cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
39 Predicting the initial response to joint mobilisation in individuals with chronic ankle instability: a pilot study

Background Joint mobilisation (JM) has demonstrated the ability to improve mechanical, neurophysiological, and self-reported function in people with chronic ankle instability (CAI). Objective To identify the predictors of an initial positive response to JM in individuals with CAI. Design Case series. Setting Laboratory. Participants Twelve adults (6 females; age = 27.4 ± 4.3 years; height = 175.4 ± 9.7 cm; body mass = 78.4 ± 11.0 kg) with self-reported CAI participated. Subjects reported ≥1 ankle sprain, ≥2 episodes of ankle “giving way” in the past three months, and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure-Sport (FAAM-Sport) scores ≤80%. Interventions The JM intervention entailed 6 treatments over 2 weeks consisting of 2, 2-minute sets of Maitland grade-II talocrural traction and 4, 2-minute sets of Maitland grade-III anterior-to-posterior talocrural JM. Main outcome measurements Subjects were grouped as responders or non-responders based on changes in perceived overall function (normal, nearly normal, abnormal, severely abnormal) one week following the intervention. Data collected prior to the intervention (FAAM-ADL, FAAM-Sport, previous sprains, episodes of instability, activity level, dorsiflexion, anterior/posterior talar glide, dynamic balance, failed balance trials) were compared between groups using independent t-tests. Variables with a p-value ≤ 0.20 were entered into stepwise logistic regression. Individual variables retained in the regression model were examined for discriminative capabilities and cut-off scores using receiver operating characteristic curves. Results Six subjects were deemed responders and demonstrated lower pre-intervention FAAM-ADL scores and greater normalised anterior reach on the Star Excursion Balance Test (anterior-SEBT) compared to non-responders (p ≤ 0.14). Logistic regression determined the combination of FAAM-ADL and anterior-SEBT scores correctly classified 75% of cases. A Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated the model fit the data (p = 0.35). Cut-off scores for the FAAM-ADL and anterior-SEBT were 77.4% (sensitivity = 0.83, specificity = 0.83) and 73.5% (sensitivity = 0.83, specificity = 0.83), respectively. Conclusions Responders exhibited lower FAAM-ADL and greater anterior-SEBT scores compared to non-responders. Dorsiflexion range of motion and talar glide were not predictive of overall JM treatment outcomes despite being common impairments for prescribing this intervention.
Intersections between music education and music therapy: Education reform, arts education, exceptionality, and policy at the local level

ABSTRACTIn this article, a music teacher educator and a music therapy clinician and educator discuss special education policy and arts instruction at the district level. To illustrate the gulf between federal and local policies with regard to exceptional learners and arts instruction, we examine the intersections of music therapy and music education with regard to self-contained classes of students with moderate to severe disabilities. Our discussion focuses on provision of services and opportunity to learn, and results in specific policy suggestions, including: (a) increasing administrators' understanding of music therapy, adaptive music education, and music education, so that decisions regarding arts instruction can be better-informed and more child-centered, (b) treating music therapists as allied health professionals who do not need to be certified teachers to practice in schools, and (c) improving initial music teacher preparation and providing opportunities for professional development to increase a...
The impact of language barriers and immigration status on the care experience for Spanish-speaking caregivers of patients with pediatric cancer

Background An increasing proportion of pediatric cancer patients in the United States are Latino and many have Spanish-speaking immigrant parents with limited English proficiency (LEP). Little is known about how language or undocumented immigration status impacts their care experience. Procedure A cross-sectional survey was administered to English (N = 310) and Spanish-speaking LEP (N = 56) caregivers of pediatric cancer patients. To assess differences in healthcare experiences between the language groups, t-tests and chi-square statistics were used. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated associations between primary language and knowledge of clinical trial status. Results Spanish-speaking caregivers were more likely to report higher rates of quitting or changing jobs as a direct result of their child's cancer, and their children were more likely to experience a delay in education. Although Spanish-speaking caregivers reported higher satisfaction with care, 32% reported feeling that their child would have received better care if English was their primary language. Spanish-speaking caregivers were more likely to incorrectly identify whether their child was on a clinical trial compared with English-speaking caregivers. The majority of Spanish-speaking caregivers reported at least one undocumented caregiver in the household and 11% of them avoided or delayed medical care for their child due to concerns over their undocumented immigration status. Conclusions Language barriers and undocumented immigration status may negatively impact the quality of informed decision-making and the care experience for Spanish-speaking LEP caregivers of pediatric cancer patients. These families may benefit from culturally appropriate Spanish language resources to improve communication and open a dialogue regarding undocumented immigration status.
Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis–related Interstitial Lung Disease: A Review of Existing and Emerging Therapies

Although interstitial lung disease accounts for the majority of deaths of patients with systemic sclerosis, treatment options for this manifestation of the disease are limited. Few high-quality, randomized, controlled trials exist for systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease, and historically, studies have favored the use of cyclophosphamide. However, the benefit of cyclophosphamide for this disease is tempered by its complex adverse event profile. More recent studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of mycophenolate for systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease, including Scleroderma Lung Study II. This review highlights the findings of this study, which was the first randomized controlled trial to compare cyclophosphamide with mycophenolate for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease. The results reported in this trial suggest that there is no difference in treatment efficacy between mycophenolate and cyclophosphamide; however, mycophenolate appears to be safer and more tolerable than cyclophosphamide. In light of the ongoing advances in our understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis, this review also summarizes novel treatment approaches, presenting clinical and preclinical evidence for rituximab, tocilizumab, pirfenidone, and nintedanib, as well as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and lung transplantation. This review further explores how reaching a consensus on appropriate study end points, as well as trial enrichment criteria, is central to improving our ability to judiciously evaluate the safety and efficacy of emerging experimental therapies for systemic sclerosis-related interstitial lung disease.
Drug-free macromolecular therapeutics: Impact of structure on induction of apoptosis in Raji B cells

Recently, we developed a new paradigm in macromolecular therapeutics that avoids the use of low molecular weight drugs. The activity of the "drug-free macromolecular therapeutics" is based on the biorecognition of complementary motifs at cell surface resulting in receptor crosslinking and apoptosis induction. The system is composed of two nanoconjugates: (1) a single-stranded morpholino oligonucleotide (MORF1) attached to an anti-CD20 Fab' fragment (Fab'-MORF1); (2) multiple copies of complementary oligonucleotide MORF2 grafted to a linear polymer of N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) - P-(MORF2)x. The two conjugates crosslink CD20 antigens via MORF1-MORF2 hybridization at the surface of CD20+ malignant B-cells and induce apoptosis. Preclinical studies in a murine model of human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma showed cancer cells eradication and long-term survivors. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the detailed structure of the nanoconjugates and apoptosis induction in Raji cells to allow system optimization. The factors studied include the length of the MORF sequence, the valence of P-(MORF2)x (varying x), molecular weight of P-(MORF2)x, incorporation of a miniPEG spacer between Fab' and MORF1 and between polymer backbone and pendant MORF2, and comparison of two Fab' fragments, one from 1F5 antibody (Fab'1F5), the other from Rituximab (Fab'RTX). The results of apoptosis induction in human Burkitt's B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) Raji cells as determined using three apoptotic assays (Annexin V, Caspase 3, and TUNEL) indicated that: a) An improvement of apoptotic activity was observed for a 28 base pair MORF sequence when compared to MORFs composed of 20 and 25 base pairs. The differences depended on type of assay, concentration and exposure schedule (consecutive vs. premixed). b) The higher the valence of P-(MORF2)x the higher the levels of apoptosis. c) Higher molecular weight of P-(MORF2)x induced higher levels of apoptosis. d) A miniPEG8 spacer was effective in enhancing apoptotic levels in contrast to a miniPEG2 spacer. e) There was not a statistically significant difference when comparing Fab'1F5-MORF1 with Fab'RTX-MORF1.
Bidirectional Transfer of α-Aminoisobutyric Acid by the Perfused Human Placental Lobule

The role of the placenta in regulating the transport of amino acids to the conceptus is well established (reviewed by Miller et al., 1976; Young, 1981). There are two proposed mechanisms for the movement of amino acids across the placenta: active transport and passive diffusion.
Abstract 251: Development of a Transgenic Goat Model with Cardiac-Specific Overexpression of Transforming Growth Factor-β1 to Study the Relationship Between Atrial Fibrosis and Atrial Fibrillation

Studies on patients, large animal models and transgenic mouse models have shown a strong association of atrial fibrosis with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is unclear whether there is a causal relationship between atrial fibrosis and AF or whether these events appear as a result of independent pathological changes in the heart. We are testing the hypothesis that goats that overexpress TGF-β1 (transforming growth factor beta1) specifically in cardiac myocytes will develop atrial fibrosis that in turn will lead to AF. Many aspects of AF-related remodeling have been studied comprehensively in goat models. However, these AF models are typically mechanically induced (eg, the rapid atrial pacing model). This unique transgenic goat model has the potential to offer insights into the role of fibrosis in AF initiation and progression without the confounding effects of mechanical AF induction. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT or cloning) was used to produce TGF-β1 transgenic pregnancies. First, pcDNA3.1DV5-MHC-TGF-β1cys33ser vector was constructed by subcloning the MHC-TGF-β1 fragment from the plasmid pUC-BM20-MHC-TGF-β1 into the pcDNA3.1D V5 vector. The NeonTM transfection system was used to electroporate primary goat fetal fibroblasts. After two weeks of G418 selection, the resulting G418 resistant colonies were screened by PCR to confirm transgene integration into goat genomic DNA. PCR positive cells were used for SCNT. Cloned embryos (n=264) were cultured for 12-60 h in vitro and then transferred into synchronized recipient females (n=15). Confirmation of pregnancy was done by ultrasonography on day 30 post-transfer. At the time of this abstract submission, 40% (6/15) of recipients were confirmed to be pregnant as determined by the presence of a heartbeat. The range for the stage of gestation is between day-60 and day-120. The first delivery date is April 28, 2012. Several reports documented no pregnancy losses after 30 days of gestation in goats. Therefore, we expect that most if not all of these pregnancies will result in delivery of live offspring. To our knowledge, this will be the first transgenic goat model generated for cardiovascular research.
Effects of low concentrations of erythromycin, penicillin, and virginiamycin on bacterial resistance development in vitro

Distillers grains are co-products of the corn ethanol industry widely used in animal feed. We examined the effects of erythromycin, penicillin, and virginiamycin at low concentrations reflective of those detected in distillers grains on bacterial resistance selection. At 0.1 µg/ml erythromycin, macrolide-resistant mutants were induced in one Campylobacter coli and one Enterococcus faecium strain, while these strains plus three additional C. coli, one additional E. faecium, and one C. jejuni also developed resistance when exposed to 0.25 µg/ml erythromycin. At 0.5 µg/ml erythromycin, a total of eight strains (four Campylobacter and four Enterococcus) obtained macrolide-resistant mutants, including two strains from each genus that were not selected at lower erythromycin concentrations. For penicillin, three of five E. faecium strains but none of five Enterococcus faecalis strains consistently developed resistance at all three selection concentrations. Virginiamycin at two M1:S1 ratios did not induce resistance development in four out of five E. faecium strains; however, increased resistance was observed in the fifth one under 0.25 and 0.5 µg/ml virginiamycin selections. Although not yet tested in vivo, these findings suggest a potential risk of stimulating bacterial resistance development in the animal gut when distillers grains containing certain antibiotic residues are used in animal feed.
Guidelines for Becoming a Teacher Leader in Rural Special Education.

Special education teachers have a unique set of skills and opportunities to become leaders in the field of education. Some rural special education teachers, however, may not see themselves as poten...
"Writing and Re-Writing the Discipline": Introduction to the Theme and Two Selections

(2003). 'Writing and Re-Writing the Discipline': Introduction to the Theme and Two Selections. Administrative Theory & Praxis: Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 3-8.
Optimal sizing and dispatch for a community-scale potable water recycling facility

Abstract This study explores economic and environmental impacts of a community-scale potable water recycling facility (WRF) by developing an optimal capacity and dispatch model, formulated as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) that minimizes utility service costs, operating costs, and annualized capital costs where water recycling is augmented by service from central utilities. Model constraints govern operations of a sequencing batch reactor, reverse osmosis unit, and equalization equipment by enforcing flow balances. A solution method is also presented for a special case where water demand is constant, allowing WRF configurations to be screened for feasibility with minimal computational requirements. The generalized model is parameterized for a new residential community in Austin, TX to explore sensitivity to key parameters. Case study results indicate the WRF increases annualized costs by 15% relative to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario without water recycling. Utility service demands for water (−50%) and sewer (−74%) decrease in the case study, accompanied by significant increases to electricity consumption (+167%) and indirect carbon emissions (+163%). Parameter exploration identifies regions where the WRF could be cost-effective based on utility rates, water demand, and capital costs. In systems facing supply constraints, the WRF modeled herein is a feasible alternative for incrementally expanding water supplies.
Syndactyly: Apert Syndrome

Apert syndrome is a rare congenital disorder characterized by craniosynostosis, midface hypoplasia, and bilateral syndactyly of the hands and feet. Characteristic hand anomalies include a short thumb with radial clinodactyly; involvement of the first web space with varying degrees of syndactyly between the thumb and index finger; complex syndactyly between the index, long, and ring fingers typically at the level of the distal interphalangeal joints or beyond; and variable degrees of syndactyly between the ring and small fingers. Reconstruction of the hand involves a series of staged procedures that are performed with the goal of minimizing the number of procedures, maximizing the functional outcome of the hand, and providing a favorable cosmetic result. The techniques and preferences of several groups and their outcomes are reviewed in this chapter.
Engaging in the Publication Process Improves Perceptions of Scientific Communication, Critique, and Career Skills Among Graduate Students †

Reading and critiquing primary scientific literature is an important skill for graduate students, as reviewing literature is critical to advancing science. Prior research indicates that graduate students lack understanding of effective communication as well as basic experimental design, but also that graduate students are capable of growth in their experimental design abilities when given proper opportunities. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) provides graduate students with the opportunity to review and edit original research papers submitted by middle and high school student-authors. The purpose of this project was to determine whether participation in the primary literature process through JEI effectively aids in developing graduate students’ perceived abilities in the domains of communication, scientific critique, and career preparation. A 12-question survey was distributed using SurveyMonkey to 215 JEI reviewers and editors. Editors, whose role involves the synthesis of feedback from multiple reviewers and interaction with papers in their earliest stages, perceived that they benefited more than did reviewers in every domain assessed by the survey. Perceived impact on critiquing skills was only rated more highly by reviewers than by editors once the graduate students in question had reviewed 10 or more papers. The results of this research suggest that graduate students should participate early and often in the reading and reviewing of primary literature; furthermore, the study of flawed science writing can help to improve experimental design, critique, and science communication skills.
Differential formulation of the viscous history force on a particle for efficient and accurate computation

It is well known that the computation of the Basset-like history force is very demanding in terms of CPU and memory requirements, since it requires the evaluation of a history integral. We use the recent rational theory of Beylkin & Monzon (Appl. Comput. Harmon. Anal., vol. 19, 2005, pp. 17–48) to approximate the history kernel in the form of exponential sums to reformulate the viscous history force in a differential form. This theory allows us to approximate the history kernel in terms of exponential sums to any desired order of accuracy. This removes the need for long-time storage of the acceleration histories of the particle and the fluid. The proposed differential form approximation is applied to compute the history force on a spherical particle in a synthetic turbulent flow and a wall-bounded turbulent channel flow. Particles of various diameters are considered, and results obtained using the present technique are in reasonable agreement with those achieved using the full history integral.
Getting off the Cartesian Clothesline

Most attempts to examine the relation between networks and events begin with what we should question—that it invariably helps us to imagine that our units fall neatly into “events” that occupy dist...
Pheromone-Baited Traps and Trap Trees in the Integrated Management of Bark Beetles in Urban Areas

Dutch elm disease (DED) has decimated elm populations in eastern North America and threatens to destroy remaining concentrations of elms in Canada and central, southern and western United States. Elm preservation is possible with existing technology, but costs have limited the application of sustained and intensive elm care programs.
Hedging price risk to soybean producers with futures and options: a case study

Soybean producers have faced considerable price risk in recent years. The large variations in soybean prices have been increasingly noticeable in the last 15 years or so as compared with the 1950s and 1960s. Harvest cash returns have been highly volatile and frequently low. Soybean producers have available a number of marketing alternatives which they can use to help reduce price risks for their product. These alternatives include futures as well as options markets for soybeans. However, less than ten percent of U.S. major-crop farmers currently employ futures and/or options contracts in the marketing of their products. This situation stems mainly from lack of enough information currently available on how the use of these contracts affects the prices received by farmers for their products. Relatively little research has been done thus far on marketing strategies for major-crop farmers. The purpose of this study is to partially remedy this situation;Forty-two marketing strategies involving cash sales, futures market contracts, and options market contracts for soybean farmers in Northcentral Iowa were simulated over the period of 1975 through 1985. Because soybean option contracts were not traded in the U.S. before November 1984, options premiums were estimated for the 1975-84 period with a modified version of the Cox, Ross, and Rubinstein (1979) model. An attractive feature of this model is that it takes into account the effects of government price supports on options prices. The results of mean-variance and mean-semi-variance analysis (both in current and constant dollars) indicated that most of the pre-harvest routine hedging strategies, routine at-the-money puts purchasing strategies, and post-harvest selective hedging strategies based on cost of production increased the average net returns and reduced the variability of returns relative to the cash only strategy. However, post-harvest put option purchasing strategies and routine storage strategies did not perform well in comparison with the cash market.
Make Money, Not War: A Brief Critique of Sun Tzu's The Art of War

Sun Tzu's text of The Art of War remains a bestsellingand oft-referenced practioner's book. However, its generalizabilityto the current business environment is questionable. This reviewexamines two central tenets of the book – warfare anddeception – and critiques their relevance in lightof current business practice.
Parallel Computing from Fermion Systems to Hydrodynamics: Water as an Example

With the use of attached parallel processors as described by Clementi in this conference, we have carried out a program where starting from the Schrodinger equation, we can obtain useful information for quite complicated real macroscopic systems. As an example, we have employed configuration interaction method to calculate the potential function for the water-water interaction, which was then used in Monte Carlo and molecular dynamics simulations to study static and dynamic properties of liquid water. Various hydrodynamic constants, such as viscosity, thermal conductivity, and sound speed were obtained from Green-Kubo relations and the density and current correlations of the simulated water. Effects due to many-body interactions and intramolecular vibrations are reported. Correlation functions resulting from solving the fluctuating hydrodynamic equations for a dilute gas subjected to a temperature gradient are also presented.
Structural Analysis of the Effects of Wing Payload Pods on Small UAS

A detailed modal analysis of the effects of wing pods on the structural dynamic behavior of a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is presented. Full structural analyses in both loaded and unloaded configurations are compared to identify how wing pods change the potential flight characteristics. The airframe, the BTE Super Hauler, is a small UAV used by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Engineering (UASE) Laboratory at the University of North Dakota as a test platform for flight testing multiple payloads. An antenna payload was developed that required wing pods to be added to the current airframe. Experimental analyses were performed on the aircraft with and without the pods and the results were compared to assess flight worthiness and the effect the pods have on the aircraft and payloads. The response due to an impulse excitation of the aircraft was measured using accelerometers strategically placed on the aircraft using contemporary sensor placement methods. The output data was then used to determine the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the aircraft.
Use of expert knowledge for decision tree pruning

Decision tree technology has been proven to be a valuable way of capturing human decision making within a computer. One main problem for many traditional decision tree pruning methods is that it is always assumed that all misclassifications are equally probable and equally serious. However, in a real-world classification problem, there may be a cost associated with misclassifying examples from each class. Cost-sensitive classification allows one to assign different costs to different types of misclassifications. But few studies deal with how to decide misclassification cost. In this paper, we introduce a cost-sensitive decision tree pruning algorithm CC4.5 which is based on the C4.5 algorithm (Quinlan 1993) and uses expert knowledge to define misclassification costs. This paper is outlined as follows: Section 2 illustrates three different cost-sensitive pruning methods implemented in CC4.5. In section 3, we describe how we use expert knowledge to define the misclassification costs. The evaluation of CC4.5 is done via a comparative analysis between these three pruning methods in CC4.5 and C4.5 as described in section 4.
Scanning methods and language modeling for binary switch typing

We present preliminary experiments of a binary-switch, static-grid typing interface making use of varying language model contributions. Our motivation is to quantify the degree to which language models can make the simplest scanning interfaces -- such as showing one symbol at a time rather than a scanning a grid -- competitive in terms of typing speed. We present a grid scanning method making use of optimal Huffman binary codes, and demonstrate the impact of higher order language models on its performance. We also investigate the scanning methods of highlighting just one cell in a grid at any given time or showing one symbol at a time without a grid, and show that they yield commensurate performance when using higher order n-gram models, mainly due to lower error rate and a lower rate of missed targets.
The star family member QKI and cell signaling.

The family of Signal Transduction and Activators of RNA (STAR) is named based on the intriguing potential for these proteins to connect cell signaling directly to the homeostasis of their mRNA ligands. Besides the commonly shared single RNA binding domain that displays heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K homology (KH), STAR proteins also harbor domains predicted to bind critical components in signal transduction pathways, in particular the Src-family protein tyrosine kinases (Src-PTK s). Indeed, accumulating evidence in recent years has demonstrated that the RNA-binding activity and the homeostasis of downstream mRNA targets of STAR proteins can be regulated by phosphorylation in response to various extracellular signals. This chapter provides a short review of the STAR member QKI, focusing on the essential role of QKI in development of the central nervous system, possible mechanisms by which QKI may link cell signaling to the cellular behavior of its mRNA targets and how QKI dysregulation may contribute to human diseases.
Soft Tissue, Nerves, and Muscle

Soft tissue resections are often complex specimens containing soft tissues, skin, and sometimes even bone. The general approach to these specimens is a simple one, and it parallels that outlined for complex head and neck specimens in Chapter 6. First, identify the various components of the specimen (soft tissue, bone, and skin). Second, think of each component as a geometric shape. Third, approach each component separately. Fourth, look for relationships between any lesions and each component.
The effect of disbudding age on healing and pain sensitivity in dairy calves.

ABSTRACT Hot-iron disbudding, a husbandry procedure performed in dairy calves in which horn bud growth is prevented through tissue cauterization, produces severe burns. Little is known about how long pain persists following disbudding or factors, such as age at the time of disbudding, that may influence animal welfare outcomes. Our objectives were (1) to evaluate whether disbudding age mediates healing, pain sensitivity, and weight gain in calves disbudded near birth (3 d) compared with at a later age (35 d); and (2) to examine how long wounds are sensitive during healing. Forty-eight calves were disbudded or sham-disbudded at 3 or 35 d of age (n = 12/treatment). We assessed pain sensitivity with a pressure algometer on d 3 and 7 after disbudding and then weekly thereafter until the wound had re-epithelialized. Sensitivity was measured at the lateral and caudal edges of each wound, as well as on the rump to test for systemic changes in sensory function. We evaluated healing by scoring the presence of 7 tissue types in the wound bed: attached necrotic tissue, detached necrotic tissue, burns outside the necrotic ring, exudate, granulation, crust, and epithelium. Tissue scores, surface temperature, and girth circumference as an estimate of weight gain were measured twice weekly until the wound had re-epithelialized. Disbudded tissue was more sensitive than nondisbudded tissue for at least 3 wk, after which time the sham calves were removed from the study to be disbudded. Wounds took 62 ± 10 d (mean ± SD) to re-epithelialize and were more painful than new epithelium throughout this time, regardless of whether the procedure occurred at 3 or 35 d of age. The surface temperature of disbudding wounds did not differ from that of non-disbudded tissue nor did disbudding affect weight gain at either age. Age at the time of disbudding did not affect latency to re-epithelialize or wound sensitivity. However, rump sensitivity was greater in calves disbudded at 3 versus 35 d of age on d 28, 42, and 56 after disbudding, in agreement with other studies showing increased pain sensitivity when painful procedures are performed at an early age. In conclusion, wounds remain painful throughout healing, raising animal welfare concerns about hot-iron disbudding. Performing the procedure near birth does not improve welfare outcomes; rather, some evidence suggests it may produce a generalized long-term increase in pain sensitivity.
Performance evaluation of raspberry Pi platform for bioimpedance analysis using least squares optimization

One method for analyzing bioimpedance measurements collected from a tissue applies equivalent electrical circuits to represent the data. This typically requires curve-fitting or optimization procedures to determine the circuit parameters of the selected equivalent circuit model that best fit the collected data. This work describes the performance (in terms of accuracy and execution time) of a nonlinear least squares optimization implementation using SciPy on a Raspberry Pi (RPi) for the analysis of simulated bioimpedance measurements, compared to MATLAB implementations of the same method. The SciPy/RPi implementation yielded similar accuracy to the MATLAB counterparts though the execution time ranged from 1.4 × to 2.1 × longer than the MATLAB environments and 10× greater than the same Python implementation running on a desktop or laptop environment. The performance of this optimization implementation on the RPi does support its suitability for further bioimpedance applications and its further use for applications requiring postprocessing in addition to data collection from connected sensors.
Perceived Benefits of a Peer Mentoring Program for First-Year Medical Students.

AbstractProblem: Peer mentoring has long been accepted as beneficial in a multitude of fields, but there has been limited description or study of the way these types of relationships may benefit me...
Performance-based design optimization of uncertain wind excited systems under system-level loss constraints

Abstract The aim of this paper is to define an efficient optimization methodology for the identification of minimum cost wind excited structural systems that satisfy system-level targets on the annual exceedance rate of expected losses. The main challenge to this vision is the need to integrate optimization models for solving design problems involving hundreds of free parameters with performance assessment models that require stochastic simulation over high-dimensional uncertain spaces. To overcome this challenge, a framework is proposed in this work that is based on decoupling the performance assessment model from the optimization problem. This is accomplished through the definition of a high-quality approximate optimization sub-problem that is scalable to high-dimensional design and uncertain spaces. By solving a limited series of these sub-problems, each formulated in the solution of the previous, a sequential optimization strategy is defined for identifying solutions to the original stochastic optimization problem. The efficiency of the method lies in the limited computational effort required to solve each sub-problem. To demonstrate the applicability and the scalability of the proposed framework, two examples are presented that involve the optimal design of the structural system of buildings subject to stochastic wind excitation and system-level constraints on the annual exceedance rate of expected losses.
Rationale and design of the regimen education and messaging in diabetes (REMinD) trial.

Abstract Background Individuals with type 2 diabetes manage complex multi-drug regimens, but nearly half of all patients do not consistently take the dose prescribed for them, and therefore may not receive the full potential therapeutic benefit. Both patient and health system factors contribute to achieving and maintaining medication adherence. To determine if patients with type 2 diabetes who are concurrently managing other chronic conditions could improve their adherence, we devised and are testing a multifaceted, primary care-based strategy to provide health literacy-appropriate and language concordant regimen information, guidance and reminders. Objective We are testing the effectiveness of an electronic health record (EHR) based strategy and short message service (SMS) text reminders to help patients with type 2 diabetes adhere to their medications. Methods We are conducting a 3-arm, multi-site trial to test and compare the effectiveness of the EHR, and EHR + SMS text reminder strategies compared to usual care on medication adherence. Our goal is to enroll a total of 900 English or Spanish-speaking patients with type 2 diabetes and hemoglobin A1C value ≥7.5%. Enrolled participants will complete interviews at baseline and 3 and 6 months following their baseline interview. Conclusions Our trial is evaluating practical, clinic-based, scalable, evidence-based solutions for patients with type 2 diabetes managing complex medication regimens. Our findings will evaluate strategies that can be implemented broadly in primary care practices, and programmed as defaults within EHRs to support appropriate medication adherence to allow the widespread implementation of those strategies.
An investigation into the current practices of formal and informal teacher technologists on the use of computers in the classroom in an urban academy school and a private academy school

The purpose of this study was to explore the practices of formal and informal teacher technologists in two school settings: an elite private, high school academy and an urban poor, middle school academy. This investigation included clarifying the role of the formal and informal teacher technologist and investigating the need for both formal and informal teacher technologists. This study also explored the technological differences between the public academy middle school and the private academy high school. Two formal and eight informal teacher technologists were interviewed face-to-face three times, each using the transcendental phenomenology research design. Each teacher technologist was also observed at least once in classroom and teacher training sessions. The results of this study revealed (1) the role of the teacher technologist was a fast technology problem solver; and (2) although students and teachers used technology, the schools lagged in adequate technology and/or teacher training; (3) the teacher technologists used the Internet to build and evaluate curriculum; (4) most students used tool software centered around project-based activities; (5) teacher technologists trained other teachers to be collaborative risk-takers in using technology; (6) teacher technologists shared what they learn with students and other teachers; and (7) students could be student-learners or student-teachers and teachers could be teacher-learners. Four conclusions were reached: technology and constructivist teaching are compatible; technology is a tool; new approaches to professional development are needed; and hardware and software should be standardized for maximum use. Additionally, both schools in this study were evolving the role of the formal teacher technologist. It was recommended that (1) the schools employ at least one fulltime formal teacher technologist whose main role is to assist teachers in technology classroom incorporation, (2) the schools form teams of informal teacher technologists, (3) and the public middle school academy purchase one laptop for each student to use anytime, anywhere.
Developmental changes in the utilization of citrulline by neonatal pigs

Developmental changes in the renal expression and activity of argininosuccinate synthase (ASS1) and argininosuccinate lyase (ASL), enzymes that use citrulline for the production of arginine, have b...
Diagnostic efficacy and molecular testing by combined fine-needle aspiration and core needle biopsy in patients with a lung nodule.

Background Combined image-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNA) and core needle biopsy (CNB) has become the standard of care for diagnosis and/or molecular testing for patients with a solitary lung nodule at our institution. Our purpose was to evaluate the efficacy of this practice. Methods We identified patients who underwent combined lung FNA/CNB during 2012 at our institution. A total of 667 patients who underwent 682 combined lung FNA/CNB procedures were included in the study, including 355 men and 312 women. Combined lung FNA/CNB procedures were performed by a radiologist. The adequacy of FNA specimens was assessed immediately by a cytopathologist. The FNA and CNB specimens were interpreted separately by a cytopathologist and a surgical pathologist, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy of the combined technique was determined. Results The rate of diagnostic consistency between FNA and CNB was 83.4%, and the rate of diagnostic accuracy for malignancy was 98.5% for combined FNA/CNB. Combined FNA/CNB showed a high diagnostic efficacy for malignancy (sensitivity, 97.6%; specificity, 100%). Combined FNA/CNB had a lower false-negative rate for malignancy (2.2%) than either FNA (7.2%) or CNB (6.2%) alone. FNA contributed to 10.3% of molecular analyses as a complementary tissue source. Conclusions Combined lung FNA/CNB has high diagnostic efficacy for malignancy and a lower false-negative rate than either procedure alone. FNA was a valuable complement to CNB for molecular testing, potentially reducing patient inconvenience and morbidity associated with repeated lung needle biopsy.
Regulation of uterine genes during the peri-implantation period, and its relationship to the maternal brain in gestating mice.

We conducted an integrated analysis of gene expression and chromatin structure of mouse uterus to understand the regulation of uterine-expressed genes on gestation day 4 (GD4) during the peri-implantation period. The genes expressed in the uterus showed a significant association (p < .0001) with the presence of the nucleosome-free region (open chromatin) in the 5'-untranslated region of the genes. The majority of these upstream open chromatins harbored a common class of regulatory elements known as upstream open reading frames. We also compared the gene expression profiles between the uterus and brain which showed that specific gene pairs were expressed in a correlated manner, either positively or negatively. In addition, specific ligand/receptor genes showed coordinated patterns of expression between the uterus and brain on GD4, and the level of expression of these ligand/receptors altered significantly in the brain during late pregnancy (GD15) compared with the peri-implantation period (GD4). Collectively, these results suggest that regulation of the uterine genes during the peri-implantation period is likely to have a functional link with the maternal brain in pregnant mice.
Hylobates lar (White-handed gibbon)

Karyotypes were prepared from lymphocytes grown with 2 x PHA of animals at San Diego Zoo. The karyotype of the male is prepared with the ASG technique which allows unequivocal identification of all autosomes. A uniform band nomenclature has not been accepted. The last autosome has a pronounced secondary constriction.
Chapter 7 – Seizure of Digital Information

Publisher Summary This chapter aims to serve to create discussion between the disparate communities on the appropriateness of both the familiar and innovative methods to seize digital evidence. It guides the reader through a number of topics relating to both the existing method of digital seizure and the innovative options available for on-scene responders. The chapter begins with examining some of the framework surrounding the legal view of evidence, and then addresses how the current digital evidence seizure methodology evolved. Afterward the chapter takes a look at each of the seizure steps individually. The chapter is not intended to be a step-by-step guide for digital evidence seizure, but many of the current best practices are examined, and some common pitfalls are discussed. Following the discussion of the current method of seizure, the chapter also explores some of the reasons why the wholesale seizure of hardware on-scene may become problematic in the future. The chapter discusses a number of options available for seizure of information, including the on-scene preview of information, the seizure of data held in the computer's RAM, on-scene imaging of entire hard drives, and the on-scene imaging of specific data objects.
Screening for Bacteremia in Trauma Patients: Traditional Markers Fall Short.

BackgroundDeranged physiology in trauma complicates the clinical identification of sepsis, resulting in overscreening for bacteremia. No clinical signs or biomarkers accurately diagnose sepsis in t...
Inquiring tweets want to know: #Edchat supports for #RemoteTeaching during COVID-19

Social media use has spiked around the world during the COVID-19 global pandemic as people reach out for news, information, social connections, and support in their daily lives. Past work on professional learning networks (PLNs) has shown that teachers also use social media to find supports for their teaching and ongoing professional development. This paper offers quantitative analysis of over a half million Twitter #Edchat tweets as well as qualitative content analysis of teachers' question tweets (n = 1054) and teacher interviews (n = 4). These data and analyses provide evidence of the kinds of supports that teachers in the United States and Canada sought on social media during the rapid transition to emergency remote teaching in Spring 2020 and how these supports informed teaching practices. These results provide insights into PLN theory and teachers' social media use during times of disruption and crisis.
Interventions to Decrease Unplanned Healthcare Utilization and Improve Quality of Care in Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review.

Background & Aims Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care and outcomes exhibit substantial variability, suggesting quality gaps. We aimed to identify interventions to narrow these gaps. Methods We performed a systematic review of Medline, Embase, and Web of Science through May 2021 to find manuscripts and abstracts reporting quality improvement (QI) interventions in IBD. We included studies with interventions that addressed acute care utilization, vaccination, or Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation quality indicators for care processes, including pre-therapy testing, tobacco cessation, colorectal cancer surveillance, Clostridium difficile infection screening in flares, sigmoidoscopy in patients hospitalized with ulcerative colitis, and use of steroid-sparing therapy. The primary objective was to identify successful QI interventions. Risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist. Results Twenty-three manuscripts and 23 meeting abstracts met inclusion criteria. Influenza and pneumococcal vaccination were the most studied indicators (24 references), followed by emergency room and/or hospital utilization, tobacco cessation, and pre-therapy testing (17, 11, and 10 references, respectively). Electronic medical record-based interventions were the most frequent, whereas other initiatives used strategies that included changes to care structure or delivery, vaccination protocols, or physician and patient education. Successful interventions matched the complexity of the metric to the intervention including making changes to care structure or delivery, empowered non-physician staff, and used electronic medical record changes to prompt clinicians. Conclusions The quality of IBD care can be improved with diverse interventions that range from simple to complex. However, these interventions are not universally successful. Clinicians should emulate successful interventions and design new initiatives to narrow gaps in care quality.
Symmetry at the 4-Cell Stage Is Associated with Embryo Aneuploidy.

The purpose of this study was to determine if morphometric parameters that can be measured quantitatively using a time-lapse embryo incubator are associated with aneuploidy. Embryos cultured in a time-lapse incubator and assessed with preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) were analyzed retrospectively. Morphokinetic analysis included timing of cell divisions. Quantitative morphometric measurements included the distance between the second and first polar body, zona pellucida thickness at the pronuclear stage and at the 2-cell stage, and blastomere area at the 2- and 4-cell stages. Symmetry at the 2-cell stage was determined by percent difference between blastomeres; symmetry at the 4-cell stage was the percent difference between the smallest and largest blastomeres. Maternal age, blastocyst grade and day of biopsy were recorded. Euploid embryo characteristics were compared to aneuploid embryos. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate cell symmetry as a predictor of aneuploidy. Embryos (n = 182) from 21 patients (age 22–43; median = 34) were analyzed. Of the 182 embryos, 45% were euploid. Euploid and aneuploid embryos had similar morphokinetics and morphometry across many measures. As expected, age and blastocyst grade were associated with embryo ploidy. It was notable that, additionally, symmetry at the 4-cell stage (27% vs 31%, p = 0.01) was also associated with embryo ploidy. The optimized cutoff from the ROC curve to predict aneuploidy was determined to be 21%. Embryos with > 21% asymmetry at the 4-cell stage had high rates of aneuploidy while morphokinetic parameters were similar. In conclusion, this suggests that embryo selection models using time-lapse parameters would improve if they incorporate cleavage-stage morphometrics.