cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Maillard reaction and oxidative stress during aging of soybean seeds

The chemical reactions that may lead to the loss of seed viability were investigated both during the accelerated aging and natural aging of soybeans (Glycine max Merrill cv. Chippewa 64). Under conditions of accelerated aging (36°C and 75% RH), fluorescence of soluble proteins accumulated, which was closely correlated with the loss of seed germinability and vigor. We were able to show this correlation by using partially purified proteins for the assay. Fluorescence also increased in seeds under good storage conditions (5°C for up to 21 years), although there was a less significant correlation between seed viability and the accumulation of fluorescent products during the time of natural aging. The rise in protein fluorescence is interpreted as an increase of Maillard products. The carbonyl content of soluble proteins (a measure of the oxidative damage) did not change significantly during either accelerated aging or natural aging: however the elimination of carbonyls during germination seemed to be hindered in seeds that had poor germination. The Maillard reaction may be a consequence of the formation of reducing sugars through a gradual hydrolysis of oligosaccharides during aging. Preliminary evidence from the natural aging study showed that, when seeds were in the glassy state, the sugar hydrolysis was inhibited. These results suggest that the Maillard reaction and oxidative reaction may play an important role in seed deterioration.
Software analysis for security

This is a survey of the processes, practices, and technologies that can help software maintenance engineers improve the security of software systems. A particular emphasis is placed on validating security architectures, verifying that the implementation of an architecturepsilas constituent applications adhere to secure coding practices, and protecting software systems against malicious software. In addition to surveying the state-of-the-art, research challenges pertaining to software security are posed to the software maintenance research community.
Local and Spectral Violence in Don DeLillo’s 'Underworld'

‘All terror is local now’, says Sister Edgar in Don DeLillo’s 1997 novel Underworld . But where was terror before? This article draws on Hannah Arendt’s study of violence to examine the models of violence that are offered in DeLillo’s novel, attempting to draw out what is continuous about violence across the Cold War and the War on Terror and what is discontinuous. What political role does the mythology of terror – the spectre of violence haunting the 1990s as well as today – play in the maintenance of power? How does this mythology unify disparate forms of violence as a single threat? And what form does this take when the threat is no longer outside? The article argues that the localised violence of the 90s radically altered the formation of our understandings of violence in the wake of 9/11, preventing a return to a Cold War faith in the categories of the nation state and centralised power. Underworld offers insight into the anxieties and uncertainties that prefigured this shift, without the distortions caused by the violence of the following years.
Abstract 1896: Simple mediation analysis to determine if MSMB is a prostate specific antigen (PSA) or prostate cancer (PC) gene

Background: PC genome-wide association studies have identified MSMB as a candidate susceptibility gene in European populations screened and unscreened for PC. Studies have also shown an association between MSMB (rs10993994) and PSA levels in men without PC diagnoses, suggesting that the association between MSMB and PC may be a reflection of disease screening with PSA. The goal of this study was to determine whether MSMB is a prostate cancer gene or a PSA gene by testing the hypothesis that PSA at diagnosis mediates the relationship between MSMB and PC risk and severity in European Americans. Methods: Using 772 PC cases and 194 controls from our clinic-based case-control study, we conducted a simple mediation analysis using 4 Steps and the Sobel test. In step 1 we tested the significance of MSMB(rs10993994) on PC risk and severity. We then tested the significance of MSMB and PSA at diagnosis (Step 2). In Step 3, tested whether there was a relationship between PSA and PC not accounted for by MSMB. Since Steps 2/3 were passed, we had evidence consistent with a nonzero indirect effect, leading to Step 4, where we compared the observed values and the significance of the relationship between MSMB and PC unadjusted (Step 1) and adjusted for PSA. A Sobel Test was then conducted to determine if the indirect effect of MSMB on PC risk and severity via PSA was significant. Results were stratified by prostate cancer severity: Aggressive prostate cancer (Tumor stage >II and/or Gleason >7); Nonaggressive prostate cancer (Tumor stage Results: Step 1: MSMB was significantly associated with PC risk(OR=1.40,95%CI=1.02-1.93) and nonaggressive PC(OR=1.52,95%CI=1.08-2.16), particularly for the risk genotype(TT)(PC OR=1.91,95%CI=1.01-3.66; nonaggressive OR=2.27,95%CI=1.13-4.55). Step 2: MSMB, particularly the TT genotype, and LogPSA were significantly associated (p=0.04). Step 3: LogPSA was associated with PC risk (OR=13.1,95%CI=8.24-20.9) and nonaggressive PC(OR=8.47,95%CI=5.33-13.5), adjusting for MSMB. Step 4: The association between MSMB and PC risk(OR=1.37,95%CI=0.88-2.14; TT OR=1.66,95%CI=0.70-3.97) and nonaggressive PC(OR=1.47,95%CI=0.93-2.33; TT OR=1.98,95%CI=0.81-4.89) was lower and no longer significant after adjusting for LogPSA, suggesting that PSA is a complete mediator. The Sobel test showed the indirect effect of MSMB on PC (p=0.048) and nonaggressive PC(p=0.049) was significant. Discussion: Our results show that PSA screening is a mediator of the relationship between MSMB and PC risk and nonaggressive PC, suggesting that MSMB is more a PSA gene than a PC risk gene. Our study has limited power and would need to be validated in larger studies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1896. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1896
Using disease-specific, patient-reported measures in everyday clinic.

The goals of treatment of myasthenia gravis (MG) are to (1) keep patients safe and alive, (2) allow them to do what they want to do when they want to do it, (3) limit symptoms, (4) minimize effect of the disease on quality of life, and (5) give patients a better future. There are now a handful of excellent MG-specific outcome measures, including the Myasthenia Gravis Impairment Index (MGII), which can assist us in our efforts.1
Electromagnetic Analysis and Steady-State Performance of Double-Sided Flat Linear Motor Using Soft Magnetic Composite

The applicability of a soft magnetic composite (SMC) material to a new double-sided buried-type interior permanent-magnet flat linear brushless motor (IPM-FLBM) with slot-phase shift is presented through the steady-state performance improvement in this paper. The IPM-FLBM using a conventional electrical solid steel is used as a base model prototype for the performance comparison. The analytic models for armature resistance, inductances of series-connected asymmetric dual three-phase windings, no-load flux linkages, and back electromotive forces (back EMFs) are investigated to derive a closed-form equation for the thrust force. The magnetic field capability due to the design parameter changes of the new SMC prototype is analyzed using two simplified nonlinear magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) models, comparing with the base model prototype. The iron and copper losses of the SMC prototype also are investigated in terms of the thermal limitation. The steady-state performance enhanced by the reduced air-gap size is experimentally validated through the comparison of the static thrust force with that of the base model prototype.
Electro-optic field-mapping as a diagnostic tool for microwave circuits and antenna arrays

The effectiveness of an optical-fiber-mounted electro-optic probe as a scanning electric-field-mapping tool is demonstrated in diagnostic measurements on microwave and millimeter-wave circuits, antennas, and arrays. A combined electric-field and thermal-imaging capability is also discussed.
Operation regimes of double gated graphene nanoribbon FETs

The unique electronic properties of graphene have ignited active research in the past few years. Though in theory its electronic structure and transport properties are well known, the applicability as channel replacement material in conventional CMOS technology is still an open question. High mobility [1] and high current carrying capacity [2,3] make graphene very attractive, but on the other hand low I ON /I OFF ratio and the lack of sufficient saturation in I ON are yet unsolved drawbacks. In the past we demonstrated these properties in double-gated graphene nanoribbon field effect transistors (GNR FETs). We successfully achieved I ON /I OFF ratios of 106 at cryogenic temperatures using either top- or back-gates and sublinear output characteristic was observed [3]. Now we present the detailed analysis of the distinct operational modes of such devices at high applied source-drain field.
A nonlocal averaging technique for kinetic parameter estimation from dynamic PET data

Due to the high noise levels in frame-by-frame reconstructed dynamic PET images, voxel-wise estimation of kinetic parameters remains a challenge. Most traditional denoising schemes compute the time activity curve for a given voxel by averaging voxels in its immediate local neighborhood. We recognize the fact that similarities between time activity curves are not necessarily local due to the distributed nature of the tracer uptake properties of similar tissue types. We, therefore, present a denoising scheme based on the nonlocal mean (NLM) that allows us to compute voxel-wise estimates of kinetic parameters. We validate our method using a simulation study and compare the results of our approach with that of the traditional Gaussian filtering technique. The results demonstrate that nonlocal averaging generates lower bias as well as lower variance in the denoised time series for different regions of interest. We show that this method can thereby be used to generate better estimates of kinetic parameters than those obtained using a Gaussian filter. To enable application to real data sets, we have accelerated the developed NLM denoising framework using a prior clustering step. The compound approach was applied to preclinical [18F] FDG PET data from a mouse study. Significant qualitative improvement was observed in Patlak parametric images computed after NLM denoising.
Silver recovery from greywater: Role of competing cations and regeneration

Abstract The use of silver in consumer products and its subsequent leaching in greywater show an increasing trend. Silver recovery is not only commercially lucrative but also an environmental necessity. Trace concentration of Ag + and high concentration of other competing cations (Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ ) in a typical laundry wash water makes the separation process challenging. The use of ion-exchange resin with thiol group in its chain offers a potential solution due to its high selectivity for silver. This work successfully recovers silver (>90%) as high purity grade Ag 2 S powder (>99%) from synthetic greywater solution using a commercially available resin, Ambersep GT74, in a fixed-bed column mode. The regeneration process in the work has been optimized with respect to the solution pH and thiourea concentration (0.5 M thiourea concentration at pH 1). The resin and the regenerant have been used in multiple cycles (4 times) without compromising on their performance. The study successfully demonstrates a closed-loop sustainable scheme by reusing and recycling all the raw materials to the point of exhaustion with no chemicals/toxic released into the environment.
Aging-aware critical paths for process related validation in the presence of NBTI

The delay of a circuit degrades due to NBTI affects. The accuracy of existing predictive aging models depend on input signal probabilities that may vary during the circuit's life span. Critical paths must be tested periodically in order to determine whether the circuit has aged more than predicted. Path selection is assisted by a proposed pin-pin aging model. A compact test set is also derived in order to test all critical paths at each year. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
"The Tunnel at the End of the Light": Preparing to Attend on the Inpatient Medical Wards.

Transitions are a way of life in academic medicine. While much has been written about these changes, less attention has been devoted to a more common shift: the move between academic work and clinical ward time. This gap has important consequences. For example, some faculty dread upcoming ward blocks. When on clinical rotations, they struggle to juggle patient and academic activities—often doing neither well. The resulting perceived lack of efficiency and effectiveness leads to weariness, fatigue, frustration, and symptoms of burnout. Regardless of clinical effort, most faculty will face this problem. Unfortunately, limited guidance on how best to overcome this common challenge exists.
First report of small cell lung cancer with PTHrP-induced hypercalcemic pancreatitis causing disconnected duct syndrome.

First report of small cell lung cancer with PTHrP-induced hypercalcemic pancreatitis causing disconnected duct syndrome
A Review on Microgrid Technology with Distributed Energy

As one of the key technologies to achieve the large-scale application of distributed power generation, microgrid can overcome the randomness, intermittence and dispersity caused by distributed energy and promote the development and utilization of new energy and renewable energy to ease the shortage of energy all over the world. In this paper, the characteristics and key technology of microgrid and the challenges may exit during development of microgrid are briefly introduced. Microgrid complies with the requirements to promote renewable energy power generation and social sustainable development, and will definitely occupy a vital position in the development of grid construction.
“Come for the period comics. Stay for the cultural awareness”: reclaiming the troll identity through feminist humor on Reddit’s /r/TrollXChromosomes

Abstract/r/TrollXChromosomes is a women-focused humor subreddit on the community site Reddit.com. This essay presents the findings of a thematic content analysis of TrollX’s top-ranked postings. Several themes emerge: that TrollX is a space for networked affective content, that postings often concern women’s embodiment and sexuality, and that they suggest feminist perspectives. These themes are all linked by the image of the troll: a remixed version of the negative, antisocial identity that disrupts and often harasses communities. The TrollX troll invokes a spirit of self-deprecation to revel in the absurdities of life and collectively celebrate women’s everyday experiences. However, this research also argues that the TrollX version of the feminist troll is only partially realized, as it tends to express ambivalence in regards to systemic, intersectional oppression.
What Types of Treatment Are Provided for Patients With Carpal Tunnel Syndrome? A Retrospective Analysis of Commercial Insurance.

Abstract Background Treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in commercially insured patients across the spectrum of provider types rarely has been described. Objective To describe patterns of types of treatment for patients with CTS using a large commercial insurance database. Design Retrospective cohort descriptive study. Setting Administrative health data from the Clinformatics Data Mart (OptumInsight, Eden Prairie, MN). Patients Adults with a primary diagnosis of CTS seen from between January 2010 to December 2012 who had a total of 48 months of continuous data (12 months before diagnosis and 36 months after diagnosis) (n = 24,931). Outcomes Frequency of types of treatment (heat, manual therapy, positioning, steroids, stretching, surgery) by number of treatments, number of visits, provider type, and characteristics. Results Fifty-four percent of patients received no reported treatment, and 50.4% had no additional visits. Surgery (42.5%) and positioning (39.8%) were the most frequent single treatments. Patients who were seen by orthopedist for their first visit more frequently received some treatment (75.1%) and at least 1 additional visit (74.1%) compared with those seen by general practitioners (59.5%, 57.5%, respectively) or other providers (65.4%, 68.4, respectively). Orthopedists more frequently prescribed positioning devices (26.8%) and surgery (36.8%) than general practitioners (18.8%, 14.1%, respectively) or other providers (15.7%, 19.7%, respectively). Older adults more frequently had CTS surgery, as did people who lived in the Midwest. Overall, only 24% of patients with CTS had surgery. Conclusions For more than one-half of patients with CTS no treatment was provided after an initial visit. Surgery rates were much lower than what has previously been reported in the literature. Generally, patients with CTS receive treatments that are supported by current treatment guidelines. Level of Evidence NA
Relational Spirituality and Grief: A Qualitative Analysis of Bereaved Parents:

Relational spirituality has been proposed as a theoretical model of spirituality. Until now, relational spirituality has not been considered in contemporary grief research. Through deductive qualit...
Setting the Agenda on Development: A Content Analysis of How Senegalese Newspapers Report on Local and Foreign Aid

ABSTRACTThe debate on the effectiveness of foreign aid in the economies of sub-Saharan Africa often overlooks how the local journalists of a region report on aid. This study is a quantitative content analysis assessing how newspapers in Senegal write about different forms of aid received within the country, using papers from 2014 and 2015. The purpose of this study is to examine how the print journalists of Senegal set the agenda on Senegal's structural adjustment plan (Plan Senegal Emergent), foreign donations to entities in Senegal, and five other forms of economic and agricultural aid. Results are analysed in SPSS using a Crosstabs analysis, to understand if journalists are writing favourably or unfavourably about each variable. The study also uses excerpts pulled from articles on aid (translated from French into English), which create a supplementary qualitative picture of how journalists are subjectively choosing to write about aid. Findings show Senegalese newspapers devote large amounts of the news...
Radiation Exposure to the General Public

The commentary reviews radiation exposure to the general public (excluding medical and occupational exposure) by briefly summarizing common sources and doses. Included in three tables are annual dose-rates in the United States from natural environmental sources, global fallout, nuclear power and from a variety of consumer products. (JMT)
Who Makes the Decision: the Parent or the Child? The Perceived Influence of Parents and Children On the Purchase of Recreation Services

The role of children in the purchase of public recreation services has been ignored in previous research. Using family decision research as a context, this study examines the relative influence of ...
Sensitizers in Radiotherapy

The fact that radiotherapy is not 100% successful in controlling local disease means that there is a basis for improving the cure rate of cancer using physical or chemical modifiers of the radiation response of normal or malignant tissues. The goal for the use of sensitizers is to increase the sensitivity of tumor cells to a greater extent than those of the normal tissues which are irradiated along with the tumor. A number of diverse approaches to achieve this goal have emerged from laboratory studies. Some have been tested clinically, while others are still in the development stages. This chapter will review the more promising of these approaches, with the emphasis where possible on their clinical use.
Caught in the Crossfire: Positivity and Self-Verification Strivings Among People with Low Self-Esteem

Why do people with negative self-concepts consistently behave in ways that alienate their interaction partners? After all, such persons—that is, depressed persons and those with low self-esteem—typically suffer when they are rejected, and they seem motivated to bring others to like them. Yet, they persist in enacting precisely those behaviors that repel their interaction partners. It almost seems as if such persons have two individuals lurking within: one urging them to seek favorable reactions, the other demanding that they solicit unfavorable reactions.
Desasosiego en la ciudad neoliberal. Reflexiones en torno a la poesía peruana urbana contemporánea

This essay explores the presentation of everyday urban spaces marked by neoliberal practices in a selection of works by Peruvian poets Roxana Crisologo, Victoria Guerrero and Ericka Ghershi. The spaces invoked in their poems are oftentimes the protagonists, either direct or obliquely, that condition their inhabitants and impose a perpetual unrest upon them. The resulting poem endeavors to slow down the systemic haste via individual reflection in a here and now of writing and reading.
Dual Functions of Crystallization Control and Defect Passivation Enabled by Sulfonic Zwitterions for Stable and Efficient Perovskite Solar Cells

Uniform and high-electronic-quality perovskite thin films are essential for high-performance perovskite devices. Here, it is shown that the 3-(decyldimethylammonio)-propane-sulfonate inner salt (DPSI), which is a sulfonic zwitterion, plays dual roles in tuning the crystallization behavior and passivating the defects of perovskites. The synergistic effect of crystallization control and defect passivation remarkably suppresses pinhole formation, reduces the charge trap density, and lengthens the carrier recombination lifetime, and thereafter boosts the small-area (0.08 cm2 ) planar perovskite device efficiency to 21.1% and enables a high efficiency of 18.3% for blade-coating large-area (1 cm2 ) devices. The device also shows good light stability, which remains at 88% of the initial efficiency under continuous unfiltered AM 1.5G light illumination for 480 h. These findings provide an avenue for simultaneous crystallization control and defect passivation to further improve the performance of perovskite devices.
Semantic-guided Encoder Feature Learning for Blurry Boundary Delineation

Encoder-decoder architectures are widely adopted for medical image segmentation tasks. With the lateral skip connection, the models can obtain and fuse both semantic and resolution information in deep layers to achieve more accurate segmentation performance. However, in many applications (e.g., blurry boundary images), these models often cannot precisely locate complex boundaries and segment tiny isolated parts. To solve this challenging problem, we firstly analyze why simple skip connections are not enough to help accurately locate indistinct boundaries and argue that it is due to the fuzzy information in the skip connection provided in the encoder layers. Then we propose a semantic-guided encoder feature learning strategy to learn both high resolution and rich semantic encoder features so that we can more accurately locate the blurry boundaries, which can also enhance the network by selectively learning discriminative features. Besides, we further propose a soft contour constraint mechanism to model the blurry boundary detection. Experimental results on real clinical datasets show that our proposed method can achieve state-of-the-art segmentation accuracy, especially for the blurry regions. Further analysis also indicates that our proposed network components indeed contribute to the improvement of performance. Experiments on additional datasets validate the generalization ability of our proposed method.
IL-33 in murine abdominal aortic aneurysm: a novel inflammatory mediator awaiting clinical translation

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) affects approximately 5% of the high-risk general population consisting of men between the ages of 60–75 (1). Histopathologically, AAA are characterized by degradation of the extracellular matrix (particularly elastin), medial smooth muscle cell (SMC) depletion or apoptosis, and inflammation (2,3). Very little is known about risk factors for AAA expansion, once an aneurysm has been detected.
A comparative analysis of the organic and inorganic carbon content of Halimeda and Penicillus (Chlorophyta, Bryopsidales) in a coastal subtropical lagoon

Standing stocks of the calcifying algae, Halimeda and Penicillus, have remained stable over the 10 years surveyed (2007–2017) in Florida Bay (USA), a subtropical lagoon. The maximum contribution of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃; 779.75 g m⁻²) was lower compared to tropical lagoons. Halimeda was more abundant and had higher inorganic:organic carbon ratios compared to Penicillus. The abundance of Penicillus varied across the surveyed sites, Sprigger Bank, Bob Allen Keys, and Duck Key, while its inorganic:organic carbon ratios did not vary significantly. Our long-term study provides a critical baseline that can help understand fluctuations in carbonate sediment production by calcareous algae in subtropical coastal waters.
Parastomal Hernia Repair Outcomes: A Nine-Year Experience:

Parastomal hernias (PHs) frequently complicate enterostomy creation. Decision for PH repair (PHR) is driven by patient symptoms due to the frequency of complications and recurrences. The European H...
Fungi in the Canopy: How Soil Fungi and Extracellular Enzymes Differ Between Canopy and Ground Soils

Tropical montane cloud forests contain a large abundance and diversity of canopy epiphytes, which depend on canopy soil to retain water and nutrients. We lack an in depth understanding of how these soils contribute to ecosystem processes and soil diversity and how sensitive they may be to projected climate change. We compared canopy and ground soils in Monteverde, Costa Rica, to determine how these two soil types differ in their extracellular enzyme activity (EEA) and fungal communities. Samples were also collected along two elevation gradients to reveal if canopy soils differed in how EEA and fungal communities responded to elevation compared to ground soils. We found that canopy soils had higher EEA than ground soils. Fungal communities were less diverse and differed significantly between the two soil types. These differences were associated with higher relative abundances of yeasts and endophytes in canopy soils. The relative abundances of free-living filamentous fungi and yeasts shifted more dramatically with elevation in canopy soils compared to ground soils. Our study suggests that canopy soils may be a reservoir for endophytes. Epiphytes may invest in symbionts that promote stress tolerance over mycorrhizal fungi whose high resource demands are costly and less beneficial. Overall, soils harbor distinct fungal communities that may be altered under projected climate change.
Refined critical boundary with enhanced statistical power for non-directional two-sided tests in group sequential designs with multiple endpoints

Group sequential designs with multiple endpoints are widely used in clinical trials and medical research. In the literature of group sequential designs with a single primary hypothesis, it was recommended to calculate the critical boundary for a symmetric non-directional two-sided test at the significance level $$\alpha $$ by constructing a one-sided critical boundary at the significance level $$\alpha /2$$ . As a natural but unvalidated extension, researchers may think the same conclusion holds for testing multiple endpoints in group sequential designs, that is, the critical boundary calculated to control the type I error at level $$\alpha /2$$ for one-sided test also controls the type I error at level $$\alpha $$ for non-directional two-sided tests. In this paper, we demonstrate that using one-sided $$\alpha /2$$ -level critical boundaries for non-directional two-sided $$\alpha $$ -level tests leads to notable and unnecessary conservativeness when multiple endpoints are hierarchically tested in group sequential designs. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to reveal the relationship between the type I error rates of the two-sided and one-sided tests in hierarchical testing of multiple endpoints in group sequential designs. We consider three commonly used hierarchical structures for the primary and secondary endpoints, namely the stagewise hierarchical, overall hierarchical, and partially hierarchical structures. Under all three hierarchical structures, we refine the critical boundary for the secondary hypothesis. In addition, we prove that our boundary refinement methods yield enhanced statistical power. The proposed methodology is illustrated using a randomized clinical trial examining the effect of energy-reduced diets with different macronutrient compositions on body weight.
Don’t Demean “Invasives”: Conservation and Wrongful Species Discrimination

It is common for conservationists to refer to non-native species that have undesirable impacts on humans as “invasive”. We argue that the classification of any species as “invasive” constitutes wrongful discrimination. Moreover, we argue that its being wrong to categorize a species as invasive is perfectly compatible with it being morally permissible to kill animals—assuming that conservationists “kill equally”. It simply is not compatible with the double standard that conservationists tend to employ in their decisions about who lives and who dies.
Astrocytes improve neuronal health after cisplatin treatment through mitochondrial transfer.

Abstract Neurodegenerative disorders, including chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment, are associated with neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction. Cisplatin, a commonly used chemotherapeutic, induces neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction in vivo and in vitro. Astrocytes are key players in supporting neuronal development, synaptogenesis, axonal growth, metabolism and, potentially, mitochondrial health. We tested the hypothesis that astrocytes transfer healthy mitochondria to neurons after cisplatin treatment to restore neuronal health. We used an in vitro system in which astrocytes containing mito-mCherry-labeled mitochondria were co-cultured with primary cortical neurons damaged by cisplatin. Culture of primary cortical neurons with cisplatin reduced neuronal survival and depolarized neuronal mitochondrial membrane potential. Cisplatin induced abnormalities in neuronal calcium dynamics characterized by increased resting calcium levels, reduced calcium responses to stimulation with KCl, and slower calcium clearance. The same dose of cisplatin that caused neuronal damage did not affect astrocyte survival or astrocytic mitochondrial respiration. Co-culture of cisplatin-treated neurons with astrocytes increased neuronal survival, restored neuronal mitochondrial membrane potential, and normalized neuronal calcium dynamics especially in those neurons that had received mitochondria from astrocytes. These beneficial effects of astrocytes were associated with transfer of mitochondria from astrocytes to cisplatin-treated neurons. The Rho-GTPase Miro-1 is known to contribute to mitochondrial motility and transfer. We show that siRNA-mediated knockdown of Miro-1 in astrocytes reduced mitochondrial transfer from astrocytes to neurons and prevented the normalization of neuronal calcium dynamics. In conclusion, we identified transfer of mitochondria from astrocytes to neurons damaged by cisplatin as an important repair mechanism to protect cortical neurons against the toxic effects of this chemotherapeutic. Significance statement Chemotherapy-induced neurotoxicity is a serious health problem and little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Especially neurons are very sensitive to cisplatin treatment. We show that astrocytes can protect neurons damaged by cisplatin by improving neuronal survival, mitochondrial health, and calcium dynamics in vitro. This beneficial effect of astrocytes is dependent on the transfer of mitochondria from astrocytes to the damaged neurons. Our findings provide evidence for an important endogenous protective neuro-glial mechanism that could contribute to prevention of neuronal death as a result of cisplatin treatment and thereby aid in sustaining brain health of patients during chemotherapy.
Cisplatin-induced threshold shift in the CBA/CaJ, C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ mouse models of hearing loss.

Abstract The development of a clinically-relevant rodent model of cisplatin-induced hearing loss presents the challenges of finding the cumulative dose, dosing schedule, and rodent strain to induce a consistent level of threshold shift with low mortality. This study was undertaken to model hearing loss at 16, 32, and 48 mg/kg cumulative doses of cisplatin in the CBA/CaJ, C57BL/6J, and BALB/cJ mouse strains. Mice were exposed to three cycles of 16 mg/kg cisplatin, for a cumulative dose of 48 mg/kg. Equal numbers of male and female mice were used in each strain, and the cisplatin was delivered in three different dosing schedules: a single bolus dose of 16 mg/kg followed by 20 days of recovery, 8 mg/kg doses delivered every ten days, and 4 mg/kg delivered daily for four consecutive days followed by 17 days of recovery. Auditory brainstem response threshold shifts indicated increased hearing loss with increasing cumulative dose in all strains and dosing schedules. The BALB/cJ experienced the largest threshold shifts, and the C57BL/6J the smallest. However, the BALB/cJ mice had the lowest mortality (0%) of the strains. The dosing schedule had minimal effects on threshold shift, but did affect mortality, with the 16 mg/kg single dose inducing more mortality than the other two schedules. In the BALB/cJ mice, the males experienced more threshold shift than the females. The results mirror past work comparing the three strains’ susceptibility to kanamycin ototoxicity, with highest pigmentation showing the lowest acute susceptibility to cisplatin-induced hearing loss, and the albino strain showing the highest susceptibility.
Neuro-oncology Multidisciplinary Clinic and Improvements in Patient Outcome.

BACKGROUND Neuro-oncology care is becoming increasingly complex and patients often see multiple specialists. Multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) is a patient-centric option to allow multiple specialists to be involved where patients see multiple providers on the same day. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of a neuro-oncology MDC on patient outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS Retrospective study was performed on consecutive patients who received radiosurgery for central nervous system (CNS) disease. We evaluated patients 2 years before and 2 years after the implementation of a MDC. RESULTS A total of 351 patients were analyzed, 163 patients before MDC and 188 after implementation of MDC. Before MDC the median follow-up was dependent on which department ordered follow-up radiographic imaging. This discrepancy decreased after the MDC. Overall survival for patients with CNS metastatic disease improved in the MDC cohort (median survival of 248 before MDC and 315 d after, P<0.027). CONCLUSION We found that neuro-oncology MDC improved follow-up across disciplines and improved overall survival for patients with CNS metastatic disease.
Daily Patterns of Emotional Functioning on Drinking and Nondrinking Days.

Background Alcohol misuse continues to be a significant public health problem. Understanding the factors that may contribute to the harmful progression in drinking is an important aspect of public health. Previous research has shown that affect regulation is associated with problematic alcohol use. Additionally, emotion instability has been found as a predictor of alcohol-related problems and may be linked to reinforcement mechanisms. Methods The current study examined positive mood, negative mood, and mood instability in real time across drinking and nondrinking days utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Current drinkers (n = 74) were recruited for a 21-day EMA study. Participants completed up to 10 random assessments of positive mood, negative mood, and alcohol use per day. Mood instability was assessed as the squared difference in current mood from mood in the previous assessment. Data were analyzed using piecewise multilevel regression to examine mood trajectories across drinking and nondrinking days. Results Positive emotion across the day was higher on drinking days than nondrinking days and continued to increase after drinking initiation. In contrast, negative emotion across the day was lower on drinking days than nondrinking days and continued to decrease after drinking initiation. Emotional functioning was stable across the day on nondrinking days. However, on drinking days there was a steady increase in emotional instability leading up to drinking initiation, followed by a rapid stabilization after initiation. Conclusions This study highlights the potentially reinforcing impact of alcohol via emotional stability. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of mood dynamics when examining the reinforcing effects of alcohol consumption.
Neuroendocrine Neoplasms and Lesions of the Hypothalamus

The hypothalamus has pivotal significance in the regulation of endocrine and autonomic function of the body, closely controlling the anterior and posterior pituitary glands. Historically, much has been learned of the hypothalamus in human disease through the clinical manifestations that occur with hypothalamic lesions. Neoplasms of the hypothalamus are rare. Typically, these lesions arise from tissue outside the hypothalamus and affect the hypothalamus by compression or invasion. Because the hypothalamus is small and lesions often develop slowly, they can achieve considerable size before recognition. However, with the advent of modern neuroimaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we are able to detect such lesions earlier. In this chapter, we aim to outline common hypothalamic neoplasms and infiltrative processes. These lesions are divided based on origin: neural, glial, and infiltrative processes. We will review their features and the neuroendocrine dysfunction that results. We will also briefly touch upon inflammatory conditions that may mimic tumors.
Building Capacity of Health Professionals in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Through Online Continuing Professional Development in Nutrition.

ABSTRACT Continuing professional development (CPD) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) can build capacity of health professionals in infant and young child feeding (IYCF). However, travel to in-person workshops can be time-consuming and expensive. Thus, we developed a free online course to provide training in IYCF to health professionals globally; the course received overwhelmingly high numbers of registrations. Our aim was to conduct a program evaluation to assess course satisfaction, learning, and application using surveys administered postcourse and 9 months later. Response rates were 99% (n = 835) and 55% (n = 312), respectively. Among those who only partially completed the course, reasons for noncompletion were assessed (response rate 29%, n = 72). Data within a 1-year period were analyzed. Respondents worked in multiple settings and organizations worldwide. Nearly all (99%) reported postcourse that they learned "a lot" or "some" from all topics, and over 70% applied "a lot" of or "some" information 9 months later. In open-ended questions, respondents reported improved knowledge, skills, and competence to conduct their work; they also desired more similar training courses. Many who did not complete the course reported "not enough time" as the main reason (74%), and most (94%) wanted to continue it. The positive response to the course suggests there is an unmet need for CPD for health professionals in LMICs. Our evaluation found that online training was feasible, acceptable, and increased professionals' knowledge and application of IYCF concepts in nutrition programming. Increased use of online CPD offers the potential for global capacity-building in other health-related topics.
Full Comprehension of Theories, Models, and Frameworks Improves Application: A Focus on RE-AIM.

Two decades after the introduction of the RE-AIM Framework (1), its utility for intervention planning and evaluation remains as relevant as ever. Applied widely across time, space, and discipline, RE-AIM has become a “household name” among researchers, practitioners, and government officials. For the last 20 years, this framework has structured funding initiatives, course curricula and trainings, and community and clinical efforts. RE-AIM has also been the focus of hundreds of published studies. However, despite RE-AIM's operationalized core elements and mainstream presence in research and practice communities (2), misconceptions about its application persist (3–5). Although RE-AIM was developed as a planning and evaluation framework, it is often inappropriately viewed narrowly for evaluation use only. Although its use for evaluation is valuable and highly recommended, the versatility of the RE-AIM framework is diminished when only envisioned for a single purpose. This article promotes the need for full comprehension of the framework to ensure it is appropriately used for its range of utility. Further, it encourages researchers and practitioners to proactively access the vast collection of RE-AIM resources in anticipation of potential challenges, disruptions, and delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
CALL Teacher Training—Considerations for Low-Resource Environments: Overview of CALL Teacher Training

The pandemic in 2020 has profoundly impacted millions of people all around the world. We have experienced intense disruption in our daily lives. We have lost loved ones, jobs, motivation, and precious time that could have been used more productively. The pandemic did not distinguish between borders, race, or gender. It affected everyone but not equally, unveiling socioeconomic differences within and across countries in access to robust health care, tolerable working environments, and other basic needs. Inevitably, the pandemic has also disrupted the normal course of the way we teach and learn, especially in English for Foreign Languages (EFL) contexts. Administrators and teachers needed to suddenly reconfigure their in-person classes for online teaching while students had to adjust to this new way of language learning. As Godwin-Jones (2020) envisaged, this widespread switch to distance learning seems likely to be the new normal rather than a one-time occurrence. Considering Hubbard and Levy’s (2006) concern that “both language teachers in training and practicing teachers will find themselves at a disadvantage if they are not adequately proficient in computer-assisted language learning,” it is now even more crucial for language teachers to develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of technology use in language teaching. As Oskoz and Smith (2020) pointed out, this new era in language teaching and learning provides a unique opportunity to investigate the affordances of technology and harmonize these affordances with learner, teacher, and curricular objectives. Thus, taking a fresh look at teacher training for computer-assisted language learning (CALL) in order to see how these affordances can be better implemented, especially in low-resource contexts, seems like a perfect place to start. In this article, we first discuss some critical issues in CALL teacher education. Then we introduce an online CALL teacher education (CTE) course by explaining how these issues have been implemented in designing the course. We conclude by providing practical guidelines on how to design online professional development courses in the language teaching field.
From informal process diagrams to formal process models

Process modeling is an important activity in business transformation projects. Free-form diagramming tools, such as PowerPoint and Visio, are the preferred tools for creating process models. However, the designs created using such tools are informal sketches, which are not amenable to automated analysis. Formal models, although desirable, are rarely created (during early design) because of the usability problems associated with formal-modeling tools. In this paper, we present an approach for automatically inferring formal process models from informal business process diagrams, so that the strengths of both types of tools can be leveraged. We discuss different sources of structural and semantic ambiguities, commonly present in informal diagrams, which pose challenges for automated inference. Our approach consists of two phases. First, it performs structural inference to identify the set of nodes and edges that constitute a process model. Then, it performs semantic interpretation, using a classifier that mimics human reasoning to associate modeling semantics with the nodes and edges. We discuss both supervised and unsupervised techniques for training such a classifier. Finally, we report results of empirical studies, conducted using flow diagrams from real projects, which illustrate the effectiveness of our approach.
NASA Space Shuttle Processing

This viewgraph presentation reviews NASA's Space Shuttle Processing at Kennedy Space Center. A demonstration of the Space Shuttle silica tiles, a description of its High Temperature Reusable Surface Insulation (HRSI), tile inspections, and tile replacement demonstrations are also presented.
Short and informal documents: a probabilistic model for description enrichment

While lexical statistics of formal text play a central role in many statistical Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Information Retrieval (IR) tasks, there is little known about lexical statistics of informal and short documents. To learn the unique characteristics of informal text, we construct an N-gram study on P2P data, and present the insights, problems, and differences from formal text. Consequently, we apply a probabilistic model for detecting and correcting spelling problems (not necessarily errors) and propose an enrichment method that makes many P2P files better accessible to relevant user queries. Our enrichment results show an improvement in both recall and precision with only a slight increase in the collection size.