cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Value and limitations of two-dimensional echocardiography in predicting myocardial infarct size

To investigate the quantitative relations between the severity of regional wall motion abnormalities and segmental infarct size and between the severity of overall left ventricular dysfunction and global infarct size, a clinicopathologic study was undertaken of 30 patients who had a 2-dimensional (2-D) echocardiogram within 7 days before death. The severity of regional wall motion abnormalities was graded for each segment with a 2-D echocardiographic 14-segment model. The severity of global left ventricular dysfunction was calculated as the mean of the visualized regional wall motion scores. On pathologic examination of autopsy specimens, segmental infarct size was estimated as a percentage of the segmental cross-sectional area. The global infarct size was expressed as a percentage of the total left ventricular mass. At the segmental level, regional wall motion score was positively correlated (r = 0.53) with the segmental infarct size. The sensitivity and specificity of detecting infarcted segments by abnormal wall motion scores were 81 and 71%, respectively. All dyskinetic segments revealed infarct size of greater than or equal to 10%. The wall motion score index was positively correlated (r = 0.52) with the global infarct size. The mean global infarct size was 7% for the 8 patients with a wall motion score index of less than 2, which was significantly lower than the mean of 27% for the 22 patients with a wall motion score index of greater than or equal to 2 (p less than 0.001). A 2-D echocardiogram is sensitive and specific in detecting infarcted segments and can be useful in quantitating myocardial damage after myocardial infarction.
Race and Sex Differences in Reactions to a Simulated Selection Decision Involving Race-Based Affirmative Action

Affirmative action policies lead to social psychological costs for the intended beneficiaries in the form of negative reactions and reduced perceptions of competence. However, most of the research has involved affi rmative action based on sex rather than race and has compared males to females rather than Blacks to Whites. Two hundred and thirty-five (235) college students completed a scenario study involving reactions to having received afellowship position based on affirmative action. The independent variables included race (Black White), sex (male, female), type of affirmative action (soft, hard), and qualifications (less or equally qualified). Data were collected on evaluations of negative affect, fairness, and competence. The results indicated that although sex-based affirmative action may result in certain social psychological costsforfemales, the same effect may not occur as afunction of race, for Blacks compared to Whites. Even in those situations where affirmative action did affect reactions of pa...
Geosynthetic Reinforcement for Soft Foundations: US Perspectives

Geosynthetics have been successfully used as reinforcements for embankments and shallow foundation on soft soils. Their applications include the use of geosynthetics for increasing stabilit y of embankments, increasing bearing capacity of footing on soft foundations, creating construction platforms, and bridging over sinkholes. In recent years, geosynthetics mats have also been used in combination with pile or column systems to support embankments over soft foundations. This paper identifies current practices in the above applications including the most prevalent approaches in the US and other countries and presents recent advances reported in literature. Gaps in our current knowledge are identified and possible future directions for research and development are
Genetic Modifiers of the Drosophila NSF Mutant, comatose , Include a Temperature-Sensitive Paralytic Allele of the Calcium Channel α1-Subunit Gene, cacophony

The N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein (NSF) has been implicated in vesicle trafficking in perhaps all eukaryotic cells. The Drosophila comatose (comt) gene encodes an NSF homolog, dNSF1. Our previous work with temperature-sensitive (TS) paralytic alleles of comt has revealed a function for dNSF1 at synapses, where it appears to prime synaptic vesicles for neurotransmitter release. To further examine the molecular basis of dNSF1 function and to broaden our analysis of synaptic transmission to other gene products, we have performed a genetic screen for mutations that interact with comt. Here we report the isolation and analysis of four mutations that modify TS paralysis in comt, including two intragenic modifiers (one enhancer and one suppressor) and two extragenic modifiers (both enhancers). The intragenic mutations will contribute to structure-function analysis of dNSF1 and the extragenic mutations identify gene products with related functions in synaptic transmission. Both extragenic enhancers result in TS behavioral phenotypes when separated from comt, and both map to loci not previously identified in screens for TS mutants. One of these mutations is a TS paralytic allele of the calcium channel alpha1-subunit gene, cacophony (cac). Analysis of synaptic function in these mutants alone and in combination will further define the in vivo functions and interactions of specific gene products in synaptic transmission.
Overview based example selection in end user interactive concept learning

Interaction with large unstructured datasets is difficult because existing approaches, such as keyword search, are not always suited to describing concepts corresponding to the distinctions people want to make within datasets. One possible solution is to allow end users to train machine learning systems to identify desired concepts, a strategy known as interactive concept learning. A fundamental challenge is to design systems that preserve end user flexibility and control while also guiding them to provide examples that allow the machine learning system to effectively learn the desired concept. This paper presents our design and evaluation of four new overview based approaches to guiding example selection. We situate our explorations within CueFlik, a system examining end user interactive concept learning in Web image search. Our evaluation shows our approaches not only guide end users to select better training examples than the best performing previous design for this application, but also reduce the impact of not knowing when to stop training the system. We discuss challenges for end user interactive concept learning systems and identify opportunities for future research on the effective design of such systems.
Medicaid Managed Care In Thirteen States

ABSTRACT: This study examines the recent expansion of Medicaid managed care from the perspective of the thirteen states in the Urban Institute's Assessing the New Federalism project. States are moving to managed care for Medicaid both to improve beneficiaries' access and to control the growth in program costs. However, we find that despite dramatic growth in enrollment during this decade, few states are enrolling the elderly or the disabled—the most expensive Medicaid beneficiaries. We also conclude that cost-savings objectives are often at odds with goals of contracting with mainstream plans and protecting safety-net providers.
The histological spectrum of chronic necrotizing forms of pulmonary aspergillosis

Chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis (CNPA) is a rare locally destructive form of chronic aspergillosis that is recognized as a clinical syndrome, but has been poorly defined histologically. In this study, 10 cases of CNPA were evaluated from a morphological perspective. Three distinct forms of CNPA emerged. One form (n = 4) resembled a necrotizing granulomatous pneumonia centered around a central zone of infarct-like necrosis of parenchyma resulting from angioinvasive aspergillus. The second pattern (n = 4) was that of a granulomatous bronchiectatic cavity with a central fungus ball and subtle tongues of necrosis and inflammation extending into and through the fibrous wall of the cavity. A final form (n = 2) had a bronchocentric granulomatosis-like appearance with a necrotizing granulomatous bronchitis/bronchiolitis associated with luminal necrotic debris and replacement of mucosa by a palisaded histiocytic reaction. Despite the varied histomorphology, all patients survived the aspergillus infection after antifungal therapy and surgical resection. The different forms of pulmonary aspergillosis are briefly discussed, and the differential diagnosis, with particular regard to mycetomas and allergic forms of bronchocentric granulomatosis, is highlighted.
Finite element analysis of the TPX toroidal field coil system

A structural analysis of the Tokamak Physics Experiment (TPX) toroidal field (TF) coil system is presented. The large-scale structural behavior of the superconducting 16-coil magnet is simulated with a 3-D, cyclically-symmetric, two-coil, ANSYS model. The computer model is used to determine the displacement and stress state of the smeared winding pack and support structure, and to perform various structural evaluations. Approximating the detailed stresses in the winding pack constituents based an smeared stress results and analytically derived component stress multipliers is discussed. The effectiveness of friction between wedged TF cases to help restrain out-of-plane electromagnetic forces is also considered. A stress evaluation of the conductor, insulation and structure is presented based on the TPX structural design criteria. >
Reconstructive Surgery for Sacral Ulcer

The sacral ulcer is a common occurrence in certain groups of patients. It can develop at different stages of a patient’s life, whether after acute injury or acute illness. The ulcer occurs when a patient is kept in a supine position without turning or using a special bed or mattress. It can also occur after the rehabilitation stage when an insensate patient is sent home to integrate back into normal life and begins sitting in a wheelchair, as seen in spinal cord injured patients (see Chap. 2). In a review of the literature on reconstructive options for sacral ulcer, some authors advise using the fasciocutaneous flap from the lumbar area to close a sacral defect [1–3]. The author’s experience in dealing with patients with spinal cord injury or spina bifida is that this flap is not suitable for these groups of patients because of the multiple surgeries they have had over their back and lumbar area. It is technically difficult to raise the fasciocutaneous lumbar flap because of the scarring and limited number of spinal perforators, which eventually subjects these flap to vascular compromise, ending in necrosis. The main muscle used for the repair of the sacrococcygeal ulcer is the gluteus maximus muscle in different design of flaps – musculocutaneous, muscular, and fasciocutaneous. The muscle can be used in rotation, advancement, and splitting. The gluteus muscle is the most durable muscle for closing a sacral defect and provides a soft tissue padding for the bony area that is anatomically not covered by muscle. The sacrum and coccygeal bone are covered by skin and subcutaneous tissue [4, 5, 7–9]. The method in which the gluteus maximus muscle is used depends on the primary diagnosis of the patient and whether the goal is to preserve muscle function after recovery [10, 11]. For ambulatory and sensory patients, the gluteus maximus island advancement flap is recommended more than the fasciocutaneous flaps, which are based on the gluteal muscle perforator [12–16]. The author’s experience is that these flaps cannot be revised or reused in cases of ulceration recurrence, as in patients with spinal cord injury.
Genome-wide Mapping of HATs and HDACs Reveals Distinct Functions in Active and Inactive Genes

Histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and deacetylases (HDACs) function antagonistically to control histone acetylation. As acetylation is a histone mark for active transcription, HATs have been associated with active and HDACs with inactive genes. We describe here genome-wide mapping of HATs and HDACs binding on chromatin and find that both are found at active genes with acetylated histones. Our data provide evidence that HATs and HDACs are both targeted to transcribed regions of active genes by phosphorylated RNA Pol II. Furthermore, the majority of HDACs in the human genome function to reset chromatin by removing acetylation at active genes. Inactive genes that are primed by MLL-mediated histone H3K4 methylation are subject to a dynamic cycle of acetylation and deacetylation by transient HAT/HDAC binding, preventing Pol II from binding to these genes but poising them for future activation. Silent genes without any H3K4 methylation signal show no evidence of being bound by HDACs.
Human Rod Photoreceptor cGMP-gated Channel: Amino Acid Sequence, Gene Structure, and Functional Expression

Phototransduction in retinal rods involves a G-protein-mediated signaling cascade that leads to cGMP hydrolysis and the closure of a cGMP-gated channel. This channel has recently been purified from bovine retina and molecularly cloned (Kaupp et al., 1989). We report here the cloning of cDNA and genomic DNA encoding the human rod cGMP-gated channel, based upon its homology to the bovine counterpart. The human mRNA structure differs from the bovine in containing an Alu repetitive element spliced into the 5' untranslated region. The human cGMP-gated channel gene (CNCG) is located on chromosome 4 and contains at least 10 exons. One large exon encodes the carboxy-terminal two-thirds of the protein, whereas seven small exons encode the amino-terminal one-third of the protein. Alternative splicing removes one of the small exons in a subset of transcripts in the human retina, producing an internal in-frame deletion of 36 codons. When expressed in a human embryonic kidney cell line (293S), the full-length cDNA clone, but not the differentially spliced variant, produced functional ion channels broadly similar to the native channels in vertebrate rods.
Optimal inventory control with path-dependent cost criteria

This paper deals with a stochastic control problem arising from inventory control, in which the cost structure depends on the current position as well as the running maximum of the state process. A control mechanism is introduced to control the growth of the running maximum which represents the required storage capacity. The infinite horizon discounted cost minimization problem is addressed and it is used to derive a complete solution to the long-run average cost minimization problem. An associated control cost minimization problem subject to a storage capacity constraint is also addressed. Finally, as an application of the above results, a related infinite-horizon discounted control problem with a regime-switching inventory model is also solved.
Saturday Morning Science Programs: A Model to Increase Diversity in the Biosciences

Purpose To examine a pathway program for middle and high school students from underrepresented backgrounds designed to foster career interest in the biomedical sciences. In 2002, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled Unequal Treatment, which examined the racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care within the United States and encouraged the development of a diverse health care workforce as a means to reduce health care disparities. Procedures Saturday Morning Science (SMS) is a program model presented as a pipeline strategy that addresses thisspecific recommendation. SMS is a 10-week program that emphasized the importance of science and math. Post-SMS evaluations were conducted to assess biomedical career knowledge, attitudes regarding future career plans, and the effectiveness of the program Findings A total of 87.5% of middle and high school students who were enrolled in SMS completed the program (113 of 130). Seventy percent of SMS participants were underrepresented minorities. Snapshot program evaluation data exposed new ideas about science (strongly agree/agree, 98%; 64 of 65), exposed new ideas about medicine (strongly agree/agree, 97%; 63 of 65, and increased desire to enter science related field (strongly agree/agree 82% (53 of 65). Conclusions SMS was designed to motivate students of underrepresented ethnic backgrounds from middle through high school to attend college and prepare for careers in the health sciences. SMS students had the opportunity to interact with scientists, physicians, medical and graduate students, and other academicians. They provided direction and guidance to ensure that students had meaningful experiences specifically designed to expose them to opportunities in the biosciences.
Sparse multi-task learning for detecting influential nodes in an implicit diffusion network

How to identify influential nodes is a central research topic in information diffusion analysis. Many existing methods rely on the assumption that the network structure is completely known by the model. However, in many applications, such a network is either unavailable or insufficient to explain the underlying information diffusion phenomena. To address this challenge, we develop a multi-task sparse linear influence model (MSLIM), which can simultaneously predict the volume for each contagion and automatically identify sets of the most influential nodes for different contagions. Our method is based on the linear influence model with two main advantages: 1) it does not require the network structure; 2) it can detect different sets of the most influential nodes for different contagions. To solve the corresponding convex optimization problem for learning the model, we adopt the accelerated gradient method (AGM) framework and show that there is an exact closed-form solution for the proximal mapping. Therefore, the optimization procedure achieves the optimal first-order convergence rate and can be scaled to very large datasets. The proposed model is validated on a set of 2.6 millions tweets from 1000 users of Twitter. We show that MSLIM can efficiently select the most influential users for specific contagions.We also present several interesting patterns of the selected influential users.
Is vitamin supplementation appropriate in the healthy old

Purpose of reviewVitamin supplements are used by large numbers of older adults. Although vitamins serve several functions in the body, the benefits or harm of routine supplementation are far from clear. Data from studies over the last decade are reviewed to enable an understanding.Recent findingsSum
Three-dimensional kinematics of ankle instability following serial sectioning of lateral collateral ligaments

Triaxial kinematics of ankle instability were studied in vitro by applying an inversion force to seven nonaxially loaded cadaveric ankle-foot specimens. In intact specimens, mean maximal adduction of the tibia with respect to the calcaneus was 38° and mean maximal external rotation was 24°; maximal displacement occurred near full plantar flexion. Increases after release of ligaments were as follows: calcaneofibular, maximal adduction 10%, external rotation 3% near 15° of plantar flexion; anterior talofibular, adduction 30%, external rotation 8% at 30° of plantar flexion; both, adduction 41%, external rotation 65% near 0° of flexion; all three lateral collateral, adduction 42%, external rotation 240% in slight dorsiflexion. Regardless of the status of the lateral collateral ligaments, the talus adducted and externally rotated 18° ± 1° with respect to the calcaneus. Hence, collateral ligament release had no effect on subtalar motion.
Combating Frosting with Joule-Heated Liquid-Infused Superhydrophobic Coatings

Frost formation is omnipresent when suitable environmental conditions are met. A good portion of research on combating frost formation has revolved around the passive properties of superhydrophobic (SHPO) and slippery lubricant-impregnated porous (SLIP) surfaces. Despite much progress, the need for surfaces that can effectively combat frost formation over prolonged periods still remains. In this work, we report, for the first time, the use of electrically conductive SHPO/SLIP surfaces for active mitigation of frost formation. First, we demonstrate the failure of these surfaces to passively avert prolonged (several hours) frosting. Next, we make use of their electroconductive property for active Joule heating, which results in the removal of any formed frost. We study the role of the impregnating lubricant in the heat transfer across the interface, the surface, and the ambient. We show that, even though the thermal properties of the impregnating lubricant may vary drastically, the lubricant type does not n...
Effect of Nitrogen Level on Rice Quality of Hybrid Rice Y Liangyou 585

The effect of four different nitrogen levels on rice quality of Y Liangou 585 was studied to provide the scientific basis for rational utilization of nitrogen fertilizer in rice production.The results showed that:1)High nitrogen level with 300kg/hm2 can improve rice yield,brown rice rate,milled rice rate and head rice rate;2)There are no obvious differences in rice length,rice length/width and rice transparency between four different treatments.The chalky rice percentage and chalkiness degree of zero nitrogen treatment(without applying nitrogen)both are higher than treatments with applying nitrogen,and the chalky grain percentage and chalkiness degree of three different treatments with applying nitrogen is medium nitrogen high nitrogen low nitrogen;3)Alkali spreading value of four different nitrogen levels is low nitrogenzero nitrogen high nitrogen medium nitrogen but gel consistency and amylose content of rice both decrease with increase of nitrogen application;4)Protein content of rice increases by(7.5 %~10.4 %)with increase of nitrogen application.
Recombinant Poxvirus and the Tumor Microenvironment: Oncolysis, Immune Regulation and Immunization

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are being extensively studied for their potential roles in the development of cancer therapy regimens. In addition to their direct lytic effects, OVs can initiate and drive systemic antitumor immunity indirectly via release of tumor antigen, as well as by encoding and delivering immunostimulatory molecules. This combination makes them an effective platform for the development of immunotherapeutic strategies beyond their primary lytic function. Engineering the viruses to also express tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) allows them to simultaneously serve as therapeutic vaccines, targeting and amplifying an immune response to TAAs. Our group and others have shown that vaccinating intratumorally with a poxvirus that encodes TAAs, in addition to immune stimulatory molecules, can modulate the tumor microenvironment, overcome immune inhibitory pathways, and drive both local and systemic tumor specific immune responses.
Error correction for asynchronous communication

We propose a forward error correction scheme for asynchronous sensor communication where the dominant errors consist of pulse deletions and insertions, and where encoding is required to take place in an instantaneous fashion. The presented scheme consists of a combination of a systematic convolutional code, an embedded marker code, and power-efficient frequency-shift keying (FSK) modulation at the sensor node. Decoding is first obtained via a maximum a-posteriori (MAP) decoder for the marker code which achieves synchronization for the insertion and deletion channel, followed by MAP decoding for the convolutional code. Besides investigating the rate trade-off between marker and convolutional codes, we also show that residual redundancy in the asynchronously sampled and quantized source signal can be successfully exploited in combination with redundancy only from a marker code. This provides a low complexity alternative for deletion and insertion error correction compared to using explicit redundancy.
Microwave sensor based on square stereo-complementary asymmetric single split rectangular resonator

According to Babinet's principle a square complementary asymmetric split ring resonator (caSRR) is proposed. Interestingly, due to the particularity of the caSRR structure, it can be fabricated on a mental sheet without the substrate, which is named as Stereo-caSRR. A microwave sensor which consists of a rectangular waveguide loaded with the square stereo-caSRR is designed. Simulation results show that the square Stereo-caSRR possesses a much higher Q-factor compared with traditional planar caSRR since the influence of the lossy substance has been eliminated. The stereo-caSRR assisted microwave sensor has a good linearity since the electric field can be confined to the arm of the resonator which is quite sensitive to a small change dielectric environment.
Viscoelastic testing inside and beyond the operating room

Hemorrhage is a major contributor to morbidity and mortality during the perioperative period. Current methods of diagnosing coagulopathy have various limitations including long laboratory runtimes, lack of information on specific abnormalities of the coagulation cascade, lack of in vivo applicability, and lack of ability to guide the transfusion of blood products. Viscoelastic testing offers a promising solution to many of these problems. The two most-studied systems, thromboelastography (TEG) and rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), offer similar graphical and numerical representations of the initiation, formation, and lysis of clot. In systematic reviews on the clinical efficacy of viscoelastic tests, the majority of trials analyzed were in cardiac surgery patients. Reviews of the literature suggest that transfusions of packed red blood cells (pRBC), plasma, and platelets are all decreased in patients whose transfusions were guided by viscoelastic tests rather than by clinical judgement or conventional laboratory tests. Mortality appears to be lower in the viscoelastic testing groups, despite no difference in surgical re-intervention rates and massive transfusion rates. Cost-effectiveness studies also seem to favor viscoelastic testing. Viscoelastic testing has also been investigated in small studies in other clinical contexts, such as sepsis, obstetric hemorrhage, inherited bleeding disorders, perioperative thromboembolism risk assessment, and management of anticoagulation for patients on mechanical circulatory support systems or direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs). While the results are intriguing, no systematic, larger trials have taken place to date. Viscoelastic testing remains a relatively novel method to assess coagulation status, and evidence for its use appears favorable in reducing blood product transfusions, especially in cardiac surgery patients.
Tumor Lysis Syndrome

Tumor lysis syndrome is an oncological emergency. The massive turnover of tumor cells leads to accumulation of electrolytes and uric acid that could lead to renal failure and cardiac arrhythmias. There are clinical and laboratory classifications of tumor lysis syndrome, and several risk stratification models have been proposed. Prevention of tumor lysis syndrome involves intravenous hydration and administration of hypouricemic agents. Rasburicase is preferred over allopurinol in high risk cases. Urinary alkalization in prevention is controversial. Treatment of tumor lysis syndrome includes intensive monitoring of renal function, fluid balance and electrolytes. Neuromuscular irritability manifesting as cardiac arrhythmias and seizures is a significant concern. Prevention of cardiac arrhythmias is done by appropriately managing hyperkalemia and hypocalcemia. Despite aggressive preventive measures, renal failure develops in some patients requiring initiation of renal replacement therapy. Pre-phase treatment with low intensity chemotherapy has been a strategy that is being used frequently in certain forms of cancer to reduce the development of tumor lysis syndrome. Certain aspects of management of tumor lysis syndrome remain controversial.
Does early motion lead to a higher failure rate or better outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair? A systematic review of overlapping meta-analyses.

Background The aims of the study were as follows: to perform a systematic review of meta-analyses comparing “early motion” and “delayed motion” after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair; to provide a framework to analyze the best available evidence to develop recommendations; and to identify gaps where suggestions could be made for future investigations. Methods Literature searches were performed to identify meta-analyses examining arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with early-motion vs. delayed-motion rehabilitation protocols. Clinical data were extracted, and meta-analysis quality was assessed using the Quality of Reporting of Meta-analyses and Oxman-Guyatt scales. Results Nine meta-analyses met inclusion criteria. No clear superiority was noted in clinical outcome scores for early-motion or delayed-motion rehabilitation. Results of tendon healing were found to be either no different or in favor of delayed motion, but no differences were noted in rotator cuff tear recurrence rates postoperatively. The majority of meta-analyses found significantly better range of motion with early motion up to a year postoperatively for forward elevation and up to 6 months for external rotation, but significant differences were not reported for functional improvements and strength at 12 months postoperatively. Subgroup analyses suggested that larger preoperative tear sizes have significantly greater retear rates with early-motion rehabilitation. Conclusions The current highest level of evidence suggests that early-motion rehabilitation after rotator cuff repair results in superior postoperative range of motion up to 1 year. Whereas early motion and delayed motion after cuff repair may lead to comparable functional outcomes and retear rates, concern exists that early motion may result in greater retear rates, particularly with larger tear sizes.
The Function of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

There are two sets of dual interrelated roles that a consultation-liaison psychiatrist plays—consultation and liaison, i.e., patient care and education and psychiatrist.
THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF PASTORALIST LANDSCAPES IN THE NORTHWESTERN PLAINS

This article examines the extent to which the adoption of the horse created a transition in modes of production from hunting and gathering to nomadic pastoralism by tracing the horse's impact on Blackfoot settlement patterns and landscape use during the Precontact and Postcontact periods on the Northwestern Plains. While changes in hunting techniques, raiding frequencies, and certain social implications such as status and wealth differentiation have been studied from an ethnohistoric perspective, less work has been done to trace the subtle changes to patterns of landscape use that may have directly resulted from the adoption of horse husbandry by the Blackfoot people. This study applies Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology to broadly distributed Precontact- and Contact-period archaeological sites of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana to reveal the role of horse husbandry on landscape use in the Northwestern Plains. This research expands on previous ethnohistorical work, while also contributing a new, material dimension to the dynamics of this transition at various spatial scales.
Long-Term Survival According to Histology and Radiologic Response to Preoperative Chemotherapy in 126 Patients Undergoing Resection of Non-GIST Sarcoma Liver Metastases

Non-gastrointestinal stromal tumor sarcomas (NGSs) have heterogeneous histology, and this heterogeneity may lead to uncertainty regarding the prognosis of patients with liver metastases from NGS (NGSLM) and decision regarding their surgical management. Furthermore, the role of preoperative chemotherapy in treatment of NGSLM remains poorly defined. We investigated long-term survival and its correlation to response to preoperative chemotherapy in patients with NGSLM. Patients who underwent liver resection for NGSLM during 1998–2015 were identified. Clinical, histopathologic, and survival data were analyzed. Multivariate analysis was performed using a Cox proportional hazards model. 126 patients [62 (49%) with leiomyosarcoma] were included. Five-year overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) rates were 49.3 and 14.9%, respectively. Survival did not differ by histologic subtype, primary tumor location, or use of preoperative or postoperative chemotherapy. NGSLM ≥ 10 cm and extrahepatic metastases at NGSLM diagnosis were the only independent risk factors for OS. In the 83 (66%) patients with metachronous NSGLM, disease-free interval > 6 months was associated with improved OS and RFS. Among the 65 patients (52%) who received preoperative chemotherapy, radiologic response according to Choi criteria specifically was associated with improved OS (p = 0.04), but radiologic response according to RECIST 1.1 criteria was not. Resection of NGSLM led to a 5-year OS rate of 49%, independent of histologic subtype and primary tumor location. Choi criteria (which take into account tumor density) are superior to RECIST 1.1 in assessing radiologic response and should be used to assess response to preoperative chemotherapy.
Special Issue: Global Perspectives on Business Ethics from the 40th Anniversary Conference of the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University, 2016

This special issue of the Journal of Business Ethics (JBE) commemorates the 40th Anniversary Conference of the Hoffman Center for Business Ethics at Bentley University. It collects seven of the papers that were presented at the conference in 2016, when scholars, practitioners, and policymakers from across the globe convened to discuss “Global Perspectives on Business Ethics.” From conceptual thinking to theory building and empirical analysis, these articles present several future and mutually supportive directions for research to influence the context and conduct of business through its challenges and changes over the next 40 years.
Popular Culture and the American Adversarial Ideology

The adversary system is the nearly unquestioned ideology that animates civil and criminal justice in the U.S. Under the adversary system, lawyers control the trial. Judge have little to do except rule on legal issues and evidentiary objections and pound their gavels. The objective of the adversary system is to provide procedural justice and to find "trial truth." The goal is not to provide substantive justice or to discover the real truth about what happened. This paper asks why the U.S. is committed to the adversary ideology. To some extent the commitment arises out of ignorance of alternatives and reliance on tradition. It also derives from broadly shared commitment to individual autonomy and laissez faire capitalism. Distrust of judges and other bureaucrats is certainly a major factor. Often, distrust of American judges is entirely warranted. This paper suggests an additional reason for our commitment to the adversarial ideology: constant exposure to popular culture models. To some degree, we all sit at the feet of our master trial practice teacher, the immortal Perry Mason. Mason trained us to believe that only lawyer cross-examination could discover the truth. Countless TV series and films have reinforced this message. The model requires lawyers to be in control and judges to get out of the way. A lifetime of pop culture conditioning in the glories of the adversary system makes it impossible for most Americans to consider alternatives.
A study of J-controlled crack tip deformation fields

sional J-integral [1-3]. It is defined for a small-strain, nonlinearly elastic material in terms of a contour integral. Through an asymptotic analysis, the J-integral has been shown to characterize the intensity of the near tip deformation and stress fields [4-6] for a power law hardening material; the form of the stress, strain and displacement functions is known as the HRR field. For those situations where there exists a region of J-dominance, it is reasonable to suggest a fracture criterion based on a critical value of the J-integral [5,6]. In fact, as noted by Hutchinson [7], the J-integral is used in nonlinear fracture mechanics to correlate crack tip behavior in structural components to the near tip behavior in standard test specimens:
A Centrifugal Microfluidic Platform — A Comparison

The fluidic platform introduced here is a multi-purpose micro analytical laboratory on a compact disc (CD) 1,2. This system is based on the centrifugal force, in which fluidic flow can be controlled by the spinning rate of the CD and thus a whole range of fluidic functions including valving, mixing, metering, splitting, and separation can be implemented. Furthermore, optical detection such as absorption and fluorescence can be incorporated into the CD control unit to obtain signals from pre-specified positions on the disc. In this paper we present data on a two-point calibration system built on the CD platform and we compared this microfluidic platform with alternative fluidic systems.
Information, Tax Salience, and Support for School Bond Referenda: Information, Tax Salience, and Support for School Bond Referenda

We examine whether the salience of the property tax liability implications of voting yes on a school bond referendum affects bond approval rates. We exploit the fact that school districts in Minnesota are required to explicitly note the property tax implications of voting yes on bond referenda in bold capital letters on a ballot while districts in the neighboring state of Wisconsin are only required to inform voters of the amount of bonds to be issued. Using data on local school bond passage rates from Minnesota and Wisconsin over the period 2008–2017, we find that when the property tax implications of voting yes are more salient, the fraction of voters favoring bond passage declines by approximately four to seven percentage points and the probability of bond passage falls by approximately ten percentage points. These results are robust to numerous specification checks including propensity score weighting methods and leveraging the geographic distance between school districts in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Regional Susceptibility to ER Stress and Protection by Salubrinal Following a Single Exposure to Deltamethrin

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is a significant contributor to neurodegeneration and cognitive dysfunction. Recently, we reported that repeated exposure to the pyrethroid insecticide deltamethrin caused ER stress in the hippocampus of adult mice, which was accompanied by deficits in learning (Hossain et al., 2015). Here, we investigated regional susceptibility to ER stress and the ability of salubrinal, an inhibitor of ER stress, to reduce apoptosis following a single oral administration of deltamethrin (6 mg/kg). Deltamethrin significantly increased the ER stress marker C/EBP-homologous protein (CHOP) in the hippocampus by 148% at 24 and 48 h compared with age-matched controls. In contrast, CHOP was increased by 146% in the frontal cortex only at 48 h after deltamethrin exposure. Similarly, the level of GRP-78 was increased by 314% and 262% in the hippocampus at 24 and 48 h, whereas the same factors were increased by 178% at 24 h and 139% at 48 h in the frontal cortex. These changes were accompanied by increased levels of activated caspase-12, caspase-3, and TUNEL-positive cells in both brain regions, with the hippocampus showing a more robust response. Pre-treatment of mice with the eIf2α inhibitor salubrinal prevented deltamethrin-induced caspase-3 activation and attenuated the number of TUNEL-positive cells. These data demonstrate that the hippocampus appears to be particularly vulnerable to deltamethrin exposure in adult animals, which may contribute to observed effects of deltamethrin on cognitive function.
Leveraging In Situ Data Analysis to Enable Computational Steering of Brain's Neocortex Simulations with GENESIS

To investigate the origin and functional role of the brain's electrical activity in specific frequency ranges, scientists have employed biologically accurate computational models of the brain. The onset of extreme-scale computing brings the promise of allowing neuroscientists the ability to examine the brain in silico at unprecedented fidelity and resolution that is not possible using traditional methods such as the electroencephalogram. The large amount of data produced by high fidelity simulations are becoming increasingly difficult to save and transform into scientific insights for runtime simulations. One attractive solution is to modify the data analysis workflow from one that is accomplished post-simulation to one that is completed in situ at the cost of confining the analysis to the level of local data rather than a single global view. The missing global view of data has the potential to introduce inaccuracies in the simulation's findings. In this paper, we present the integration of in situ analysis into a simulation of the electrical activity of a brain's neuronal network to enable computational steering of the simulation itself at runtime (i.e., without stopping, performing post-simulation analysis, and restarting the simulation). We evaluate the accuracy of our in situ analysis versus the traditional post-simulation analysis, showing how we can gain meaningful global insights from local data. We demonstrate the integration's effectiveness in steering the electrical activity of a simulated neuronal network at runtime from electroencephalograph's (EEG) alpha frequency band (8-13Hz) to the beta frequency band (13-40Hz).
Influence of Massage on Jumping Performance

Abstract Using a psychological control (placebo) and a balanced experimental design to secure unequivocal results, it was found that pre-exercise massage yielded 2.6 percent improvement in the vertical jumping performance of 36 college men. The amount of improvement was twice as large in the fifth and sixth trials as in the preceding jumps of the six-trial test series. The average jump (48.8 cm.) and the test-retest reliability (r = .94) agreed closely with previous studies using the Henry jumping apparatus. During the six jumps of the first day (without massage), the practice effect caused 3.6 percent improvement, but there was no significant practice effect during the second or third day of testing or between three successive days spaced one week apart.
Modulation of spontaneous outgrowth of Epstein-Barr virus immortalized B-cell clones by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-3.

Spontaneous outgrowth of immortalized Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infected B-cell clones will occur from cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNCs) of some persons with a history of EBV infection. We determined that outgrowth of such clones may be reproducibly modulated by supplementation of cultures with the hematopoietic growth factors GM- CSF and interleukin-3 (IL-3). Continuous supplementation of cultures with GM-CSF facilitates emergence of immortalized B-cell clones, whereas supplementation with IL-3 completely prevents their emergence. The effect of GM-CSF may be direct, at least in part, as the proliferation of pure clones of EBV-transformed B lymphocytes was augmented in response to GM-CSF. An indirect mechanism appears to be responsible for the inhibition of transformed B-cell outgrowth in response to IL-3, as IL-3 had no inhibitory effect on proliferation of pure transformed B-cell clones and IL-3-mediated inhibition could be eliminated by antibody neutralization of gamma-interferon (gamma-IFN) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) early in culture. The mechanisms of these effects deserve further study and may have clinical relevance to use of hematopoietic growth factors for support of bone marrow (BM) function in immunocompromised patients.
The interplay of polygenic plasticity and adrenocortical activity as sources of variability in pathways among family adversity, youth emotional reactivity, and psychological problems.

This study examined the interplay between a polygenic composite and cortisol activity as moderators of the mediational pathway among family adversity, youth negative emotional reactivity to family conflict, and their psychological problems. The longitudinal design contained three annual measurement occasions with 279 adolescents (Mean age = 13.0 years) and their parents. Latent difference score analyses indicated that observational ratings of adversity in interparental and parent–child interactions at Wave 1 predicted increases in a multimethod, multi-informant assessment of youth negative emotional reactivity to family conflict from Waves 1 to 2. Changes in youth negative emotional reactivity, in turn, predicted increases in a multi-informant (i.e., parents, adolescent, and teacher) assessment of psychological problems from Waves 1 to 3. Consistent with differential susceptibility theory, the association between family adversity and negative emotional reactivity was stronger for adolescents who carried more sensitivity alleles in a polygenic composite consisting of 5-HTTLPR, DRD4 VNTR, and BDNF polymorphisms. Analyses of adolescent cortisol in the period surrounding a family disagreement task at Wave 1 revealed that overall cortisol output, rather than cortisol reactivity, served as an endophenotype of the polygenic composite. Overall cortisol output was specifically associated with polygenic plasticity and moderated the association between family adversity and youth negative emotional reactivity in the same for better or for worse manner as the genetic composite. Finally, moderator-mediated-moderation analyses indicated that the moderating role of the polygenic plasticity composite was mediated by the moderating role of adolescent cortisol output in the association between family adversity and their emotional reactivity.
UK vs US physician decision-making in the treatment of haemophilia.

INTRODUCTION Patient-physician shared decision-making (SDM) has become increasingly seen as having a positive effect on management of chronic diseases. However, little is known of the factors that encourage SDM or how effective it may be at improving health outcomes or how cost-effective it is. AIM To investigate the uses and applications of patient physician-SDM in the management of haemophilia and the influence of healthcare systems in the United States and the United Kingdom. METHODS This was a qualitative study based on interviews with treatment experts in the United States and United Kingdom. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse the data from the transcribed interviews and themes that emerged as related to the decision influencers. Twelve physicians from each country were interviewed by the author. RESULTS Treatment guidelines were viewed as having only limited applicability because of the lack of universal best options in haemophilia. The US physicians in the sample appeared to be more influenced by patient preferences than physicians in the UK, who instead tended to follow policies and standards of care more closely. Physicians in both countries commented that many of their patents had become highly knowledgeable of their bleeding disorder. US physicians were sometimes limited by insurance company policies but also reported that they were often successful in appealing insurance decisions. CONCLUSION The research suggests that there are different influences on decision-making between healthcare systems; patients and overarching healthcare systems play a major role in how physicians treat haemophilia.