cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hypoglycemia alters striatal amino acid efflux in perinatal rats: An in vivo microdialysis study

In adult brain, during insulin-induced hypoglycemia, striatal extracellular fluid concentrations of the excitatory amino acids glutamate and aspartate rise markedly (fourfold to tenfold). In this study, we used in vivo microdialysis to determine if insulin-induced hypoglycemia altered striatal amino acid efflux in similar fashion in the immature brain. Microdialysis probes were inserted into the right striatum of rats on postnatal day 7. After a 2-hour recovery period, in each animal a 30-minute baseline sample was obtained. Then insulin (0.6 μ/Kg, intraperitoneal injection) was administered (n = 6) and dialysate sampling was continued over the next 210 minutes (terminal blood glucose level < 5 mg/dl). Untreated control rats (n = 6) were sampled over the same time interval. After pre-column derivatization with o-Phthaldialdehyde, dialysate samples were assayed by high-pressure liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection to measure their amino acid content; eight amino acids (glutamate, aspartate, taurine, glutamine, alanine, serine glycine, and asparagine) were consistently detected. In controls, amino acid efflux did not change over 4 hours. In hypoglycemic animals, glutamate efflux increased (peak: 238 ± 85% of baseline, p = 0.02, repeated measures analysis of variance [ANOVA]), glutamine efflux declined (to 44 ± 5% of baseline, P = 0.002, ANOVA), and taurine efflux increased (up to 310 ± 120% of baseline; p < 0.06, ANOVA). In contrast with 9-to 12-fold increases in aspartate efflux reported in adult striatum, asparate efflux increased only slighty (to 174 ± 69% of baseline; not significant). In immature rodent brain, overall trends in striatal amino acid efflux during hypoglycemia are similar to patterns reported in adult animals; however, there are major differences in the timing, duration, and magnitude of these responses.
The biology of Dioryctria amatella (Lepidoptera: Phycitidae).

A model of the seasonal development of Dioryctria amatella (Hulst.) is presented. The proposed biological model considers the various habitats where D. amatella is reported to occur. Cronartium fusiforme Hedge, and Hunt cankers and second-year cones of various pine species are indicated to be the main routes necessary to the development of Dioryctria amatella.
Evaluation of Contraindicated Drug-Drug Interaction Alerts in a Hospital Setting

Background:Risks associated with contraindicated drug-drug interaction alerts (CDDIAs) should always outweigh benefits. Misclassified CDDIAs should be eliminated.Objective:To review CDDIAs and determine if they are contraindicated according to Food and Drug Administration-approved product labeling and if there are circumstances in which contraindicated interactions are acceptable.Methods:A cross-sectional observational and quality improvement study was conducted over two 1 -year periods. The 20 most common CDDIAs from May 2007 to May 2008 and all CDDIAs from April 2008 to April 2009 were collected at a large teaching hospital. Horizon Meds Manager used First DataBank as the knowledge base for decision support. Interactions were deemed truly contraindicated if listed in the contraindications section of the labeling of at least one of the interacting drugs. Alerts were grouped by drug and pharmacologic class to evaluate the evidence supporting the relevance of these interactions. An expert panel determined ...
Quality of life after treatment of neuroendocrine liver metastasis.

Abstract Background A large subset of patients with neuroendocrine liver metastasis (NELM) is symptomatic at the time of presentation. In addition to improving survival, treatment of NELM seeks to provide palliation of symptoms. However, data on health-related quality of life (QoL) are uncommon. We sought to define patient-reported QoL after treatment of NELM. Methods Patients who underwent treatment of NELM at Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1998 and 2013 and who were alive as of March 2014 were identified ( n = 125). These patients were invited to complete a QoL survey designed using validated assessment tools, to assess their physical, mental, and general health before treatment, after the most recent treatment and at the time of the study. Clinicopathologic data were collected and correlated with QoL data. Results The response rate was 68.0% ( n = 85). Median patient age was 55 y and most were male (59.2%). Most patients had a pancreatic (24.7%) or a small bowel (37.7%) primary tumor; the overwhelming majority had multiple NELM (83.5%). Patient-reported symptoms before any treatment included diarrhea (41.1%), flushing (34.1%), fatigue (36.5%), and osteoarticular pain (18.8%). Initial treatment of NELM consisted of surgery in 55 patients (64.7%) and nonsurgical treatment in 30 patients (35.3%). Many patients reported an overall improvement in physical health and mental health. Specifically, the proportion of patients reporting diarrhea (before any treatment, 41.1% versus currently, 25.9%; P = 0.019) and flushing (before any treatment, 34.1% versus currently, 10.5%; P versus currently, 23.2%; P = 0.009). Patients with a very poor QoL at the time of the diagnosis were more likely to experience an improvement in QoL after treatment. Interestingly, there was no difference in the improvement in overall QoL whether the initial treatment for NELM was surgical or nonsurgical; however, a lower proportion of patients were dissatisfied with surgery versus nonsurgical therapy (5.4% versus 9.4%; P = 0.001). Conclusions Less than one-fourth of patients experienced a significant improvement in QoL after treatment of NELM. The patients who benefit the most of treatment were those who were more symptomatic before any treatment.
An Investigation of the Microscopic Mechanism of Fracture and Healing Processes in Cortical Bone

A nonlocal nonlinear multiscale field theory is briefly introduced in this paper. The theory is then reduced to a nonlocal linear elastic theory. A meshfree method is applied to solve the governing equation. The entire process of microcrack propagation in the cortical bone, including the propagation of microcrack toward the osteon, around the osteon, and out of the osteon, is simulated. The results show that the cement line between the osteanal bone and the interstitial bone serves as a protective barrier for the Haversian canal. We also observed that, with healing process incorporated in the simulation, cement line serves as a barrier for the microcracks propagation.
Surface Energetics and Adhesion

Abstract The relationships between surface energetics and adhesion are critically reviewed. New data that confirm such relationships, for peel tests as well as lap shear tests, are presented. The effect of hydrothermal aging of aluminum surfaces on surface energetics can be used to predict degradation in bond strength. The mechanism of failure for elastic adhesives (such as Scotch ® tape) in peel tests may be essentially the same as for more brittle adhesives (such as epoxies) in lap shear tests. This mechanism may involve brittle fracture that forms a critical flaw at the adherend-adhesive interface (on a microscopic level), followed by crack propagation which then may include considerable elastic and plastic deformation. The locus of propagation (fractography) is generally not (but may be) relevant to the problem of how to remedy mechanical weakness in an adhesive joint, since the local region of critical flaw formation rather than the general surface area determines the joint strength.
Testing What Matters (If You Must Test at All): A Context‐Driven Approach to Substantive and Statistical Significance

For over a half century, various fields in the behavioral and social sciences have debated the appropriateness of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) in the presentation and assessment of research results. A long list of criticisms has fueled the so-called significance testing controversy. The conventional NHST framework encourages researchers to devote excessive attention to statistical significance while underemphasizing practical (e.g., scientific, substantive, social, political) significance. I introduce a simple, intuitive approach that grounds testing in subject-area expertise, balancing the dual concerns of detectability and importance. The proposed practical and statistical significance test allows the social scientist to test for real-world significance, taking into account both sampling error and an assessment of what parameter values should be deemed interesting, given theory. The matter of what constitutes practical significance is left in the hands of the researchers themselves, to be debated as a natural component of inference and interpretation
Leveraging Limited Autonomous Mobility to Frame Attractive Group Photos

Robot photographers have appeared in a variety of novelty settings over the past few years and typically have exploited rudimentary image-content-based approaches to identifying potential photographic subjects. These approaches are primarily limited to human subjects and further progress along content-based lines is hamstrung by slow progress on the general computer vision problem. In this paper, we present a mobile robot system which solves the group-picture-framing problem without requiring content-based methods. The system finds photographic subjects based on measurements of motion parallax obtained via optical flow during robot movements. Our method requires only sufficient contrast to permit reasonably accurate sparse optical flow field estimation and is completely independent of any content-based image heuristics. The result is a working mobile robot system that can correctly photograph human and non-human subjects in a variety of posed-subject situations, and produce well-framed, cropped images for printing on standard-sized photo paper.
Nonlinear Modeling of Causal Interrelationships in Neuronal Ensembles

The increasing availability of multiunit recordings gives new urgency to the need for effective analysis of ldquomultidimensionalrdquo time-series data that are derived from the recorded activity of neuronal ensembles in the form of multiple sequences of action potentials-treated mathematically as point-processes and computationally as spike-trains. Whether in conditions of spontaneous activity or under conditions of external stimulation, the objective is the identification and quantification of possible causal links among the neurons generating the observed binary signals. A multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) modeling methodology is presented that can be used to quantify the neuronal dynamics of causal interrelationships in neuronal ensembles using spike-train data recorded from individual neurons. These causal interrelationships are modeled as transformations of spike-trains recorded from a set of neurons designated as the ldquoinputsrdquo into spike-trains recorded from another set of neurons designated as the ldquooutputsrdquo. The MIMO model is composed of a set of multiinput/single-output (MISO) modules, one for each output. Each module is the cascade of a MISO Volterra model and a threshold operator generating the output spikes. The Laguerre expansion approach is used to estimate the Volterra kernels of each MISO module from the respective input-output data using the least-squares method. The predictive performance of the model is evaluated with the use of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, from which the optimum threshold is also selected. The Mann-Whitney statistic is used to select the significant inputs for each output by examining the statistical significance of improvements in the predictive accuracy of the model when the respective inputs is included. Illustrative examples are presented for a simulated system and for an actual application using multiunit data recordings from the hippocampus of a behaving rat.
Pathology and Medical Malpractice Academic and Trainee Empirical Review of Cases by State of Texas Physicians

Objectives: This study examines whether the assumptions that pathologists understand the medical malpractice negligence rule and have a clear single standard of care are reasonable. Methods: Two hundred eighty-one Texas academic pathologists and trainees were presented 10 actual pathology malpractice cases from publicly available sources, representing the tort system’s signal. Results: Of the respondents, 55.52% were trainees, and 44.48% were pathology faculty. Only in two cases did more than 50% of respondents correctly identify the behavior of pathologists as defined by legal outcomes. In only half of the cases did more than 50% of pathologists concur with the jury verdict. Conclusions: This study provides further evidence that physicians do not understand the legal rule of negligence. Pathologists have a poor understanding of negligence and cannot accurately predict a jury verdict. There is significant divergence from the single standard of care assumption. Alternative methods to provide appropriate compensation and to establish physician accountability should be explored. Additional education about medical negligence is needed.
Linguistic markers of psychological state through media interviews: John Kerry and John Edwards in 2004, Al Gore in 2000

What can we learn about presidential candidates by examining their speech in natural conversation? In the present study, the television interviews from the 2004 Democratic presidential primary campaign of John Kerry (N = 29) and John Edwards (N = 34) were examined using linguistic analyses. Results indicate that Kerry and Edwards were similar in their use of positive emotion words, but that Kerry used significantly higher rates of negative emotion words than did Edwards. Comparisons with televised interviews of Al Gore from the 2000 presidential campaign (N = 17) revealed striking similarities in the linguistic styles of Gore and Kerry. Gore’s linguistic style overlapped considerably with that of Kerry on pronoun usage and many cognitive domains. This study points to how linguistic analyses can give us a clearer picture of how political candidates think, act, and feel. In a February 9, 2004 article in the Washington Post, reporter Mark Leibovich noted that John Kerry had been criticized for using the word “I” too much. Apparently, his advisors felt that his use of first-person singular was a sign of being too self-involved. Kerry’s advisors, who were clearly not pronoun aficionados, may have succumbed to the false stereotypic belief that the use of “I” reflects selfishness and the use of “we” reflects inclusiveness. The ways in which people use pronouns and language in general reflect their personalities and psychological states. Particularly revealing is the way individuals express their thoughts using function words. Function words include pronouns, prepositions, articles, conjunctions, and auxiliary verbs. Whereas nouns ∗Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to James W. Pennebaker, De
Determining the Extent and Nature of Mazatzal-Related Overprinting of the Penokean Orogenic Belt in the Southern Lake Superior Region, North–Central USA

Abstract Twenty-one hornblende and mica 40Ar/39Ar dates from central and northwest Wisconsin, USA, provide important information on the timing, spatial extent, and intensity of Mazatzal-age metamorphism and deformation which overprinted the Paleoproterozoic (1870–1820 Ma) Penokean orogenic belt in the southern Lake Superior region. 1760–1750 Ma mica plateau ages from bedrock beneath undeformed 1750–1630 Ma quartzites are interpreted as the time of lower temperature (∼300–350°C) cooling and crustal stabilization after the Penokean orogeny. Six mica ages from bedrock underlying deformed Paleoproterozoic quartzites cluster around 1600 Ma (1576–1614 Ma). The complete absence of 1760–1750 Ma mica ages beneath regions of deformed quartzites suggests widespread heating to temperatures above 300–350°C during Mazatzal-related deformation and metamorphism. The ∼1600 Ma mica ages are interpreted to date the cooling phase of this metamorphism. Two anomalously young biotite dates are interpreted to indicate partial resetting associated with Mesoproterozoic rifting at 1100 Ma. Ten hornblende 40Ar/39Ar dates obtained in this study address the higher-temperature overprinting effects in the southern Lake Superior region. One latest Archean age of 2503±18 Ma and two ages of 1853 and 1830 Ma are interpreted as remnant evidence of Archean and Penokean age amphibolite metamorphic events, respectively. The majority of hornblende ages are younger than the Penokean orogeny, scattering between 1796 and 1638 Ma. Microtextural analysis indicates that similar microstructures exist in samples yielding highly discordant hornblende ages. This suggests that shearing and recrystallization did not play an important role in the retention or loss of argon. The 1638 Ma hornblende age is concordant with the Mazatzal orogeny to the south and is interpreted as representing complete thermal or fluid-related resetting associated with that event. Six other post-Penokean ages scatter over a 70 million year interval (1796–1723 Ma) and probably reflect variable retention of radiogenic argon. They are interpreted to indicate variable degrees of partial intermediate-temperature (350–500°C) resetting of hornblende argon systematics at ∼1650–1630 Ma. Collectively, these data suggest that the effects of the Mazatzal orogeny in the southern Lake Superior region involved 350–500°C metamorphism and penetrative deformation.
Altered Emotional Interference Processing in Affective and Cognitive-Control Brain Circuitry in Major Depression

Background Major depression is characterized by a negativity bias: an enhanced responsiveness to, and memory for, affectively negative stimuli. However, it is not yet clear whether this bias represents 1) impaired top-down cognitive control over affective responses, potentially linked to deficits in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex function; or 2) enhanced bottom-up responses to affectively laden stimuli that dysregulate cognitive control mechanisms, potentially linked to deficits in amygdala and anterior cingulate function. Methods We used an attentional interference task using emotional distracters to test for top-down versus bottom-up dysfunction in the interaction of cognitive-control circuitry and emotion-processing circuitry. A total of 27 patients with major depression and 24 control participants was tested. Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was carried out as participants directly attended to, or attempted to ignore, fear-related stimuli. Results Compared with control subjects, patients with depression showed an enhanced amygdala response to unattended fear-related stimuli (relative to unattended neutral). By contrast, control participants showed increased activity in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Brodmann areas 46/9) when ignoring fear stimuli (relative to neutral), which the patients with depression did not show. In addition, the depressed participants failed to show evidence of error-related cognitive adjustments (increased activity in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex on posterror trials), but the control group did show them. Conclusions These results suggest multiple sources of dysregulation in emotional and cognitive control circuitry in depression, implicating both top-down and bottom-up dysfunction.
Dose conversion coefficients for neutron exposure to the lens of the human eye.

Dose conversion coefficients for the lens of the human eye have been calculated for neutron exposure at energies from 1 x 10{sup -9} to 20 MeV and several standard orientations: anterior-to-posterior, rotational and right lateral. MCNPX version 2.6.0, a Monte Carlo-based particle transport package, was used to determine the energy deposited in the lens of the eye. The human eyeball model was updated by partitioning the lens into sensitive and insensitive volumes as the anterior portion (sensitive volume) of the lens being more radiosensitive and prone to cataract formation. The updated eye model was used with the adult UF-ORNL mathematical phantom in the MCNPX transport calculations.
Impact of Endothelium Roughness on Blood Flow

Cell free layer (CFL), a plasma layer bounded by the red blood cell (RBC) core and the endothelium, plays an important physiological role. Its width affects the effective blood viscosity as well as the scavenging and production of nitric oxide (NO). Measurements of the CFL and its spatio-temporal variability are highly uncertain, exhibiting random fluctuations. Yet traditional models of blood flow and NO scavenging treat the CFL's bounding surfaces as deterministic and smooth. We investigate the effects of the endothelium roughness and uncertain (random) spatial variability on blood flow and the estimates of effective blood viscosity.
The Glutathione S-Transferase-μ and -θ Genotypes in the Etiology of Prostate Cancer: Genotype-Environment Interactions with Smoking

It has been reported that individuals who express GSTT1 , the gene coding for the θ class of the glutathione S -transferases (GSTs), have an elevated risk of prostate cancer (CaP). This result is supported by studies that show glutathione conjugation of some xenobiotics by the GSTs can produce mutagenic intermediates. However, the potential role of environmental factors in modifying the risk of CaP conferred by GSTT1 is not known. We investigated whether there was an interaction between smoking and the non-deleted genotypes of the μ ( GSTM1 ) and θ ( GSTT1 ) GST genes using a clinic-based study of 276 CaP cases and 499 controls. We observed no main effect of smoking (odds ratio, 0.95; confidence interval, 0.69–1.29) or GSTM1 (odds ratio, 1.00; confidence interval, 0.73–1.36) with CaP, but did observe a statistically significant main effect of GSTT1 with CaP (odds ratio, 1.61; confidence interval, 1.14–2.28) as reported previously. No interaction between smoking and GSTM1 was observed. A significant increase in the probability of having CaP was observed in men who were both smokers and carried a non-deleted GSTT1 genotype compared with men who had neither or only one of these risk factors ( P = 0.049). Approximately 30.9% of CaP cases in this study could be attributed to the smoking× GSTT1 interaction. Whereas the mechanism of this interaction is not known, it is plausible that the metabolism of carcinogenic intermediates or the response to chronic inflammation associated with smoking may be modulated by the GSTT1 genotype and may modify CaP risk.
Properties and performance of the IEEE 802.11b complementary-code-key signal sets

We describe similarities and differences between complementary-code-key (CCK) modulation and modulation that is derived from biorthogonal signals, and we present performance results and other information that may be useful to those who have applications for CCK modulation that do not require IEEE 802.11 b compliance. The properties and performance of the highrate IEEE CCK 802.11 b modulation formats are investigated and compared with the properties and performance of alternative modulation formats that are based on biorthogonal signals. Several complementary properties are derived for the full-rate (11 Mb/s) CCK signal set, the half-rate (5.5 Mb/s) CCK signal set, a full-rate signal set obtained from biorthogonal signals, and a half-rate biorthogonal signal set. Each signal set is a complementary set, but each also has stronger complementary properties. We evaluate the performance of IEEE 802.11 b standard CCK modulation, CCK with certain modifications that depart from the IEEE standard, and modulation that is derived from biorthogonal signals. Performance comparisons are presented for additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channels and for channels with specular multipath. In particular, for AWGN channels, we provide an accurate analytical approximation for the frame error probability for full-rate CCK modulation.
Early pregnancy failure--current management concepts.

Approximately one in four women will experience a miscarriage during her lifetime. For more than 50 years, the standard management of early pregnancy failure has been a dilatation and curettage (D & C). Typically, the procedure is performed in an operating room, which significantly increases cost. There is little objective information in the modem literature to prove that a D & C for all patients will lower morbidity or improve emotional well being. Treatment options include expectant management, D & C in an outpatient setting, and medical management with misoprostol (not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of early pregnancy failure). The medical literature supports that expectant management may result in more complications, including the need for "emergent" curettage, if clinicians do not understand the true normal course of expectant management. In general, women prefer some form of active management. Dilatation and curettage can be performed safely in the office or other outpatient setting using manual vacuum aspiration. Vaginal misoprostol will cause expulsion in 80% to 90% of women up to 13 weeks' uterine size or gestation, including patients who have a gestational sac present. However, these data come from only three trials involving a total of 42 subjects treated with vaginal misoprostol, and another study of 42 women who received vaginal misoprostol for "missed abortion" before a scheduled D & C. There is a significant lack of information from large-scale studies about when treatment is necessary and the relative efficacy, rates of side effects, and acceptability of these various treatment options for early pregnancy failure.
Taphonomic and ecologic information from bone weathering

Bones of recent mammals in the Amboseli Basin, southern Kenya, exhibit distinctive weathering characteristics that can be related to the time since death and to the local conditions of temperature, humidity and soil chemistry. A categorization of weathering characteristics into six stages, recognizable on descriptive criteria, provides a basis for investigation of weathering rates and processes. The time necessary to achieve each successive weathering stage has been calibrated using known-age carcasses. Most bones decompose beyond recognition in 10 to 15 yr. Bones of animals under 100 kg and juveniles appear to weather more rapidly than bones of large animals or adults. Small-scale rather than widespread environmental factors seem to have greatest influence on weathering characteristics and rates. Bone weathering is potentially valuable as evidence for the period of time represented in recent or fossil bone assemblages, in- cluding those on archeological sites, and may also be an important tool in censusing populations of animals in modern ecosystems.
Effects of duration of positive-pressure ventilation on blood-brain barrier function in premature lambs

We have been studying the ontogeny of the blood-brain barrier function in ovine fetuses and lambs. During these studies, we have found that the duration of ventilation also influences blood-brain b...
Analysis of death caused by malignant tumor among the residents of Wujiagang District,Yichang City(2006-2010)

Objective To understand the death status and tendency of cancer of the residents in Wujiagang district,Yichang city from 2006 to 2010.Methods Data of death cause surveillance was used to analyze the mortality of malignant tumor.Results The total standardized mortality rate of malignant tumor was 208.59/100 000,which ranked the first of the total death cause.The mortality rate of malignant tumor in male was 299.18/100 000.higher than that in female(126.43/100 000),the ratio of male to female was 2.37.The top five death causes were lung cancer,liver cancer,colon cancer,stomach cancer and oesophagus cancer.The mortality of colon cancer increased during this period,while that of lung cancer,liver cancer remained stable.Conclusions Malignant tumor has become the main factor endangering the residents in Wujiagang district,Yichang city.Comprehensive measures and health education should be promoted and healthy life style should be improved to reduce the prevalence of malignant tumor.
Social Cues in Group Formation and Local Interactions for Collective Activity Analysis

This paper presents a novel and efficient framework for group activity analysis. People in a scene can be intuitively represented by an undirected graph where vertices are people and the edges between two people are weighted by how much they are interacting. Social signaling cues are used to describe the degree of interaction between people. We propose a graph-based clustering algorithm to discover interacting groups in crowded scenes. The grouping of people in the scene serves to isolate the groups engaged in the dominant activity, effectively eliminating dataset contamination. Using discovered interacting groups, we create a descriptor capturing the motion and interaction of people within it. A bag-of-words approach is used to represent group activity and a SVM classifier is used for activity recognition. The proposed framework is evaluated in its ability to discover interacting groups and perform group activity recognition using two public datasets. The results of both the steps show that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods for group discovery and achieves recognition rates comparable to state-of-the-art methods for group activity recognition.
Economic estimates of feral swine damage and control in 11 US states

Abstract We report the results of one of the most comprehensive surveys on feral swine ( Sus scrofa ) damage and control in 11 US states (Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas). The survey was distributed by the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service in the summer of 2015 to a sample of producers of corn ( Zea mays ), soybeans ( Glycine max ), wheat ( Triticum ), rice ( Oryza sativa ), peanuts ( Arachis hypogaea ), and sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor ) in the 11-state region. Producers that failed to respond to the initial mailing received multiple follow-up phone calls in an attempt to minimize non-response bias, and a total of 4377 responses were obtained. Findings indicate that damage can be substantial. The highest yield loss estimates occur in peanut and corn production in the Southeast and Texas. Control efforts are common, and producers incur considerable costs from shooting and trapping efforts. Extrapolating crop damage estimates to the state-level in 10 states with reportable damage yields an estimated crop loss of $190 million. Though large, this number likely represents only a small fraction of the total damage by feral swine in the 10 states because it only includes crop damage to six crops. We hope findings from this survey will help guide control efforts and research, as well as serve as a benchmark against which the effectiveness of future control efforts can be measured.
Enhanced dispersive and dissipative coupling regimes in graphene optomechanics

We numerically demonstrate that through its resistive and inductive (plasmonic) responses, graphene enables strong (∼1 GHz/nm) optomechanical coupling in the THz/infrared spectrum. Distinct dispersive and dissipative coupling regimes emerge as functions of graphene's intrinsic properties.
Sequential Subspace Robustness Assessment and Sensitivity Analysis

To avoid an overconservative design and to ensure desired performance in an optimal way, the product quality and robustness are considered in terms of the product-performance mean and variance. In ...
Roles of Cellular Transcription Factors in VZV Replication

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is the causative agent of chickenpox and shingles. During productive infection the complete VZV proteome consisting of some 68 unique gene products is expressed through interaction of a small number of viral transcriptional activators with the general transcription apparatus of the host cell. Recent work has shown that the major viral transactivator, commonly designated the IE62 protein, interacts with the human Mediator of transcription. This interaction requires direct contact between the MED25 subunit of Mediator and the acidic N-terminal transactivation domain of IE62. A second cellular factor, host cell factor-1, has been shown to be the common element in two mechanisms of activation of the promoter driving expression of the gene encoding IE62. Finally, the ubiquitous cellular transcription factors Sp1, Sp3, and YY1 have been shown to interact with sequences near the VZV origin of DNA replication and in the case of Sp1/Sp3 to influence replication efficiency.
A recurring theme in pulmonary fibrosis genetics.

Genetic abnormalities in epithelial and telomere-associated genes contribute to the development of lung fibrosis http://ow.ly/dx1q30aCL4V
Spontaneous excision and facilitated recovery as a control for phenotypes arising from RNA interference and other dominant transgenes.

Abstract An essential control for genetic manipulation of microbes is the regeneration of the wild-type state and phenotype to validate that any mutant phenotypes are ‘on target’. For Leishmania gene knockouts, this is often done by re-expression of the target gene from episomal vectors, often bearing counter-selectable markers. Methods for similarly validating the outcomes from dominant mutations such as those arising from RNA interference (RNAi) are needed. We present here such an approach, relying on facilitated recovery after spontaneous excision – or ‘popouts’ – of dominant transgenes stably inserted into the ribosomal RNA array, utilizing GFP as a marker and single cell sorting to recover regenerated WT controls. We validate its utility using RNA interference knockdowns of the paraflagellar rod gene PFR2 of L. (Viannia) braziliensis. The method yields stably modified lines suitable for long term studies of Leishmania virulence, relies solely on host rather than introduced genetic machinery, and is thus readily applied in many species and circumstances including functional genetic testing.
Normotensive HELLP syndrome in the midst of Dengue fever

HELLP syndrome is a life threatening complication of pregnancy, characterized by haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet counts. Preeclampsia is a risk factor for developing HELLP. However, some patients can have HELLP in the absence of elevated blood pressure. Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne viral infection characterized by fever, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia, and bleeding manifestations. This is a case of a young primigravida who presented with dengue fever and was found to have an associated normotensive HELLP syndrome.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol.9(2) 2018 40-42
The intimal proliferation in aortic-coronary saphenous vein grafts. Light and electron microscopic studies.

Abstract The pathologic features of 16 aortic-coronary saphenous vein grafts which had been in place from 2 days to 29 months were reviewed. Thirteen cases came to autopsy and three vessels were surgically re-excised. The nine cases which had been in place for two months or longer showed considerable intimal fibrosis. Four were stenosed and five were occluded. One of the vessels, 29 months after grafting, showed atheromatous changes within the thickened, fibrosed intima. The ultrastructure of one of the occlusive fibrotic lesions demonstrated the presence of histiocytes, newly-formed capillary blood vessels, fibroblasts, and characteristic smooth muscle cells, some of which contained lipid vacuoles in the cytoplasm.
Determination of Nitrite Through S-Nitrosocaptopril Formation and Fluorescent Derivatization of Remaining Captopril Using o-Phthalaldehyde and Glycine

AbstractWe have developed an indirect fluorescence method for the determination of nitrite based on two reactions. The S-nitrosocaptopril produced by the first reaction between nitrite and excess captopril is not fluorescent. The fluorescent product produced by the residual captopril with glycine and o-phthalaldehyde is then measured and related to the nitrite concentration. We have optimized comprehensively the reaction condition parameters, including the thiol regent for the two reactions, reaction temperature and pH value for the first reaction, and the choice of amino acid, pH value, the ratio of reactants, buffer concentration, reaction temperature, and time for the second fluorescence reaction. Potential interferences by 8 cations and 10 anions on the fluorescence intensity were slight except for iodate and periodate which could likely be removed by addition of a reducing agent. For the analytical figures of merit, the limits of detection and quantitation of nitrite are 0.8 and 2.5 nM, respectively....
Product Decomposition in Supply Chain Planning

Abstract Lagrangean decomposition has been used to overcome the difficulties in optimizing large-scale supply chain planning models. Decomposing the problem by time periods has been established as a useful technique. In this paper a novel decomposition scheme by products is presented. The decomposition is based on a reformulation of knapsack constraints in the problem. The new approach also allows for simultaneous decomposition by products and time periods, enabling the generation of a large number of subproblems, with the potential benefit of using parallel computing. The case study shows that product decomposition shows a similar performance than temporal decomposition. Selecting different orders of products and aggregating the linking constraints can improve the efficiency of the algorithm.
Broadband sound barriers with bianisotropic metasurfaces

Noise is a long standing societal problem that has recently been linked to serious health consequences. Despite decades of research on noise mitigation techniques, existing methods have significant limitations including inability to silence broadband noise and shield large volumes. Here we show theoretically and experimentally that acoustic bianisotropic materials with non-zero strain to momentum coupling are remarkably effective sound barriers. They surpass state-of-the-art sound isolators in terms of attenuation, bandwidth, and shielded volume. We implement our barriers with very compact active meta-atoms that owe their small size to their local response to external sound. Moreover, our active approach is not constrained by feedback stabilization requirements, in stark contrast with all traditional active sound control systems. Consequently, bianisotropic sound barriers have the potential to revolutionize noise control technologies and provide much needed solutions to an increasingly important and difficult challenge.
6 – Cybernetics — Control and Communication

“But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” MATTHEW 5:37
Simultaneous micro-PET imaging of F-18 and I-124 with correction for triple-random coincidences

Positron emission tomographic (PET) images of two radiopharmaceuticals may be obtained simultaneously if one tracer is a standard β+ emitter, while the other also emits prompt gammas that can be used to separate images of the two tracers. We developed and tested an approach to correct simultaneously acquired F-18 and I-124 μPET images for triple-random events that contaminate the desired β+γ triples from I-124. The background compartment of a NEMA-NU4 phantom was filled with approximately equal F-18 and I-124 activities. One of the two smaller cylinders contained a 4.8-times higher concentration of I-124 only; the other contained a 2.8-times higher concentration of F-18 only. List-mode data were acquired on a Molecubes b-CUBE scanner at 0.34h, 4.3h, and 72.2h after phantom filling. After triple-random and crosscontamination correction, the absolute bias of the activity concentration measured in images of the background compartment was ≤2.1% for F-18 and ≤6.8% for I-124. The ratios of hot tube-to-background I-124 concentration underestimated the true ratios by 16.2%, 10.4%, and 9.5% for the three scans; the F-18 ratios overestimated the true ratios by 10.4% and 3.9% for the two scans with F-18. Triple-random correction is important and useful for simultaneous F-18 + I-124 μPET imaging.
Risk Factors for Food Insecurity in Undergraduate Students at a Rural Liberal Arts Institution (P04-050-19)

Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of food insecurity and accompanying risk factors among undergraduate students at a private liberal-arts institution in a rural setting.
Medtronic Program for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation

Medtronic CoreValve (Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota) is the first self-expandable transcatheter heart valve introduced to the market, characterized by supra-annular design to enhance valve function, after obtaining Conformite Europeenne (CE) Mark in 2007. CoreValve has undergone design changes to improve function to reduce transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)-related complications such as vascular complications, paravalvular leak, and pacemaker implantation. CoreValve Evolut R, a smaller profile delivery system, provides an option for valve recapture and repositioning that can assist in the precise deployment of the valve. The most recent commercially available CoreValve Evolut PRO is equipped with an outer wrap designed to enhance the contact between the valve and the aortic annulus. Many studies have shown efficacy of these devices on various patients with different comorbidities and surgical risks including extreme, high, intermediate, or even low risk. Medtronic, Inc. devices are the most commonly used self-expandable transcatheter heart valves for patients who have severe aortic stenosis and undergo TAVI and have been implanted in more than 160,000 patients worldwide (until October 2017). Ongoing trials are expected to obtain TAVI indication for younger and lower surgical-risk patients, while there still remain issues to improve outcomes and long-term safety.
Impact of Student Pharmacists Teaching a Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support Class

Objective. To evaluate student pharmacists' knowledge of diabetes and self-perceptions of aptitude and confidence before and after teaching a diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) class. Methods. Students enrolled in an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) in ambulatory care were randomly assigned to the intervention group (taught a DSMES class) or control group (did not teach a DSMES class) between June 2016 to April 2018. Students self-assessed their aptitude and confidence using a 14-item pre- and post-intervention survey instrument. Additionally, participants completed a 10-item diabetes knowledge evaluation at baseline and during week three or four of the APPE. Results. Forty-six students participated in the study (26 students in the intervention group and 20 in the control group). Students in the intervention cohort demonstrated a significant improvement in their knowledge score (81.8% post-intervention vs 68.4% pre-intervention). Students in the control cohort did not experience a significant change in knowledge scores from pre- to post-intervention evaluation (70.0% vs 74.1%). The intervention cohort achieved a significantly greater improvement in confidence scores compared to the control group (11.8 vs 6.7 increase in scores, respectively). Conclusion. A student pharmacist team-taught DSMES class resulted in significant improvement in diabetes knowledge, aptitude, and confidence. Student pharmacist participation in a DSMES class may improve knowledge and enhance confidence, while offering an opportunity to advance the pharmacy practice model in ambulatory care.
How Much Does Work Pay at Older Ages

Various features of the US tax code, employee benefits, and the retirement system reduce the returns to work at older ages, discouraging some older adults from working. Using dynamic microsimulation techniques with a nationally representative sample of adults ages 60–70, this chapter estimates the implicit tax on work, indicating how much employees’ financial reward for working falls below compensation paid by employers. Results show that the median implicit tax on work rises from 15.0% of total compensation at age 60 to 39.0% at age 65, 41.7% at age 67, and 46.4% at age 70. Some older workers face even higher implicit tax rates. At age 70, one quarter of workers face an implicit tax rate of at least 67.3%, and a tenth face an implicit tax rate of at least 112.9%. Medicare secondary payer rules, minimum withdrawal requirements for certain retirement accounts, and rules governing the accumulation of future Social Security benefits raise the implicit tax on work at older ages. Various policy changes could reduce work disincentives and promote employment by older adults.
Imaging of Diastolic Dysfunction in Community-Based Epidemiological Studies and Randomized Controlled Trials of HFpEF.

Highlights •Epidemiological studies provide insight into the natural history, risk factors, and pathophysiology of diastolic dysfunction. •Key prognostic parameters are left atrial volume index and E/e′, which are feasible and reliably assessed. •Hypertension, diabetes, and obesity are consistently associated with diastolic dysfunction.
Combination chemotherapy (M-2) protocol (BCNU, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, melphalan, and prednisone) for Waldenström macroglobulinemia: preliminary report.

Fourteen consecutively referred, symptomatic patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (ages 52–87 yr) have been treated with the 5-drug M-2 protocol (BCNU, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, melphalan, and prednisone). Three patients were previously treated and 11 patients were untreated. The majority of patients were symptomatic from hyperviscosity. All patients have responded to therapy. Two patients have achieved complete remissions and 12 patients partial remissions to date. None of the patients with symptomatic hyperviscosity has required plasmapheresis since therapy with the M-2 has been initiated. Lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and anemia have also responded to treatment. Follow-up data are limited, with survival from initiation of therapy with the M-2 ranging from 2+ to 35% mo (median 17+ mo) 2+-40+ mo from time of diagnosis). Combination chemotherapy for Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia with the M-2 protocol appears to increase the response rate in patients with symptomatic disease. Further survival analysis will be carried out.
CT Colonography for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Abstract CT colonography (CTC), also known as “virtual colonoscopy,” is a minimally invasive complementary screening method to optical colonoscopy (OC) that is growing in its availability and utilization. As a screening test, it is typically performed in outpatient radiology sites. Examinations are monitored by a radiologist trained in its performance. CTC is selectively performed in a hospital setting for patients with comorbidities that render them at a high risk for OC, such as cardiac disease or screening before organ transplantation. In cases where OC is unsuccessful for at complete colonic inspection, CTC can be performed the same day after OC or planned at a later date to evaluate the remainder of the colon. Candidates for CTC must be able to follow instructions and tolerate colonic insufflation. Patients who have fecal incontinence or significant rectal prolapse are not candidates for CTC because of limited ability to maintain colonic distension. Finally, strict adherence to the recommended colonic preparation before CTC is critical to the examination's success.
Mathematical Oncology Comes to the Clinic: A Data-Driven Treatment for Financial Toxicity?

Over the past two decades, progress in tumor immunology and targeted therapy has reshaped oncology, and in many cases, reshaped the course of once-intractable diseases. Yet the cost of its clinical manifestation has created a disease of its own: "financial toxicity," the burden of drugs such as imatinib, where a year's supply can easily cost as much as a house. Equally rapid progress in mathematical oncology over this time period has often come in the form of fundamental, rather than applied, advances. However, in new work by Hahnel and colleagues, we can see the outlines of a viable treatment for financial toxicity: precise, dynamic, clinically validated, and immune-aware models, able to accurately identify patients who remain disease-free in the months and years after discontinuing effective, but pricey, targeted therapies.See related article by Hahnel et al., p. 2394.