cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The use of social media to supplement resident medical education - the SMART-ME initiative.

Background : Residents work at variable times and are often unable to attend all scheduled educational sessions. Therefore, new asynchronistic approaches to learning are essential in ensuring exposure to a comprehensive education. Social media tools may be especially useful, because they are accessed at times convenient for the learner. Objective : Assess if the use of Twitter for medical education impacts the attitude and behavior of residents toward using social media for medical education. Design : Preintervention and postintervention surveys. Internal medicine resident physicians were surveyed before the launch of a residency-specific Twitter webpage on August 1, 2013, and again 135 days later, to determine their use of the Twitter application and web page, as well as other social media for medical education. Participants : Residents at an internal medicine urban academic training program. Main Measures : All residents within our training program were administered web-based surveys. The surveys assessed resident views and their frequency of use of social media for medical education purposes, and consisted of 10 Likert scale questions. Each answer consisted of a datapoint on a 1–5 scale (1=not useful, 3=useful, 5=very useful). The final survey question was open-ended and asked for general comments. Key Results : Thirty-five of 50 residents (70%) completed the presurvey and 40 (80%) participated in the postsurvey. At baseline, 34 out of 35 residents used social media and nine specifically used Twitter. Twenty-seven (77%) used social media for medical education; however, only three used Twitter for educational purposes. After the establishment of the Twitter page, the percentage of residents using social media for educational purposes increased (34 of 40 residents, 85%), and 22 used Twitter for this purpose ( p< 0.001 for the change). The percentage of residents using the application at least once a week also increased from 11.4 to 60.0% ( p< 0.001). Almost all residents (38 of 40) felt that social media could be useful as a medical education tool, which slightly increased from 30 out of 35 in the preintervention survey ( p= 0.01). Conclusion : Residents believe social media could be used for medical education. After we launched a Twitter page for medical education, there was a significant increase in the use and frequency of Twitter for resident medical education over the ensuing 6 months. Further research should be performed to see if social media can impact overall medical knowledge and patient care, and whether longer term use is maintained. Keywords: social media; Twitter; medical education (Published: 8 January 2016) Citation: Med Educ Online 2016, 21: 29332 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/meo.v21.29332
Analytical Complexity in Detection of Gene Variant-by-Environment Exposure Interactions in High-Throughput Genomic and Exposomic Research

It seems intuitive that disease risk is influenced by the interaction between inherited genetic variants and environmental exposure factors; however, we have few documented interactions between variants and exposures. Advances in technology may enable the simultaneous measurement (i.e., on the same individuals in an epidemiological study) of millions of genome variants with thousands of environmental “exposome” factors, significantly increasing the number of possible factor pairs available for testing for the presence of interactions. The burden of analytic complexity, or sheer number of genetic and exposure factors measured, poses a considerable challenge for discovery of interactions in population-scale data. Advances in analytic approaches, large sample sizes, less conservative methods to mitigate multiple testing, and strong biological priors will be required to prune the search space to find reproducible and robust gene-by-environment interactions in observational data.
Investor Response to Online Value Line Rank Changes: Foreign versus Local Stocks

We find that the Value Line effect is confined to U.S. stocks. U.S. listed stocks significantly outperform their benchmarks long after Value Line Timeliness rank change announcements. In contrast, we find no evidence of a Value Line effect for recommendations made for foreign stocks that list on U.S. exchanges, nor for those that list outside the U.S. For days surrounding rank change announcements, trading volume is abnormally high for U.S. listed stocks, but remains unchanged for the foreign stock sample. Our findings are unchanged after controlling for unique valuation challenges, varying market conditions, beta, firm size, book-to-market, momentum, and post earnings announcement effects.
Alcoholism screening questionnaires: are they valid in elderly medical outpatients?

Objective: To assess the validity of the CAGE (cut down, annoyed, guilty feelings, eye-opener) questionnaire and the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) in distinguishing between elderly patients with and without alcohol abuse or dependence disorders. Design: A cross-sectional study, in which patients were interviewed with a “gold standard,” the alcohol module of the Revised Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS-III-R), and two screening questionnaires: the CAGE and the MAST. Setting: The study was conducted in the outpatient medical practice of a university teaching hospital. Patients: All English-speaking continuity patients 65 years of age or older able to participate were eligible; complete data were available for 154 (91%) of the 170 people who agreed to participate. Results: Sixty-seven patients (44%) were active drinkers, whereas 87 (56%) reported abstinence. Twenty-five patients (16%) metDiagnostic and Statistical Manual ofMental Disorders-III-Revised (DSM-III-R) criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. A CAGE score of 2, the conventional cutoff point, had a sensitivity and a specificity of 48% and 99%, respectively. A MAST score of 5, the originally recommended cutoff point, had a sensitivity and a specificity of 52% and 91%, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were 0.91 for the CAGE and 0.61 for the MAST. Conclusion: The CAGE and the MAST were both characterized by low sensitivities at conventional cufoff points, but the CAGE was significantly more effective than the MAST in discriminating between elderly medical outpatients with and without alcohol abuse or dependence.
Influence of Acremonium infection and pesticide use on seasonal abundance of leafhoppers and froghoppers (Homoptera : Cicadellidae ; Cercopidae) in tall fescue

Resistance to an endophyte, Acremonium coenophialum Morgan-Jones & Gams, and management tactics were evaluated against several leafhopper species under field conditions. ‘Georgia-5’ tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea Schreb., was planted to a randomized block design split plot with a factorial arrangement of pest management treatments in the subplot. Leafhopper and froghopper populations were monitored throughout the year by taking sweep samples approximately every 2 wk. Of the 28 species of leafhoppers and froghoppers collected, 6 species of leafhoppers and 1 species of froghopper comprised over 80% of the specimens collected. With the exception of the nematicide treatment, there was no significant difference in leafhopper population densities due to chemical treatments. Four species of leafhoppers and one species of froghopper showed significantly higher population densities on endophyte-free tall fescue when compared with the endophyte-infected tall fescue plots. The greatest differences between endophyte-free and endophyte-infected tall fescue plots occurred at leafhopper peak seasonal densities. Although chemical treatments apparently have little effect on leafhopper population densities, the Acremonium endophyte provides tall fescue with resistance against some leafhopper species.
The TPSR Alliance: A Community of Practice for Teaching, Research and Service

The purpose of this article is to describe both our unique training under Don Hellison and how the TPSR Alliance has played an important role in helping us navigate our academic careers. Both of us studied under Don Hellison for several years at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). While Dave began working with Don as an undergraduate with an emphasis in physical education teacher education, Paul began his work with Don as a graduate student. We both completed the Masters of Kinesiology and continued on to earn PhDs in curriculum and instruction. The PhD program was operated jointly by the College of Education and the Kinesiology Department. We took the required classes for both graduate degree programs, with the unique additional experience of working in Don's Urban Youth Development Project. Some of this work was done for pay, some on a volunteer basis, and some for credit through independent studies and class projects, as well as our thesis and dissertation projects. All of the UIC students wor...
Anatomy of the nail.

The characteristic gross and microanatomic components of the nail unit are described specifically and in relation to surrounding digital anatomy, including its specialized vascular supply. In addition, major steps in the development of the nail unit, and factors in growth of the nail, are outlined.
Functions in Basic Formal Ontology

The notion of function is indispensable to our understanding of distinctions such as that between being broken and being in working order (for artifacts) and between being diseased and being healthy (for organisms). A clear account of the ontology of functions and functioning is thus an important desideratum for any top-level ontology intended for application to domains such as engineering or medicine. The benefit of using top-level ontologies in applied ontology can only be realized when each of the categories identified and defined by a top-level ontology is integrated with the others in a coherent fashion. Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) has from the beginning included function as one of its categories, exploiting a version of the etiological account of function that is framed at a level of generality sufficient to accommodate both biological and artifactual functions. This account has been subjected to a series of criticisms and refinements. We here articulate BFO's account of function, provide some reasons for favoring it over competing views, and defend it against objections.
Divine Intervention? Governmental Efforts to Moderate Exchange Rate Fluctuations

Currencies and Politics in the United States, Germany, andJapan is an important extension to the still-unfinished intellectual bridge linking the two cultures of international relations and economics. Although these two disciplines no longer practice the "mutual neglect" identified in the early 1970s by Susan Strange (1970), there is still a shortage of common interests and methodology between scholars of international politics and scholars of international economics. Ironically, this book represents a litmus test for this intellectual gap. It may leave many students of international politics confused by its technical jargon and by its extensive analysis of domestic financial factors, which the author quite correctly believes are essential to explaining international monetary policy objectives. At the same time, most economists will chafe at the book's deliberate avoidance of technical questions, such as the impact on investor sentiment of governmental interventions in the foreign exchange market, and the big picture question of how important exchange rate changes are to inducing balance-of-payments disequilibria. The historical record demonstrates that a rising or falling exchange rate by itself frequently has not had a direct, lasting impact on many countries' international competitiveness. In short, this book should find its most appreciative audience among that relatively limited group of "true" political economists who are conversant in both disciplines. Despite the breadth and depth of its subject matter, Currencies and Politics in the United States, Germany, andJapan has a clearly defined thesis. It is that private sector preferences and governmental institutions jointly determine exchange rate policy outcomes (at least in the world's three largest economies). Within the three countries studied, Henning finds a consistent cause and effect dynamic. When commercial banks and industry have a close financial relationship, as in Germany andJapan, a strong, well-articulated private sector desire for a stable exchange rate, fostering international competitiveness for exports, exists. When the commercial bank-industry nexus is weak, as in the United States, a weak and divided private sector attitude occurs. The organization of certain government institutions determines the extent to which these private sector preferences are translated into policy. According to Henning, these institutional determinants are, first and foremost, the degree of the central bank's independence in administering domestic monetary policy and, secondarily, the relationship between the central bank and the finance ministry in setting external monetary policy. In emphasizing the influence of government organization and private sector lobbying on the substance of international economic policy, Henning uses generic concepts familiar to political economists. The valuable innovation lies in applying
Dynamic heuristic planner selection

Heuristic search is considered state-of-the-art for classical planning. However, the performance of search heuristics varies significantly from problem to problem and no single heuristic is superior to all others. As a result, it is highly desirable to identify and utilize the best available heuristic for a particular planning problem. This paper presents a novel approach for planning that monitors the search dynamics of a heuristic planner over time in order to recognize whether the planner is making progress toward a solution. It then dynamically selects from a set of heuristic planners during the planning process so that planners that appear to be making progress are allocated more processor time. Experimental results show this approach is more effective than static approaches of dividing processor time equally between planners or selecting any one planner a priori.
Quantification of Chemical and Mechanical Effects on the Formation of the G-Quadruplex and i-Motif in Duplex DNA

The formation of biologically significant tetraplex DNA species, such as G-quadruplexes and i-motifs, is affected by chemical (ions and pH) and mechanical [superhelicity (σ) and molecular crowding] factors. Because of the extremely challenging experimental conditions, the relative importance of these factors on tetraplex folding is unknown. In this work, we quantitatively evaluated the chemical and mechanical effects on the population dynamics of DNA tetraplexes in the insulin-linked polymorphic region using magneto-optical tweezers. By mechanically unfolding individual tetraplexes, we found that ions and pH have the largest effects on the formation of the G-quadruplex and i-motif, respectively. Interestingly, superhelicity has the second largest effect followed by molecular crowding conditions. While chemical effects are specific to tetraplex species, mechanical factors have generic influences. The predominant effect of chemical factors can be attributed to the fact that they directly change the stabilit...
A multiscale DEM-PBM approach for a continuous comilling process using a mechanistically developed breakage kernel

Abstract The population balance approach (PBM) is generally used in the literature to simulate a milling process. The formulation of a breakage kernel to represent particle breakage phenomenon is an important part of the model. This study proposes a methodology to estimate parameters of a breakage kernel that captures material property dependent particle level dynamics through discrete element method (DEM) simulations of a comill process. The DEM model takes into account a threshold impact energy that if exceeded, results in granule breakage. The impact energy distribution data for various size classes and impellor speeds is obtained from DEM. Comill experiments at various impeller speeds result in different observed size distributions and other process variables such as hold up amount, and time required for process to reach steady state. An iterative algorithm is proposed that uses mechanistic information from DEM and process variables from experiments to calibrate the breakage kernel through which material specific kernel parameters are estimated. A multi-scale modeling framework utilizing DEM, PBM as well as experimental data is developed. The framework is implemented to estimate material specific properties using milling experimental data at various impeller speeds. The milled particle size distribution predicted from the model with parameters estimated using this framework, demonstrated excellent agreement with experimental results.
Interfacial Electron Transfer Involving Vanadium and Graphene Quantum Dots for Redox Flow Battery

Among energy storage devices, the redox flow batteries are important for variety of applications such as for grid storage. In this class of batteries a large number of redox couples have been examined in the past. The vanadium redox couple, although is attractive for this application, suffers from a) poor charge transfer characteristics b) electrode degradation and c) deteriorating performance. We wish to report here that all these deficiencies have been overcome by using a graphene quantum dot electrodes. This electrode has the advantage of large surface area, high electrical and thermal conductivity. The cell voltage of 1.5 V and power density of about 120 mW/cm2 and coulombic efficiency of 90% can be achieved as the redox couples, V(IV)/V(V) and V(III)/V(II) undergo fast electron transfer at the interface of the quantum dots and solution resulting in higher reversibility. The cyclic voltammetric experiments carried out with quantum dots in the solutions during the oxidation of V(IV) show enhanced currents, due to the movements of the dots which is conducive for power gain in the battery operation. The electrochemical degradation is absent with the quantum dot electrode. The charge/discharge cycles have been reproducible.
Entrepreneur-Think Meets Academia: Formative Decision-Making for Instructional Designers and Administrators

As we move into the second decade of the twenty-first century, educational institutions and especially colleges of education have been under a lot of pressure to update, change, and relook at the way they deliver teacher educational practices. In the process, state departments of education (DOEs) are perceived to be micromanaging these organizations through excessive regulatory burdens disguised as attempts to increase accountability. To many, the outlook for higher education and colleges of education, in particular, appears to be uncertain. As educators, we could opt to ignore the impact of these changes and simply try to cope long enough in the hope that these impositions are merely fads and, like many previous attempts to intercede in the educational system, will eventually dissipate and fail.
Lithium niobate lateral overtone resonators for low power frequency-hopping applications

This work reports the first lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) lateral overtone bulk acoustic resonator (LOBAR) with a high figure-of-merit (FoM) for each overtone. We exploit electrode offset as a key parameter to excite both the even-order and the odd-order modes with uniform k t 2. The fabricated device shows Qs (1966, 1215, and 1513) among the highest reported for LiNbO 3 resonators at the equally-spaced resonances (446.4, 599.8, and 757.3 MHz). As a result, high FoMs of 83.6, 102.6 and 63.1 have been obtained simultaneously for aforementioned resonances. These FoMs significantly surpass those of the state-of-the-art overtone devices. With these qualities, frequency-hopping oscillators based on LiNbO 3 LOBARs can be enabled for low power and phase-continuous frequency-hopping applications.
A review of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), AUDIT-C, and USAUDIT for screening in the United States: Past issues and future directions.

Background. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that clinicians screen all adults for alcohol misuse and provide brief counseling to those engaged in risky or hazardous drinking. The W...
Visual attention in deep learning: a review

Visual Attention is an essential part of human visual perception This review describes two main classes of attention models Benefiting from the rapid growth of deep learning CNN based or other deep learning based models are capable of establish new state of the art in this challenging research problem
Chemistry and Biological Activity of AAL Toxins

AAL toxins and fumonisins comprise a family of highly reactive, chemically related mycotoxins that disrupt cellular homeostasis in both plant and animal tissues. Two critical issues to resolve are the detection of the entire family in food matricies and the mode of cellular disruption. Analysis of the entire set of chemical congeners in food matrices is difficult but has been achieved by a combination of different HPLC and mass spectrometry strategies. The mode of cellular disruption is unknown but likely involves changes associated with the inhibition of ceramide synthase in both plants and animals. Toxin treated cells exhibit morphological and biochemical changes characteristic of apoptosis. Further evaluation of the specific genetic and biochemical changes that occur during toxin-induced cell death may aid in understanding the mole of the action of these mycotoxins.
Comprehensive Behavior Profiling for Proactive Android Malware Detection

We present a new method of screening for malicious Android applications that uses two types of information about the application: the permissions that the application requests in its installation manifest and a metric called percentage of valid call sites (PVCS). PVCS measures the riskiness of the application based on a data flow graph. The information is used with machine learning algorithms to classify previously unseen applications as malicious or benign with a high degree of accuracy. Our classifier outperforms the previous state of the art by a significant margin, with particularly low false positive rates. Furthermore, the classifier evaluation is performed on malware families that were not used in the training phase, simulating the accuracy of the classifier on malware yet to be developed. We found that our PVCS metric and the SEND_SMS permission are the specific pieces of information that are most useful to the classifier.
The Partisan Divide in U.S. Congressional Communications After the China Shock

The district-level political implications of trade competition are mitigated by the strategic behavior of incumbent legislators and the constraints placed upon them by party affiliation. In this paper, we examine the partisan difference in congressional communication strategies on China and trade related issues. We find that, even though Chinese import competition impacted both Republican- and Democrat-held districts, Republican politicians engage in more protectionist and anti-China rhetoric and policy proposals. Using press release data from members of Congress, we show that, among districts more exposed to Chinese imports, Republicans are more likely to blame China as the problem. But there is no difference between Republican and Democratic messaging on trade issues in general. We attribute this partisan shift in political communication strategy to the fact that Republican legislators are more constrained by their party platform from advocating for trade protectionism and social welfare relative to Democrats. Blaming the negative externalities of import competition on China rather than on trade policy has allowed Republican incumbents to continue to support their party’s free trade platform without alienating their constituents. This explains why candidate Trump’s protectionist message linking China and trade resonated with the Republican base much more so than proposals that were better grounded in economic realities.
Fertility Costs of Meiotic Drivers.

In sexual reproduction, opportunities are limited and the stakes are high. This inevitably leads to conflict. One pervasive conflict occurs within genomes between alternative alleles at heterozygous loci. Each gamete and thus each offspring will inherit only one of the two alleles from a heterozygous parent. Most alleles ‘play fair’ and have a 50% chance of being included in any given gamete. However, alleles can gain an enormous advantage if they act selfishly to force their own transmission into more than half, sometimes even all, of the functional gametes. These selfish alleles are known as ‘meiotic drivers’, and their cheating often incurs a high cost on the fertility of eukaryotes ranging from plants to mammals. Here, we review how several types of meiotic drivers directly and indirectly contribute to infertility, and argue that a complete picture of the genetics of infertility will require focusing on both the standard alleles — those that play fair — as well as selfish alleles involved in genetic conflict.
Predictive modeling of brain tumor laser ablation dynamics

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is a novel MR thermometry-guided thermoablative tool revolutionizing the clinical management of brain tumors. A limitation of LITT is our inability to estimate a priori how tissues will respond to thermal energy, which hinders treatment planning and delivery. The aim of this study was to determine whether brain tumor LITT ablation dynamics may be predicted by features of the preoperative MRI and the relevance of these data, if any, to the recurrence of metastases after LITT. Intraoperative thermal damage estimate (TDE) map pixels representative of irreversible damage were retrospectively quantified relative to ablation onset for 101 LITT procedures. Raw TDE pixel counts and TDE pixel counts modelled with first order dynamics were related to eleven independent variables derived from the preoperative MRI, demographics, laser settings, and tumor pathology. Stepwise regression analysis generated predictive models of LITT dynamics, and leave-one-out cross validation evaluated the accuracy of these models at predicting TDE pixel counts solely from the independent variables. Using a deformable atlas, TDE maps were co-registered to the immediate post-ablation MRI, allowing comparison of predicted and actual ablation sizes. Brain tumor TDE pixel counts modelled with first order dynamics, but not raw pixel counts, are correlated with the independent variables. Independent variables showing strong relations to the TDE pixel measures include T1 gadolinium and T2 signal, perfusion, and laser power. Associations with tissue histopathology are minimal. Leave-one-out analysis demonstrates that predictive models using these independent variables account for 77% of the variance observed in TDE pixel counts. Analysis of metastases treated revealed a trend towards the over-estimation of LITT effects by TDE maps during rapid ablations, which was associated with tumor recurrence. Features of the preoperative MRI are predictive of LITT ablation dynamics and could eventually be used to improve the clinical efficacy with which LITT is delivered to brain tumors.
Fragment-Based Electronic Structure for Potential Energy Surfaces Using a Superposition of Fragmentation Topologies

We present a new approach for adaptive molecular fragmentation. Here multiple fragmentation protocols, or fragmentation topologies, are combined to efficiently and accurately construct potential energy surfaces that are in agreement with post-Hartree-Fock levels of electronic structure theories at density functional theory (DFT) cost. We benchmark the method through evaluation of quantum nuclear effects in a set of protonated water clusters that are known to display significant quantum effects. In such systems, the straightforward use of molecular fragmentation is hindered by the fact that the most appropriate fragmentation strategy changes as a function of nuclear degrees of freedom. Our approach uses a multilayered hypergraph formalism to decompose the potential energy surface, where, at the very top layer, a tessellation of the potential surface yields a set of independent, but correlated, graphical nodes or vertices; each node represents a different protocol to fragment the molecular system. Correlation between the nodes appears as edges and faces in the graph at the top layer and allows the overall potential surface to be represented as a superposition of multiple fragmentation topologies with the coefficients for the superposition arising from a Hamiltonian formalism that is reminiscent of nonadiabatic dynamics. This allows for a natural interpretation of the individual molecular fragmentation topologies as diabatic or valence-bond-type states which we exploit in our formalism. As stated, the method is demonstrated for protonated water clusters where we are able to obtain potentials surfaces in agreement with post-Hartree-Fock methods at DFT cost.
Transformation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to graphene

Abstract The deployment of graphene has been slow due to its high cost and high carbon footprint. A low carbon footprint, inexpensive synthesis of graphene, consuming rather than emitting CO2, is introduced to overcome these obstacles. This is accomplished here by direct molten carbonate electrolytic splitting of the greenhouse gas CO2 to a nano-thin carbon product (carbon nanoplatelets) comprised of 25–125 graphene layers, and subsequent electrochemical exfoliation of the nanoplatelets to graphene in a carbonate soluble aqueous solution. The sole products of the carbon dioxide electrolysis are straightforward: high yield carbon nanoplatelets and oxygen. The carbon nano platelets provides a thinner starting point than a conventional graphite reactant to facilitate electrochemical exfoliation. The resultant valuable product (graphene) incentivizes utilization of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.
SGLT2 Inhibitors Produce Cardiorenal Benefits by Promoting Adaptive Cellular Reprogramming to Induce a State of Fasting Mimicry: A Paradigm Shift in Understanding Their Mechanism of Action

There is compelling evidence that sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors exert cardioprotective and renoprotective effects that are far greater than expected based on their effects on glycemia or glycosuria. In large-scale randomized controlled trials, SGLT2 inhibitors reduce the risk of hospitalizations for heart failure by ∼30% and often decrease the risk of cardiovascular death (1). This benefit is particularly striking in patients who have the most marked impairment of systolic function prior to treatment. In parallel, SGLT2 inhibitors also reduce the risk of end-stage renal events, including the occurrence of renal death and the need for dialysis or renal transplantation by ∼30% (2). This benefit is seen even when glomerular filtration rates are sufficiently low to abolish the glycosuric effect of these drugs. These cardiorenal benefits cannot be explained by an action of SGLT2 inhibitors to lower blood glucose, since similar effects are not seen with antidiabetes drugs that have greater antihyperglycemic actions. Additionally, they cannot be ascribed to a natriuretic action, since these drugs exert only a modest effect on plasma volume or on circulating natriuretic peptides (3). In 2016, two articles published in Diabetes Care proposed the “thrifty fuel hypothesis” to explain the cardiorenal benefits of SGLT2 inhibitors. Ferrannini et al. (4) and Mudaliar et al. (5) postulated that the action of SGLT2 inhibitors to promote ketogenesis might account for their favorable effects on the heart and kidney because enhanced ketone bodies formation might possibly provide an efficient fuel that could boost the energy state of organs under stress. However, type 2 diabetes represents a state of nutrient overabundance and not energy deprivation, as is evidenced by the enhancement of molecular pathways that promote both energy retention (e.g., through SGLT2 upregulation) and energy storage (6,7). In fact, the stressed heart already preferentially utilizes ketone bodies, …
Abstract TMP105: Location Does Matter: Comparing the Location of Blood Pressure Management in an Intensive Care Unit Setting

Background and Purpose: Blood pressure (BP) management is a vital part of acute stroke care. Both over- and under-correction of BP are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Non-invasiv...
Assessment of Discordance Among Smoldering Multiple Myeloma Risk Models

This cohort study assesses the concordance of 3 models to stratify risk for progression to multiple myeloma in an independent cohort of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma.
Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Predicts Mortality in Patients with Cardiogenic Shock Receiving Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support

Purpose Mortality from cardiogenic shock (CS) approaches 50% over 30 days. Classic risk factors for heart failure are weak predictors of mortality from CS. There is a need to identify pragmatic biomarkers to predict mortality in CS for prognosis and to facilitate the use of temporary mechanical circulatory support (MCS: percutaneous left ventricular assist device [Impella], venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenators [VA-ECMO]). Anisocytosis is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with heart failure. We sought to determine whether RDW is predictive of mortality in patients with CS requiring MCS. Methods This was a retrospective observational study for patients with cardiogenic shock requiring temporary MCS. Data regarding age, sex, race, presenting RDW, and MCS use was collected. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at 30 days and 1 year. Results 304 patients were identified: mean age 59.1±15.7 years, 214 (70%) male, 221 (72.7%) white. Impella was used in 128 (42%), VA-ECMO in 132 (43%), both Impella and VA-ECMO (ECPELLA) in 44 (14.5%). Mean RDW was 15.7±2.0. Compared with patients who received Impella alone, those who received ECMO/ECPELLA had higher RDW (15.4±2.1 vs 16.0±1.9%, P=0.007). 105 (35%) patients died over 30-days and 141 (46%) over 1-year. A 1% increment in RDW was associated with 14% and 13% relative increases in hazards of 30-day (HR 1.14 [1.06-1.23], P Conclusion In patients with CS receiving temporary MCS, a higher RDW was independently associated with 30-day and 1-year mortality. RDW may serve as a pragmatic biomarker of mortality risk in patients with CS receiving temporary MCS.
Artificial methods for the remineralization of hydroxyapatite in enamel

Abstract Enamel does not contain living cells and thus is susceptible to damage that cannot be repaired by the human body. Artificial regeneration of these structures is theorized, but no widespread treatment of dental caries lesions has been developed. This review is an analysis of relevant techniques for the mineralization of hydroxyapatite (HAP) in enamel. Fluoride, amelogenin and its derivatives, peptide and amino acid treatments, surfactant and biogel templates, and direct crystal formation have been used with varying degrees of success to regenerate HAP structures. These methods are qualified by their ability to replicate HAP crystallites with enamel-like properties and of their possible application to clinical treatment.
A study on discrete Ponzi Scheme model through Sturm-Liouville theory

In this paper, we introduce a second order self-adjoint difference equation which describes the dynamics of Ponzi schemes: a type of investment fraud that promises more than it can deliver. We use ...
γ-Catenin at Adherens Junctions: Mechanism and Biologic Implications in Hepatocellular Cancer after β-Catenin Knockdown

β-Catenin is important in liver homeostasis as a part of Wnt signaling and adherens junctions (AJs), while its aberrant activation is observed in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We have reported hepatocyte-specific β-catenin knockout (KO) mice to lack adhesive defects as γ-catenin compensated at AJ. Because γ-catenin is a desmosomal protein, we asked if its increase in KO might deregulate desmosomes. No changes in desmosomal proteins or ultrastructure other than increased plakophilin-3 were observed. To further elucidate the role and regulation of γ-catenin, we contemplate an in vitro model and show γ-catenin increase in HCC cells upon β-catenin knockdown (KD). Here, γ-catenin is unable to rescue β-catenin/T cell factor (TCF) reporter activity; however, it sufficiently compensates at AJs as assessed by scratch wound assay, centrifugal assay for cell adhesion (CAFCA), and hanging drop assays. γ-Catenin increase is observed only after β-catenin protein decrease and not after blockade of its transactivation. γ-Catenin increase is associated with enhanced serine/threonine phosphorylation and abrogated by protein kinase A (PKA) inhibition. In fact, several PKA-binding sites were detected in γ-catenin by in silico analysis. Intriguingly γ-catenin KD led to increased β-catenin levels and transactivation. Thus, γ-catenin compensates for β-catenin loss at AJ without affecting desmosomes but is unable to fulfill functions in Wnt signaling. γ-Catenin stabilization after β-catenin loss is brought about by PKA. Catenin-sensing mechanism may depend on absolute β-catenin levels and not its activity. Anti-β-catenin therapies for HCC affecting total β-catenin may target aberrant Wnt signaling without negatively impacting intercellular adhesion, provided mechanisms leading to γ-catenin stabilization are spared.
Metabolic engineering for drug discovery and development

Metabolic engineering has been defined as the redirection of metabolic pathways using genetic manipulation. Since the emergence of metabolic engineering science in the early 1980s, the field has made notable strides not only at a conceptual level, but also with regard to translating these concepts into practical products and processes. Today, metabolic engineering plays an important role in the generation of fuels from renewable resources, the conversion of agricultural raw materials (for example, corn syrup) into bulk and specialty chemicals, and the discovery, development and scale-up of therapeutically useful products. This article focuses on recent advances in the last category. Specifically, we review the impact that converging developments in genetic engineering and biosynthetic chemistry are having on natural-product drug discovery.
Catalytic and regulatory site composition of yeast AMP deaminase by comparative binding and rate studies. Resolution of the cooperative mechanism.

Yeast AMP deaminase is allosterically activated by ATP and MgATP and inhibited by GTP and PO4. The tetrameric enzyme binds 2 mol each of ATP, GTP, and PO4/subunit with Kd values of 8.4 +/- 4.0, 4.1 +/- 0.6, and 169 +/- 12 microM, respectively. At 0.7 M KCl, ATP binds to the enzyme, but no longer activates. Titration with coformycin 5'-monophosphate, a slow, tight-binding inhibitor, indicates a single catalytic site/subunit. ATP and GTP bind at regulatory sites distinct from the catalytic site and their binding is mutually exclusive. Inorganic phosphate competes poorly with ATP for the ATP sites (Kd = 20.1 +/- 4.1 mM). However, near-saturating ATP reduces the moles of phosphate bound per subunit to 1 PO4, which binds with a Kd = 275 +/- 22 microM. In the presence of ATP, PO4 cannot effectively compete with ATP for the nucleotide triphosphate sites. The PO4 which binds in the presence of ATP is competitive with AMP at the catalytic site since the Kd equals the kinetic inhibition constant for PO4. Initial reaction rate curves are a cooperative function of AMP concentration and activation by ATP is also cooperative. However, no cooperativity is observed in the binding of any of the regulator ligands and ATP binding and kinetic activation by ATP is independent of substrate analog concentration. Cooperativity in initial rate curves results, therefore, from altered rate constants for product formation from each (enzyme.substrate)n species and not from cooperative substrate binding. The traditional cooperative binding models of allosteric regulation do not apply to yeast AMP deaminase, which regulates catalytic activity by kinetic control of product formation. The data are used to estimate the rates of AMP hydrolysis under reported metabolite concentrations in yeast.
Remediating Contaminated Groundwater With Low‐Capacity Injection and Nonpumped Wells

This modeling study evaluated the capability of low-capacity wells injecting clean water and nonpumped wells equipped with filter media for containing and removing a contaminant plume in groundwater. Outcomes were compared for configurations of: (1) nonpumped wells, (2) nonpumped wells and injection wells (injecting less than 1 m3/d), and (3) no wells (baseline scenario). Results suggest that hybrid configurations featuring both types of wells can be an effective, low-cost strategy for containing and remediating contaminated groundwater. Strategically positioned injection wells funnel contaminant plumes toward nonpumped wells, thus requiring fewer nonpumped wells to contain and remove a contaminant plume. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Journey Out and In: Security and Privacy in Local Library Automation Systems

The automation of library processes involves by its very nature the collection of information about patrons and the materials they use. As well, because online transaction processing (OLTP) depends upon the identification of workstations and time-stamping of transactions, information about staff productivity is also present in the system. While such information is of use in collections management and for error detection and correction, its collection raises security concerns. As well, beginning in the 1980s, local library automation systems came to be linked within consortia and eventually, across the Internet. This retrospective look at local library automation summarizes developments in connectivity occurring during the 1980s and 1990s, and suggests additional concerns associated with the open computing environment of the present day.
Multi-drug resistance in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

We evaluated 45 chronic lymphocyte leukemia (CLL) patients for the presence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) by the ex vivo techniques: 1) a functional assay utilizing doxorubicin (dox) retention with modulation; 2) a cytotoxicity assay (MTT) with modulation; 3) and four monoclonal antibodies. Ex vivo tests were correlated with disease stage and prior treatment, and were repeated as patients became resistant to alkylating agents, fludarabine and VAD chemotherapy (infusion of vincristine, dox, and oral dexamethasone). The majority of patients (64.4%) were in early stage and were untreated (62.2%). P-glycoprotein (p-gp 170) was detected most frequently by the monoclonal antibody MRK-16 (48%) and by functional modulation of dox retention by PSC-833 (40.6%) and by functional modulation of the MTT assay with vincristine (0.29) and dox (0.39) with PSC-833 at 1.0 μg/mL. Functional modulation of dox retention with PSC-833 was significantly associated with stage, but not with either the MTT assay or any of the monoc...
Streptomycin Induced Stress Response in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Shows Distinct Colony Scatter Signature.

We investigated the streptomycin-induced stress response in Salmonella enterica serovars with a laser optical sensor, BARDOT (bacterial rapid detection using optical scattering technology). Initially, the top 20 S. enterica serovars were screened for their response to streptomycin at 100 μg/mL. All, but four S. enterica serovars were resistant to streptomycin. The MIC of streptomycin-sensitive serovars (Enteritidis, Muenchen, Mississippi, and Schwarzengrund) varied from 12.5 to 50 μg/mL, while streptomycin-resistant serovar (Typhimurium) from 125–250 μg/mL. Two streptomycin-sensitive serovars (Enteritidis and Mississippi) were grown on brain heart infusion (BHI) agar plates containing sub-inhibitory concentration of streptomycin (1.25–5 μg/mL) and a streptomycin-resistant serovar (Typhimurium) was grown on BHI containing 25–50 μg/mL of streptomycin and the colonies (1.2 ± 0.1 mm diameter) were scanned using BARDOT. Data show substantial qualitative and quantitative differences in the colony scatter patterns of Salmonella grown in the presence of streptomycin than the colonies grown in absence of antibiotic. Mass-spectrometry identified overexpression of chaperonin GroEL, which possibly contributed to the observed differences in the colony scatter patterns. Quantitative RT-PCR and immunoassay confirmed streptomycin-induced GroEL expression while, aminoglycoside adenylyltransferase (aadA), aminoglycoside efflux pump (aep), multidrug resistance subunit acrA, and ribosomal protein S12 (rpsL), involved in streptomycin resistance, were unaltered. The study highlights suitability of the BARDOT as a non-invasive, label-free tool for investigating stress response in Salmonella in conjunction with the molecular and immunoassay methods.
Effects of responsive electrical brain stimulation on intracranial electroencephalogram spikes.

Objectives Responsive cortical electrical stimulation with implanted devices is under investigation for seizures. While designed to terminate seizures, might this stimulation also affect the underlying epileptic process of seizure generation? Materials and Methods Four patients undergoing intracranial electroencephalogram (EEG) for seizure localization had an external responsive neurostimulator (eRNS) connected to their seizure-onset zones. The eRNS detected interictal EEG spikes and stimulated at the focus. We quantified spikes at three locations: 1) near stimulation, 2) remote but in the same lobe as stimulation, and (3) in different lobe from stimulation. Ten-minute windows were analyzed at three times: 1) baseline, 2) after the first four hours of stimulation, and 3) poststimulation. One blinded investigator performed manual spike counts. Quantitative measures were total spikes, spike-free intervals (continuous ten-sec segments with no spikes), and spike clusters (one-sec intervals with three or more spikes). Results Some changes in spikes occurred in each patient, but no uniform pattern emerged. Two general observations were made: 1) spike counts within a given patient exhibited internally consistent changes with stimulation; 2) across patients, the nature of spike count changes varied, indicating patient-to-patient variability. For example, poststimulation, two patients had more and two patients had fewer total spikes. However, when spikes decreased near stimulation, they decreased at other sites, and when spikes increased near stimulation, they increased at other sites. Conclusions Changes in spike occurrence, organization, and topography with stimulation suggest the eRNS affected spike generation and may affect the underlying interictal epileptic process. Case-to-case variability may be due to individual patient factors, and its significance is yet to be determined.
Health lifestyle theory in an Asian context

Health in Western society has become viewed as an achievement: something people are supposed to work at to enhance their quality of life or risk chronic illness and premature death. This is evident in the research documenting the close connection between chronic illnesses and health lifestyles. Almost all of this research is based on Western populations and much of it treats health behaviour and lifestyles as matters of individual choice or agency. While agency is important, structural conditions can 'act back' on individuals to configure their lifestyles in particular ways. The focus of this paper is to apply a new theoretical model to an Asian context. This model features a convergence between agency and structure and is supported by studies in Western countries. If the model is to have global relevance, it needs to be representative of health lifestyles in Asia as well. Unfortunately, there are very few relevant studies available in Asia. Consequently, the intent of this paper is to not only present an initial theoretical framework for such studies, but also to call attention to the need for research in Asia on this topic. Everyone has a health lifestyle and Asians are no exception, as their lifestyles undoubtedly play a decisive role in determining health in the Pacific region. (author abstract)