cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
FLT3/ITD Expression Increases Expansion, Survival and Entry into Cell Cycle of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) is a Class III receptor tyrosine kinase that is important for normal hematopoiesis. Activating mutations of FLT3 by internal tandem duplications (ITDs) in the juxtamembrane region are the most common molecular aberrations found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The contributions of FLT3 activating mutations in the leukemic transformation of normal human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSCs) have not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, using a single lentiviral vector containing two promoters, we achieved consistent and efficient coexpression of FLT3/ITD and green fluorescent protein (GFP) in transduced human CD34+ HSCs. When cultured in medium containing SCF, TPO and FLT3 ligand (FL), FLT3/ITD-transduced cells survived with enhanced self-renewal and survival potential, which was not affected by the withdrawal of FL. These cells retained a surface immunophenotype typical of HSCs (CD34+CD38−). Compared to cells transduced with a vector expressing GFP alone, FLT3/ITD-transduced HSCs had a higher fraction of cells in cell cycle. Clonogenic assays showed that FLT3/ITD-transduced HSCs produced fewer CFU-GM, implying that they were at least partially blocked in their ability to differentiate along the myeloid lineage. FLT3/ITD-transduced HSCs were more sensitive to the induction of cytotoxicity by CEP-701, a selective FLT3 inhibitor. In the FLT3/ITD-transduced HSCs, we detected increased expression of Pim-1, a serine/threonine kinase with an important role in cell survival, proliferation and differentiation, c-myc, a transcription factor involved in cell proliferation and cell cycle regulation, and Cyclin D3, a key factor in cell cycle regulation, each of which may contribute to the altered genetic program instituted by FLT3/ITD signaling. These results together indicate that FLT3/ITD mutations may contribute to leukemic transformation of normal HSCs by prolonging survival, promoting proliferation, and blocking differentiation. CEP-701 may act as a potent agent for AML stem cells harboring FLT3/ITD mutations.
The Impact of Length of Relationship on Conflict Communication and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples

Variables such as relationship duration are often overlooked when trying to intervene with dissatisfied couples, making it important to evaluate the significance of such variables on overall relationship satisfaction. This study looked at the impact of length of relationship on conflict communication and relationship satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed no significant relationship between length of relationship and relationship satisfaction for either males or females. However, length of relationship did impact males’ perceptions of conflict communication which in turn significantly predicted relationship satisfaction. This finding indicates that conflict communication should be further researched for its impact on relationship satisfaction.
Energy Efficient Antenna Arrays for Indoor 3-D Microwave Imaging

A 2-D antenna array, coupled with the range-migration algorithm (RMA), enables 3-D microwave imaging of people and objects in a room. The choice of antenna array configuration, microwave transceiver components, and transmit power has a significant effect on both the energy consumed by the imaging system and the quality of the resulting images. A generic microwave imaging testbed was therefore built to characterize the effect of these antenna array parameters on image quality in the 20-GHz band. The standard, the single-transmitter, and the Doppler RMAs were all compared and were found to produce good quality 3-D images with transmit power levels as low as −30 dBm, achieving an image resolution of 12.5 mm at 0.5-m range. A new figure of merit was also developed to compare how efficiently these algorithms can create an image of given quality and size. The single transmitter imaging system was the most efficient, able to generate an image signal-to-noise ratio of 1330 for each microjoule consumed per voxel in the image. These findings have led to a methodology for designing energy and cost efficient microwave imaging systems.
Characterization of a novel, ubiquitous fungal endophyte from the rhizosphere and root endosphere of Populus trees ☆

Abstract We examined variation in growth rate, patterns of nitrogen utilization, and competitive interactions of Atractiella rhizophila isolates from the roots of Populus hosts. Atractiella grew significantly faster on media substituted with inorganic nitrogen sources and slower in the presence of another fungal genus. To determine plausible causal mechanisms we used metabolomics to explore competitive interactions between Atractiella strains and Fusarium oxysporum or Leptosphaerulina chartarum. Metabolomic screening of potential microbial inhibitors showed increased levels of glycosides produced in vitro by Atractiella when grown with a different fungal genus, relative to when grown alone. Cumulatively, these results suggest Atractiella is a poor competitor with other fungi via direct routes e.g. faster growth rates, but may utilize chemical interactions and possibly nitrogen sources to defend itself, and niche partition its way to abundance in the plant host root and rhizosphere.
Long-Term Voiding Outcomes After Adult Urethral Reconstruction for Stricture Disease

Purpose of Review While urethral reconstruction may restore luminal patency, voiding symptoms may persist or develop de novo. This review investigates contemporary literature regarding long-term voiding dysfunction after adult urethroplasty.
Restoring proper task mechanics of the hand post-stroke by targeted assistance of hand muscles

Significant impairment in hand function is found prevalent among stroke survivors, but its effective restoration is challenging due to the complexity of the functional tasks of the hand. In this study, we proposed a novel approach to improve functionality of the hand post-stroke by providing ‘subject-specific’ patterns of targeted assistance to impaired musculotendon of the hand during functional task performance. Eleven chronic stroke survivors participated in the experiment in which a biomimetic device provided targeted assistance to the impaired hand musculotendons. The proposed subject-specific approach was found to restore proper mechanics of two functional tasks, hand open and palmar pinch, as quantified by the joint kinematics and fingertip force direction. The range of motion and joint coordination was improved for the hand open task, and the fingertip force was directed towards normal direction by the targeted assistance of impaired muscles. The assistance pattern was significantly different across subjects, indicating significant between-subject variability in the impairment characteristics that affect task performance. The proposed method could enable an effective ‘subject-specific’ training method that restores proper mechanics of functional hand tasks for stroke survivors.
Temperature and osmotic stress dependence of the thermodynamics for binding linker histone H10, Its carboxyl domain (H10-C) or globular domain (H10-G) to B-DNA.

Abstract Linker histones (H1) are the basic proteins in higher eukaryotes that are responsible for the final condensation of chromatin. In contrast to the nucleosome core histone proteins, the role of H1 in compacting DNA is not clearly understood. In this study ITC was used to measure the binding constant, enthalpy change, and binding site size for the interactions of H1 0 , or its C-terminal (H1 0 -C) and globular (H1 0 -G) domains to highly polymerized calf-thymus DNA at temperatures from 288 K to 308 K. Heat capacity changes, ΔC p , for these same H1 0 binding interactions were estimated from the temperature dependence of the enthalpy changes. The enthalpy changes for binding H1 0 , H1 0 -C, or H1 0 -G to CT-DNA are all endothermic at 298 K, becoming more exothermic as the temperature is increased. The ΔH for binding H1 0 -G to CT-DNA is exothermic at temperatures above approximately 300 K. Osmotic stress experiments indicate that the binding of H1 0 is accompanied by the release of approximately 35 water molecules. We estimate from our naked DNA titration results that the binding of the H1 0 to the nucleosome places the H1 0 protein in close contact with approximately 41 DNA bp. The breakdown is that the H1 0 carboxyl terminus interacts with 28 bp of linker DNA on one side of the nucleosome, the H1 0 globular domain binds directly to 7 bp of core DNA, and shields another 6 linker DNA bases, 3 bp on either side of the nucleosome where the linker DNA exits the nucleosome core.
Henry's Law and Monitoring Methane in Groundwater Wells

Abstract This chapter proposes that a concern for more classically and fundamentally rigorous considerations of methods and data interpretation might reduce the uncertainties and contentiousness surrounding issues such as methane contamination of groundwater in the vicinity of unconventional gas and oil wells. Accurate measurement of dissolved methane in water is of critical importance as underestimating it could have dangerous consequences. Such accurate determination can be very difficult as, according to Henry's Law, dissolved methane will quickly exsolve from water into air, potentially greatly lowering its concentration in the water. Implications and applications of Henry's Law with respect to sampling groundwater for the determination of dissolved gas concentrations are presented and discussed through an examination of publicly available data from an investigation comparing two water sampling methods. The examination indicates that as currently applied in practice, neither of those methods can be relied upon to provide reliable data over the typically encountered range of dissolved methane concentrations or sampling conditions. It is proposed that supplementary or alternative methods are needed, and that water well headspace gas testing might serve as an effective augmentation or replacement for currently commonly used water sampling methods.
Displacement and replacement in real time: Polistes dominula ’ s impact on P. fuscatus in the northeastern U.S.

Two major challenges in studying the impacts of exotic invasive species on native species are identifying mechanisms of displacement and replacement and the lack of long-term population studies in these systems. A solution for the first is to study invasive and native congeners that occupy the same niche. A solution for the second is to study many populations for one year instead of one population for many years. We studied the invasion biology of the invasive European paper wasp Polistes dominula and its native congener the Northern paper wasp P. fuscatus, two species which compete for similar resources. We tracked the demography of the two wasps at sites in the northeastern United States. We found that the survival of P. dominula to the reproductive period in August was three times that of P. fuscatus, across all sites. The reproductive output of P. fuscatus declined in direct proportion to the percentage of P. dominula nests at the site. P. fuscatus nests at uninvaded sites had three times the nest cells of those at the most invaded sites. These findings suggest a positive feedback cycle in the establishment of P. dominula, in which the invasive wasp drives population declines in the native that in turn allow P. dominula to further establish. This system provides an example of a possible extinction vortex caused by competitive exclusion of a species by its invasive congener.
Short- and Longer-Term Effects of Short-Term Aging on Asphalt Mixture Properties

AbstractThis paper uses information collected from a full-scale untrafficked test section originally constructed for an emergency paving demonstration to determine the short- and longer-term effect...
The Blood–Brain Barrier in Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract The blood-brain barrier (BBB) forms an important interface between the central nervous system and the general circulation. It is vested with an important barrier function that involves both passive structural barriers and active transport processes that ensure maintenance of the specialized environment requisite for normal neural function. Although it has been studied for many decades, findings including the description of the glymphatic circulation and of a lymphatic system at the brain periphery have shed light on the complex functioning of the BBB. Here we review an up-to-date description of the normal structure and function of the BBB on which there is much exciting information. We then review the somewhat more fragmented information on the impact of type 2 diabetes (T2D) or insulin resistance (IR) on BBB structure and function. Considering that hyperglycemia per se appears to be a major driver for endothelial cell injury and dysfunction in both T2D and type 1 diabetes (T1D), we include some results of studies with T1D animal models. We recognize that much of the work previously done relating to the impact of hyperglycemia as seen in T2D and T1D on the BBB was performed before new information on the BBB structure and its relationship to the cerebrospinal fluid circulation. Much work remains to be done to clarify the impact of diabetes mellitus or IR on BBB structure and function. Urgency for such work is increased by the recognition of the clinical association between T2D/IR and an enhanced risk of early cognitive decline.
De novo computational RNA modeling into cryoEM maps of large ribonucleoprotein complexes

RNA-protein assemblies carry out many critical biological functions including translation, RNA splicing, and telomere extension. Increasingly, cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) is used to determine the structures of these complexes, but nearly all maps determined with this method have regions in which the local resolution does not permit manual coordinate tracing. Because RNA coordinates typically cannot be determined by docking crystal structures of separate components and existing structure prediction algorithms cannot yet model RNA-protein complexes, RNA coordinates are frequently omitted from final models despite their biological importance. To address these omissions, we have developed a new framework for De novo Ribonucleoprotein modeling in Real-space through Assembly of Fragments Together with Electron density in Rosetta (DRRAFTER). We show that DRRAFTER recovers near-native models for a diverse benchmark set of small RNA-protein complexes, as well as for large RNA-protein machines, including the spliceosome, mitochondrial ribosome, and CRISPR-Cas9-sgRNA complexes where the availability of both high and low resolution maps enable rigorous tests. Blind tests on yeast U1 snRNP and spliceosomal P complex maps demonstrate that the method can successfully build RNA coordinates in real-world modeling scenarios. Additionally, to aid in final model interpretation, we present a method for reliable in situ estimation of DRRAFTER model accuracy. Finally, we apply this method to recently determined maps of telomerase, the HIV-1 reverse transcriptase initiation complex, and the packaged MS2 genome, demonstrating that DRRAFTER can be used to accelerate accurate model building in challenging cases.
India and Pakistan: Familiarity Breeds Contempt, Proliferation as an Object of Envy

What happens when there is not a direct link to the established network of tacit knowledge enjoyed by the Chinese, or Americans? In this chapter we move our analytical framework to South Asia, testing the theory against proliferation programs of both India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan share a common historical experience of suffering under British Imperialism, which seems to have contributed to having both of these states engaged in one of the most severe rivalries in the world. This chapter highlights the effect of the security dilemma, and the pursuit of these weapons for prestige.
Synthetic Biochemical Devices for Programmable Dynamic Behavior

The ability to harness biomolecules as tools for systematic engineering is fundamental to future developments of biotechnology and nanotechnology. Especially suitable for such applications are nucleic acid-based circuits with predictable interactions, allowing for rational design of circuit functions and dynamics. Here, we focus on synthetic transcriptional circuits utilizing the modular architecture of nucleic acid templates and the catalytic power of natural enzymes. The programmability of dynamic behaviors for synthetic circuits is illustrated through elementary circuits such as an adapter, a bistableBistable switch, and several oscillators. Further, the effect of downstream processes on the central dynamical system illustrates the need for systematic methods of composing biomolecular circuits. We present insulating and amplifying devices as a solution for scaling up biomolecular networks much as in electronic circuits. Future applications of biomolecular programs will open up new possibilities in nanorobotics, nanomedicine, and artificial cells.
A Finite Difference Method for Thermally Expandable Fluid Transients

In this paper we discuss equations that define a thermally expandable fluid transient. We then present a set of finite difference equations for the numerical solution of such transients, discuss their solvability, and investigate certain aspects involving the convergence of the numerical solution. Finally, we apply these ideas to a problem involving flow in the preheater section of a steam generator.
Patients, family physicians, and pain: Visions from interview narratives

BACKGROUND Family physicians reportedly underestimate their patients' pain severity. Explanations for this remain unexamined. This study explores the understanding family physicians and their patients have of the common experience of pain. METHODS We studied six culturally homogeneous private practice family physician-patient pairs from Connecticut using a qualitative, cross-sectional long interview design. Interviews were taped in the office or home and analyzed by the research team using an editing style derived from the constant comparative method. RESULTS The patients described pain as spiritually awakening, experienced in the body, and part of everyday life with conceptual, behavioral, functional, and spiritual dimensions. The patients all claimed that physicians don't listen. The family physicians expressed a personal understanding of pain similar to the patient and a professional one which was more biomedical, concerned about addiction, and related to control of and connection with patients. Patients and physicians described the role of the doctor as a four-stage process of listening, knowing, responding, and taking time, but they meant different things. CONCLUSIONS This study reveals family physicians and their patients struggling to communicate about pain. The role of family physician socialization, strategies for listening and sharing power in the clinical encounter, and a new four-dimensional classification of pain are briefly discussed.
ENGINEERING CHARACTERIZATION OF ANIMAL CELL AND VIRUS PRODUCTION USING CONTROLLED CHARGE MICROCARRIERS

ABSTRACT Microcarriers have emerged as a promising new technology well suited to the production of biological materials derived from normal cells in culture. In our investigation of engineering parameters during cell growth, we have observed two scale-dependent factors which must be carefully controlled: dissolved oxygen concentrations and fluid shear forces. We have measured the oxygen uptake rate during cell and virus production, and we describe here a means of meeting that demand. We also present here a quantitation of the effects of fluid shear forces on cell and virus production. By making use of this information, we have defined the scale-up parameters for cell and virus production in a vessel of at least 1000 liters which could be operated with a productivity comparable to laboratory scale vessels.
Online Solid-Phase Extraction LC-MS/MS: A Rapid and Valid Method for the Determination of Perfluorinated Compounds at Sub ng·L−1 Level in Natural Water

In this research paper, we report a method able to detect perfluorinated compound at pg·L−1 levels in superficial and underground water samples. An online solid phase extraction HPLC-MS/MS method was developed for the analysis of 12 perfluoroalkyl acids (PFASs). The method is based on injection of 5000 µL of water sample in SPE online WAX column followed by chromatography separation and mass spectrometry determination. SPE online elution was performed by water + 0.05% NH4OH and methanol + 0.05% NH4OH, while separation of target compounds was achieved within 10 min by Gemini chromatographic column operating from 1 to 12 pH range and using a mixture of water-methanol + 0.05% NH4OH. Sub ng·L−1 method detection limits (from 0.2 to 5 ng·L−1), linearity (from 0.2 to 250 ng·L−1), accuracy (from 80 to 120%), and precision (RSD less than 15% at LOQs levels) were achieved. The method is capable of measuring PFAS at trace levels, but above all it can reach the limit of 200 pg·L−1 required by European regulation for PFOS determination in surface and underground waters. The method was validated for quantitative analysis of PFASs in real water samples.
Optimal medical treatment of hypertension in patients with coronary artery disease.

Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and hypertension is its most prevalent modifiable risk factor. Patients with CAD and conc...
Preparing Single-cell DNA Library Using Nextera for Detection of CNV

Single-cell DNA sequencing is a powerful tool to evaluate the state of heterogeneity of heterogeneous tissues like cancer in a quantitative manner that bulk sequencing can never achieve. DOP-PCR (Degenerate Oligonucleotide-Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction), MDA (Multiple Displacement Amplification), MALBAC (Multiple Annealing and Looping-Based Amplification Cycles), LIANTI (Linear Amplification via Transposon Insertion) and TnBC (Transposon Barcoded) have been the primary choices to prepare single-cell libraries. TnBC library prep method is a simple and versatile methodology, to detect copy number variations or to obtain the absolute copy numbers of genes per cell.
Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) Does Not Predict Mortality after Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support

Purpose The Model of End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score incorporates measures of kidney and liver dysfunction . MELD score has been shown to predict mortality in patients with advanced heart failure or cardiogenic shock (CS). Prior small single-center studies have shown that MELD score predicts mortality in patients supported with Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VA-ECMO). The Purpose of our was to reassess the role of MELD score predicting Mortality After (VA-ECMO). Methods We reviewed 105 consecutive patients with (CS) who received VA-ECMO between 8/2014 and 6/2018 in our hospital. We calculated MELD, MELD excluding INR (MELDXI), MELD with sodium -MELDNa- (calculated at a mean of 7 hours prior to VA-ECMO initiation), and SAVE score. We identified the association between each score and short-term mortality using logistic regression and Kaplan-Meier with Cox proportional hazard models . Results Our patient had Mean age was 57.1 ± 13.8 years and 32% female. Mean MELD score was 19.5 ± 8.3, MELDXI 18.9 ± 7.1, MELDNa 20.5 ± 8.3, SAVE -8.6 ± 6.5. Inpatient mortality was 68%. SAVE score was associated with short-term (OR 0.91 per 1 unit, 95% CI: 0.84-0.98, P=0.011) and long-term mortality (HR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.91-0.98, P=0.002) (Figure 1). There was no association between MELD (OR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.97-1.08, P=0.41), MELDXI (OR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.95-1.07, P=0.86), or MELDNa (OR 1.02, 95% CI: 0.97-1.08, P=0.41), with inpatient mortality. MELD (OR 1.07, 1.01-1.13, P=0.02), MELDXI (OR 1.12 [1.05-1.20], P=0.001) and MELDNa (OR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01-1.12, P=0.03) were all associated with need for hemodialysis after ECMO. Conclusion In this single-center study of patients with VA ECMO, neither MELD, nor MELDXI or MELDNa, were associated with short-term or long-term mortality. SAVE score was able to modestly predict inpatient mortality. Further studies are needed to delineate the impact of bystander organ dysfunction to predict mortality in patients supported with VA-ECMO.
Resuscitation Strategies for Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality; however, little definitive evidence exists about most clinical management strategies. Here, we highlight important differences between two major guidelines, the 2016 Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines and the Lund Concept, along with recent preclinical and clinical data. While intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring has been questioned, the majority of literature demonstrates benefit in severe TBI. The optimal cerebral perfusion pressure and ICP are yet unknown, but likely as important is the concept of ICP burden. The evidence for antihypertensive therapy is strengthening. Decompressive craniectomy improves mortality, but at the cost of increased morbidity. Plasma-based resuscitation has demonstrated benefit in multiple preclinical TBI studies. The management of hemodynamics and intravascular volume are crucial in TBI. Based on recent evidence, ICP monitoring, antihypertensive therapy, minimal use of vasopressors/inotropes, and plasma resuscitation may improve outcomes.
The Music Identity Project.

At MayDay Group Colloquium 24 in East Lansing, MI, Sandra Stauffer (2012) charged that: "If we want change, we need to start telling different stories . . . we work with beginning teachers, and we worry about teacher identities. We tell them a story...one that does not serve them well. A story that they will be prepared. Maybe we should tell stories of self-making, of re-making and replacing ourselves. Of preparation as a constantly evolving teacher story. Maybe then transformation can be the norm." Sandy’s comments of transformation resonated strongly with the very project I was presenting at the same colloquium on the lived-experiences and music identities of six preservice teachers in a Secondary Music Education Methods course during the spring semester of 2012. This paper emerged out of my presentation and it is my hope that by sharing the stories of these six preservice teachers, as well as my own, that we can show the type of self-making, re-making and replacing ourselves for which Sandy was advocating. [excerpt]
AGK Unleashes CD8+ T Cell Glycolysis to Combat Tumor Growth.

Elevated glycolytic metabolism is essential for CD8+ T cell antitumor function, but cell-intrinsic factors modulating this process remain elusive. In this issue, Hu et al. (2019) show that the lipid kinase acylglycerol kinase (AGK) promotes the glycolytic and functional fitness of CD8+ T cells by inactivating PTEN and boosting mTOR activity, thereby promoting antitumor activity.
FSH/AMH Ratio and Adipocyte Size are Linked to Ovarian Dysfunction

While the relationship between obesity and reproductive dysfunction is well known, the physiological mechanism behind obesity-related infertility remains unclear. Previous work suggests that follic...
Rapid detection and prediction of chlortetracycline and oxytetracycline in animal feed using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)

Abstract Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was examined to explore the feasibility of SERS technique to develop a rapid, non-destructive, and reliable spectroscopic method for qualitative and quantitative analysis of chlortetracycline (CTC) and oxytetracycline (OTC) in animal feed. Study samples were prepared by spiking tetracycline-free animal feed at different concentration ranges. In several Raman shift regions including characteristic peaks, spectral variation and Raman intensity difference among CTC and OTC groups at different concentrations were clearly visualized, depending on the type of tetracycline. The k-nearest neighbor (KNN) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) models yielded excellent correct classification rates while showing no or only one misclassification of spiked samples as false-negative. The first two canonical variables in the chemometric modes for classification accounted for more than 95% variation in SERS spectra. Of the models developed for predicting CTC and OTC concentrations, multiple linear regression (MLR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) models for CTC quantification showed outstanding model performance and ability, with coefficient of determination (r2) (>0.94), low predictive error rate (
Evaluation of the Detection of Elder Mistreatment Through Emergency Care Technicians Project Screening Tool.

Importance Elder mistreatment is underdetected and underreported. The more than 800 000 medics providing services in every county in the United States represent an important and underused surveillance system. Objective To investigate the association between the Detection of Elder Mistreatment Through Emergency Care Technician (DETECT) screening tool use and the number of medic reports made to Adult Protective Services (APS) over a period of approximately 3 years. Design, Setting, and Participants This quality improvement study used a difference in difference in differences design and included adults aged 65 years and older who were reported to Texas APS in the study region (246 cities in Denton, Johnson, and Tarrant Counties) between December 31, 2014, and February 28, 2018. Exposures The DETECT screening tool. Main Outcomes and Measures Reports to APS. Results The mean (SD) age of the 11 178 older adults included in this study was 76 (8) years (range, 65-105 years); there was no reported data on patient sex. A total of 18 080 reports of elder mistreatment were recorded. Medics within the study region reported more cases of elder mistreatment during the implementation of the screening tool (relative risk [RR], 4.14; 95% CI, 3.25-5.27). After adjusting for changes in the number of elder mistreatment reports in the comparison groups (ie, underlying changes in reporting trends), the number of reports to APS increased (RR, 3.03; 95% CI, 2.06-4.46). The occurrence of elder mistreatment was validated in 83% (95% CI, 75%-91%) of the reports investigated by APS during the periods when medics did not have access to the screening tool compared with 82% (95% CI, 77%-87%) during the periods when medics had access to the screening tool, indicating that there were no differences in the proportion of reports that resulted in a validated APS investigation. Conclusions and Relevance The findings suggest that incorporating the DETECT screening tool into the routine practices of medics is associated with substantial increases in the frequency with which clinicians report potential cases of elder mistreatment to APS.
“A Very Photogenic Cat”: Personhood, Social Status, and Online Cat Photo Sharing

This study explores how domestic cats and their connections to humans are represented in a modern photo-sharing context through content analysis of Reddit, a popular social media website. By examin...
Medical Student Values Inform Career Plans in Service & Surgery—A Qualitative Focus Group Analysis

Abstract Background Diversifying the surgical workforce is a critical component of improving care for underserved patients. To recruit surgeons from diverse backgrounds, we must understand how medical students choose their specialty. We investigate how preclinical students contemplate entering a surgical field. Materials and methods We conducted semistructured focus groups during two iterations of a seminar class called Service Through Surgery. Discussion goals included identifying student values and assessing how they inform early career decisions. We used a systematic, collaborative, and iterative process for transcript analysis, including developing a codebook, assessing inter-rater reliability, and analyzing themes. Results Twenty-four preclinical medical students from diverse backgrounds participated in seven focus groups; most were women (16; 67%), in their first year of medical school (19; 79%), and interested in surgery (17; 71%). Participants ranked professional fulfillment, spending time with family, and serving their communities and/or underserved populations among their most important values and agreed that conducting groundbreaking research, working long hours, and finding time for leisure activities were the least important. We constructed a framework to describe student responses surrounding their diverse visions for service in future surgical careers through individual doctoring interactions, roles in academia, and broader public service. Conclusions Our framework provides a basis for greater understanding and study of the ways in which preclinical medical students think about their personal values and visions for service in potential future surgical careers. This research can guide early interventions in medical education to promote diversity and care for the underserved in surgery.
Spectator, enter the paradox in Duras’s virtual film L’Homme Atlantique

While much of the criticism of director Marguerite Duras’s cinema has tended to prioritise sound over image, the writing process over the cinematographic one, this article argues that at every mome...
Forecasting inpatient glycemic control: extension of damped trend methods to subpopulations

Aim: Evaluate forecasting models applied to smaller geographic locations within the hospital. Materials & methods: Damped trend models were applied to blood glucose measurements of progressively sm...
Exploring Variability in Social and Behavioral Adjustment Among Children in Head Start Experiencing Homelessness

A large body of literature demonstrates that children who experience unstable housing and homelessness are at risk for developmental delays and social–emotional challenges. However, there is also e...
Common risk factors in bank stocks.

Abstract This paper provides evidence on the risk factors that are priced in bank equities. Alternative empirical models with precedent in the nonfinancial asset pricing literature are tested, including the single-factor CAPM, three-factor Fama–French model, and ICAPM. Our empirical results indicate that an unconditional two-factor ICAPM model that includes the stock market excess return and shocks to the slope of the yield curve is useful in explaining the cross-section of bank stock returns. However, we find no evidence that firm specific factors such as size and book-to-market ratios are priced in bank stock returns. These results have a number of important implications for the estimation of the banks’ cost of capital as well as regulatory initiatives to utilize market discipline to evaluate bank risk under Basel II.
SEPARATION OF PHOSPHOMOLYBDATE BY AFFINITY CHROMATOGRAPHY

A new method of separating phosphomolybdate from phosphoric esters and anhydrides using a small column of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone is introduced. When a mixture of phosphate compounds and ammonium molybdate (1–3%, pH 3-5) is poured onto such a column, inorganic orthophosphate (Pi)p1 is selectively adsorbed onto the column material as phosphomolybdate, while other phosphate compounds, which do not react with molybdate, are drained through the column. Using radioisotopes, retention and recovery percentages were measured. At pH 3, 99.99% of Pip32 was retained in the column, while 97 ± 1% of ATPp32 was recovered in the effluent. Retained Pip32 was eluted out later with 0.5 M ammonium hydroxide with a recovery percentage of 98 ± 1%. Unlike other methods of separating phosphomolybdate, the separation was little affected by the presence of reducing agents. The use of disposable columns, which can be prepared easily, packed ahead of time, and stored for later use, makes the radioisotopes assay convenient and contamination-free.
Taste boundaries and friendship preferences: Insights from the formalist approach

Abstract What is the association between cultural tastes and the qualities we prefer in our friends? Previous research has studied cultural tastes and friendship preferences in conjunction but either relates both to people's occupancy of social-structural positions or limits attention to the association between high-culture preferences and preferences for cultured friends. Adopting an alternative approach, I reconceive tastes as “contentful forms” whose numerical or relational properties lend them inherent meanings. Performing OLS regression on 1993 General Social Survey data, I show that friendship preferences vary in relation to two such properties of tastes: (1) the popularity of respondents’ preferred musical genres and (2) conventionality, which concerns the frequency that respondents’ preferred musical genres are selected in tandem by others. I find that favoring highly disliked genres and atypical combinations of genres are each associated with making boundaries on aesthetic grounds. These results suggest that, affording us a sense of position vis-a-vis others, relational properties such as popularity and conventionality operate as platforms from which we render judgments regarding what kinds of people make appropriate candidates for friendship.
On the CTW-based Entropy Estimator

Estimating the entropy of a sequence of discrete observations is a problem that raises in many different fields. There are numerous different applications of it, specifically in neuroscience, where entropy has been adopted as the main measure for describing the amount of information transmitted between neurons (see Gao et. al. 2008 and reference therein). Gao et. al. 2008 conducted a thorough comparison of the performance of the most popular and effective entropy estimators. They have shown that the context tree weighted (CTW) based estimator, which uses the probability estimation produced by the CTW lossless compression algorithm by Willems et. al., 1995, repeatedly and consistently provides the most accurate results. The motivation for using the CTW probability for estimating the entropy is the well-known Shannon-McMillan-Breiman (SMB) result. However, the CTW probability is a result of a “twice universal” approach, meaning it is a weighted combination of the estimated probabilities of the sequence, over all possible bounded memory tree models (up to a predetermined maximum memory). Motivated by this we examine the CTW based estimator from the view point of the CTW algorithm redundancy performance analysis (Willems et. al., 1995). We define the SMB entropy as the normalized logarithm of the true probability, assuming a specific model for the source. We consider this finite length quantity to be the best possible estimator of the entropy given a specific model. By defining a random variable distributed over all possible bounded memory tree models we extend this definition and define the conditional SMB entropy. We bound the over estimation of the CTW-based estimator compared to both the conditional SMB entropy as well as the SMB entropy of a specific model. In both cases we show that the over estimation approaches zero according to O(log T/ T), where T is the length of the sequence.
Atrial fibrillation and risk of incident heart failure with reduced versus preserved ejection fraction.

OBJECTIVE Associations between atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) have been established. We compared the extent to which AF is associated with each primary subtype of HF, with reduced (HFrEF) versus preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). METHODS We included 25 787 participants free of baseline HF from the REGARDS (REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke) cohort. Baseline AF was ascertained from ECG and self-reported history of physician diagnosis. Incident HF events were determined from physician-adjudicated review of hospitalisation medical records and HF deaths. Based on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) at the time of HF event, HFrEF, HFpEF, and mid-range HF were defined as LVEF <40%, ≥50% and 40%-49%, respectively. Multivariable Cox proportional-hazards models examined the association between AF and HF. The Lunn-McNeil method was used to compare associations of AF with incident HFrEF versus HFpEF. RESULTS Over a median of 9 years of follow-up, 1109 HF events occurred (356 HFpEF, 388 HFrEF, 77 mid-range and 288 unclassified). In a model adjusted for sociodemographics, cardiovascular risk factors, and incident coronary heart disease, AF was associated with increased risk of all HF events (HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.38 to 2.01). The associations of AF with HFrEF versus HFpEF events did not differ significantly (HR 1.87 (95% CI 1.38 to 2.54) and HR 1.65 (95% CI 1.20 to 2.28), respectively; p value for difference=0.581). These associations were consistent in sex and race subgroups. CONCLUSIONS AF is associated with both HFrEF and HFpEF events, with no significant difference in the strength of association among these subtypes.
Harnessing endogenous pathways and metabolites to treat or prevent neurodegenerative disease

As the field moves towards earlier interventions in preclinical stages of AD or even envisions true primary prevention strategies, the therapeutic strategies employed must be “safe enough”. Whether any current therapeutic (e.g., β-secretase inhibitors, γ-secretase modulators (GSM) or anti-Aβ immunotherapies) being tested for disease modification is sufficiently safe is not known. In order to try and identify “safe enough” therapeutics, we have been evaluating whether endogenous regulators of Aβ can be harnessed as therapeutics. We have identified a cholesterol metabolite, cholestenoic acid (CA), as potent GSM, and have genetic data from mice that are consistent with a role for CA in regulating Aβ42 levels in the brain. We will discuss our ongoing studies exploring how we might utilize CA or the CA metabolic pathway to safely lower Aβ42 levels. In addition, we have been evaluating how we can use soluble forms of endogenous innate immune receptors to alter Aβ deposition and modulate neuroinflammation in mouse models of AD. We have also been exploring the utility of such strategy in other neurodegenerative models. Effects of soluble toll-like receptors and soluble TREM2 will be presented. Our current data establish that soluble TLR4 and 5 both dramatically inhibit Aβ deposition but that soluble TLR2 and 6 do not. We also have data that suggest the utility of these soluble receptors in α-synucleinopathies. By using endogenous metabolites and receptors, we hope that the likelihood of adverse toxicities will be diminished and that these or endogenous factors can be safely developed for prophylactic or early intervention in AD and perhaps other neurodegenerative disorders.
Estimating stock price predictability using genetic programming

A new method that quantifies the predictability of a stock’s price is presented. This new method overcomes some problems with previous approaches to stock price predictability. The new method shows which stocks are more predictable, and hence can help in making investment decisions. Genetic Programming is used as the modeling tool. Preliminary experiments are conducted to show the advantages of this method.
Measuring Environmental Regulatory Stringency

Researchers have long been interested in whether environmental regulations discourage investment, reduce labour demand, or alter patterns of international trade. But estimating those consequences of regulations requires devising a means of measuring their stringency empirically. While creating such a measure is often portrayed as a data-collection problem, we identify four fundamental conceptual obstacles, which we label multidimensionality, simultaneity, industrial composition, and capital vintage. We then describe the long history of attempts to measure environmental regulatory stringency, and assess their relative success in light of those obstacles. Finally, we propose a new measure of stringency that would be based on emissions data and could be constructed separately for different pollutants.
Behavioral Neuroscience of Emotion in Aging

Recent research on emotion and aging has revealed a stability of emotional experience from adulthood to older age, despite aging-related decrements in the perception and categorization of emotionally relevant stimuli. Research also shows that emotional expression remains intact with aging. In contrast, other studies provide evidence for an age-related decrease in autonomic nervous system physiological arousal, particularly in response to emotionally negative stimuli, and for shifts in central nervous system physiologic response to emotional stimuli, with increased prefrontal cortex activation and decreased amygdala activation in aging. Research on attention and memory for emotional information supports a decreased processing of negative emotional stimuli (i.e., a decrease in the negativity effect seen in younger adults), and a relative increase in the processing of emotionally positive stimuli (positivity effect). These physiological response and attentional/memory preference differences across increasingly older groups have been interpreted, within socioemotional selectivity theory, as reflecting greater motivation for emotion regulation with aging. According to this theory, as persons age, their perceived future time horizon shrinks, and a greater value is placed upon cultivating close, familiar, and meaningful relationships and other situations that give rise to positive emotional experience, and avoiding, or shifting attention from, those people and situations that are likely to elicit negative emotion. Even though there are central nervous system structural changes in emotion-relevant brain regions with aging, this shift in socioemotional selectivity, and perhaps the decreased autonomic nervous system physiological arousal of emotion with aging, facilitate enhanced emotion regulation with aging.
Circadian Rhythms in the Endocrine System

Publisher Summary This chapter reveals that rhythms are advantageous for survival of the organism. There is an optimal time of the day for animals to forage for food. Likewise, the safest time to be active is when predators are not active. A biological mechanism that synchronizes and coordinates internal physiological events with the external environment prepares the organism for predictable environmental changes, especially when an animal is removed from direct external cues, as when it is sleeping in its burrow. Furthermore, all of the energetic requirements of the body cannot be simultaneously fulfilled, and peaks in energetic processes must be partitioned throughout the day. Circadian rhythms permit bodily functions to assume an appropriate temporal niche. From an evolutionary and adaptive perspective, animals have evolved to synchronize circadian rhythms with the environment to promote survival.
Analysis, Production, and Isolation of an Extracellular Laccase from Polyporus anceps.

Methods are described for the analysis, production, and isolation of laccase produced by a strain of Polyporus anceps. A simple quantitative colorimetric assay based on the oxidation of syringaldazine to syringaldazine quinone is described. Using a defined medium supplemented with the amino acids cysteine and histidine and with elevated phosphate, consistently high titers of laccase were obtained. The enzyme was isolated directly from fermentation medium by binding to diethylaminoethyl cellulose, and, once bound to the ion exchanger, it could be stored for 6 months at -70°C with minimal loss of activity. The enzyme was quantitatively recovered from the resin by elution with 0.2 M phosphate buffer (pH 5.0).