cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dialysis Access Surgery: Does Anesthesia Type Affect Maturation and Complication Rates?

Background Creation of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred method of establishing long-term dialysis access. There are multiple anesthetic techniques used for patients undergoing this surgery including general endotracheal intubation, laryngeal mask airway, regional anesthesia with nerve blocks, and monitored anesthesia care with local infiltration. It is unclear what effect the method of anesthesia has on AVF creation success rate. It is our objective to determine if anesthesia type affects success of these surgeries defined by complication and maturation rates. Methods A retrospective review was performed in a single institution, single surgeon study of 253 patients who underwent AVF creation between January 2003 and December 2010. Patients were cross analyzed between 3 anesthesia types (General Endotracheal Intubation, Laryngeal Mask Airway and Local Infiltration with Monitored Anesthesia Care) and AVF creation surgeries (radiocephalic, brachiocephalic, and basilic vein transposition). No patients had regional anesthesia performed. Demographic data including comorbidities and risk factors were stratified among all categories. Analysis of variance, chi-squared testing, and Fisher's exact P testing was performed across all anesthesia types and specific operations and measured according to success of fistula maturation and complication rates (including death within 30 days, myocardial infarction within 30 days, respiratory insufficiency, venous hypertension, wound infections, neuropathy, and vascular steal syndrome). Results There were no significant differences in maturation rate in terms of all 3 anesthesia types for radiocephalic ( P = 0.191), brachiocephalic ( P = 0.191), and basilic vein transposition surgeries ( P = 0.305). In addition, there were no differences in complication rates between the surgeries and the 3 types of anesthesia ( P = 0.557). Conclusions Our study shows that despite anesthesia type, outcomes in terms of maturation and complication rate are not statistically different in AVF creation surgeries. The use of monitored anesthesia care with local anesthesia may improve operative efficiency in terms of time in the operating room and in the recovery unit and therefore may be the preferred method of anesthesia. This recommendation may also parallel the preference to avoid general anesthesia in a patient population with more medical comorbidities. It is our conclusion that dialysis access surgery should therefore be performed under local anesthesia with monitored anesthesia care.
Book Reviewed: Where the Suckers Moon: An Advertising Story, by Randall Rothenberg, New York: Alfred a. Knopf, 1994, 477 Pages. How Should Firms Select Advertising Agencies?

Although Rothenberg ostensibly reports events in an objective fashion, 'Where the Suckers Moon' nevertheless reads like an expose of incompetent management by the client and the agencies. By revealing the process used to select advertising agencies, Rothenberg provides a basis for discussion. Is this the process that is wanted? The agency's process, as described by Rothenberg, did not include all that an advertiser should expect. An alternative subtitle for the book might have been 'Advertising Agencies Don't Do Strategy'. The good news for Subaru and other companies is that the possibilities for improvement are exciting. Structured approaches have improved decision making in other areas of management, and they are likely to help in the selection of an agency. On the other hand, had Wieden and Kennedy used this approach, I doubt that Rothenberg would have been able to write such an interesting book about advertising.
Fault diagnosis and condition monitoring of bearing using multisensory approach based fuzzy-logic clustering

This paper investigates the application of multisensor fault feature extraction and fuzzy-logic based clustering for the condition monitoring of bearing. Multiple independent sensors on an electric motor drive system provide valuable early indication of a fault, and can be effectively utilized to perform high reliable and optimal fault detection. Through utilizing common sensors including current sensor and vibration sensors in motor, motor current signature analysis (MCSA) and vibration analysis have been used to extract the bearing fault energy. The discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been applied to monitor energy of the bearing fault signals. Then, the fuzzy c-mean (FCM) has been developed to utilize the data from single sensor and multisensor to identify the severity of bearing fault. Extensive theoretical analysis and experimental test has been performed to demonstrate the advantages of proposed approach. The validity of this study has been confirmed through analysis of the 1/6 HP single phase induction motor and drive system.
n Defense Of The Increased-Risk Doctrine In Workers Compensation

Thirty-five years ago, the late Arthur Larson of Duke University, the pre-eminent workers’ compensation scholar in the United States, argued that states should adopt a new compensability regime. In place of the widely-adopted increased-risk doctrine, Larson lobbied for the positional-risk doctrine, under which virtually all injuries occurring “in the course of” the employment are deemed compensable. Despite Larson’s stature and eloquence, however, states have not heeded his call for change, and with good reason. First, the positional-risk doctrine ignores the “arising out of” component of the statutory language. Additionally, the positional-risk doctrine inefficiently allocates liability for industrial accidents. Finally, the exceptions to the increased risk doctrine are not significant enough to warrant a new rule. Courts should recognize that newer is not always better and continue to apply the increased-risk doctrine.
Microcomputers: An Introduction for Occupational Therapists

Occupational therapists are becoming increasingly aware of the potential applications of microcomputers in various practice settings. The purpose of this paper is to describe the components of a microcomputer and provide an orientation to the multitude of applications in different areas of practice. Commonly asked questions such as "How do I get started?" and "How can the computer be used in my setting?" are addressed, and suggestions for determining the appropriate computer to fit specific needs are discussed.
Applications of Proteomics in the Research of Rice Development

Proteome analysis of rice in different growth periods is a research hotspot in recent years,which is valuable in deciphering molecular mechanisms of rice development.Analysis of applications of proteomics in rice developmental researches showed that the main growing aspects in the future studies were sub-cellular proteomics and post-translational modification proteomics.Diversification of technologies and analysis levels,and close combination with other subjects would be the leading trends in these researches.
Parental Perceptions of Neurodevelopment in Toddlers Following Craniosynostosis Repair.

Introduction The relationship between nonsyndromic craniosynostosis and neurodevelopment remains controversial. Beyond standardized testing, little data exist about parental perceptions of their child's development. Methods Parents of children who underwent cranial vault remodeling for nonsyndromic craniosynostosis from 2011 to 2015 were asked to complete an anonymous survey. Results Twenty-two parents (31%) completed the survey. Patients included 52.4% males and 47.6% females with a mean age at surgery of 9.2 months and mean follow-up time of 19.8 months. Craniosynostosis types were primarily metopic (45%) and coronal (35%).The mean score for overall satisfaction with head shape with a maximum score of 10 was 9.2 (range 5-10). When answering whether their child is different for the better other than appearance with a 5 rating as "strongly agree," the mean score was 3.8 (range 1-5). When asked whether their child's motor, speech and behavior, or attention were different following surgery, the majority responded "No" (74%, 83%, and 67%, respectively).All parents would have their child undergo surgery again or recommend surgery to another family. There were no statistically significant differences when stratifying by age at surgery or length of follow-up. When stratifying by sex, parents of males gave higher ratings for whether their children were better other than appearance compared with females, 4.8 versus 3.1 (P = 0.031). Discussion Parents rated their child's neurodevelopment as largely age-appropriate following cranial vault remodeling. These findings are concordant with the majority of formal, standardized testing for this age group. Assessing parental perceptions once children enter school age may reveal increased developmental delays.
Pathogen of hand,foot and mouth disease in children in pingdingshan in 2009

Objective:Scientific proof of HFMD prevention and cure is provided by knowing the etiologic features of HFMD in Pingdingshan in 2009.Methods: Tests are done with RT-PCR by collecting 764 specimens from 468 HFMD children's feces serum,nasopharyngeal swab,fluid from blisters,and CSF.Results: 318 children are tested positive for enterovirus from 468 with rate is 67.95%,among of that EV71 infections rate is the highest which is 37.18%.452 out of 764 specimens are tested positive for enterovirus with rate of 59.16%,in which stool specimen tested positive is 67.65%.Severe children tested positive for enterovirus is 76.39% and of which 116 are tested EV71 infection which accounts for 70.30%.The HFMD happens more in male than that in female by ratio of 1.75∶1.Male tested positive for enterovirus is higher than that in female.93.36% tested positive for enterovirus are children below age 4.Conclusion: EV71 pathogen serves to be the main source in children HFMD and feces specimens test PCR positive appears high in children in Pingdingshan in 2009.
On the Configurational Basis of Chinese Characters and Its Evolution

The pictographic feature of Chinese characters was much more striking when they were created in the first place. Later with the development of society, the form of Chinese characters kept changing, from Jiaguwen(inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells) to Jinwen(inscriptions on ancient bronze objects), and then to Xiaozhuan(an ancient style of calligraphy, adopted in the Qin Dynasty for the purpose of standardizing!the Chinese script), and their pictographic feature was disappearing gradually; when they evolved to Lishu(the official script) and then to Kaishu(the regular script), their pictographic feature was almost completely lost. In the evolution of the form of Chinese characters, their pattern of strokes, and the combination were of components altered to different degrees, and even the meanings of some Chinese characters were changed in different ways; these changes inevitably influenced the configurational basis of Chinese characters, which was forced to change to a certain extent. The study of the currently used characters in comtempory China reveal that some of them completely preserve their configurational basis when Chinese characters were first coined; some of them partly preserve it; still some have lost it; even there are some in which configurational basis cannot be found at all. The preservation and partial preservation reflect a necessity in the development and evolution of Chinese characters, while the loss of and the total failure to find configurational basis are caused by arbitarily created changes and coinage of new characters.
Proton magnetic resonance of exercise-induced water changes in gastrocnemius muscle

Exercise-induced water concentration changes have been determined in the medial gastrocnemius muscle noninvasively with image-guided in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). These measurements were performed on seven normal male volunteers during and after isometric and ischemic-isometric exercise at 5, 10, and 20% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). The observed water flux changes during different phases of exercise have been interpreted in terms of fluid transfer between the vasculature and exercising muscle. Good correlation between individual MVC and changes in water fluxes and the decay of water content was observed after 20% MVC exercise level. MRS results have been found to be consistent with those reported in the literature based on invasive biopsy techniques.
A critical role for CD48 antigen in regulating alloengraftment and lymphohematopoietic recovery after bone marrow transplantation.

The binding of CD2, present on T cells, to its counterreceptor CD48 facilitates adhesion, signaling, alloantigen-induced cytokine production, and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte responses. Because these T-cell functions have been implicated in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) pathogenesis, we have analyzed the effects of the CD2:CD48 pathway on GVHD mediated by CD4+ and CD8+ T cells infused into sublethally irradiated recipients. CD4+ T-cell–mediated, and to a lesser extent, CD8+ T-cell–mediated GVHD was inhibited by CD2 + 48 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) infusion. To assess the effects of combined MoAb infusion on alloengraftment, two different alloengraftment bone marrow transplantation (BMT) models were used. In both, MoAb infusion markedly inhibited alloengraftment and hematopoietic recovery post-BMT. To determine if the adverse effects on lymphohematopoiesis in the allogeneic BMT recipients were caused by an immune or nonimmune mechanism, studies were performed in congenic BMT recipients to preclude an immune mechanism as the cause for delayed recovery post-BMT. MoAb infusion resulted in impaired lymphohematopoietic recovery in congenic BMT recipients and markedly reduced day 12 colony-forming unit–spleen formation in syngeneic BMT recipients, consistent with a nonimmune mediated mechanism. Because the spleen is a site of early hematopoietic recovery post-BMT, studies were performed using adult splenectomized syngeneic BMT recipients. MoAb infusion delayed recovery in both nonsplenectomized and splenectomized recipients post-BMT, indicating that the delayed hematopoietic recovery was not the consequence of an abnormal homing pattern of hematopoietic progenitors to the spleen early post-BMT. CD48 MoAb was necessary and sufficient for the inhibition of GVHD lethality and delayed lymphohematopoietic effects of the combined MoAb regimen. CD48 MoAb was found to induce a profound modulation of CD48 antigen expression on BM cells, suggesting that the CD48 antigen may have an important function in hematopoiesis in the BM compartment. Taken together, these data provide evidence that the CD48 antigen plays a critical role in regulating hematopoiesis in post-BMT.
Program Design and Planning Strategies in the Delivery of Culturally Competent Health and Mental Health Prevention and Treatment Services to Latino Communities

SUMMARY It is important that the delivery of health and mental health prevention and treatment services within Latino communities be culturally sensitive. This article outlines several ways in which agencies can develop programs that can meet the needs of Latino communities. The most important aspect of the provision of health prevention and treatment services is that the organization integrates itself into the community through outreach, recruitment, and inclusion in decision-making. In addition, the organization needs to be structured so communication and participation from the community and health professionals are open and mixed. Otherwise, the likelihood of success of the provision of services in the community will be diminished.
Japanese Economic Development: Idiosyncratic or Universal?

Japanese economic development has been regarded as a ‘miracle’ or an ‘outlier’, which requires an explanation based on something other than mainstream economics. Both non-economic factors, such as culture, religion, and social tradition and economic factors, such as lifetime employment and industrial policy, were discussed as unique, exogenous elements that explained the economic success of Japan. It was implied that those factors were so unique that it could not be repeated elsewhere. However, the view of Japan as an idiosyncratic miracle waned in the 1980s, for two reasons: mainstream economics became more sophisticated so that what were regarded as inexplicable economic institutions in Japan came to be explained with regular economic tools with generalized assumptions, while other East Asian economies, with economic institutions and policies similar to those of Japan, sustained a period of high economic growth, reminiscent of Japan’s ‘miracle’ some decades earlier, appearing to show that Japanese economic development could be replicated. This chapter reviews these two strands of thought: what appears unique in Japanese economic development, from the 1950s to the 1980s, in fact makes economic sense and is replicable by other developing economies given the right initial conditions. The role of industrial policy is examined closely.
Observation of two-photon interference in a dual-beam Michelson interferometer

Nonlocal effects in quantum mechanics associated with entangled states have been the subject of much recent interest.1,2 Franson1 suggested that one can observe a violation of Bell's inequalities for position and time by use of two spatially separated interferometers. We report on the observation of a closely related two-photon interference. A signal photon at frequency ωs and an idler photon at frequency ωi = ωp – ωs are created simultaneously, i.e., as a conjugate pair, in parametric fluorescence inside a KDP crystal from the annihilation of a single UV pump photon with frequency ωp3.
Simultaneous distributed beamforming and nullforming with adaptive positioning

This paper considers a wireless communication system with simultaneous distributed transmit beamforming and nullforming. In addition to the usual method of controlling the phases of the transmistters to provide directivity, one or more nodes in the distributed array also adapt their position(s) to improve the quality of the beam without loss of null quality. This paper presents an adaptive algorithm with simple feedback to facilitate node positioning such that optimal beamforming is achieved to one desired receiver while simultaneously steering nulls to one or more protected receivers. The efficacy of the adaptive algorithm is demonstrated via simulation.
Vinnicombe's winding number condition is not transitive: Impacts for adaptive control

Abstract Recent approaches to adaptive control with caution advocate the use of the ν-gap metric to restrict the permitted deviation between successive controllers based on the achieved performance of the current controller. The aim is to limit the magnitude of the controller adjustment in order to profit from the closed-loop stability and performance guarantees associated with the ν-gap metric. The computation of the ν-gap distance between two controllers involves two parts: the checking of the satisfaction of a winding number condition, and the computation of a frequency domain norm. In this paper we show by example that satisfaction of the winding number condition is not a transitive relation and examine the implications of this for cautious adaptive control.
Pattern and Distribution of Distant Metastases in Anaplastic Prostate Carcinoma: A Single-Institute Experience With 101 Patients.

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sites and frequencies of distant metastases in patients with anaplastic prostate carcinoma and to correlate those findings with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Patients with anaplastic prostate carcinoma (n = 101) underwent CT and bone scans before platinum-based chemotherapy. CT findings were retrospectively reviewed to identify the sites of metastases. CT findings were correlated with baseline PSA levels. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to correlate PSA levels between patients with metastases at osseous and nonosseous sites. The Wilcoxon rank sum test was also used to correlate the type of bone metastases (blastic vs lytic) and the PSA levels. RESULTS. Eighty-three of 101 patients (82%) had osseous metastases. PSA levels were significantly higher in patients with bone metastases than in patients without osseous metastases. However, 23 of the 83 patients (28%) with bone metastases had PSA levels in the normal range (i...
Quasi-harmonic finite strain equations of state of solids*

Abstract Thomsen's ‘fourth-order anharmonic’ theory, which explicitly evaluates thermal effects in finite strain equations of elasticity according to the fourth-order approximation in lattice dynamics, is reconsidered for the special case of isotropic stresses and strains. It is shown that the approximations made in the finite strain theory are independent from those made in the lattice dynamics theory, with the result that strain dependence may be described in terms of any frame-indifferent strain tensor, not just the ‘Lagrangian’ strain tensor, η, and that the finite strain expansions may be taken to any order, not just the fourth. This result is valid for general stresses and strains. Illustrative pressure-volume equations are derived in terms of three strain measures, including η and the frame-indifferent analogue, E, of the ‘Eulerian’ strain tensor, e. The reference state is here left arbitrary, rather than identifying it with the ‘rest’ state. This results in greater convenience in applying the equations. Not being restricted to fourth order, the present equations do not depend for their application on knowing the second pressure derivatives of the bulk modulus. Expressions are obtained for isentropes and Hugoniots in terms of the same parameters as enter the original equations, which have the form of isotherm. Ultrasonic, thermal expansion and calorimetric data for MgO are used to evaluate the parameters of third-order equations of state of MgO. The equations of state are tested and refined with Hugoniot data. The third-order ‘ E ’ Hugoniot is much closer to the data than the third-order ‘η’ Hugoniot. Inclusion of fourth-order terms allows both ‘ E ’ and ‘ρ’ Hugoniots to fit the data within their scatter. The separation of Hugoniots corresponding to different initial densities is predicted within the accuracy of the data by the thermal part of this theory.
Effects of Paraffin Wax Precipitation during Cold Water Injection in a Fractured Carbonate Reservoir

This study investigates potential effects of paraffin wax precipitation while waterflooding oil in an offshore fractured carbonate reservoir using unheated seawater. Although initial reservoir temperature is 130°C, continuous injection of 8°C seawater propagates a cold temperature thermal front from the water injection wells. Paraffin wax precipitates from the reservoir oil when chilled to below 25°C. Could this be problematic with respect to water injectivity and oil recovery? What are the nature and distribution of precipitated wax in this rock? How does the chilled-temperature-front propagate in relationship to the waterflood front? Is there incentive to heat the injection water? These are questions that this investigation was undertaken to answer. Laboratory waterflood tests were conducted on analog outcrop cores and reservoir cores using synthetic seawater and reservoir oil. Several scenarios were tested; continuous waterfloods beginning with residual oil saturation and temperature reduction in steps from 65°C to 10°C, and waterfloods starting with 10°C temperature and different initial oil saturations. Oil recovery and water relative permeability were measured. After each test, while maintaining cold temperature, core chips were imaged using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) to identify whether paraffin wax was present in the pore system and, if so, how it was distributed. Thermal effects were included in waterflood simulations to evaluate progression of the temperature front relative to the waterflood front and to predict the effects of reservoir cooling on oil recovery. Paraffin wax was identified in cores after each laboratory test. Wax occurred in masses that were unevenly distributed in the porous media. Reducing temperature after flooding the cores to residual oil saturation S or improved rather than reduced water injectivity. Even though wax precipitated when temperature fell below the oil cloud-point, as temperature was reduced the volume of liquid oil left in the core shrank, thereby increasing water saturation and water relative permeability. This result was consistent with field experience. In waterfloods starting with temperature below 25°C and oil saturation greater than residual, oil recovery was fairly efficient once water flow was established, despite paraffin wax precipitation. Waterflood simulations, including thermal effects, showed that progression of the chilled-temperature-front lagged the waterfront to the extent that oil was efficiently recovered before regions became cold enough to cause wax to precipitate. With respect to this particular waterflood scenario, there is little additional benefit to be gained from heating the injection water.
The impact of androgen actions in neurons on metabolic health and disease

The male hormone testosterone exerts different effects on glucose and energy homeostasis in males and females. Testosterone deficiency predisposes males to visceral obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, testosterone excess predisposes females to similar metabolic dysfunction. Here, we review the effects of testosterone actions in the central nervous system on metabolic function in males and females. In particular, we highlight changes within the hypothalamus that control glucose and energy homeostasis. We distinguish the organizational effects of testosterone in the programming of neural circuitry during development from the activational effects of testosterone during adulthood. Finally, we explore potential sites where androgen might be acting to impact metabolism within the central nervous system.
Debriefing Quality Evaluation in Nursing Simulation-Based Education: An Integrative Review

Abstract Background In simulation-based learning, debriefing is considered a core component. Both the National League for Nursing and the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning emphasize the importance of debriefing in simulation-based learning. Debriefing quality assessment is an important source of constructive feedback. Method The aim of this integrative review was to assess the use of tools for debriefing quality evaluation in nursing education. This review included studies that reported debriefing after high-fidelity simulation between 2006 and 2016. Results A total of 20 articles were included. Only six studies reported using of debriefing evaluation tools. A description of used instrument was provided. Despite the importance of debriefing quality evaluation in simulation-based learning, there is a lack of using valid and reliable tools in the nursing literature. Conclusions Debriefing evaluation tools are essential in simulation-based learning. More systematic tool development and analysis are required, focusing on all key debriefing elements.
Feature Guided In-Situ Indices Generation and Data Placement on Distributed Deep Memory Hierarchies

In-situ analytics have been increasingly adopted by leadership scientific applications to gain fast insights into massive output data of simulations. Current practice buffers the output data in DRAM for analytics processing, constraining it to DRAM capacity un-used by the simulation. The rapid growth of data size requires alternative approaches to accommodating data-rich analytics, such as using solid-state disks (SSDs) to increase effective memory capacity. For this purpose, this paper explores software solutions for exploring the deep memory hierarchies expected on future high-end machines. Leveraging the fact that many analytics are sensitive to data features (regions- of-interest) hidden in the data being processed, the approach incorporates the knowledge of the data features into in-situ data management. It uses adaptive index creation/refinement to reduce the overhead of index management. In addition, it uses data features to predict data skew and improve load balance through controlling data distribution and placement on distributed staging servers. The experimental results show that such feature-guided optimizations achieve substantial improvements over state-of-the-art approaches for managing output data in-situ.
Cantor’s New Look at the Infinite

Georg Cantor was born in St. Petersburg (now Leningrad) on March 3, 1845. His parents had emigrated from Denmark; his father was a converted Protestant and his mother a born Catholic, but according to some evidence both were of Jewish origin. It may be that this multicultural background played a role in Cantor’s early interest in medieval theological arguments, particularly those concerning continuity and the infinite. From St. Petersburg the family moved to Germany, and it was there, at the University of Halle, that in 1874 he published his first significant work on the concept of infinity. This was only the first of a series of works to be published between 1874 and 1884, and it at once changed the entire foundation on which the concept had been based thus far.
CHAPTER 60 – Aspirin

Acetylsalicylic acid, or aspirin, is a synthetic compound with antipyretic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and antiplatelet properties. Since its introduction into the commercial market in June 1899, it has become one of the most versatile pharmaceutical agents known, with demonstrated efficacy in a myriad of clinical settings. The central role of platelets in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease (see Chapters 35 and 36), combined with the current understanding of the antiplatelet effects of aspirin, has placed this agent at the cornerstone of treatment for cardiovascular disorders.
Clinical and Neuropathological Findings from CERAD

The Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer’s Disease (CERAD) was established in 1986 to develop standard methods to evaluate persons with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and to gather clinical, neuropsychological, and neuropathological information about the illness (Morris et al., 1989). Rather than a true registry, CERAD utilized convenience samples from 24 U.S. AD research centers to accomplish its aims of standardizing and testing the reliability of brief assessment instruments for AD and thus provide tools for use in epidemiologic surveys, dementia registries, and AD research protocols, including clinical drug trials. Since the onset of patient recruitment in 1987, CERAD has enrolled 1,281 cases and 472 controls into its longitudinal studies. Analyses of the CERAD database have addressed clinical diagnostic accuracy, neuropsychological staging of dementia severity, rates of cognitive decline, and other issues in the clinico-pathological characterization of AD.
Xenotransplantation panel for the detection of infectious agents in pigs

Background Recent advances in xenotransplantation have produced organs from pigs that are well tolerated in primate models because of genetic changes engineered to delete major antigens from donor animals. To ensure the safety of human transplant recipients, it will be essential to understand both the spectrum of infectious agents in donor pigs and their potential to be transmitted to immunocompromised transplant recipients. Equally important will be the development of new highly sensitive diagnostic methods for use in the detection of these agents in donor animals and for the monitoring of transplant recipients. Methods Herein, we report the development of a panel of 30 quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays for infectious agents with the potential to be transmitted to the human host. The reproducibility, sensitivity and specificity of each assay were evaluated and were found to exhibit analytic sensitivity that was similar to that of quantitative assays used to perform viral load testing of human viruses in clinical laboratories. Results This analytical approach was used to detect nucleic acids of infectious agents present in specimens from 9 sows and 22 piglets derived by caesarean section. The most commonly detected targets in adult animals were Mycoplasma species and two distinct herpesviruses, porcine lymphotrophic herpesvirus 2 and 3. A total of 14 piglets were derived from three sows infected with either or both herpesviruses, yet none tested positive for the viruses indicating that vertical transmission of these viruses is inefficient. Conclusions The data presented demonstrate that procedures in place are highly sensitive and can specifically detect nucleic acids from target organisms in the panel, thus ensuring the safety of organs for transplantation as well as the monitoring of patients potentially receiving them.
Labeling cultured cells with 32P(i) and preparing cell lysates for immunoprecipitation.

This unit describes 32P(i) labeling and lysis of cultured cells to be used for subsequent immunoprecipitation of proteins. The approach is appropriate, however, for labeling any cellular constituent with 32P. This procedure is suitable for insect, avian, and mammalian cells and can be used with both adherent and nonadherent cultures. The general approach involves biosynthetic labeling with 32P(i) in medium containing a reduced concentration of phosphate. This approach can also be modified to label any cellular constituents with 32P(i). The first procedure described is 32P(i) labeling of adherent or nonadherent (e.g., hematopoietic) cells with subsequent lysis in a detergent buffer. More rigorous lysis conditions to be used for working with proteins that are difficult to solubilize are also described.
The Effect of Humor Associated Mirthful Laughter Combined with Quiescence on Modulating C Reactive Protein Blood Levels: A Pilot Study

IntroductionWith an increase in life expectancy, there exists a need for whole-person care that enhances Quality of Life. Humor associated mirthful laughter has proven to yield numerous whole perso...
Associations between school lunch consumption and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in US children and adolescents: Results from NHANES 2003-2014.

Abstract Diet is a major route of phthalate exposure in humans due to use in food packaging materials. School lunches may be an important contributor to phthalate exposure in children and adolescents in the US because of the large amount of packaging necessary for mass-produced foods. We used 2003–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data to study the association between school lunch consumption and urinary phthalate metabolite concentrations in children (ages 6–11 years, N = 2196) and adolescents (ages 12–19 years, N = 2314). After adjustment for other covariates, children who Always consumed school lunch had significantly elevated urinary concentrations of the following phthalate metabolites compared to levels in children who Never ate school lunch: sum of di(2‑ethylhexyl) phthalate metabolites, (28% higher, 95% confidence interval, CI: 10, 49%); mono‑(carboxy‑octyl) phthalate (MCOP; 43% higher, 95% CI: 17, 76%) and mono‑ n ‑butyl phthalate (18% higher, 95% CI: 3.5, 34%). We did not find statistically significant associations in adolescents, but the trend for MCOP concentrations was similar to that of children. In sensitivity analyses, associations between 24-hour recall of cafeteria food and urinary phthalate metabolites were not statistically significant, which could indicate that associations observed with Always consuming school lunch are due to residual confounding. Our findings show that children who Always eat school lunch had higher levels of exposure to some phthalates, but the source of differences in exposure need to be evaluated in additional studies.
Stratospheric imperialism: Liberalism, (eco)modernization, and ideologies of solar geoengineering research:

Once a fringe notion, solar geoengineering via Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is gaining traction as a climate management tactic within mainstream institutions and factions of the climate ju...
The transcription factor Slug represses p16 Ink4a and regulates murine muscle stem cell aging.

Activation of the p16Ink4a-associated senescence pathway during aging breaks muscle homeostasis and causes degenerative muscle disease by irreversibly dampening satellite cell (SC) self-renewal capacity. Here, we report that the zinc-finger transcription factor Slug is highly expressed in quiescent SCs of mice and functions as a direct transcriptional repressor of p16Ink4a. Loss of Slug promotes derepression of p16Ink4a in SCs and accelerates the entry of SCs into a fully senescent state upon damage-induced stress. p16Ink4a depletion partially rescues defects in Slug-deficient SCs. Furthermore, reduced Slug expression is accompanied by p16Ink4a accumulation in aged SCs. Slug overexpression ameliorates aged muscle regeneration by enhancing SC self-renewal through active repression of p16Ink4a transcription. Our results identify a cell-autonomous mechanism underlying functional defects of SCs at advanced age. As p16Ink4a dysregulation is the chief cause for regenerative defects of human geriatric SCs, these findings highlight Slug as a potential therapeutic target for aging-associated degenerative muscle disease. Muscle regeneration depends on self-renewal of muscle stem cells but how this is regulated on aging is unclear. Here, the authors identify Slug as regulating p16Ink4a in quiescent muscle stem cells, and when Slug expression reduces in aged stem cells, p16Ink4a accumulates, causing regenerative defects.
Computational Neuroethology: A Call to Action.

The brain is worthy of study because it is in charge of behavior. A flurry of recent technical advances in measuring and quantifying naturalistic behaviors provide an important opportunity for advancing brain science. However, the problem of understanding unrestrained behavior in the context of neural recordings and manipulations remains unsolved, and developing approaches to addressing this challenge is critical. Here we discuss considerations in computational neuroethology—the science of quantifying naturalistic behaviors for understanding the brain—and propose strategies to evaluate progress. We point to open questions that require resolution and call upon the broader systems neuroscience community to further develop and leverage measures of naturalistic, unrestrained behavior, which will enable us to more effectively probe the richness and complexity of the brain.
Prediction in latent factor regression: Adaptive PCR and beyond.

This work is devoted to the finite sample prediction risk analysis of a class of linear predictors of a response $Y\in \mathbb{R}$ from a high-dimensional random vector $X\in \mathbb{R}^p$ when $(X,Y)$ follows a latent factor regression model generated by a unobservable latent vector $Z$ of dimension less than $p$. Our primary contribution is in establishing finite sample risk bounds for prediction with the ubiquitous Principal Component Regression (PCR) method, under the factor regression model, with the number of principal components adaptively selected from the data -- a form of theoretical guarantee that is surprisingly lacking from the PCR literature. To accomplish this, we prove a master theorem that establishes a risk bound for a large class of predictors, including the PCR predictor as a special case. This approach has the benefit of providing a unified framework for the analysis of a wide range of linear prediction methods, under the factor regression setting. In particular, we use our main theorem to recover known risk bounds for the minimum-norm interpolating predictor, which has received renewed attention in the past two years, and a prediction method tailored to a subclass of factor regression models with identifiable parameters. This model-tailored method can be interpreted as prediction via clusters with latent centers. To address the problem of selecting among a set of candidate predictors, we analyze a simple model selection procedure based on data-splitting, providing an oracle inequality under the factor model to prove that the performance of the selected predictor is close to the optimal candidate. We conclude with a detailed simulation study to support and complement our theoretical results.
Is the formulation of the Fried parameter accurate in the strong turbulent scattering regime

The Fried parameter is a fundamental coherence length measure that characterizes the spatial resolution effects of atmospheric turbulence on imaging and beam propagation. Its expression was originally derived with the Rytov approximation and a near-field assumption, which are only strictly valid for weak turbulent scattering. However, the actual range of validity of the Fried parameter formulation remains controversial. Here, wave optic simulations are conducted for modeling the long-exposure point spread function through atmospheric turbulence. The results indicate that analytic expressions for the Fried parameter are accurate throughout the weak to strong turbulent scattering regimes.
“I'm Worried About My Child”: A Longitudinal Investigation of Parental Concerns and Repeat Screening in Toddlers with Familial Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by differences in communication, social interaction, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. While 85% of parents report developmental concerns well before 36 months, the median age of first diagnosis is 51 months (CDC, 2020). Toddlers with an older sibling with ASD are at heightened risk (HR) of receiving an ASD diagnosis (18.7% recurrence rate; Ozonoff et al 2011). Early identification of ASD is critical for early intervention, which improves later outcomes. The AAP recommends universal ASD screening at 18 and 24 months but screening …
Low-Ball Rural Defense

Focus on the deleterious effects of the privatization of different functions in both the criminal adjudicative system and criminal legal system on the whole has increased on both the scholarship and policymaking fronts. Much of this attention lately has been directed to privatized police forces, privatized prisons, and even privatized prosecutors. As important as the examination of privatization and outsourcing in these arenas is, the role of the privatized public defender—especially those in rural America, with about 90% of the country’s landmass and more than 20% of its population—gets lost in the shuffle. This Article centers these public defenders, especially in the rural context, and the specific ethical conundrums that arise when local governments such as counties and cities decide to privatize their public defense services through the use of competitive bidding. It opens with a comparison of two comparable criminal cases with very different results of the accused to spotlight what happens when public defense is privatized. The Article then discusses the specific perverse incentives that rural public defenders face and burden under when their services are procured by way of competitive bid—not with the intention of arguing that such services should never be bid out, but rather that any jurisdiction using such a system should be fully cognizant of the risks they incur when choosing to do so. The Article then introduces, for the first time, the concept of “noble cause corruption,” previously used to explain and to some extent excuse police malfeasance, in a new context to explain the consequences of some of the choices rural public defenders make while burdening under contract systems, presumably for the good of their clients.
Predict Alzheimer’s disease using hippocampus MRI data: a lightweight 3D deep convolutional network model with visual and global shape representations

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive and irreversible brain disorder. Hippocampus is one of the involved regions and its atrophy is a widely used biomarker for AD diagnosis. We have recently developed DenseCNN, a lightweight 3D deep convolutional network model, for AD classification based on hippocampus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) segments. In addition to the visual features of the hippocampus segments, the global shape representations of the hippocampus are also important for AD diagnosis. In this study, we propose DenseCNN2, a deep convolutional network model for AD classification by incorporating global shape representations along with hippocampus segmentations. The data was obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) and was T1-weighted structural MRI from initial screening or baseline, including ADNI 1,2/GO and 3. DenseCNN2 was trained and evaluated with 326 AD subjects and 607 CN hippocampus MRI using 5-fold cross-validation strategy. DenseCNN2 was compared with other state-of-the-art machine learning approaches for the task of AD classification. We showed that DenseCNN2 with combined visual and global shape features performed better than deep learning models with visual or global shape features alone. DenseCNN2 achieved an average accuracy of 0.925, sensitivity of 0.882, specificity of 0.949, and area under curve (AUC) of 0.978, which are better than or comparable to the state-of-the-art methods in AD classification. Data visualization analysis through 2D embedding of UMAP confirmed that global shape features improved class discrimination between AD and normal. DenseCNN2, a lightweight 3D deep convolutional network model based on combined hippocampus segmentations and global shape features, achieved high performance and has potential as an efficient diagnostic tool for AD classification.
Decentering efficiency in teaching economics

When we reshape the content of our economics curriculum to incorporate lessons garnered during the COVID-19 pandemic, we should start with the very definition of the discipline as the study of how society manages its scarce resources. The rigorous pursuit of narrow concepts of economic efficiency has weakened our society's ability to prepare for and respond to this pandemic. Efficiency means that there is no slack in the system. Our definition of economics should start with how we provide a context for human flourishing. As we face interlocking health and economic crises with differential impact on various groups, a coordinated response involving planning and cooperation is necessary. Accepting market imperfections and planning for them, instead of trusting impersonal forces, would better prepare us and the students in our classes for real-world crises such as we are facing now.
Investigation of potential aerosol transmission and infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 through central ventilation systems.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concern of viral spread within buildings. Although near-field transmission and infectious spread within individual rooms are well studied, the impact of aerosolized spread of SARS-CoV-2 via air handling systems within multiroom buildings remains unexplored. This study evaluates the concentrations and probabilities of infection for both building interior and exterior exposure sources using a well-mixed model in a multiroom building served by a central air handling system (without packaged terminal air conditioning). In particular, we compare the influence of filtration, air change rates, and the fraction of outdoor air. When the air supplied to the rooms comprises both outdoor air and recirculated air, we find filtration lowers the concentration and probability of infection the most in connected rooms. We find that increasing the air change rate removes virus from the source room faster but also increases the rate of exposure in connected rooms. Therefore, slower air change rates reduce infectivity in connected rooms at shorter durations. We further find that increasing the fraction of virus-free outdoor air is helpful, unless outdoor air is infective in which case pathogen exposure inside persists for hours after a short-term release. Increasing the outdoor air to 33% or the filter to MERV-13 decreases the infectivity in the connected rooms by 19% or 93% respectively, relative to a MERV-8 filter with 9% outdoor air based on 100 quanta/h of 5 μm droplets, a breathing rate of 0.48 m3/h, and the building dimensions and air handling system considered.