cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE IN MICE BEARING ANTERIOR HYPOPHYSEAL, OVARIAN AND ADRENAL GRAFTS1

Esurvive indefinitely and exert hormonal effects on various target organs (Loeb, 1945; Huseby and Bittner, 1948). In mice, ovarian and hypophyseal grafts stimulated mammary carcinogenesis and leukemogenesis (Loeb and Kirtz, 1939; Silberberg and Silberberg, 1950; Huseby and Bittner, 1951), and recently thyrotrophic activity of transplanted hypophyses has been demonstrated (Greer et al., 1953). The method of transplantation seems to offer certain advantages over the injection of hormones: During long range experiments, there is apparently no loss of response as is seen with the administration of exogenous hormones, particularly of those of protein nature. Moreover, functional grafts may provide more uniform hormonal blood levels than obtainable with injected hormones. In extension of previous investigations on skeletal changes produced by hormones (1942, 1952), the effects of homeotransplants of anterior hypophyses, ovaries and adrenals on degenerative joint disease of mice will presently be described. MATE...
Simultaneous bilateral anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.

Background: There are no reports on the outcome of bilateral simultaneous anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.Hypothesis: There is no difference in outcome between unilateral and simultaneous bilateral operations.Study Design: Case control study.Methods: We compared the short-term outcome (mean, 37.2 months) of 28 patients who had bilateral simultaneous reconstructions with that of a matched group of patients who had unilateral reconstruction.Results: Postoperative narcotic requirements for pain did not differ between groups. The mean quadriceps muscle strength for the simultaneous group was 99% in the right leg and 102% in the left leg compared with the strongest leg preoperatively; the mean for the unilateral group was 99%. The mean modified Noyes score for the simultaneous group was 91.2 points in the left knee and 93.5 points for the right knee; the mean for the unilateral group was 88.7 points. The mean time to return to full-time work and to full sports was 4.1 weeks and 6.1 months for the sim...
An information and preference theory approach to a discrete resource allocation problem

Abstract This paper analyses a discrete resource allocation problem (RAP) from a background of preference and information theory. The discrete RAP examines the problem of allocation of discrete and indivisible scarce resources in a multiple agent group environment from the point of view of a coordinator. The basis for resource allocation is preference information of each agent regarding the discrete resources. Such preference information is obtained by the coordinator through an experimental process that entails interrogating each of the agents about their preference profiles. In this environment, the experiments are pairwise comparisons between resource bundles about which there is no a priori preference information. Each such experiment can have three possible signals: a bundle is preferred to, indifferent to or less preferred to another. It is this experimental process of interrogation described above, restricted to a single agent, that is analysed from an information theoretic viewpoint. In addition, the paper provides a systematic method of solution to the resource allocation problem in the single agent context.
The Correlation of Human Gastric Potentials with Gastric Physiology

The electrogastrogram (EGG) has been studied by others (1-3) to diagnose gastric disease, but the physiologic significance of gastric potentials so measured is not established. Investigations restricted to experimental animals (4-7) have suggested that these potentials are produced by 1) the degree of acidity of gastric juice, and 2) the electric energy involved in the production of hydrochloric acid. It is our purpose to report studies in man indicating that stomach potentials appear to be related to gastric physiologic activity rather than the concentration or acidity of the gastric juice per se.
Daughter-Initiated Cancer Screening Appeals to Mothers.

Youth-initiated health interventions may provide a much needed avenue for intergenerational dissemination of health information among families who bear the greatest burden from unequal distribution of morbidity and mortality. The findings presented in this paper are from a pilot study of the feasibility and impact of female youth-initiated messages (mostly daughters) encouraging adult female relatives (mostly mothers) to obtain cancer screening within low-income African American families living in a Southern US state. Results are compared between an intervention and control group. Intervention group youth (n = 22) were exposed to a 60-min interactive workshop where they were assisted to prepare a factual and emotional appeal to their adult relative to obtain specific screening. The face-to-face workshops were guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Control group girls (n = 18) were only provided with a pamphlet with information about cancer screening and specific steps about how to encourage their relative to obtain screening. Intervention youth (86 %) and adults (82 %) reported that the message was shared while 71 % in the control group reported sharing or receiving the message. Importantly, more women in the intervention group reported that they obtained a screen (e.g., mammogram, Pap smear) directly based on the youth's appeal. These findings can have major implications for youth-initiated health promotion efforts, especially among hard-to-reach populations.
Stimuli-responsive cylindrical hydrogels mimic intestinal peristalsis to propel a solid object

The emerging field of soft robotics relies on soft, stimuli-responsive materials to enable load transport, manipulation, and mobility in complex unconstrained environments. These materials often need to replicate biological functionality such as muscle contractions and flexibility. Here we demonstrate a soft actuator prototype based on thermosensitive PNIPAAM hydrogels that can transport and manipulate objects. A hollow cylindrical hydrogel was selectively heated and cooled with Peltier devices to yield a traveling wave of shrinking and swelling akin to intestinal peristalsis. A 4 mm diameter bead was placed inside the cylinder and propelled 19.5 mm, equal to distance traveled by the peristaltic wave. We derived conditions that enable peristaltic transport as a function of transporter-cargo design parameters. We conclude that hydrogel-based peristaltic manipulators covering 2 orders of magnitude in stiffness (1–102 kPa) could transport cargo spanning 4 orders of magnitude in size (μm–m).
Collect Data, Tell Stories: Utilizing Available Data to Improve Wound Product Selection, Reduce Costs, and Improve Outcomes

Objective: To develop a tool to assist in the evaluation of treatment options based on clinically relevant parameters, thus enabling clinicians to heal patients more efficiently. Approach: Outlined here is the prototypic model of a comprehensive analysis tool to compare products by category, accounting for product characteristics, effectiveness data from literature, costs, and patient needs or clinician preferences. Results: The tool is demonstrated with a venous leg ulcer example, and ideas for expanding the tool in the future are provided. Innovation: Although this is a simple model, the authors believe that it provides a valid and useful platform for comparing similar products of a given type using available information and reflecting real-world use to give a practical approach to clinical decision-making. Conclusion: Future funding for comprehensive, comparative effectiveness studies should provide clarity on which products to choose for specific applications. Meanwhile, tools like this can provide guidance, and can be modified to accommodate varying circumstances.
Prosthetic fitting after rotationplasty of the knee.

So NF, Andrews KL, Anderson K, Gozola MA, Shives TC, Rose PS, Shaughnessy WJ, Sim FH: Prosthetic fitting after rotationplasty of the knee. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2014;93:328Y334. Objective: The objectives of this study were to describe the authors’ experience with the timeline for prosthetic fitting after rotationplasty of the knee and to determine factors that may be associated with earlier prosthetic fitting. Design: The authors conducted a retrospective observational study of 12 patients whounderwentrotationplastyofthekneeandreceivedprostheticcare atthisinstitution. All patients had oncologic causes for surgery. Results: The median age at amputation was 10 yrs. The overall survival rate was 92%. Five patients received a preliminary bypass prosthesis. All 12 patients were successfully fitted with a definitive prosthesis. Three patients were fitted within 90 days; two of these three patients did not require chemotherapy. The median time for definitive prosthetic fitting in the ten patients requiring chemotherapy was 230.5 days (range, 85Y425 days). Nine patients had documentation supporting a return to sport/premorbid physical recreational activities. Conclusions: In the authors’ experience, chemotherapy was associated with delayed definitive prosthetic fitting. Typically, the patients who required rotationplasty for cancer completed fitting with a definitive prosthesis in 6 mos. The findings of this study validate previous reports and confirm that most rotationplasty patients have excellent outcomes with return to premorbid physical activities.
Loss of p53 tumor suppressor function is required for in vivo progression of Friend erythroleukemia

A role for p53 in the in vivo progression of Friend virus-induced erythroleukemia has been suggested but not clearly defined. We developed a Friend virus-sensitive, p53-deficient mouse model to directly address the role of p53 in Friend erythroleukemia. When infected with the polycythemia-inducing strain of Friend virus (FVP), p53 null mice exhibited accelerated progression to erythroleukemia and accelerated death following diagnosis when compared to wild type mice. Confirmation that p53 mutations were required for disease progression was provided by sequence analysis of p53 transcripts in leukemic wild type and heterozygous mice. All transcripts evaluated had point mutations, deletions or insertions in the p53 gene. The ability to grow tumor colonies in vitro and derive cell lines was enhanced in FVP-infected p53 null animals. Although PU.1 oncogene overexpression is a common mutation observed in cell lines derived from Friend virus-infected p53 wild type mice, it was not a universal finding in cell lines derived from p53 null animals. Our data conclusively demonstrate that loss of p53 function is a requirement for progression of Friend erythroleukemia in vivo. Further, the data demonstrate that erythroleukemias arising in Friend virus-infected p53 null mice are biologically and genetically distinct from those that occur in wild type animals, suggesting that the temporal order of PU.1 and p53 mutations is an important parameter in the pathogenesis of leukemic development.
THU0537 Persistence and Dose Escalation of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-Blockers in us Veterans

Background Comparison of adalimumab (ADA), etanercept (ETN), and infliximab (INF) use in clinical practice may provide important insight into the comparative effectiveness and cost of approved therapies. Objectives To examine persistence, dose escalation, clinical outcomes, and treatment costs with ADA, ETN, and INF for patients (pts) enrolled in the US Veterans Affairs RA (VARA) registry. Methods VARA links to VA pharmacy and administrative databases, and documents longitudinal assessments of disease activity and outcomes. VARA pts initiating ADA, ETN, or INF from 3/18/2003 to 9/30/2010 were identified with follow-up data collected for ≥12 months. This analysis was limited to first treatment course beginning ≥180 days after VARA enrollment. A treatment course was defined as continuous medication dispensing in the absence of ≥90-day gap. Dose escalation was ≥25% increase in weekly dose. Cost was determined by drug costs alone and including drug administration (dispensing/infusion costs). Results Data from 563 pts (204 ADA; 290 ETN; 69 INF) were analyzed (Table). No differences in persistence were seen (Fig A). Dose escalation was most common with INF followed by ADA (Fig B). Persistence post-escalation was similar for all agents. Mean DAS28 and change in DAS28 in 61 evaluable pts were similar for each drug. Average annual costs were highest for INF. Image/graph: Conclusions In VARA, persistence on ADA, ETN and INF was similar. Escalation was most common with INF and least frequent with ETN, and did not impact persistence. Drug costs were higher for INF than ADA and ETN. Persistence and DAS scores were similar regardless of dose escalation. Acknowledgements Research funded by VA Research Program and Immunex Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen Inc., and by Wyeth, which was acquired by Pfizer Inc. in October 2009. Disclosure of Interest G. Cannon Grant/research support from: Amgen Inc., S. DuVall Grant/research support from: Amgen Inc, Anolinx LLC, Genentech Inc, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Merck & Co Inc, Mylan Specialty LP, and Shire PLC, C. Hayden: None Declared, L. Caplan: None Declared, J. Curtis Grant/research support from: Roche/Genentech, UCB, Centocor, CORRONA, Amgen, Pfizer BMS, Janssen, AbbVie, K. Michaud: None Declared, T. Mikuls Grant/research support from: Genentech/Roche, A. Reimold Grant/research support from: Lilly, Novartis, Janssen, Ardea, Consultant for: UCB, D. Collier Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., D. Harrison Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., G. Joseph Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Pfizer Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., B. Sauer Grant/research support from: Amgen Inc.
Copulation and Gestation in the Pocket Gopher

Two separate breedings were observed in the pocket gopher, Thomomys bottae , of the San Francisco Bay region of California. Copulatory behavior is described in detail and is a relatively lengthy procedure involving numerous periods of intromission. Gestation periods were nearly 19 days in two instances. Both females showed external and histologic evidence of heat at the time of copulation. One parturition was observed. Labor movements consisted of a swelling and forward bulging of the dorso-lateral walls of the abdomen. The female did not assist the delivery except by these movements.
Structural Optimization of Grading Ring for Ultra High Voltage Composite Insulator by Combining Finite Element Method and Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

Due to complex structure and high voltage level,the V-and I-type composite insulators used in AC 1 000 kV single-circuit tangent power transmission tower are much easier to produce serious corona.Consequently,we established a three-dimensional model for these composite insulators and calculated the electric field by software ANSYS.Moreover,we adopted the ANSYS parametric design language(APDL) to realize a particle swarm optimization(PSO) algorithm.Meanwhile,we used submodeling technique to solve such huge computation problem due to complexity of used mode,which could effectively reduce calculation amount without lose of accuracy.The results show that,maximum electric field strength of corona ring used in V type insulator and on insulator surface is about 13.9% and 29.2% higher than that of I type respectively,and the method combining finite element method(FEM) and PSO algorithm is quite suitable for such grading rings structure multi-parameter optimization problem.Finally,the maximum electric field located on surface of ring and insulator shed can meet the requirements of electric control value,and no corona discharge can be observed when grading rings are used in actual project.The proposed method can solve structure optimization problem for large field domain and multi-media complex model.
The Hand of The Silent Worker: Reading an ASL imageword

The essay argues that the attempt to represent ASL in two dimensions is not a new, postmodern phenomenon, but is instead one that is embedded in deaf history at least as far back as the nineteenth century. The essay then provides a close, historically contextual reading of a particular illustration from the October 1928 issue of The Silent Worker, showing evidence of a multivocal imageword ; a successful two dimensional representation of ASL, depicted in a clash with the heteroglossic English text with which it appears.
Analysis of Antigenic Determinants on Human Monocytes and Macrophages

Mo1, 2, 3, and 4, and Plt-1 are a series of five distinct antigens detected on the surface of human peripheral blood monocytes by mouse monoclonal antibodies. Mo2 and 3 are restricted to the monocyte- macrophage series, while Mo1, as previously reported, is also expressed by human granulocytes and null cells. Mo3, as distinguished from Mo1 and Mo2, is weakly expressed by virgin peripheral blood monocytes but becomes well expressed if monocytes are cultured overnight at 37 degrees C. Mo4 is coexpressed by monocytes and platelets, while Plt-1 appears to be a platelet-specific antigen whose detection on monocytes reflects adherence of platelets to monocyte membranes. That Mo2–4 are true monocyte antigens is demonstrated by their resynthesis following protease treatment of monocytes (Mol expression is resistant to proteolytic digestion). During myeloid-monocyte differentiation, the Mo antigens are infrequently expressed by immature myeloid cells but are found at higher frequency on leukemic monocytic forms. Macrophages from cultured peripheral blood monocytes and HL-60 cells exposed to lymphokines or phorbol diester express Mo1–4, but noncirculating peritoneal macrophages lack Mo3. The Mo antigens are differentiation markers whose expression reflects membrane heterogeneity during myeloid- monocyte-macrophage maturation.
The use of respiratory stimulants.

Analeptics or antinarcotics may be used to antagonize drug-induced depression of the central nervous system.Analeptics act primarily on the medullary center and stimulate the central nervous system. They are not effective in reversing an intravenously administered anesthetic or in depressions due to physical agents or an overdosage of a volatile anesthetic or a stimulating drug.Antinarcotics are weak narcotics rather than stimulants. They exert an antagonistic action only in the presence of an over-dosage of a narcotic; they are not effective if the depression is due to excess use of either barbiturates or other non-narcotic hypnotics.Management of a comatose patient includes establishing an airway, administering oxygen, giving the drug indicated by the type of depression, hydrating the patient, and maintaining the correct fluid-electrolyte balance.
Aortic atresia: morphologic characteristics affecting survival and operative palliation.

A quantitative anatomic study of 54 cardiac specimens with aortic atresia is related to surgical treatment of patients with aortic atresia and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Coarctation of the aorta was present in 80 % of patients with aortic atresia and should influence the extent of aortic arch reconstruction when present Other associated cardiac defects were uncommon but, when present, may be contraindications to operative palliation because of added complexity of the operation. Anatomic abnormalities of the tricuspid or pulmonary valve were present in 7% of cases and could be important in the outcome of palliative procedures. Natural survival was related to thickness of the right ventricular wall so that selection of those infants with thicker and better functioning right ventricles may improve short-term and long-term operative results in aortic atresia.
Subjectivity and social-ecological systems: a rigidity trap (and sense of place as a way out)

The fundamental point of this paper is that constructs such as system identity stability and changes (tips, transitions, transformations from one identity to another), are subjectively perceived, and acted upon by the social actors that occupy these systems. However, social-ecological systems (SES) research has not yet adequately engaged this subjectivity. I argue, here, that this relative lack of recognition of subjectivity has become a “rigidity trap” for SES scholars. Subjectivity is messy and difficult, and does not fit particularly well within the systems perspectives that characterize resilience work. As such, this lack of engagement has led to self-reinforcing perspectives that emphasize some elements and de-emphasize others, creating a systematic neglect of some principles that might productively challenge existing notions and expand our thinking. Sense of place theory, which emphasizes the creation of meaning as systematically distributed throughout society, is offered as a mechanism for helping SES researchers more fully engage subjectivity.
Distributed leaderless and leader-follower consensus of linear multiagent systems under persistent disturbances

The presence of unknown disturbances prevents agreement in multiagent systems. In this article, we propose observer-based leaderless and leader-follower consensus algorithms to achieve agreements in the presence of unknown unmatched persistent disturbances. Agents have linear timeinvariant dynamics and provide only relative output measurements. The simulation results verify the feasibility of the proposed ideas for these communication topologies.
Adult Education and the Democratic Imperative: the Vision of Eduard Lindeman as a Contemporary Charter for Adult Education

(1983). Adult Education and the Democratic Imperative: the Vision of Eduard Lindeman as a Contemporary Charter for Adult Education. Studies in Adult Education: Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 36-46.
Effective conversion of biomass into bromomethylfurfural, furfural, and depolymerized lignin in lithium bromide molten salt hydrate of a biphasic system

A novel approach using a biphasic system consisting of a molten lithium bromide hydrate solution (LiBr·3H2O) and an organic solvent was developed to efficiently produce furan-based chemicals from cellulose and lignocellulosic biomass. At 125 °C for 2 h, the yield of bromomethylfurfural (BMF) from cellulose reached >90% (molar yield), and the yields of furfural (FF) and BMF from real biomass (herbage, hardwood, and softwood) were ∼70% and ∼85%, respectively. The reaction mechanisms of the polysaccharides and lignin and the role of the molten salt hydrate were investigated and elucidated. In the biphasic system, hemicelluloses and cellulose of the biomass were dissolved, hydrolyzed, dehydrated and brominated to FF and BMF, respectively, in the aqueous phase, and the furan products were simultaneously extracted into and cumulated in the organic phase. Meanwhile, lignin in the biomass was significantly depolymerized through the cleavage of β-aryl ether linkages and separated with high purity for potential coproducts.
In Search of the Earliest Known Lenses (Dating Back 4500 Years)

Early lens history is controversial. First lenses arose among the artisan/artist communities rather than among the scientific community. These lenses were not used for visual corrections. The author has sought to locate lenses still in their original context, that is, with the lens and the object to be viewed through the lens still intact in their original relationship (“frozen in space and time”). Included among these items are remarkably fine lenses from the IVth and Vth Dynasties of Egypt (ca. 4500 years ago), and a lens from the Little Palace of Knossos (Minoan, ca. 3500 years ago) in Greece. Among other early examples, surprisingly, lenses may have existed in Peru during the first centuries after the birth of Christ. Clearly skills were often lost and rediscovered.
Evaluating Alternative Payment Models in Oncology.

Cancer care is expensive, and like other chronic illnesses, is prone to waste both through overuse of low-value services and underuse of evidence-based approaches.1 The fee-for-service model has been cited as a major factor, creating perverse incentives to provide high-cost, low-value care without sufficiently monitoring quality.2 Alternative models have been proposed as a means to both control costs and improve quality in oncology, including accountable care organizations, bundled episode-based payment models, and patient-centered medical homes.
A REVIEW ON OPTIMIZATION OF LABORATORY CENTRIFUGE ROTOR USING SIMULATION TOOLS

In the present review paper an effort is made to study the previous investigations which have been made in the different structural analysis and optimization techniques of Rotor of Laboratory High Speed Micro Centrifuge. That analysis may be static or dynamic analysis. A number of analysis techniques like analytical and experimental are available for the structural analysis of High Speed Micro Centrifuge Rotor. Same as no of optimization techniques are available for optimization of it like Taguchi method.. In this scenario, a structural optimization tool like topology optimization is becoming more relevant and attractive in product design processes. Determination of the different structural or topology analysis and optimization through the various methods like FEA, in high speed laboratory centrifuge rotor has been reported in literature.
Missing Information Principle: A Unified Approach for General Truncated and Censored Survival Data Problems

It is well known that truncated survival data are subject to sampling bias, where the sampling weight depends on the underlying truncation time distribution. Recently, there has been a rising interest in developing methods to better exploit the information about the truncation time, thus the sampling weight function, to obtain more efficient estimation. In this paper, we propose to treat truncation and censoring as “missing data mechanism” and apply the missing information principle to develop a unified framework for analyzing left-truncated and right-censored data with unspecified or known truncation time distributions. Our framework is structured in a way that is easy to understand and enjoys a great flexibility for handling different types of models. Moreover, a new test for checking the independence between the underlying truncation time and survival time is derived along the same line. The proposed hypothesis testing procedure utilizes all observed data and hence can yield a much higher power than the conditional Kendall’s tau test that only involves comparable pairs of observations under truncation. Simulation studies with practical sample sizes are conducted to compare the performance of the proposed method with its competitors. The proposed methodologies are applied to a dementia study and a nursing house study for illustration.
The relationship between follicular fluid steroid concentration and successful fertilization of human oocytes in vitro

Follicular fluids (FF) and their matched oocytes were obtained from 64 follicles of 28 women who failed to conceive after in vitro fertilization (IVF) and 33 follicles of 8 women who successfully conceived after the procedure. Ovulation was induced with human menopausal gonadotropin, and follicular aspiration was performed 36hours after human chorionic gonadotropin administration. The concentration of 17β-estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and androsterone was correlated with the morphology of the oocyte-corona-cumulus complex (OCCC), oocyte fertilization, the rate of cleavage, and the incidence of pregnancy after embryo transfer. In both groups of women, FF progesterone was lowest in follicles containing immature OCCCs. However, follicles aspirated from women who conceived after IVF which contained intermediate and mature OCCCs had significantly higher FF estradiol levels than similar follicles from women who failed to conceive after the procedure. Fertilized oocytes and 4- to 6-cell stage embryos which were obtained from follicles of pregnant women contained significantly higher FF estradiol levels than fertilized oocytes and similar embryos from nonpregnant women. It appears that higher FF estradiol levels correlate well with successful fertilization and an enhanced cleavage rate of oocytes associated with pregnancy following IVF.
SITES | Mounded and Unmounded

The most common of all archaeological deposits are mounded and unmounded open sites. They range from thin scatters of stone tools and/or fragments of broken pottery to enormous heaps of cultural debris marking the locations of past cities. This category also includes burial mounds and earthworks as well as monuments, battlefields, prehistoric and early historic fields and irrigation canals. Several examples are briefly described: the ancient city of Ur in Mesopotamia, Viking ship burials in Norway, a riverine shell mound in eastern North America, a bison kill-site in western Canada, prehistoric copper mines on an island in lake Superior (USA), and a late nineteenth-century battlefield in western North America.
Surgical treatment of concomitant urethral diverticulum and stress incontinence.

SUMMARY Urinary incontinence is frequently associated with a urethral diverticulum in female patients. Preoperative evaluation including a thorough history and physical examination, voiding cystourethrogram, urethroscopy, and urodynamic studies can diagnose both the urethral diverticulum and any concomitant bladder-urethral dysfunction. Preoperative recognition of stress urinary incontinence or patients at risk for this problem postoperatively permits effective treatment with concomitant transvaginal bladder neck suspension and urethral diverticulectomy.
A linear program formulation for the segmentation of Ciona membrane volumes.

We address the problem of cell segmentation in confocal microscopy membrane volumes of the ascidian Ciona used in the study of morphogenesis. The primary challenges are non-uniform and patchy membrane staining and faint spurious boundaries from other organelles (e.g. nuclei). Traditional segmentation methods incorrectly attach to faint boundaries producing spurious edges. To address this problem, we propose a linear optimization framework for the joint correction of multiple over-segmentations obtained from different methods. The main idea motivating this approach is that multiple over-segmentations, resulting from a pool of methods with various parameters, are likely to agree on the correct segment boundaries, while spurious boundaries are method- or parameter-dependent. The challenge is to make an optimized decision on selecting the correct boundaries while discarding the spurious ones. The proposed unsupervised method achieves better performance than state of the art methods for cell segmentation from membrane images.
Experimental design and model reduction in systems biology

In systems biology, the dynamics of biological networks are often modeled with ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that encode interacting components in the systems, resulting in highly complex models. In contrast, the amount of experimentally available data is almost always limited, and insufficient to constrain the parameters. In this situation, parameter estimation is a very challenging problem. To address this challenge, two intuitive approaches are to perform experimental design to generate more data, and to perform model reduction to simplify the model. Experimental design and model reduction have been traditionally viewed as two distinct areas, and an extensive literature and excellent reviews exist on each of the two areas. Intriguingly, however, the intrinsic connections between the two areas have not been recognized. Experimental design and model reduction are deeply related, and can be considered as one unified framework. There are two recent methods that can tackle both areas, one based on model manifold and the other based on profile likelihood. We use a simple sum-of-two-exponentials example to discuss the concepts and algorithmic details of both methods, and provide Matlab-based code and implementation which are useful resources for the dissemination and adoption of experimental design and model reduction in the biology community. From a geometric perspective, we consider the experimental data as a point in a high-dimensional data space and the mathematical model as a manifold living in this space. Parameter estimation can be viewed as a projection of the data point onto the manifold. By examining the singularity around the projected point on the manifold, we can perform both experimental design and model reduction. Experimental design identifies new experiments that expand the manifold and remove the singularity, whereas model reduction identifies the nearest boundary, which is the nearest singularity that suggests an appropriate form of a reduced model. This geometric interpretation represents one step toward the convergence of experimental design and model reduction as a unified framework.
Opioid-like antinociceptive and locomotor effects of emerging fentanyl-related substances.

Abstract The emergence of several fentanyl-related substances in the recreational drug marketplace has resulted in a surge of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. Many of these substances have never been examined in living organisms under controlled conditions. In the present study, seven fentanyl-related substances were tested in adult male Swiss Webster mice for their effects on locomotion and antinociception and compared to those of fentanyl and morphine. In locomotor activity tests, fentanyl (1, 10 mg/kg), morphine (100, 180 mg/kg), isobutyrylfentanyl (10 mg/kg), crotonylfentanyl (10 mg/kg), para-fluorobutyrylfentanyl (10, 100 mg/kg), para-methoxybutyrylfentanyl (10 mg/kg), thiophenefentanyl (100 mg/kg), and benzodioxolefentanyl (0.1 mg/kg) produced significant (p ≤ 0.05) dose-dependent increases in locomotion. Valerylfentanyl, however, was without effects on locomotion up to 100 mg/kg. In warm-water tail-withdrawal tests, all substances produced significant (p ≤ 0.05) dose-dependent increases in antinociception with increasing ED50 values (CI) of isobutyrylfentanyl [0.0768 mg/kg (0.044–0.128)] > fentanyl [0.0800 mg/kg (0.0403–0.164)] > para-methoxybutyrylfentanyl [0.106 mg/kg (0.0516–0.195)] > crotonylfentanyl [0.226 mg/kg (0.176–0.292)] > para-fluorobutyrylfentanyl [0.908 mg/kg (0.459–1.58)] > thiophenefentanyl [4.66 mg/kg (3.65–5.95)] > valerylfentanyl [6.43 mg/kg (3.91–10.5)] > morphine [7.82 mg/kg (5.42–11.0)] > benzodioxolefentanyl [46.3 mg/kg (25.8–83.4)]. Naltrexone (1 mg/kg) increased antinociceptive ED50 values several fold in decreasing magnitudes of isobutyrylfentanyl (233x) > para-methoxybutyrylfentanyl (37.7x) > thiophenefentanyl (34.6x) > valerylfentanyl (11.9x) > para-fluorobutyrylfentanyl (10.9x) > benzodioxolefentanyl (8.42x) > crotonylfentanyl (6.27x) > fentanyl (3.95x) > morphine (1.48x). These findings establish that locomotor and antinociceptive effects of several fentanyl-related substances are similar to those of morphine and fentanyl and are mediated by opioid receptors. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled ‘New Vistas in Opioid Pharmacology’.
The Rough Stuff: Understanding Aggressive Consensual Sex

Research on sexual behavior often characterizes rough sex as sexual aggression and as violent or abusive in nature. In a sample of 734 male and female undergraduates, we examined the extent of rough sexual acts in romantic relationships, the triggers for those acts, and how rough sex differs from “typical” sex. Participants were asked their definition of rough sex, questions regarding sexual aggression and behaviors during rough sex, and abusive behaviors in the relationship. Findings indicate that rough sex is triggered by curiosity and a need for novelty, and that both men and women often initiate rough sexual behaviors. Consensual rough sex typically results in little violence and only superficial injuries such as scratches, bruises, and welts. Rough sex does not correlate with violence in the relationship or abuse. However, rough sexual behaviors were increased in situations that involved male sexual jealousy. Being separated from a sexual partner was the second most common trigger for rough sex, particularly for men. Aspects of rough sex, such as increased semen displacement and decreased latency for female orgasm are discussed.
Gene expression in muscle. Summary and synthesis.

In discussing the basic phenotype expression of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, Dr. Rowland mentioned the prolonged pursuit of a hypothesized defect in the plasma membrane and of a presumed disturbance in one or more of the contractile proteins. Thus far neither lead has been very productive. Indeed the so far identified gene loci for contractile proteins are located on chromosomes other than the X chromosome. I gather, however, that neither membrane nor contractile protein can be clearly dismissed as a potential culprit at the present time.
112 Pediatric abdominal trachelectomy for rhabdomyosarcoma

Objectives Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma is treated using a multi-modal approach, which can include systemic chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. When arising from the genital tract, the disease has a 5-year overall survival greater than 80%. However, many of these therapies can result in infertility, which is assured if hysterectomy is performed. Our objective is to describe within the pediatric population an alternative method of obtaining local control surgically through the fertility-sparing approach of an abdominal trachelectomy. Methods Due to the very narrow vaginal anatomy in pediatric patients, a vaginal trachelectomy approach was not possible, and an abdominal approach was performed. The resection included the cervix and upper vagina. A near-infrared camera was used at the end of the procedure to confirm vascular perfusion to the uterus. Results A 4-year-old female with a vaginal embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma previously treated with chemotherapy and intravaginal brachytherapy, presented with recurrence on MRI 1.5 years after completing treatment. She underwent a vaginoscopy that demonstrated a pedunculated mass arising from the proximal vagina. A biopsy confirmed recurrence of the primary tumor. Although nearly all visible tumor was resected, positive surgical margins required further surgical resection of a portion of the vaginal wall for local control and further systemic chemotherapy. She underwent an abdominal trachelectomy with preservation of the entire uterus, the majority of the vagina, and negative surgical margins were obtained. She recovered well and is currently undergoing chemotherapy. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the youngest patient having undergone an abdominal trachelectomy. This approach appears to be safe in the pediatric population.
Children with t(12;21)/TEL-AML1-Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Exhibit a Distinct Germline Genomic Signature.

Abstract High-throughput genome-wide studies have identified significant associations between inherited genetic variations and complex diseases. To delineate the heterogeneous nature of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), we performed a genome-wide interrogation of approximately 600K single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 470 Caucasian children (using > 99% European ancestry genetic markers to define race) with newly diagnosed ALL to identify the contribution of germline SNP genotypes to ALL subtype. Our patient population included children enrolled on St Jude Children's Research Hospital Total XIIIB and Total XV ALL protocols and the COG9906 ALL protocol. The study cohort included 47 cases with the t(12;21)/TEL-AML1 (aka ETV6/RUNX1) translocation, 116 with hyperdiploidy > 50 chromosomes, 46 with T-lineage ALL, and 139 with non-hyperdiploid B-lineage ALL (without known translocations). Using genotype data from the Affymetrix 100K and 500K Mapping Array sets and logistic regression analyses, we found that only patients with TEL-AML1-positive ALL demonstrated a distinct germline SNP signature (p = 0.043, 1000 permutations) compared to patients with other ALL subtypes. We identified 1,046 germline SNPs whose allele frequencies discriminated TEL-AML1 ALL from non-TEL-AML1 ALL (p 0.05). It is well recognized that TEL-AML1-positive ALL represents a fourth of childhood cases but is exceedingly rare in adults, and hence, it is not surprising that the TEL-AML1-positive ALL subtype may be more likely to be affected by inherited genomic variability compared to other subtypes. We conclude that inherited genetic variation may contribute to risk of or pathogenesis of the TEL-AML1 subtype of childhood ALL.
Risk factors for pneumonia following rib fractures

Abstract Introduction Pneumonia is a known complication following rib fractures. This study was undertaken to identify clinical and demographic factors associated with the development of pneumonia among trauma patients with rib fractures. Methods This retrospective study examined trauma patients with one or more rib fractures, who were admitted for inpatient management during the time period 2012 through 2017. Variables studied included age, gender, injury severity score (ISS), mechanism of injury, smoking status, alcohol use, administration of influenza and pneumococcal vaccine, number and side of rib fracture(s), pulmonary contusion, pneumothorax, flail chest, spirometer use, blood transfusion, and intravenous fluid administration. Results Among 78 cases and 74 controls (matched for age and ISS), patients who developed pneumonia were more likely to be male, have higher number of rib fractures, alcohol consumption of 1–5 drinks per day, and a higher initial volume of intravenous fluids during first 24 h. Patients with pneumonia were more likely to be treated with incentive spirometry. There were no difference in age, ISS, smoking status, side of rib fractures, pulmonary contusion, pneumothorax, flail chest, influenza vaccination, pneumonia vaccination, or mechanism of injury between the two groups. Conclusion Risk factors for the development of pneumonia following rib fractures include male gender, higher number of rib fractures, alcohol consumption, and higher rates of intravenous fluid administration during the initial 24 h following trauma.
Understanding hole transport across amorphous Si passivation layers in Si heterojunction solar cells using Monte Carlo simulation

Passivation layers based on hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) have enabled silicon heterojunction solar cells to achieve high fill factors and conversion efficiencies. Traditionally, intrinsic a-Si:H(i) provides passivation between the doped a-Si and c-Si. However, studies have shown that there is a 2mA/cm2 optical loss associated with this layer. In this paper we explore the option of using a-SiO x :H(i) as a passivation layer as oxygen can used to create a passivation layer with a wider bandgap. We utilize an in-house kinetic Monte Carlo solver to simulate defect assisted transport across the heterointerface and the passivation layer. Our simulations show a strong correlation between multi-phonon transitions and overall device performance.
Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Problems Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Concept Map of Patient, Family, and Provider Perspectives

The purpose of this study was to elicit an exhaustive list of problems associated with TBI, as characterized by the patient, significant others, and health care providers, to identify the underlying structure from the expert perspective, and to evaluate severity and frequency of the symptoms. Forty-seven participants generated a list of 174 discrete problems. These items were then sorted and rated for severity and frequency by a panel of six neuropsychologists. Concept mapping yielded a best-fit map of eight content clusters to characterize these symptoms. The clusters included independence, intimacy, treatment complications, executive functioning, nonexecutive cognitive functions, mood, and psychotic symptoms. Intimacy and treatment complications were rated as the most severe problems, with treatment complications and executive functioning rated as the most frequent.
Patient-adaptable intracranial pressure morphology analysis using a probabilistic model-based approach.

Objective We present a framework for analyzing the intracranial pressure (ICP) morphology. Analyzing ICP signals is challenging due to the non-linear and non-Gaussian characteristics of the signal dynamics, inevitable corruption with noise and artifacts, and variations in the ICP pulse morphology among individuals with different neurological conditions. Existing frameworks make unrealistic assumptions regarding ICP dynamics and are not tuned for individual patients. Approach We propose a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) for automated detection of three major ICP pulsatile components. The proposed model captures the non-linear and non-Gaussian dynamics of the ICP morphology and further adapts to a patient as the individual's ICP measurements are received. To make the approach more robust, we leverage evidence reversal and present an inference algorithm to obtain the posterior distribution over the locations of pulsatile components. Results We evaluate our approach on a dataset with over 700 hours of recordings from 66 neurological patients, where the pulsatile components have been annotated in prior studies. The algorithm obtains an accuracy of 96.56%, 92.39%, and 94.04% for detecting each pulsatile component on the test set, showing significant improvements over existing approaches. Significance Continuous ICP monitoring is essential in guiding the treatment of neurological conditions such as traumatic brain injuries. An automated approach for ICP morphology analysis takes a step toward enhancing patient care with minimal supervision. Compared to previous methods, our framework offers several advantages. It learns the parameters that model each patient's ICP in an unsupervised manner, resulting in an accurate morphology analysis. The Bayesian model-based framework provides uncertainty estimates and reveals interesting facts about ICP dynamics. The framework can be readily applied to replace existing morphological analysis methods and support the application of ICP pulse morphological features to aid the monitoring of pathophysiological changes of relevance to the care of patients with acute brain injuries.
Dirac leptogenesis with a non-anomalous U(1)′ family symmetry

We propose a model for Dirac leptogenesis based on a non-anomalous U(1)′ gauged family symmetry. The anomaly cancellation conditions are satisfied with no new chiral fermions other than the three right-handed neutrinos, giving rise to stringent constraints among the charges. Realistic masses and mixing angles are obtained for all fermions. The model predicts neutrinos of the Dirac type with naturally suppressed masses. Dirac leptogenesis is achieved through the decay of the flavon fields. The cascade decays of the vector-like heavy fermions in the Froggatt-Nielsen mechanism play a crucial role in the separation of the primodial lepton numbers. We find that a large region of parameter space of the model gives rise to a sufficient cosmological baryon number asymmetry through Dirac leptogenesis.