cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Correlated inter‐regional variations in low frequency local field potentials and resting state BOLD signals within S1 cortex of monkeys

The hypothesis that specific frequency components of the spontaneous local field potentials (LFPs) underlie low frequency fluctuations of resting state fMRI (rsfMRI) signals was tested. The previous analyses of rsfMRI signals revealed differential inter-regional correlations among areas 3a, 3b, and 1 of primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in anesthetized monkeys (Wang et al. [2013]: Neuron 78:1116-1126). Here LFP band(s) which correlated between S1 regions, and how these inter-regional correlation differences covaried with rsfMRI signals were examined. LFP signals were filtered into seven bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma low, gamma high, and gamma very high), and then a Hilbert transformation was applied to obtain measures of instantaneous amplitudes and temporal lags between regions of interest (ROI) digit-digit pairs (areas 3b-area 1, area 3a-area 1, area 3a-area 3b) and digit-face pairs (area 3b-face, area 1-face, and area 3a-face). It was found that variations in the inter-regional correlation strengths between digit-digit and digit-face pairs in the delta (1-4 Hz), alpha (9-14 Hz), beta (15-30 Hz), and gamma (31-50 Hz) bands parallel those of rsfMRI signals to varying degrees. Temporal lags between digit-digit area pairs varied across LFP bands, with area 3a mostly leading areas 1/2 and 3b. In summary, the data demonstrates that the low and middle frequency range (1-50 Hz) of spontaneous LFP signals similarly covary with the low frequency fluctuations of rsfMRI signals within local circuits of S1, supporting a neuronal electrophysiological basis of rsfMRI signals. Inter-areal LFP temporal lag differences provided novel insights into the directionality of information flow among S1 areas at rest. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2755-2766, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Palliative care most effective when invisible.

Zimmerman has effectively shown that the stigma around the word “palliative” is the main barrier to access for patients who could benefit from palliative care.[1][1] In a related commentary, Caprio considers that renaming it “supportive care” might help.[2][2] My experience as a family
A modern memory management system for OpenMP

Modern computers with multi-/many-core processors and accelerators feature a sophisticated and deep memory hierarchy, potentially including distinct main memory, high-bandwidth memory, texture memory and scratchpad memory. The performance characteristics of these memories are varied, and studies have demonstrated the importance of using them effectively.In this paper, we propose an extension of the OpenMP API to address the needs of programmers to efficiently optimize their applications to use new memory technologies in a platform-agnostic and portable fashion. Our proposal separately exposes the characteristics of memory resources (such as kind) and the characteristics of allocations (such as alignment), and is fully compatible with existing OpenMP constructs.
Rest-Stress Limb Perfusion Imaging in Humans with Contrast Ultrasound Using Intermediate-Power Imaging and Microbubbles Resistant to Inertial Cavitation

Background Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEU) limb perfusion imaging is a promising approach for evaluating peripheral artery disease (PAD). However, low signal enhancement in skeletal muscle has necessitated high-power intermittent imaging algorithms, which are not clinically feasible. We hypothesized that CEU using a combination of intermediate power and a contrast agent resistant to inertial cavitation would allow real-time limb stress perfusion imaging. Methods In normal volunteers, CEU of the calf skeletal muscle was performed on separate days with Sonazoid, Optison, or Definity. Progressive reduction in the ultrasound pulsing interval was used to assess the balance between signal enhancement and agent destruction at escalating mechanical indices (MI, 0.1–0.4). Real-time perfusion imaging at MI 0.1–0.4 using postdestructive replenishment kinetics was performed at rest and during 25 W plantar flexion contractile exercise. Results For Optison, limb perfusion imaging was unreliable at rest due to very low signal enhancement generated at all MIs and was possible during exercise-induced hyperemia only at MI 0.1 due to agent destruction at higher MIs. For Definity, signal intensity progressively increased with MI but was offset by microbubble destruction, which resulted in modest signal enhancement during CEU perfusion imaging and distortion of replenishment curves at MI ≥ 0.2. For Sonazoid, there strong signal enhancement at MI ≥ 0.2, with little destruction detected only at MI 0.4. Accordingly, high signal intensity and nondistorted perfusion imaging was possible at MI 0.2–0.3 and detected an 8.0- ± 5.7-fold flow reserve. Conclusions Rest-stress limb perfusion imaging in humans with real-time CEU, which requires only seconds to perform, is possible using microbubbles with viscoelastic properties that produce strong nonlinear signal generation without destruction at intermediate acoustic pressures.
When Nursing Assertion Stops: A Qualitative Study to Examine the Cultural Barriers Involved in Escalation of Care in a Pediatric Hospital

Pediatric codes outside the ICU are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. This qualitative research highlights results from confidential interviews with 10 pediatric nurses with experience of caring for children who required rapid response, code response, or transfer to intensive care. Detailed examination of nurses' experiences revealed local factors that facilitate and inhibit timely transfer of critical patients. Nurses identified themes including the impact of nurse assertiveness, providers' lack of understanding of nursing, team communication, and other hospital cultural barriers.
Simulation of genetic systems : XI. Normalizing selection.

The effects of intense normalizing selection have been studied, using computer simulation, for models of 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12 and 24 loci. The effectiveness of such selection in reducing heterozygosity decreases with increase of the number of loci to a limit that is only slightly greater than that consequent from random genetic dispersion, if the loci are freely recombining. Tight linkage markedly reduces the rate of loss of heterozygosity for small numbers of loci, but this effect of tight linkage decreases with increase of the number of loci.
Performance on a Clinical Quadriceps Activation Battery Is Related to a Laboratory Measure of Activation and Recovery After Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract Objective To determine the relation between performance on a clinical quadriceps activation battery with (1) activation measured by doublet interpolation and (2) recovery of quadriceps strength and functional performance after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Design Planned secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Setting University research laboratory. Participants Patients (N=162; mean age, 63±7y; 89 women) undergoing TKA. Main Outcome Measures Patients were classified as high (quadriceps activation battery ≥4/6) or low (quadriceps activation battery ≤3/6) based on performance on the quadriceps activation battery measured 4 days after TKA. Differences between groups in activation and recovery at 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12 months after TKA were compared using a repeated-measures maximum likelihood model. Results The low quadriceps activation battery group demonstrated poorer quadriceps activation via doublet interpolation ( P =.01), greater quadriceps strength loss ( P =.01), and greater functional performance decline (all P P >.05). Conclusions Poor performance on the quadriceps activation battery early after TKA is related to poor quadriceps activation and poor recovery in the early postoperative period. Patients in the low quadriceps activation battery group took 3 months to recover to the same level as the high quadriceps activation battery group. The quadriceps activation battery may be useful in identifying individuals who need specific interventions to target activation deficits or different care pathways in the early postoperative period to speed recovery after TKA.
A Therapeutically Relevant Difference in Leukemia and Normal Stem Cell Self Renewal

Abnormal self-renewal and differentiation are defining features of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Using models of hematopoiesis, we show that persistent self-renewal that ignores differentiation signals can be produced through two distinct pathways. One pathway prevents repression of stem cell genes, producing daughter cells that resemble parental stem cells despite differentiation inducing lineage-specifying factor or cytokines. Runx1 deficiency, a frequent abnormality in AML, demonstrates the second pathway, which allows cytokine/lineage-specifying factor mediated repression of stem cell genes but impairs subsequent activation of differentiation genes that terminate transit-amplification, producing self-renewal in daughter cells that do not resemble the parental stem cell. Use of this pathway by AML cells has therapeutic relevance: cell-fate regulation by the chromatin-modifying protein DNMT1 is differentiation-phase dependent. In the post lineage-commitment differentiation-phase at which AML cell self-renewal occurs, DNMT1 has an opposite role than in normal stem cells. Consequently, DNMT1 depletion, using a clinically applicable method, terminates AML cell self-renewal but increases normal stem cell self-renewal.
Models of Renovascular Disease

Renal artery stenosis, often associated with multiple atherosclerotic risk factors, is a common cause of secondary hypertension, exacerbates cardiovascular disease, and leads to chronic renal failure. Therefore, it is critically important to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for disease progression and develop effective therapeutic strategies to treat these patients. Animal models have been extensively used as an experimental platform to mimic many features of human renovascular disease, and provide valuable information to probe its pathophysiology and downstream kidney injury. This chapter summarizes different methods used to develop and evaluate animal models of renovascular disease, often applying the Goldblatt two-kidney one-clip hypertension (2K1C) model in murine to large animal models, such as swine and canine. Finally, this chapter will examine different methods to monitor pathophysiological changes in renovascular hypertensive animal models and the use of therapeutic interventions, such as renal revascularization.
Use fewer instances of the letter i: toward writing style anonymization

This paper presents Anonymouth, a novel framework for anonymizing writing style. Without accounting for style, anonymous authors risk identification. This framework is necessary to provide a tool for testing the consistency of anonymized writing style and a mechanism for adaptive attacks against stylometry techniques. Our framework defines the steps necessary to anonymize documents and implements them. A key contribution of this work is this framework, including novel methods for identifying which features of documents need to change and how they must be changed to accomplish document anonymization. In our experiment, 80% of the user study participants were able to anonymize their documents in terms of a fixed corpus and limited feature set used. However, modifying pre-written documents were found to be difficult and the anonymization did not hold up to more extensive feature sets. It is important to note that Anonymouth is only the first step toward a tool to acheive stylometric anonymity with respect to state-of-the-art authorship attribution techniques. The topic needs further exploration in order to accomplish significant anonymity.
From the 2014 World Cup to the 2016 Summer Olympics: Brazil's Role in the Global Anti-Corruption Movement

Brazil has the rare fortune of hosting the world’s two highest-profile sporting events back-to-back: the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. So too does it find itself in the midst of an historic anti-corruption movement. As recent Olympics have reminded us, mega sporting events can gauge the host-country’s effectiveness in combating corruption. This paper, co-authored by a professor and eight students, uses the window between the World Cup and Olympics to reflect on Brazil’s successes to date and its remaining challenges. It briefly surveys recent allegations of corruption in international sports generally and the Olympics specifically, and discusses Brazil’s recent anti-corruption reforms. It concludes with a series of research questions that the authors will continue exploring in the months prior to the 2016 Games.
Terrestrial Behavior and Trackway Morphology of Neotropical Bats

Bats (Chiroptera) are unique among flying animals in being the only mammal capable of powered flight and the only extant group that is quadrupedal. Extant bats demonstrate varying levels of terrestrial competency, however, the terrestrial abilities of many groups are unknown. Here we examine the terrestrial ability and resultant traces produced by bats belonging to the families Phyllostomidae and Emballonuridae. Five different subfamilies of phyllostomids and the emballonurid Saccopteryx bilineata were video recorded and analyzed for their terrestrial locomotor behaviors over a sand medium, with resultant tracks and trackways cast and measured. Behaviors and traces were compared to morphological criteria previously hypothesized to constrain terrestrial abilities of bats. Type 1 species (presumed poor walkers) generally performed only a breaststrokelike crawl and nonambulatory searching behavior, whereas the terrestrially adept Type 3 Desmodus rotundus performed a diagonal sequence walk and bound. Behaviors and traces produced by the intermediate Type 2 S. bilineata were indistinguishable from those of the Type 1 bats. Results only partially support the hypothesized morphological basis for terrestrial ability in bats and indicate that ecological differences or as yet unrecognized morphological variations may be the cause of behavioral variations in bats of the same morphotype. This research fills gaps in our knowledge of the terrestrial behaviors of nondesmodontine phyllostomid bats, and is the first study to examine the terrestrial behaviors of any species of emballonurid. Results of this research can be used for comparison to potential bat traces recorded in the geologic record, allowing for a better understanding of bat evolution and dispersal patterns.
Monte Carlo Methods

Stochastic-simulation, or Monte-Carlo, methods are used extensively in the area of credit-risk modelling. This technique has, in fact, been employed inveterately in previous chapters. Care and caution are always advisable when employing a complex numerical technique. Prudence is particularly appropriate, in this context, because default is a rare event. Unlike the asset-pricing setting, where we typically simulate expectations in the central part of the distribution, credit risk operates in the tails. As a consequence, this chapter is dedicated to a closer examination of the intricacies of the Monte-Carlo method. Working from first principles, the importance of convergence analysis and confidence intervals is highlighted. The principal shortcoming of this method, its inherent slowness, is also explained and demonstrated. This naturally leads to a discussion of the set of variance-reduction techniques employed to enhance the speed of these estimators. The chapter concludes with the investigation and implementation of the Glasserman and Li (2005, Management Science, 51(11), 1643–1656.) importance-sampling method to the t-threshold model. This method, which employs the so-called Esscher transform, has close conceptual links to the saddlepoint technique introduced in the previous chapter.
ПРИМЕНЕНИЕ НАГРУЗОЧНЫХ ДОЗ СТАТИНОВ ДЛЯ ПРОФИЛАКТИКИ КОНТРАСТ-ИНДУЦИРОВАННОГО ПОВРЕЖДЕНИЯ ПОЧЕК У БОЛЬНЫХ ИШЕМИЧЕСКОЙ БОЛЕЗНЬЮ СЕРДЦА ПРИ ЭНДОВАСКУЛЯРНЫХ ВМЕШАТЕЛЬСТВАХ

Percutaneous coronary interventions have become a key method of revascularization in patients with coronary artery disease. Contrast-induced nephropathy is one of the main complications in patients who undergo coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention. Loading doses of statins are often used for the purpose of nephroprotection. However, a clear available algorithm for prescribing statins for the prevention of acute contrast-induced kidney injury has not been identified. The purpose : to evaluate the effectiveness of high loading doses of statins (atorvastatin and rosuvastatin) to prevent acute contrast-induced kidney injury in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease during planned endovascular treatment. Material and Methods . Patients with clinical manifestations of FC II and III angina pectoris and hemodynamically significant stenoses of the coronary arteries were referred for a planned endovascular myocardial revascularization. Two groups of patients were assigned based on the intake of synthetic statins: atorvastatin and rosuvastatin. Before the endovascular intervention, patients were administered with high loading doses of statins. All patients underwent general clinical examination, routine assessment of creatinine levels, other blood tests, assessment of glomerular filtration rate, and control of lipid profile of blood. Conclusion . The incidence rate of contrast-induced kidney injury in patients with coronary artery disease, administered with loading doses of rosuvastatin, in the course of planned percutaneous coronary intervention was lower compared with the loading therapy of atorvastatin: 3.33 and 12.12%, respectively. On average, an increase in creatinine concentration to the maximum level occurred more often in the group of patients administered with a loading dose of atorvastatin than in the other group administered with a loading dose of rosuvastatin (14.3 versus 8.1%, p=0.024). A decrease in renal function in terms of GFR of less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 on day 5 was observed in 12 patients (34.3%) in the first group versus 9 patients (27.3%) in the second group. Therapy with loading doses of rosuvastatin before endovascular myocardial revascularization was more effective than treatment of patients with atorvastatin.
Temperature and salinity effects on submerged aquatic vegetation traits and susceptibility to grazing

Abstract Submerged macrophyte vegetation provides valuable ecosystem services, but climate- and management-driven changes may alter plant traits in unexpected and interactive ways. Further, such changes in plant traits may influence herbivore response, with feedback to bed characteristics. We manipulated temperature (20, 25, 30 °C) and salinity (0, 6, 12) in mesocosms to simulate current and predicted scenarios for the San Francisco Bay area. We measured traits of Stuckenia pectinata (sago pondweed) and subsequent effects on invertebrate (amphipod, Ampithoe valida) grazing. Counter to predictions, higher temperatures tended to have positive effects on plant traits (leaf area, aboveground biomass, nitrogen [N], phosphorus [P], protein, and total phenolic content). Also, unexpectedly, the highest salinity treatment had few negative effects except when temperature was coolest; i.e., 20 °C and a salinity of 12 led to decreased carbon [C], N, P, protein, phenolic concentrations, and aboveground biomass. Conversely, the highest salinity (12) at the highest temperature (30 °C) produced the highest leaf N and P, and plants from this treatment suffered most from herbivory. Consumption rates significantly increased with lower leaf fiber and higher total leaf N and protein content; i.e., plants with more nutritious leaves and less structural defense were consumed most. Climate change is expected to increase both salinity and temperature, but manipulation of freshwater supply could lead to decreased salinity. The range of responses in S. pectinata traits and invertebrate grazing shown by our results imply that the specific combination and magnitude of human influences will differentially shape these submerged macrophyte beds and their functions.
Platelet-rich plasma protocols can potentiate vascular emboli: Contraindications to platelet-rich plasma

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a regenerative therapy strategy used to address surgical wounds, dermatological conditions, and musculoskeletal conditions, such as lateral epicondylosis. However, there exists significant uncertainty and speculation about antiplatelet agents' effects on PRP and optimal approaches to cessation of agents such as aspirin prior to PRP therapy. We present a rare case report that provides an example of temporary antiplatelet agent cessation complications in the context of a PRP therapy regimen for lateral epicondylosis, which was followed by microemboli to the brain. Given Class B evidence for PRP for lateral epicondylosis, we feel that this case of a nontraumatic brain injury sequelae can present more frequently given the increased popularity of this regenerative strategy, particularly if certain precautions are not evaluated.
Interventions to Increase Completion of Hepatitis B Vaccination in People who Inject Drugs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Increases in opioid misuse and injection drug use have resulted in a rise in acute cases of hepatitis B. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized studies to determine the effect (pooled odds ratio) of interventions to increase hepatitis B vaccination completion in people who inject drugs (PWID). Odds ratios from the included studies were combined to create a pooled odds ratio (OR) using the Inverse Heterogeneity Model. Eleven studies met the eligibility criterion of having a randomized intervention to increase hepatitis B virus vaccination completion among PWID. The odds of vaccine completion in the intervention group were greater than in the control/comparison group (pooled OR, 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07-5.99). Subgroup analysis indicated that financial incentives were most effective (OR, 7.01; 95% CI, 2.88-17.06), followed by accelerated vaccine schedules (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.14-3.14). Interventions using financial incentives and accelerated vaccine schedules are moderately effective at increasing hepatitis B vaccination completion in PWID.
Psychiatric Comorbidity as a Function of Severity: DSM‐5 Alcohol Use Disorder and HiTOP Classification of Mental Disorders

Background Understanding the comorbidity of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and other psychiatric diagnoses has been a long-standing interest of researchers and mental health professionals. Comorbidity is often examined via the diagnostic co-occurrence of discrete, categorical diagnoses, which is incongruent with increasingly supported dimensional approaches of psychiatric classification and diagnosis, and for AUD more specifically. The present study examined associations between DSM-5 AUD and psychiatric symptoms of other DSM-IV and DSM-5 disorders categorically, and dimensionally organized according to the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) spectra (e.g., Internalizing, Disinhibited Externalizing). Methods The comorbidity of AUD with other psychological disorders was examined in 2 independent nationally representative samples of past-year drinkers via an initial examination in the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) Wave 2 and replicated in NESARC-III. Results Analyses focusing on psychopathology symptom counts organized by spectra demonstrated that greater AUD severity was associated with a higher number of symptoms across HiTOP spectra. Traditional categorical analyses also demonstrated increasing prevalence as a monotonic function of DSM-5 AUD severity gradients. Conclusions This study indicates that AUD and other psychiatric disorder comorbidity implies increased presence of multiple forms of psychopathology with a corresponding increased number of symptoms across hierarchical spectra. Greater AUD severity increases the likelihood of other psychopathology and, when present, "more severe" presentations. That is, on average, a given disorder (e.g., depression) is more severe when copresenting with an AUD, and increases in severity along with the AUD.
Integrating public preferences into national reimbursement decisions: a descriptive comparison of approaches in Belgium and New Zealand

Public health care payer organizations face increasing pressures to make transparent and sustainable coverage decisions about ever more expensive prescription drugs, suggesting a need for public engagement in coverage decisions. However, little is known about countries’ approaches to integrating public preferences in existing funding decisions. The aim of this study was to describe how Belgium and New Zealand used deliberative processes to engage the public and to identify lessons learned from these countries’ approaches. To describe two countries’ deliberative processes, we first reviewed key country policy documents and then conducted semi-structured interviews with five leaders of the processes from Belgium and New Zealand. We assessed each country’s rationales for and approaches to engaging the public in pharmaceutical coverage decisions and identified lessons learned. We used qualitative content analysis of the interviews to describe key themes and subthemes. In both countries, the national public payer organization initiated and led the process of integrating public preferences into national coverage decision making. Reimbursement criteria considered outdated and changing societal expectations prompted the change. Both countries chose a deliberative process of public engagement with a multi-year commitment of many stakeholders to develop new reimbursement processes. Both countries’ new reimbursement processes put a stronger emphasis on quality of life, the separation of individual versus societal perspectives, and the importance of final reimbursement decisions being taken in context rather than based largely on cost-effectiveness thresholds. To face the growing financial pressure of sustainable funding of medicines, Belgium’s and New Zealand’s public payers have developed processes to engage the public in defining the reimbursement system’s priorities. Although these countries differ in context and geographic location, they came up with overlapping lessons learnt which include the need for 1) political commitment to initiate change, 2) broad involvement of all stakeholders, and 3) commitment of all to engage in a long-term process. To evaluate these changes, further research is required to understand how coverage decisions in systems with and without public engagement differ.
The Effect of Prestrain on Low Temperature Fatigue Induced Resistivity in Pure Aluminum

Residual resistivity increases are examined in pure aluminum work hardened at room temperature and then cyclically strained at 4.2 K. The metal studied has an annealed residual resistivity ratio (RRR = ρ 273K/ρ 4, 2k) of 1000, is swagged conventionally to area reductions of between S and 82%, and is taken through 3000 cycles of 0.1, 0.2 or 0.3% strain. Fatigue induced resistivity (Ap) is found to be dramatically reduced in prestrained metal when compared to the increase seen in annealed metal. Even though the initial residual resistivity of the work hardened aluminum is higher than that for the annealed case, the final resistivity after cycling is lower for the prestrained metal. The results of this study show that pres train may provide a way to avoid much of the serious resistivity increase in the stabilizer aluminum used in composite superconductors and cryoconductors subjected to cyclic strain during operation.
Chapter 3 – Superconducting State

Publisher Summary This chapter provides a short introduction to the nature of the superconducting state, with an emphasis on its two salient properties—namely, perfect diamagnetism and zero resistance. Type I and Type II superconductors are mentioned briefly at the end of the chapter. The chapter also discusses the critical magnetic field slope and the temperature dependencies of the superconducting state. Even though superconductors have, by nature, zero dc resistance, it is still of interest to see how close the superconductors come to zero. Ideally, an electric current established in a loop of superconducting wire will persist forever. When an external magnetic field penetrates a superconductor, it is accompanied by induced encircling shielding currents. Current impressed from outside into a superconductor is called transport current, and it induces an encircling magnetic field. There is no fundamental difference between shielding current and transport current. When an idealized Type I superconducting cylinder of radius much greater than the penetration depth is placed in an external field directed along its axis, demagnetizing or shielding current is induced to flow in circles around the outside regions of the cylinder.
Modification of a Superficial X-Ray Therapy Machine for Rectal Contact Therapy: Preliminary results

Abstract X-ray therapy of superficial rectal cancers using a hand-held 50 kV contact unit (Philips RT-50) in a technique first described by Papillon had reached a point of widening clinical acceptability when the manufacturer of this equipment discontinued its production. To pursue this endocavitary approach to rectal therapy, technical modifications have to be made to conventional superficial x-ray therapy machines. Advantages over the original Papillon method include remote viewing of the lesion through the proctoscopic cone and a lower radiation exposure for the operator. We have evaluated a Bucky Combination Therapy Unit under conditions in which the operating voltage (65 kV), target skin distance (23.6 cm), and added filtration (0.39 mm Al) were selected in order to match as closely as possible the beam penetration characteristics of the “standard” (Papillon) technique. With this equipment, the thermal characteristics of the tube anode and housing limit the amount of radiation that can be delivered before a “rest period” for the machine is needed. In practice, 3 minutes of irradiation at an exposure rate of 500 R/min can be performed followed by an interval of 3 minutes before irradiation can be resumed.
Single Cell Transcriptome Analysis of Niemann–Pick Disease, Type C1 Cerebella

Niemann-Pick disease, type C1 (NPC1) is a lysosomal disease characterized by endolysosomal storage of unesterified cholesterol and decreased cellular cholesterol bioavailability. A cardinal symptom of NPC1 is cerebellar ataxia due to Purkinje neuron loss. To gain an understanding of the cerebellar neuropathology we obtained single cell transcriptome data from control (Npc1+/+) and both three-week-old presymptomatic and seven-week-old symptomatic mutant (Npc1-/-) mice. In seven-week-old Npc1-/- mice, differential expression data was obtained for neuronal, glial, vascular, and myeloid cells. As anticipated, we observed microglial activation and increased expression of innate immunity genes. We also observed increased expression of innate immunity genes by other cerebellar cell types, including Purkinje neurons. Whereas neuroinflammation mediated by microglia may have both neuroprotective and neurotoxic components, the contribution of increased expression of these genes by non-immune cells to NPC1 pathology is not known. It is possible that dysregulated expression of innate immunity genes by non-immune cells is neurotoxic. We did not anticipate a general lack of transcriptomic changes in cells other than microglia from presymptomatic three-week-old Npc1-/- mice. This observation suggests that microglia activation precedes neuronal dysfunction. The data presented in this paper will be useful for generating testable hypotheses related to disease progression and Purkinje neurons loss as well as providing insight into potential novel therapeutic interventions.
Growth Dynamics and Antibiotic Elimination of Symbiotic Rickettsia buchneri in the Tick Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae).

ABSTRACT Rickettsia buchneri is the principal symbiotic bacterium of the medically significant tick Ixodes scapularis. This species has been detected primarily in the ovaries of adult female ticks and is vertically transmitted, but its tissue tropism in other life stages and function with regard to tick physiology is unknown. In order to determine the function of R. buchneri, it may be necessary to produce ticks free from this symbiont. We quantified the growth dynamics of R. buchneri naturally occurring in I. scapularis ticks throughout their life cycle and compared it with bacterial growth in ticks in which symbiont numbers were experimentally reduced or eliminated. To eliminate the bacteria, we exposed ticks to antibiotics through injection and artificial membrane feeding. Both injection and membrane feeding of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin were effective at eliminating R. buchneri from most offspring of exposed females. Because of its effectiveness and ease of use, we have determined that injection of ciprofloxacin into engorged female ticks is an efficient means of clearing R. buchneri from the majority of progeny. IMPORTANCE This paper describes the growth of symbiotic Rickettsia buchneri within Ixodes scapularis through the life cycle of the tick and provides methods to eliminate R. buchneri from I. scapularis ticks.
Inducing and controlling superconductivity in the Hubbard honeycomb model using an electromagnetic drive

The recent successful experimental observation of quantum anomalous Hall effect in graphene under laser irradiation demonstrates the feasibility of controlling single-particle band structure by lasers. Here we study superconductivity in a Hubbard honeycomb model in the presence of an electromagnetic drive. We start with Hubbard honeycomb model in the presence of an electromagnetic field drive, both circularly and linearly polarized light and map it onto a Floquet $t\ensuremath{-}J$ model. We explore conditions on the drive under which one can induce superconductivity (SC) in the system. We study the Floquet $t\ensuremath{-}J$ model within the mean-field theory in the singlet pairing channel and explore superconductivity for small doping in the system using the Bogoliubov--de Gennes approach. We uncover several superconducting phases, which break lattice or time-reversal symmetries in addition to the standard U(1) symmetry. We show that the unconventional chiral SC order parameter ($d\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}id$) can be driven to a nematic SC order parameter ($s+d$) in the presence of a circularly polarized light. The $d+id$ SC order parameter breaks time-reversal symmetry and is topologically nontrivial and supports chiral edge modes. We further show that the threefold nematic degeneracy can be lifted using linearly polarized light. Our work, therefore, provides a generic framework for inducing and controlling SC in the Hubbard honeycomb model, with possible application to graphene and other two-dimensional materials.
Discourse behavior of possessives reflects the importance of interpersonal relationships

Nominal possessive constructions (e.g. Sam's car ) present a challenge for theories of discourse since, unlike simpler nominal phrases (e.g. a car ), they explicitly refer to two entities, not just one. Research on the discourse prominence of these two referents has been limited in scope and produced contradictory findings. We use a sentence continuation experiment to investigate the prominence of possessions as a function of their animacy. We find that possessed animates (e.g. her butler ) are especially prominent. Their privileged status in discourse may relate to non-linguistic theories on the importance of interpersonal relationships.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community responses to drought and nitrogen fertilization in switchgrass stands

Abstract Anthropogenic global change is increasing the severity and frequency of abiotic stresses such as drought that are likely to affect soil communities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play important roles in many soil processes, so it is important to understand how drought affects AMF biodiversity. This is especially relevant in agricultural systems where crops rely on AMF associations for water and nutrient uptake, and where management decisions such as crop selection and fertilizer application may influence how the AMF community responds to drought. In this study, we examined the effects of reduced precipitation and nitrogen fertilization on AMF richness, community composition, and root and soil colonization in monocultures of two cultivars of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) grown for bioenergy feedstock. We conducted a two-year field experiment using rain-out shelters to manipulate precipitation in mature stands of switchgrass growing in a long-term nitrogen fertilization (0 or 56 kg N ha−1) experiment at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research site in Michigan, USA. We expected that AMF richness and colonization would decrease due to drought, as predicted by the stress exclusion hypothesis. Contrary to our expectations, we found that drought stress increased AMF species richness in fertilized plots by 15%; there was no effect of drought on AMF richness in unfertilized plots. Drought also significantly altered AMF community composition, primarily due to increases in Rhizophagus taxa abundance, and reduced AMF root colonization in switchgrass by 6%. We also found variation in AMF richness and colonization across switchgrass cultivars as well as sampling dates. The changes in AMF richness and composition that we observed in this study may have implications for perennial bioenergy feedstock selection and management as changes in AMF communities may feedback to affect host plants.
Shotgun recoil causing severe acute aortic regurgitation years after replacement of the aortic valve and ascending aorta

Blunt chest trauma can lead to severe, life-threatening injury to chest organs, including the aorta, heart, lungs, and major airways. We describe a 64-year-old man who had undergone replacement of ...
CT Perfusion Imaging in Telestroke Facilitates Treatment Decisions Without Delaying Door to Needle Time (1598)

Objective: We aimed to evaluate the proportion of transfers for endovascular therapy (EVT), door-in-door-out time (DIO) and door-to-needle time (DTN) at telestroke sites before and after CT perfusion (CTP) implementation. Background: Perfusion based imaging aids in patient selection for EVT. Appropriate selection of patients for EVT is an important component in telestroke programs. Despite the advantages of perfusion imaging, there is the concern that advanced imaging may delay DTN time. We implemented CTP using RAPID software at three large primary stroke centers within our telestroke network in December 2017. Design/Methods: Data was prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed as part of our telestroke quality database. We compared data for one year before and after implementing CTP at the telestroke sites. We hypothesized that: the addition of CTP would not delay DTN; a greater proportion of transfers for possible EVT would receive a stroke thrombectomy; and that DIO would be reduced after utilizing CTP. Results: During the study 1253 patients were evaluated via telestroke and 101 (8.1%) were transferred for a possible EVT. Before CTP, 540 telestroke patients completed CT head and/or CTA head and neck imaging. After CTP, 713 telestroke patients received CT head, CTA and CTP imaging. Patients receiving CTP had a significantly shorter DIO time (median 109 minutes) compared to patients without CTP (median 122 minutes), p=0.04, r =0.26. There was no difference in DTN in patients without CTP (66 minutes) compared to patients who received CTP (63 minutes), p=0.42, r=0.07. There was no significant difference in the proportion of patients transferred for a possible EVT that received a stroke thrombectomy in patients without CTP 28 (74%) compared to patients with CTP 38 (84%), p=0.23. Conclusions: In conclusion, automated perfusion maps and calculated ischemic penumbra size in CTP allowed telestroke physicians to make quicker transfer decisions, without delaying DTN. Disclosure: Dr. Hackett has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cerejo has nothing to disclose. Dr. Fishman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wright has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rana has nothing to disclose. Dr. Tayal has nothing to disclose.
Planning problems of flexible manufacturing systems

According to Kusiak, the planning problems of flexible manufacturing systems can be divided into two groups, i.e. in design and operational problems.18 Whereas in the first group the selection of equipment and considerations about the system’s layout are relevant, the second is concerned with the optimal utilization of an already existing system.
RNA Binds to Tau Fibrils and Sustains Template-Assisted Growth

Tau fibrils are the main proteinacious components of neurofibrillary lesions in Alzheimer disease. Although RNA molecules are sequestered into these lesions, their relationship to Tau fibrils is only poorly understood. Such understanding, however, is important, as short fibrils can transfer between neurons and nonproteinacious factors including RNA could play a defining role in modulating the latter process. Here, we used sedimentation assays combined with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), fluorescence, and absorbance spectroscopy to determine the effects of RNA on Tau fibril structure and growth. We observe that, in the presence of RNA, three-repeat (3R) and four-repeat (4R) Tau form fibrils with parallel, in-register arrangement of β-strands and exhibit an asymmetric seeding barrier in which 4R Tau grows onto 3R Tau seeds but not vice versa. These structural features are similar to those previously observed for heparin-induced fibrils, indicating that basic conformational properties are conserved, ...
Partial Inheritance in Sysperanto, an Ontology of Information Systems

An offshoot of research on developing methods typical business professionals can use to analyze systems for themselves, Sysperanto is being developed as an ontology codifying concepts and knowledge useful in describing and analyzing systems in organizations. Sysperanto’s architecture is organized around the nine elements of the work system framework and the observation that information systems, projects, supply chains, ecommerce, and other important types of systems can be modeled as special cases of work systems. These supertype-subtype relationships provide an opportunity to organize relevant concepts economically based on the “partial inheritance conjecture,” whereby most, but not all, elements, properties, and propositions for a specific work system type are inherited by more specialized work system types. This paper explains why Sysperanto or other ontologies with similar purposes require the use of partial inheritance rather than strict hierarchy.
Making It Up as They Go Along: The Role of Law in Securities Arbitration

This article addresses an issue of securities arbitration that has largely gone unexamined: whether arbitrators have to apply the law in deciding customers' disputes with their brokers. Because of the Supreme Court's 1987 opinion in Shearson/American Express v. McMahon, most customers' disputes with their broker-dealers are resolved today in an arbitration proceeding before a securities industry-sponsored forum. While the Supreme Court assumed that arbitrators would apply the law, there is considerable evidence that they do not. This article assesses what has happened to securities arbitration since the privatization of the law. While the regulators have focused on efforts to make the procedure more like litigation, very little effort has gone into ensuring that the arbitrators are trained to apply the law. However, given the difficulties investors would encounter in pleading and proving their claims in court, they may well be better off in a system where less attention is paid to the law and more to the equities of the actual dispute before the arbitration panel. While this is not a system where accountability and predictability of results can be achieved, investors may, in fact, fare better than they might expect.
Endomorphism Rings of Abelian P-Groups

The well known fact that the set EA of all endomorphisms of an abelian group A forms a ring has suggested the problem of finding necessary and sufficient conditions that an abstract ring be isomorphic to EA for some abelian group A. In two recent papers([2] and [3]) we have solved this problem for the classes of finite and bounded abelian p-groups. The present paper is concerned with the solution of that problem for p-groups without elements of.infinite height.
Amphetamine addiction and pregnancy IV.: Analysis of basic information concerning measures taken by Social Welfare Agencies

Different welfare measures taken by the social welfare authorities concerning 65 amphetamine-addicted mothers and their infants were studied from the time of pregnancy up to one year after birth. Various possible influences on the decision-making process in social work regarding infants at risk were investigated, such as the social worker's personality, the cooperation between social welfare and primary health care agencies, and closeness of contacts with the families. There was a documented concern for the unborn child's health and future in 41 % of the total number of pregnancies. One year after birth, 26 of the infants were in a foster-home. Of the remaining 39 one-year-old infants who were still in their mother's custody approximately 60% seemed to be growing up either under unsatisfactory conditions, or in conditions which the social worker did not know enough about to be able to evaluate. Several efforts were made to improve the social situation in the families. The position regarding parental compliance with different measures has, however, confused the social worker who experienced difficulty in pruning the non-essential elements and determining the appropriate factors for action.
Let Them Burn Money: Making Elections More Informative

A standard election in which each voter chooses a single alternative permits voters little scope to express the intensity of their preferences. Allowing more complex statements of preferences may not alleviate the problem if voters behave strategically, as only certain statements are credible. I consider the implications of allowing voters to burn money as part of the voting procedure. In an environment with two alternatives and voters with interdependent values, I find necessary and sufficient conditions for all choice functions that are minimally responsive to voter preferences to be implementable with money burning. Furthermore, I show that any choice rule that treats ex-ante identical voters symmetrically can be implemented with an arbitrarily small amount of money burnt per voter as the set of voters is replicated. Thus, for a large electorate, the informational gains of money burning can be reaped at virtually no social cost.
TRAPPED IN-BETWEEN: HOW REFUGEE LAW REPRODUCES THE SOVEREIGN BAN

Although international refugee law was designed to provide surrogate protection to people fleeing persecution, it creates situations in which a person cannot be returned and, simultaneously, cannot be accepted. It is unfruitful to approach the problem through traditional legal concepts. This is not a practical gap, but a conceptual one, caused by the way we think the relationship between sovereignty, territory and life. Giorgio Agamben defines this relationship through the concept of “sovereign ban.” I argue that international refugee law reproduces the “sovereign ban’s” modes of operation, leaving asylum-seekers in the ambiguous position of being included, but excluded at the same time; inside a state’s territory, but outside the protection of the state’s legal-political order. The structural failure of the discourse of refugee law opens space for individualized humanitarian protection. However, the discretionary space of humanitarianism may likewise be fulfilled by unconstrained manifestations of sovereign violence. Re-thinking the conceptual scheme that connects sovereignty, territory and life is a crucial step for a fully inclusive system of refugee protection.