cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Competencies for engaging high-needs patients in primary care

Abstract Background Patients who heavily utilize hospitals and emergency departments frequently have complex needs requiring services spanning medical, behavioral, and social service sectors. This study identifies essential competencies for caring for high-needs patients and highlights their importance to primary care delivery. Methods Transcripts of in-depth interviews with 30 clinical and administrative staff at 23 complex care programs across the United States were analyzed using standard qualitative techniques. Selected programs had several years of experience in serving patients with multiple chronic conditions, serious mental illness, substance use disorders, severe poverty, and homelessness. These programs exemplified diverse models (assertive community treatment, housing first, behavioral health, high utilizer), and all of them shared the common element of integrating primary care into their services. Results Competencies, including those known and taught in other fields, have distinctive application to informing delivery of high quality primary care to populations with complex needs, including: motivational interviewing for establishing patients’ priorities and helping them improve their health on their own terms; trauma-informed care for modifying primary care procedures to mitigate the ill-effects of prior trauma prevalent in this population; and harm reduction for altering medical regimens to accommodate constraints on what patients are able or willing to do. Other capabilities, cultivated by these programs, include empathizing with patients, promoted by exposure to simulations of patient experiences (e.g., hearing voices); as well as withholding judgment and counteracting patient passivity to foster open discussion of treatment plans. Conclusions Absence of deliberate attention to equipping providers with specific competencies for caring for high-needs patients may contribute to lack of patient engagement and sub-optimal outcomes, ultimately undermining the success of programs serving these populations.
Teaching Research Methods to Understand Business Crimes

In legal education, professors often wish to go beyond the black letter law to challenge students with unresolved legal questions. Professors’ main goal in the classroom — as effected through the Socratic method or otherwise — is to help students learn to think critically about these questions to arrive at reasonable and thoughtful answers. But what about the questions that require more than classroom discussion — those that demand the application of various accepted research methods such as surveys, data mining, experimentation, and the like — to analyze trends or behavior in hopes of finding acceptable solutions to hard questions? My remarks here discuss the idea of lifting the various research techniques professors often employ in scholarship and using those methods as a teaching tool to provide answers to important questions. Highlighting different approaches to answering a research question can be a unique pedagogical tool in the quest to help students learn to think critically and question the information they receive.
The relationship between executive functioning and weight loss and maintenance in children and parents participating in family-based treatment for childhood obesity.

We examined the relationship between executive function and weight loss among children (8-12 years) and parents enrolled in a behavioral weight-loss program. 150 overweight/obese children and their parents participated in a 6-month family-based weight-loss intervention and completed baseline (month 0), post-treatment (month 6) and 18-month follow-up assessments (month 24), which included Digit Span (DS), Stop Signal Task (SST), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Anthropometrics were additionally measured at mid-treatment (month 3) and 6-month follow-up (month 12). Children with more baseline WCST perseverative errors regained more weight (p = .002) at 18-month follow-up. Change in child BMIz was not associated with change in child executive function (p > .05) or parent executive function (p > .05). Among parents, baseline measure of DS-backward (p < .001) and post-treatment changes in WCST perseverative errors (p < .001) were associated with post-treatment changes in parent BMI. SST was not related to parent or child weight loss. Thus, children's baseline set-shifting was associated with weight regain during follow-up whereas changes in parent set-shifting was associated with changes in parent weight. Future research is needed to examine the relationship between executive function and weight loss and how this translates to intervention success for both overweight/obese children and participating parents.
State transitions in generic systems with asymmetric noise and communication delay

An important challenge in working with multi-agent systems is that in the presence of noise and communication delay, interactions between the individual agents can lead to unexpected complex system-wide behaviors. In this paper, we consider a generic model of two weakly coupled dynamical systems with communication delay, and show how noise on one system can drive large fluctuations in the other through the coupling interface. Moreover, the large fluctuation happens while the first system exhibits only small random oscillations. In the case of systems with multiple locally stable equilibria, we show how the expected time to transition between two equilibrium states scales as a function of the coupling and delay between the two systems. In addition, our results show that the probability of switching in the noise-free system scales inversely as the square of reduced noise intensity amplitude, rendering the virtual probability of switching to be an extremely rare event. Our results are confirmed using Monte Carlo simulations.
Radiogenomics-based Risk Prediction of Glioblastoma Multiforme with Clinical Relevance

GBM is the most common and aggressive primary brain tumor. Although the TMZ-based radiochemotherapy improves overall GBM patients survival, it also increases the frequency of false positive post-treatment magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessments for tumor progression. Pseudoprogression is a treatment-related reaction with an increase in contrast-enhancing lesion size at the tumor site or resection margins which mimics tumor recurrence on MRI. Accurate and reliable prognostication of GBM progression is urgently needed in the clinical management of GBM patients. Clinical data analysis indicates that the patients with PsP had superior overall and progression-free survival rates. In this study, we aimed to develop a prognostic model to evaluate tumor progression potential of GBM patients following standard therapies. We applied a dictionary learning scheme to obtain imaging features of GBM patients with PsP or TTP from the Wake dataset. Based on these radiographic features, we then conducted radiogenomics analysis to identify the significantly associated genes. These significantly associated genes were then used as features to construct a 2YS logistic regression model. GBM patients were classified into low- and high- survival risk groups based on the individual 2YS scores derived from this model. We tested our model using an independent TCGA dataset and found that 2YS scores were significantly associated with the patients overall survival. We further used two cohorts of the TCGA data to train and test our model. Our results show that 2YS scores-based classification results from the training and testing TGCA datasets were significantly associated with the overall survival of patients. We also analyzed the survival prediction ability of other clinical factors (gender, age, KPS, normal cell ratio) and found that these factors were not related or weakly correlated with patients survival. Overall, our studies have demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of the 2YS model in predicting clinical outcomes of GBM patients after standard therapies.
We might play different parts: theatrical improvisation and anti-racist pedagogy

This article reports on what three white critical whiteness scholars learned about the ways white supremacy was affirmed and resisted during a two-day improvisational, critical whiteness workshop. ...
Accounting for Differences in Perceptions of the Ideal Audience—Some Preliminary Observations

After first noting in chapter 4 that there is a widely shared general agreement on certain features of legal argumentation, we began, in chapter 5, to focus on the differences between the ways that various sub-cultures within the Western legal tradition envision the ideal audience to which legal arguments are addressed. In chapter 5, we focused on the interpretation of statutes and other authoritative legal instruments and gave some instances of how common-law courts, in interpreting statutes and similar instruments, tend to take a cramped and particularistic view of their task when contrasted with their continental counterparts. We saw that scholars have attributed some of these differences to a continental preference for a “logical legalism” that would be hard for common-law courts to copy, even if they were inclined to do so—and as we have noted they occasionally are so inclined—because “inclusive statutory regulations in common law countries ... are usually too detailed and insufficiently systematized”1 as compared to comparable statutory regulation in continental countries. I suggested that there were also additional factors at work, factors relating to differing visions as to how ideally the political process works and as to how legislation should be made that would accentuate the differences in approach between American courts and those in Western countries operating under a code-based system of law.
A Cancer Gene Therapy Approach that Targets Tumor-associated Hyaluronan

The extracellular matrix glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan plays a key role in the development and pathogenesis of malignant disease. Reflecting its functional importance, the molecule is expressed at greatly elevated levels within many solid tumors. Although little explored, differences in the level of hyaluronan present in normal and malignant tissues could potentially be exploited to more effectively target gene therapy to tumor sites in vivo. As a first step toward this goal, we describe here a family of chimeric proteins in which the extracellular ligand-binding domain of the hyaluronan receptor CD44 is fused in-frame to the cytoplasmic “death domain” of the pro-apoptotic protein Fas. Although these chimeric proteins can be stably expressed on the surface of transduced tumor cells in the absence of hyaluronan, upon interaction with the ligand, apoptosis is rapidly induced. Both exogenous and endogenous tumor- produced hyaluronan can function as triggers, dramatically reducing clonogenic potential. Together, these studies help validate a broadly applicable gene therapy approach in which the presence of particular multivalent ligands within the tumor microenvironment can be exploited for therapeutic gain.
Three-Dimensional Visualization of Breast Cancer

Film-screen mammography is currently the most sensitive modality available for the early detection of breast cancer, yet it often fails to clearly indicate or contraindicate malignancy. As a result, many biopsies are performed, but only 1 in 4 biopsies result in the detection of cancer [1]. Biopsies represent a major expense and are a significant deterrent to women entering breast cancer screening programs. A definitive, noninvasive method of distinguishing benign and malignant breast lesions is essential.
A branch and bound algorithm for local multiple alignment.

A Branch and Bound Algorithm has been developed to find a set of window positions in a compilation of sequences with globally maximal information content. We have also developed an algorithm for brute force evaluation of solutions which is faster by a factor of the length of the windows than the naive brute force algorithm. The combination of these two algorithms allows us to solve problems to optimality that were previously amenable only to heuristic algorithms.
More Frequent Surveillance Following Lung Cancer Resection Is Not Associated With Improved Survival: A Nationally Representative Cohort Study.

Objective:To evaluate whether an association exists between the intensity of surveillance following surgical resection for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and survival.Background:Surveillance guidelines following surgical resection of NSCLC vary widely and are based on expert opinion and limited
Field Study Investigating Cry51Aa2.834_16 in Cotton for Control of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Tarnished Plant Bugs (Hemiptera: Miridae)

Field experiments were conducted in 2016 and 2017 in Tennessee to evaluate the effects of a novel Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-transgenic toxin, Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16, on thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot De Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae), in cotton. Protection from thrips injury with the Bt trait was as good or better than an insecticide-based approach. The use of the Bt trait resulted in reduced numbers of immature tarnished plant bug, particularly large nymphs, and partial protection from plant bug injury. Cotton that expressed Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 had greater yields than the non-Bt isoline when insecticides were not used. Although Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 reduced the need for insecticide applications, foliar-applied insecticide applications were needed to provide adequate plant protection from tarnished plant bug. The currently recommended treatment thresholds for tarnished plant bug performed similarly well for Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 and non-Bt isolines. Insecticide applications for tarnished plant bug increased fiber quality, while Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 had minor effects. The Bt-transgenic toxin Cry51Aa2.834_16 is expected to reduce the need for insecticide applications targeting thrips and tarnished plant bug and could be a valuable addition to an overall insect management program in cotton.
Application of the method of phage T4 DNA ligase-catalyzed ring-closure to the study of DNA structure. I. Computational analysis.

The tendency for relatively short (<500 base-pair) DNA molecules to circularize in the presence of DNA ligase is a sensitive function of both the lateral and torsional flexibilities of the molecules being studied. This tendency is reflected in a quantity known as the j-factor, which is determined experimentally by measuring the relative rates of circle and linear dimer formation at a specified concentration of linear monomer. Shimada & Yamakawa have provided an analytical representation j that takes account of DNA molecules whose ends are not torsionally aligned. Their approach, however, assumes that contributions from helix writhe are small. Using a Monte Carlo approach for the determination of j, thereby avoiding any assumptions regarding writhe, we demonstrate that the computed, torsion angle-averaged quantity, 〈j〉, is exactly reproduced by the corresponding Shimada & Yamakawa quantity for all lengths examined. However, for DNA molecules having lengths that are substantially greater than the persistence length, P, the analysis of experimental ring-closure data using j (Shimada & Yamakawa) may lead to underestimates for the torsional elastic constant C. We demonstrate that no single set of values for P, C and the helical repeat (hR) can produce a reasonable fit of the computed j curve to the experimental values of Shore et al. This observation suggests that P, C and/or hR vary within the set of DNA molecules studied by those authors. The current computational analysis considers the effects on j of single or multiple bends in the helix axis. For single, centrally located bends, the shift in the distribution of end-to-end separations to smaller values is nearly offset by the less favorable polar alignment of the ends of the chain; the net effect being a modest change in j that is not a monotonic function of the bend angle. In contrast, polar alignment, and hence j, can be enhanced dramatically for molecules containing multiple, phased bends. However, for studies of the distribution of circle sizes formed from ligation of bend-containing DNA oligomers, the DNA lengths giving rise to maximal j values are smaller than predicted on the basis of the number of bends and the per-bend angle. This last result suggests that such studies may yield apparent bend angles that are too large.
Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells in Airway Diseases

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are increasingly recognized as a key controller of type 2 inflammation, and are well known to be highly elevated in human airway type 2 inflammatory diseases including allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and asthma. ILC2-mediated production of type 2 cytokines initiates and amplifies airway inflammation via activation of eosinophils, B cells, mast cells, macrophages, fibroblasts, and epithelial cells in these diseases. ILC2s require at least three major signals to fully activate and robustly produce type 2 cytokines. IL-1 family cytokines (IL-1β, IL-18, IL-33), IL-25, and TNF superfamilies (TNF, TL1A, GITR-L, RANK-L) activate the NF-κB and AP-1 pathways that initiate production of IL-5 and IL-13. Lipid mediators (LTC4, LTD4, PGD2) and neuropeptide NMU promote production of IL-4 through the NFAT pathway. IL-2 and IL-7 family cytokines (IL-2, IL-7, IL-9, TSLP) activate the STAT5 pathway that induces survival of ILC2s and enhances cytokine production. The activation of STAT5 is necessary to potently induce cytokine- and lipid mediator-mediated production of type 2 cytokines. Inhibitory pathways for ILC2s have also become clearer. Type I and II interferons and IL-27 inhibit ILC2 functions through the activation of STAT1. Suppression mediated via β2-adrenergic receptor agonists, PGE2, and PGI2 occurs through cAMP and PKA. Glucocorticoid, testosterone, IL-10, and TGF-β are also able to inhibit ILC2-mediated production of type 2 cytokines. Blockage of ILC2 activators, activation of inhibitory pathways of ILC2s, and suppression of ILC2-mediated pathways including type 2 cytokines (IL-5, IL-13, IL-4Ra) may become therapeutic strategies for airway type 2 inflammatory diseases.
Selected Isothermal Sections in the Titanium-Rich Corners of the Systems Ti-Fe-O, Ti-Cr-O, and Ti-Ni-O

Single isothermal sections were constructed for the titanium-rich corners of the systems Ti-Fe-O, Ti-Cr-O, and Ti-Ni-O with a view to locating the shape and disposition of the ternary intermediate-phase fields for the compounds isomorphous with Fe3W3C.
Euler equation on a rotating surface

Abstract We study 2D Euler equations on a rotating surface, subject to the effect of the Coriolis force, with an emphasis on surfaces of revolution. We bring in conservation laws that yield long time estimates on solutions to the Euler equation, and examine ways in which the solutions behave like zonal fields, building on previous works that have examined how such 2D Euler equations can account for the observed band structure of rapidly rotating planets. Specific results include both an analysis of time averages of solutions and a study of stability of stationary zonal fields. The latter study includes both analytical and numerical work.
Pulmonary Artery Resection During Lung Resection for Malignancy.

Background Complete resection of central tumors invading the main pulmonary artery (PA) requires arterial reconstruction to avoid pneumonectomy. Oncologic equivalence with pneumonectomy has been suggested. We review clinical selection and outcome for these uncommon procedures in the context of candidacy for pneumonectomy. Methods From 2000 to 2018, 9 different surgeons performed 34 pulmonary arterial resections for primary or metastatic pulmonary malignancy, with independent determination of pneumonectomy candidacy and arterioplasty technique. Patients undergoing limited lateral stapled PA resection (n = 3) or resection for metastasis (n = 3) were excluded from survival analysis. Results The PA was resected as a sleeve with primary anastomosis (14.7%) or noncircumferentially with primary (61.8%), stapled (8.8%), or patch (14.7%) closure. Arterial resections represented between 2.5% and 43% of each surgeon’s pneumonectomy volume. Sixteen (47%) patients were candidates for pneumonectomy. There was no operative mortality and 1 death at 47 days. Postoperative complications occurred in 21 (61.8%) patients. No patient required completion pneumonectomy. Overall 5-year survival was 33% (95% confidence interval [CI], 12-53). Compared with pulmonary arterioplasty alone, patients undergoing bronchial sleeve resection and pulmonary arterioplasty had better disease-free 5-year survival (50% [95% CI, 18-82] vs 19% [95% CI, 5-43]; P = .04), higher complete resection rate (100% [95% CI, 83-100] vs 80% [95% CI, 56-94]; P = .23) and lower disease recurrence (8% [n = 1 of 13] vs 47% [n = 7 of 15]; P = .04); 80% of disease recurrence was distant. Conclusions Resection and reconstruction of the PA for malignant lung disease may be safely performed. In candidates for pneumonectomy, arterial resection offers low operative risk. Long-term survival is impaired by distant, not local, recurrence emphasizing the importance of systemic therapy.
Teaching Behavioral Sciences to Medical Students by Programmed Lectures

The authors describe an inexpensive method for “individualized” teaching of behavioral sciences to large groups of first year medical students. Traditional lectures often fail to address students’ understanding of information until later testing. “Programmed Lectures” are divided into short topical units followed by slide presentation of questions to which students respond by holding up color-coded cards. The lecturer can quickly gauge student understanding and provide reinforcement, additional information, or discussion as needed. Feedback from questionnaires indicates that Programmed Lectures are acceptable to students. Comparison of pre- and post-test results on shelf copies of NBME Behavioral Science examinations verify the didactic efficacy.
Von Zecken übertragene Erkrankungen

Kein anderer Parasit ubertragt so viele Krankheitserreger wie die Zecke. In Deutschland konnen Zecken uberwiegend zwei Erkrankungen ubertragen: Fruhsommer-Meningoenzephalitis (FSME) und Lyme-Borreliose.
Novel Utility of Amplatzer Septal Occlusion Device to Treat Persistent Aortocaval Fistula following Ruptured Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair (rEVAR).

Aortocaval fistulas following endovascular repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAA) are rare. We herein describe repair using an Amplatzer Septal Occluder in a 68-year-old male who presented to the emergency department 6 months after ruptured endovascular aneurysm repair (rEVAR) with right heart failure. With the assistance of diagnostic angiography and intravascular ultrasound, the patient was found to have a 1.2 cm diameter aortocaval fistula and a type-II endoleak. His aortocaval fistula was successfully closed using an Amplatzer septal occluder device after failure of attempted closure with an Amplatzer plug and coiling of the aneurysm sac. His symptoms of heart failure improved, and he was discharged to an acute rehabilitation unit. Follow-up at 3 months demonstrated continued improvement in heart failure symptoms, and a small persistent type II endoleak. Aortocaval fistulae are a potentially fatal complication of rAAA. We discuss the sequelae and treatment strategies of aortocaval fistulas following rEVAR including the use of the Amplatzer Septal Occluder.
HIV Non-Occupational Post Exposure Prophylaxis in Nigeria: A Systematic Review of Research Evidence and Practice

Background Although non-occupational Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) post-exposure prophylaxis (nPEP) has been proven to be efficacious in preventing HIV, it remains an underutilized prevention strategy in Nigeria. We aimed to conduct an overview of research studies on nPEP and practice in Nigeria from 2002 to 2018 examining: sociodemographic characteristics of study sample, awareness, knowledge and prior use of nPEP, reasons for HIV nPEP, timeliness in presenting for PEP, antiretrovirals (ARVs) used for nPEP, side effects and adherence, monitoring and follow-up visits, adherence to guidelines and recommendations for nPEP by healthcare institutions and the strength of evidence of reviewed studies. Methods An electronic search on PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, Medline, Embase and Google Scholar for published studies on nPEP from January 2002 to December 2018. We conducted our search using different combinations of the keywords "HIV," "non-occupational," "nonoccupational," "post-exposure," "postexposure," "prophylaxis" and "Nigeria." Results Five articles met the inclusion criteria for this study. About 25.4% of college students were aware of PEP.PEP awareness was significantly determined by the following factors ever tested for HIV, nude picture exchanges, sex without condom, and knowledge of partner's HIV status. Across studies, exposed victims who presented for PEP were mostly females (64%-78%). Rape was the most frequently occurring reason for seeking nPEP (25.9%-64.1%). Although most patients presented for nPEP within 72 hours, follow up visits were generally low (0%-2%) across studies assessed, except for one study that reported a high follow up visit of 83.3%. Guidelines adherence by healthcare institutions could not be established due to lack of information on key variables. Conclusion Our study highlights the paucity of research evidence on nPEP use in Nigeria, the societal and cultural contexts in which non-occupational exposures occur, healthcare providers' roles and the public health and practice implications.
Facilitative effects of environmental enrichment for cocaine relapse prevention are dependent on extinction training context and involve increased TrkB signaling in dorsal hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex

Cocaine-cue extinction training combined with brief interventions of environmental enrichment (EE) was shown previously to facilitate extinction and attenuate reacquisition of cocaine self-administration in rats. It is unknown whether or not the usefulness of this approach would be undermined if extinction training took place in a novel rather than familiar context. Drawing on previous studies involving pharmacological interventions, we hypothesized that the facilitative effects of EE for cocaine relapse prevention would be independent of the context used for extinction training. Rats trained to self-administer cocaine underwent cocaine-cue extinction training in either the familiar self-administration context or a novel context, with or without EE. Rats then were tested for reacquisition of cocaine self-administration in the familiar context. Target brain regions were lysed and probed for memory-related changes in receptors for glutamate and BDNF by western blotting. Contrary to our hypothesis, the facilitative effects of EE for cocaine relapse prevention were dependent on the context used for extinction training. While EE facilitated extinction regardless of context used, it inhibited cocaine relapse only after extinction training in the familiar context. EE was associated with increased GluA2 in nucleus accumbens, TrkB in dorsal hippocampus and activated TrkB in ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Of these, the changes in dorsal hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex mirrored outcomes of the cocaine relapse tests in that these changes were specific to rats receiving EE plus extinction training in the familiar context. These findings support a role for hippocampal-prefrontal BDNF-TrkB signaling in extinction-based relapse prevention strategies involving EE.
The Petrarchive Project: An Overview

When you hear the words “sonnet,” “Renaissance,” “Western literature,” and “love songs,” you are hearing the direct influence of Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) and of his collection of lyric poems t...
Inelastic Flange Buckling of Curved Plate Girders

Local buckling of the flanges of horizontally curved plate girders is studied analytically. Buckling in both the elastic and inelastic range is considered. The mathematical model consists of the small deflection plate equations for an isotropic media in the elastic range and an orthotropic media in the inelastic range. Prebuckling stresses due to bending and nonuniform torsion and residual stresses due to the fabrication process are included in the mathematical model. The influence of the stress distribution and yielding of portions of the curved plate on the buckling coefficients is studied. Plate buckling curves relating the internal forces in curved beams to the flange dimensions, width-to-thickness ratio, required to prevent buckling are also presented.
Genetic Deletion or Pharmacological Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase-2 Reduces Blood-Brain Barrier Damage in Experimental Ischemic Stroke

Cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 are two crucial mediators contributing to blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage during cerebral ischemia. However, it is not known whether MMP-9 activation is involved in COX-2-mediated BBB disruption in ischemic stroke. In this study, we hypothesized that genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of COX-2 reduces BBB damage by reducing MMP-9 activity in a mouse model of ischemic stroke. Male COX-2 knockout (COX-2-/-) and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to 60 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) followed by 24 h of reperfusion. Genetic deletion of COX-2 or post-ischemic treatment with CAY10404, a highly selective COX-2 inhibitor, significantly reduced BBB damage and hemorrhagic transformation, as assessed by immunoglobulin G (IgG) extravasation and brain hemoglobin (Hb) levels, respectively. Immunoblotting analysis showed that tight junction proteins (TJPs) zonula occludens (ZO)-1 and occludin as well as junctional adhesion molecule-A (JAM-A) and the basal lamina protein collagen IV were dramatically reduced in the ischemic brain. Stroke-induced loss of these BBB structural proteins was significantly attenuated in COX-2-/- mice. Similarly, stroke-induced loss of ZO-1 and occludin was significantly attenuated by CAY10404 treatment. Ischemia-induced increase in MMP-9 protein levels in the ipsilateral cerebral cortex was significantly reduced in COX-2-/- mice. Stroke induced a dramatic increase in MMP-9 enzymatic activity in the ischemic cortex, which was markedly reduced by COX-2 gene deficiency or pharmacological inhibition with CAY10404. Levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO, an indicator of neutrophil infiltration into the brain parenchyma), neutrophil elastase (NE), and lipocalin-2 (LCN2, also known as neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin), measured by western blot and specific ELISA kits, respectively, were markedly increased in the ischemic brain. Increased levels of markers for neutrophil infiltration were significantly reduced in COX-2-/- mice compared with WT controls following stroke. Altogether, neurovascular protective effects of COX-2 blockade are associated with reduced BBB damage, MMP-9 expression/activity and neutrophil infiltration. Our study shows for the first time that MMP-9 is an important downstream effector contributing to COX-2-mediated neurovascular damage in ischemic stroke. Targeting the COX-2/MMP-9 pathway could represent a promising strategy to reduce neuroinflammatory events in order to preserve the BBB integrity and ameliorate ischemic stroke injury.
A comparison of health indicators and social determinants of health between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Despite the proximity and interconnections between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt), great disparities persist in health status between these two regions. This disparity is see...
Continuous chest compressions with asynchronous ventilations increase carotid blood flow in the perinatal asphyxiated lamb model.

Author(s): Vali, Payam; Lesneski, Amy; Hardie, Morgan; Alhassen, Ziad; Chen, Peggy; Joudi, Houssam; Sankaran, Deepika; Lakshminrusimha, Satyan | Abstract: BackgroundThe neonatal resuscitation program (NRP) recommends interrupted chest compressions (CCs) with ventilation in the severely bradycardic neonate. The conventional 3:1 compression-to-ventilation (C:V) resuscitation provides 90 CCs/min, significantly lower than the intrinsic newborn heart rate (120-160 beats/min). Continuous CC with asynchronous ventilation (CCCaV) may improve the success of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC).MethodsTwenty-two near-term fetal lambs were randomized to interrupted 3:1 C:V (90 CCs + 30 breaths/min) or CCCaV (120 CCs + 30 breaths/min). Asphyxiation was induced by cord occlusion. After 5 min of asystole, resuscitation began following NRP guidelines. The first dose of epinephrine was given at 6 min. Invasive arterial blood pressure and left carotid blood flow were continuously measured. Serial arterial blood gases were collected.ResultsBaseline characteristics between groups were similar. Rate of and time to ROSC was similar between groups. CCCaV was associated with a higher PaO2 (partial oxygen tension) (22 ± 5.3 vs. 15 ± 3.5 mmHg, p l 0.01), greater left carotid blood flow (7.5 ± 3.1 vs. 4.3 ± 2.6 mL/kg/min, p l 0.01) and oxygen delivery (0.40 ± 0.15 vs. 0.13 ± 0.07 mL O2/kg/min, p l 0.01) compared to 3:1 C:V.ConclusionsIn a perinatal asphyxiated cardiac arrest lamb model, CCCaV showed greater carotid blood flow and cerebral oxygen delivery compared to 3:1 C:V resuscitation.ImpactIn a perinatal asphyxiated cardiac arrest lamb model, CCCaV improved carotid blood flow and oxygen delivery to the brain compared to the conventional 3:1 C:V resuscitation. Pre-clinical studies assessing neurodevelopmental outcomes and tissue injury comparing continuous uninterrupted chest compressions to the current recommended 3:1 C:V during newborn resuscitation are warranted prior to clinical trials.
Impact of Intracerebral Hematoma Evacuation During Decompressive Hemicraniectomy on Functional Outcomes

Background and Purpose: Decompressive hemicraniectomy has been used to treat spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage, but the benefit of evacuating the hematoma during the procedure is unclear. We aim...
Integrative sequencing discovers an ATF1-motif enriched molecular signature that differentiates hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma from mucoepidemoid carcinoma.

Abstract Objectives Salivary gland tumors are comprised of a diverse group of malignancies with widely varying prognoses. These cancers can be difficult to differentiate, especially in cases with limited potential for immunohistochemistry (IHC)-based characterization. Here, we sought to define the molecular profile of a rare salivary gland cancer called hyalinizing clear cell carcinoma (HCCC), and identify a molecular gene signature capable of distinguishing between HCCC and the histopathologically similar disease, mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC). Materials and methods We performed the first integrated full characterization of five independent HCCC cases. Results We discovered insulin-like growth factor alterations and aberrant IGF2 and/or IGF1R expression in HCCC tumors, suggesting a potential dependence on this pathway. Further, we identified a 354 gene signature that differentiated HCCC from MEC, and was significantly enriched for genes with an ATF1 binding motif in their promoters, supporting a transcriptional pathogenic mechanism of the characteristic EWSR1-ATF1 fusion found in these tumors. Of the differentially expressed genes, IGF1R, SGK1 and SGK3 were found to be elevated in the HCCCs relative to MECs. Finally, analysis of immune checkpoints and subsequent IHC demonstrated that CXCR4 protein was elevated in several of the HCCC cases. Conclusion Collectively, our data identify an ATF1-motif enriched gene signature that may have clinical utility for molecular differentiation of HCCCs from other salivary gland tumors and discover potential actionable alterations that may benefit the clinical care of recurrent HCCC patients.
Quantifying the Inhibitory Impact of Soluble Phenolics on Carbon Mineralization from Sphagnum-rich Peatlands

Abstract The mechanisms controlling the extraordinarily slow carbon (C) mineralization rates characteristic of Sphagnum-rich peatlands (“bogs”) remain somewhat elusive, despite decades of research on this topic. Soluble phenolic compounds have been invoked as potentially significant contributors to bog peat recalcitrance due to their affinity to slow microbial metabolism and cell growth. Despite this potentially significant role, the effects of soluble phenolic compounds on bog peat C mineralization remain unclear. We analyzed this effect by manipulating the concentration of free soluble phenolics in anaerobic bog peat incubations using water-soluble polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), a compound that binds with and inactivates phenolics, preventing phenolic-enzyme interactions. CO2 and CH4 production rates (end-products of C mineralization) correlated positively with PVP concentration following Michaelis-Menten (M.M.) saturation functions. Using M.M. parameters, we determined that soluble phenolics inhibit, at minimum, 57 ± 16% of total C (CO2+CH4) mineralization in the anaerobic incubation conditions studied. These findings are consistent with other studies that have indicated that soluble phenolics play a significant role in regulating bog peat stability in the face of decomposition.
Academic Branding: A Case of Six Faculty

Branding is not just a marketing tool used in the business world. Aside from businesses, branding has been proven successful for universities, but what about the employees of these universities? Is their brand synonymous with the university's brand? In academia, professional branding can be applied to: (a) further one's career, (b) move through the tenure process, and (c) gain national and international recognition. In this digital age, personal blogs and websites have been on the rise and are helpful in job searching. Branding through websites is a way for academic professionals to have a digital portfolio speak for them to potential academic institutions. Research on academic branding is limited, but this case study aims to explore the topic. The researchers documented and examined the process of developing professional websites for six tenure-track professors in the human sciences, in which for are in the apparel and merchandising discipline. The ultimate goal was to develop "best practices" for academic branding for tenure eligible faculty.
Microsporidia Have a Peculiar Outer Membrane with Exterior Cytoplasmic Proteins.

Most eukaryotic cells have a plasma membrane with glycoproteins on the outer leaflet and cytoplasmic proteins on the inner leaflet. However, the microsporidians examined have a peculiar outer membrane with cytoplasmic proteins on the surface. His study was to determine if this is true and identify the presence of key cytoplasmic proteins on the exterior of the sporoplasm and spore stages. Specific probes including GFP-labeled genes, antibodies, and electron microscopy were applied to studies on the sporoplasm and spore stages of different microsporidian species. Cytoplasmic membrane proteins cadherin, intermediate filaments, dynactin p150Glued and tubulin were identified on the outer leaflet of the exterior membrane of the sporoplasm or spore stages of Spraguea americanus, Anncaliia algerae, Ameson michaelis and Thelohania sp. The invasive sporoplasm stage of microsporidians acquires an outer membrane from a cytoplasmic organelle and it has been shown that the outside surface of this membrane bears cytoplasmic proteins. This membrane retains these cytoplasmic proteins even on the spore stage. For an intracellular parasite that locates directly within the cytoplasm of a host cell, the presence of these cytoplasmic proteins on the surface of the parasite appears to have a significant effect on the host’s response.
Multicenter Isradipine Diuretic Atherosclerosis Study (Midas): Rationale, Design, and Description of Trial Patients

Diseases caused by atherosclerosis, such as diseases of the heart, are the leading cause of death and disability. For example, in the United States diseases of the heart account for more than 36% of deaths each year. This is so despite the impressive decline in mortality from cardiovascular diseases reported in the United States in recent years. The number of premature deaths attributed to coronary heart disease exceeds 500,000 each year. The number of hospitalizations for acute myocardial infarction is more than 600,000 a year; this is more than one hospital admission every minute of each day throughout the year. In addition, there are many thousands of individuals who suffer from diseases caused by atherosclerosis which are in a stage considered “subclinical;” these people are not counted in the available statistics. Yet, they are just as vulnerable to premature death and disability as those who have overt clinical manifestation of the disease. With the advent of noninvasive diagnostic techniques, such as B-mode ultrasound, these “subclinical” stages of diseases caused by atherosclerosis can be easily identified in population studies. Indeed, this has been done, and the findings are not very encouraging. In a recent report from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a longitudinal study of 5,000 men and women over the age of 65 years, it was stated that more than 37% of the members of the cohort had evidence of subclinical atherosclerotic diseases, (e.g., common carotid wall thickness in the upper 80th percentile, or carotid artery stenosis of more than 25%), with no history or symptoms of any clinical manifestation of atherosclerosis [1].
Estimating Market Power and Strategies: Estimating Strategies: Theory

Rather than only examine market power measures, we can estimate firms' strategies directly. Structure–conduct–performance (SCP) studies (Chapter 2) examine how measures of market power vary with concentration, barriers to entry, and other factors. The static and dynamic models in Chapters 3 through 8 estimate a measure of market power (rather than rely on the measures used in SCP studies) or conjectural variation while remaining agnostic about firms' strategies. One interpretation of these studies is that, out of a set of possible models of strategic behavior, they try to determine the one that is most consistent with the observed data. In this chapter, we take a more direct approach by estimating firms' strategies. Once we have estimates of the firms' strategies, we can determine the equilibria and examine how the equilibria vary with factors that affect strategies. This model is an extension of the structural models ideas discussed in earlier chapters. The firms' optimization behavior is specified together with all other relevant functions. With these specifications, the model is solved to yield the optimal behavior (strategies). These strategies are then estimated from the observed data. Having estimated the parameters for a specific game, we can then evaluate market power and the way it is affected by those factors that affect demand, cost, and market structure.
Involvement of the carboxyl-terminal propeptide of beta-glucuronidase in its compartmentalization within the endoplasmic reticulum as determined by a synthetic peptide approach.

Abstract The proenzyme form of beta-glucuronidase is compartmentalized in large quantities within the endoplasmic reticulum by binding to the esterase, egasyn. Also, the propeptide of the proenzyme form of beta-glucuronidase is likely located at the carboxyl terminus. We have, therefore, tested if this carboxyl-terminal peptide is important in binding to egasyn. A polyclonal antibody to a 30-mer synthetic peptide, corresponding to the carboxyl-terminal 30 amino acids of pro-beta-glucuronidase, provided evidence that egasyn binds to the carboxyl terminus of beta-glucuronidase. This antibody interacted with proenzyme beta-glucuronidase-egasyn complexes in which one, two, or three egasyn molecules were bound to the beta-glucuronidase tetramer, but not with those complexes (M4) which contained four egasyn molecules. We interpret these results as indicating that all available carboxyl termini of the beta-glucuronidase proenzyme tetramer are shielded by egasyn in the M4 complexes. The same antibody did not recognize the mature lysosomal form of beta-glucuronidase, indicating that only the proenzyme form of microsomal beta-glucuronidase contains the original carboxyl terminus. Also, the synthetic 30-mer was found to be a specific and potent inhibitor (50% inhibition at 1.3 microM) of the esterase activity of purified egasyn but exhibited little inhibitory activity toward other purified esterases including a rat trifluoroacetylated esterase or egasyn esterase from another species. Together, these data describe a potent interaction of the exposed carboxyl terminus of precursor glucuronidase with the esterase catalytic site of egasyn, which in turn results in the specific localization of glucuronidase within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum.
Who's Informed? An Analysis of Stock Ownership and Informed Trading

This paper examines the relationship between ownership structure and informed trading. We attempt to reconcile some puzzling results in recent empirical literature about the impact of ownership on informed trading using a comprehensive set of proxies for informed trading and a recent sample of firms from three U.S equity exchanges. As proxies for informed trading, we use four measures: (1) The relative spread, (2) the adverse selection component of the spread, constructed as in Huang and Stoll (1997), (3) the price impact of a trade, following Foster and Viswanathan (1993) and Hasbrouck (1991), and (4) the probability of informed trading constructed as in Easley, Kiefer, O'Hara and Paperman (1996). We find strong evidence of a cross-sectional relationship between our measures of informed trading and ownership by institutions and insiders. Our results are robust to a variety of estimation techniques, control variables, and proxies for informed trading. Overall, our results suggest that individual investors are less informed relative to institutions and insiders. These findings are consistent with economies of scale in information acquisition and aggregation, and with recent research that indicates that market makers move prices in response to trades by institutions.