cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pigmented lesions on the palms and soles during PUVA therapy

Pigmented skin lesions due to PUVA are well recognized. They include freckles, mottled skin, naevus spilus-like lesions and ‘PUVA lentigines’ (Kietzmann & Christophers, 1984). The PUVA lentigo appears to be common, occurring in up to 53% of patients (Rhodes, Stern & Melski, 1983). These discrete brown macules, 2–5 mm in diameter, may become very widespread, particularly in those patients who have had many PUVA treatments. They tend to spare the face and have not previously been reported on the palms or soles. We have now seen three female patients who have developed pigmented lesions on their palms (and in one case also on the sole) whilst receiving long-term oral PUVA therapy for psoriasis. The lesions were of two types: ill-defined light grey-brown macules (histologically a freckle, with no increase in number of basal melanocytes), and discrete dark brown macules. The latter showed focal proliferation of dendritic melanocytes at the dermo-epidermal junction, with increased pigmentation throughout the epidermis and also in the superficial dermis. These lesions developed after a minimum of 70 PUVA treatments (over 18 months) in one case, but only appeared after 5 years' PUVA (330 treatments) in another. Ultrastructural studies (Rhodes, Harrist & Momtaz, 1983) have demonstrated that the melanocytes in PUVA lentigines may show cytological atypia. PUVA lentigines may also persist for up to 2 years (and probably longer) after stopping PUVA. Patients undergoing prolonged PUVA therapy to the palms and soles should be warned about the possibility of developing pigmented lesions which may persist after cessation of therapy.
A Standalone Programmable Signal Processing Unit for Versatile Characterization of MEMS Gyroscopes

This paper reports a stand-alone signal processing and control unit designed to provide flexible characterization of MEMS vibratory gyroscopes. The unit consists of a programmable 32-bit 150 MIPS DSP controller, 16-bit 1 MSPS digital-to-analog and 18-bit analog-to-digital interface circuits, and signal conditioning electronics. The multi-channel analog-to-digital interface is optimized for detection of small electrical signals typical for MEMS devices. Digitally controlled conditioning of analog signals allows for high-resolution differential digitization of a wide range of detection signals. The digital-to-analog interface circuit produces a wide range of DC and AC voltages needed for actuation and detection in gyroscopes; a single 5 V supply is used to power the board. The DSP controller allows easy MATLAB/Simulink programming and execution-time data exchange. Performance of the board was experimentally characterized using an anti-phase driven rate gyroscope with multi-degree of freedom sense mode. Using 16-bit conversion, the measured capacitance-change equivalent resolution is 27 aF/radicHz . Due to its flexible architecture, the unit is easily customizable for stand-alone and computer controlled operation of a variety of dynamic MEMS.
Political Liabilities Surviving Banking Crises

Little is known about the political repercussions of banking crises despite the extensive literature on the link between economic performance and political outcomes. We develop a theory of how clar...
Influence of zeranol implants on growth, behavior and carcass traits in Angus and Limousin bulls and steers.

A 23 factorial arrangement of treatments was utilized to determine effects of postweaning zeranol implantation, breed (Angus vs Limousin) and castration (bull vs steer) on growth, behavior and carcass traits. An initial slaughter group was used to account for breed differences in composition and to determine fat and lean growth in the 9-10-11th rib section (NTE). The remaining cattle were fed a finishing diet to a fat end point of .76 can, as determined by a backfat probe. Control bulls outgained (P<.01) control steers both to the first kill date and over the entire test and did not require significantly more time to reach the fat end point. The implant did not influence gain in bulls but did increase gain in steers. Angus and Limousins were similar in growth rate for the first 126 d before the first slaughter date. Limousins required more (P<.01) time to reach the fat end point. Bulls and Limousins produced heavier (P<.01) carcasses and larger rib eyes (P<.05; bulls; P<.01; Limousins). Steers and Angus had higher (P<.01)marbling scores and lower bone maturity. Implanting decreased (P<.05) marbling and increased carcass maturity. Small but significant shifts in carcass wholesale cut weight distribution were found between breed and sex condition groups. Bulls and Limousins had greater lean growth in the NTE. Bulls and steers were similar in fat growth, but Angus exceeded Limousin in this trait. Zeranol reduced scrotal circumference (P<.01) and testicle weight at slaughter (P<.05). Breeds were similar in final scrotal circumference, but Angus had heavier (P<.05) testicle weights. Bulls were quieter (P<.05) during weighing and mounted more frequently in the pen (P<.01) than steers. Limousins mounted more frequently than Angus and maintained larger flight distances (P<.01).
On the original description of the Sacred Shrew, Sorex religiosa I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1826 [ nec 1827] (Mammalia: Soricidae)

The original description of the Egyptian Pygmy Shrew or Sacred Shrew, Sorex religiosus I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (Mammalia: Soricidae: Crocidura religiosa ), was based on mummies obtained by Joseph Passalacqua from the ancient Egyptian necropolis at Thebes, Egypt. The description and naming of this species is commonly credited to Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s (1827) compendium and review of shrews in the Memoires du Museum d’Histoire naturelle . However, this author also described this species in two earlier publications. The first was in a footnote to Passalacqua’s (1826) Catalogue raisonne et historique des antiquites decouvertes en Egypte ; the second in January 1827 in the 11 th volume of the Dictionnaire classique d’Histoire naturelle . In each case, he explained what he considered to be the distinguishing characteristics of the species and presented its common and scientific names. Priority, therefore, goes to Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire’s description in Passalacqua’s (1826) Catalogue.
Intracellular Listeria monocytogenes Comprises a Minimal but Vital Fraction of the Intestinal Burden following Foodborne Infection

Listeria monocytogenes is a highly adaptive bacterium that replicates as a free-living saprophyte in the environment as well as a facultative intracellular pathogen that causes invasive foodborne infections. The intracellular life cycle of L. monocytogenes is considered to be its primary virulence determinant during mammalian infection; however, the proportion of L. monocytogenes that is intracellular in vivo has not been studied extensively. In this report, we demonstrate that the majority of wild-type (strain EGDe) and mouse-adapted (InlA(m)-expressing) L. monocytogenes recovered from the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) was extracellular within the first few days after foodborne infection. In addition, significantly lower burdens of L. monocytogenes were recovered from the colon, spleen, and liver of gentamicin-treated mice than of control mice. This led us to investigate whether intracellular replication of L. monocytogenes was essential during the intestinal phase of infection. We found that lipoate protein ligase-deficient L. monocytogenes (ΔlplA1) mutants, which display impaired intracellular growth, were able to colonize the colon but did not persist efficiently and had a significant defect in spreading to the MLN, spleen, and liver. Together, these data indicate that the majority of the L. monocytogenes burden in the gastrointestinal tract is extracellular, but the small proportion of intracellular L. monocytogenes is essential for dissemination to the MLN and systemic organs.
Spontaneous resolution of idiopathic lumbar subdural hygroma on CT myelography and lumbar spine MRI.

A 23-year-old man with a history of limited right ankle dorsiflexion presented to the MRI suite for a routine lumbar spine MRI. The patient denied history of prior spinal trauma or systemic symptoms. Aside from mild right ankle pain, physical and neurological examinations were unremarkable. Lumbar spine MRI revealed subdural fluid collections at T12-S1 levels (figure 1A, B). Follow-up enhanced brain MRI (not shown) and cervicothoracic spine MRI (not shown) in the same week were both unremarkable, with no evidence of intracranial hypotension or extra-arachnoid fluid collections. Two weeks later, CT myelogram (figure …
Analysis on infection status of HCV,HIV and syphilis in drug users by sentinel surveillance in Yuzhong county

Objective:To understand the HIV infection status of drug users in Yuzhong county and provide scientific basis for prevention and control of AIDS prevalence.Methods:The AIDS sentinel monitoring data of drug users,who went to compulsory rehabilitation center of Lanzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau from April to June in 2010,were analyzed.Results:Among the 400 drug users,88 cases performed anti-HCV with positive rate of 22.00%,while 1 performed anti-HIV with positive rate of 0.25% and 21 cases performed syphilis antibody with positive rate of 5.25%.Conclusion:Potential factors to promote the HIV prevalence existed in the drug users,so some measures should be taken to strengthen the surveillance of drug users,public education and behavioral prevention.
Comparison of multichannel tactile aids and multichannel cochlear implants in children with profound hearing impairments.

Speech perception skills of prelingually deafened children who used the multichannel Tactaid 7 (n=10) were compared to those of a matched group of children who used the Nucleus 22 channel cochlear implant (n=10). Group scores were compared on a closed-set test of word recognition and on an open-set test of phrase recognition in the pre-device condition and at a post-device interval after an average of 1.5 years of multichannel device use. The results revealed that the scores of the implant users improved significantly between the pre- and post-device intervals on all measures. Moreover, the scores of the implant users were significantly higher than those of the tactile aid users on all measures. In contrast, the scores of the tactile aid users showed negligible change over time, except on a test that evaluated open-set recognition of phrases with both auditory and visual cues. The results suggest that childre, can learn to recognize words and understand speech without lipreading with a multichannel implant, whereas children who used the multichannel tactile aid demonstrate limited speech recognition skills only if auditory/tactile cues are combined with lipreading
AI-13 Protein modifications that trigger T cell autoimmunity

Background T cell responses are known to be amplified in SLE, via TCR pathways of signal transduction. In particular, increases in intracellular tyrosine phosphorylation, calcium flux and actin polymerization are among the abnormal responses found in SLE T cells. An imbalance of how T cells signal through both Syk and ZAP70 shape the activation and cytokine responses in human SLE. The present study examines posttranslational protein modifications (PTMs) that arise in the context of SLE inflammation. PTMs are known to alter both immune tolerance to self proteins (such as citrulline PTMs that are diagnostic in RA) as well as intracellular metabolic and signalling pathways. In particular, isoaspartyl (isoAsp) modification is one intracellular PTM previously demonstrated to be increased by cellular stress and inflammation. The present study examined T cell biology that is altered by PTMs in lupus. Materials and methods Isoaspartyl PTMs were characterised in lymphocytes from both human SLE and in murine models. We specifically examined ZAP70 for PTMs to determine effects on intracellular signalling and cytokine production. We also examined ZAP70 amino acids sequences prone to isoaspartyl modification under inflammatory stress and their role in p-Tyr signal transduction, effects on downstream functional domains, and binding to cbl-b. Results PBMCs from SLE patients and from MRL lupus both have elevated levels of intracellular isoaspartyl modifications and hyperproliferative T cell responses. We identified 4 specific sites of isoAsp modification (Figure 1), two within the I-B functional domain of ZAP70, including the c-Cbl, Vav and Lck binding domain. IsoAsp modified ZAP70 reduces c-Cbl binding, upregulates TCR and T cell hyperplasia. Enzymatic repair of intracellular isoAsp modification corrects T cell hyperproliferative defects that are characteristic of murine and human SLE. Conclusions This study has examined mechanisms of altered T cell autoimmunity in SLE. In particular, abnormal T cell hyperproliferation was found to be a result of isoaspartyl modification at 4 specific sites within ZAP70. Only a small number of PTMs are known to arise in the context of inflammation. Our study suggests that SLE is characterised by an inability to control or repair excessive production of PTMs due to inflammation, leading to altered cell biologic functions, specifically T cell hyperproliferation. Physiologic repair of intracellular isoAsp modifications reversed abnormal proliferative T cell responses and may provide one therapeutic pathway for intervention. Acknowledgements This study is supported by NIH AI48120.
Using digital image correlation to evaluate plastic shrinkage cracking in cement-based materials

Fresh concrete exposed to a drying environment is susceptible to plastic shrinkage cracking, which could result in negative impacts on concrete durability. In the current ASTM standard, plastic shrinkage cracking is evaluated by the average crack width measured at 24 hours after concrete placement, considering that the traditional crack measurement tools cannot be used on fresh concrete. In this project, a non-contact strain measurement technique based on digital image correlation (DIC) was applied to study the behavior of plastic shrinkage cracking. In the experimental program, the effects of air temperature, wind velocity, water to cement ratio (w/c), and substrate roughness on plastic shrinkage cracking were investigated. Several cement paste specimens were tested separately in a controlled environmental chamber. A series of digital images was taken above the specimen surface throughout each experiment. DIC analysis was then performed on these images. The crack areas were also determined based on the images using MATLAB functions. It was found that DIC can provide a series of strain contour maps that helped to understand the process of plastic shrinkage cracking. The accumulations of tensile and compressive strains can be used to illustrate the cracking intensity and the overall shrinkage, respectively. The evolutions of the maximum tensile and compressive strains can be used to indicate the time to first crack and the shrinkage capacity, respectively. The effects of air temperature, wind velocity, w/c, and substrate roughness were well explained by both the DIC analysis results and crack areas computed in MATLAB.
Laboratory Evaluation of a Plant-Produced High Polymer–Content Asphalt Mixture

Reflective cracking in asphalt overlays placed over jointed concrete pavements is of major concern in Virginia, as well as nationally, and has generated interest in various reflective crack mitigation techniques that are easy to implement. One technique is the use of binder modifiers, such as asphalt rubber, polymer-modified asphalt binders, or high polymer–content (HP) modified binders. In the summer of 2014, the Virginia Department of Transportation placed an HP asphalt mixture produced by using an asphalt binder that contained approximately 7.5% styrene-butadiene-styrene polymer in a trial section within a subdivision as a low-risk means to assess constructability and laboratory performance. The HP mixture was evaluated in comparison with a typical surface asphalt mixture with a 9.5-mm nominal maximum aggregate size, as a control. Testing was performed on specimens fabricated from reheated control and HP mixture samples, as well as on specimens fabricated from site-compacted samples and road cores of t...
Time-Dependent Dielectric Breakdown in High-Voltage GaN MIS-HEMTs: The Role of Temperature

We have investigated time-dependent dielectric breakdown in high-voltage AlGaN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron mobility transistors, with a focus specifically on the role of temperature under positive gate stress conditions. We aim toward understanding the temperature dependence of progressive breakdown (PBD) as well as hard breakdown. We find that the temperature dependence of time-to-first breakdown, hard breakdown, and the gate current evolution during PBD all share similar, shallow activation energies that suggest a common underlying mechanism. However, the gate current noise during PBD seems to be independent of temperature and is likely due to a tunneling process. Understanding of temperature-dependent breakdown is essential to developing accurate device lifetime estimates.
Evaluating the potential of circulating hTERT levels in glioma: can plasma levels serve as an independent prognostic marker?

Glioma is an aggressive primary Neuro-epithelial tumor with dismal prognosis, since there is a lack of molecular work-up during routine radiological monitoring of the disease. Currently, a number of potential molecular prognostic and predictive biomarkers are being characterized in line with structured diagnosis defined in World Health Organization guidelines 2016. Human-telomerase reverse-transcriptase (hTERT), a marker of proliferation and maintenance of genomic integrity has thus been investigated for its clinical relevance as an independent prognosticator in glioma. Expression of the protein in tumor tissue and in plasma of 72 diffuse glioma patients (astrocytoma) grade II–IV was determined and compared with relevant controls using immunofluorescence-immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay. Appropriate statistical tests were applied to establish a correlation between on-site tumor and circulating levels of the marker and its independence of covariates. Expression of the marker in glioma tissues was significantly different from controls (p 0.05). This is the first experimental evidence for association of higher plasma levels of hTERT with overall survival in both low and high grade glioma.
Tennis and Golfer’s Elbow: Epicondylitis

Epicondylitis is a common cause of elbow pain typically affecting adults between the ages of 40 and 50. Lateral epicondylitis, often referred to as “tennis elbow,” is more prevalent than medial or “golfers elbow.” Epicondylitis is encountered equally amongst men and women as a result of overuse. Repetitive stressors on the elbow from wrist flexion and extension results in micro-trauma and tears to the pronator-flexor mass or extensor mass. Patient history is usually consistent with hobbies that require repetitive flexion/extension of the elbow and wrist. With pure epicondylitis, imaging studies are negative for occult fractures and dislocations, resulting in a clinical diagnosis. On exam, patients are often tender over the affect epicondyle or just distally. Treatment options include ice, rest, activity modification, NSAIDS, bracing, physical therapy, and steroid injections. In the rare circumstance where nonoperative treatment fails, debridement of the pathologic tissue may be performed with decortication of the involved epicondyle.
DNA methylation of methylation complex genes in relation to stress and genome‐wide methylation in mother–newborn dyads

Objectives Early life stress is known to have enduring biological effects, particularly with respect to health. Epigenetic modifications, such as DNA methylation, are a possible mechanism to mediate the biological effect of stress. We previously found correlations between maternal stress, newborn birthweight, and genome-wide measures of DNA methylation. Here we investigate ten genes related to the methylation/demethylation complex in order to better understand the impact of stress on health. Materials and methods DNA methylation and genetic variants at methylation/demethylation genes were assayed. Mean methylation measures were constructed for each gene and tested, in addition to genetic variants, for association with maternal stress measures based on interview and survey data (chronic stress and war trauma), maternal venous, and newborn cord genome-wide mean methylation (GMM), and birthweight. Results After cell type correction, we found multiple pairwise associations between war trauma, maternal GMM, maternal methylation at DNMT1, DNMT3A, TET3, and MBD2, and birthweight. Conclusions The association of maternal GMM and maternal methylation at DNMT1, DNMT3A, TET3, and MBD2 is consistent with the role of these genes in establishing, maintaining and altering genome-wide methylation patterns, in some cases in response to stress. DNMT1 produces one of the primary enzymes that reproduces methylation patterns during DNA replication. DNMT3A and TET3 have been implicated in genome-wide hypomethylation in response to glucocorticoid hormones. Although we cannot determine the directionality of the genic and genome-wide changes in methylation, our results suggest that altered methylation of specific methylation genes may be part of the molecular mechanism underlying the human biological response to stress.
Cessation of Ureteral Colic Does Not Necessarily Mean that a Ureteral Stone Has Been Expelled

Purpose: We evaluated whether cessation of renal colic is consistent with an expelled ureteral stone or whether imaging may be indicated even in the absence of symptoms.Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients who presented to our institution with acute renal colic and ureteral stone, and were subsequently evaluated at a followup visit where they reported complete cessation of pain for at least 72 hours.Results: Study inclusion criteria were met by 52 patients, who reported no pain for at least 72 hours at the time of the followup visit. A persistent ureteral stone was demonstrated in 14 of the 52 patients (26%) although they denied any associated symptoms. Multivariate logistic regression did not show an association between stone size or location and the likelihood of passage in this cohort.Conclusions: Cessation of pain was associated with ureteral stone passage in almost 75% of this study cohort but 26% of patients still had persistent ureteral stones. We recommend routine ...
What do I need to know about metronidazole

Although it has been in use for over 50 years, metronidazole continues to be widely prescribed for the treatment of anaerobic bacterial infections as well as in some protozoal diseases. Despite this long-term use, relatively little resistance has emerged and metronidazole remains the treatment of choice for Helicobacter pylori infection, bacterial vaginosis and Clostridium difficile colonisation as well as suspected deep anaerobic infections in both adults and children.1 Metronidazole is bactericidal and targets organisms that thrive in anaerobic conditions. The mechanism behind this action is multifactorial and revolves around the ability of the nitroimidazole ring within metronidazole to undergo reduction. Reduction of this ring inherently causes disruption of the normal redox energy pathways of the bacterium and produces a reactive nitro radical anion. This reactive anion goes on to cause oxidative damage to microbial DNA, which cannot then be repaired due to deficiency of available energy stores. Presence of oxygen prevents this action as it can readily accept lone electrons from the reactive drug radical, explaining the effect of the drug only in anaerobic environments.2 This mode of action is independent of binding to microbial proteins and the drug passively diffuses across the microbial membrane. As a result, organisms are not able to quickly develop resistance by modification of protein structure, possibly explaining the relative lack of resistance to the drug today. ### Absorption Metronidazole is absorbed well orally and has a bioavailability of 98.9% when taken by this route. Mean peak plasma concentrations of metronidazole (10.49±3.44 µg/mL) are reached within approximately 6 hours (4.48±1.7 hours) of ingestion in children.3 Intravenous administration is commonly used in those who are nil by mouth, for example those pre and post gastrointestinal surgery or neonates …
Ice Shelf Rift Propagation and the Mechanics of Wave-Induced Fracture

Distant storms, tsunamis, and earthquakes generate waves on floating ice shelves. Previous studies, however, have disagreed about whether the resulting wave-induced stresses may cause ice shelf rift propagation. Most ice shelf rifts show long periods of dormancy suggesting that they have low background stress concentrations and may therefore be susceptible to wave-induced stresses. Here, I quantify wave-induced stresses on the Ross Ice Shelf Nascent Rift and the Amery Ice Shelf Loose Tooth T2 Rift using passive seismology. I then relate these stresses to a fracture mechanical model of rift propagation that accounts for rift cohesive strength due to refrozen melange, ice inertia, and spatial heterogeneity in fracture toughness due to the presence of high toughness suture zones. I infer wave-induced stresses using the wave impedance tensor, a rank three tensor that relates seismically observable particle velocities to components of the stress tensor. I find that wave-induced stresses are an order of magnitude larger on the Ross Ice Shelf as compared to the Amery Ice Shelf. In the absence of additional rift strength, my model predicts that the Nascent Rift should have experienced extensive rift propagation. The observation that no such propagation occurred during this time therefore suggests that the Nascent Rift experiences cohesive strengthening from either refrozen melange or rift tip processes zone dynamics. This study illustrates one way in which passive seismology may illuminate glacier calving physics.
Sustainable Harvesting Policies Under Long-Run Average Criteria: Near Optimality

This paper develops near-optimal sustainable harvesting strategies for the predator in a predator-prey system. The objective function is of long-run average per unit time type in the path-wise sense. To date, ecological systems under environmental noise are usually modeled as stochastic differential equations driven by a Brownian motion. Recognizing that the formulation using a Brownian motion is only an idealization, in this paper, it is assumed that the environment is subject to disturbances characterized by a jump process with rapid jump rates. Under broad conditions, it is shown that the systems under consideration can be approximated by a controlled diffusion system. Based on the limit diffusion system, control policies of the original systems are constructed. Such an approach enables us to develop sustainable harvesting policies leading to near optimality. To treat the underlying problems, one of the main difficulties is due to the long-run average objective function. This in turn, requires the handling of a number of issues related to ergodicity. New approaches are developed to obtain the tightness of the underlying processes based on the population dynamic systems.
Vaping versus JUULing: how the extraordinary growth and marketing of JUUL transformed the US retail e-cigarette market.

Background While national surveys showed declines in e-cigarette use in the USA between 2015 and 2016, recent reports indicate that JUUL, a sleekly designed e-cigarette that looks like a USB drive, is increasingly being used by youth and young adults. However, the extent of JUUL’s growth and its marketing strategy have not been systematically examined. Methods A variety of data sources were used to examine JUUL retail sales in the USA and its marketing and promotion. Retail store scanner data were used to capture the retail sales of JUUL and other major e-cigarette brands for the period 2011–2017. A list of JUUL-related keywords was used to identify JUUL-related tweets on Twitter; to identify JUUL-related posts, hashtags and accounts on Instagram and to identify JUUL-related videos on YouTube. Results In the short 3-year period 2015–2017, JUUL has transformed from a little-known brand with minimum sales into the largest retail e-cigarette brand in the USA, lifting sales of the entire e-cigarette category. Its US$150 million retail sales in the last quarter of 2017 accounted for about 40% of e-cigarette retail market share. While marketing expenditures for JUUL were moderate, the sales growth of JUUL was accompanied by a variety of innovative, engaging and wide-reaching campaigns on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, conducted by JUUL and its affiliated marketers. Conclusions The discrepancies between e-cigarette sales data and the prevalence of e-cigarette use from surveys highlight the challenges in tracking and understanding the use of new and emerging tobacco products. In a rapidly changing media environment, where successful and influential marketing campaigns can be conducted on social media at little cost, marketing expenditures alone may not fully capture the influence, reach and engagement of tobacco marketing.
ADAMTS3 and ADAMTS14

ADAMTS3 and ADAMTS14 belong to the procollagen aminopropeptidase subfamily of ADAMTS proteases that also includes ADAMTS2. These enzymes appear to have co-evolved with their substrates, the major fibrillar collagen types I, II and III by gene duplication from a primitive precursor. Mutations in ADAMTS2 cause an inherited connective tissue disorder, named dermatosparaxis or the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type VIIC. Compensatory procollagen processing by ADAMTS3 and ADAMTS14 may explain why this disorder has its most severe manifestation in skin, whereas other collagen-containing tissues are relatively unaffected.
Analysis of Spherical Indentation of an Elastic Bilayer Using a Modified Perturbation Approach

Accurate mechanical property measurement of films on substrates by instrumented indentation requires a solution describing the effective modulus of the film/substrate system. Here, a first-order elastic perturbation solution for spherical indentation on a film/substrate is presented. Finite element method (FEM) simulations were conducted for comparison with the analytical solution. FEM results indicate that the new solution is valid for a practical range of modulus mismatch, especially for a stiff film on a compliant substrate. It also shows that effective modulus curves for the spherical punch deviates from those of the flat punch when the thickness is comparable to contact size. The work is applicable in tribological films and other engineering systems requiring hard, protective coatings.
My Time to Get Involved

The Honorable Lucille Whipper, District 109, SC House of Representatives, contacted Clemson University main campus by mail in February 1988 and sent a copy of the conference agenda. Unfortunately, I was not informed of this conference. After the conference, however, Keith Salvo, the Plant Materials Specialist for the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), developed the “Sweetgrass Conservation Field Trial Proposal.” In February 1989, the SCS developed the “Economic Development Resource Conservation and Development Measure Plan” for potential funding through the Low Country Resource Conservation and Development Council. Ann Christie, District Conservationist with the SCS, contacted Bill Yates, Clemson University Extension Program Coordinator, and asked if the Coastal Research and Education Center in West Ashley, south of Mt. Pleasant, could be the site of experimental plantings. In February 1989, I was asked if I would be interested in studying sweetgrass propagation and culture. Based on my earliest exposure to observing the basketmakers in the City Market and being enthralled with what they were doing, I immediately jumped on the idea! There began my journey with sweetgrass that lasted for 21 years.
Definitions and Conceptual Orientations

This chapter attempts to develop a functional definition of the emotional aspects of behavior, of emotion as subjective and bodily response to those features of the environment (external and internal) experienced by the organism as significant, and of emotion as motivation or pressure to act upon the environment to change or maintain it. Learning in certain of its basic forms (association, learning, conditioning) is intimately connected with emotional (motivational) processes. As we shall see, those types of learning deriving from Pavlov’s original experiments (classical conditioning) are involved in the process whereby circumstances and events come to have emotional significance (the learning of motives). Similarly, the learning of effective ways of meeting needs (satisfying motivations or drives) is an essential feature of the other major type of basic learning (operant or instrumental conditioning, reward learning). For this reason, we will deal with these more simple varieties of learning here rather than in a separate presentation.
Controlled Release of Small Molecules for Cardiac Differentiation of Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been shown to differentiate to functional cardiomyocytes (CM) with high efficiency through temporally controlled inhibition of the GSK3/Wnt signaling pat...
Congenital Ureteral Valves—An Abnormality of Ureteral Embryogenesis?

AbstractCongenital ureteral valves are a rare cause of obstructive uropathy and the majority of cases are diagnosed only at surgery or autopsy. A case of congenital ureteral valve associated with an incompletely duplicated kidney is reported and the literature on ureteral valves is reviewed. Modern uroradiological and endoscopic diagnostic techniques should result in a more precise preoperative diagnosis. The high incidence of associated genitourinary anomalies, particularly duplication anomalies, suggests abnormal ureteral embryogenesis as an etiological factor in congenital ureteral valve formation.
Social Media Mentions of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Battery-Related Overheating, Fires, and Explosions: Findings from a Pilot Study

Serious injuries may result from electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) battery malfunctions, including overheating, fires, and explosions (O/F/E). This pilot study assessed the usefulness of social media monitoring as a tool for gathering information surrounding ENDS battery O/F/E, including changes in the volume and nature of social media mentions over time. Brandwatch, a social media monitoring tool, was queried to examine ENDS battery-related O/F/E over a one-month period, annually, from 2013–2017. Two researchers qualitatively coded the social media mentions for relevance and coded the relevant mentions by event type and theme. The total number of mentions coded as relevant (n = 947) for the one-month period increased each year. Mentions of first-person events were relatively infrequent (3.6% of relevant mentions), while mentions describing events that happened to someone else increased over time (60.4% of relevant mentions). A relatively small proportion of mentions expressed concern around a potential event and advice on how to prevent future events (4.8% and 10.5% of relevant mentions, respectively). Findings suggest that social media mentions around ENDS battery O/F/E events have increased over recent years. Social media monitoring can complement traditional surveillance systems to elucidate the extent to which ENDS O/F/E events are occurring.
Look Who's Talking: Inferring Speaker Attributes from Personal Longitudinal Dialog.

We examine a large dialog corpus obtained from the conversation history of a single individual with 104 conversation partners. The corpus consists of half a million instant messages, across several messaging platforms. We focus our analyses on seven speaker attributes, each of which partitions the set of speakers, namely: gender; relative age; family member; romantic partner; classmate; co-worker; and native to the same country. In addition to the content of the messages, we examine conversational aspects such as the time messages are sent, messaging frequency, psycholinguistic word categories, linguistic mirroring, and graph-based features reflecting how people in the corpus mention each other. We present two sets of experiments predicting each attribute using (1) short context windows; and (2) a larger set of messages. We find that using all features leads to gains of 9-14% over using message text only.
What Is It All About? Examining the Sustainability of the DNP Project.

Background Students invest many hours of work conducting root cause analyses, researching clinical practice guidelines, and implementing quality improvement projects for their Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). Often when the student graduates, however, the logistics and details of the project can fall by the wayside. Objective The aim of this clinical article is to begin the conversation about the sustainability of the DNP project and provide suggestions for further research and linear curriculum consideration. Methods A review of literature was conducted to examine the history of the DNP project and any efforts being made to support project sustainability. The PubMed database was utilized for data sourcing, including full text published in the last 10 years and English language. Results Findings demonstrated variability in the DNP project across nursing programs, however, what was more apparent was the lack of research on project sustainability itself. Conclusions The DNP project serves to demonstrate the rigor and quality of the terminal practice degree in nursing, therefore, sustainability of the project would support its significance. Implications for nursing This article provides a starting point for research on DNP project sustainability and provides suggestions for how this could be accomplished through academic-practice partnerships and linear communication across nursing curricula.
Reply to Biskup et al. and Tu et al.: Sex differences in metabolic brain aging.

We greatly appreciate the interest and thoughtful insights into our study by both Biskup et al. (1) and Tu et al. (2). Their comments prompted us to further analyze the data published in our paper (3), as discussed below. Biskup et al. (1) first wonder whether our results might be due to the multiparametric nature of the dataset or, alternatively, could be related to a global difference in rationing between aerobic glycolysis (AG) and oxidative metabolism. We investigate this further by looking at each metabolic parameter independently. First, generalized linear modeling reveals that sex-based differences in regional gray matter AG (adjusted for chronological age) correlate well with how much a region’s AG varies with age (i.e., regions with higher AG in females are also those that lose the most AG with age, Pearson’s r = 0.72), suggesting that more typical statistical analysis for AG alone reflects the results from our multiparametric machine learning model. Next, we investigated whether sex-based differences in metabolic brain age persist when calculated independently for AG, total glucose use (CMRGlc), oxygen … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: goyalm{at}wustl.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Quantifying the tradeoff between sequencing depth and cell number in single-cell RNA-seq

The allocation of a sequencing budget when designing single cell RNA-seq experiments requires consideration of the tradeoff between number of cells sequenced and the read depth per cell. One approach to the problem is to perform a power analysis for a univariate objective such as differential expression. However, many of the goals of single-cell analysis requires consideration of the multivariate structure of gene expression, such as clustering. We introduce an approach to quantifying the impact of sequencing depth and cell number on the estimation of a multivariate generative model for gene expression that is based on error analysis in the framework of a variational autoencoder. We find that at shallow depths, the marginal benefit of deeper sequencing per cell significantly outweighs the benefit of increased cell numbers. Above about 15,000 reads per cell the benefit of increased sequencing depth is minor. Code for the workflow reproducing the results of the paper is available at https://github.com/pachterlab/SBP_2019/.
Rate of rhinosinusitis and sinus surgery following a minimally destructive approach to endoscopic transsphenoidal hypophysectomy

Background There remains considerable variation in the extent of sinonasal preservation during the approach for endoscopic transsphenoidal hypophysectomy (TSH). We advocate for a minimally destructive approach utilizing turbinate lateralization, small posterior septectomy, no ethmoidectomy, and preservation of nasoseptal flap (NSF) pedicles bilaterally. Due to these factors, this approach may affect the rates of postoperative rhinosinusitis. The objective of this study is to define the rates of postoperative rhinosinusitis in patients undergoing this approach. Methods Single institution, retrospective chart review of patients undergoing TSH from 2005 to 2018. Results A total of 415 patients were identified and 14% developed an episode of postoperative rhinosinusitis within 3 months. These patients were significantly more likely to have had a history of recurrent acute or chronic rhinosinusitis. Most cases were sphenoethmoidal sinusitis managed with 1 to 2 courses of antibiotics. Of patients with postoperative rhinosinusitis, most did not undergo NSF. Average follow-up was 38 months. Six patients (1.4%) underwent post-TSH functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Average time from TSH to FESS was 26.3 months. Two of these patients had a history of prior chronic rhinosinusitis without polyposis. Two patients underwent revision TSH for recurrent tumor as the primary indication for surgery at time of FESS. Twenty-two-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) scores generally increased immediately postoperatively, but frequently decreased below preoperative level by the time of last follow-up, regardless of whether patients developed rhinosinusitis. Conclusion Sinonasal preservation during TSH is associated with a low rate of postoperative rhinosinusitis requiring FESS and excellent long-term patient reported outcomes. We continue to advocate for sinonasal preservation during pituitary surgery.
Access-based fashion consumption and consumer happiness

This research examines the experiential and material consumption approaches to access-based fashion consumption. To understand the applicability of the Experience Recommendation Theory in the context of access-based fashion consumption, three experiments were conducted. Study 1 attempted to identify a consumer approach with respect to access-based fashion consumption that increases consumer purchase-related happiness. Study 2 and 3 tested the Experience Recommendation Theory in different contexts to provide more rigorous evidence. Contrary to what is suggested by the Experience Recommendation Theory, these studies showed that material framing of rented fashion products was more effective than experiential framing in generating positive consumer responses through closer associations with the self. This research highlights the importance of material framing in managing the ambiguity of access-based fashion consumption to generate positive consumer evaluations and behavior.
Preservice educators' and noneducators' knowledge and perceptions of responsibility about dyslexia

More individuals are affected by dyslexia than any other learning disability. The success of students with dyslexia receiving early identification and evidence-based interventions is dependent upon the knowledge and skills of the school practitioners responsible for their academic programmes. This study investigated knowledge of dyslexia and perceptions of responsibility by administering the Knowledge and Insights of Dyslexia Survey (KIDS) to 243 university students. Survey responses of students (n) majoring in degrees in education (education majors [EM], n = 154) were compared with the responses of students majoring in degrees in architecture (noneducation majors [NEM], n = 89). In addition, the results were further examined between students majoring in General Education, Special Education, and School Psychology. Results indicated no significant differences in knowledge existed between EM and NEM or within EM. Of the topics investigated, participants knew the least about the treatment of dyslexia and demonstrated confusion about the components of appropriate instruction. Analysis of participant definitions revealed pervasive confusion about the characteristics of dyslexia with most believing myths that those with dyslexia "see and read backwards." Additionally, EM rated themselves as being moderately responsible for educating students with dyslexia and believed special educators hold the greatest level of responsibility.
Data-driven filtration and segmentation of mesoscale neural dynamics

Author(s): Weiser, Sydney Claire | Advisor(s): Ackman, James | Abstract: The neocortex contains a constellation of sensory-motor regions whose functional interactions provide the basis of cognition and behavior. Simultaneously recording neuronal group activity across the cortical hemispheres is essential for understanding the nature of information flow across cerebral networks. Moreover, unbiased and robust methods for measuring functional interactions across the cortex within individual living subjects is critical for substantive tests of genetic and environmental factors that influence brain development and function. To this end, we image pan-neuronally expressed genetically encoded calcium indicators transcranially across the neocortex of unanesthetized, behaving mice throughout development. Recording from behaving mice produces a unique set of challenges, including optical and blood artifacts associated with movement. In addition, areal patterning of the cortex can vary among individuals, ages, and genotypes thus an unbiased, flexible workflow for video acquisition and analysis is necessary for producing high quality segmentations of functional structure across neocortex. To address these challenges, we have developed an eigendecomposition-based workflow that isolates hemodynamic and optical artifacts to recover underlying calcium activity patterns, and segments independent regions of the brain to create maps of functional units across the developing cortex. These unique, data-driven maps provide a reference for understanding developmental, genetic, as well as individual variation between functional units of the brain, and provide a method for extracting optimized time courses from the cortical surface without the need for stimulation-based mapping or anatomical post-processing and alignment. In addition, we quantify the quality of separation of independent sources and use the resulting metrics as feedback to optimize our video acquisition parameters. The open source methods developed here are flexible enough to be utilized with various subject ages and genotypes, as well as numerous experimental configurations and computer architectures. Here we additionally present applications of these methods to anesthesia and development datasets. Overcoming these challenges opens the possibility of using these techniques to help address a number of key objectives in neuroscience, including the quantification of robust inter-areal dynamics between functional motifs across cerebral networks.
High-contrast metastructures and applications

High contrast grating has been demonstrated in VCSELs for over one decade with wavelengths in 850nm, 940nm, 980nm, 1050nm, 1300nm and 1550nm. Several device configurations were reported with HCG freely suspended as MEMS structure, monolithic with AlOx layer, flip-chip bonded onto a Si/SiO2 HCG and with a deposited thin film Si/SiO2. Wavelength swept VCSELs and multi-wavelength VCSELs were also published. In this talk, we will review all different results. We will particularly address polarization and far field pattern engineering. New applications in high speed modulation, 3D sensing and LIDAR will be discussed.