cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Off-Road Driving Evaluations for Persons With Cerebral Injury: A Factor Analytic Study of Predriver and Simulator Testing

OBJECTIVES: Off-road evaluations composed of psychometric testing and simulator driving are commonly used in rehabilitation settings to assess a person's fitness to resume driving after a cerebral injury. Although the results of these evaluation methods separately provide information about ability to drive, there is no clear understanding about what is measured in comprehensive off-road evaluations as a whole. This study explored the interrelationship of perceptual, cognitive, behavioral, and operational variables that form the basis for off-road evaluations in order to determine whether there are basic dimensions underlying performance in these evaluations and to derive a small set of variables that could help in refining methods for evaluating persons with cerebral injuries. METHODS: One-hundred six persons with cerebral damage due to brain injury or cerebrovascular accident were administered a predriver evaluation that consisted of selected neuropsychometric tests. Subjects were also evaluated in a driving simulator that measured their operational responses to filmed driving situations and assessed their behaviors. Principal component analysis was used to identify manifest and latent variables contributing to the results of the evaluations. RESULTS: The analysis produced a model with five independent (orthogonal) eigenvectors, or factors, for this population: Higher Order Visuospatial Abilities, Basic Visual Recognition and Responding, Anticipatory Braking, Defensive Steering, and Behavioral Manifestations of Complex Attention. These factors accounted for 66.14% of the total variance in the subjects' responses to comprehensive off-road evaluations. CONCLUSION: These factors were useful in understanding driving performance and the role of predriver and simulator testing in driver evaluations. Language: en
THE TOXIC ACTION OF COPPER ON NITELLA

1. Using the loss of turgidity of the cells as a criterion it is found that the toxicity curve of copper chloride with Nitella is sigmoid. An empirical equation can be constructed which will approximately fit the curve. 2. When the concentration of the copper chloride is varied the toxic effect varies as a constant, fractional, power of the concentration. This relation holds when the concentration is plotted against either (1) the time necessary to reach a given point on the ordinate of the survivor curve, (2) the maximum speed of toxic action as shown by the tangent to the survivor curve or (3) the first derivative of the equation which fits the survivor curve. 3. When the temperature is varied and the logarithm of the reciprocal of the time necessary to reach a given point on the survivor curves is plotted against the reciprocal of the absolute temperature the resulting figure consists of several intersecting curves. A hypothetical system is described which will give straight lines under normal conditions and curves when acted upon by a toxic agent.
A phase I–II study of paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and vinorelbine with filgrastim (rhG-CSF) support in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer

Summary Purpose: We designed a phase I—II trial of three active agents, paclitaxel, ifosfamide, and vinorelbine, in advanced non-smallcell lung cancer (NSCLC) to: 1) define the dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) and maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of paclitaxel with filgrastim (G-CSF) support; and 2) determine the overall response rate and median survival of patients treated on this regimen. Patients and methods: We treated cohorts of patients with stage IIIB or IV NSCLC with ifosfamide 1.2-1.6 g/m 2 /day x 3 and vinorelbine 20-25 mg/m 2 /day x 3 and escalating doses of paclitaxel at 100-175 mg/m 2 on day 2 with G-CSF support on a 21-day cycle. One prior experimental single-agent chemotherapy regimen was allowed. Results: Fifty-six patients, were enrolled on this trial: 27 on the phase I portion of the study and an additional 29 at the recommended phase II dose (RPTD). Thirteen patients had received prior chemotherapy. Paclitaxel doses of 175 mg/m 2 and 150 mg/m 2 produced dose-limiting myelosuppression, and the RPTD was determined to be paclitaxel 135 mg/m 2 with ifosfamide 1.2 g/m 2 /day on days 1-3 and vinorelbine 20 mg/m 2 / day on days 1-3 with G-CSF support. The overall response rate was 18%, with a median survival of 6.1 months. Six of 35 patients (17%) treated at the RPTD achieved a partial response to therapy. Grade IV neutropenia was observed in 19 of 35 patients at this dose, with eight patients suffering febrile neutropenia. Conclusions' This non-cisplatin-containing three-drug regimen has substantial toxicity and low activity in advanced NSCLC, and does not seem to improve on prior regimens. It is unclear whether the lack of efficacy relates to an antagonistic reaction between the specific drugs, administration schedule, or to subtherapeutic doses of the individual agents.
Mental Rehearsal as a Complementary Treatment in Geriatric Rehabilitation

The challenge of geriatric rehabilitation continues to grow with decreasing Medicare reimbursement and societal access to therapy. Occupational and physical therapists must be proactive in developing strategies that optimize therapy outcomes for patients. Mental rehearsal is a complementary treatment technique that should be considered for facilitation of motor skill acquisition. This technique has been used extensively in sport, music, and dance performance. While it is not a viable substitute for physical practice, it most certainly can be helpful in motor learning enhancement. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of mental rehearsal: describe mental rehearsal, review the available research on the topic, consider possible mechanisms of action, and suggest its application to the geriatric patient population.
Quantum well intersubband lasers

This chapter/paper provides an overview of quantum well intersubband lasers including quantum cascade and step quantum well lasers. A simplified model of the quantum cascade laser is presented which provides a good estimate of major device parameters and illustrates the principles of operation and physical processes. Device schemes of other intersubband lasers such as step quantum wells are also presented and analyzed.
Dependability enhancement for coalition clusters with autonomic failure management

In large-scale compute clusters, failures become norms instead of exceptions. Autonomic management of failures and resources in such systems is becoming more and more important. In this paper, we propose a failure management mechanism with prediction functionality for large coalition systems. It analyzes failure behaviors in a system and forecasts the prospective failure occurrences based on characterized failure dynamics. A prototype of our failure management system is implemented and deployed in a coalition cluster environment. Prediction results in the experiments show our proposed mechanism can accurately capture the failure trend in the coalition cluster.
An Efficient Handover Technique for 4G Networks

The IEEE802.21 protocol has provided a mechanism to perform a seamless handover within heterogeneous networks guaranteeing a higher level of mobility. In this paper, we discuss different characteristics and challenges facing 4G mobility. We propose an efficient user zoning handover technique based on the IEEE802.21 protocol. The proposed approach connects users to a preset network upon entering a zone. The process is guided by the MIIS server.
Defense Applications for Large Numbers of Distributed Small Sensors

Military microsensors are networked distributed embedded systems composed of a processor, a radio, and sensors used for personnel or vehicle detection. They are most often found in minefield replacement, force protection, and perimeter security applications where size, weight, power, and cost requirements are equally challenging. In this paper, we discuss the different system design approaches used in microsensor systems, which range in composition from large networks of small nodes to small networks of large nodes. We introduce a modular, scalable, power-aware microsensor architecture intended to support the diversity of applications as well as the entire dynamic range required of these systems. Next, we describe a reference implementation of this concept and experimental results from field tests.
Energieliefernde biochemische Prozesse

In tierischen Zellen wird Energie mit Hilfe zwei verschiedener biochemischer Prozesse gewonnen: dem Citronensaurecyclus (aerobe Oxydation der Brenztraubensaure unter Beteiligung mitochondrialer Enzyme) und durch die Glykolyse (anaerobe Spaltung von Glucose zu Milchsaure oder andere Produkte unter Beteiligung des glykolytischen Enzymkomplexes). Beim ersten Prozes wird molekularer Sauerstoff benotigt, wahrend die Glykolyse auch ohne Sauerstoff ablauft. Beide Reaktionswege konnen in einer bestimmten Zelle gleichzeitig eingeschlagen werden, in der Regel uberwiegt aber der eine oder andere Prozes. So werden die Zellen, die nur mangelhaft mit Sauerstoff versorgt werden, vornehmlich den glykolytischen Reaktionsweg einschlagen. Zellen, die, wie das Herz oder die Flugmuskeln, bestimmte kontinuierliche physiologische Leistungen erfullen mussen, werden dagegen ihren Energiebedarf vorwiegend durch die mitochondriale Oxydation decken.
Three-dimensional left atrial blood flow characteristics in patients with atrial fibrillation assessed by 4D flow CMR

Aims To apply 4D flow cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) for the volumetric measurement of 3D left atrial (LA) blood flow to evaluate its potential to detect altered LA flow in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and to investigate associations of changes in systolic and diastolic LA flow with the current clinical risk score (CHA2DS2-VASc) used for the assessment of thromboembolic risk in AF. Methods and results 4D flow CMR was performed in 40 patients with a history of AF (in sinus rhythm during CMR scan, age = 61 ± 11 years), 20 age-appropriate controls (59 ± 7 years), and 10 young healthy volunteers (24 ± 2 years) to measure in vivo time-resolved 3D LA blood flow. LA velocities were characterized with respect to atrial function and timing by calculating normalized LA flow velocity histograms during ventricular systole, early diastole, mid-late diastole, and the entire cardiac cycle. Mean, median, and peak LA velocity steadily decreased when comparing young volunteers, age-appropriate controls, and AF patients by 10–44% and 8–26% for early diastole and the entire cardiac cycle, respectively ( P < 0.01 for all comparisons except median velocity for young vs. older volunteers and peak velocity for older volunteers and AF patients). There were moderate but significant inverse relationships between increased CHA2DS2-VASc score and reduced mean LA velocity (early diastole: r = −0.37, P < 0.001; entire RR-interval: r = −0.33, P = 0.005), median LA velocity ( r = −0.33, P = 0.003; r = −0.25, P = 0.017), and peak velocity ( r = −0.36, P = 0.001; r = −0.45, P < 0.001). LA flow indices also correlated significantly with age and LA volume ( R 2 = 0.44–0.62, P < 0.001), but not with left ventricular ejection fraction. Conclusion Left atrial 4D flow CMR demonstrated significantly reduced LA blood flow velocities in patients with AF. Further study is needed to determine whether these measures can improve upon the CHA2DS2-VASc score for stroke risk prediction and enhance individual decisions on anticoagulation in patients with AF.
The Morphology of Physalacria Inflata

The genus Physalacria was established by Peck in 1882 when he showed that the fungus described by Fries as Mitrula inflata and later by Cooke as Spathularia inflata was actually a Basidiomycete (6). In an excellent description, Peck stated that the surface of the bladder-like head is everywhere covered by the hymenium; and on this basis he included the genus in the family Clavariaceae, where it is generally placed at the present time. He also mentioned that he could find but two sterigmata on the basidia. Krieger (3), examining fresh specimens, claims to have found several characters at variance with Peck's description. He asserts that the cap is differentiated into distinct upper and lower surfaces, and that the hymenium is borne only on the latter. The upper surface, he finds, shows a looser cell arrangement, with hair-like and encrusted cells scattered about the transition from hymenial to sterile surface. Moreover, the hymenial surface is described as typically thrown into gill-like folds, each ending at the stipe in a decurrent tooth, much as do decurrent gills. The specimens studied by Krieger apparently all grew erect and the hymenium was in the same relative position as it is in a stalked agaric. Because of this restriction of the hymenium to the lower surface and the resemblance of the folds on the lower surface to gills, Krieger proposed to remove the fungus from the Clavariaceae to the Agaricaceae, renaming it Eoagaricus inflatus. He states (3, 4) that the stipe is always laterally attached, so that the radiately folded, gill-like hymenium, borne on one side of the stipe, faces downward in the young basidiocarp. As maturity is reached the bladder-like cap is erected by contraction of the tissues of the stipe on one side. The figure illustrating this (4, p. 192) is contradictory, however, in that the folds shown are not radiate and do not appear to terminate at the stipe in decurrent teeth.
Teaching with parallella: a first look in an undergraduate parallel computing course

This paper describes our experience integrating the Parallella, an energy efficient single board computer (SBC) with 18 cores, into an undergraduate parallel computing course. The board's small form-factor, high number of cores and relative cheapness makes it a very attractive option for introducing students to parallel computing. We describe and reflect on our experiences using the Parallella board, and offer novel educational materials that will assist others to incorporate the Parallella into future computing courses.
Radiological features of adhesive optochiasmatic arachnoiditis

Adhesive optochiasmatic arachnoiditis (AOCA) was found to be the most common cause of an ischemic chiasmal syndrome. The etiology of AOCA is diverse: closed head injury, meningitis, radiation therapy, craniotomy for aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation or tumor, sarcoidosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or allergy to myelographic contrast medium appeared to be the cause of fibrosis and scar formation in 23 of 25 cases, while the etiology of the remaining 2 cases is unknown. The radiological features of AOCA are as follows: partial or total obliteration of suprasellar cisterns and the recesses of the third ventricle, atrophy and irregular configuration of the optic chiasm and nerves, fibrous retraction with intrasel-lar herniation of the optic chiasm, which often shows a “V” shape, occasional arachnoid cyst formation with elevation of the chiasm and indentation of the rostral third ventricle, segmental attenuation of the supraclinoid portion of the carotid, and/or main trunk of the anterior cerebral arteries, and a high incidence of empty sella (89%).
WEAR RATES FOLLOWING PRIMARY TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY USING A SECOND GENERATION HIGHLY CROSS-LINKED POLYETHYLENE

Introduction Technological advances in the processing of polyethylene have led to improved survivorship of total hip arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine if a second generation highly cross-linked polyethylene could improve upon wear rates compared to conventional and first generation cross-linked polyethylene in patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty. Methods Linear and volumetric wear rates of a second generation highly cross-linked polyethylene were evaluated following primary total hip arthroplasty. There were 44 patients with an average age of 68.6 years and mean follow-up of 5.3 years. Patients were evaluated at six weeks, one, two and five years. Wear rates were determined from digitized AP Pelvis radiograph by an independent observer using Martell9s software. Acetabular inclination and femoral head size were also evaluated to determine variability in wear rates. Results The mean linear wear rate for the entire group was 0.015mm/year (±0.055). There was a 64% decrease in linear wear rate when compared to a first generation highly cross-linked polyethylene from the same institution. There was a 90% decrease in wear rate compared to conventional polyethylene. There were no differences in the linear wear rate between the 32mm vs. larger head sizes (36mm and 40mm). However, there was a 30% increase in volumetric wear rate with larger head sizes. The mean wear rate in patients with cup inclination less than 45 degrees was 0.006mm/year compared with 0.024mm/year for those with an inclination greater than 45 degrees. The amount of linear wear was increased by 4 times in patients with a cup inclination of greater than 45 degrees. There was no evidence of any osteolysis in this group of patients. Conclusion Our data with a mean follow-up of 5.3 years, using a second generation highly cross-linked polyethylene, demonstrates a dramatic decrease in incidents of linear wear compared to conventional polyethylene and first generation highly cross-linked polyethylene (Figure 1). Of concern is the higher volumetric wear rate noted with larger head sizes and increased linear wear rates with cup inclination angles of greater than 45 degrees. Despite improvements in wear rates using a second generation highly cross-linked polyethylene, cup orientation and choice of head size play significant roles in implant survivorship.
Launches of Pol-In-SAR satellite sensors and results of satellite tandem-SAR TanDEM-X

With the un-abating global population increase our natural resources are stressed as never before, and the global day/night monitoring of the terrestrial covers from the mesosphere to the litho-sphere becomes all the more urgent. Microwave radar sensors are ideally suited for space imaging because those are almost weather independent.
Three-dimensional imaging of hidden objects using positron emission backscatter

Positron emission backscatter imaging is a technique for interrogation and three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction of hidden objects when we only have access to the objects from one side. Using time-of-flight differences in detected direct and backscattered positron-emitted photons, we construct 3-D images of target objects. Recently at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a fully three-dimensional imaging system has been built and the experimental results are discussed in this paper. Quantitative analysis of images reconstructed in both two- and three-dimensions are also presented.
Surface scattering controlled heat conduction in semiconductor thin films

Phonon-surface scattering is the fundamental mechanism behind thermal transport phenomena at the nanoscale. Despite its significance, typical approaches to describe the interaction of phonons with surfaces do not consider all relevant physical quantities involved in the phonon-surface interaction, namely, phonon momentum, incident angle, surface roughness, and correlation length. Here, we predict thermal conduction properties of thin films by considering an accurate description of phonon-surface scattering effects based on the rigorous Beckmann-Kirchhoff scattering theory extended with surface shadowing. We utilize a Boltzmann transport based reduced mean-free-path model for phonon transport in thin-films to predict the wavelength and mean-free-path heat spectra in Si and SiGe films for different surface conditions and show how the thermal energy distribution can be tailored by the surface properties. Using the predicted wavelength spectra, we also introduce a measure to quantify phonon-confinement effect...
Convergent? Minds? Some questions about mental evolution

In investigating convergent minds, we need to be sure that the things we are looking at are both minds and convergent. In determining whether a shared character state represents a convergence between two organisms, we must know the wider distribution and primitive state of that character so that we can map that character and its state transitions onto a phylogenetic tree. When we do this, some apparently primitive shared traits may prove to represent convergent losses of cognitive capacities. To avoid having to talk about the minds of plants and paramecia, we need to go beyond assessments of behaviourally defined cognition to ask questions about mind in the primary sense of the word, defined by the presence of mental events and consciousness. These phenomena depend upon the possession of brains of adequate size and centralized ontogeny and organization. They are probably limited to vertebrates. Recent discoveries suggest that consciousness is adaptively valuable as a late error-detection mechanism in the initiation of action, and point to experimental techniques for assessing its presence or absence in non-human mammals.
Lemonade from Lemons: Harnessing Device Wearout to Create Limited-Use Security Architectures

Most architectures are designed to mitigate the usually undesirable phenomenon of device wearout. We take a contrarian view and harness this phenomenon to create hardware security mechanisms that resist attacks by statistically enforcing an upper bound on hardware uses, and consequently attacks. For example, let us assume that a user may log into a smartphone a maximum of 50 times a day for 5 years, resulting in approximately 91,250 legitimate uses. If we assume at least 8-character passwords and we require login (and retrieval of the storage decryption key) to traverse hardware that wears out in 91,250 uses, then an adversary has a negligible chance of successful brute-force attack before the hardware wears out, even assuming real-world password cracking by professionals. M-way replication of our hardware and periodic re-encryption of storage can increase the daily usage bound by a factor of M.The key challenge is to achieve practical statistical bounds on both minimum and maximum uses for an architecture, given that individual devices can vary widely in wearout characteristics. We introduce techniques for architecturally controlling these bounds and perform a design space exploration for three use cases: a limited-use connection, a limited-use targeting system and one-time pads. These techniques include decision trees, parallel structures, Shamir's secret-sharing mechanism, Reed-Solomon codes, and module replication. We explore the cost in area, energy and latency of using these techniques to achieve system-level usage targets given device-level wearout distributions. With redundant encoding, for example, we can improve exponential sensitivity to device lifetime variation to linear sensitivity, reducing the total number of NEMS devices by 4 orders of magnitude to about 0.8 million for limited-use connections (compared with 4 billion if without redundant encoding).
Cognitive Function and Changes in Cognitive Function as Predictors of Incident Cardiovascular Disease: The Women's Health Initiative Memory Study.

Background Cognitive impairment and decline may signal the increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD). We examined associations of global cognitive function, as measured by the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) and changes in 3MS over time, with incident CVD, individual CVD outcomes, CVD death, and all-cause mortality. Methods A total of 5,596 women (≥ 60) from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study free of CVD at baseline were followed for an average of 7.1 years. The 3MS was measured at baseline and annually thereafter. Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to model associations between baseline 3MS and changes in 3MS and time to events. Results In the fully-adjusted models for every 5-point lower baseline 3MS score, the risk was 12% greater for incident CVD, 37% for HF, 35% for CVD death, and 24% for all-cause mortality. No significant relationships were found for coronary heart disease (CHD), angina, stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA), or coronary revascularization. When change in 3MS was added as a time-varying covariate in the fully-adjusted models, for every 1-point/year greater decline in 3MS, the risk was 4% greater for incident CVD, 10% for CHD, 9% for Stroke/TIA, 17% for CVD death, and 13% for all-cause mortality. Conclusions In older women free of prevalent CVD at baseline, lower baseline global cognitive function or decline in global cognitive function over time, increased risk of incident CVD, CVD death, and all-cause mortality.
The Immune System in Nephrotoxicity

The nephrotoxicity of various drugs, natural products, environmental, and biologic substances are common etiologies of acute and chronic kidney injury. Whereas direct injury to glomerular or tubular renal cells via toxicants initiates a sequence of events that reduces renal function, numerous immunological cells and proteins can have dramatically negative or positive effects on outcomes and renal injury severity. Most of what we know of the immune system’s role in nephrotoxicity is based on pre-clinical investigations but human data regarding with toxic kidney injury also underscores the importance of the immune system in renal health. Thus, here we will describe the influence of immune cells and soluble mediators in the promotion and inhibition of nephrotoxic renal injury.
How Does Information Spread on Social Media Lead to Effective Change

Social media encompasses computer-mediated technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. The key, of course, is the ability and willingness for information to be shared. But why does some information spread on social media and not others? What factors translate social media awareness to action? In this article, we explore these themes using case studies, as well as tips on how you can utilize social media to effectively champion a cause.
Considerations for total thyroidectomy in an adolescent with PTEN mutation

Individuals with PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome (PHTS) are at greatly increased risk for developing well-differentiated thyroid cancer. Specific circumstances in which total thyroidectomies should be considered have not been defined. A 14-year-old macrocephalic female with history of developmental delay and lipoma over her left flank presented with neck swelling and was found have multinodular goiter and auto-immune thyroiditis. Asymptomatic tracheal narrowing was also detected on her initial diagnostic imaging. Later on, she developed positional dyspnea during sleep. Genetic testing revealed a heterozygous pathogenic variant in the PTEN gene (c.463T>A). A total thyroidectomy was performed. In addition to addressing the symptomology in our case, a total thyroidectomy also fortuitously eliminated the thyroid cancer risk. This case spurred us on further to identify specific clinical scenarios where total thyroidectomy may be considered as a true prophylactic measure to manage thyroid cancer risk in PHTS patients.
Exploring flow in the mobile interface context

Abstract While flow has been researched extensively in computer-mediated environments, it has been scarcely researched in the mobile interface context. Specifically, we have virtually no knowledge about what concrete traits of mobile interfaces (as opposed to user perceptions) encourage the flow state. Flow has been associated with many positive outcomes in human-computer interactions, making it vital for practitioners and scholars to understand the traits of mobile interfaces that encourage flow. Therefore, we synthesize the results of a literature search and a modified Delphi study to develop an inventory of traits and perceptions that can promote the flow experience. We provide initial evidence for the predictive validity of our inventory through a survey study which demonstrates that composite ratings of the inventory traits are positively associated with the flow state, which in turn, leads to compulsive usage and technostress. In doing so, this paper also extends flow research by exploring the potential negative outcomes of flow in the mobile interface context.
Safety and Feasibility of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy after Allogeneic Stem Cell Therapy in Relapsed/ Refractory B Cell Lymphomas

Introduction Chimeric Antigen Receptor T (CAR T) cell therapy with axicabtagene ciloleucel and tisagenelecleucel has been approved by the United States FDA for treatment of relapsed/refractory large B cell lymphoma subtypes based on encouraging data from the ZUMA-1 and JULIET trials, respectively. However, neither of these trials included patients who had previously undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation (alloHCT). Here, we report our experience of patients treated with CAR T cell therapy following a prior alloHCT for relapsed/ refractory B cell lymphomas. Methods/ Results Since the first FDA approval in October 2017, three patients underwent CAR T cell therapy after a prior alloHCT at our center. Details of patient, disease, alloHCT were obtained retrospectively from patient health records and are outlined in Figure 1 while details about CAR T therapy are elaborated in Figure 2. All three patients were treated for diffuse large B cell lymphoma and received axicabtagene ciloleucel at 269, 291 and 1914 days after alloHCT. T cell chimerism was 100% in one patient and 18% in another patient, while this information was not available for the third patient. At one-month post CAR T cell therapy, one patient had complete response, one had partial response, and one had progression of disease. Two patients without a complete response eventually died of progressive disease at 106 and 77 days post CAR T cell, respectively. One patient developed grade 2 cytokine release syndrome and grade 2 neurotoxicity; treated with tocilizumab and corticosteroids, respectively, with complete resolution of symptoms. This patient required intensive care unit admission for 5 days. The other 2 patients did not have any CAR T cell related adverse events. Two patients had a prior history of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). One had prior moderate skin chronic GVHD and another had previous stage 2 gut GVHD along with possible liver GVHD (transaminitis only). GVHD had resolved at time of CAR T cell treatment, although one patient was still on immune suppression, which was discontinued prior to leukapheresis. Neither patient had worsening of GVHD symptoms or development of new symptoms related to acute or chronic GVHD following CAR T cell therapy. Conclusion Based on our series, it appears feasible to consider CAR T cell therapy treatment in patients with relapsed B cell lymphoma subtypes following an alloHCT, without concerns of worsening of GVHD. So far, there is one more report of 5 patients with DLBCL who received allogeneic gene modified T cells without worsening GVHD in these patients (Brudno et al JCO 2016). This needs to be further explored in a larger series of patients to confirm safety and efficacy of such utilization.
Pediatric parapharyngeal infection resulting in cervical instability and occipital-cervical fusion—case report and review of the literature

Parapharyngeal infection is the most common deep neck space infection in children and, in rare instances, can result in bony destruction of the cervical spine. We report one such case that required occipital to cervical fusion and halo-vest fixation. We also review the literature and discuss the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for managing pediatric cervical bony destruction secondary to infection.
The weekly calendar planning activity in multiple sclerosis: A top-down assessment of executive functions

Deficits in executive functioning are detrimental to employment, daily functioning and quality of life, however their precise nature in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains underspecified. The aims of t...
Stacked Josephson Junctions as Inductors for Single Flux Quantum Circuits

Large-scale integration of single flux quantum (SFQ) circuits requires components as compact as possible. In this paper, we study the feasibility of integrating vertically stacked Josephson inductors (VSJIs) fabricated with self-shunted Josephson junctions into our SFQ-based circuits, and use both dc and RF electrical measurements to verify the performance of these junction stacks as compact inductors. The VSJIs consist of three Josephson junctions stacked vertically and are inserted into test structures to validate their potential as compact alternatives to geometrical inductors. The VSJIs are designed to be non-switching junctions and are combined with smaller area, switching Josephson junctions fabricated with the same junction barrier process. The VSJIs have a designed critical current of approximately 50% greater than that of the switching junctions, and their observed behavior can be modeled correctly by including the known nonlinearity of the Josephson inductance. To confirm that this nonlinearity does not degrade the expected bias margins, we simulate two common types of SFQ cells with the geometrical inductors replaced by VSJIs. The results verify that incorporating VSJIs in SFQ circuits would increase circuit density with minimal impact on circuit margins.
Efficient pan-cancer whole-slide image classification and outlier detection using convolutional neural networks

Abstract Visual analysis of solid tissue mounted on glass slides is currently the primary method used by pathologists for determining the stage, type and subtypes of cancer. Although whole slide images are usually large (10s to 100s thousands pixels wide), an exhaustive though time-consuming assessment is necessary to reduce the risk of misdiagnosis. In an effort to address the many diagnostic challenges faced by trained experts, recent research has been focused on developing automatic prediction systems for this multi-class classification problem. Typically, complex convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures, such as Google’s Inception, are used to tackle this problem. Here, we introduce a greatly simplified CNN architecture, PathCNN, which allows for more efficient use of computational resources and better classification performance. Using this improved architecture, we trained simultaneously on whole-slide images from multiple tumor sites and corresponding non-neoplastic tissue. Dimensionality reduction analysis of the weights of the last layer of the network capture groups of images that faithfully represent the different types of cancer, highlighting at the same time differences in staining and capturing outliers, artifacts and misclassification errors. Our code is available online at: https://github.com/sedab/PathCNN.
Quantum Mechanical and Molecular Mechanics (MM3) Studies of Hydrazines

The structures, conformational energies, and vibrational frequencies of hydrazines have been studied at 6-31G** MP2 and 6-31G** B3LYP levels. Our theoretical structures generally agree with the available experimental data. However, our theoretical NN bond length for tetramethylhydrazine is 1.436 A at the 6-31G** MP2 level, indicating that the experimental NN distance (1.401 A) is too short. We confirm that the ab initio NN bond length strongly depends on the torsional angle even at the correlated levels. The NN bond lengths are much longer in the syn and anti conformations of 1,1-dimethylhydrazine than that in the gauche conformation. MM3 parameters for hydrazines have been optimized to reproduce experimental or quantum mechanical structures, energies, and vibrational frequencies. The bond lengthening resulting from lone-pair repulsion was accounted for with a torsion−stretch interaction. The heats of formation for hydrazines were calculated via both MP2 and MM3 methods. The optimized MM3 force field was ...
Association of rheumatoid arthritis-related autoantibodies with pulmonary function test abnormalities in a rheumatoid arthritis registry

The publisher regrets that the two sections under the Results omitted inadvertently on the original published version of the above article.
TCT-85 Minimally Invasive Catheter-Based Deactivation of Left Ventricular Device Without Surgical Explantation

Surgical left ventricular assist device (LVAD) explantation remains the main method for device deactivation. However, such reoperation in patients with advanced cardiac disease carries significant potential risks. The role of a percutaneous LVAD deactivation program, including patient selection and
Structure of Spontaneous Ion Acceleration Regions in Expanding Plasmas

In expanding, low pressure, high-density plasmas, spontaneously forming ion beams reach speeds in excess of 10 km/s and are confined to a narrow region in the center of the expansion region. The ion beam formation process is associated with the excitation of ion acoustic-like instabilities, high-energy electrons, and large ion temperature anisotropy. Here we present high spatial resolution measurements, both perpendicular and parallel to the system axis, of the perpendicular ion velocity distribution function in an expanding argon helicon plasma. Given the typical parallel ion temperatures of approximately 0.4 eV and perpendicular ion temperatures of more than 1 eV, the thermal anisotropy of the ion velocity distribution exceeds unity. The flow field of the ions is consistent with a detached ion beam, i.e., the ion beam does not appear to be tied to the expanding magnetic field.
Targeting Cancer from a Structural Biology Perspective

Cancers result from complex evolutionary processes with selective pressure leading to the accumulation of multiple mutations in proteins involved in the signaling circuitry and basic functions of the cell. Together, the mutant gene products co-opt the cell signaling programs that maintain homeostasis in normal tissues to serve the uncontrolled proliferation, survival, angiogenesis, metabolic, and migration functions that allow cancer cells to thrive at the expense of the organism. The details of how this happens are still not entirely understood. However, intense research in the last two decades has revealed a common set of hallmark traits acquired by cells in the progression to all cancers. A seminal article by Hanahan and Weinberg in 2000 (Hanahan and Weinberg 2000) first identified six hallmarks, with an update a decade later in 2011 (Hanahan and Weinberg 2011) that provided more detailed understanding of the original hallmarks and added two emerging new ones. It also identified enabling characteristics that facilitate acquisition of the hallmarks by cancer cells. In the present chapter, we briefly summarize the hallmarks of cancer and use the Hanahan and Weinberg framework to exemplify targets in signaling pathways that lead to each of the hallmarks from a structural biology perspective. We summarize the current state of inhibitors for at least one major target protein in each of the hallmark signaling circuitry.
Research Resiliency through Lean Labs

Academic research groups, especially the ones directed by new junior faculty are under pressure to produce high-quality work timely while constrained by limited budget, resources, and lab space A well-organized lab is crucial for a wide range of reasons, from keeping costs low, to protecting the health and safety of users The focus herein is on developing lab-level systems that create a lean and productive space in the context of academic cleanrooms The efforts made at implementing the 5S organizational methodology to improve cleanroom functions, including regulatory compliance, organization, and resource stewardship, is described The quantifiable result is that chemical consumption spending is reduced by 41%, between 2018 and 2019, whereas materials consumption spending is reduced by 52% Meanwhile, there is a 116% increase in the number of fabricated devices, showing greater output using less resources This management system also proved itself to be beneficial during emergency situations The recent COVID-19 pandemic is one such instance that showcased the ability to systematically ramp-down operations within 15?min, taking a huge burden away from the research group, and thus allowing to focus on what is most important during this time of crisis: the health and safety of the group and community
Effects of Binder Modification on Rutting Performance of Asphalt Binders

Asphalt binder is the driving economical factor in asphalt pavement design. As a result, it is a good target to optimize the design by minimizing the overall cost while maximizing the performance. Modifying asphalt binders with polymers has been historically a successful method of optimization of pavement design. However, fluctuations in polymer prices and concerns related to sustainability lead many engineers to consider scrap tire rubber as a full or partial replacement of the polymers. Polymer coated rubber (PCR), a hybrid blend of crumb rubber and polymer, is a relatively new alternative material to improve asphalt mixture performance. The objective of the study reported in this paper is to investigate the relative performances of the neat asphalt binder, polymer modified (PM) binder and PCR modified binder using the wet process (PCR-Wet). The influence of the modifications on the viscosity, stiffness and rutting performance were explored. The experimental program included rotational viscosity measurements, linear viscoelastic characterization using frequency sweep (|G*|) test and rutting resistance using multiple stress recovery (MSCR) test on the base binder and the PCR modified binder. Findings from this study suggest that the more sustainable and rut-resistant asphalt binders can be achieved by using the PCR-Wet process.
A Fast 2-D Convolution Technique for Deep Neural Networks

Deep neural networks have revolutionized the technology industry as hardware capable of implementing them has become widely available. They have been utilized in various applications such as image and video processing, self driving cars and speech processing. Two Dimensional (2-D) Convolutions are widely used in Deep Neural Networks. There are several techniques available to perform this operation. They can be implemented using methods such as sliding window, matrix multiplication, vector multiplication etc. In this paper, we introduce a new and improved (2-D) convolution method called Single Partial Product 2-D Convolution (SPP2D Convolution) that will help calculate 2-D convolution in a fast and expedient manner. We demonstrate that the new SPP2D convolution will prevent recalculation of partial weights and we present theoretical analysis of our technique compared to some other popular techniques. According to our analysis, our technique can reduce the clock cycles related to input reuse by at least 3 times in comparison with the technique adopted in the work done in [1] and about 9 times than the standard sliding window approach.
Sleep Consolidation, Sleep Problems, and Co-Sleeping: Rethinking Normal Infant Sleep as Species-Typical

Infants evolved in the context of close contact (including co-sleeping). Evolutionary context is rarely considered in psychological infant sleep research, and Western sleep researchers make assumpt...
Preventing leaching from lead water pipes with electrochemistry: an exploratory study

Toxic levels of lead leaching from ageing water distribution infrastructure affect over 5000 public drinking water systems in the US. Pipe replacement, the most effective solution to this problem, is prohibitively expensive. Chemical conditioning of drinking water using orthophosphates, although cost-effective, does not quickly stop lead leaching once it has started. We propose a novel approach to stop lead leaching: to rapidly form an insoluble scale within lead pipes using an external power supply. We report on the feasibility of this approach by first anodizing lead coupons and lead pipes reclaimed from a local water distribution using a phosphate electrolyte and different potentials, pH values, and phosphate concentrations. We subsequently exposed these anodized lead coupons and pipes to synthetic tap water to evaluate their lead leaching rates. We found that polarizing lead coupons in the presence of a 0.05 M phosphate solution decreased lead leaching by up to a 100-fold, relative to leaching from polished bare lead. Similarly, polarizing the reclaimed lead pipes (with a preexisting scale) decreased lead leaching from an average of 36 ppb to 7 ppb. These results were observed when applying potentials that favor Pb(IV) formation, which resulted in the buildup of PbO2 and Pb5(PO4)3OH in both lead coupons and pipes. Our findings indicate that this novel technology has the potential to rapidly decrease equilibrium lead levels in tap water below the EPA action limit of 15 ppb, and thus deserves further exploration.
A Retrospective Review of Hospitalized Patients Receiving a Higher than Maximum Dose of Acetaminophen.

Background:Although the 3 to 4 gram per 24 hours dose recommended for daily use are generally safe, case reports and some series raise concerns about nonacute excessive doses in some individuals.Ob...
Simulations on the propagation dynamics of TW square-aperture CO 2 laser pulses in the atmosphere

We simulate the linear and nonlinear propagation dynamics of multi-TW 10.6 μm square-frame wavepackets in the atmosphere. It is shown that the location of the obscuration is critical for multiple-filamentation and energy delivery downstream.
Stabilizing breathing pattern using local mechanical vibrations: comparison of deterministic and stochastic stimulations in rodent models of apnea of prematurity.

Mechanical stimulation has been shown to reduce apnea of prematurity (AOP), a major concern in preterm infants. Previous work suggested that the underlying mechanism is stochastic resonance, amplification of a subthreshold signal by stochastic stimulation. We hypothesized that the mechanism behind the reduction of apnea length may not be a solely stochastic phenomenon, and suggest that a purely deterministic, non-random mechanical stimulation could be equally as effective. Mice and rats were anesthetized, tracheostomized, and mechanically ventilated to halt spontaneous breathing. Two miniature motors controlled by a microcontroller were attached around the abdomen. Ventilation was paused, stimulations were applied, and the time to the rodent’s first spontaneous breath (T) was measured. Six spectrally different signals were compared to one another and the no-stimulation control in mice. The most successful deterministic stimulation (D) at reducing apnea was then compared to a pseudo-random noise (PRN) signal of comparable amplitude and frequency. CO2%, CO2 stabilization time (Ts), O2 saturation (SpO2%), and T were also measured. D significantly reduced T compared to no stimulation for medium and high amplitudes. PRN also reduced T, without a difference between D and PRN. Furthermore, both stimulations significantly reduced Ts with no significant differences between the respective stimulations. However, there was no effect of D or PRN on SpO2%. The lack of differences between D and PRN led to an additional series of experiment comparing the same D to a band-limited white noise (WN) signal in young rats. Both D and WN were shown to significantly reduce T, with D showing statistical superiority in reduction of apnea. We further speculate that both deterministic and stochastic mechanical stimulations induce some form of mechanotransduction which is responsible for their efficacy, and our findings suggest that mechanical stimulation may be effective in treating AOP.