cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Specialty addiction and psychiatry treatment initiation and engagement: Results from an SBIRT randomized trial in pediatrics

Abstract Objective Many adolescents needing specialty addiction or psychiatry treatment never access care. We examined initiation and engagement with addiction and/or psychiatry treatment among adolescents referred to treatment from a trial comparing two different modalities of delivering Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) to Usual Care in pediatric primary care. We hypothesized that both intervention arms would have higher initiation and engagement rates than usual care. Methods We randomized all pediatricians ( n = 52) in a pediatric primary care clinic to three arms: 1) pediatrician-only arm, in which pediatricians were trained to deliver SBIRT for substance use and/or mental health problems; 2) embedded-behavioral health clinician (embedded-BHC arm), in which pediatricians referred adolescents who endorsed substance use and/or mental health problems to a BHC; and 3) Usual Care (UC). We used electronic health record (EHR) data to examine specialty addiction and psychiatry treatment initiation and engagement rates after referral. Results Among patients who screened positive for substance use and/or mental health problems and were referred to specialty addiction and/or psychiatry ( n = 333), those in the embedded-BHC arm had almost four times higher odds of initiating treatment than those in the pediatrician-only arm, OR = 3.99, 95% CI = [1.99–8.00]. Compared to UC, those in the pediatrician-only arm had lower odds of treatment initiation (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = [0.28–0.99]), while patients in the embedded-BHC arm had marginally higher odds (OR = 1.83, 95% CI = [0.99–3.38]). Black patients and those with other/unknown race/ethnicity had lower odds of treatment initiation compared with white adolescents; there were no gender or age differences. We found no differences in treatment engagement across the three arms. Conclusions Embedded BHCs can have a significant positive impact on facilitating treatment initiation for pediatric primary care adolescents referred to addiction and/or psychiatry services. Clinical Trials Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov # NCT02408952 .
In This Issue: Tech, Touch, & Templates for Understanding and Improving Care

This issue is about tech, touch, and templates for understanding and improving care. The technology is a mix of high- and low-tech. The touch is a blend of careful listening and personal reflection. The templates involve helpful models for making sense of complex care. In a randomized controlled
Engaging Neurology Residents in Learner-Centered Medical Student Education: A Novel Resident-Led, Video-Based Pilot Curriculum (S6.006)

Objective: To develop a brief, practical curriculum to increase resident engagement in learner-centered bedside medical student education. Background: Neurology residents are on the front lines of providing bedside teaching to students. In spite of this, there are limited resources to train residents in effective teaching methods. Existing curricula for residents-as-teachers are often lecture-based (teacher-centered), and can overwhelm residents with new techniques. To our knowledge, no formal curriculum exists to engage neurology residents in learner-centered medical student bedside teaching via an interactive, discussion-based approach. Design/Methods: We created an hour-long resident-led session with five parts: 1) a video of a high-quality teacher-centered encounter on the neurology wards; 2) a group discussion of the video guided by prompts encouraging participants to analyze the role of teacher and student in the encounter; 3) a brief (five-minute) didactic session to reinforce the group’s conclusions and provide basic pearls of learner-centered teaching; 4) collaborative design of a more learner-centered approach; and 5) a video of the same clinical encounter, this time with the teacher modeling a learner-centered approach, followed by a debrief. Resident attitudes regarding learner-centered teaching and their own skills were assessed before and after the session. Results: Eighteen neurology residents in all years of training participated. Post-session survey response was 66%. Compared to pre-session responses, residents demonstrated increased recognition of the teacher’s role in all phases of an effective learner-centered encounter, including: Preparing (p=0.008), Executing (p=0.027), and Debriefing (p=0.007). Resident confidence in teaching effectiveness increased from 54% before the session to 75% afterward (p=0.014). Conclusions: This curriculum is unique in that it is brief, resident-led, and itself learner-centered. A single session can effectively increase resident awareness and engagement in learner-centered education and improve resident confidence as bedside teachers. This model can be expanded into a more comprehensive curriculum and applied to other specialties. Study Supported by: N/A Disclosure: Dr. Dewey, M.D. has nothing to disclose. Dr. Moeller, M.D., FRCPC has nothing to disclose.
Chokepoints of the Western Indian Ocean, China’s Maritime Silk Route, and the Future of Regional Security

The announcement of the “New Maritime Silk Road” in conjunction with China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative to support China’s growing economy and burgeoning embrace of its maritime economy marked a significant geopolitical shift for China beginning in 2013. This chapter examines the prominence of avenue and arena through an analysis of the Maritime Silk Road Initiative and how it aligns with a larger Chinese maritime strategy to expand China’s maritime presence in the western Indian Ocean and Arabian/Persian Gulf for economic, political, and security reasons. It also looks at how China might soon be well-positioned to act as an additional stabilizing force for Arabian/Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea security.
Mindfulness—The Way of the Heart

Anesthetic consciousness is an obstacle to the organismic valuing process by which people orient themselves to intrinsically motivated, felt values, which is the basis for experiential wisdom. As a coping mechanism in response to the human finitude and mortality, it is a self-defeating, maladaptive strategy. In contrast, the cultivation of mindfulness creates present-centered, embodied awareness of felt values, which enhances the organismic valuing process, and becomes a basis for authentic life review by which we can come to terms with death and dying. Through the cultivation of mindfulness as a style of being, the person develops attentive awareness of interoceptive feedback from the body, which cultivates compassionate and empathic engagement with others.
EMR Coding with Semi-Parametric Multi-Head Matching Networks

Coding EMRs with diagnosis and procedure codes is an indispensable task for billing, secondary data analyses, and monitoring health trends. Both speed and accuracy of coding are critical. While coding errors could lead to more patient-side financial burden and misinterpretation of a patient’s well-being, timely coding is also needed to avoid backlogs and additional costs for the healthcare facility. In this paper, we present a new neural network architecture that combines ideas from few-shot learning matching networks, multi-label loss functions, and convolutional neural networks for text classification to significantly outperform other state-of-the-art models. Our evaluations are conducted using a well known de-identified EMR dataset (MIMIC) with a variety of multi-label performance measures.
Variable Amplitude Fatigue Testing Apparatus and Its Dynamical Characterization

A modified version of variable amplitude fatigue testing rig suitable for studying the effects of crack breathing phenomenon under variable R-ratios is presented. This system is intended to investigate the interaction between fatigue damage evolution and structural dynamics, and apply the acquired understanding to practical fatigue life prediction. Generalized frequency response function, sine-sweep, and restoring force surface methods were used to identify and characterize nonlinearities, and estimate the corresponding parameters. A simple, two-degrees-of-freedom model development and experimentally validation are also presented.
Influence of Tight Confinement on Selective Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane on MoVTeNb Mixed Oxides

M1 phase MoVTeNb mixed oxides exhibit unique catalytic properties that lead to high C2H4 yields in oxidative conversion of C2H6 at moderate temperatures. The role of the heptagonal channel micropores of the M1 phase in regulating reactivity and selectivity is assessed here using reactant size-dependent kinetic probes and density functional theory (DFT) treatments for C2H6 and cyclohexane (C6H12) activations inside and outside the micropores. The sizes of C2H6 and the micropores suggest a tight guest–host fit, but C6H12 cannot access intrapore sites. Measured C2H6 to C6H12 activation rate ratios on MoVTeNbO are much higher than those measured on nonmicroporous vanadium oxides (VOx/SiO2) and estimated by DFT on external surfaces, suggesting that most C2H6 activations on MoVTeNbO occur inside the micropores under typical conditions. C2H6 exhibits higher activation energy than C6H12 on VOx/SiO2, consistent with the corresponding C–H bond strengths; the activation energy difference between C2H6 and C6H12 is lo...
Modeling visual performance differences with polar angle: A computational observer approach

Visual performance depends on polar angle, even when eccentricity is held constant; on many psychophysical tasks observers perform best when stimuli are presented on the horizontal meridian, worst on the upper vertical, and intermediate on the lower vertical meridian. This variation in performance 9around9 the visual field can be as pronounced as that of doubling the stimulus eccentricity. The causes of these asymmetries in performance are largely unknown. Some factors in the eye, e.g. cone density, are positively correlated with the reported variations in visual performance with polar angle. However, the question remains whether such correlations can quantitatively explain the perceptual differences observed 9around9 the visual field. To investigate the extent to which the earliest stages of vision -optical quality and cone density- contribute to performance differences with polar angle, we created a computational observer model. The model uses the open-source software package ISETBIO to simulate an orientation discrimination task for which visual performance differs with polar angle. The model starts from the photons emitted by a display, which pass through simulated human optics with fixational eye movements, followed by cone isomerizations in the retina. Finally, we classify stimulus orientation using a support vector machine to learn a linear classifier on the photon absorptions. To account for the 30% increase in contrast thresholds for upper vertical compared to horizontal meridian, as observed psychophysically on the same task, our computational observer model would require either an increase of ~7 diopters of defocus or a reduction of 500% in cone density. These values far exceed the actual variations as a function of polar angle observed in human eyes. Therefore, we conclude that these factors in the eye only account for a small fraction of differences in visual performance with polar angle. Substantial additional asymmetries must arise in later retinal and/or cortical processing.
Canada’s Global Trade Options—Is There a Plan B?

This chapter argues that Canada’s trade diversification agenda provides Canadian traders with greater access and investment certainty in new markets but it cannot compensate for U.S. losses nor will distant markets ever fully replace less costly neighboring markets from an exporter perspective. While the NAFTA renegotiations and WTO shake-up are not taking place under circumstances Canada would have chosen, they should, nevertheless, deliver important reforms to a hidebound system. Meanwhile, the shocks to Canada’s trading system are shaking Canada out of a complacency built on a very comfortable U.S. trade relationship. In order to weather the short- and medium-term uncertainty, Canada will have to focus on leaner domestic economic policies including increased competitiveness and decreased costs for carbon levies, inter-provincial trade and permitting/regulatory waste. Externally, Canada will have to become more strategic in its trade relations with key trading partners: China, Mexico, UK, India and Japan.
Top Advances in Functional Genomics and Translational Biology for 2011

In recent years, major advances have been made in the application of “omics” technologies to cardiovascular science and medicine. The year 2011 was no exception, with a number of groundbreaking studies published, ranging from the execution of ever-larger genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to the discovery of promising new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. The American Heart Association Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council (www.my.americanheart.org/fgtbcouncil) provides a forum for a multidisciplinary group of volunteers committed to making a substantial contribution to reducing the burden of heart disease and stroke through genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics research and translational science. With input from the Early Career Committee of the Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology, we considered many articles and selected 10 outstanding ones published in 2011 that reflect these advances. In this report, we briefly summarize each. Current therapies aimed at modulating low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol are unable to achieve sufficient cardioprotection in all individuals. Rayner et al1 developed a novel therapeutic approach based on the modulation of the microRNAs miR-33a and miR-33b, which downregulate expression of the cholesterol transporter ABCA1. Using a nonhuman primate model, systemic administration of an anti-miR-33a/b oligonucleotide led to increased hepatic expression of ABCA1. Additionally, expression of other miR-33 target genes was altered, with increased expression of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and decreased expression of genes involved in fatty acid synthesis. Over 12 weeks of treatment, a sustained increase in plasma high-density lipoprotein was achieved, with evidence of larger high-density lipoprotein particle size. Concurrently, plasma levels of very-low-density lipoprotein triglycerides decreased. Although efficacy in humans remains to be established, these encouraging results from a nonhuman primate model offer an exciting example of a novel therapeutic approach with potential relevance to cardiometabolic disease in humans. …
A report on the workshop on mechanism design for social good

We present a report on the first Workshop on Mechanism Design for Social Good (MD4SG '17), which took place at the 18th ACM Conference on Economics and Computation (EC '17), and discuss unifying themes for research at this interface.
The Scales of Black Holes with nAdS$_2$ Geometry

We study nearly extreme black holes with nearly AdS$_2$ horizon geometry in various settings inspired by string theory. Our focus is on the scales of the nAdS$_2$ region and their relation to microscopic theory. These scales are determined by a generalization of the attractor mechanism for extremal black holes and realized geometrically as the normal derivatives along the extremal attractor flow. In some cases the scales are equivalently determined by the charge dependence of the extremal attractor by itself. Our examples include near extreme black holes in $D\geq 4$ dimensions, AdS boundary conditions, rotation, and 5D black holes on the non-BPS branch.
Incidentally detected biliary ductal dilatation on contrast-enhanced CT: what is the incidence of occult obstructing malignancy?

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of occult obstructing malignancy in the setting of asymptomatic biliary ductal dilatation incidentally detected and without identifiable cause on contrast-enhanced CT. A retrospective search identified patients with biliary ductal dilatation on contrast-enhanced CT from March 30, 2007 to November 1, 2017. Patients with biliary symptomatology or clinical concern for an obstructing process, an explanation for biliary ductal dilatation on index CT, intrahepatic without extrahepatic biliary ductal dilatation, concurrent pancreatic ductal dilatation, and inadequate follow-up were excluded. A reference standard of at least 1 year of imaging follow-up or 2 years of clinical follow-up was used to exclude occult obstructing malignancy. 156 patients were included; 120 patients met imaging follow-up criteria and 36 patients met clinical follow-up criteria. No cases of occult malignancy were identified as the source of biliary ductal dilatation (95% CI 0.0–1.9%). LFTs were available for 131 patients, of which 36 were elevated (27%). One case demonstrated a 1.2-cm ampullary adenoma on endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (occult on follow-up MRI, normal LFTs at the time of the index CT). Asymptomatic biliary ductal dilatation incidentally detected and without identifiable cause on contrast-enhanced CT is likely benign in patients with normal LFTs, and further workup may not be warranted.
Validating Physiological Stress Detection Model Using Cortisol as Stress Bio Marker

In this work, we have presented the validation of a stress detection model using cortisol as the stress biomarker. The proposed model uses two physiological signals: Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) and Photoplethysmograph (PPG) to classify stress into two levels. GSR and PPG signals were collected from a total of 13 participants along with saliva samples taken at time points throughout the duration of the experiment. We have used 10 out of the 13 participants to train our model. Data from the remaining 3 participants was used to test the robustness of the model in distinguishing stressed states from non-stressed states. We have achieved an overall accuracy of 92% with the model achieving precision, recall and f1-score of 93%, 99% and 96% respectively in predicting the occurrences of stressful events. Results indicate the promise of the proposed methodology in accurately detecting the presence of stressful events by generalizing the test data coming from a subset of population in contrast to the training data.
Long-Term Outcomes of a Preoperative Lung Resection Smoking Cessation Program.

Abstract Background Smoking cessation programs for patients with cancer suggest 6-mo quit rates between 22% and 40%, and 1-y rates of 33%. We sought to investigate the long-term outcomes of an intensive, preoperative smoking cessation program in patients undergoing lung resection. Material and methods A retrospective analysis of an IRB-approved, prospective database was performed. Elective lung resections between January 1, 2015 and June 30, 2017 were identified. Demographics, smoking status, pack years, occurrence of smoking cessation counseling, complications, and quit date were obtained. Smoking cessation included face-to-face motivational interviewing, choice of nicotine replacement therapy, discussion that surgery may be canceled or delayed without cessation, and follow-up as needed. Results A total of 340 patients underwent lung resection. Of these, 82 patients were classified as current smokers. All were advised to quit and encouraged to meet with a certified tobacco treatment specialist. Sixty-three patients met with a tobacco treatment specialist and 19 did not. Overall, 60 patients (73%) were able to quit before surgery. At 2 y postoperatively, 15 (18%) were lost to follow-up and 9 (11%) had died. Excluding deaths and censoring those lost to follow-up, cessation rates at 6, 12, and 24 mo postoperatively were 55.3%, 55.6%, and 51.7%, respectively. Conclusions Implementation of an intensive smoking cessation program in the preoperative period demonstrated high initial, mid-term, and long-term success rates. The preoperative period, particularly one centered around lung cancer, is an effective time for smoking cessation intervention and can lead to a high rate of cessation up to 2 y after surgery.
Addiction or Transgression? Moral Incongruence and Self-Reported Problematic Pornography Use in a Nationally Representative Sample:

In the United States, pornography use is common, and it is increasingly a clinical concern under some circumstances. Excessive pornography use may qualify for the new diagnosis of compulsive sexual...
Controlling Selectivity in the Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Adiponitrile through Electrolyte Design

Organic hydrogenations are key steps in the production of numerous valuable chemicals. Their requirement for high temperature, pressure, and compressed hydrogen has motivated the interest to develo...
Gender Minority Stress, Support, and Inflammation in Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth

Purpose: Transgender and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) youth often report higher rates of chronic social stressors such as victimization, discrimination, and rejection. Some of these gender-based str...
Investigating the relationship between trauma symptoms and placement instability

Abstract Background Placement stability while in foster care has important implications for children’s permanency and well-being. Though a majority of youth have adequate placement stability while in foster care, a substantial minority experience multiple moves during their time in care. Research on correlates of placement instability has demonstrated a relationship between externalizing behaviors and placement instability. Likewise, evidence suggests higher levels of trauma are associated with increased externalizing behaviors. However, few studies have examined the relationship between trauma symptoms and placement instability. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate whether children with clinically significant trauma symptoms had higher odds of placement instability. Participants and setting Administrative data collected as a part of a summative evaluation for a federally-funded trauma III grant project were used. The sample included 1,668 children ages 5 and older who entered foster care during a 30-month period in a Midwestern state and completed a self-reported trauma screen within 120 days of entering care. Methods Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted to examine the contributions of trauma symptoms scores to placement instability, above and beyond demographic characteristics and case characteristics. Results Results from the final analytic model, which controlled for demographic and case characteristics, showed that children with clinically significant trauma symptoms (i.e., scores ≥19) had 46% higher odds of experiencing placement instability (OR = 1.46, 95% CIs [1.16, 1.82], p = .001). Findings support the need to screen for and treat trauma symptomology among youth in foster care.
A Concept-based Approach to the Instruction of the Chinese ba-construction

This study explores a concept-based instruction approach to promoting second languagedevelopment of the ba-construction, a known difficult area, by six collegelevelEnglish learners of Chinese in a two-month enrichment program. We developedSCOBAs to explain the syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic constraints of the baconstruction,as well as its similarities and differences from the canonical Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) and topicalization Object-Subject-Verb (OSV) word orders. Theparticipants’ productive use of the construction was assessed with two translations(one on paper and one on the computer) and a cartoon description task followinga pretest, posttest, and delayed posttest format. Semi-structured interviews and theparticipants’ verbalization data were also collected. By comparing the participants’gain scores in relation to maximum possible scores, we found that the participants had made large gains throughout the study and retained much of the gain two weeks after the posttest. The microgenetic analyses of the participants’ production data showed improvement in the use of resultative verb compound, perfective marker–le, and the placement of directional particles. Finally, the verbalizations data indicated improvement in conceptual understanding of the ba-construction in terms of its scope, i.e., not just the physical placement of objects, but the accentuation of the results of the verbal action.
'Resistance is futile': Weaker selection for resistance during larger epidemics further increases prevalence and depresses host density

What determines how much resistance hosts evolve? One might intuit that hosts evolve higher resistance when parasites are more abundant. However, the opposite pattern can arise due to costs of resistance. Here we illustrate with mathematical, experimental, and field approaches how ecological context can increase parasite abundance and select for lower resistance. "Resistance is futile" when all host genotypes become sufficiently infected. To make this argument, we first analyzed an eco-evolutionary model of parasites, hosts, and resources of hosts. We determined eco-evolutionary outcomes for resistance (mathematically, transmission rate) and densities along gradients that drive epidemic size. When epidemic drivers are high, hosts evolve lower resistance, amplifying epidemics and decreasing host density. Experimental mesocosms qualitatively agreed. In the experiment, higher supply of nutrients drove larger epidemics of survival-reducing fungal parasites. Evolving zooplankton hosts were less resistant at high nutrients than at low. Less resistance, in turn, was associated with higher infection prevalence and lower host density. We also analyzed the size of naturally occurring epidemics, finding a broad, bimodal distribution of epidemic sizes consistent with the eco-evolutionary model. Together, our three approaches supported predictions that high epidemic drivers lead to evolution of lower resistance which drives higher prevalence and lower host density.
"Save the Nerve": Technical Nuances for Hearing Preservation and Restoration in Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery: 2-Dimensional Operative Video.

Hearing loss is a significant disability that inflects dysfunction and affects the patient quality of life. Consequently, hearing preservation and the potential of hearing restoration are prized quests in the management of vestibular schwannoma.1 Although small intracanalicular vestibular schwannomas are commonly observed, progressive hearing loss occurs despite the absence of tumor growth; hence, surgical resection can be performed with the sole aim of hearing preservation in well-informed and eager patients. Hearing preservation by surgical resection has proven to be durable.1-4 In this group of patients, we concur with Yamakami et al2 that vascularized meatal flap to reconstruct the canal helps prevent scarring of the cochlear nerve and provides cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) bathing to the cochlear nerve, yielding better long-term hearing preservation. With larger tumors and more severe hearing loss at presentation, microsurgical resection should aim at preserving the cochlear nerve, a goal frequently achievable, which offers the potential for hearing restoration with cochlear implants.3 The results of cochlear implants in restoration of severe hearing loss have been to say the least most impressive.5 We demonstrate these 2 frequently encountered clinical situations with 2 surgical videos showing specific surgical tenets, including intra-arachnoidal dissection, medial to lateral manipulation of the tumor, preservation of the labyrinthine artery, as well as reconstruction of the internal auditory canal.2,3,6,7 The patients consented to the surgery and to the publication of their picture in a surgical video. Illustration in video © 1997 O. Al-Mefty. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Simulations of plasmas and fluids using anti-symmetric models

Abstract ALMA (Anti-symmetric, Large-Moment, Accelerated) is a fast, flexible, and scalable toolkit designed to solve hyperbolic conservation law systems in hybrid supercomputers. This manuscript describes the theoretical background and implementation of ALMA , which uses the anti-symmetric formulation of fluids to obtain simple, robust, and easily paralellizable code. Practical GPU acceleration is realized on entire applications with an overall gain factor of 2 to 4. ALMA also provides a parallel, GPU accelerated sparse solver based on geometric multigrid, capable of diagonalizing linear systems with 239 unknowns. We demonstrate ALMA 's scaling and performance in petascale supercomputers and use standard fluid models to verify the overall approach with canonical benchmark problems.
Integrated Construction of Multimodal Atlases with Structural Connectomes in the Space of Riemannian Metrics.

The structural network of the brain, or structural connectome, can be represented by fiber bundles generated by a variety of tractography methods. While such methods give qualitative insights into brain structure, there is controversy over whether they can provide quantitative information, especially at the population level. In order to enable population-level statistical analysis of the structural connectome, we propose representing a connectome as a Riemannian metric, which is a point on an infinite-dimensional manifold. We equip this manifold with the Ebin metric, a natural metric structure for this space, to get a Riemannian manifold along with its associated geometric properties. We then use this Riemannian framework to apply object-oriented statistical analysis to define an atlas as the Frechet mean of a population of Riemannian metrics. This formulation ties into the existing framework for diffeomorphic construction of image atlases, allowing us to construct a multimodal atlas by simultaneously integrating complementary white matter structure details from DWMRI and cortical details from T1-weighted MRI. We illustrate our framework with 2D data examples of connectome registration and atlas formation. Finally, we build an example 3D multimodal atlas using T1 images and connectomes derived from diffusion tensors estimated from a subset of subjects from the Human Connectome Project.
Topological phonon-polariton funneling in midinfrared metasurfaces.

Topological photonics offers enhanced control over electromagnetic fields by providing a platform for robust trapping and guiding of topological states of light. By combining the strong coupling be...
Laryngomalacia in the Premature Neonate

Laryngomalacia is the most common cause of stridor in newborns. Affected patients may present with noisy breathing, a classic high-pitched inspiratory stridor that worsens with feeding. While the exact etiology remains unclear, the condition is characterized by softening of the supraglottic structures, including the epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds, and arytenoid cartilages. The condition is most often self-limited and requires expectant management. However, in some infants, severe disease, including failure to thrive or respiratory distress, may require medical or even surgical intervention. When caring for premature neonates, special care is required to evaluate for synchronous airway lesions.
Impact of Prediagnosis Risk of Major Depressive Disorder and Health-Related Quality of Life on Treatment Choice for Stage II-III Rectal Cancer.

Purpose/Objective(s) We hypothesized that depressive symptoms and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) reported by patients prior to their cancer diagnoses would be associated with treatment choice for stage II and III rectal cancer. During the period of study and at the time of this writing, the standard of care for stage II-III rectal cancer has been neoadjuvant radiation followed by surgical resection with or without adjuvant chemotherapy. Materials/Methods The SEER and Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (SEER-MHOS) linked dataset was used to identify patients with stage II and III rectal adenocarcinoma diagnosed between 2004 and 2013 who had completed the health outcomes survey within 36 months before their cancer diagnoses. Risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) was determined based on responses to screening questions for depressive disorders. HRQOL was assessed using the Mental Component Summary (MCS) and Physical Component Summary (PCS) of the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and the Veterans RAND 12-Item Health Survey (VR-12). Using both univariable and multivariable analysis to control for potentially confounding patient characteristics, we assessed for associations between these health survey responses and ultimate treatment choice, specifically regarding whether patients underwent surgery for their rectal cancer. Results We identified 142 evaluable patients with stage II-III rectal cancer, of whom 109 (76.8%) underwent surgery. Thirty patients (21.1%) met criteria for being at risk for MDD before their cancer diagnoses. Patients at risk for MDD were significantly less likely to undergo surgery than those not at risk (63.3% vs. 80.4%, P = 0.0499), and this association strengthened after adjusting for patient characteristics (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.04-0.82, P = 0.027). There was a nonsignificant trend between higher MCS scores (equating with higher self-reported mental HRQOL) and increased likelihood of undergoing surgery (P = 0.081). There were no significant associations between the PCS and treatment modality. Conclusion In patients with stage II-III rectal cancer, there was a significant association between prediagnosis risk of MDD and treatment choice, such that patients at risk for MDD were less likely to undergo standard-of-care treatment with surgery. Further studies are warranted to assess the effect of MDD risk and HRQOL on clinical decision making with this patient population.
Reprint of “Investigation of the antioxidant capacity and phenolic constituents of U.S. pecans”

Abstract The content of phenolics and their antioxidant capacity were determined in 18 U.S. pecan cultivars. Acetonic crude phenolic extracts were prepared, fractionated and then their antioxidant capacity and phenolic contents assessed. H-ORACFL and FRAP values ranged from 13.5 to 25.5 mmol Trolox eq/100-g nutmeat and 14.0 to 20.7 mmol Fe2+ eq/100-g nutmeat, respectively. The total phenolics contents varied from 1.82 to 2.62 g ellagic acid eq/100-g nutmeat, while the total procyanidins contents (TPrC) were determined to be 420 to 655 mg procyanidin B2 eq/100-g nutmeat. The dominant phenolic compounds included gallic and ellagic acids, their derivatives, and proanthocyanidins. As confirmed by tandem HPLC-ESI-MS, no new aglycones were liberated from soluble esters and glycoside-bound phenolics after base and acid hydrolysis, respectively.
Tilt effects on experimental measurement of squeeze film damping in microsystems

Previous experimental measurements of squeeze film damping forces in the MEMS field indicated a fundamental discrepancy from classical lubrication theory. This paper presents an explanation for the discrepancy employing a combined experimental and theoretical approach. In the past, analysis of experimental data assumed parallel surfaces, although a non-uniform fluid film thickness due to plate tilting may occur in practice. Small inclinations and misalignments are usually overlooked in theoretical treatment; however, this study finds that they could have a dramatic impact on the observed forces. To investigate this effect, a compact linear solution for hydrodynamic squeeze film damping forces was developed via a perturbation method assuming incompressible fluid bounded by tilted plates undergoing small normal vibrations. The results show that the inclination causes asymmetric pressure distribution and decreased fluid force. In fact, almost unmeasurably small angular tilt can cause significant change in the fluid force. The theoretical predictions employing the tilt model are found to agree well with the experimental measurements. These findings are of critical importance to the accurate determination of hydrodynamic lubrication forces and design of dynamic MEMS subjected to squeeze film damping.
The Role of Initiation Factors in the Shut-Off of Protein Synthesis

The shut-off of protein simthesis in virus-infected cells is a phenomenon that has attracted the attention of several investigators. In an attempt to provide an explanation at the molecular level for the mechanism of shut-off, studies were initially carried out with virus-infected cells. Since the results of this kind of studies are extensively discussed in the proceeding chapter of this book, we will concentrate on a particular aspect, namely the role of initiation factors on the virus-induced inhibition of host protein synthesis.
All it takes to express virulence genes (361.3)

Horizontal gene transfer shapes bacterial evolution, enabling adaptation to new environments, efficient pathogenesis, and acquisition of antibiotic resistance. However, expression of foreign DNA may have detrimental, and even lethal, cellular effects, and is thus tightly regulated. In Escherichia coli, NusG and its specialized paralog RfaH play opposite roles in expression of horizontally-transferred genes: NusG cooperates with a termination factor Rho to silence transcription of foreign DNA, whereas RfaH activates several long laterally acquired operons that encode cell wall and capsule biosynthesis machineries as well as secreted toxins. RfaH-dependent operons lack Shine-Dalgarno elements and have many rare codons, suggesting that they are translated inefficiently. Consistently, Rho decreases expression of a model rfb operon >700 fold. RfaH, when present, eliminates Rho-mediated polarity by three mechanisms. First, RfaH decreases RNA polymerase pausing, making it resistant to Rho. Second, RfaH excludes ...
HIF Gene Expression in Cancer Therapy

Abstract Tumor hypoxia is a feature common to almost all solid tumors due to malformed vasculature and inadequate perfusion. Tumor cells have evolved mechanisms that allow them to respond and adapt to a hypoxic microenvironment. The hypoxia‐inducible transcription factor (HIF) family is comprised of oxygen‐sensitive alpha (α) subunits that respond rapidly to decreased oxygen levels and oxygen‐insensitive beta (β) subunits. HIF binds to specific recognition sequences in the genome and increases the transcription of genes involved in a variety of metabolic and enzymatic pathways that are necessary for cells to respond to an oxygen‐poor environment. The critical role of this family of transcriptional regulators in maintaining oxygen homeostasis is supported by multiple regulatory mechanisms that allow the cell to control the levels of HIF as well as its transcriptional activity. This review will focus on how the transcriptional activity of HIF is studied and how it can be exploited for cancer therapy.
ON ASYMPTOTICALLY NONEXPANSIVE MAPPINGS IN HYPERCONVEX METRIC SPACES

Since bounded hyperconvex metric spaces have the fixed point property for nonexpansive mappings, it is natural to extend such a powerful result to asymptotically nonexpansive mappings. Our main result states that the approximate fixed point property holds in this case. The proof is based on the use, for the first time, of the ultrapower of a metric space.
Radon and Abel Transform equivalence in atmospheric radio occultation

[1] The Radon Transform plays a central role in the image reconstruction technique known as computed tomography, used commonly in radio astronomy and medical imaging. Although usually formulated as a projection of a spatial density function along straight ray paths, the Radon Transform kernel also permits curved path projections, providing the path can be defined. Reformulation of the Radon Transform as a path integral for the case of a radio ray refracting in a spherically symmetric atmosphere leads directly to the Abel Transform formulation commonly used in atmospheric radio occultation.
Control of streamwise vortices using selective suction

The breakdown of streamwise vortices was controlled using selective suction. A Gortler flowfield was used to produce streamwise vortices emulating turbulent boundary-layer eddies in a steady laminar-like environment. Suction was applied at single locations under the low-speed region between counter-rotating vortex pairs. A suction coefficient two orders of magnitude less than that required for an asymptotic profile was sufficient to significantly delay the breakdown of the vortices. At high-suction rate, however, premature breakdown resulted due to the creation of an additional instability in the spanwise direction. Results suggest that an ideal control method should produce fuller profiles in the normal direction and eliminate the difference between low- and high-speed regions in the spanwise direction.
A Review of “Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction”

Any single-volume history of the American Civil War draws comparison to James McPherson's 1988 Pulitzer Prize–winning Battle Cry of Freedom (Oxford University Press). As brilliant and relevant as t...
Cooling challenges for silicon integrated circuits

Microprocessor design with varying styles and complexities exhibit power density gradients across the die. 300+ W/cm/sup 2/ local densities a.k.a 'hot spots' are seen and it is a continuing challenge to cool these hot spots in designing thermal solutions. Hot spots will exacerbate the cooling margin in system and packaging thermal solutions. Depending on the market segment (mobile, desktop, server) and feature densities in the system (HDD, Memory etc.), the industry faces the challenge of staying in cost effective air cooling regime. In the Enterprise space, the feature rich thin rack and blade servers are thermally pushing the limits or air cooling. Additionally, the 24/7 (24 hours, 7 days a week) use environment of servers demand highly reliable and often redundant cooling solutions and any new cooling strategy needs to meet or exceed the well established and industry accepted reliability expectations, common of air cooling solutions. The package solutions need to quickly spread the 'hot spot' heat to the next level and the system thermal solutions need to cost effective and highly reliable.
Self-Induced Emission in Optically Pumped HF Gas: The Rise and Fall of the Superradiant State

In 1954 R. H. Dicke pointed out that the spontaneous emission rate of an assembly of atoms would be much greater than that of an isolated atom.1 This effect, called superradiance, is due to cooperation of the atoms coupled via the common radiation field. In his treatment Dicke distinguished two regimes, characterized by whether the atoms are confined to a region small or large compared to the wavelength of the emitted radiation. In the former case the theoretical formulation is straightforward, and the predictions have been confirmed in the microwave region.2 For extended samples, as occur in the optical range, the theory is more complex, since propagation effects must be taken into account. Several theoretical treatments have been given, 3–8 but as yet there is no general agreement as to the details of the radiation process. Experimentally, a number of coherent optical effects closely related to the concepts used to treat superradiance had been observed. 9–15 In a recent paper16, the first observation of superradiant pulse evolution was reported in far-infrared transition of optically pumped HF gas, and an analysis was given. The present paper is a continuation and elaboration of that work.
Specific deletion occurring in the directed evolution of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT A novel genetic change leading to increased activity of 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) in E. coli has been observed. The mutation is a deletion of approximately 0.4 kilobase pairs occurring between the structural gene of 6PGD ( gnd ) and one copy of an insertion element (IS 5 ) found normally in E. coli K12 a few hundred base pairs upstream (counterclockwise) from gnd at 44 minutes on the conventional genetic map. The deletion is associated with a threefold higher activity of 6PGD and a 57% increase in the maximum growth rate when cells are grown in gluconate.
A Multilayer Theory for Gas Sorption: Part I: Sorption of a Single Gas

A multilayer model is proposed which predicts the equilibrium sorption isotherms for pure gases in Part I and for binary gas mixtures in Part II. This first part deals with the sorption of a pure g...
Diet specialization selects for an unusual and simplified gut microbiota in two- and three-toed sloths

Symbiotic microbial communities are critical to the function and survival of animals. This relationship is obligatory for herbivores that engage gut microorganisms for the conversion of dietary plant materials into nutrients such as short-chain organic acids (SCOAs). The constraint on body size imposed by their arboreal lifestyle is thought to make this symbiosis especially important for sloths. Here, we use next-generation sequencing to identify the bacteria present in the fore and distal guts of wild two- and three-toed sloths, and correlate these communities with both diet and SCOAs. We show that, unlike other mammalian herbivores, sloth gut communities are dominated by the bacterial phyla Proteobacteria and Firmicutes. Specifically, three-toed sloths possess a highly conserved, low-diversity foregut community with a highly abundant Neisseria species associated with foregut lactate. In contrast, two-toed sloths have a more variable and diverse foregut microbiota correlated with a variety of SCOAs. These differences support the hypothesis that feeding behaviour selects for specific gut bacterial communities, as three-toed sloths subsist primarily on Cecropia tree leaves while two-toed sloths have a more generalist diet. The less diverse diet and gut microbiota of three-toed sloths may render them more susceptible to habitat loss and other diet-altering conditions.
Defining Molecular Signature of Pro-Immunogenic Radiotherapy Targets in Human Prostate Cancer Cells

To understand the impact of clinically relevant radiation therapy (RT) on tumor immune gene expression and to utilize the changes that occur during treatment to improve cancer treatment outcome, we examined how immune response genes are modulated in prostate cancer cells of varying p53 status. LNCaP (p53 wild-type), PC3 (p53 null) and DU145 (p53 mutant) cells received a 10 Gy single dose or 1 Gy × 10 multifractionated radiation dose to simulate hypofractionated and conventionally fractionated prostate radiotherapy. Total RNA was isolated 24 h after multifractionated radiation treatment and single-dose treatments and subjected to microarray analysis and later validated by RT-PCR. RT-PCR was utilized to identify total-dose inflection points for significantly upregulated genes in response to multifractionated radiation therapy. Radiation-induced damage-associated molecular pattern molecules (DAMPs) and cytokine analyses were performed using bioluminescence and ELISA. Multifractionated doses activated immune ...
Atomic interferometry using stimulated Raman transitions

The mechanical effects of stimulated Raman transitions on atoms have been used to demonstrate a matter-wave interferometer with laser-cooled sodium atoms. Interference has been observed for wave packets that have been separated by as much as 2.4 mm. Using the interferometer as an inertial sensor, the acceleration of a sodium atom due to gravity has been measured with a resolution of 3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}6}$ after 1000 sec of integration time.
Use of highly absorptive azo dyes in photoresist coatings

We recently synthesized and studied a number of highly absorptive diketo azo dyes. These materials, existed in the hydrazo tautomeric forms, showed high extinction coefficients, typically (epsilon) approximately equals 25,000 - 39,000 at 365 nm. They also exhibited good solubility in common resist casting solvents such as propylene glycol monoethyl acetate (PGMEA) and ethyl lactate. The thermostability of the materials was investigated. The impact of these diketo azo dyes on i-line resist performance in terms of swing reduction, reflective notching control and lithographic performance is discussed.