cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of the adrenal on calcium homeostasis in the rat

Abstract After thyroparathyroidectomy serum calcium concentration falls only if the adrenals are present or if exogenous steroids are provided. These results confirm the findings of Stoerk et al.1 This suggests that the hypocalcemia which follows parathyroidectomy probably results from an active mechanism under hormonal control. Adrenal hypertrophy occurred within 24 hours after nephrectomy only in the presence of the thyroid and parathyroids. When adrenalectomy and nephrectomy were combined, the serum calcium concentration rose to 12.3 mg. 100 ml. of serum. Thyroparathyroidectomy and nephrectomy resulted in a serum calcium of 7.2 mg. 100 ml. After simultaneous nephrectomy-thyroparathyroidectomy and adrenalectomy the serum calcium concentration was significantly higher, 8.9 mg. 100 ml. (p = 0.001). Since the hypocalcemic effect of the adrenal persisted after nephrectomy, it was apparently not mediated by the kidneys. Evisceration did not alter the degree of post-parathyroidectomy hypocalcemia. Since renal and intestinal sites of action may be excluded, hypocalcemia effected by the adrenals is probably due to a direct action on bone.
Arabidopsis TANGLED Identifies the Division Plane throughout Mitosis and Cytokinesis

Summary Background In premitotic plant cells, the future division plane is predicted by a cortical ring of microtubules and F-actin called the preprophase band (PPB). The PPB persists throughout prophase, but is disassembled upon nuclear-envelope breakdown as the mitotic spindle forms. Following nuclear division, a cytokinetic phragmoplast forms between the daughter nuclei and expands laterally to attach the new cell wall at the former PPB site. A variety of observations suggest that expanding phragmoplasts are actively guided to the former PPB site, but little is known about how plant cells "remember" this site after PPB disassembly. Results In premitotic plant cells, Arabidopsis TANGLED fused to YFP (AtTAN::YFP) colocalizes at the future division plane with PPBs. Strikingly, cortical AtTAN::YFP rings persist after PPB disassembly, marking the division plane throughout mitosis and cytokinesis. The AtTAN::YFP ring is relatively broad during preprophase/prophase and mitosis; narrows to become a sharper, more punctate ring during cytokinesis; and then rapidly disassembles upon completion of cytokinesis. The initial recruitment of AtTAN::YFP to the division plane requires microtubules and the kinesins POK1 and POK2, but subsequent maintenance of AtTAN::YFP rings appears to be microtubule independent. Consistent with the localization data, analysis of Arabidopsis tan mutants shows that AtTAN plays a role in guidance of expanding phragmoplasts to the former PPB site. Conclusions AtTAN is implicated as a component of a cortical guidance cue that remains behind when the PPB is disassembled and directs the expanding phragmoplast to the former PPB site during cytokinesis.
Subsurface cracks under conditions of slip, stick, and separation caused by a moving compressive load.

The Mode I and II stress intensity factors (K„ Kn) at the two tips of a subsurface crack subjected to a moving compressive load are studied. Coulomb friction along the crack faces results in a number of history dependent slip-stick configurations and nonsymmetric variation in K7 and K/7. The formulation used to study this varia­ tion involves a singular integral equation in two variables which must be solved numerically, and because of the history dependence, requires an incremental solu­ tion. Crack lengths and coefficients of friction that result in as many as three zones for any load location are considered in this paper, while a previous paper (Sheppard et al., in press) was limited to configurations involving two zones only.
Primitive Myxoid Mesenchymal Tumor of Infancy: A Report of a Further Case with Locally Aggressive Behavior

We report a case of an 8-month-old child with a primitive myxoid mesenchymal tumor of infancy arising in the thenar eminence. The lesion recurred after conservative excision and was ultimately nonresponsive to chemotherapy, necessitating partial amputation. The patient remains free of disease 5 years after this radical surgery. This is the 1st report of such a tumor since it was initially described by Alaggio and colleagues in 2006. The pathologic differential diagnosis is discussed.
Islamic Settlement in North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula

▪ Abstract This article reviews some of the major archeological research and resulting current debates that center around the nature of the formation of Islamic society in the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula from the seventh century AD through the later Middle Ages. Over the last two decades, archeology has played an increasingly important role in working out the details of how this great cultural transformation occurred and has led to considerable revision of historical interpretations of the medieval period in the western Mediterranean region. On a more general anthropological level, research in both regions presents a remarkable potential to contribute to the literature on the archeology of ethnicity, and to research into the impact of changing religion and ideology on such diverse areas of human activity as household organization, gender relations, settlement location and spatial organization, and ceramic production and distribution.
Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 1 Is Required for Optimal Foam Cell Formation and Atherosclerotic Lesion Development

Background— Signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (Stat1) potently regulates gene expression after stimulation by certain cytokines involved in tumorigenesis and host defenses. The present study investigated a novel role for Stat1 in foam cell formation and atherosclerosis. Methods and Results— Inhibition of Stat1 activity by a Stat1-specific DNA “decoy” oligomer transfected into differentiated human THP-1 cells, and deficiency of stat1 in mouse macrophages significantly inhibited foam cell formation assessed by lipid staining and cholesteryl ester accumulation compared with control cells. The mechanism of Stat1 regulation of foam cell formation was uniquely dependent on the scavenger receptor CD36. Blunted Stat1 activity and stat1 deficiency significantly decreased expression of CD36 but not of scavenger receptor-A compared with controls, as assessed by immunoblotting and flow cytometry. Deficiency of CD36 but not scavenger receptor-A in mouse macrophages removed any dependency of foam cell ...
Think globally, communicate, act locally: online parallel/distributed supervisory control

We propose a new algorithm for the online supervisory control of partially observed discrete event systems. This algorithm is a parallel/distributed version of the online algorithm VLP-PO that we proposed in prior work. The situation under consideration in this paper is that of a system whose structure can be expressed as the shuffle of three state machines G/sub 1/, G/sub 12/, and G/sub 2/ (with disjoint event sets), where G/sub 12/ is to be interpreted as a common interface between the two system components G/sub 1/ and G/sub 2/. The legal language, denoted K, is global, but it can also be expressed as the parallel composition of two languages, K/sup 1//spl par/K/sup 2/, where K/sup i//spl sube/L(G/sub i//spl par/G/sub 12/), i=1,2. There are two communicating agents that simultaneously run (online) identical versions of the algorithm but on different models and legal languages: agent i, i=1, 2, operates on subsystem G/sub i//spl par/G/sub 12/ and legal language K/sup i/. We show that this scheme achieves the same behavior as the sequential VLP-PO algorithm, but at a total execution complexity that is significantly lower; this algorithm generates maximal observable and controllable sublanguages of the given legal language K. >
Adaptive antenna arrays and equalization for indoor digital radio

Adaptive antenna arrays and equalizers for use in transceivers for peer-to-peer wireless communications in local area networks are examined. A new adaptive transmission algorithm which uses receiver diversity combiner weights for transmission is developed. This method provides large gain with a simple design suited for a distributed network. The effects of network topology and channelization on convergence are discussed.
A game-theoretic and dynamical-systems analysis of selection methods in coevolution

We use evolutionary game theory (EGT) to investigate the dynamics and equilibria of selection methods in coevolutionary algorithms. The canonical selection method used in EGT is equivalent to the standard "fitness-proportional" selection method used in evolutionary algorithms. All attractors of the EGT dynamic are Nash equilibria; we focus on simple symmetric variable-sum games that have polymorphic Nash-equilibrium attractors. Against the dynamics of proportional selection, we contrast the behaviors of truncation selection, (/spl mu/,/spl lambda/),(/spl mu/+/spl lambda/), linear ranking, Boltzmann, and tournament selection. Except for Boltzmann selection, each of the methods we test unconditionally fail to achieve polymorphic Nash equilibrium. Instead, we find point attractors that lack game-theoretic justification, cyclic dynamics, or chaos. Boltzmann selection converges onto polymorphic Nash equilibrium only when selection pressure is sufficiently low; otherwise, we obtain attracting limit-cycles or chaos. Coevolutionary algorithms are often used to search for solutions (e.g., Nash equilibria) of games of strategy; our results show that many selection methods are inappropriate for finding polymorphic Nash solutions to variable-sum games. Another application of coevolution is to model other systems; our results emphasize the degree to which the model's behavior is sensitive to implementation details regarding selection-details that we might not otherwise believe to be critical.
Fc receptor regulation of protective immunity against Chlamydia trachomatis.

The prevailing paradigm for designing potentially efficacious vaccines against the obligate intracellular bacterium, Chlamydia trachomatis, advocates regimens capable of inducing a mucosal antigen-specific T helper type 1 (Th1) response. However, recent reports indicate that rapid and efficient clearance of a secondary infection also requires certain B-cell functions. We investigated the hypothesis that Fc receptor (FcR)-mediated antibody effector mechanisms are important B-cell-related functions involved in controlling a chlamydial genital reinfection. Microbiological analysis of genital chlamydial infection in FcR knockout (FcRKO) mice lacking the activatory FcgammaRI (CD64) and FcRgammaIII (CD16), as well as the inhibitory FcgammaRIIB1 (CD32), revealed a greater intensity of secondary infection (i.e. bacterial shedding) in FcRminus sign/minus sign as compared to FcR+/+ mice; however, the course of the primary infection was indistinguishable in both animals. Pathologically, FcRKO mice suffered greater ascending infection than immunocompetent wild-type (WT) mice after a secondary infection. Immunological evaluation indicated that the presence of specific anti-chlamydial antibodies enhanced chlamydial antigen presentation for induction of a Th1 response by FcR+/+, but not FcRminus sign/minus sign, antigen-presenting cells. In addition, specific anti-chlamydial antibodies augmented both macrophage killing of infected epithelial cells by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and macrophage inhibition of productive growth of chlamydiae in co-cultures. These results indicate that B cells participate in anti-chlamydial immunity via FcR-mediated effector functions of antibodies, which are operative during reinfections. Such effector functions include ADCC, and possibly enhanced uptake, processing and presentation of chlamydial antigens for rapid induction of a Th1 response, all facilitating the early clearance of an infection. These findings suggest that a future anti-chlamydial vaccine should elicit both humoral and T-cell-mediated immune responses for optimal memory response and vaccine efficacy.
Genetic analyses in support of conservation efforts for the California condor

The Critically Endangered California condor Gymnogyps californianus has been a focus of intensive conservation efforts for several decades. Genetic studies have played an integral part in these efforts, beginning in 1981 with cytogenetic sexing of all birds. A protocol was optimized for culturing condor lymphocytes and 84 individuals were subsequently sexed through chromosomal analysis. More recently the molecular genetic techniques of DNA-probe hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of sex-specific DNA fragments have been used for sex determination, using blood samples taken opportunistically and eggshell membrane material collected non-invasively. In addition, the data obtained by DNA fingerprinting and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of mitochondrial DNA have provided insights into the relatedness of the founder birds and the amount of genetic diversity in the entire extant California condor population. Three genetically distinct groups were identified within the founder population using a statistical model to analyse data from multi-locus DNA fingerprints. A mitochondrial DNA probe identified four distinct maternal lineages in the condor population but only two of these lineages remain in the extant ♀♀. As a result of the collaborative efforts of the recovery programme, by mid-1999 the California condor population comprised 162 birds including 50 condors living in the wild.
Characterization of packetized voice traffic in ATM networks using neural networks

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) broadband networks support a wide range of multimedia traffic (e.g. voice, video, image and data). Accurate characterization of the multimedia traffic is essential in ATM networks, in order to develop a robust set of traffic descriptors. Such a set is required by the ATM networks for the important functions of traffic enforcement (policing) and bandwidth allocation utilizing the statistical multiplexing gain. In this paper, we present a novel approach to characterize and model the multimedia traffic using neural networks (NNs). A backpropagation NN is used to characterize the statistical variations of the packet arrival process resulting from the superposition of a number of packetized voice sources. The NN is trained to characterize the arrival process over a fixed measurement period of time, based upon sampled values taken from the previous measurement period. The accuracy of the results were verified by matching the index of dispersion for counts and the variance of the arrival process to those of the NN output. The results reported show that the NNs can be successfully utilized to characterize the complex non-renewal process resulting from the aggregate voice-packet arrival process with extreme accuracy. Hence, NNs have excellent potential as traffic descriptors for the usage parameter control algorithm used in admission control and traffic enforcement in ATM networks. >
Piezoelectric Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-Poly(lactic acid) Three Dimensional Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Three dimensional scaffolds (3D) are promising for future nanoscale materials and tissue engineering applications being that they have architecture and mechanical properties similar to natural tissue. In this work, poly(lactic acid) fibers were prepared via electrospinnig with average diameters of 2580 nm. Using Enzymatic Surface-Initiated polymerization (ESIP), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) were coated on poly(lactic acid) fibers. This provides an alternative method to enzymatic surface modification of fibers. ESIP of PHB produces a granular film providing surface topography and increases mechanical properties of PLA fibers alone. When using covalent approaches, PHB granules provide surface topography of 200-500 nm with a polydisperse coverage area. Compressive modulus measurements of PLA and PHB/PLA scaffolds were 25 kPa and 73 kPa, respectively. The percent crystallinity of PLA and PHB/PLA scaffolds was 17% and 30%, respectively. This rough topography, in addition to the crystallinity of the scaffold, facilitates Soas-2 osteoblast cell attachment. We have observed attachment of the osteoblast cells along the length of the oriented PLA and PHB/PLA composite scaffolds with different morphologies, rounded and stretched, throughout a depth of 90 µm.
Multiple-unicast in fading wireless networks: A separation scheme is approximately optimal

A classical result in undirected wireline networks is the approximate optimality of routing (flow) for multiple-unicast: the min-cut upper bound is within a logarithmic factor of the number of sources of the max flow. In this paper we focus on “extending” this result to the wireless context. Our main result is the approximate optimality of a simple layering principle: local physical-layer schemes combined with global routing. We show this in the context of wireless networks, in which links are either absent or undergo i.i.d. fast fading. We also show an approximation result on the degrees-of-freedom, when the channels are fixed, but are chosen from a continuous ensemble. The key technical contribution is an approximation of min-cut in a bidirected graph with submodular constraints on the edge capacities by max flow.
High-performance metamorphic tunnel junctions for III–V/Si multijunction solar cells

Various metamorphic tunnel junction designs, targeted for application toward Ga0.56In0.44P/GaAs0.9P0.1/Si triple-junction and GaAs0.75P0.25/Si dual-junction solar cells, grown via both molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), have been demonstrated. Ga0.56In0.44P/GaAs0.9P0.1 double heterostructure tunnel junctions, grown by MBE on Si substrates at both target lattice constants, yielded at least 50% improved electrical performance (peak tunnel current and resistance-area product), with nominally reduced optical losses, compared to previously demonstrated GaAs0.9P0.1 homostructure devices. Initial MOCVD-grown Al0.4Ga0.6As0.9P0.1/GaAs0.9P0.1 heteroface tunnel junctions were also fabricated and exhibited a > 3x electronic performance improvement over comparable GaAs0.9P0.1 homostructure devices. Such tunnel junctions reveal great promise for use within Si-based multijunction solar cells for both one-sun and concentrator applications.
Corrigendum to “Transient swallowing dysfunction in typically developing children following supraglottoplasty for laryngomalacia” [Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. 78 (2014) 1883–1885]

The authors regret that in the Section 3. Results: the word ‘no’ was accidentally omitted from a sentence, which should have read: ‘‘The six children with post-operative swallowing dysfunction had no preoperative concerns for aspiration’’. Additionally, in Figure 1 the third box from the left states: ‘‘(Four has VFSS)’’ it should state ‘‘Three has VFSS’’. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Bioethicists Can and Should Contribute to Addressing Racism

The problems of racism and racially motivated violence in predominantly African American communities in the United States are complex, multifactorial, and historically rooted. While these problems are also deeply morally troubling, bioethicists have not contributed substantially to addressing them. Concern for justice has been one of the core commitments of bioethics. For this and other reasons, bioethicists should contribute to addressing these problems. We consider how bioethicists can offer meaningful contributions to the public discourse, research, teaching, training, policy development, and academic scholarship in response to the alarming and persistent patterns of racism and implicit biases associated with it. To make any useful contribution, bioethicists will require preparation and should expect to play a significant role through collaborative action with others.
Courtship and Mating Behavior of Anaphes sordidatus (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), a Parasitoid of the Carrot Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The courtship and mating sequence of Anaphes sordidatus (Girault), an egg parasitoid of the carrot weevil, are described. Males exhibited distinct stages of excitation and display before copulation, but no overt courtship behavior by females was observed. Males readily mated more than once. Females mated only once, usually within 1–2 h after emergence from host eggs. Possible costs and benefits of immediate postemergence mating are discussed.
Commentary: Ethics and law at the bar and on the couch.

Drs. Kachigian and Felthous have vividly highlighted the disarray of current duty-to-warn law—a thorough mess, in my opinion, and steadily growing worse,—to the detriment of psychiatric care and hence possibly generating increased, not diminished, patient violence. Only to underscore the law’s confusion, not to embark on a pointless quibble, I confess that I interpret some of the state statutes quite differently from the authors. For example, I would place nine states (plus the District of Columbia), not just two, in the “permissive” category, but would not include Mississippi, whose statute contains both permissive and mandatory language.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Law Enforcement: An Empirical Review

In the aftermath of the U.S. financial crisis, Congress created a new federal agency — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — with the goal of fashioning a more just and efficient American consumer finance market. The CFPB now serves as the U.S. Government’s primary regulator and civil law enforcement agency governing consumer lending, payment systems, debt collection, and other consumer financial services. In its first four years of enforcing federal consumer protection laws, the CFPB has announced over a hundred different law enforcement cases forcing banks and other financial companies to relinquish over $11 billion in customer refunds, forgiven debts, and financial penalties. Drawing upon pleadings, consent orders, settlement agreements, press releases, and other public documents, this Article presents an empirical analysis of the CFPB’s law enforcement track record. In particular, this paper: (1) provides an introduction to the jurisdiction and powers of the CFPB’s Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending Division; (2) classifies all of the CFPB’s publicly announced enforcement matters through 2015; and, (3) presents seven notable findings on the CFPB’s public law enforcement program. An appendix listing the CFPB’s publicly announced enforcement cases through 2015 follows.
The student as teacher: reflections on collaborative learning in a senior seminar

A major influence on education since the 1950's has been Bloom's Taxonomy, a classification of learning objectives across multiple domains meant to educate the whole student (Anderson and Krathwohl, 2001). Although it has influenced educational pedagogy in primary education, higher education remains, in antiquity, heavily lecture based; viewing the instructor as an expert who professes their vast knowledge to their students. However, when students serve as instructor, it is difficult to apply this traditional view to the college classroom. Here we discuss the development, pedagogical approach, and experience of a senior level seminar course in which the students and instructor collaboratively explored an emerging field, embodied cognition, which combines research and theory from psychology and neuroscience among other disciplines, in which neither the students nor instructor were an expert. Students provided feedback and evaluations at three time points over the course of the semester, before class started, at midterm and at the end of the semester in order to address the experience and effectiveness of a collaborative seminar experience in which the instructor assumed a role closer to an equal of the students. Student responses revealed both high levels of satisfaction and degrees of perceived learning within the course at both the midterm and final evaluation. The approach of this seminar may be beneficial when applied to other seminars or course formats as students in this course felt as though they were learning more and appreciated being a more equal partner in their own learning process.
Determination of vitamin e in foods — a review

The vitamin E group includes tocopherols and tocotrienols and their isomers, esters, and derivatives. They differ not only in biopotencies as antisterility agents but also in activities in other physiological and chemical relationships. Unlike vitamins A and D, foods (vegetable oils) are among the richest sources of vitamin E, and assay methods for vitamin E include food applications more often than for the former vitamins. Physicochemical methods are replacing bioassays for vitamin E and tocopherol wherever possible because of greater specificity and less variability, time, and, sometimes, expense. Unless careful purifications and isolations are carried out and some of the relative vitamin E activities of components are calculated, bioassays are still required for total vitamin E activity. The vitamin E group is separated by column, paper, thin-layer, gas-liquid, and high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). Gas-liquid chromatography has been more successfully used for vitamin E than for other fat-soluble vitamins. Recently developed HPLC methods for vitamin E are sensitive and apparently require less cleanup of extracts and less time than former methods; HPLC may prove to be the most useful technique for vitamin E in foods, especially if other fat-soluble vitamins can be determined simultaneously on the same sample extract.
Sexual Differentiation of the Mammalian Brain

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the role of apoptosis, cell genesis, and synaptogenesis in establishing neuroanatomical sex differences. Sexual differentiation of the mammalian brain requires the activity of gonadal hormones. The organizational/activational hypothesis of sexual differentiation postulates that the organizational effects of these gonadal hormones on brain development occur early in life, during a sensitive period, whereas activational effects in adulthood ensure appropriate and timely sex-specific behaviors. Testosterone (T), or estradiol (E 2 ) produced by aromatization of T, is responsible for masculinization of the brain and the expression of normal male reproductive behavior in adulthood. In the absence of early exposure to gonadal hormones, the brain is, by default, feminized and mediates normal female reproductive behavior in adulthood.
Complex wave-field reconstruction by using phase-space tomography

A new class of phase-retrieval methods for 2-D fields is introduced. Phase-space tomography can be used for the experimental determination of the amplitude and phase structure of a quasi-monochromatic wave field in a plane normal to its propagation direction. The wave field ψ(r) may represent either a scalar electromagnetic (EM) field or the quantum-mechanical (QM) wave function of a matter wave. The complex wave field may be coherent or partially coherent, in which case the method reconstructs the two-point spatial correlation function, Γ(r, r′) = ⟨ψ(r)ψ*(r′)⟩. (In the QM case, the analogous quantity is the density matrix.) The experiment uses only intensity measurements and refractive optics (lenses), and the data-analysis algorithm is noniterative and requires no deconvolution.
Chapter 6: Chronology of displacement on the San Andreas fault in central California: Evidence from reversed positions of exotic rock bodies near Parkfield, California

! Introduction 3 Summary of Correlative Rock Units 6 Gabbroic Rocks Overlain by Eocene through lower Miocene Strata.......6 San Juan Bautista Area 8 Eagle Rest Peak Area 10 Gold Hill Area 10 Lower Miocene Volcanic Rocks and Derivitave Strata of the Upper Miocene Santa Margarita Formation 12 Pinnacles Area 12 Neenach Area 13 Lang Canyon Area 13 Granitic and Metamorphic Basement Rocks 14 Regional Pattern of Correlative Rocks 16 North to South Arrangement 16 Reversed Positions of Fragments near Parkfield l6 Palinspastic Reconstruction 17 Displacement History of the San Andreas Fault System 22 Sequence, Magnitude, and Timing 22 Phase 1 22 Phase 2 24 Phase 3 29 Average Slip Rates 31 Acknowledgements 34 Appendix 35 References Cited 36
Brief of Amici Curiae Jason J. Du Mont and Mark D. Janis in Support of Appellee Apple Inc. in Apple v. Samsung (Fed. Cir. 2015)

This brief explores the historical foundations of design patent law's special remedies provision. We draw on its legislative history and British antecedent to contextualize the debate between Apple and Samsung over the appropriate method of calculating design patent damages under Section 289 of the Patent Act.
Hip and other fragility fracture incidence in real-world teriparatide-treated patients in the United States

This study demonstrates real-world effectiveness of teriparatide in reducing the risk of hip and other fragility fractures. Fracture incidence significantly decreased as adherence and persistence increased for any clinical, vertebral, nonvertebral, and hip fractures among patients who were observed for 2 years after teriparatide initiation. Examine the relationship of treatment adherence and persistence to teriparatide with hip and other fractures. Truven MarketScan Research Databases, 2004 through 2014, provided teriparatide users ≥18 years old with continuous coverage 12 months pre- and 24 months post-teriparatide prescription. Adherence (medication possession ratio, MPR) groups were defined as high (≥0.80), medium (0.50 ≤ MPR < 0.80), and low (<0.50). Persistence, allowing for ≤90-day gaps between prescriptions, was defined as 1–6, 7–12, 13–18, and 19–24 months. Fracture incidence was summarized and compared by using ANOVA and logistic regression models; the effects of adherence were examined with Cox proportional hazard models with time-dependent covariates for teriparatide exposure. Among 14,284 teriparatide subjects, mean age was 68.4 years, 89.8% were female, and 29.6% had a fracture in the previous year; these characteristics were similar across MPR and persistence groups. The effects of adherence and persistence to teriparatide were statistically significant (P < .001) for all fracture types except wrist (P ≥ .125). By logistic regression, high vs low adherence was associated with reduced risk for any (OR = 0.67; P < .001); vertebral (OR = 0.64; P < .001); nonvertebral (OR = 0.71; P < .001); and hip fractures (OR = 0.52; P < .001) and longer (19–24 months) vs shorter persistence (1–6 months) was associated with reduced risk for any (OR = 0.63, P < .001); vertebral (OR = 0.56, P < .001); nonvertebral (OR = 0.69, P < .001); and hip fractures (OR = 0.48, P < .001). Cox models revealed a significantly reduced risk between high and low adherence for any (OR = 0.69, P < .001); vertebral (OR = 0.60, P < .001); nonvertebral (OR = 0.77, P < .001); and hip fractures (OR = 0.55, P < .001). Fracture incidence significantly decreased as persistence and adherence to teriparatide increased.
The detection of susceptibility to whooping cough: II. Clinical standardization of the diagnostic skin test reagent and its use in institutional and in private practice

Summary The agglutinogen of phase I H. pertussis prepared by a method of chemicalextraction has been compared with the sonic-extracted material which has been shown to be a satisfactory skin test agent for susceptibility to pertussis. The acid-extracted agglutinogen was standardized against the sonic product and found to be more potent, and to give more clear-cut reactions. Review of these data showed that a twenty-four-hour reading time could berecommended. At present the skin test dose is estimated in units by laboratory methods, and assayed finally by human intradermal inoculation. This agglutinogen gives identical results to those obtained with the sonic-extracted material; there is no reaction even in large doses in normal (susceptible) individuals, and an allergic reaction at the site of injection in any individual with solid immunity to whooping cough from either immunization or previous attack of the disease. In an institution with annual outbreaks of whooping cough, the use of agglutinogen before the anticipated epidemic was followed by a significant decrease in the number of cases, all of which occurred in the group predicted by the skin test to be susceptible. Yearly skin testing of new students followed by immunization of all susceptible children has resulted thus far in the absence of whooping cough from this school. Comparison of the agglutinogen skin test with the Strean toxin test in childrenfrom City of Philadelphia Health Centers has been made. The results clearly indicated a close correlation between the history and the agglutinogen skin test results. On the other hand, results from the use of the Strean test revealed that satisfactory correlation between history and toxin test only existed in the group of known susceptible children. The use of agglutinogen has a definite place as a public health measure in periodic examinations of young children. The duration of primary immunization may be determined while the antigenicity of agglutinogen produces a prompt recall of any existing antibacterial immunity.
A Randomized Trial of Foley Balloon Induction of Labor Trial in Multiparas (FIAT-M).

Background The optimal method of labor induction is not known. It is important to determine the safest and efficient method to minimize the length of labor, hospital stay, cost, and adverse outcomes. Objective This study aims to determine if induction of labor with simultaneous use of oxytocin and Foley balloon versus the sequential use of Foley balloon followed by oxytocin decreases the time to delivery in multiparous women. Study Design We conducted a randomized controlled trial of multiparous women who presented for induction of labor at Mount Sinai from December 2013 to April 2016. Patients were admitted for induction with indications determined by their provider. Women with a nonanomalous, singleton fetus ≥ 24 weeks in vertex presentation with intact membranes were offered participation. Exclusion criteria included the history of uterine surgery, unexplained vaginal bleeding, latex allergy, or contraindication to vaginal delivery. Participants were randomized to either simultaneous (oxytocin and Foley balloon) or sequential (oxytocin after the expulsion of Foley balloon) induction group. The primary outcome was the time from induction to delivery. Secondary outcomes included mode of delivery, estimated blood loss (EBL), postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), chorioamnionitis, and composite neonatal outcome. Maternal and neonatal outcomes were collected via chart review. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. Results A total of 142 patients were enrolled; 75 in the simultaneous and 67 in the sequential group. There were no differences in baseline characteristics in the two groups. There was no difference in median time to delivery between groups (10.7 vs. 10.6 hours, p = 0.44). There was no difference in the rate of cesarean delivery, EBL, PPH, chorioamnionitis, or composite neonatal outcome. Conclusion Simultaneous use of oxytocin and Foley balloon for induction of labor does not decrease time to delivery in multiparas.
Mapping the Electrical Substrate in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy: There Is More Than Meets the Eye.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular (RV) cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited biventricular cardiomyopathy with a high prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias. Mutations in the cardiac desmosomes lead to abnormal cell-to-cell mechanoelectric coupling, leading to the characteristic ECG and structural manifestations of the disease.1,2 Advances in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, such as scar imaging and quantitative analyses, have significantly improved the diagnostic capability1,3; however, the diagnosis is still challenging in the early and concealed phases of the disease where the sudden death risk seems to be at its peak.4 The key to early diagnosis seems to be in better definition of the electric substrate because studies have shown that the electric abnormalities, such as depolarization and repolarization changes, precede structural changes in ARVC. ECG imaging (ECGI) is a tool developed to noninvasively identify onset of electric activation and propagation throughout the heart from body surface electrograms.5 From controlled torso-tank and animal experiments6–8 to clinical validation in different rhythm disorders and substrates, previously published data support the potential applicability of ECGI in the clinical assessment of arrhythmias. Prior studies have shown that noninvasive ECGI electrophysiological findings well correlated with conventional …
Increasing methamphetamine injection among non-MSM who inject drugs in King County, Washington

Abstract Background In King County, Washington, the HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men (MSM) who inject methamphetamine is high, while it is low among other people who inject drugs (PWID). Local drug problem indicators suggest that methamphetamine use is increasing. The extent to which this increase affects MSM and non-MSM, and whether MSM and non-MSM networks are connected through injection equipment sharing, is unknown. Methods We used data from two serial cross-sectional surveys of PWID including five biannual surveys of Public Health–Seattle and King County Needle and Syringe Exchange Program clients (NSEP, N = 2135, 2009–2017) and three National HIV Behavioral Surveillance IDU surveys (NHBS, N = 1709, 2009–2015). Results The proportion of non-MSM PWID reporting any recent methamphetamine injection increased significantly from approximately 20% in 2009 to 65% in 2017. Most of this increase was attributable to injecting methamphetamine in combination with heroin (goofballs). PWID who injected goofballs were more likely to be younger, homeless or unstably housed, report daily injection, and self-report an opioid overdose in the past year than other PWID. The majority of PWID who injected methamphetamine reported sharing any injection equipment. Among these PWID, 43% of MSM had last shared injection equipment with a non-MSM. Eight percent of non-MSM men and 15% of women had last shared equipment with an MSM. Conclusions Given non-trivial rates of sharing injection equipment with methamphetamine-using MSM, a population with an HIV prevalence of 40%, non-MSM who inject methamphetamine could be an emerging population at risk for acquiring HIV.
Spatial Data Systems for Transportation Planning

The objective of this research was to develop a methodology for transforming and dynamically segmenting data. Dynamic segmentation enables transportation system attributes and associated data to be stored in separate tables and merged when a specific query requires a particular set of data to be considered. A major benefit of dynamic segmentation is that individual tables can be more easily updated when attributes, performance characteristics, or usage patterns change over time. Applications of a progressive geographic database referencing system in transportation planning are vast. Summaries of system condition and performance can be made, and analyses of specific portions of a road system are facilitated.
Reinduction therapy in 297 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first bone marrow relapse: a Pediatric Oncology Group Study.

Many children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) develop a marrow relapse during or shortly following initial continuation chemotherapy. Achievement of a second complete remission is the initial step in a successful retreatment effort. Reinduction results using two or three drugs have been unsatisfactory, and previous reports of four-drug reinduction programs have included relatively small numbers of patients. Pediatric Oncology Group protocol 8303 was designed for patients with ALL in first marrow relapse during or within 6 months after cessation of chemotherapy. The results of reinduction therapy in 297 study patients are described here. Four-drug reinduction therapy consisted of daily oral prednisone, weekly vincristine and daunorubicin, and asparaginase three times weekly for 4 weeks (PVDA). CNS retreatment consisted of two doses of triple intrathecal chemotherapy. Of the 297 patients receiving reinduction, 245, or 82%, entered second complete remission, six died of infection or progressive disease, and 46 others still had M2 or M3 bone marrow status. Forty of these latter patients received four doses (during a 2-week period) of teniposide and cytarabine, after which 13 (32%) achieved complete remission status. Thus, the overall second complete remission rate with PVDA with or without teniposide/cytarabine was 258 of 297, or 87%. The treatment program was generally well tolerated. Among the numerous factors analyzed by using logistic regression, only female sex (P = .035), the presence of blasts on the blood smear at the time of relapse (P = .0002), and a length of initial complete remission less than 12 months (P = .021) were independent predictors of failure to enter second remission. We conclude that the intensive reinduction program described here is a highly effective first step in the delivery of salvage therapy to patients with ALL in first marrow relapse. The current challenge is to develop improved continuation treatment for these children.
Artificial Intelligence for Construction Safety: Mitigation of the Risk of Fall

Technology is continually being implemented by construction professionals with the goal of improving construction processes and the industry’s glacial pace of change. As we look to new technologies to solve existing problems, we can consider Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool to make construction safer and efficient. Through this paper, we explore the ways in which AI can assist in the goal of making construction sites safe. This study proposes the development of an AI platform, which improves construction safety through hazard identification at the pre-construction stage, and suggests the applicable OSHA codes for the identified hazards, thus allowing safety standards to be implemented for compliance. Emphasis is laid on the mitigation of fall hazards, which is the leading cause of accidents in construction. Currently, project safety and risk assessment in the construction industry is carried out by professionals, who heavily rely on their own experiences and knowledge on decision making. There is a lack of a systematic approach and the ways to check the reliability of these decisions. Through the machine learning aspect of AI, we can automate the process and create an environment where potential hazards are identified before they occur with a link to the OSHA standards for recommended mitigation strategies.
Long‐standing diabetes mellitus and pancreas transplantation: An avenue to increase utilization of an ideal treatment modality

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with increased post-operative complications in various surgeries. Little data exist regarding the impact of long-standing DM (>25 years) on outcomes in pancreas transplantation (PTX). The objectives of our study were to determine if long-standing pre-transplant DM (>25 years) was associated with inferior outcomes following PTX. Methods Using a 13-year (April, 2000-May, 2012) retrospective analysis, we examined demographic and transplant factors, complications, and outcomes in patients without (Group A) and with (Group B) long-standing (>25 years) pre-PTX DM. Results Mean follow-up was 4.2 years. Of 214 consecutive PTX performed, 137 (105 simultaneous PTX (SPK), 25 PTX after kidney (PAK), 7 PTX alone (PTA)) had pre-PTX duration of DM recorded, including 65 in Group A and 72 in Group B. There were no differences between cohorts with respect to demographics. There were no differences in post-PTX surgical/medical complications. There were no differences in outcomes between cohorts (ie, rejection, graft loss or death). Conclusions This large-scale analysis demonstrated that PTX can be performed in patients with long-standing DM with excellent patient and graft outcomes. Long-standing DM did not lead to an increased post-PTX infections or complications. Our study suggests that duration of DM should not impact PTX candidacy.
Rats with a Human Mutation of NFU1 Develop Pulmonary Hypertension.

NFU1 is a mitochondrial protein that is involved in the biosynthesis of iron-sulfur clusters, and its genetic modification is associated with disorders of mitochondrial energy metabolism. Patients ...
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Segmentation by Adversarial Learning Domain Adaptation

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) is increasingly used in radiotherapy for patient alignment and adaptive therapy where organ segmentation and target delineation are often required. However, due to the poor image quality, low soft tissue contrast, as well as the difficulty in acquiring segmentation labels on CBCT images, developing effective segmentation methods on CBCT has been a challenge. In this paper, we propose a deep model for segmenting organs in CBCT images without requiring labelled training CBCT images. By taking advantage of the available segmented computed tomography (CT) images, our adversarial learning domain adaptation method aims to synthesize CBCT images from CT images. Then the segmentation labels of the CT images can help train a deep segmentation network for CBCT images, using both CTs with labels and CBCTs without labels. Our adversarial learning domain adaptation is integrated with the CBCT segmentation network training with the designed loss functions. The synthesized CBCT images by pixel-level domain adaptation best capture the critical image features that help achieve accurate CBCT segmentation. Our experiments on the bladder images from Radiation Oncology clinics have shown that our CBCT segmentation with adversarial learning domain adaptation significantly improves segmentation accuracy compared to the existing methods without doing domain adaptation from CT to CBCT.
Staging of Cancer of the Esophagus and Esophagogastric Junction

Eighth edition staging of esophageal and esophagogastric epithelial cancers defines separate classifications for the clinical (cTNM), pathologic (pTNM), and postneoadjuvant pathologic (ypTNM) stage groups, which are no longer shared among classifications. For pTNM, pT1 has been subcategorized as pT1a and pT1b for the subgrouping pStage I adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. A new, simplified esophagus-specific regional lymph node map has been introduced. Undifferentiated histologic grade (G4) has been eliminated; additional analysis is required to expose histopathologic cell type. Location has been removed as a category for pT2N0M0 squamous cell cancer. The definition of the esophagogastric junction has been revised. ypTNM stage groups are identical for both histopathologic cell types, unlike those for cTNM and pTNM.