrence, the institutional models are superior at predicting individualized outcomes. Predictive metrics specific to PD center volume may more accurately predict outcomes.
Image Registration with Applications to Medical Imaging.

Image registration is ubiquitous in Computer Vision, Medical Imaging and other fields of Science and Engineering. Image registration maybe defined as, given a pair of images possibly acquired from different view points under varying image acquisition parameters or from two different sensors, to estimate the unknown coordinate transformation that would align the images. The coordinate transformation may be linear (e.g., rigid, affine etc.) or nonlinear (e.g., polynomial etc.). Several well known approaches (e.g., the SSD method, the Mutual Information method etc.) to solve this problem will first be reviewed and following this, I will present a relatively new method that involves a novel measure of information in a random variable based on its cumulative distribution and dubbed the cumulative residual entropy (CRE). This measure parallels the well known Shannon entropy but has the following advantages: (1) it is more general than the Shannon Entropy as its definition is valid in the discrete and continuous domains, (2) it possess more general mathematical properties and (3) it can be easily computed from sample data and these computations asymptotically converge to the true values. Based on CRE, I will define the cross-CRE (CCRE) between two random variables, and apply it to solve the image alignment problem for parameterized (3D rigid and affine) transformations. The key strengths of the CCRE over using the mutual information (based on Shannon’s entropy) are that the former has significantly larger tolerance to noise and a much larger convergence range over the field of parameterized transformations. We demonstrate these strengths via experiments on synthesized and real image data.
Developing a Novel Ambulatory Total Parenteral Nutrition-Dependent Short Bowel Syndrome Animal Model

Abstract Background Short bowel syndrome (SBS) results from extensive bowel resection. Patients with SBS require total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for survival. Understanding mechanisms contributing to TPN-associated liver injury and gut atrophy are critical in developing SBS therapies. Existing SBS models using tethered animals have significant limitations and are unlike ambulatory human SBS patients. We hypothesized that we could induce SBS in piglets and develop an ambulatory TPN-SBS model. Material and methods Eighteen neonatal pigs received duodenal and jugular catheters. They were fitted with a jacket holding TPN and a miniaturized pump. Six piglets had 90% small bowel resection and catheter placement (SBS group). Non-SBS piglets were randomized into enteral nutrition (EN) or TPN. Results Bowel resection was successfully accomplished in SBS animals. Weight gain was similar in all groups. SBS animals had increased serum bilirubin compared to EN. Mean conjugated bilirubin ± SD was 0.045 ± 0.01 for EN, (P = 0.03 EN versus TPN and P = 0.03 SBS versus EN) and 1.09 ± 1.25 for TPN, (P = 0.62 TPN versus SBS). Gut density was reduced in the TPN group compared to EN and SBS groups. Mean gut density ± SD was 0.11 ± 0.04 for TPN (P = 0.0004 TPN versus SBS and P = 0.00007 TPN versus EN) and not statistically different for EN versus SBS (P = 0.32). Conclusions We created a novel, ambulatory TPN-SBS model using piglets, mimicking long-term TPN delivery in human SBS patients. Our model demonstrated TPN-related conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and compensatory gut hypertrophy, as noted in humans with SBS. This model holds great potential for future research.
Multi-robot replication of ant collective towing behaviours.

In this work, teams of small mobile robots are used to test hypotheses about cooperative transport by ants. This study attempts to explain a decrease in steady-state transport speed with increasing team size that was previously observed in the ant Novomessor cockerelli . Two models of one-dimensional collective towing are compared: one in which transporters with different maximum speeds pull the payload with continuous, variable forces and another in which transporters with identical speeds pull with intermittent, unsynchronized forces. A statistical analysis of ant data supports the hypothesis that ants behave according to the first model, in which the steady-state transport speed is the maximum speed of the slowest teammate. By contrast, the ant data are not consistent with the second model, which predicts constant speed regardless of team size. To verify these predictions, the ant behaviours in each model are translated into decentralized controllers and implemented on teams of two to four robots. The controller for the first model incorporates a real-time reinforcement learning algorithm that successfully reproduces the observed relationship between ant team size and transport speed. The controller for the second model yields the predicted invariance of transport speed with team size. These results show the value of robotic swarms for testing mechanistic hypotheses about biological collectives.
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, Temperament, and the Pathway to Cellular Senescence

Traumatic stress is thought to be associated with shortened telomere length (TL) in leukocytes, an age-related marker of increased risk for cellular senescence, although findings thus far have been mixed. We assessed associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity, temperament, and TL in a sample of 453 White, non-Hispanic, middle-aged, trauma-exposed male and female veterans and civilians. Given that prior research has suggested an association between PTSD and accelerated cellular age, we also examined associations between TL and an index of accelerated cellular age derived from DNA methylation data (DNAm age). Analyses revealed that, controlling for chronological age, PTSD was not directly associated with TL but rather this association was moderated by age, β = -.14, p = .003, ΔR2 = .02. Specifically, PTSD severity evidenced a stronger negative association with TL among relatively older participants (≥ 55 years of age). In a subset of veterans with data pertaining to temperament (n = 150), positive emotionality, and, specifically, a drive toward achievement, β = .26, p = .002, ΔR2 = .06, were positively associated with TL. There was no evidence of an association between age-adjusted TL and accelerated DNAm age. Collectively, these results indicate that older adults may be more vulnerable to the negative health effects of PTSD but that traits such as achievement, resilience, and psychological hardiness may be protective. These findings underscore the importance of identifying reliable biomarkers of cellular aging and senescence and of determining the biological mechanisms that contribute to stress-related disease and decline.
Sex Differences in Opioid Use in Patients With Symptomatic Lumbar Stenosis or Spondylolisthesis Undergoing Lumbar Decompression and Fusion.

Study Design.Retrospective analysis.Objective.To investigate sex differences in opioid use after lumbar decompression and fusion surgery for patients with symptomatic lumbar stenosis or spondylolisthesis.Summary of Background Data.Recent studies have demonstrated higher prevalence of chronic pain st
Do more eyes on the street reduce Crime? Evidence from Chicago's safe passage program

Abstract Chicago's Safe Passage program attempts to ensure the safety of student traveling to and from schools by placing civilian guards along specified routes. The program was launched during the 2009-2010 school year and was expanded to 140 schools by 2015-16. We use data from more than 10 years of geocoded Chicago police reports and school level data to analyze the Safe Passage program's effects on crime rates and the rate of absenteeism from schools. Our findings suggest that the program is an efficient and cost effective alternative way of policing with direct effects on crime and student's outcomes. Exploiting both spatial and temporal variation in the implementation of the program, we find that the presence of guards results in lower levels of crime, with violent crime declining by 14% on average. The rate of absenteeism is estimated to decline by 2.5 percentage points. We find no evidence of spillovers of crime to areas that are not along the Safe Passage routes.
Intimate Partner Violence and Educational Differences Among Married Couples in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Intimate Partner Violence is a social and public health problem that is prevalent across the world. The levels of violence against women in Southern Africa are some of the highest in the world. While power differentials in relationships have been explored in relation to their effect on likelihood of domestic violence, educational differences between husbands and wives have not been widely explored across Sub-Saharan African countries. Using DHS survey data to analyze intimate partner violence in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, this paper shows that in some cases, a womans level of education is a significant predictor of her likelihood of experiencing mistreatment by her current husband, but that this effect is contingent on her husbands level of education. The relationship between education differences and likelihood of abuse sheds light on how measures taken to empower women (such as increasing education) can lead to their increased likelihood of abuse by their husbands, demonstrating the need to further unpack these issues.
Environmental Concerns and Food Consumption: What Drives Consumers’ Actions to Reduce Food Waste?

Consumer behavior and food consumption comprise the largest amount of waste in the food chain. This study aimed to identify the relationships among consumer environmental concerns, their awareness ...
Implementation, Evaluation, and Improvement of Pediatrics Residents-as-Teachers Elective Through Iterative Feedback.

Many residency programs have developed residents-as-teachers (RAT) programs to provide training for residents to learn teaching skills, but few programs are designed based upon an underlying conceptual framework or demonstrate outcomes. In 2015, our residency program implemented a new RAT elective based on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle. After completion of the elective, residents reported improved skills in topics that associated didactic learning with active experimentation. Curricular changes were incorporated based on feedback from residents to course directors about each session, and content was tailored to the residents’ individualized learning goals.
Victimization and Suicide

This chapter discusses the relationship between mental illness and violent victimization, and suicide. While it is known that there is a weak to moderate association between certain types of mental illness and violence under very specific circumstances, there is a much stronger association between mental illness and suicide, and/or becoming a victim of violence. For example, following the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill, homelessness has become a significant risk factor for victimization of the mentally ill. In some studies, people suffering from serious mental disorder were eleven times more likely to become a victim of violence as compared to the general population. There is no evidence to suggest that there are disorder-specific risk factors associated with victimization of mentally ill people; on the contrary, the relevant risk factors seem to be shared with the general population. In fact, mentally ill individuals are no more likely to use firearms to commit interpersonal violence than the general population. The primary argument to keep firearms from mentally ill, therefore, should be the strong association with suicide and self-harm. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion about some of the methodological challenges associated with violence and victim research.
Psychometric properties of the expanded version of the inventory of depression and anxiety symptoms (IDAS-II) in a sample of older adults.

Objective: Given the strong relationship often found between self-report measures of anxiety and depression, the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms (IDAS) was created and then expanded (I...
Novel Agents in Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is a rare and aggressive subtype of extranodal lymphoma. Although the addition of high-dose methotrexate-based therapies has improved patient outcomes in the first-line setting, the prognosis of relapsed and refractory disease is poor. PCNSL has a unique pathophysiology and gene expression profile, making it more amenable to novel targeted and immunotherapeutic agents. Therapies such as ibrutinib, nivolumab, and lenalidomide have shown promise in PCNSL. Future directions will include larger studies with these agents, as well as combination studies with novel agents and conventional chemotherapy.
An integrated approach to biases in referent-specific judgments

Judgments of direct comparisons, probabilities, proportions, and ranks can all be considered referent-specific judgments, for which a good estimate requires a target to be compared against a refere...
Evaluating Cultural Competence in Undergraduate Nursing Students using Standardized Patients

Abstract Background The need for culturally competent health-care providers is essential in reducing health disparities and ensuring positive patient outcomes. The purposes of this study were to describe the baseline level of self-reported cultural competence of undergraduate nursing students and compare between groups learning this material with lecture only and those learning with lecture and simulation with culturally diverse standardized patients. Method A mixed method and design was used for this study. Results There was a statistically significant increase in the level of cultural competence in both groups who participated in the study. Results also present thematically analyzed reactions of participants to the simulation in which several broad themes emerged including participants initially feeling nervous then comfortable during the simulation and finding the simulation extremely valuable. Conclusion This research suggests that the use of standardized patients is an effective teaching strategy in nursing education particularly as a supplement to traditional lecture.
6q25.1 (TAB2) microdeletion is a risk factor for hypoplastic left heart: a case report that expands the phenotype.

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a rare but devastating congenital heart defect (CHD) accounting for 25% of all infant deaths due to a CHD. The etiology of HLHS remains elusive, but there is increasing evidence to support a genetic cause for HLHS; in particular, this syndrome is associated with abnormalities in genes involved in cardiac development. Consistent with the involvement of heritable genes in structural heart abnormalities, family members of HLHS patients have a higher incidence of both left- and right-sided valve abnormalities, including bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). We previously described (Am J Med Genet A 173:1848–1857, 2017) a 4-generation family with a 6q25.1 microdeletion encompassing TAB2, a gene known to play an important role in outflow tract and cardiac valve formation during embryonic development. Affected adult family members have short stature, dysmorphic facial features, and multiple valve dysplasia, including BAV. This follow-up report includes previously unpublished details of the cardiac phenotype of affected family members. It also describes a baby recently born into this family who was diagnosed prenatally with short long bones, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), and HLHS. He was the second family member to have HLHS; the first died several decades ago. Postnatal genetic testing confirmed the baby had inherited the familial TAB2 deletion. Our findings suggest TAB2 haploinsufficiency is a risk factor for HLHS and expands the phenotypic spectrum of this microdeletion syndrome. Chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray analysis and molecular testing for a TAB2 loss of function variant should be considered for individuals with HLHS, particularly in those with additional non-cardiac findings such as IUGR, short stature, and/or dysmorphic facial features.
Operator learning curve and clinical outcomes of zero fluoroscopy catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation, supraventricular tachycardia, and ventricular arrhythmias

To investigate the learning curve for atrial fibrillation (AF), supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), and premature ventricular contraction (PVC) radiofrequency ablation (RFA) using zero fluoroscopy. This is a retrospective, single-center study of 167 patients undergoing ablation between 2016 and 2019. Minimal fluoroscopy approach was initiated after the first 20 cases of PVI and SVT RFA. Procedures were divided consecutively into increments of 10 cases to determine operator learning curve. A total of 64 (38%) had SVT ablations, 26 (16%) had PVC ablations, and 77 (46%) had AF and underwent PVI. For SVT RFA, fluoroscopy time improved from 4.1 ± 3.5 min during the first 10 cases to 0.8 ± 1.2 min after 50 cases (p = 0.0001). Sixty-two out of 64 (97%) of cases were successful. In PVC RFA, fluoroscopy time was 7.7 ± 5.5 min for the first 5, 2.3 ± 3.4 min after 15, and 0 min after 20 cases (p = 0.0008). Twenty-four out of 26 (92%) of cases were acutely successful with recurrence in 2/26 (8%) of patients over 9 ± 9 months. In PVI, fluoroscopy time was 9.9 ± 3.3 min over the first 20 cases, 2.6 ± 2.3 min after 40 cases, and 0.1 min after 50 cases (p < 0.0001). PVI procedure time was 170 ± 34 min after 60 cases from 235 ± 41 min initially (p 0.001). Six out of 77 (8%) had AF recurrence at 12 months. Zero fluoroscopy ablation for AF, SVT, and PVC can be safely achieved without increasing procedure time. The steepest learning curve occurs over the first 20, 15, and 40 cases for SVT, PVC, and PVI ablation respectively.
Photopatternable Carbon Dot-Embedded Hydrogels for Sensitive pH Detection

We report photopatternable pH sensors using carbon dot-copolymerized hydrogels that exhibit a large emission intensity change in response to a transition across pH 7. The device enables the monitoring of biochemical conditions in microfluidic platforms.
Altered markers of stress in depressed adolescents after acute social media use.

Abstract Social media use (SMU) is an inherent element in the daily life and neurodevelopment of adolescents, but broad concerns exist regarding the untoward effects of social media on adolescents. We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study that sought to examine the acute effects of SMU on clinical measures and biomarkers of stress in healthy and depressed adolescents. After at least 24 h of abstinence from social media, depressed adolescents (n = 30) and healthy control adolescents (n = 30) underwent baseline clinical assessment of their prior SMU, depressive symptom severity, self-esteem, and exposure to bullying. Participants provided salivary samples that were analyzed for α-amylase and cortisol levels. After 20 min of unsupervised SMU, saliva analyses and clinical assessments were repeated. After 20 min of SMU, salivary cortisol and α-amylase levels were significantly higher in adolescents with depression but not in healthy control adolescents. Furthermore, small but statistically significant changes in depressive symptom severity occurred in all participants. These changes in depressive symptoms were not clinically meaningful. SMU did not significantly change self-esteem measures among participants. Adolescents with depression appeared to have more physiological reactivity after SMU compared with healthy adolescents. Further research should characterize SMU as a clinical dimension and risk factor among adolescents with depression and other psychiatric disorders.
Conjunctival lymphoma presenting as ptosis in an asymptomatic older adult.

Conjunctival lymphoma constitutes 25% of all ocular adnexal lymphomas.1 After squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, it is the third most common conjunctival malignancy.2 Typically, it presents as a...
Visual association cortex links cues with conjunctions of reward and locomotor contexts

SUMMARY Postrhinal cortex (POR) and neighboring lateral visual association areas are necessary for identifying objects and interpreting them in specific contexts, but how POR neurons encode the same object across contexts remains unclear. Here, we imaged excitatory neurons in mouse POR across tens of days throughout initial cue-reward learning and reversal learning. As such, neurons were tracked across sessions/trials where the same cue was rewarded or unrewarded, during both locomotor and stationary contexts. Surprisingly, a large class of POR neurons were minimally cue-driven prior to learning. After learning, distinct clusters within this class responded selectively to a given cue when presented in a specific conjunction of reward and locomotion contexts. In addition, another class involved clusters of neurons whose cue responses were more transient, insensitive to reward learning, and adapted over thousands of presentations. These two classes of POR neurons may support context-dependent interpretation and context-independent identification of sensory cues.
Learning Hierarchical Structures with Differentiable Nondeterministic Stacks.

Learning hierarchical structures in sequential data -- from simple algorithmic patterns to natural language -- in a reliable, generalizable way remains a challenging problem for neural language models. Past work has shown that recurrent neural networks (RNNs) struggle to generalize on held-out algorithmic or syntactic patterns without supervision or some inductive bias. To remedy this, many papers have explored augmenting RNNs with various differentiable stacks, by analogy with finite automata and pushdown automata. In this paper, we present a stack RNN model based on the recently proposed Nondeterministic Stack RNN (NS-RNN) that achieves lower cross-entropy than all previous stack RNNs on five context-free language modeling tasks (within 0.05 nats of the information-theoretic lower bound), including a task in which the NS-RNN previously failed to outperform a deterministic stack RNN baseline. Our model assigns arbitrary positive weights instead of probabilities to stack actions, and we provide an analysis of why this improves training. We also propose a restricted version of the NS-RNN that makes it practical to use for language modeling on natural language and present results on the Penn Treebank corpus.