cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perceived and insurance-related barriers to the provision of contraceptive services in U.S. abortion care settings.

Abstract Background Abortion facilities represent a potentially convenient setting for providing contraception to women experiencing unintended pregnancies. This analysis examines a range of factors that may act as barriers to integrating contraceptive and abortion services and documents abortion providers’ perspectives on their role in their patients’ contraceptive care. Methods Administrators from 173 large, nonhospital facilities that provide abortions in the United States responded to a structured survey between May and September 2009. We used chi-square tests to assess differences in categorical outcomes. Results Although the majority of U.S. abortion facilities offer a range of contraceptive methods on site, facility staff identified multiple barriers to full integration of the two services, in particular, insurance, patient, and cost barriers. Few of these perceived barriers, however, were associated with differences in the actual provision of most contraceptive methods. Specialized abortion clinics that do not accept health insurance were less likely to have highly effective methods, such as intrauterine devices and implants, on site. Facilities located in Medicaid states were more likely to accept both public and private health insurance for contraceptive services. Conclusion Increased access to contraceptive services during abortion care is one strategy for reducing repeat unintended pregnancy, and stakeholders at all levels—including abortion providers, insurance companies, and policy makers—have a role to play in achieving this goal.
Ultrasound Diagnosis of Bilateral Tubo-ovarian Abscesses in the Emergency Department.

Transverse transabdominal ultrasound of the pelvis performed with a 5-2MHz curvilinear probe demonstrates bilateral complex septated adnexal masses.
A potentially expanded role for enoxaparin in preventing venous thromboembolism in high risk blunt trauma patients

Abstract BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a frequent and potentially life-threatening complication after trauma. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of enoxaparin in preventing deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) after injury in patients who are at high risk for developing VTE. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective single-cohort observational study was initiated for seriously injured blunt trauma patients admitted to a Level I trauma center during a 7-month period. Patients were eligible for the study if time hospitalized was ≥ 72 hours, Injury Severity Score (ISS) was ≥ 9, enoxaparin was started within 24 hours after admission, and one or more of the following high risk criteria were met: age > 50 years, ISS ≥ 16, presence of a femoral vein catheter, Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) ≥ 3 for any body region, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) Score ≤ 8, presence of major pelvic, femur, or tibia fracture, and presence of direct blunt mechanism venous injury. Patients with closed head injuries and nonoperatively treated solid abdominal organ injuries were also potential participants. The primary outcomes measured were thromboembolic events—either a documented lower extremity DVT by duplex color-flow doppler ultrasonography or a PE documented by rapid infusion CT pulmonary angiography or conventional pulmonary angiography. RESULTS: There were 118 patients enrolled in the study. Two patients (2%) developed DVT, one of which was proximal to the calf (95% confidence interval, 0% to 6%). Two of 12 patients (17%) with splenic injuries who received enoxaparin failed initial nonoperative management. There were no other bleeding complications, and no clinical evidence or documented episodes of PE. One patient died from multiple system organ failure. CONCLUSIONS: Enoxaparin is a practical and effective method for reducing the incidence of VTE in high risk, seriously injured patients. This study supports further investigation into the safety of enoxaparin prophylaxis in patients with closed head injuries and nonoperatively treated solid abdominal organ injuries.
A modified sorting task to investigate consumer perceptions of extra virgin olive oils

A two-stage sorting task was used to probe Californian consumers’ opinions of twenty-five extra virgin olive oils based on visual assessments of the bottles. The modification of the simple sorting task aimed to encourage consumers to further discriminate products through sub-groupings of products within the groups they had already made. Sorting data were analyzed using a 3-way extension of classical multidimensional scaling called DISTATIS which explores the level of consumer agreement as well as the structure of the extra virgin olive oil products. Consumer agreements were explained by 46% of the variances found in the ways consumers sorted the bottles. Decreased amount of explained variance from the first stage to the second stage of the sorting task was observed in the olive oil product structures. Consumers were asked to describe the characteristics defining each group formed. Consumer comments were analyzed qualitatively prior to statistical analysis and were later used to understand the sorting results. Despite background differences in the usage of olive oil products, the majority of the consumers perceived the product set similarly. The two-stage sorting task allowed subjects to provide more criteria or multidimensional views of their perception of the products.
Use of Classroom "Clickers" to Promote Acquisition of Advanced Reasoning Skills

Summary Use of classroom response systems (a.k.a. "clickers" or "audience polling systems") are growing in popularity among faculty in colleges and universities. When used by faculty in a strategic instructional design, clickers can raise the level of participation and the effectiveness of interaction, promote engagement of students in active learning, foster communication to clarify misunderstanding and incorrect thinking, and provide a method to instructionally embed assessment as a learning activity rather than reliance on the traditional approach of summative assessment for assigning grades. This article describes the use of clicker technology in a baccalaureate nursing program to promote acquisition and application of advanced reasoning skills. Methods are suggested for embedding formative assessment and the tactical use of questioning as feedback and a powerful learning tool. Operational aspects of clickers technology are summarized and students' perceptions and satisfaction with use of this teaching and learning technology are described.
The Madden-Julian Oscillation, Barotropic Dynamics, and North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Formation. Part II: Stochastic Barotropic Modeling

Abstract A stochastic barotropic model linearized about the 850-mb flow is used to investigate the relationship between wind variations associated with the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) and eddy kinetic energy variations in the Tropics. Such a model is successful in predicting the observed location of eddy kinetic energy maxima during the westerly phase of the MJO and the suppression of eddy activity during the easterly phase of the MJO. The concentration of eddy energy during the westerly phase results from the strong east–west and north–south gradients of the large-scale wind fields. The model shows that barotropic wave propagation and wave mean–flow interaction tend to concentrate small-scale Rossby wave energy in regions of convergence, which may be an important mechanism for organizing convection into tropical cyclones. The structure and barotropic energetics of the wave activity are similar to those observed, but the modeled eddies are smaller in scale and do not move westward as do the observed e...
Drifting Invertebrates, Stomach Contents, and Body Conditions of Juvenile Rainbow Trout from Fall through Winter in a Wyoming Tailwater

Abstract We investigated the availability of drifting invertebrates and the stomach contents and body conditions of stocked (hatchery) and naturally spawned (wild) juvenile (20–25 cm total length) rainbow trout from fall through winter in the Big Horn River downstream from Boysen Dam in Wyoming. When the density and biomass of drifting invertebrates declined with water temperature during the fall, stomach contents and body conditions substantially decreased among both wild and stocked fish. During the coldest portion of the winter, the density of small drifting invertebrates increased as did the body conditions of both wild and hatchery trout. We suggest that the perceived increase in body conditions during late winter was due to survival of fish with higher body conditions and not growth of fish from fall to late winter.
Determination of Plasma Homocysteine by HPLC with Fluorescence Detection: A Survey of Current Methods

Abstract Homocysteine is a sulfur-containing amino acid whose utility as a marker in the clinical setting is being extensively explored. Persons with extremely high blood levels of homocysteine, resulting from an enzyme deficiency in the homocysteine trans-sulfuration pathway (homo-cystinurics) exhibit high mortality rates at an early age due to venous thromboembolism. Moreover, recent research indicates that even moderately elevated plasma homocysteine concentrations may be an independent risk factor for premature vascular disease. In addition to vascular disease risk assessment, the monitoring of plasma homocysteine levels has application in the evaluation of folate and vitamin B-12 status, determination of drug efficacy, along with the estimation of renal status and relative tumor burden. The current method of choice for homocysteine analysis is high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using pre-column derivatization prior to reverse phase separation and fluorescence detection. This article discus...
Stigma for Seeking Therapy Self-Stigma, Social Stigma, and Therapeutic Processes

The current study examined the associations among clients’ perceptions of self- and social stigma for seeking help, session outcomes, and working alliance. Ninety-one clients were treated by 26 therapists, at a large university counseling center. All clients were currently in therapy. We expected that clients’ perceptions of self- and social stigma would be negatively associated with session outcomes and working alliance, after controlling for number of sessions, psychological well-being, and client and therapist race/ethnicity and sex. The results showed that clients’ perceptions of self-stigma (but not social stigma) were negatively associated with working alliance. Counter to our expectations, clients’ perceptions of social stigma were positively associated with session outcomes. Although clients’ perceptions of self-stigma did not have a direct association with session outcomes, there was an indirect effect between self-stigma and session outcomes via working alliance.
Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin – By Timothy Snyder

The author of this book achieves another milestone by combining separate strands of historiography into one compact volume. Described as a study of deliberate mass murder, the author investigates t...
A Comprehensive Discussion of HSQC and HMQC Pulse Sequences

Much of the progress in NMR applications over the last decade has stemmed from the development of proton-detected, heteronuclear multidimensional spectroscopy. The basic building blocks of the multitude of double and triple resonance experiments available today are the heteronuclear multiple quantum correlation (HMQC) and heteronuclear single quantum correlation (HSQC) experiments. The goal of this article is to provide a comprehensive, pedagogical description of these two pulse sequences, with the aid of product operator formalism. Building from basic principles, constant-time experiments, sensitivity-enhanced techniques and the role of pulsed-field gradients for coherence transfer pathway selection are explained in detail. This article is intended to be used as a primer for students and researchers seeking a firm theoretical understanding of the fundamental tools of modern NMR pulse sequences. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson 20A: 1–23, 2004
Social Desirability and Partner Agreement of Men’s Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence in Substance Abuse Treatment Settings

Estimates indicate that intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs in approximately 30% of relationships and up to 85% of the relationships of men in substance abuse treatment. However, partners consistently display poor agreement in reporting the presence of IPV. Social desirability is frequently offered as the primary reason for under-reporting of IPV by perpetrators. The goal of the current study was to explicitly test the social desirability hypothesis using both partners' reports of negotiation, psychological aggression, physical aggression, sexual aggression, and injuries in a substance abuse treatment sample. A total of 54 males and their female partners were recruited from a residential adult substance use treatment facility. Consistent with prior literature, partners displayed poor agreement about the presence of different types of IPV. The male partner's social desirability was not associated with his reporting of male-to-female physical aggression, psychological aggression, or injuries. Men who engaged in higher levels of self-deceptive enhancement and lower levels of impression management were more likely to under-report male-to-female sexual coercion. Overall, the findings question the generalized importance of social desirability in IPV reporting in substance abuse treatment populations.
Evaluating the inverse decision-making approach to preference learning

Psychologists have recently begun to develop computational accounts of how people infer others' preferences from their behavior. The inverse decision-making approach proposes that people infer preferences by inverting a generative model of decision-making. Existing data sets, however, do not provide sufficient resolution to thoroughly evaluate this approach. We introduce a new preference learning task that provides a benchmark for evaluating computational accounts and use it to compare the inverse decision-making approach to a feature-based approach, which relies on a discriminative combination of decision features. Our data support the inverse decision-making approach to preference learning.
Reversal of mitomycin C resistance by overexpression of bioreductive enzymes in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

The clinical utility of antineoplastic agents is limited by the development of drug resistance by tumors. Mitomycin C (MC) is a bacterial product that must be enzymatically reduced to exert anticancer activity. We have demonstrated that expression of the bacterial MC resistance-associated (MCRA) protein in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells confers profound resistance to this antibiotic under aerobic conditions, but not under hypoxia. MCRA produces resistance to MC by redox cycling of the activated hydroquinone intermediate back to the prodrug form. A CHO cell line developed by stepwise exposure to increasing concentrations of MC likewise expressed high level resistance to MC in air, but not under hypoxia. The overexpression of DT-diaphorase and NADPH:cytochrome c (P-450) reductase, two enzymes known to activate MC, restored sensitivity to MC in both MCRA-transfected and drug-selected cell lines. The level of sensitization was proportional to the quantity of enzyme activity expressed, supporting the concept that the levels of these two activating enzymes are important for sensitivity to MC. The findings of resistance to MC in air but not under hypoxic conditions and of restoration of sensitivity to MC by increasing levels of DT-diaphorase activity, properties not adequately explained by other resistance mechanisms (i.e., decreases in MC activation, repair of DNA lesions, and/or drug efflux), support the hypothesis that a functional mammalian homologue of MCRA may be involved in producing resistance to MC.
A low power seizure detection processor based on direct use of compressively-sensed data and employing a deterministic random matrix

This work presents a low power multi-channel seizure detection processor based on Compressive Sensing (CS) algorithm. Direct use of compressively-sensed data is proposed for feature extraction and classification in order to reduce computational and data transmission energy due to reduced number of input samples. To further reduce power consumption of the system, using a deterministic random matrix (DRM) is proposed instead of implementing a random number generator circuit (LFSR) for compressive sensing circuit. For feature extraction, simple features are used and for classification Logistic Regression (LR) is employed. Three different architectures are implemented in Virtex-5 FPGA and are compared against each other. For compression rates of 2–16x, the energy consumption of the proposed 22-channel seizure detection processor including CS, feature extractor and classifier is 2.36–0.38 μJ and the detector performance for sensitivity and specificity is 80.7–78.8% and 85.3–83.5%, respectively. The proposed system with 16x compression rate consumes 0.38 μJ which is 6 times lower than the system without using compressive sensing.
Decreasing Returns, Learning by Doing and Growth of Economists: Theory and Evidences

We define an endogenous growth model underlying the rising incidence of scientific collaboration among economists where the positive externality in economic research production is the engine for growth. We show that sustained growth can be realized even if both production and knowledge accumulation exhibit strong decreasing return. Testing the theory with individual level data, we find evidences toward decreasing return and a strong learning by doing effect in economic research production, where the knowledge storage depends strongly on the immediate history of outputs. We discovered that the knowledge spillover effect accounts for at least 50% growth in outputs for our sample economists.
Curmudgeon personality: Seeing the positives and just not liking them

Abstract Curmudgeon personality is characterized by critical evaluation tendencies wherein both negative- and positive-normed stimuli are viewed negatively (negative dispositional attitudes). Curmudgeons are theorized to attune to emotional qualities of stimuli in general but give greater weight to negative aspects in stimulus valuation, a byproduct of their avoidance temperament. As predicted, curmudgeons freely formed high rates of both positive- and negative-emotion words (emotion-quality bias) in a word-fragment-completion task (Rusting & Larsen, 1998). This was independent of trait negative affect, which was associated with high rates of negative-emotion words only (negative-quality bias). Furthermore, the relationship between curmudgeon personality and emotion-word formation was mediated by behavioral inhibition sensitivity. Curmudgeons “see” positive- and negative-emotion qualities, and evidently in same attitude object, but they weight qualities to avoid higher than qualities to approach.
Human Sexuality: Concupiscent and Romantic

That concupiscent is to romantic as lust is to love, as vice is to virtue, and as masculine is to feminine is widespread in today's idiomatic assumptions of the cause of human sexual conduct. Not so. Concupiscent and romantic sexuality overlap and merge and are multivariate. Both are partly phylogenically and partly ontogenetically determined. Courtship and mating are more robotically programmed in subhuman species than in humans. Derobotization of human sexuality may have been a feature of a more inclusive behavioral derobotization associated with the evolution of human language mapping in the brain and synchronously in the mind. Hypothetically, the evolutionary line of descent has been from qua-drupedal to bipedal, from nose to eyes, and from robotic to nonrobotic. An episode of mating is divisible into three stages: proceptive, acceptive, and conceptive, each of which mixes phylogenic and ontogenic determinants in variable degree. Contrectation, foreplay and erogenous zones are the proceptive ...
Blackburn with Darwen mental health assessment and treatment team – A service evaluation report

Introduction Assessment and Treatment Team (ATT) was developed to manage mental health referrals within the borough of Blackburn with Darwen (BwD). The ATT became the main point of initial referral and assessment for adults presenting with mental health needs. It acts as the gateway service for access to specialist mental health services. Aim To evaluate the effectiveness of ATT against the key performance indicators. Methods Quantitative data was collected using electronic database from June 2014–May 2015. Feedback was obtained from GPs and also from patients who attended ATT over a one-week period. Results The ATT received a total of 2234 referrals. A total of 73% were seen within 10 working days of the referral. Assessment outcome letters were sent to the GPs within 48 h in 47.53% cases. Referral rates to community mental health and Crisis teams were 7% each showing an overall reduction compared to the previous service. GP satisfaction – 70% were ‘moderately satisfied’ and 30% were ‘very satisfied’ with ATT. Hundred percent felt the service was easily accessible and 90% felt that the staff were friendly. Patient Satisfaction – 96% of patients rated the team as ‘friendly and polite’. Eighty-seven percent reported that they were listened to and 91% felt their concerns were understood. Eighty-three percent felt that ATT involved them in their decision making. Ninety-two percent responded that they were likely/extremely likely to recommend ATT to their friends and family. Conclusions The establishment of ATT has led to improved satisfaction among GPs and service users and has resulted in reduction in referrals to secondary mental health services.
Long-term Outcomes of Childhood Onset Nephrotic Syndrome

There are limited studies on long-term outcomes of childhood onset nephrotic syndrome (NS). A majority of children with NS have steroid-sensitive nephrotic syndrome (SSNS). Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) is associated with a high risk of developing end-stage renal disease. Biomarkers and analysis of genetic mutations may provide new information for prognosis in SRNS. Frequently relapsing and steroid-dependent NS is associated with long-term complications, including dyslipidemia, cataracts, osteoporosis and fractures, obesity, impaired growth, and infertility. Long-term complications of SSNS are likely to be under-recognized. There remain many gaps in our knowledge of long-term outcomes of childhood NS, and further study is indicated.
FPGA-Based Reduction Techniques for Efficient Deep Neural Network Deployment

Deep neural networks have been shown to outperform prior state-of-the-art solutions that often relied heavily on hand-engineered feature extraction techniques coupled with simple classification algorithms. In particular, deep max-pooling convolutional neural networks (MPCNN) have been shown to dominate on several popular public benchmarks. Unfortunately, the benefits of deep networks have yet to be exploited in embedded, resource-bound settings that have strict power and area budgets. GPUs have been shown to improve throughput and energy-efficiency over CPUs due to their parallel architecture. In a similar fashion, FPGAs can improve performance while allowing more fine control over implementation. In order to meet power, area, and latency constraints, it is necessary to develop network reduction strategies in addition to optimal mapping. This work looks at two specific reduction techniques including limited precision for both fixed-point and floating-point formats, and performing weight matrix truncation using singular value decomposition. An FPGA-based framework is also proposed and used to deploy the trained networks. To demonstrate, a handful of public computer vision datasets including MNIST, CIFAR-10, and SVHN are fully implemented on a low-power Xilinx Artix-7 FPGA. Experimental results show that all networks are able to achieve a classification throughput of 16 img/sec and consume less than 700 mW when running at 200 MHz. In addition, the reduced networks are able to, on average, reduce power and area utilization by 37% and 44%, respectively, while only incurring less than 0.20% decrease in accuracy.
Disaster-aware data-center and content placement in cloud networks

Recent occurrences of disasters and targeted attacks have made disaster-resilient data-center network design an important issue. Network operators are investigating proactive and reactive measures to avoid huge data loss and service disruptions in case of a disaster. Disaster-aware data-center and content placement can mitigate the effects of such failures by avoiding placement in disaster-vulnerable locations. Compared to disaster-unaware approach, this approach can significantly reduce the risk, i.e., expected loss of content due to a disaster, in a cloud network.
New descriptions of conics via twisted cylinders, focal disks, and directors

Conics have been investigated since ancient times as sections of a circular cone. Surprising descriptions of these curves are revealed by investigating them as sections of a hyperboloid of revolution, referred to here as a twisted cylinder. We generalize the classical focus-directrix property of conics by what we call the focal disk-director property (Section 2). We also generalize the classical bifocal properties of central conics by the bifocal disk property (Section 5), which applies to all conics, including the parabola. Our main result (Theorem 5) is that each of these two generalized properties is satisfied by sections of a twisted cylinder, and by no other cures. Although some of these results are mentioned in Salmon's treatise [6] and a not by Ferguson [4], they are not widely known, and we go far beyond these earlier treatments.
Identification of Signaling-Induced Transcription Pathway Determinants that Influence Erythro-Megakaryocytic Lineage Commitment.

Erythroid and megakaryocytic cells are derived from a common precursor and share many of the same transcriptional regulators. We and others have demonstrated a critical role for sustained activation of extracellular-related (ERK) kinase in PKC-induced megakaryocytic differentiation of K562 cells. However, the transcriptional mechanisms underlying this process are largely unknown. Our prior studies have focused on late stage megakaryocyte specific genes such as glycoprotein IIb/CD41. In order to understand the early transcriptional events regulating this process, we have begun to examine the mechanisms regulating the expression of CD9, a tetraspanin molecule that is currently the earliest identified marker of megakaryocyte differentiation. The PKC agonist ingenol 3,20 dibenzoate (IDB) rapidly induced CD9 expression in both K562 cells as well as in primary human CD34+ progenitor cells, much earlier than the kinetics for CD41 induction. CD9 induction by PKC was dependent on ERK activation. Recently, it has been shown that immediate early gene expression, including the transcription factor Egr-1, is highly sensitive to the duration and amplitude of ERK activity. Egr-1 has been previously implicated in the regulation of hematopoietic lineage commitment. PKC/ERK activation rapidly and strongly induced Egr-1 expression, which remained elevated for up to 96 hrs after IDB treatment of K562 cells. Egr-1 induction was closely followed by CD9 induction, suggesting a causal relationship. This was supported by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis, which showed strong recruitment of Egr-1 to the CD9 promoter during PKC/ERK-induced differentiation. KLF5, a known downstream target of Egr-1, was identified as an additional target of PKC/ERK signaling during megakaryocytic differentiation. KLF5, a novel GC binding factor, was found to be expressed in primary megakaryocytes and not in erythroid cells. KLF5 expression was induced by IDB treatment, and ChIP analysis showed that Egr-1 was recruited to the KLF5 promoter during PKC/ERK-induced differentiation. KLF5 has been shown previously to regulate known megakaryocyte-expressed genes PDGF-A and TGF-β expression in vascular smooth muscle, but a role in megakaryocyte gene expression has not been previously suggested. To better understand the regulation of Egr-1 in erythromegakaryocytic differentiation, Nab2, a natural co-repressor of Egr-1 was also evaluated. Control K562 cells strongly expressed c-myc and Nab2. ChIP studies show that c-myc binds to the Nab2 promoter in control K562 cells and both c-myc and Nab2 expression strongly declined during the first 24 hours after PKC stimulation. Enforced expression of Nab2 not only blocked CD9 induction by IDB, but also induced marked hemoglobinization of K562 cells. Taken together, these findings suggest a novel and critical role for the balance in Egr-1/Nab2 activity as a regulatory mechanism in erythroid versus megakaryocytic differentiation pathways.
Diffraction imaging for seal evaluation using ultra high resolution 3D seismic data

Abstract Cap rock is any impermeable or low permeability formation that may trap oil, gas or water, preventing it from migrating to the surface. Evaluation of sealing properties of the cap rock is a critical task for seismic exploration. It is important for oil and gas prospecting as well as for locating reservoirs appropriate for carbon dioxide storage. The latter has been proposed as one solution to global climate change caused by heat-trapping anthropogenic gasses in the atmosphere. A fluid escaped from the reservoir fills voids in the overlying strata thereby causing local changes of acoustic properties. We aim to explore such fluid-saturated areas and thus evaluate sealing properties of underlying cap rocks. We assume that local acoustic impedance changes caused by fluid migration generate seismic diffractions. We isolate diffracted waves from P-Cable seismic data acquired over the area of interest and perform diffraction analysis of the near-surface interval (above 200 m). In the diffraction image obtained, we interpret an extensive system of broad sinuous channels, narrow linear faults, and diffuse fracture networks. In addition, we detect high-diffractivity anomalies, which extend vertically and laterally. We note no evidence of these anomalies in a conventional seismic image and associated seismic attribute (similarity and fracture density) volumes. We associate this high diffractivity to a variable pore fluid composition and saturation, which we infer to be due to hydrocarbon migration from the underlying strata. Consequently, we conclude poor seal quality for the underlying cap rocks. During data processing, we test diffraction focusing analysis for velocity model building. This option appears quite valuable for P-Cable data processing because of short offset and limitations of the standard velocity analysis.
Therapeutic strategies in adrenoleukodystrophy

Adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is an X‑linked hereditary disorder due to mutations of the ABCD1 gene, which encodes a peroxisomal transport protein necessary for very long-chain fatty acid degradation (VLCFA). Toxic accumulation thereof is associated with a proinflammatory state and eventual cell death in multiple tissues. ALD may manifest either as a fatal, rapidly progressive demyelinating disease in boys and adult men, or as a slowly progressive adult-onset long-tract myelopathy along with peripheral neuropathy. Our understanding of manifold mechanisms implicated in the disease pathology is currently incomplete, as neither genotype–phenotype correlation nor the trigger for cerebral disease has been described. Therapy objectives are therefore broadly aimed at correcting either the gene mutation or downstream molecular effects, such as oxidative stress. Advancements in disease detection, including the newly implemented newborn screening in the US and imaging modalities, allow for more timely intervention in the form of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), which may only be performed in early cerebral disease states.
All-in or reserved? An empirical study of issue seller approaches to forging environmental change

How do individual, organizational change agents who promote sustainability, i.e. issue sellers, sustain their challenging efforts? Perhaps with more intention than previously theorized. Organizatio...
Communicating with Algorithms: A Transfer Entropy Analysis of Emotions-based Escapes from Online Echo Chambers

Online algorithms have received much blame for polarizing emotions during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. We use transfer entropy to measure directed information flows from human emotions to Y...
Review of an emergency general surgery process improvement program at a verified military trauma center

Decreasing combat-based admissions to our military facility have made it difficult to maintain a robust trauma process improvement (PI) program. Since emergency general surgery (EGS) and trauma patients share similarities, we merged the care of our EGS and trauma patients into one acute care surgery (ACS) team. An EGS PI program was developed based on trauma PI principles to facilitate continued identification of opportunities for improvement despite our decline in trauma admissions. Analysis of the first 18 months of combined ACS PI data is presented. EGS registry inclusion criteria was based on published Association for the Surgery of Trauma’s recommendations. Program components and PI categories were based on our existing trauma PI program. Dedicated coordinators actively reviewed and cataloged patient care and outcomes. Deviations from standard practice patterns, unplanned interventions, and other complications were abstracted, categorized, and evaluated through levels of review similar to accepted trauma PI principles. Data for the first six quarters were collated and trends were analyzed. Over 18 months, 696 EGS patients met registry inclusion criteria, with 468 patients (67%) undergoing operative intervention. Over the same time, 353 trauma patients were admitted with 158 undergoing operative intervention (56.4%). Of the 696 EGS patients and 353 trauma patients, 226 (32%) and 243 (69%) PI events were identified, respectively. Common events included unplanned therapies, re-admissions, and unplanned ICU admissions. Based on analysis of all events, four new areas for improvement initiatives were identified. Results of these initiatives included implementation of a multi-disciplinary EGS PI committee, consensus protocols, and departmental and hospital-wide actions. In an 18-month period, integration of our EGS patients into a novel, combined ACS PI program facilitated recognition of an additional 226 PI events and provided a substrate for continued improvements in patient care.
Synaptic vesicles: Incorporation of choline by isolated synaptosomes and synaptic vesicles☆

Abstract Isolated synaptosomes from guinea pig brain homogenates incorporated choline- 14 C when incubated either in a medium with an external energy source or in one containing only Tris buffer. The incorporation was divisible into three fractions: total, TCA-insoluble, and chloroform-soluble. Incorporation of choline- 14 C into the chloroform-soluble fraction was affected by the cations in the incubating medium: Na, K and Mg were inhibitory. Conversely, incorporation of acetylcholine- 14 C into the chloroform-soluble fraction did not occur in the presence or absence of these ions. When the isolated synaptosomes were labeled with choline- 14 C and the subsynaptosomal localization of the choline determined, the synaptic vesicle fraction contained the highest choline- 14 C activity. When the various subsynaptosomal fractions were isolated and incubated with choline- 14 C, the isolated synaptic vesicles incorporated choline- 14 C to the greatest extent; extremely high incorporation occurred in both the “total” and chloroform-soluble fractions.
Additive Functionals of Superdiffusion Processes

To every elliptic differential operator L in ℝ d (with time dependent coefficients) and to every 1 < α ≤ 2 there corresponds a (non homogeneous) measure-valued Markov process X which we call the superdiffusion with parameters (L, α). A class S α of “exceptional sets” in ℝ d +1 is introduced and an additive functional I η of X is constructed for every finite measure η which does not charge any set of class S α . The construction is based on a relationship between superdiffusions and a class of nonlinear parabolic partial differential equations and on results of Baras and Pierre about these equations.
Sexual Behavior and Maternal Functions, Neurobiology of

Mammalian reproductive behavior is the outcome of both physiological and social factors. While gonadal hormones play a major modulatory role in the display of mammalian sexual behavior, they often do so within the context of numerous social factors. This is particularly true in primates, where gonadal hormones affect sexual motivation more than the actual ability to copulate. Within the organism gonadal hormones exert their effects on sexuality by acting at specific sites in the brain, as well as by affecting peripheral sex tissues. In addition to the activation of sexual behavior in adults, the same gonadal hormones have developmental effects that result in permanent changes in brain structure and function. Some behavioral gender differences may be the result of these early developmental or organizational effects of gonadal hormones. Maternal behaviors in mammals can be induced in the absence of the hormonal changes that take place during parturition and lactation. Hormones, especially estradiol, act to facilitate maternal care of the young and are essential for the survival of the offspring under natural conditions for many species. Several experiments have shown that estradiol acts directly on brain regions that are necessary for the display of maternal behavior. Other hormones also facilitate maternal functions and serve to strengthen the bond between mother and offspring and/or between sex partners in the case of monogamous species.
Role of Fermented Milk Products in Milk Intolerance and Other Clinical Conditions

In 1908, the Russian Nobel Prize winner, Ely Metchnikoff, attributed the longevity of Bulgarian peasants to the consumption of milk fermented by lactic acid bacteria. He postulated that the organism Lactobacillus bulgaricus, contained in this fermented milk, suppressed the growth of putrefactive bacteria that produce toxic amines or ptomaines. Until recent times, this hypothesis remained as a folklore. However, recent systematic scientific investigations have revealed that fermented milk may be endowed with some healthful virtues. Not surprisingly, the claims of nutritional and healthful benefits rendered by fermented milk have been challenged by many scientists, and the topic remains largely controversial. Variability in substantiation of these claims is not surprising either. The fermentation process is influenced by a myriad of factors, including the species and strain of fermenting organism. Thus, in a majority of cases, bacterial strain is only one of several factors that have varied among investigations. Recent controlled experiments indicate that fermented milk and fermented milk products (yogurt, cheese, etc.) may have a greater role to play in the nutrition of various populations, especially those that can tolerate milk because of a deficiency of intestinal lactase. This review focuses on the role of fermented milk products in milk intolerance. Also, it provides some insight into the other claims for health benefits of fermented milk products.
Potential corner case cautions regarding publicly available implementations of the National Cancer Institute's nonwear/wear classification algorithm for accelerometer data.

The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) wear time classification algorithm uses a rule based on the occurrence of physical activity data counts—a cumulative measure of movement, influenced by both magnitude and duration of acceleration—to differentiate between when a physical activity monitoring (PAM) device (ActiGraph accelerometer) is being worn by a participant (wear) from when it is not (nonwear). It was applied to PAM data generated from the 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003–2004). We discuss two corner case conditions that can produce unexpected, and perhaps unintended results when the algorithm is applied. We show, using simulated data of two special cases, how this algorithm classifies a 24-hour period with only 72 total counts as 100% wear in one case, and classifies a 24-hour period with 96,000 counts as 0.1% wear in another. The prevalence of like scenarios in the NHANES 2003–2004 PAM dataset is presented with corresponding summary statistics for varying degrees of the algorithm’s nonwear classification threshold (T). The number of participants with valid days, defined as 10 or more hours classified as wear time in a 24-hour day, increased while the mean counts-per-minute (CPM) decreased as the threshold for excluding non-wear was reduced from the allowed 4,000 counts in an hour. The number of participants with four or more valid days increased 2.29% (n = 113) and mean CPM dropped 2.45% (9.5 CPM) when adjusting the nonwear classification threshold to 50 counts an hour. Applying the most liberal criteria, only excluding hours as nonwear which contained 1 count or less, resulted in a 397 more participants (7.83% increase) and 26.5 fewer CPM (6.98% decrease) in NHANES 2003–2004 participants with four or more valid days. The algorithm should be used with caution due to the potential influence of these corner cases.
Impact of Screw Length on Proximal Scaphoid Fracture Biomechanics.

Background Proximal scaphoid fractures display high nonunion rates and increased revision cases. Waist fracture fixation involves maximizing screw length within the cortex; however, the optimal screw length for proximal scaphoid fractures remains unknown. Purpose The main purpose of this article is to compare stiffness and ultimate load for proximal scaphoid fracture fixation of various headless compression screw lengths. Methods Eighteen scaphoids underwent an osteotomy simulating a 7 mm oblique proximal fracture. Screws of three lengths (10, 18, and 24 mm) were randomly assigned for fixation. Each specimen underwent cyclic loading with stiffness calculated during the last loading cycle. Specimens that withstood cyclic loading were loaded to failure. Results No significant difference in stiffness between screw lengths was found. Ultimate load was significantly impacted by the screw length. A significant difference in ultimate load between a 10 and 24 mm screw was found; however, no significant difference occurred in ultimate load between an 18 and 24 mm screw. Conclusions No significant difference in stiffness between all groups could be due to similarities in purchase in the proximal aspect. The 10 mm screw withstanding less ultimate load compared to the 24 mm screw could be due to the 10 mm screw gaining less purchase on either side of the fracture site compared to the 24 mm screw. Lack of significant difference in ultimate load between the 18 and 24 mm screw could be occurring because the fracture site is closer to the 18 mm screw midpoint, as distal threads are engaged closer to the fracture. Clinical Relevance Maximizing screw length may not provide superior fixation biomechanically compared with fixation utilizing a 6 mm shorter screw for proximal scaphoid fractures.
Review on Future Targets and Current Trends in Transcatheter Left Atrial Appendage Closure

Atrial fibrillation is cause for a growing burden of thromboembolic stroke. Transcatheter left atrial appendage closure is an alternative to lifelong oral anticoagulation for many patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Reviewed here are three commonly used devices (Watchman, Amplatzer Cardiac Plug/Amulet, and Lariat) and their key clinical trials, special candidate patient populations, and recent investigations of the impact of post-procedure antithrombotic strategies. Transcatheter left atrial appendage closure devices provide noninferior thromboembolic stroke risk reduction and superior bleeding risk reduction compared with oral anticoagulation in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Very recent studies of post-procedure antithrombotic regimens describe a variety of anticoagulant and antiplatelet pharmacotherapies without clear impact on device-associated thrombus or post-procedure embolic stroke though more study is needed. Transcatheter left atrial appendage closure is a viable alternative to lifelong oral anticoagulation to decrease thromboembolism and bleeding in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who are at increased risk of adverse event with anticoagulants. Patient populations at risk of bleeding on anticoagulants have been demonstrated to benefit from this technology, but there are several additional benefits of left atrial appendage closure unrelated to bleeding risks for specific patient populations. Data on the optimal short-term (weeks to months) post-procedure antithrombotic regimens is emerging and will play a significant role in how to best treat patients and which patients will benefit most from left atrial appendage closure.
Alzheimer’s Dementia

• The disability caused by Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is increasing worldwide with 4.6 million newly diagnosed patients every year.
Advanced Controlled Nanopesticide Delivery Systems for Managing Insect Pests

The need to produce food in sufficient quantities for supplying to the growing population has resulted in the development of a wide range of new technologies. There is always a loss of crops due to pests and, therefore, pesticides have become an essential part of the agricultural system to prevent crop loss. In recent past, a variety of pesticides as organochlorines, organophosphates, carbamates, and pyrethroids have been developed to combat the insect pests, however, conventional methods of using pesticides have severe adverse effects such as reduction in the agricultural yield and undesirable health effects on human and the environment by various processes of degradation of pesticides which results in less than 0.1% of the applied pesticides to be used as active part to kill the target pests. In recent years, advanced nano-controlled delivery systems have been developed for agrochemicals based on biodegradable polymers to maintain optimal pesticide concentrations, protect and stabilize the pesticides and reduce the frequency of administration. This chapter presents an overview of the nanoformulations used as systems for controlled release of pesticides and concentrates on the modern strategies adopted for the delivery of pesticides and their limitations and potential in achieving sustainable agriculture management.
Redefining infantile-onset multisystem phenotypes of coenzyme Q 10 -deficiency in the next-generation sequencing era.

Primary coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) deficiency encompasses a subset of mitochondrial diseases caused by mutations affecting proteins involved in the CoQ10 biosynthetic pathway. One of the most frequent clinical syndromes associated with primary CoQ10 deficiency is the severe infantile multisystemic form, which, until recently, was underdiagnosed. In the last few years, the availability of genetic screening through whole exome sequencing and whole genome sequencing has enabled molecular diagnosis in a growing number of patients with this syndrome and has revealed new disease phenotypes and molecular defects in CoQ10 biosynthetic pathway genes. Early genetic screening can rapidly and non-invasively diagnose primary CoQ10 deficiencies. Early diagnosis is particularly important in cases of CoQ10 deficient steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome, which frequently improves with treatment. In contrast, the infantile multisystemic forms of CoQ10 deficiency, particularly when manifesting with encephalopathy, present therapeutic challenges, due to poor responses to CoQ10 supplementation. Administration of CoQ10 biosynthetic intermediate compounds is a promising alternative to CoQ10; however, further pre-clinical studies are needed to establish their safety and efficacy, as well as to elucidate the mechanism of actions of the intermediates. Here, we review the molecular defects causes of the multisystemic infantile phenotype of primary CoQ10 deficiency, genotype-phenotype correlations, and recent therapeutic advances.