cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GLI2 Transcription Factor Modulates CD40 Ligand Expression In Bone Marrow Stromal Cells

The interaction between tumor cells and their surrounding microenvironment is essential for the growth and persistence of cancer cells within the host. Cytokines play a key role in mediating this crosstalk between malignant cells and the tumor microenvironment. Although this interaction is clearly established, many of the molecular mechanisms mediating these signaling events remain elusive. In previous work, we have shown that the cytokine CCL5 can regulate the expression and activity of the transcription factor GLI2 in stromal cells. GLI2 is an effector of hedgehog (HH) signaling; however, our studies reveal a role for GLI2 independent of HH. GLI2, in turn, increases the expression and secretion of IL-6 in the tumor microenvironment, highlighting a novel role for GLI2 in directly modulating cytokine genes. We therefore screened for additional cytokines regulated by this axis in HS-5 bone marrow stromal cells using expression arrays. We found that GLI2 can modulate the expression of several cytokines including CD40 ligand (CD40L), CCL2, CCL7 and CXCL11. CD40L is an immunomodulatory and proinflammatory molecule that has been shown to play a role in multiple hematologic malignancies including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) pathogenesis. We first characterized the regulation of CD40L, because of the importance of CD40L in malignant cell biology. Gene expression results were validated by RT-PCR in two additional bone marrow stromal cell lines Saka and L88 where overexpression of GLI2 resulted in increased CD40L expression. Furthermore, we detected increased levels of soluble CD40L (sCD40L) in L88 and Saka cells overexpressing GLI2. Conversely, knockdown of GLI2 resulted in reduced expression and secretion of this cytokine. Biochemical mapping of the domains critical for this GLI2 regulatory mechanism reveals that N-terminal transcriptional domain is dispensable, as a mutant form of GLI2 lacking this domain (delta N-GLI2) increases CD40L gene expression by RT-PCR, protein expression by western blot and sCD40L secretion by ELISA, beyond that of the full-length GLI2 levels. Bioinformatics analysis of the CD40L promoter indicates the presence of 3 candidate binding sites for GLI proteins, suggesting the modulation of CD40L by GLI2 is mediated by direct interaction with its promoter. Ongoing experiments are aimed at determining the mechanism by which GLI2 regulates CD40L expression (either by direct binding to the CD40L promoter or through another indirect pathway). Together, our data identify a novel mechanism controlling CD40L in stromal cells in the bone marrow microenvironment. Because of the importance of CD40L in malignant cell biology, understanding the mechanism of its regulation is of great importance for the development of therapies aimed at targeting the malignant bone marrow tumor microenvironment. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Maximum Correntropy Based Dictionary Learning Framework for Physical Activity Recognition Using Wearable Sensors

Due to its symbolic role in ubiquitous health monitoring, physical activity recognition with wearable body sensors has been in the limelight in both research and industrial communities. Physical activity recognition is difficult due to the inherent complexity involved with different walking styles and human body movements. Thus we present a correntropy induced dictionary pair learning framework to achieve this recognition. Our algorithm for this framework jointly learns a synthesis dictionary and an analysis dictionary in order to simultaneously perform signal representation and classification once the time-domain features have been extracted. In particular, the dictionary pair learning algorithm is developed based on the maximum correntropy criterion, which is much more insensitive to outliers. In order to develop a more tractable and practical approach, we employ a combination of alternating direction method of multipliers and an iteratively reweighted method to approximately minimize the objective function. We validate the effectiveness of our proposed model by employing it on an activity recognition problem and an intensity estimation problem, both of which include a large number of physical activities from the recently released PAMAP2 dataset. Experimental results indicate that classifiers built using this correntropy induced dictionary learning based framework achieve high accuracy by using simple features, and that this approach gives results competitive with classical systems built upon features with prior knowledge.
Variation-Tolerant Architectures for Convolutional Neural Networks in the Near Threshold Voltage Regime

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have gained considerable interest due to their state-of-the-art performance in many recognition tasks. However, the computational complexity of CNNs hinders their application on power-constrained embedded platforms. In this paper, we propose a variation-tolerant architecture for CNN capable of operating in near threshold voltage (NTV) regime for energy efficiency. A statistical error compensation (SEC) technique referred to as rank decomposed SEC (RD-SEC) is proposed. RD-SEC is applied to the CNN architecture in NTV in order to correct timing errors that can occur due to process variations. Simulation results in 45nm CMOS show that the proposed architecture can achieve a median detection accuracy Pdet ≥ 0.9 in the presence of gate level delay variation of up to 34%. This represents an 11x improvement in variation tolerance in comparison to a conventional CNN. We further show that RD-SEC-based CNN enables up to 113x reduction in the standard deviation of Pdet compared with the conventional CNN.
Lymphocytes T pro-inflammatoires et anti-inflammatoires dans l’artérite à cellules géantes

Resume L’arterite a cellules geantes est une maladie auto-immune qui se caracterise par un tropisme cellulaire de la paroi des arteres de calibre moyen et de gros calibre. Les lesions pathognomoniques inflammatoires sont granulomateuses, ce qui indique que les lymphocytes T CD4 et les macrophages exercent un role fonctionnel. Aucune donnee n’a demontre que les anticorps et les complexes immuns jouent un role pathogene. L’analyse des populations de lymphocytes T dans l’arterite a cellules geantes, a la fois dans les lesions tissulaires et dans la circulation, a renforce la notion qu’il existe une activation generale des lymphocytes T polyclonaux, dans lequel de nombreuses lignees de lymphocytes T fonctionnels sont impliquees. Le profil des cytokines des lymphocytes T typiquement trouvees dans les lesions vasculitiques est en general tres varie. On trouve notamment de l’IL-2, de l’IFN-γ, de l’IL-17, de l’IL-21 et du GM-CSF, ce qui renforce l’idee qu’il existe une anomalie globale de la regulation des lymphocytes T. Une nouvelle approche de l’immunopathologie de cette vascularite a ete proposee grâce a des donnees recentes montrant que les patients atteints d’arterite a cellules geantes ont une carence en lymphocytes T anti-inflammatoires d’origine lymphatique. Les lymphocytes T regulateurs CD8+ NOX2+ etant defaillants, les patients atteints d’arterite a cellules geantes semblent incapables de freiner l’expansion clonale dans le compartiment des lymphocytes T CD4, ce qui entraine une hyperimmunite massive liee aux lymphocytes T CD4. Des recherches supplementaires sont necessaires pour comprendre pourquoi ce developpement non controle des lymphocytes T CD4 effecteurs differencies entraine une invasion de la paroi des arteres de moyen calibre et de gros calibre.
Constraining Torsion with Gravity Probe B

It is well-entrenched folklore that all torsion gravity theories predict observationally negligible torsion in the solar system, since torsion (if it exists) couples only to the intrinsic spin of elementary particles, not to rotational angular momentum. We argue that this assumption has a logical loophole which can and should be tested experimentally, and consider nonstandard torsion theories in which torsion can be generated by macroscopic rotating objects. In the spirit of $\mathrm{\text{action}}=\mathrm{\text{reaction}}$, if a rotating mass like a planet can generate torsion, then a gyroscope would be expected to feel torsion. An experiment with a gyroscope (without nuclear spin) such as Gravity Probe B (GPB) can test theories where this is the case. Using symmetry arguments, we show that to lowest order, any torsion field around a uniformly rotating spherical mass is determined by seven dimensionless parameters. These parameters effectively generalize the parametrized post-Newtonian formalism and provide a concrete framework for further testing Einstein's general theory of relativity (GR). We construct a parametrized Lagrangian that includes both standard torsion-free GR and Hayashi-Shirafuji maximal torsion gravity as special cases. We demonstrate that classic solar system tests rule out the latter and constrain two observable parameters. We show that Gravity Probe B is an ideal experiment for further constraining nonstandard torsion theories, and work out the most general torsion-induced precession of its gyroscope in terms of our torsion parameters.
Peritenolysis and Debridement for Main Body (Mid-Portion) Achilles Tendinopathy in Athletic Patients: Results of 107 Procedures

Achilles tendinopathy in the main body (mid-portion) of the tendon is a common pathologic finding among active and athletic populations and can be debilitating without proper and adequate treatment. Numerous surgical approaches for this common pathologic finding have been reported, with variable outcomes. We evaluated the surgical outcomes of peritenolysis and debridement of main body Achilles tendinopathy among athletic populations using the return to activity (RTA) and decreased desired activity (DDA) as our primary outcome measures. A total of 100 patients underwent 107 procedures by the senior author (A.S.) from January 2001 through December 2015 met the inclusion criteria, 65 (65%) of whom were runners. The mean follow-up duration was 106.6 ± 55.5 months from the index procedure, and the mean interval necessary to RTA for the entire group was 10.9 ± 5.3 weeks. The average RTA after debridement was 14.1 ± 5.2 weeks and after peritenolysis was 7.3 ± 2.0 weeks (p = .00001). Of the 100 patients, 3 (3%) had experienced a DDA at the last follow-up visit. With >97% of the patients able to return to their desired activities, we have concluded that peritenolysis and debridement are favorable surgical techniques for main body Achilles tendinopathy.
Is Word Adoption a Grassroots Process? An Analysis of Reddit Communities

This study examines how novel words originate in and disperse through online communities. It asks whether larger numbers of people or closer social ties are better environments to foster the adoption of new words. The data stem from Reddit, a large sample of web-mediated, asynchronous conversations. Reddit communities are divided by size in this study: larger communities are based on discussing general topics and have weak social ties, whereas small communities are based on discussing specific topics and have strong social ties. The analysis shows that the majority of new words are created/first adopted in larger communities.
Male mate choice contributes to behavioural isolation in sexually dimorphic fish with traditional sex roles

Behavioural isolation between closely related species with exaggerated male mating traits is traditionally thought to be mediated by female preference for conspecific male ornaments. The role of male mate choice in maintaining boundaries between highly sexually dimorphic species is therefore comparatively neglected. However, mounting theoretical and empirical evidence supports the existence of male mate choice both within, and increasingly, between species with exaggerated male ornaments. We therefore tested the role of male mate choice in the maintenance of species boundaries for two sexually dimorphic species of darters (Percidae: Etheostoma). Using dichotomous choice assays, we measured male preferences of sympatric species Etheosotma barrenense and Etheosotma zonale for size-matched conspecific and heterospecific females, thus reducing the possibility that males would select for general indicators of fecundity. Our results show that males of both species strongly prefer conspecific females. A comparison with published data showed that the strength of preference for conspecific mates is just as strong for males as it is for females in E. barrenense. We also estimated the relative contribution of male mate choice, female mate choice and male–male competition to behavioural isolation. We found that male mate choice contributes as much as female mate choice to total behavioural isolation and thus likely plays an important role in behavioural isolation in these sexually dimorphic species. Our results suggest that the contribution of male choice to behavioural isolation should be studied in a larger variety of animal species to appreciate the relative roles of the sexes in the maintenance of species boundaries.
Complications Following the Insertion of Two Synthetic Mid-urethral Slings and Subsequent Removal

Objective To determine outcomes after removal of two synthetic mid-urethral slings (MUS) at a tertiary care center. Methods Following IRB approval, a retrospective chart review of non-neurogenic, symptomatic women requiring re-operation after ≥2 MUS was performed. Data reviewed by a third party included: demographics, prior anti-incontinence surgery, complications, pelvic/urinary symptoms, subsequent investigations, surgical repair and outcomes (including UDI-6/IIQ-7 questionnaires) at a minimum 6 months follow-up. Cure was defined as being continent, no dyspareunia, and no additional surgical therapy. Results Between 2007 and 2014, 21 women met the inclusion criteria. Mean age was 57 years (range: 40–82) and mean follow-up was 30.2 months (range: 6–78). The majority of patients presented with one or more symptoms of voiding dysfunction (95%), urinary incontinence (86%), irritative voiding symptoms (62%), dyspareunia (57%), recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) (29%), vaginal extrusion (20%) and erosion involving the urinary tract (5%). Patients had a mean of 2 prior anti-incontinence procedures (range 2–3). Over two-thirds had a combination of retropubic and transobturator MUS. Mean number of pre-operative investigations was 3.5 (1–6) including voiding cystourethrogram, cystoscopy and urodynamics. Two patients had complete remission, 14 partial remission, and five failed. Mean postoperative total UDI-6 and IIQ-7 scores at last clinic visit were 10 (range: 0–16/SD 4.1) and 11 (range: 0–28/SD 10.3), respectively. Conclusion The management of women with suboptimal outcomes following two synthetic MUS from transvaginal excision results in modest symptomatic improvement but low permanent complete remission and frequent need for additional therapies.
First follow-up radiographic response is one of the predictors of local tumor progression and radiation necrosis after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases.

Local progression (LP) and radiation necrosis (RN) occur in >20% of cases following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases (BM). Expected outcomes following SRS for BM include tumor control/shrinkage, local progression and radiation necrosis. 1427 patients with 4283 BM lesions were treated using SRS at Cleveland Clinic from 2000 to 2012. Clinical, imaging and radiosurgery data were collected from the database. Local tumor progression and RN were the primary end points and correlated with patient and tumor-related variables. 5.7% of lesions developed radiographic RN and 3.6% showed local progression at 6 months. Absence of new extracranial metastasis (P 0.9 cm; P 0.9 cm) (P = 0.003) and response to SRS (tumor progression vs. stable size following SRS [P < 0.001]) were independent predictors of high risk of radiographic RN. Complete tumor response at first follow-up, maximum tumor diameter <0.9 cm, tumor volume <2.4 cc and no prior SRS to the index lesion are good prognostic factors with reduced risk of LP following SRS. Complete tumor response to SRS, poor neurological function at first follow-up, prior SRS to other lesions and high conformity index are favorable factors for not developing RN. Stable or partial response at first follow-up after SRS have same impact on local progression and RN compared to those with complete resolution or progression.
Along-Axis Structure and Crustal Construction Processes of Spreading Segments in Iceland: Implications for Magmatic Rifts

Magmatic rift systems are composed of discrete spreading segments defined by morphologic, structural, and volcanic features that vary systematically along strike. In Iceland, structural features mapped in the glaciated and exhumed Miocene age upper crust correlate with analogous features in the seismically and volcanically active neovolcanic zone. Integrating information from both the active rift zones and ancient crust provides a three-dimensional perspective of crustal structure and the volcanic and tectonic processes that construct crust along spreading segments. Crustal exposures in the Skagi region of northern Iceland reveal significant along-strike variations in geologic structure. The upper crust at exhumed magmatic centers (segment centers) is characterized by a variety of intrusive rocks, high-temperature hydrothermal alteration, and geologic evidence for kilometer-scale subsidence. In contrast, the upper crust along segment limbs, which extend along strike from magmatic centers, is characterized by thick sections of gently dipping lava flows, cut by varying proportions of subvertical dikes. This structure implies relatively minor upper crustal subsidence and lateral dike intrusion. The differing modes of subsidence beneath segment centers and segment limbs require along-axis mass redistribution in the underlying upper, middle, and lower crust during crustal construction. This along-axis material transport is accomplished through lateral dike intrusion in the upper crust and by along-axis flow of magmatic to high-temperature solid-state gabbroic material in the middle and lower crust. These processes, inferred from outcrop evidence in Skagi, are consistent with processes inferred to be important during active rifting in Iceland and at analogous magmatic oceanic and continental rifts.
Cervical Radiculopathy and Myelopathy

Cervical radiculopathy is a symptomatic root dysfunction that is most often self-limiting. Familiarity with cervical spine anatomy and the clinical presentation of root dysfunction help to make the diagnosis. Activity modification, anti-inflammatory medications, and physical therapy are often adequate in managing symptoms. Surgical consultation is warranted for persistent or debilitating symptoms and in the setting of motor weakness. Cervical myelopathy is the result of spinal cord dysfunction, most commonly due to compressive, degenerative pathology. A detailed history, physical examination, and appropriate neuroradiographic imaging are used to make the diagnosis. An understanding of its stepwise, progressive natural history, and the offending structural abnormality, is key to helping patients make informed care decisions.
Transformation of Human Cells by Oncogenic Virus SV40

To date, the only viruses that have been shown capable of transforming human cells in vitro are Simian Virus 40 (13, 16, 20, 24) and a hybrid strain or adenovirus type 7-SV40 (strain LLE-46) (4). This latter virus is a human strain of adenovirus which has apparently acquired a portion of the SV40 genome during laboratory passage. By currently accepted standards, infection of human tissue with Rous sarcoma or wart viruses has not led to transformation.
HOLISTIC LEARNING: AMENDING THE ROWLEY TEST TO CLARIFY THE INCLUSION DEBATE

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)1 is a federal law that provides financial grants to state education agen­ cies to be used for the education of children with disabilities.2 Con­ gress took action because, prior to 1975, "the education needs of millions of children with disabilities were not being fully met."3 Congress recognized that many children with disabilities were being excluded from the education system and thus, were not prepared to participate in or contribute to our society as adults.4 The general provisions section of the IDEA begins:
Novel Photocyclization Reactions of 1-Alkenyl-2-Pyridones

The ultimate importance of solar energy utilization in alleviating the world’s energy shortage has been emphasized by many authors.1–6 This renewable, clean and abundant source holds perhaps the greatest potential of any of the emerging energy alternatives to the combustion of fossil fuels. Predictions that up to 25% of the nation’s energy demands in the year 2020 could be potentially supplied by solar energy3 appear reasonable. Of the four major program units designated within the National Solar Energy Program, including direct thermal application, solar electric conversion, fuels from biomass and technology support and utilization, the first has reached the highest level of development and is expected to be the most significant of the solar technologies for the next 40 years. Many demonstration projects applying this technology to solar heating and cooling of buildings are already in operation or planned. In many cases, from 50% to 80% of the necessary energy for hot water and space heating and cooling can be supplied by systems employing solar energy collectors of the flat plate design.7
Microsatellite Heterozygosity: Functional Constraints on the Development and Use of Comprehensive Genomic Maps for Livestock

Microsatellites (ms) are abundant, multi-allelic, repetitive elements uniformly distributed throughout the genome of numerous species, including man (Litt and Luty, 1989; Weber and May, 1989). As ms are inherited codominantly, they have the potential to replace serum protein and red blood cell antigen polymorphisms for parental identification in livestock (Kappes et al., 1994; Glowatzki-Mullis et al., 1995; Usha et al., 1995). They currently provide the markers required to rapidly produce the linkage maps essential to identifying and assigning segregating loci of interest in cattle (Bishop et al., 1994), swine (Rohrer et al., 1994) and sheep (Crawford et al., 1995) including blood group antigens (Kappes et al., 1994).
Radiation therapy for nonmelanoma skin carcinomas

Radiation therapy has an important role in the treatment of appropriately selected nonmelanoma skin carcinomas. The main advantage of treating skin carcinomas with irradiation is that normal tissue adjacent to the tumor is preserved. Tissue preservation is particularly important for tumors of the nose, ear, and periorbital region, where obtaining adequate surgical margins can sometimes lead to significant functional loss or cosmetic deformity. Radiotherapy also has an important role in the postoperative setting for patients with tumor-involved surgical margins, perineural invasion, metastatic adenopathy, and neuroendocrine carcinoma of the skin (Merkel cell carcinoma).
The Professor and the Saint

I review James E. Dittes' scholarship on St. Augustine through the perspective of my experiences as a student in his seminar on “The `Theologies' of Freud and Jung,” sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Throughout this review, I emphasize Dittes' personal engagement with Augustine, and note his unabashed introspection as a mode of theological reflection.
An Automated Computer Vision System for Extraction of Retail Food Product Metadata

With the rapid growth in retail e-commerce industry, most of the traditional in-store retailers are focusing more on online and mobile channels. To stay competitive, retailers need quality metadata and powerful search platforms that entice customers make effective buy decisions. Many retailers have incomplete and inaccurate product information on their Web sites, and they use multiple manual-intensive methods for acquiring product information from suppliers and third-party sources. There is no one proven channel through which retailers can achieve high-quality metadata. Our study proposes an automation method to improve the extraction of unstructured product metadata from food product label images using computer vision (CV), machine learning (ML), optical character recognition (OCR), and natural language processing (NLP). We propose an automatic image quality classification system to identify images that give a high degree of metadata extraction accuracy, and we propose a technique to improve the quality of images using traditional computer vision algorithms to improve text detection and OCR- and NLP-based metadata extraction accuracy. Our results show 95% accuracy for attribute extraction from high-quality product images with machine-printed characters having contrasting backgrounds.
Outcomes of a Problem-Solving Medication Management Intervention for Informal Caregivers:

Older adults with memory loss often require assistance from caregivers to manage their medications. This study examined the efficacy of a problem-solving-based intervention focused on caregiver medication management, problem solving, self-efficacy, and daily hassles. Caregiver health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and patient health care utilization were secondary outcomes. Totally, 83 patients (age 79.9±8.8 years) and their informal caregivers (age 66.9±12 years, female 69.9%, White 85.5%) were randomized; data collection occurred at baseline, 8, 16, and 24 weeks. Linear mixed modeling showed significant decreases in medication deficiencies which were sustained over time. No significant changes in caregiver problem solving, daily hassles, or patient health care utilization occurred between groups or over time. In addition, caregiver self-efficacy and mental HRQoL decreased in both groups. Physical HRQoL decreased in the intervention group, yet increased in the usual care group. Future research should investigate these outcomes in larger and more diverse samples.
Ion beam etching of new absorber materials for sub-5nm EUV masks

For future nodes, TaN-based absorber layers on EUV mask-blanks, may need to be replaced with thinner layers of new material systems. Ni and Co based materials are promising material candidates owing to their high EUV absorption. Ion Beam Etching (IBE) is being explored as an option for patterning these metallic systems that are hard to etch by Reactive Ion Etch. In this work we expand our initial work on the IBE of Ni absorber films to include the role of etch beam energy and alternative etch-masks for both Ni and Co based films. We present experimental film level data such as etch uniformity, angular-dependent etch rates, and surface roughness. We extend the modeling of IBE of line-space patterns, to narrower line widths and various etch-mask materials vis-a-vis side wall angle and CD fidelity, both as a function of beam energy and angle of etch.
Characteristics of collaborative, interdisciplinary, and engaged research among graduate students in environmental conservation

Research that is collaborative, interdisciplinary, and engaged with non-university partners has emerged as desirable for training graduate students to address complex issues in natural resource management. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding why researchers may participate in various forms of collaborative research, especially among graduate students in environmental conservation. We explored graduate students’ research experiences and the characteristics and attitudes associated with collaborative research and two specific types of collaboration: interdisciplinary collaboration and engaged research. We surveyed 56 graduate students who were affiliated with University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT) program on biodiversity conservation under novel ecosystems. We investigated differences between the different categories of collaborative research with logistic regression and decision tree analysis using the classification and regression tree (CRT) algorithm. Students with more collaborators were more likely to feel supported by an intellectual community and view interdisciplinary research as vital for conservation practice. Students with an interdisciplinary collaboration were more likely to be comfortable collaborating with peers but less likely to view collaboration as contributing to their research. Students engaged with non-academics were less comfortable collaborating with faculty and more concerned that becoming engaged with conservation policy or practice may negatively impact them. Of the ten instances in which variables were significant across the three logistic regressions, eight were also identified in the CRT model. This suggests relatively high agreement between the two statistical approaches. The different forms of collaborative research had different predictors and should not be viewed as interchangeable. Further attention is needed on approaches for enhancing graduate students’ training and experience with collaborative environmental research.
Reported restorative experiences associated with everyday activities among university students

IntroductionIncreasing international concern about the mental health of university students continues to rise, as they are among those at great risk for experiencing stress. Yet little research exi...
Structural reduced graphene oxide supercapacitors mechanically enhanced with tannic acid

Electrodes that combine energy storage with mechanical performance are desirable for structural and flexible applications. However, conventional electrodes fail to address mechanical performance. Here, noncovalent bonding of graphene/aramid nanofiber electrodes with tannic acid yields a significant improvement in tensile strength and Young's modulus while maintaining good energy storage.
OneCommunity Reads: A Model for Latino Parent-Community Engagement and Its Effect on Grade-Level Reading Proficiency:

The importance of establishing effective literacy/reading skills at an early age, preschool to early elementary, is well known and accepted among educators. For students whose heritage language is ...
Economic Analysis and Long-Term Follow-Up of Distant Referral for Degenerative Mitral Valve Repair

Background Despite the superiority of mitral valve repair (MVr) over replacement for degenerative disease, repair rates vary widely across centers. Traveling to a mitral reference center (MRC) is 1 way to increase the odds of MVr. This study assessed the economic value (quality/cost) and long-term outcomes of distant referral to an MRC. Methods Among 746 mitral surgery patients between January 2011 and June 2013, low-risk patients with an ejection fraction greater than 40% undergoing isolated degenerative MVr were identified and included 26 out-of-state (DISTANT) and 104 in-state patients (LOCAL). Short- and long-term outcomes and institutional financial data (including travel expenses) were used to compare groups. National average and MRC-specific MVr rates, clinical outcomes, and marginal value of quality-adjusted life-years collected from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons database and Medicare estimates were used to perform a nationally representative cost-benefit analysis for distant referral. Results Age, ejection fraction, operative time, blood transfusions, and annuloplasty ring size did not differ between groups. Median charges were $76,022 for LOCAL and $74,171 for DISTANT (P = .35), whereas median payments (including travel expenses) were $57,795 for LOCAL and $58,477 for DISTANT (P = .70). Short- and long-term outcomes were similar between groups and median follow-up was 7.1 years. Estimated 5-year survival was 97% (96% for LOCAL and 100% for DISTANT; P = .24). Cost-benefit analysis showed a net benefit through distant referral to an MRC ranging from $436 to $6078 to the payer and $22,163 to $30,067 to the patient, combining for an estimated $22,599 to $32,528 societal benefit. Conclusions These data suggest that distant referral to an MRC is achievable and reasonable.
Wisconsin Card Sorting Task-64 performance among HIV+ Black/African American and Latinx adults compared to normative samples and by sociocultural and health variables

Many people living with HIV experience cognitive impairment, and HIV disproportionately affects racial/ethnic minority groups. Independent of HIV, racial/ethnic minority individuals perform worse t...
Do investors overpay for stocks with lottery-like payoffs? An examination of the returns of OTC stocks☆

Abstract We study returns on over-the-counter stocks and find that these returns are extremely negative on average. The distribution of OTC stock returns is highly positively skewed: while many of the stocks in our sample become worthless, a few do extremely well. We investigate whether this negative return premium can be rationalized by investors׳ preference for positively skewed payoffs. We show that the equilibrium model of Barberis and Huang (2008) provides a plausible explanation for the negative returns. We also show that OTC stocks that once traded on the regular exchanges perform much better than stocks that originate in the OTC markets.
High Impact Practices: Addressing Workplace Needs

For at least three decades, employers have observed a gap between the skills they look for in recent college graduates and the skills these graduates possess. This has been noted in multiple studies involving both direct employer input and curricular reviews to determine alignment with professional standards (Association of American Colleges & Universities [AACU Bayerlein & Timpson, 2017; Hart Research Associates, 2006a; 2006b; 2008; 2010; 2013; 2015; 2018; Pratt, Keys, & Wirkus, 2014; Ray, Stallard, & Hunt, 1994; Ullah, Kimani, Bai, & Ahmed, 2018). These studies have also indicated consistency in the specific skills that employers value, typically written and oral communication, teamwork, ethical decision-making, critical thinking, and the ability to apply knowledge in real-life situations (Hart Research Associates, 2015). These are prioritized by most employers over technical or discipline-specific knowledge and abilities (Hart Research Associates, 2015).
Ethics and Compliance Training

An essential component of ethics and compliance programs is the training of organizational members. Training helps ensure that all employees understand their legal and regulatory obligations, and company policies. There are significant legal incentives for organizations to adopt training but understanding when training is effective is challenging. After discussing the legal incentives, this chapter explores how effectiveness can be measured and reviews those factors that the academic literature has identified as potentially having a positive impact on training effectiveness.
Fiscal Policy with Non-Contingent Debt and the Optimal Maturity Structure

Two puzzling observations have motivated this paper: First, the standard paradigm of optimal fiscal policy, following Lucas & Stokey (1983), assumes counterfactually that public debt is held in state-contingent securities. Is the existing theory as irrelevant as it is silent about fiscal policy with non-contingent debt? Second, when debt is assumed state-contingent, the maturity structure is irrelevant for tax smoothing and thus indeterminate. Are we left with no theory for the optimal maturity structure? The resolution we propose to both puzzles is reassuring: We show that the maturity structure can substitute for state-contingent debt. Our argument exploits the endogenous state dependence of the equilibrium term structure of interest rates. In general equilibrium we can implement almost every Arrow-Debreu allocation with just non-contingent debt. This in turn provides us with a novel theory for the optimal maturity structure of public debt.
Quantifying Steam Dropwise Condensation Heat Transfer via Experiment, Computer Vision and Machine Learning Algorithms

Condensation of water vapor on metal surfaces has a plethora of engineering applications in the energy sector. This study demonstrates an approach of estimating the condensation heat transfer performance of a hydrophobic copper plate utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques. The situation under study is an isothermal vertical cooled plate with an attached thin copper sheet exposed to a water-vapor environment devoid of non-condensable gases. Water was chosen due to its high latent heat of vaporization and its extensive industrial use, while copper was selected because of its high thermal conductivity (385 W/m-K). A thin layer of Teflon coating was applied to the copper surface to render it hydrophobic, allowing dropwise condensation (DwC) to be investigated. The experimental setup featured a glass condensation chamber, which allowed visualization of the condensation phenomena on the condenser; a cold plate attached to a chiller, to hold and cool down the condenser; a vacuum pump to maintain low-pressure conditions; a heat source along with pressure and temperature measurement instrumentation. The condensation setup allows to directly calculate the heat transfer coefficient of dropwise condensation and, at the same time, offers visual access to the condenser. The overall efficiency of the dropwise condensation mechanism depends on many key factors, such as nucleation density and rate, maximum droplet size and efficient condensate drainage. The surface-condensation phenomena can be video-recorded while using the instrumentation to measure the heat-transfer efficiency in real time. Computer Vision algorithms were employed to process the raw video files and generate data on the basic aspects of condensing droplet dynamics (number, diameter, area coverage, etc.). The data was evaluated and cross-compared with the heat-transfer coefficients determined from instrumentation, allowing to consider how the droplet characteristics change with experimental operating conditions. Machine learning algorithms, such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), General Regression Neural Network (GRNN), and one ensemble model, Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR) can help to directly determine the heat transfer performance of a specific surface (with known wettability characteristics) from its condensation characteristics. The hypothesis is explored that the visual characteristics of the condensate droplet dynamics can be used in conjunction with trained machine learning models to forecast the DwC heat transfer efficiency of this system without directly measuring the corresponding variables (e.g., temperatures, flow rate, etc.).
Teacher Positioning in Rural Spaces: The Role of Autobiography in Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy

In this qualitative study, we ask how 40 rural educators of English learners (ELs) culturally position themselves and their students. We obtained data through a cultural autobiography assignment that prompted teachers to describe their interactions and relationships with others. Drawing on both rural and non-rural experiences, teachers established their ability to exercise agency, mediated by individual histories and beliefs and the context of their rural settings. Teachers developed their capacity to reflect on the ways they position themselves toward their ELs, a crucial first step in creating culturally sustaining pedagogy. Implications point to the potential of cultural autobiography as a means to heighten rural teachers’ awareness of how their experiences and interactions nuance their cultural identity. Such reflections can expand notions of culture beyond common social identifiers and enable teachers to forge links with their students that would otherwise not be apparent. We suggest this autobiographical process is particularly important for rural teachers who are new to teaching ELs in their classrooms.
Precision Implants and Instrumentation

The AO/ ASIF group developed the principles of internal fixation advanced by Lambotte and Danis that ultimately revolutionized internal fixation of the skeleton. Their choices of design, metals, and methods of application are based upon sound engineering and biomechanical principles, physical laws, and metallurgical biocompatibility, and much of the basic scientific research was performed at their Laboratory for Experimental Research in Davos, Switzerland. The AO/ ASIF group defined the principles discussed in Chapter 3. They emphasized preoperative planning as a method of achieving optimal operative results and documentation so that results could be analyzed.
Hippocampal states and functional relations with corticosubcortical systems in attention and learning.

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with hippocampal states and functional relations with corticosubcortical systems in attention and learning. The role of the hippocampus in mechanisms of attention and learning has slowly unfolded in recent years. Evidence has accrued that it is intrinsically concerned in both acquisition and subsequent ability to perform learned habits requiring discriminative functions of a high order, as suggested by Pribram and Mishkin. The classical trinity of ablation, stimulation and electrophysiological recording has each played a part in the still incomplete picture of hippocampal function. During behavioral training, increased regularity of pattern in both hippocampal and mesencephalic EEG records with attainment of high performance levels in visual discriminative tasks is noted. It is a challenging notion that these systems may transact information without the ability to effect its storage in the absence of appropriate interrelations with the hippocampal system. The possibility of relating such hippocampal EEG activity to finer shades of behavioral responsiveness is also discussed in the chapter.
Limits of mountain and continental glaciations east of the Continental Divide in northern Montana and north-western North Dakota, U.S.A.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of the limits of glaciations and glacial history in, and east and south-east of, Glacier National Park, Montana, and on the Northern Plains further east in Montana and north-western North Dakota. The term “Laurentide glacier” was applied to a continental ice sheet east of the Rocky Mountains in North America. It describes Laurentide Ice Sheet as any Quaternary continental ice sheet east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. Laurentide till refers to till deposited by a Laurentide Ice Sheet. A Laurentide continental ice sheet is distinguished from a Cordilleran continental ice sheet in the Cordilleran region in parts of Washington, Idaho, and Montana in the United States and in adjacent Canada. Clague indicated that Cordilleran Ice Sheets formed several times during the Pleistocene. The chapter also reviews that the base for the digital map is simplified. Selected hydrographic features, selected towns and cities, selected physiographic features, and a grid of 1° × 2° topographic quadrangles are included to aid the reader in location of the glacial limits and other features depicted here on other maps at different scales.
Fusions of Dendritic Cells with Breast Carcinoma Stimulate the Expansion of Regulatory T Cells while Concomitant Exposure to IL-12, CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides, and Anti-CD3/CD28 Promotes the Expansion of Activated Tumor Reactive Cells

Vaccination of patients with dendritic cell (DC)/breast carcinoma fusions stimulated antitumor immune responses in a majority of patients with metastatic disease but only a subset demonstrate evidence of tumor regression. To define the factors that limit vaccine efficacy, we examined the biological characteristics of DC/breast carcinoma fusions as APCs and the nature of the vaccine-mediated T cell response. We demonstrate that fusion of DCs with breast carcinoma cells up-regulates expression of costimulatory and maturation markers and results in high levels of expression of IL-12 consistent with their role as activated APCs. Fusion cells also express the chemokine receptor CCR7, consistent with their ability to migrate to the draining lymph node. However, DC/breast cancer fusions stimulate a mixed T cell response characterized by the expansion of both activated and regulatory T cell populations, the latter of which is characterized by expression of CTLA-4, FOXP3, IL-10, and the suppression of T cell responses. Our results demonstrate that IL-12, IL-18, and TLR 9 agonist CpG oligodeoxynucleotides reduce the level of fusion-mediated regulatory T cell expansion. Our results also demonstrate that sequential stimulation with DC/breast carcinoma fusions and anti-CD3/CD28 results in the marked expansion of activated tumor-specific T cells. These findings suggest that DC/breast carcinoma fusions are effective APCs, but stimulate inhibitory T cells that limit vaccine efficacy. In contrast, exposure to TLR agonists, stimulatory cytokines, and anti-CD3/CD28 enhances vaccine efficacy by limiting the regulatory T cell response and promoting expansion of activated effector cells.
Beyond Platonic Molecules

Molecular motion is influenced by quantum mechanics, which thus affect molecular properties such as their reactivity and the ease with which they isomerize. In his Perspective, Bowman describes recent theoretical advances that allow accurate quantum mechanical calculation of molecular motions for ever larger systems.
Dexamethasone regulates glutamine synthetase expression in rat skeletal muscles

The regulation of glutamine synthetase expression by dexamethasone was studied in rat skeletal muscles. Daily administration of dexamethasone caused striking enhancement of glutamine synthetase activity in plantaris, soleus, and diaphragm muscles. Northern blot analysis revealed that the dexamethasone-mediated increase of glutamine synthetase activity was associated with dramatically increased levels of glutamine synthetase mRNA. Both glutamine synthetase activity and mRNA levels were significantly elevated in plantaris muscle at 0.5 mg.kg-1.day-1 of dexamethasone, a dose that approximates endogenous corticosteroid levels in animals under severe stress. Quantification of changes in glutamine synthetase mRNA on the basis of total mRNA (by oligo dT hybridization) also revealed a major increase in glutamine synthetase mRNA. Dexamethasone was without effect on beta-tubulin mRNA levels, indicating that glutamine synthetase induction is not part of a global response to glucocorticoids. Dexamethasone treatment resulted in only an approximately 15% increase in glutamine synthetase activity in heart; there was no change in glutamine synthetase mRNA level in this tissue. Thus glucocorticoids regulate glutamine synthetase gene expression in rat skeletal muscles.
Macro-Micro Control of Improve Bilateral Force-Reflecting Teleoperation

We study a simple teleoperator consisting of a single degree-of-freedom master and a two degree-of-freedom, macro-micro slave manipulator. Using an appropriate controller, the inertia and friction of the larger macro axis of the slave can be suppressed, thereby increasing the transparency of the teleoperator to the user. High-quality, stable, force-reflecting teleoperation is achieved with a 50:1 force scaling factor, without the use of explicit force sensing.