cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phenethyl isothiocyanate inhibits the growth of androgen-dependent transplantable human prostate tumors that correlates with a decrease in CD31 a marker of tumor angiogenesis

A91 Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC), which occurs naturally in certain cruciferous vegetables, has received considerable attention because of its ability to inhibit cytochrome P450s, induce apoptosis, and display antitumor activity in several types of cancer models, specifically prostate cancer. However, the angio-preventive effect of PEITC in vivo in androgen dependent prostate tumors remains largely unknown. This study examines the anticancer and angio-preventive effects of PEITC in androgen-dependent prostate cancer. In our xenograft model, we demonstrated that treatment of 3 µM PEITC in LNCap prostate cancer cells in vivo inhibited tumor growth. The inhibition in tumor growth was not associated with a decrease in cellular proliferation or induction of apoptosis, however, we were able to show that treatment of PEITC significantly inhibits platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule (PECAM-1), a marker for angiogenesis. In our in vitro studies LNCaP androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells reveal that treatment of PEITC did not inhibit prostate cancer cell growth. In addition, prostate cancer cell growth was not attributed to cell cycle arrest, however, it was associated with a reduction in mRNA levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a proangiogenic factor. These results reveal that PEITC may inhibit androgen-dependent prostate tumor growth by selectively targeting factors involve in the tumor microenvironment, suggesting that PEITC may be an important source for preventing angiogenesis in androgen-responsive prostate cancer. Moreover, PEITC may be an important therapeutic source for African American men who manifest aggressive prostate cancer and increase rates of recurrence.
Imaging decision about whether to benefit self by harming others: Adolescents with conduct and substance problems, with or without callous-unemotionality, or developing typically ☆

We sought to identify brain activation differences in conduct-problem youth with limited prosocial emotions (LPE) compared to conduct-problem youth without LPE and community adolescents, and to test associations between brain activation and severity of callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a novel task, which asks subjects to repeatedly decide whether to accept offers where they will benefit but a beneficent other will be harmed. Behavior on this task has been previously associated with levels of prosocial emotions and severity of callous-unemotional traits, and is related to empathic concern. During fMRI acquisition, 66 male adolescents (21 conduct-problem patients with LPE, 21 without, and 24 typically-developing controls) played this novel game. Within typically-developing controls, we identified a network engaged during decision involving bilateral insula, and inferior parietal and medial frontal cortices, among other regions. Group comparisons using non-parametric (distribution-free) permutation tests demonstrated LPE patients had lower activation estimates than typically-developing adolescents in right anterior insula. Additional significant group differences emerged with our a priori parametric cluster-wise inference threshold. These results suggest measurable functional brain activation differences in conduct-problem adolescents with LPE compared to typically-developing adolescents. Such differences may underscore differential treatment needs for conduct-problem males with and without LPE.
Pancreatic polypeptide as a biomarker for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

e21109 Background: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) represent tumors that secrete numerous proteins that could be used as biomarkers. We present a retrospective analysis of patients with PNETs who have had Pancreatic Polypeptide (PP) testing in an attempt to better define PP producing tumors as an entity and the role of PP as a biomarker. To our knowledge, this is the first single center comprehensive review of Pancreatic Polypeptide producing tumors. Methods: A retrospective study of patients with PNETs seen at Mount Sinai from 1980 to 2011. All patients that have had PP concentrations measured at least once were evaluated. Data relating to diagnosis, pathology, surgery, liver directed therapies, chemotherapy and survival outcome were noted. 71 patients with PNETs fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The 71 patients formed 4 subgroups. The 4 subgroups were evaluated and compared for survival: all 71 PP tested patients, 30 patients with PP producing tumors, 8 patients with PPomas, 22 patients with PP...
Sonographic Assessment of a Spigelian Hernia

Spigelian hernias are a rare type of lateral ventral hernia that arises through a defect in the spigelian fascia within the anterior abdominal wall. This type of hernia can be either congenital or ...
Approaches for the Discovery of Small Molecule Ligands Targeting microRNAs

RNA is essential for life, serving as the intermediate between genomic storage and protein function. As our knowledge of biological systems has grown, so has our understanding of RNA, revealing additional functions of this critical class of biomolecules. One class of RNA, microRNAs (miRNA), highlights the fundamental role of non-coding RNA in higher organisms. miRNAs regulate nearly every biological pathway through targeted translational suppression, and dysregulation of miRNA expression has been implicated in many human disease states. Thus, therapeutically targeting miRNAs with small molecule ligands is of growing importance. Herein we focus on methods employed to discover small molecule miRNA ligands, their successes thus far, and future directions for the field.
Longitudinal effects of online experiences on empathy among African American adolescents

Abstract This study used short-term longitudinal data to examine the longitudinal contributions of adolescents' general and race-related online experiences on empathic social skills over a one-year period among 337 African American adolescents in 6th through 12th grade (Mage = 14.81, SDage = 2.07; 58.04% female). Results revealed that controlling for age and sex, and previous levels of empathy, frequent race-related Internet use was positively related to increases in empathic social skills a year later. These effects were qualified by a significant interaction which suggested that high amounts of online racial discrimination disrupted the positive, longitudinal impact of race-related Internet use on empathic social skills. Additionally, the longitudinal contributions of African American adolescents' online experiences on empathic social skills differed by adolescent sex and age. This study highlights the impact of positive and negative online experiences on adolescents' social skill development in offline contexts.
C-30: Best practices for archiving marine samples for the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB)

Formal environmental specimen banking has been recognized internationally as an important component of long-term environmental research and monitoring programs. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has been involved in environmental specimen banking for over 30 years through collaborations primarily with other U.S. government agencies as well as with universities and non-profit organizations. Biological (i.e., marine mammal tissue, seabird egg contents, sea turtle tissue, fish tissue, coral, etc.) and environmental (i.e., marine sediment, macroalgae, etc.) specimen collections from individual projects are maintained at the Marine Environmental Specimen Bank (Marine ESB), Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, SC. Carefully designed and standardized protocols for sample collection, processing, and banking have been developed primarily to conduct research on environmental contaminant measurements but specimens have been and could be used for additional purposes, such as genetic studies, biotoxin exposure, and infectious disease research. The carefully designed protocols and procedures for collecting these specimens vary depending on a number of factors, such as specimen type, availability of the specimen, and the collection location, but a best practice guideline is to strictly adhere to these protocols in order to ensure the quality of the sample is not compromised for its intended purpose. Standard Reference Materials (SRMs) and Control Materials (CMs) intended for use in method development and validation as well as for quality assurance and for use in assigning values for selected environmental contaminants are also produced by NIST and provide a resource to ensure sample stability of specimens archived at the Marine ESB.
Atopic Dermatitis: Pathophysiology

The pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis is complex and multifactorial, involving elements of barrier dysfunction, alterations in cell mediated immune responses, IgE mediated hypersensitivity, and environmental factors. Loss of function mutations in filaggrin have been implicated in severe atopic dermatitis due to a potential increase in trans-epidermal water loss, pH alterations, and dehydration. Other genetic changes have also been identified which may alter the skin’s barrier function, resulting in an atopic dermatitis phenotype. The imbalance of Th2 to Th1 cytokines observed in atopic dermatitis can create alterations in the cell mediated immune responses and can promote IgE mediated hypersensitivity, both of which appear to play a role in the development of atopic dermatitis. One must additionally take into consideration the role of the environment on the causation of atopic dermatitis and the impact of chemicals such as airborne formaldehyde, harsh detergents, fragrances, and preservatives. Use of harsh alkaline detergents in skin care products may also unfavorably alter the skin’s pH causing downstream changes in enzyme activity and triggering inflammation. Environmental pollutants can trigger responses from both the innate and adaptive immune pathways. This chapter will discuss the multifaceted etiology of atopic dermatitis which will help us to elucidate potential therapeutic targets. We will also review existing treatment options and their interaction with the complex inflammatory and molecular triggers of atopic dermatitis.
Faith and reason: An analysis of the homologies of Black and Blue Lives Facebook pages

Highly publicized deaths of Black men during police encounters have inspired a renewed civil rights movement originating with a Twitter hashtag, “Black Lives Matter.” Supporters of the law enforcement community quickly countered with an intervention of their own, using the slogan, “Blue Lives Matter.” This project compared the discourses of their respective Facebook groups using cultural discourse analysis that considered words, images, and their symbiosis. Based on a foundation of structural Marxism as articulated by Althusser, this project found that the two groups’ symbol systems are homologous with larger, ideological tensions in American culture: faith and reason.
Deconstructing Lipid Kinase Inhibitors by Chemical Proteomics

Diacylglycerol kinases (DGKs) regulate lipid metabolism and cell signaling through ATP-dependent phosphorylation of diacylglycerol to biosynthesize phosphatidic acid. Selective chemical probes for studying DGKs are currently lacking and are needed to annotate isoform-specific functions of these elusive lipid kinases. Previously, we explored fragment-based approaches to discover a core fragment of DGK-α (DGKα) inhibitors responsible for selective binding to the DGKα active site. Here, we utilize quantitative chemical proteomics to deconstruct widely used DGKα inhibitors to identify structural regions mediating off-target activity. We tested the activity of a fragment (RLM001) derived from a nucleotide-like region found in the DGKα inhibitors R59022 and ritanserin and discovered that RLM001 mimics ATP in its ability to broadly compete at ATP-binding sites of DGKα as well as >60 native ATP-binding proteins (kinases and ATPases) detected in cell proteomes. Equipotent inhibition of activity-based probe labeling by RLM001 supports a contiguous ligand-binding site composed of C1, DAGKc, and DAGKa domains in the DGKα active site. Given the lack of available crystal structures of DGKs, our studies highlight the utility of chemical proteomics in revealing active-site features of lipid kinases to enable development of inhibitors with enhanced selectivity against the human proteome.
Correlation of printing faults with the RF characteristics of coplanar waveguides (CPWs) printed on nonwoven textiles

Abstract Printing high-resolution microwave passive devices directly on textile surfaces presents many challenges due to the high surface roughness and porosity of textile materials. This paper explains in detail physical and electromagnetic characterization of screen-printed coplanar waveguides (CPWs) on nonwoven textiles with a surface roughness of approximately ∼18 μm. Three different screen mesh counts (mesh opening unit) are used to screen print CPWs with five different resolutions. A screen printable silver paste is used as a conductive ink during the screen printing process. The difference in screen mesh counts affects the line resolution, thickness, conformity, and overall power transferring capacity of printed CPWs. A print resolution of 220 μm as the gap between the parallel lines of CPWs is achieved in this work without any surface modification of textile media. The surface roughness of the printed silver track is very similar to the base fabric (18 μm) when the screen with 305 mesh-count is selected for printing. Additionally, the thickness of the ink on the fabric is most conformal and lowest (23.4 μm) for the similar selection of screen mesh count. Fabricated CPWs are characterized for signals from 0.5 GHz to 10 GHz and compared to electromagnetic 3D simulation results. This paper also identifies minute printing faults in the 3D structure of the printed CPWs and correlates that with the scattering parameters of the transmission lines. Simulated and experimental data prove that a well-designed and process optimized printed nonwoven-based CPW works well (i.e. below 3 dB of insertion loss) for frequencies ranging from 0.5 GHz to 7 GHz.
Improving students' skills, knowledge and abilities in computer programming: a stem project

This project describes findings on a three-year project to increase High School students' attitude and interest in computing careers by focusing on computer programming. Our approach involves using the mass appeal of game design and creation to introduce students to programming and computational thinking. This paper presents our observations over multiple years of teaching high school students the fundamentals of computer science and programming concepts. By leveraging students' interest in game design, we have been able to help students become excited about programming and iscovering a new passion in computing. The findings substantiate the fact that the project has been successful in increasing students' understanding of computing principles and programming associated with games, suggesting that students have positive perceptions of computing and plan to pursue STEM education through high school and college.
Systematic Dynamic and Heterogeneous Analysis of Rich Social Network Data

Recent technological advances have lead to increasing amounts of social network data that is longitudinal or encompasses multiple link types.We aim to provide a framework for systematic analysis of such data. We validate the framework on a unique and rich social network, by studying the evolution of network structure over an 18-month period as well as the relationships between different communication types (including both digital (e.g., Facebook) and face-to-face interactions).
Hemiacidrin Irrigation of Renal Pelvic Calculi in Patients With Ileal Conduit Urinary Diversion

AbstractFive quadriplegic patients with ureteroileocutaneous urinary diversion and recurrent renal calculi underwent 8 episodes of renal pelvic irrigation with hemiacidrin solution. Irrigations were done either via a nephrostomy tube or transileostomy ureteral catheters with close monitoring of urine sterility and serum magnesium. The stones were dissolved totally in 3 of 4 patients. There were no serious complications encountered during the irrigations and the only failure was in a patient with a single ureteral catheter. Serum magnesium levels were elevated mildly in 2 patients, both of whom experienced concomitant nausea and this was relieved by discontinuing the irrigations. Hemiacidrin irrigation into collecting systems that contain interposed bowel appears to be a safe and effective form of therapy for stones.
The Drosophila zeste protein binds cooperatively to sites in many gene regulatory regions: implications for transvection and gene regulation

The Drosophila zeste protein binds in vitro to several sites in the white, Ultrabithorax, decapentaplegic, Antennapedia, and engrailed genes and to at least one site in the zeste gene itself. The distribution of these sites corresponds often with that of regulatory elements in these genes as defined by mutations or, in the case of white, by molecular analysis. A zeste binding site is frequently found in the immediate vicinity of the promoter. zeste binding sites are composed of two or more zeste recognition sequences T/CGAGT/CG. Isolated consensus sequences do not bind or footprint. Cooperative interactions are involved both in binding to a given site and between proteins bound at independent sites. zeste bound to one DNA molecule can in fact bind simultaneously to another DNA molecule. These results suggest a general role for zeste in bringing together distant regulatory elements controlling the activity of a target gene. In this model, transvection effects are a by-product of normal intragenic zeste action.
A competency model for Culinology(RTM) graduates: Evaluation of the Research Chefs Association's Bachelor of Science in Culinology(RTM) core competencies

Culinology® is the blending of culinary arts and food technology (RCA, 2012). As of 2012, there are 13 RCA-approved Culinology® degree programs, but there has been no research conducted on the effectiveness of the Culinology® competencies in preparing graduates for employment in the food product development industry. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the RCA’s Bachelor of Science in Culinology® core competencies prepared graduates for successful employment in the food product development industry. A sequential explanatory design was used for this research. In the first stage, a survey was used to measure the graduates’ and employers’ perceptions of the importance and frequency of use for each competency. In the second stage, interviews with purposefully selected graduates and employers were conducted to gain more insight on the results of the first stage. The results indicated that a gap existed between what the employers and graduates perceived as the most important competency, and graduates are not fully prepared for employment in the food product development industry. Employers rated the Culinary Arts competency much higher than the graduates. The primary reason is that graduates are hired for their culinary arts competence, but are often placed in positions that did not utilize those culinary skills due to the hierarchy of the company’s product development team, the graduate’s educational and prior work experience, and the perceptions of the graduates regarding the Culinology® degree. There is also ambiguity regarding the Culinology® graduate’s skillset by the industry; the existence of two seemingly separate set of competencies required by the industry (practicing culinologist
Alternative Materials and Transduction Methods

Piezoresistive silicon sensors are widely used but they face competition in every sensor application from alternative materials and transduction techniques. New materials allow piezoresistive sensors to operate in places where they otherwise could not, while alternative transduction methods provide different tradeoffs in sensor performance, power dissipation and size. In this chapter we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of the most common alternatives to silicon piezoresistors.
DNA Base Excision Repair: A Recipe for Survival

Base excision repair (BER) is an evolutionarily conserved process for maintaining genomic integrity by eliminating several dozen altered (oxidized, deaminated or alkylated) or inappropriate bases that could be mutagenic. These base lesions are generated endogenously or induced by various genotoxicants, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS) or alkylating agents. BER involves 4 or 5 steps starting with excision of the lesion base by distinct DNA glycosylases and then a common pathway to repair the resulting abasic (AP) site or its cleavage products. The same process is also used for repair of single-strand breaks generated directly by ROS and radiation. This pathway is usually initiated by an AP-endonuclease (APE) that generates a 3' OH terminus at the damage site, followed by repair synthesis with a DNA polymerase and finally nick sealing by a DNA ligase. Multiple DNA glycosylases, far fewer than the substrate lesions, have usually broad and overlapping substrate range, and could serve as back-up enzymes of one another in vivo. Mammalian cells, surprisingly, encode only one major APE, APE1, unlike two APEs in lower organisms. In spite of the overall similarity, BER in the mammals is more complex than in E. coli. The mammalian glycosylases form complexes with downstream proteins to carry out efficient repair via distinct subpathways one of which, responsible for repair of strand breaks with 3' phosphate termini generated either by the endonuclease VIII like (NEIL) family glycosylases or directly by ROS, requires the phosphatase activity of polynucleotide kinase (PNK) instead of APE1. Different complexes may utilize distinct DNA polymerases and ligases. Mammalian glycosylases have invariably nonconserved extensions at one of the termini, that are involved in modulating their activity, and also in providing the interaction interface for complex formation with other BER and non-BER proteins and in organelle targeting. Polymorphisms in NEILs and 8-oxoguanine-DNA glycosylase (OGG1) have been linked to various cancers, whereas reduced activities of N-methylpurine-DNA glycosylase (MPG) and thymine-DNA glycosylase (TDG) have been linked to adenocarcinoma type of lung cancer. Mutation in MutY homolog (MYH) also has been linked to colorectal cancer of polyposis type. Thus, BER plays an essential role in maintaining genome integrity, disease prevention and survival.
Discriminative training of compound-word based multinomial classifiers for speech routing.

We describe a method for utterance classification for speech routing based on a discriminative training multinomial topic classifier. We propose the utilization of the n-norm a posteriori topic probability of the speech hypothesis as the objective function of a discriminative training step, and explore various ways to compute and maximize this function with respect to model parameters. To avoid obtaining negative probability estimates, we propose an alternative representation of the model parameterization. We utilize our approach in combination with a simple non-discriminative word detection algorithm based on Mutual Information and with a technique to identify the most salient phrases of the domain in order to alleviate the feature sparsity problem. We also explore the post-processing of classification results to further improve the classification performance via a decision tree model and a neural network. Overall, our discriminative trained multinomial system reduces the classification error rate up to 45% in an NLU task of financial transactions comparative to our baseline nondiscriminative multinomial system.
“Not even blood mixture could make them unworthy”: political loyalty and tribute in Bourbon New Spain

This article examines the shifting meanings of calidad and political loyalty as they applied to tributary status in Bourbon New Spain. While tribute had long remained a symbol of the relationship b...
Extracellular vesicles isolated from human mesenchymal stem cells promote resolution of pulmonary fibrosis

The recent discovery of therapeutic applications of extracellular vesicles (EVs) released from human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) has generated interest in their mechanisms of targeting and actio...
Looking Fast and Slow: Memory-Guided Mobile Video Object Detection.

With a single eye fixation lasting a fraction of a second, the human visual system is capable of forming a rich representation of a complex environment, reaching a holistic understanding which facilitates object recognition and detection. This phenomenon is known as recognizing the "gist" of the scene and is accomplished by relying on relevant prior knowledge. This paper addresses the analogous question of whether using memory in computer vision systems can not only improve the accuracy of object detection in video streams, but also reduce the computation time. By interleaving conventional feature extractors with extremely lightweight ones which only need to recognize the gist of the scene, we show that minimal computation is required to produce accurate detections when temporal memory is present. In addition, we show that the memory contains enough information for deploying reinforcement learning algorithms to learn an adaptive inference policy. Our model achieves state-of-the-art performance among mobile methods on the Imagenet VID 2015 dataset, while running at speeds of up to 70+ FPS on a Pixel 3 phone.
A Comparison of the Physical Home Food Environments Among Healthy Weight, Overweight, Obese, and Post-Bariatric Surgery Mothers Using an Open Home Food Inventory (P04-152-19)

The primary aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine if the physical home food environment (availability of foods and beverages in the home) differed by maternal weight status using an open home food inventory. Each weight status group (normal weight, overweight, obese, post-bariatric surgery) included eight mothers for a total of 32 mothers (41.5 ± 5.7 years old, 65.6% white) with a child 6–12 years old (9.2 ± 2.3 years old, 65.6% white). An open home food inventory was conducted by research personnel to record all food and beverage items in each home food environment. The item name/brand, size, and quantity was recorded. For each household, all items were entered into Nutrition Data Systems for Research (NDS-R) to determine total energy (kcals) and servings of fruits, vegetables, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), and snacks available in the home. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographic characteristics between groups. A one-way ANOVA was used to analyze differences between groups for the following dependent variables: calories, servings of fruits, servings of vegetables, servings of snacks, and servings of SSBs. If there were significant differences post-hoc analyses were conducted. Households had an average of 4.5 ± 1.4 members, and the majority (40.6%) reported an annual income of $100,000 or more. There was a significant difference for SSBs (F (3,28) = 4.06; P = 0.016) in the home food environment with mothers in the post-bariatric group having significantly fewer servings of SSBs available in the home compared to mothers in the obese group (post-bariatric: 35.3 ± 37.3 servings; obese: 158.5 ± 105.7 servings; P = 0.013). Total energy (P = 0.27), servings of fruit (P = 0.11), servings of vegetables (0.17), and servings of snacks (P = 0.42) did not significantly differ between households. Given the recommendation to eliminate SSBs following bariatric surgery these data support that this change is being made within the home food environment of mothers who received bariatric surgery as compared to mothers with obesity. Limited differences between physical home food environments may warrant consideration of additional environmental and behavioral factors associated with weight outcomes. S. Robson start-up funds (University of Delaware); I. Kahete was supported by The Delaware INBRE program.
A 0.0023 mm $^2$ /ch. Delta-Encoded, Time-Division Multiplexed Mixed-Signal ECoG Recording Architecture With Stimulus Artifact Suppression

This article demonstrates a scalable, time-division multiplexed biopotential recording front-end capable of real-time differential- and common-mode artifact suppression. A delta-encoded recording architecture exploits the power spectral density (PSD) characteristics of Electrocorticography (ECoG) recordings, combining an 8-bit ADC, and an 8-bit DAC to achieve 14 bits of dynamic range. The flexibility of the digital feedback architecture is leveraged to time-division multiplex 64 differential input channels onto a shared mixed-signal front-end, reducing channel area by 2x compared to the state-of-the-art. The feedback DAC used for delta-encoding also serves to cancel differential artifacts with an off-chip adaptive loop. Analysis of this architecture and measured silicon performance of a 65 nm CMOS test-chip implementation, both on the bench and in-vivo, are included with this paper.
Ringer's Lactate Prevents Early Organ Failure by Providing Extracellular Calcium.

Objective: Ringer’s lactate may improve early systemic inflammation during critical illnesses like severe acute pancreatitis, which are associated with hypocalcemia. Ringer’s lactate is buffered and contains lactate and calcium. We, thus analyzed extracellular calcium or lactate’s effects on the mechanisms, intermediary markers, and organ failure in models mimicking human disease with nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) elevation. Methods: Meta-analyses and experimental studies were performed. Experimentally, extracellular calcium and lactate were compared in their interaction with linoleic acid (LA; a NEFA increased in human severe pancreatitis), and its subsequent effects on mitochondrial depolarization and cytosolic calcium signaling resulting in cell injury. In vivo, the effect of LA was studied on organ failure, along with the effect of calcium or lactate (pH 7.4) on severe acute pancreatitis-associated organ failure. A meta-analysis of human randomized control trials comparing Ringer’s lactate to normal saline was done, focusing on necrosis and organ failure. Results: Calcium reacted ionically with LA and reduced lipotoxic necrosis. In vivo, LA induced organ failure and hypocalcemia. During severe pancreatitis, calcium supplementation in saline pH 7.4, unlike lactate, prevented hypocalcemia, increased NEFA saponification, reduced circulating NEFA and C-reactive protein, reduced pancreatic necrosis adjacent to fat necrosis, and normalized shock (carotid pulse distension) and blood urea nitrogen elevation on day 1. This, however, did not prevent the later increase in serum NEFA which caused delayed organ failure. Meta-analysis showed Ringer’s lactate reduced necrosis, but not organ failure, compared with normal saline. Conclusion: Hypocalcemia occurs due to excess NEFA binding calcium during a critical illness. Ringer’s lactate’s early benefits in systemic inflammation are by the calcium it provides reacting ionically with NEFA. This, however, does not prevent later organ failure from sustained NEFA generation. Future studies comparing calcium supplemented saline resuscitation to Ringer’s lactate may provide insights to this pathophysiology.
Paper Or IDE?: The Impact of Exam Format on Student Performance in a CS1 Course

Exams are an integral assessment component in CS1 courses. However, little research exists concerning the impact of the exam format on student performance. To address this deficit, we conducted a year-long study to investigate student performance across two test formats, paper and IDE, with the goal of identifying any differences attributable to the format. Data was collected from the second and third exams over the course of two semesters, with five sections per semester. Each exam, whether paper or IDE, was constructed from a common list of concepts to ensure comparability across formats and sections. To assess the impact of exam format, we considered three points of concern. The first factor, grade received, provides a direct indication of student performance. Next, we examined the type of error committed by students (either syntax or logic) to determine influence of exam format (e.g., Does an IDE reduce the occurrence of syntax errors?). Finally, we considered exam completion rates to address concerns such as if the additional feedback might be overwhelming students in an already stressful environment (exam-taking) leading to lower completion rates.
Early estimates of COVID-19 infections in small, medium and large population clusters

Abstract Since its emergence in December 2019, COVID-19 has rapidly developed into a pandemic with many countries declaring emergency conditions to contain its spread. The impact of the disease, while has been relatively low in the Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) so far, is expected to be devastating given the less developed and fragmented health care system in the continent. In addition, most emergency measures such as border closings, cancellations of inbound flights, social distancing, and promotion of hand hygiene may not be as effective due to the clustered way people live in large as well as smaller population centers. As SSA waits for the start of large epidemics as seem in other regions, there exist acute need for estimates of the potential impacts of the disease once it gets strong hold in the region. To address this need, we developed a mathematical model with key parameters obtained from recent studies, to estimate the number of infections with in the first 90 days of the transmission under 54 scenarios of population sizes, initial number of cases, and coverage of contact tracing and isolation. Our results show that if implemented early, 80% contact tracing may “flattens the curve” of local epidemics, brings the pandemic to a manageable level for all population sizes we assessed. In countries with limited workforce, hospital resources and ICU care, a robust contact tracing program could yield in outcomes that prevent several millions of infections and thousands of deaths across the continent.
187 ‘The toll that it’s taken:’ perspectives of black men recovering from traumatic injury in Philadelphia

Statement of Purpose For the majority of individuals who will survive trauma, healing and restoration is often a long-term process shaped by everyday socio-ecological exposures. The purpose of this analysis was to describe how Black men in Philadelphia perceived the long-term sequalae of their injuries and the influence of environmental and structural factors on recovery. Methods 26 individuals, 12–36 months after injury, were re-recruited from a concluded cohort study which followed over 600 seriously injured Black men from admission to a trauma center in Philadelphia to three months after hospitalization. This sub-sample was generally representative of larger cohort by age, mechanism of injury, insurance status, income, and education. Focus group and individual qualitative interviews elicited perceptions of: long-term symptoms attributed to injury, influences on recovery, outstanding needs for support, and opportunities to extend current health and social resources. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, organized in NVIVO, and analyzed using inductive-deductive thematic analysis. Results Four overarching themes emerged. The first, ‘you used to run’ includes subthemes signifying the persistence of psychological distress, chronic pain, increased substance use, changes in sleep, and social isolation 12–36 months after injury. The second, ‘where it happened,’ describes the impact of neighborhood recovery environments on traumatic stress, gun carrying, outdoor activity, and proximity to social networks. The third, ‘in a hole,’ refers to post-injury changes in workforce participation, financial stability, and barriers to healthcare access. The fourth, ‘should be somebody’s job to help’ included perceived needs for services that address workforce re-entry, psychological stress, healthcare access and peer group interaction. Conclusions The perceptions of Black men in Philadelphia on their long-term recovery illustrates individual, environmental, and structural factors that can be targeted for tertiary prevention. Contributions to Injury and Violence Prevention Science Qualitative evaluation of the effects of trauma can be used to identify pathways through which to diminish outcome disparities and their origins in the socio-ecological context of recovery.
Chapter 11 – Lymphoid Lesions

A number of benign and malignant lymphoid disorders can affect the lung. Distinguishing benign from malignant disorders can be challenging both clinically and pathologically.
The rapamycin analog Everolimus reversibly impairs male germ cell differentiation and fertility in the mouse

Sirolimus, also known as rapamycin, and its closely related rapamycin analog (rapalog) Everolimus inhibit "mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1" (mTORC1), whose activity is required for spermatogenesis. Everolimus is Food and Drug Administration approved for treating human patients to slow growth of aggressive cancers and preventing organ transplant rejection. Here, we test the hypothesis that rapalog inhibition of mTORC1 activity has a negative, but reversible, impact upon spermatogenesis. Juvenile (P20) or adult (P>60) mice received daily injections of sirolimus or Everolimus for 30 days, and tissues were examined at completion of treatment or following a recovery period. Rapalog treatments reduced body and testis weights, testis weight/body weight ratios, cauda epididymal sperm counts, and seminal vesicle weights in animals of both ages. Following rapalog treatment, numbers of differentiating spermatogonia were reduced, with concomitant increases in the ratio of undifferentiated spermatogonia to total number of remaining germ cells. To determine if even low doses of Everolimus can inhibit spermatogenesis, an additional group of adult mice received a dose of Everolimus ∼6-fold lower than a human clinical dose used to treat cancer. In these animals, only testis weights, testis weight/body weight ratios, and tubule diameters were reduced. Return to control values following a recovery period was variable for each of the measured parameters and was duration and dose dependent. Together, these data indicate rapalogs exerted a dose-dependent restriction on overall growth of juvenile and adult mice and negative impact upon spermatogenesis that were largely reversed; following treatment cessation, males from all treatment groups were able to sire offspring.
ANTHROPOS AND THE MATERIAL: Edited by Penny Harvey, Christian Krohn-Hansen, and Knut G. Nustad. 272 pp.; ills.; bibliog.; index. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 2019. $26.95 (paper), isbn 9781478002864.

Anthropos and the Material is a timely volume that uses ethnography to interrogate our understanding of the human (anthropos), the material, human-material interactions, and their implications for ...
Research Methods for Studying Workplace Ostracism

This chapter provides an overview of research methods to study workplace ostracism. It begins with a content analysis of 95 published workplace ostracism studies showing that the most often used designs are longitudinal/time-lagged (44%), cross-sectional (27%), and multiple data source (26%). Ostracism is most often measured with survey methods using the Workplace Ostracism Scale. The discussion continues with research design issues in the study of potential antecedents and consequences of workplace ostracism. The manipulationist view of causality from philosophy of science is directly relevant as it identifies potential causal processes that underlie the effects of an X variable on a Y variable. The distinguishing feature is the focus on an intervention, whether created or observed by the researcher, that is used to manipulate X in hopes of affecting Y. Three conditions are necessary to infer causality: That change in X is only due to the intervention, the intervention acts through X and not directly on Y, and there are no other causes of Y that are related to the intervention. Various designs are discussed including cross-sectional, longitudinal, and multi-source, as well as designs that directly address the study of process, specifically, intervention studies, retrospective event histories, and qualitative studies.
Faith and Doubt at the Cry of Dereliction: a Defense of Doxasticism

Doxasticism is the view that propositional faith that p entails belief that p. This view has recently come under fire within analytic philosophy of religion. One common objection is that faith is compatible with doubt in a way that belief is not. One version of this objection, recently employed by Beth Rath (International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 81, 161–169, 2017), is to use a particular story, in this case Jesus Christ’s cry of dereliction, to argue that someone had propositional faith while ceasing to believe. Thus, doxasticism is false. Rath’s approach of analyzing a case from scripture has the advantage of allowing her to provide evidence for the claim that a subject had propositional faith but lost belief. However, I argue that Rath faces a dilemma: on the interpretation of the passage necessary for her argument, either Christ did lose his propositional faith that God was with him, or else he did not lose his belief that God was with him. Either way, she must reject a key premise in her argument.
In patients having transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, rifaximin prevented overt hepatic encephalopathy.

SOURCE CITATION Bureau C, Thabut D, Jezequel C, et al. The use of rifaximin in the prevention of overt hepatic encephalopathy after transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Intern Med. 2021;174:633-40. 33524293.
Geochemical fractionation of radiocesium in coral atoll soil

This study investigates the fractionation of 137Cs across the geological phases of coral soils using a sequential extraction scheme. For three of the four soil samples analyzed, the largest fraction of radiocesium (70–80%) was associated with the final fraction or “acid-soluble” phase of soil, which would typically include clays and other refractory minerals that are difficult to destroy. This is common behavior for radiocesium due to its strong affinity for clays, but surprising here because these primarily calcium carbonate soils contain very minimal amounts of such minerals.
Story of f: the driving force on a phase boundary

This article describes the central role played by the “driving force” in the theory of two-phase thermoelastic materials. It demonstrates how this quantity arises in a number of different contexts: energy minimization, internal-variable modeling, characterizing dissipation, a measure of entropy production and the change in Gibbs free-energy.
ATMOSPHERIC TELECONNECTIONS AND CITRUS FREEZES IN THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES

The relationship between tropospheric teleconnections and Florida citrus freezes is examined using 70 kPa heights and sea-level pressure data from 1949 to 1987. Rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) is used in determining the main patterns of five-day averaged pressure and height variability. The mean RPCA scores are obtained during five-day periods when polar high pressure cells migrate toward the southern United States. Three upper air teleconnections, including the Pacific/North American pattern, and one sea-level pressure pattern have significantly large mean scores when they are averaged over the time periods when cold outbreaks and citrus freezes occur in the South. Plots of the tracks of all strong anticyclones that move southward over North America during the extreme phases of the teleconnections provide further indication that the highs moving in conjunction with the pronounced ridge/trough configuration of the Pacific/North American pattern are especially likely to reach the southern Unite...
Clinical utility of whole body scan in addition to cardiac FDG PET in the evaluation of active cardiac sarcoidosis

1852 Objectives Investigate the role of whole body scan (WBS) in addition to cardiac FDG PET/CT during the evaluation of patients for active cardiac sarcoidosis (ACS). Methods Retrospective analysis of 60 individuals undergoing WBS and cardiac FDG PET/CT during the same imaging session for evaluation for ACS. Patients were instructed to have a low carbohydrate high-lipid diet for 24 hrs and fast 12 hours prior to imaging in order to minimize myocardial glucose utilization. On the study date individuals first underwent a resting myocardial perfusion study with Rb-82 or N-13 ammonia. Then a FDG dedicated cardiac scan (Field of view 15 cm) was performed followed by WBS (base of the skull to mid-thighs) PET/CT. ACS was defined as focally increased FDG uptake in the left ventricle except for the lateral wall. Extra cardiac sarcoid involvement was considered likely if SUV max in a given lesion was greater than SUV average in the liver. Results A total of 21 subjects had evidence of ACS, 34 were considered as no-ACS, and 5 had equivocal results and were not included in subsequent analysis. Age (47±10 vs. 50±12 yrs, P 0.4), LV ejection fraction (44±14 vs. 44±15%, P =0.97), history of biopsy-proven systemic sarcoidosis (94 vs. 89%, P=0.6) and immunosuppressant therapy at the time of study (52 vs. 53%, P=0.97) were not significantly different between individuals with and without ACS. However, presence of abnormal extra-cardiac FDG activity in the WBS was significantly higher in the ACS (n=19, 90.5%) than non-ACS (n=22, 65%, P 0.03). In fact, only 2 subjects showed absence of abnormal extracardiac FDG activity in the ACS group. Importantly, in a sub analysis of patients off immunosuppressant therapy at the time of study (n=26), all ACS patients (n=10) showed abnormal extracardiac FDG uptake in WBS vs. 50 % (n=8) in the non-ACS group (p=0.007). Conclusions Abnormal extracardiac FDG activity in WBS suggestive of active systemic sarcoidosis may support the diagnosis of active myocardial involvement especially in the absence of concomitant immunosuppressant therapy
Yes, Elective Single-Embryo Transfer Should Be the Standard of Care

Despite early warnings of assisted reproductive technology (ART) pioneers about the risks of multiple births, the desire to improve effectiveness of ART procedures led to the widespread practice of multiple-embryo transfer. Adverse consequences for both the pregnant mothers and their children followed suit. Recognizing the risk of multiple births, the field is gradually moving toward elective single-embryo transfer (eSET) as the standard of care in good-prognosis patients. Overwhelming evidence from observational studies and randomized control trials supports the view that reliance on eSET versus on double-embryo transfer in appropriate groups of patients reduces perinatal morbidity and mortality, improves the likelihood of a healthy singleton infant, and reduces healthcare costs. Effective strategies for overcoming the barriers toward widespread implementation of eSET include the provision of expanded insurance coverage for infertility therapy coupled with limits on the number of embryos to transfer, as well as ongoing patient education on the benefits of eSET and risks associated with multiple births. From clinical, economical, and public health perspectives, transferring one embryo at a time in the context of good-prognosis infertility patients will lead to the most desirable outcome of ART – a healthy singleton infant.