cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Logistic regression for stratified case-control studies.

Fears and Brown (1986) developed a procedure for logistic regression analysis of stratified case-control data where the sampling fractions for cases and controls, and thus their population frequencies, were assumed known. They fitted the usual "prospective" model to the case-control data, treating case-control status as a binary outcome variable. In order to adjust for the biased sampling, they included the logarithm of the odds ratio relating the actual sample sizes and the population frequencies in each stratum as an "offset" in the regression equation. However, no adjustments were made to the estimated variances of the regression coefficients of variables associated with the strata to account for the information about them available in the population frequencies. Furthermore, Fears and Brown incorrectly claimed that their procedure gave restricted maximum likelihood (RML) estimates (Aitchison and Silvey, 1958) based on the likelihood of the retrospectively sampled data. Breslow and Cain (1988) show that the Fears and Brown procedure does yield consistent and asymptotically normal estimates of the regression parameters in a logistic regression model for the probability of disease development. In fact, it is equivalent to the "conditional maximum likelihood" (CML) estimate developed by Manski and McFadden (1981) for estimation of quantal response functions from stratified data. (See also Hsieh, Manski, and McFadden, 1985.) Breslow and Cain extended the work of Manski and McFadden for use in the more realistic situation where the distribution of cases and controls in each stratum is estimated from a "first-stage" sample rather than being assumed known. They developed variance estimators for the regression coefficients that accurately reflect the additional information available in the first-stage sample and that are easily modified to accommodate an "infinite" population at that stage. We first present a reanalysis of the Fears and Brown data that contrasts the correct variances, computed under the assumptions that the first-stage sample is finite and infinite, respectively, with the incorrect variances obtained from the standard logistic analysis. Then, using a subset of the data with only three strata, we demonstrate the differences between the CML estimates of Manski and McFadden and RML estimates calculated from the retrospective probabilities. A small-scale simulation study investigates the properties of CML and RML estimators in samples of moderate size.
Studies on the Spermatogenesis of Some Indian Homoptera

1. The diploid number in Poophilus is 25, and the haploid number is 12AA and X.2. The sex chromosome segregates in the first division typical of Homoptera Auchenorrhyncha.3. The sex chromosome lags (succession) in the first division and not n the second meiotic division. A detailed behaviour of the same is discussed.
Digital Natives and the University Classroom and Beyond: Prompting Analysis, Personal Expression, and Ongoing Discourse

Students and faculty today have an abundance of interesting and important information at their disposal within seconds of a search request. Information about natural events, war, tragedy, technology developments, controversies, ethical, diversity, and environmental considerations, general descriptive statistics, and even extensive company or policy history information can serve to enrich understanding of role and usefulness of theories, strategies, and policies of companies, agencies, and governments. Our challenge as educators is to prompt students to think critically about details as well as holistically about the “big picture” and emerging pictures. With various social media tools, we now have environments that can facilitate more student to student education (and the monitoring of this process as well).
The Duty of an Intracellular Signal: Illuminating Calcium’s Role in Transcriptional Control

An optogenetic approach reveals how cells encode external information in complex patterns of protein activity.
Discrimination, internalized racism, and depression: A comparative study of African American and Afro-Caribbean adults in the US:

Emerging research suggests that both perceptions of discrimination and internalized racism (i.e., endorsement of negative stereotypes of one's racial group) are associated with poor mental health. Yet, no studies to date have examined their effects on mental health with racial/ethnic minorities in the US in a single study. The present study examined: (a) the direct effects of everyday discrimination and internalized racism on risk of DSM-IV criteria of past-year major depressive disorder (MDD); (b) the interactive effects of everyday discrimination and internalized racism on risk of past-year MDD; and (c) the indirect effect of everyday discrimination on risk of past-year MDD via internalized racism. Further, we examined whether these associations differed by ethnic group membership. We utilized nationally representative data of Afro-Caribbean (N = 1,418) and African American (N = 3,570) adults from the National Survey of American Life. Results revealed that experiencing discrimination was associated with increased odds of past-year MDD among the total sample. Moreover, for Afro-Caribbeans, but not African Americans, internalized racism was associated with decreased odds of meeting criteria for past-year MDD. We did not find an interaction effect for everyday discrimination by internalized racism, nor an indirect effect of discrimination on risk of past-year MDD through internalized racism. Collectively, our findings suggest a need to investigate other potential mechanisms by which discrimination impacts mental health, and examine further the underlying factors of internalized racism as a potential self-protective strategy. Lastly, our findings point to the need for research that draws attention to the heterogeneity within the U.S. Black population.
Evoking a reciprocity of caring: Integration of humanities-based content into an interprofessional education immersion course for advanced practice nursing and health professions students

Along with calls to train nurse practitioners to be full partners in healthcare and lead interprofessional collaborative practice teams, there have been calls to enhance health professions education to develop transformative learning experiences, teach the ability to critically observe patients and capture their narrative experience of health, and assist students to become more empathic and communicate more clearly. In a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded advanced nursing education project that included advanced practice nursing, dentistry, pharmacy and social work students, several humanities-based learning strategies were infused into an interprofessional curriculum that was paired with interprofessional collaborative practice at an urban, primary care clinic serving underserved patients with multiple chronic conditions. The current study explored students’ reactions to the humanities-based interprofessional education curriculum using qualitative data from focus groups and reflective journal entries regarding student perceptions of their interprofessional collaborative practice experience in the clinical setting focused on the interprofessional education core competencies. Four major themes were identified that relate to the humanities-based curriculum. Student participants gained confidence in their abilities as health providers, improved their methods of communication and focus with patients, learned how to negotiate ethical situations in support of patient-centeredness, and grew as members of interprofessional collaborative practice teams. Thus, the inclusion of the humanities into nursing and interprofessional education and practice can assist with strengthening presence, promoting moral imagination, and evoking a reciprocity of caring that can lead to improved patient care and outcomes.
Techniques for taking a behavioral history.

A thorough behavioral history is essential for adequate assessment of a given case. In reviewing the chief complaint, a description of what actually happened, rather than the owner’s interpretation of what happened, is required. Other behavior problems, environment, rearing history, and training need to be reviewed. Sample question sets for some common problems are given.
Graphene-based plasmonic phase modulator for Terahertz-band communication

In this paper, a graphene-based plasmonic phase modulator for Terahertz band (0.1–10 THz) communication is proposed, modeled and analyzed. The modulator is based on a fixed-length graphene-based plasmonic waveguide, and leverages the possibility to tune the propagation speed of Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) waves on graphene by modifying the Fermi energy of the graphene layer. An analytical model for the modulator is developed starting from the dynamic complex conductivity of graphene and a revised dispersion equation for SPP waves in gated graphene structures. By utilizing the model, the performance of the modulator is analyzed in terms of symbol error rate when utilized to implement a M-ary digital phase shift keying modulation. The model is validated by means of electromagnetic simulations, and numerical results are provided to illustrate the performance of the modulator.
Interaction of Wolbachia and Bloodmeal Type in Artificially Infected Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

Maternally inherited Wolbachia bacteria are being introduced into vector mosquito populations, with the goal of reducing the transmission of diseases such as dengue fever. The infection dynamics of Wolbachia depends upon the ability of Wolbachia to manipulate host reproduction as well as any fitness costs imposed upon the host. Some vector mosquito species are opportunistic blood feeders, utilizing both human and nonhuman vertebrate hosts, and the effects of bloodmeal source on Wolbachia phenotype is not well understood. Here we transfer w MelPop Wolbachia from Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen) into wild-type Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and characterize the resulting triple infection by examining for an effect of human and mouse blood on the Wolbachia infection persistence and phenotypes. When provided with human blood, the triple Wolbachia infection was persistent, with high maternal inheritance and relatively little fecundity cost, and a pattern of imperfect unidirectional cytoplasmic incompatibility was observed in mating experiments between wild-type and triply infected individuals. With mouse blood, reduced female fecundity and low maternal inheritance were observed in w MelPop-infected females, which affected the typical pattern of unidirectional CI. Our findings indicate the interactive effects of Wolbachia infection and blood source drive distinct shifts in the Wolbachia –host symbiotic association .
Inverse design of an ultra-compact broadband optical diode based on asymmetric spatial mode conversion

The objective-first inverse-design algorithm is used to design an ultra-compact optical diode. Based on silicon and air only, this optical diode relies on asymmetric spatial mode conversion between the left and right ports. The first even mode incident from the left port is transmitted to the right port after being converted into an odd mode. On the other hand, same mode incident from the right port is reflected back by the optical diode dielectric structure. The convergence and performance of the algorithm are studied, along with a transform method that converts continuous permittivity medium into a binary material design. The optimal device is studied with full-wave electromagnetic simulations to compare its behavior under right and left incidences, in 2D and 3D settings as well. A parametric study is designed to understand the impact of the design space size and initial conditions on the optimized devices performance. A broadband optical diode behavior is observed after optimization, with a large rejection ratio between the two transmission directions. This illustrates the potential of the objective-first inverse-design method to design ultra-compact broadband photonic devices.
Cognitive, Motor, and Behavioral Function in PKU

Measures of cognitive, frontal lobe (executive), behavioral and motor function were administered to 18 children (aged 12-101 months) with phenylketonuria followed at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, NY.
Growth and Neurotrophic Factors in HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders

The advent of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has successfully controlled replication of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) leading to reduced morbidity and increased longevity of infected people. Paradoxically however, as patients live longer lives, the prevalence of HIV-associated cognitive impairments has risen due to drug toxicity and its limited cART central nervous system (CNS) penetrance. Additionally, the presence of HIV proteins, which are not impacted by antiretrovirals, are a source of neuroinflammation. As a result, almost 50 % of infected individuals on effective cART exhibit various forms of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) whose mechanism(s) include deficits in calcium flux, excitotoxicity, cell signaling, oxidative stress and autophagy. Additionally, defects in the processing and functioning of neurotrophic factors such as fibroblast growth factors, brain-derived growth factor, insulin-like growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, and glial cell derived neurotrophic factor have also been implicated in disruption of neuronal function. Importantly, these factors have been shown to interfere with the fundamental mechanism of apoptotic cell death, the underlying feature of HAND and other neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, neurotrophic factors are also capable of promoting neuronal differentiation, neurogenesis and angiogenesis, thereby facilitating repair. Currently, there are no effective adjunctive treatments for disease. Thus, identifying novel neuroprotective molecules for treating such diseases is highly warranted in this field. This chapter discusses the beneficial roles of those neurotrophic and growth factors in the context of potential HIV therapies.
The SupportNet Website: A Social Media Self-Care System

Over the last decade, there has been extensive growth in the use of the Internet worldwide. As a result, there has been an increase in the availability of web-based interventions that address a variety of health and psychological issues. This chapter reviews relevant online interventions followed by a description of SupportNet, a web intervention that addresses burnout in military behavioral health providers. We provide the technical and functional details of SupportNet along with important information regarding intervention engagement. We also provide recommendations for future system enhancements and conclude with a discussion of how SupportNet could be deployed within other provider settings.
βIII spectrin is necessary for formation of the constricted neck of dendritic spines and regulation of synaptic activity in neurons.

Dendritic spines are postsynaptic structures in neurons often having a mushroom-like shape. Physiological significance and cytoskeletal mechanisms that maintain this shape are poorly understood. The spectrin-based membrane skeleton maintains the biconcave shape of erythrocytes, but whether spectrins also determine the shape of nonerythroid cells is less clear. We show that βIII spectrin in hippocampal and cortical neurons from rodent embryos of both sexes is distributed throughout the somatodendritic compartment but is particularly enriched in the neck and base of dendritic spines and largely absent from spine heads. Electron microscopy revealed that βIII spectrin forms a detergent-resistant cytoskeletal network at these sites. Knockdown of βIII spectrin results in a significant decrease in the density of dendritic spines. Surprisingly, the density of presynaptic terminals is not affected by βIII spectrin knockdown. However, instead of making normal spiny synapses, the presynaptic structures in βIII spectrin-depleted neurons make shaft synapses that exhibit increased amplitudes of miniature EPSCs indicative of excessive postsynaptic excitation. Thus, βIII spectrin is necessary for formation of the constricted shape of the spine neck, which in turn controls communication between the synapse and the parent dendrite to prevent excessive excitation. Notably, mutations of SPTNB2 encoding βIII spectrin are associated with neurodegenerative syndromes, spinocerebellar ataxia Type 5, and spectrin-associated autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia Type 1, but molecular mechanisms linking βIII spectrin functions to neuronal pathologies remain unresolved. Our data suggest that spinocerebellar ataxia Type 5 and spectrin-associated autosomal recessive cerebellar ataxia Type 1 pathology likely arises from poorly controlled synaptic activity that leads to excitotoxicity and neurodegeneration.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dendritic spines are small protrusions from neuronal dendrites that make synapses with axons of other neurons in the brain. Dendritic spines usually have a mushroom-like shape, which is essential for brain functions, because aberrant spine morphology is associated with many neuropsychiatric disorders. The bulbous head of a mushroom-shaped spine makes the synapse, whereas the narrow neck transmits the incoming signals to the dendrite and supposedly controls the signal propagation. We show that a cytoskeletal protein βIII spectrin plays a key role for the formation of narrow spine necks. In the absence of βIII spectrin, dendritic spines collapse onto dendrites. As a result, synaptic strength exceeds acceptable levels and damages neurons, explaining pathology of human syndromes caused by βIII spectrin mutations.
Chronic Pain, Patient-Physician Engagement, and Family Communication Associated With Drug-Using HIV Patients' Discussing Advanced Care Planning With Their Physicians.

Abstract Context In the era of effective antiretroviral therapy, persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) are living longer, transforming HIV into a serious chronic illness, warranting patient-provider discussion about advanced care planning (ACP). Evidence is needed to inform physicians on how to approach ACP for these patients. Chronic pain is common in PLWHA, particularly in those who have substance use disorders; although it is known that this population is at risk for poorer patient-physician engagement, the effects on ACP are unknown. Objectives To further characterize factors associated with successful ACP in PLWHA, we examined associations between patient-physician relationship, chronic pain, family communication and problem-solving skills, and rates of patients discussing ACP with their physicians. Methods Data were from the Affirm Care study ( N = 325), which examined social and environmental factors associated with health outcomes among PLWHA and their informal caregivers. Results In multivariate analysis, higher odds of patient reports of discussing ACP with their physicians were associated with their higher rating of their relationship with their physician (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.73; P P P P Conclusion These results suggest that interventions to increase ACP among HIV patients and their physicians should promote patient-centered patient-provider relationships and PLWHAs' family communication and family problem-solving skills. The findings also suggest that PLWHA with chronic pain and prior family discord over end-of-life medical decisions may be primed for ACP.
Fusion Imaging for Paravalvular Leak Closure

Paravalvular leak (PVL) is a well-recognized complication after heart valve surgery and transcatheter valve replacement [1, 2]. Historically, repeat open-heart surgery has been the mainstay of treatment for paravalvular leaks [1]. However, recent advances in transcatheter therapies have made percutaneous closure of PVLs a less invasive and safe alternative, especially in those at high risk for repeat surgery. Percutaneous repair of PVLs can be associated with considerable complexity and is advised to be performed at experienced centers [3]. These procedures are heavily reliant on various imaging modalities for pre-procedural planning and intraprocedural guidance. Traditionally, these procedures were guided by 2-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic and fluoroscopic guidance to project complex 3D anatomy. Understandably, this posed challenges for acquiring spatial information that is needed to perform these procedures effectively and safely. The advent of echocardiography and computed tomography angiography (CTA) into 3D and 4D visualization and post-processing technology has allowed a more comprehensive understanding of the anatomy and better intraprocedural guidance. However, individual modalities like fluoroscopy and echocardiography provide different information of the anatomy and are presented separately. It can be challenging for operators to piece together these parallel information simultaneously. The integration of CTA with fluoroscopy (CTA-fluoroscopy fusion) and echocardiography with fluoroscopy (echo-fluoroscopy fusion) in the catheterization laboratory allows operators to overcome many of the challenges posed when these imaging modalities are used individually. Merging relevant information from different imaging modalities on to a composite image, commonly referred to as fusion imaging, has been shown to improve efficacy and safety and reduce the requirement of radiation, contrast, and procedural time [4]. More importantly, fusion imaging provides more accurate intraprocedural guidance when approaching PVL closure.
A Long Cytoplasmic Loop Governs the Sensitivity of the Anti-viral Host Protein SERINC5 to HIV-1 Nef

We recently identified the multipass transmembrane protein SERINC5 as an antiviral protein that can potently inhibit HIV-1 infectivity and is counteracted by HIV-1 Nef. We now report that the anti-HIV-1 activity, but not the sensitivity to Nef, is conserved among vertebrate SERINC5 proteins. However, a Nef-resistant SERINC5 became Nef sensitive when its intracellular loop 4 (ICL4) was replaced by that of Nef-sensitive human SERINC5. Conversely, human SERINC5 became resistant to Nef when its ICL4 was replaced by that of a Nef-resistant SERINC5. In general, ICL4 regions from SERINCs that exhibited resistance to a given Nef conferred resistance to the same Nef when transferred to a sensitive SERINC, and vice versa. Our results establish that human SERINC5 can be modified to restrict HIV-1 infectivity even in the presence of Nef.
Fas Promotes T Helper 17 Cell Differentiation and Inhibits T Helper 1 Cell Development by Binding and Sequestering Transcription Factor STAT1

The death receptor Fas removes activated lymphocytes through apoptosis. Previous transcriptional profiling predicted that Fas positively regulates interleukin-17 (IL-17)-producing T helper 17 (Th17) cells. Here, we demonstrate that Fas promoted the generation and stability of Th17 cells and prevented their differentiation into Th1 cells. Mice with T-cell- and Th17-cell-specific deletion of Fas were protected from induced autoimmunity, and Th17 cell differentiation and stability were impaired. Fas-deficient Th17 cells instead developed a Th1-cell-like transcriptional profile, which a new algorithm predicted to depend on STAT1. Experimentally, Fas indeed bound and sequestered STAT1, and Fas deficiency enhanced IL-6-induced STAT1 activation and nuclear translocation, whereas deficiency of STAT1 reversed the transcriptional changes induced by Fas deficiency. Thus, our computational and experimental approach identified Fas as a regulator of the Th17-to-Th1 cell balance by controlling the availability of opposing STAT1 and STAT3 to have a direct impact on autoimmunity.
Subchondroplasty for the treatment of post‐traumatic bone marrow lesions of the medial femoral condyle in a pre‐clinical canine model

This study characterizes long-term outcomes associated with subchondroplasty (SCP) treatment for impact-induced subchondral bone marrow lesions (BML) using a validated pre-clinical canine model. With IACUC approval, purpose-bred research hounds (n = 16) underwent arthroscopic impact injury (40N) to both medial femoral condyles. At 3 months, functional assessments, arthroscopy, and MRI were performed and knees (n = 32) were randomly assigned to SCP (3 ml fluoroscopically guided percutaneous injection of AccuFill BSM into BML bone defects) or sham injection (Control). Dogs were assessed at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after treatment using functional assessments, radiographic evaluation, arthroscopy, and MRI. Dogs were humanely euthanatized at 3, 6, 12, or 24 months after treatment for gross, microCT, and histologic assessments. All knees had focal articular cartilage defects with associated subchondral BMLs, as well as clinical dysfunction, 3 months after injury. At the 3 and 6 months, SCP knees showed more functional impairment than Control knees, however, these differences were not statistically significant. At 1- and 2-year post-treatment, function in SCP knees was better than in Control knees with range of motion being significantly (p < 0.05) better for SCP. Radiographic, arthroscopic, MRI, gross, microCT, and histologic findings matched the functional assessments well with Control being associated with better results at the two early time points and SCP being associated with better results at 1 and 2 years. Clinical significance: SCP treatment using calcium phosphate bone void filler was associated with an initial increase in pain and dysfunction followed by symptomatic benefits for up to 2 years after treatment for post-traumatic femoral condyle BMLs in a preclinical canine model. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:2709-2717, 2018.
Innate Lymphoid Cells: Diversity, Plasticity, and Unique Functions in Immunity.

Type 1, 2, and 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) have emerged as tissue-resident innate correlates of T helper 1 (Th1), Th2, and Th17 cells. Recent studies suggest that ILCs are more diverse than originally proposed; this might reflect truly distinct lineages or adaptation of ILCs to disparate tissue microenvironments, known as plasticity. Given that ILCs strikingly resemble T cells, are they redundant? While the regulation, timing, and magnitude of ILC and primary T cell responses differ, tissue-resident memory T cells may render ILCs redundant during secondary responses. The unique impact of ILCs in immunity is probably embodied in the extensive array of surface and intracellular receptors that endow these cells with the ability to distinguish between normal and pathogenic components, interact with other cells, and calibrate their cytokine secretion accordingly. Here I review recent advances in elucidating the diversity of ILCs and discuss their unique and redundant functions.
Histocompatibility Antigens and Transplant Rejection

The specific or adaptive immune system is characterized by the generation and activation of immune cells with an enormous repertoire for the recognition of foreign shapes and by the phenomenon of memory. This sophisticated system of host defense is not found in invertebrates, protochordates, or in some primitive jawless fish. The vertebrate immune system evolved about 450 million years ago in cartilaginous fish, ancestors of present day skates and sharks.1
The children's peace project: Service-learning and art education

pgtaylor@vcu.edu This paper presents the case of a service-learning art experience in an after-school housing development program. Beginning with a dialogue concerning peace and how it can become part of their world, children and pre-service teachers explored and connected the idea of peace through symbols, metaphor and idealism in works of art. A critical and reflective account of this experience demonstrates the ways that young children and pre-service art teachers can benefit from meaningful and socially relevant service-learning activities.
The Talmud in Korea: A Study in the Reception of Rabbinic Literature

This article examines the reception of rabbinic literature in South Korea, focusing on a series of books titled Talmud (T'almudŭ). We analyze dozens of volumes published between 1979 and 2016, identifying the subgenres that have been produced, individual editions that exemplify the development and diversity of the editions, and the religious traditions—Jewish, Confucian, and Christian—with which these books engage. The article also reflects on the place and significance of these Korean texts in the long reception of rabbinic literature.
Automated mapping of rice fields using multi-year training sample normalization

Rice agriculture is of great ecological, environmental, and socioeconomic importance in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, as its distribution and size heavily impact food production and a numb...
Training for Cultural Change in a Brownfield Site: A Progress Report

Faced with highly threatening competition from Japanese companies, a major U.S. automotive manufacturer attempted to induce cultural change in a mature workforce during the launch of a new vehicle in an assembly plant. Workers completed eighty hours of training designed to modify their attitudes and create a work environment with greater cooperation, motivation, and continuous improvement. To measure differences in attitudes between trained and untrained populations, 35% (1039) of the hourly production workers completed a survey conducted in-plant during working hours. The researcher found that, to a limited extent, the trained employees exhibited more positive attitudes than their untrained counterparts; some cultural change did take place as a result of the training. At the end of the two-year training period however, the actual work environment had not changed to accommodate the new attitudes. Trained workers demonstrated frustration with unaltered management policies and actions. Several initiatives in the plant have been developed to continue the process of cultural change.
Bis(tetra­phenyl­phospho­nium) octa‐μ3‐chloro‐hexa­kis(trifluoro­methane­sulfonato)‐octa­hedro‐hexa­molybdate dichloro­methane/diethyl ether solvate

The crystal structure of the title compound, (C24H20P)2[Mo6Cl8(CF3O3S)6]·C4H10O·CH2Cl2, consists of a centrosymmetric [Mo6Cl8]4+ cluster core that is bonded to six trifluoro­methane­sulfonate groups via O atoms and two tetra­phenyl­phospho­nium counter-cations. The packing of the cations and anions leads to voids with a size of ca 230 A3 that are filled with disordered dichloro­methane and diethyl ether solvent mol­ecules. The title compound affords facile ligand substitution on the hexa­nuclear [Mo6Cl8]4+ cluster.
Cardiovascular Risk Associated with Medical Use of Opioids and Cannabinoids: A Systematic Review

The long-term use of opioid and cannabinoid medications to control chronic pain and treat opioid use disorders now involves a large proportion of the population in the United States. Yet, the cardiovascular risks of opioids are not well understood. This systematic review summarizes the current literature to assess the potential cardiovascular disease risks associated with opioid and cannabinoid medications. The role of long-term methadone use in increasing QT interval among people receiving methadone treatment for substance use disorders is well established. Routine electrocardiogram screenings among patients receiving methadone treatment may be helpful in early identification and prevention of ventricular arrhythmias. There is limited, but credible evidence of increased risk for myocardial infarction among patients using opioid medications for chronic pain, and equivocal evidence that opioids may lead to hypotension in the short term. Further, there is no evidence indicating that opioid pain medications increase the risk of stroke or pulmonary embolism. However, the majority of the reviewed studies include limited internal and external validity due to poor confounding control, exposure misclassification, confounding by indication, small sample size, and non-generalizable special populations. We also did not find any human studies evaluating the cardiovascular effects of cannabinoids. While the effects of methadone on cardiac conduction are well known and interventions at the healthcare practice level may help prevent potential harm, more good quality research is needed to better understand cardiovascular risk associated with the use of opioids and cannabinoids.
The Cause-Effect Problem: Motivation, Ideas, and Popular Misconceptions.

Telling cause from effect from observations of just two variables has attracted increasing interest since more than one decade. On the one hand, it defines a nice binary classification problem for which it is easy to define a success rate, in contrast to more general causal inference tasks where no straightforward performance criteria exist. On the other hand, it fascinates researchers because solving this elementary task implies statistical asymmetries between cause and effect that were previously unknown. Discussing some real-world and toy examples, I argue that humans seem to have some intuition about these asymmetries, but I also argue that some straightforward ideas to distinguish between cause and effect are flawed. The discussion on the origin of the true asymmetries relates machine learning, philosophy and physics. For instance, the postulate that Pcause and Peffect|cause contain no information about each other (while Peffect and Pcause|effect may satisfy some ‘non-generic’ relations), is relevant for semi-supervised learning on the one hand, but is also related to the thermodynamic arrow of time on the other hand.
Analysis of rumen contents and ocular fluid for toxic alkaloids from goats and cows dosed larkspur (Delphinium barbeyi), lupine (Lupinus leucophyllus), and death camas (Zigadenus paniculatus).

Abstract Larkspurs, lupines, and death camas can be acutely toxic to livestock and are serious poisonous plant problems in western North America. The toxicity of these plants depends on the composition and concentrations of the toxic alkaloids in the plants. In this study, goats and cows were dosed sub-lethal doses of larkspur, lupine, and death camas. Rumen contents and ocular fluid samples were collected, and simple extraction, sample preparation, and analytical methods were developed for the detection of toxic alkaloids in the rumen contents and ocular fluid samples. Toxic alkaloids were detected in the rumen contents and ocular fluid samples from the goats and cows dosed larkspur, lupine, and death camas. In addition, results from a case report where rumen contents were analyzed from a steer that was suspected to have died due to larkspur are reported. This demonstrates the utility of the methods described for the diagnosis of acute plant poisonings.
Descriptions of Gabapentin Misuse and Associated Behaviors among a Sample of Opioid (Mis)users in South Florida.

Gabapentin has received increased attention due to a growing number of reports of misuse and diversion. However, significant details about gabapentin misuse are scant. Data are drawn from a mixed-m...
Industry Certifications in Digital Marketing and Media Education: An Examination of Perceptions and Use among Educators.

Technology and media have created skill needs that modern educators are compelled to address to stay relevant. As a result, an emerging educational tool in marketing and media courses is the integr...
RFEye in the Sky

We introduce RFEye, a generalized technique to locate signals independent of the waveform, using a single Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with only one omnidirectional antenna. This is achieved by acquiring signals from uncoordinated positions within a sphere of 1-meter radius at two nearby locations and formulating asynchronous, distributed receiver beamforming at the UAV to compute the Direction of Arrival (DoA) from the unknown transmitter. The proposed method includes four steps: 1) Blind detection and extraction of unique signature in the signal to be localized, 2) Asynchronous signal acquisition and conditioning, 3) DoA calculation by creating a virtual distributed antenna array at UAV and 4) Obtaining position fix of emitter using DoA from two locations. These steps are analyzed for various sources of error, computational complexity and compared with widely used signal subspace-based DoA estimation algorithms. RFEye is implemented using an Intel-Aero UAV, equipped with a USRP B205 software-defined radio to acquire signals from a ground emitter. Practical outdoor experiments show that RFEye achieves a median accuracy of 1.03m in 2D and 2.5m in 3D for Wi-Fi, and 1.15m in 2D and 2.7m in 3D for LoRa waveforms, and is robust to external factors like wind and UAV position errors.
A Review on Blockchain-based Access Control Models in IoT Applications

Conventional access control models such as RBAC and ABAC have been inefficient for IoT systems due to the raised security concerns. Blockchain technology has been effective to provide decentralized solutions for maintaining data, addressing the challenges of auditability, privacy, and scalability as well as eliminating a single point of failure problem in recent years IoT access control management. This work presents a review of access control frameworks using blockchain technology for IoT devices.
Debt Letters: Epistolary Economies in Early Modern England

Though credit culture was undoubtedly a rhetorical sphere, the role of epistolary rhetoric in matters of debt and credit has been largely overlooked. This chapter fills that gap. It tracks the emergence of ‘debt letters’, an epistolary sub-genre in seventeenth-century letter-writing manuals. Debt letters ask for money, offer funds and excuse the inability to make (or repay) loans. The rhetorical strategies evident in sample debt letters point to a cultural emphasis on friendship as a site of financial stability through reciprocal lending. Moreover, these rhetorical strategies serve multiple goals, which at times conflict: the short-term goal of navigating particular debt arrangements, and the long-term goal of maintaining an amicable bond over time.
Clinical Observation of COVID-19 in a Patient With an Acquired Humoral Deficiency Secondary to Chemotherapeutic Agents

IntroductionThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic due to the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes worldwide devastation. We describe the course of a ...
Cardioembolic stroke in the setting of multiple left ventricular thrombi.

A 78-year-old man with a known ischaemic cardiomyopathy presented with hypoxaemic respiratory failure and undifferentiated shock. CT head revealed a large middle cerebral artery territory infarct. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a depressed ejection fraction of 15% and multiple wall motion
Labour and left-wing parties’ programmatic orientations: salience, valence and the impact of the Great Recession

The steady weakening of the relationship between parties and civil society, in particular trade unions, has been the subject of considerable research. The same cannot be said, however, of the progr...
Donut-like organization of inhibition underlies categorical neural responses in the midbrain

ABSTRACT Categorical neural responses underlie various forms of selection and decision-making. Such binary-like responses promote robust signaling of the winner in the presence of input ambiguity and neural noise. Here, we show that a ‘donut-like’ inhibitory mechanism in which each competing option suppresses all options except itself, is highly effective at generating categorical neural responses. It surpasses motifs of feedback inhibition, recurrent excitation, and divisive normalization invoked frequently in decision-making models. We demonstrate experimentally not only that this mechanism operates in the midbrain spatial selection network in barn owls, but also that it is necessary for categorical signaling by it. The functional pattern of neural inhibition in the midbrain forms an exquisitely structured ‘multi-holed’ donut consistent with this network’s combinatorial inhibitory function for stimulus selection. Additionally, modeling reveals a generalizable neural implementation of the donut-like motif for categorical selection. Self-sparing inhibition may, therefore, be a powerful circuit module central to categorization.
Word-level confidence estimation for RNN transducers

Confidence estimate is an often requested feature in applications such as medical transcription where errors can impact patient care and the confidence estimate could be used to alert medical professionals to verify potential errors in recognition. In this paper, we present a lightweight neural confidence model tailored for Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) system with Recurrent Neural Network Transducers (RNN-T). Compared to other existing approaches, our model utilizes: (a) the time information associated with recognized words, which reduces the computational complexity, and (b) a simple and elegant trick for mapping between sub-word and word sequences. The mapping addresses the non-unique tokenization and token deletion problems while amplifying differences between confusable words. Through extensive empirical evaluations on two different long-form test sets, we demonstrate that the model achieves a performance of 0.4 Normalized Cross Entropy (NCE) and 0.05 Expected Calibration Error (ECE). It is robust across different ASR configurations, including target types (graphemes vs. morphemes), traffic conditions (streaming vs. non-streaming), and encoder types. We further discuss the importance of evaluation metrics to reflect practical applications and highlight the need for further work in improving Area Under the Curve (AUC) for Negative Precision Rate (NPV) and True Negative Rate (TNR).
Rheb G-Proteins and the Activation of mTORC1.

I. Abstract Rheb belongs to a unique family within the Ras superfamily of G-proteins. Although initially identified in rat brain, this G-protein is highly conserved from yeast to human. While only one Rheb is present in lower eukaryotes, two Rheb proteins exist in mammalian cells. A number of studies establish that one of the functions of Rheb is to activate mTOR leading to growth. In particular, the ability of Rheb to activate mTORC1 in vitro points to direct interaction of Rheb with the mTORC1 complex. Additional functions of Rheb that are independent of mTOR have also been suggested.
Factor from Brains of Male HeliothisVirescens Induces Ecdysteroid Production by Testes

Brain neuropeptides induce target glands to secrete ecdysteroid in two well-characterized insect systems: the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) activates prothoracic glands to produce ecdysone, and the egg development neurosecretory hormone (EDNH) activates ovaries to produce ecdysteroid (reviewed by Wigglesworth, 1985). Bollenbacher et al. (1979) studied the PTTH system isolated in vitro by incubating brain extracts containing PTTH with prothoracic glands, detecting the resultant ecdysteroid by radioimmunoassay (RIA) (Borst and O’Connor 1972). Similarly, Hagedorn et al. (1979) elicited immunoreactive ecdysone production directly from mosquito ovaries by incubating them with head extracts containing EDNH. Testes of Heliothis virescens produce ecdysteroid in vitro at specific periods during development (Loeb et al. 1984). Incubation with a peptide-like factor from male brains can initiate ecdysteroid synthesis by testes in vitro.
Calling Students To Serve the Homeless: A Project To Promote Altruism and Community Service.

Americans’ participation in community and civic activities has declined over the last several decades. This article describes a project in which social work faculty, practitioners, and students cooperated to develop and implement a local, college-based community service project to house the homeless. The author focuses on the impact of a Service Learning Seminar-a one-credit course that combined academic and community service work-on students’ prosocial attitudes. He discusses the project’s theoretical basis, the research findings, methodological weaknesses, and implications for the future.
Fas ligation and tumor necrosis factor alpha activation of murine astrocytes promote heat shock factor‐1 activation and heat shock protein expression leading to chemokine induction and cell survival

Death-inducing ligands tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and Fas ligand (FasL) do not kill cultured astrocytes; instead they induce a variety of chemokines including macrophage-inflammatory protein-1α/CC chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (CC CCL-2), macrophage-inflammatory protein-2/CXC chemokine ligand 2 (CXCL2, a murine homologue of interleukin 8), and interferon-induced protein of 10 kDa (CXCL10). Induction is enhanced by protein synthesis inhibition suggesting the existence of endogenous inhibitors. ERK, NF-κB, heat shock factor-1 (HSF-1) and heat shock proteins were examined for their possible roles in signal transduction. Inhibition of ERK activation by PD98059 partially inhibited expression of all but FasL-induced CXCL10. Although inhibition of NF-κB DNA binding inhibited chemokine induction, PD98059 did not inhibit TNFα-induced NF-κB DNA binding suggesting that ERK serves an NF-κB-independent pathway. Heat shock itself induced astrocytic chemokine expression; both TNFα and FasL induced HSF-1 DNA binding and Hsp72 production; and Hsp72-induced chemokine expression. Inhibition of either HSF-1 binding with quercetin or heat shock protein synthesis with KNK437 compromised chemokine induction without compromising cell survival. These data suggest that the induction of heat shock proteins via HSF-1 contribute to the TNFα- and FasL-induced expression of chemokines in astrocytes.
Performance of serially concatenated convolutional codes with DPSK in the presence of pulsed noise jamming

In this paper, the bit error rate of four-state serially concatenated convolutional codes (SCCC) with DPSK, AWGN and pulsed noise jamming is examined. For low signal-to-noise ratios, simulation results are used, while for higher signal-to-noise ratios, an average upper bound is developed. The results show that at higher signal-to-jamming noise ratios, pulsed noise jamming rather than barrage jamming is the worst case. DPSK is not as good as BPSK when used with SCCC. Simulation results also showed that side information is not as useful for DPSK.
Childhood pheochromocytoma: Treatment with alpha methyl tyrosine for resistant hypertension

A 12-year-old boy with a norepinephrine-secreting pheochromocytoma that caused hypertension resistant to oral alpha adrenergic blockade is reported. Resistance to alpha adrenergic blocking agents developed when the patient's daily propranolol dosage was lowered from 10 to 1 mg/kg. Subsequently, alpha methyl tyrosine, an inhibitor of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, controlled the patient's blood pressure and was associated with reduction in total urinary catecholamine excretion. Norepinephrine content of the tumor and uninvolved adrenal gland removal at surgery was reduced. These findings confirm that alpha methyl tyrosine inhibited in vivo synthesis of catecholamines.