cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Figure-ground organization based on three-dimensional symmetry

We present an approach to figure/ground organization using mirror symmetry as a general purpose and biologically motivated prior. Psychophysical evidence suggests that the human visual system makes use of symmetry in producing three-dimensional (3-D) percepts of objects. 3-D symmetry aids in scene organization because (i) almost all objects exhibit symmetry, and (ii) configurations of objects are not likely to be symmetric unless they share some additional relationship. No general purpose approach is known for solving 3-D symmetry correspondence in two-dimensional (2-D) camera images, because few invariants exist. Therefore, we present a general purpose method for finding 3-D symmetry correspondence by pairing the problem with the two-view geometry of the binocular correspondence problem. Mirror symmetry is a spatially global property that is not likely to be lost in the spatially local noise of binocular depth maps. We tested our approach on a corpus of 180 images collected indoors with a stereo camera system. K-means clustering was used as a baseline for comparison. The informative nature of the symmetry prior makes it possible to cluster data without a priori knowledge of which objects may appear in the scene, and without knowing how many objects there are in the scene.
Chronic and Recurrent Abdominal Pain

1. Paul E. Hyman, MD* 1. *Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and Children’s Hospital of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA. The past 20 years have witnessed a transition in clinical understanding of childhood bellyaches. The recently published third iteration of pediatric Rome criteria provides updated and accurate criteria for symptom-based diagnosis of chronic and recurrent abdominal pain. In many cases, primary care clinicians can make symptom-based diagnoses and initiate treatment on the first visit. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Make symptom-based diagnoses of functional abdominal pain disorders. 2. List a variety of treatment options for children with functional abdominal pain. 3. Recognize warning signs that discriminate disease from functional abdominal pain. 4. Understand how psychosocial factors play a role in disability associated with functional abdominal pain. By definition, chronic or recurrent abdominal pain must occur at least 4 times each month for at least 2 months. Abdominal pain complaints begin as soon as a child can provide an accurate pain history, usually around age 7 years but occasionally younger. Before that age, children have difficulty separating emotional distress from physical pain. The differential diagnosis of child and adolescent abdominal pain is unrelated to age. One in 10 children visits a clinician because of chronic or recurrent abdominal pain. (1) How can a clinician screen quickly for disease? The first consideration is the duration of each episode. If the pain lasts less than 5 minutes, even if it occurs many times daily, the pain is unlikely to be worrisome. Abdominal pains lasting just a few minutes may be abdominal wall muscle cramps or high-amplitude-propagating colon contractions. High-amplitude-propagating contractions are waves of muscle contraction starting in the ascending colon, with pressures greater than 60 mm Hg, that move colonic contents through the colon to …
Volume of Plasma Expansion and Functional Outcomes in Stroke.

Background Plasma expansion in acute ischemic stroke has potential to improve cerebral perfusion, but the long-term effects on functional outcome are mixed in prior trials. The goal of this study was to evaluate how the magnitude of plasma expansion affects neurological recovery in acute stroke.
Association of Mild Anemia and Executive Cognitive Function Impairment in High Functioning Community-Dwelling Older Women.

Abstract Background: Anemia in the elderly is common and may be associated with atypical clinical presentations. Although the impact of severe anemia on cognition has been studied in patients with cancer, less is known about the association of mild anemia on cognitive function in the elderly. Executive cognitive functioning (ECF) refers to the execution of complex activities that involve a set of higher-order cognitive abilities primarily dependent on the frontal lobes. ECF plays a major role in the maintenance of the functional status of older adults. Knowledge about potentially modifiable risk factors for ECF impairment in older adults is limited. The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that mild anemia is associated with ECF impairment in high functioning, community-dwelling older women. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from the Women's Health and Aging Study (WHAS) II, 1994–1996, Baltimore, MD. WHAS II is a population-based study of 436 cognitively intact (Mini-Mental State Exam >24) and highly physically functioning women aged 70–80 years. The analytic sample included 364 subjects with Hb >10 g/dL and the following ECF test components: Trail Making Tests part B (TMTB) - primary outcome - and part A (TMTA), and the difference TMTB-TMTA. Multivariate polytomous logistic regression models were used to model the relationship between performance (based on tertiles) on each ECF test as a function of Hb, while controlling for age, education, cardiovascular disease, and a number of other potential confounders, such as hypertension, diabetes, depressive symptoms, calculated creatinine clearance, forced expiratory volume in the first second, thyroid stimulating hormone, total cholesterol levels, body mass index, walking speed, and prevalent mobility difficulty. Results: Subjects with mild anemia (Hb 10–12 g/dL) performed worst in all ECF tests; i.e., the percentage of subjects in the best performance tertile for each test was lowest for those with Hb within 10–12 g/dL. Estimates from multivariate models revealed that, as compared to those with Hb≥12 g/dL, those with Hb within 10–12 g/dL were substantially less likely to be in the best performance tertile of the TMTB [odds ratio (OR).23, 95% confidence interval (CI):.06–.86; p=.029], TMTA (OR.27, 95%CI:.07–.98; p=.047), and TMTB-TMTA (OR.30, 95%CI:.10–.89; p=.031), even after comprehensive adjustment. Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study, mild anemia was an independent risk factor for prevalent ECF impairment in high functioning community-dwelling older women. This raises the hypothesis that correction of mild anemia could potentially provide an opportunity for prevention of cognitive and functional decline in older adults. To test this hypothesis, prospective observational studies and clinical trials are warranted.
Multitiered Prioritizing Method Using Urgency Scale for Bridge Deck Rehabilitation

AbstractTimely implementation of bridge deck rehabilitation is important for sustaining the serviceability of bridges. With the chronic underfunding of infrastructure rehabilitation, the applicatio...
Another broken traffic light? Reducing traffic congestion in resource constrained environments

Managing traffic congestion in developing and newly industrialised countries is challenging due to unreliable road infrastructure. In the South African context, electricity power cuts coupled with traffic light cable theft leads to severe traffic congestion. However, deploying traffic cops or pointsmen at critical intersections has been shown to dramatically reduce road traffic congestion. We develop a system that autonomously recommends the best distribution of human resources at critical intersections in order to improve road traffic flow. Our system combines traffic related Tweets with real-time road traffic flow and incident data from TomTom® within an ensemble learning framework. Furthermore, a probabilistic ranking of traffic light intersections allows resources to be deployed to the most critical areas. Our system is developed and tested on real world data.
Acute unilateral hip pain in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP)

Abstract Background Flare-ups of the hips are among the most feared and disabling complications of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) and are poorly understood. In order to better understand the nature of hip flare-ups in FOP, we evaluated 25 consecutive individuals with classic FOP (14 males, 11 females; 3–56 years old, median age, 17 years old) who presented with acute unilateral hip pain. Results All 25 individuals were suspected of having a flare-up of the hip based on clinical history and a favorable response to a four day course of high-dose oral prednisone. Ten individuals (40%) experienced rebound symptoms of pain and/or stiffness within seven days after discontinuation of prednisone and all ten subsequently developed heterotopic ossification (HO) or decreased mobility of the affected hip. None of the 14 individuals who experienced sustained relief of symptoms following a course of oral prednisone experienced HO or decreased mobility. Incidental radiographic findings at the time of presentation were multifactoral and included osteochondromas of the proximal femur (18/25; 72%), degenerative arthritis (17/25; 68%), developmental hip dysplasia (15/25; 60%), previously existing heterotopic ossification (12/25; 48%), intra-articular synovial osteochondromatosis (8/25; 32%) or traumatic fractures through pre-existing heterotopic bone (1/25; 4%). Conclusions Developmental joint pathology may confound clinical evaluation of hip pain in FOP. The most useful modality for suspecting an ossification-prone flare-up of the hip was lack of sustained response to a brief course of oral prednisone. Evaluation of soft tissue edema by ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging showed promise in identifying ossification-prone flare-ups and warrants further analysis in prospective studies.
COOPERATIVE FORWARD INTEGRATION IN OLIGOPSONISTIC MARKETS

Abstract. A model of a two-stage vertical market structure consisting of producers, processors, and acooperative is developed to analyze the market incentives agricultural cooperatives may have forintegrating forward into processing activities and the comparative impacts of cooperative forwardintegration on producers and consumers when processors are alternately characterized by Cournot,competitive, and collusive behavior. Results suggest that cooperatives do not have an incentive tointegrate forward in competitive markets. In markets with some degree of market power, the potential forcooperative forward integration is linked to the cooperative’s ability to restrict the output of its membersto optimal levels.
Large-area alginate/PEO-PPO-PEO hydrogels with thermoreversible rheology at physiological temperatures

Abstract Alginate hydrogels have shown great promise for applications in wound dressings, drug delivery, and tissue engineering. This report details the fabrication and rheological properties of a multicomponent hydrogel consisting of alginate and poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) triblock copolymers, and the achievement of thick, castable gels with tunable, thermoreversible behavior at physiological temperatures. PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers can form temperature-sensitive hydrogels that exist as liquids at low temperatures and soft solids at high temperatures. In this work, we have employed PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers to impart thermoresponsive properties to alginate hydrogels in the form of a multicomponent hydrogel. These systems can transition between a weak gel and a stiff gel, with a corresponding increase in the viscoelastic moduli of approximately two orders of magnitude as temperature is increased. The temperatures corresponding to the upper and lower boundaries of the stiff gel region, as well as the storage modulus at physiological temperatures (e.g., 36–40 °C), can be controlled through the PEO-PPO-PEO concentration. Optically clear gels that are homogeneous on the microscale can be fabricated in a scalable manner to create flat, large-area thick films, making these systems favorable for applications in wound healing, soft tissue repair, and biomedical device coatings.
Seeds of Destruction: New Mechanistic Insights into the Role of Apolipoprotein E4 in Alzheimer’s Disease

Apolipoprotein E4 (apoE4) is the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Despite nearly 25 years of research, the mechanism by which apoE4 confers increased risk for Alzheimer's disease remains enigmatic. In this issue of Neuron, Liu et al. (2017) and Huynh et al. (2017) shed new light on this important question.
Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy at Terahertz Frequencies

Multidimensional spectroscopy in the visible and infrared spectral ranges has become a powerful technique to retrieve dynamic correlations and couplings in wide-ranging systems by utilizing multiple correlated light-matter interactions. Its extension to the terahertz (THz) regime of the electromagnetic spectrum, where rich material degrees of freedom reside, however, has been progressing slowly. This chapter reviews some of the THz-frequency two-dimensional (2D) spectroscopy techniques and experimental results realized in recent years. Examples include gas molecule rotations, spin precessions in magnetic systems, and liquid molecular dynamics studied by 2D THz or hybrid 2D THz-Raman spectroscopy techniques. The methodology shows promising applications to different THz-frequency degrees of freedom in various chemical systems and processes.
An enhanced un-split face-vertex flux-based VoF method

Abstract Multiple advancements of the dimensionally un-split, flux-based geometrical Volume-of-Fluid method on unstructured meshes are proposed. A second-order accurate interface reconstruction algorithm for both two-and-three dimensions is developed on unstructured hexahedral meshes. A new triangulation algorithm is developed that results in an absolute increase in accuracy and can be directly applied to other geometrical Volume-of-Fluid methods on both structured and unstructured meshes. A second-order accurate interpolation of point displacements is proposed for unstructured meshes. A global parallel error re-distribution algorithm is developed, with no negative effects on the L 1 error convergence and computational costs. All algorithms are parallelized using the message passing parallel programming model, with a minimal parallel communication overhead. The results show L 1 errors to be exactly numerically bounded, second-order convergent and lower than the errors reported for other contemporary methods, volume conservation that is near machine tolerance, as well as execution times comparable to those of methods developed on structured Cartesian meshes, regardless of the increased algorithmic complexity introduced by the connectivity of unstructured meshes.
The chained camera: on the ethics and politics of the follow-shot aesthetic

ABSTRACTThis essay explores the aesthetic, philosophical, and political implications of the ‘follow shot’, a tracking shot that follows a human subject on foot from behind. Analyzing two films that...
The relationship between field independence and sentence disambiguation ability

The relationship between field independence and ability to disambiguate sentences was ivestigated. Sixty-nine college students were administered the Components test of the Flanagan Aptitude Classification Tests as a measure of field independence. Sixty ambiguous sentences, consisting of 15 each of lexical, surface structure, underlying structure, and multiple ambiguity types, were used to assess ability to disambiguate sentences. Results revealed a moderate positive correlation between field independence and sentence disambiguation ability. This relationship suggests (1) that field independence is not a cognitive style limited only to perceptual restructuring processes and (2) that sentential disambiguation processes are not solely a function of linguistic competence.
Uncovering visitor identity: a citywide utilization of the Falk Visitor-Identity model.

AbstractIn his book, Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience, John Falk makes the case that by understanding the underlying motivations that drive a visitor, a museum can create an experience that reflects a person's identity and therefore satisfy their motivation for visiting. According to Falk, this level of personal connection increases meaningfulness to the visit. This, in turn, helps a museum develop and sustain a community of learners, and ultimately attendance and revenue. A network of nine cultural institutions in Denver utilized Falk's instrument to gain a “snap-shot” of what motivates museum-goers in one metropolitan community. The study, which employed the Falk Visitor Identity-Related Motivation Typology, and its results, is presented in this article. Further, Denver Zoo outlines how it has used the data from the Falk study to rethink and enhance staff professional development, program development and learning outcomes, and marketing.
Follicle-stimulating hormone, the Sertoli cell, and spermatogenesis.

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the current state of knowledge of the effects of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) on the testis and the elucidation of a specific target cell for this hormone. It also discusses the possibility that this hormone might play a role in the regulation of spermatogenesis in mammals. There is no doubt that FSH initiates a series of biochemical events in the testis of immature rats. These effects are confined to cells within the seminiferous epithelium. It is necessary to elucidate the target cell that is acted upon by this hormone to directly demonstrate a role of FSH. The chapter presents a diagram representing a temporal sequence of events that are initiated by FSH interacting with the testes of immature animals. This hormone first binds to specific receptors present on membranes of target cells with resultant stimulation of the adenylate cyclase system. This leads to an increase in intracellular concentration of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), that in turn activates soluble protein kinase. The enhanced catalytic activity of this enzyme is responsible for increased phosphorylation of a variety of proteins. These proteins are postulated to play a role in underwriting the subsequent biochemical effects of this gonadotropin. The chapter also discusses elucidation of the sertoli cell as a primary target for FSH, androgen-binding protein as an end-point marker for assessing FSH action in sertoli cells, the sertoli cell as an androgen target cell, and isolation and translation of messenger RNA (mRNA) from sertoli cell-enriched testis.
CHAPTER 52 – Treatment of Hypoparathyroidism

Successful treatment of the hypoparathyroid disorders leads to an increase in the extracellular fluid ionized calcium concentration sufficiently to: (1) abolish hypocalcemic symptoms, (2) prevent the long-term complications of hypocalcemia. Therapy is primarily dictated by the presence of acute severe symptoms of hypocalcemia that demands the use of intravenous calcium salts to restore normocalcemia. Any patient with hypocalcemic tetany or a relatively asymptomatic patient with serum calcium of less than 7.5 mg/dl must be treated aggressively with intravenous calcium administration. Such therapy may be necessary to treat neonatal hypocalcemia because of hypoparathyroidism in premature infants or to manage severe hypocalcemia in adults with hypoparathyroidism. Serum calcium concentrations of five-six mg/dl in premature infants and less than 7.5 mg/dl in full-term infants with neonatal hypocalcemia and hypoparathyroidism demand emergency therapy. Treatment at higher levels of the serum calcium concentration is often necessary if specific signs of hypocalcemia are present. Affected patients with severe hypocalcemia often present with convulsions, heightening the need for acute management. In infants, youths, and adults with hypoparathyroidism, the principles of therapy are similar. However, the dosages of the medicines employed are sufficiently different that treatment protocols should be considered separately.
Survival and growth of planted and direct-seeded cherrybark oak in South Carolina

Five treatments were used to evaluate the survival and growth of planted 2-0 cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.) seedlings and seedlings grown from direct-seeded acorns of cherrybark oak. The treatments included: (1) deep-planted, top-pruned, (2) deep-planted, not top-pruned, (3) shallow-planted, top-pruned, (4) shallow-planted, not top-pruned, and (5) acorns direct-seeded. Survival was not affected by treatments. Planting depth and pruning did not affect survival of planted seedlings. The root collar of seedlings was placed about 1 ft below the groundline in the deep-planted treatments; however, after 5 yr these seedlings had survived as well as those in the shallow-planting treatments where the root collar was set at or near the groundline. Seedlings from the direct-seeded acorns were significantly smaller after 5 yr than planted seedlings. There were no differences in the size of seedlings in the planting treatments. Seedlings were 1.0 to 1.5 ft shorter when pruned after planting than the unpruned seedlings and grew more in height during the 5 yr period than the unpruned seedlings.
cDNA Microarray and Bioinformatic Analysis of Nuclear Factor-κB Related Genes in Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Squamous cell carcinomas and several other cancers have been found to exhibit microarray expression profiles that include genes related to nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, a signal activated transcription factor that is evolutionarily important in regulating early response gene programs to injury and infection. Inhibition of NF-kappaB by expression of a dominant negative signal phosphorylation site mutant of inhibitor-kappaB, IkappaBalphaM, under a tetracycline inducible promoter, established the role of NF-kappaB as an essential molecular switch modulating multiple genes important in the malignant phenotype. Bioinfomatic analysis of the promoter and coding region of IkappaBalphaM-modulated genes has enabled identification of new candidates with and without known NF-kappaB related motifs for validation and functional studies of their relationship to NF-kappaB. These studies illustrate how microarray data can be used to generate a hypothesis regarding regulation of genes by a specific signal transcription factor, and how genetic mutants and bioinformatic analysis can be used to analyze the relative importance of the regulatory molecule to expression of genes involved in the malignant phenotype.
Fractionation of RNA Capable of Transferring Transplantation Immunity

Previous work from this laboratory (Mannick and Egdahl, 1962, 1964) indicated that the capacity to react immunologically against specific transplantation antigens may be transferred to previously unsensitized lymphoid cells by incubation of these cells in vitro with ribonucleic acid (RNA) extracted from the lymph nodes of specifically immunized donors. The assay for this apparent transfer of transplantation immunity was based on the transfer reaction (Brent, Brown and Medawar, 1958) and on the accelerated rejection of specific skin allografts, both assays being carried out in rabbits. Similar observations have been reported by others who also studied the transfer of transplantation immunity in rabbits, rats and mice (Clarke and Wilson, 1963; Wilson and Wecker, 1967; Sabbadini, 1967; Rigby, 1967).
Microwatt Fuel Cell for Long-Term and Wide Ambient Temperature Range Operation

A small microwatt fuel cell stack and system was designed, fabricated, and tested for passive operation with pure H2 and O2 to provide continuous power for multiple decades with uncontrolled fluctuating ambient conditions. The stack was designed to operate with dead ended gas flows with water removal via passive membrane diffusion to notches in the bipolar plates. Additional requirements for decades long operation is minimizing H2 and O2 consumption, specifically membrane cross-over; to minimize cross-over, stacks were built with layered membranes of 100 µm and 400 µm. The stack spatial water concentration level was monitored during operation by in situ neutron imaging to evaluate the passive water management design. Operation was verified by testing at temperatures ranging from -55 °C to 80 °C, including periodic pulses in power.
Reprint of: Computer-Based Simulation Training in Surgery

Computer-based simulation training methods have emerged in mainstream residency training in response to evolving educational demands. These methods include surgical virtual reality (VR), computer driven full patient simulation, and screen-based simulations, of which immersive virtual environments reflect the most recent area of development. Over a single decade, surgical VR has progressed from demonstration of concept to a practical training tool, with a body of validation literature for part-task VR trainers that supports their expanded use, as well as the development of more robust and capable systems to satisfy the need for procedural training. Patient simulation is gradually entering surgical residency training for crisis resource management and team training that might not otherwise be feasible outside clinical settings. In the future, simulation of patient care in virtual environments may constitute a similar experience without the resource demands associated with full patient simulation. Collectively, the use of computers to create simulated learning experiences for surgeons is representative of an experiential learning model that has been far more developed in other undertakings, but which will certainly be more relied on in surgical training in the future.
Near Infrared Fluorescent Lymph Node Mapping with Indocyanine Green in Breast Cancer Patients: A Prospective Trial.

Background Near infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging is an emerging modality that can enable real-time image-guided procedures. Indocyanine green (ICG) is an FDA-approved, inexpensive, and widely available NIR dye. We hypothesized that axillary lymphatic mapping with ICG is equivalent to lymphatic mapping with technetium 99m (99mTc) in breast cancer patients. Study Design Breast cancer patients (cT1-2, N0) were prospectively enrolled. Patients underwent lymphatic mapping with 99mTc preoperatively and ICG mapping intraoperatively (0.8 mL). Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy was guided by NIR camera and gamma probe. Rate of failed mapping, number of SLNs identified, and rate of identifying pathologically positive SLNs were compared between the 2 techniques (p Results Ninety-two female patients were enrolled (median age 59 years). Mean transit time from ICG injection in the breast to localization in the axilla was 5 minutes (range 2 to 29 minutes). No adverse reactions to ICG were noted. Mean number of SLNs identified with ICG and 99mTc was 2.4 (SD 1.42) and 2.2 (SD 1.23), respectively (p = 0.34). Pathologically positive SLNs were identified in 18 (19.8%) patients. A total of 24 pathologically positive SLNs in 18 patients were identified by ICG in 24 of 24 (100%) patients and by 99mTc in 23 of 24 (96%) patients (p = 0.99). Conclusions Indocyanine green with NIR fluorescence imaging can be safely and efficiently used for real-time intraoperative lymphatic mapping in breast cancer patients. Indocyanine green performs similarly to 99mTc with regard to the number of SLNs identified, rate of failed mapping, and identification of pathologically positive SLNs.
Severe weather event attribution: Why values won't go away

We start by reviewing the complicated situation in methods of scientific attribution of climate change to extreme weather events. We emphasize the social values involved in using both so-called ″storyline″ and ordinary probabilistic or ″risk-based″ methods, noting that one important virtue claimed by the storyline approach is that it features a reduction in false negative results, which has much social and ethical merit, according to its advocates. This merit is critiqued by the probabilistic, risk-based, opponents, who claim the high ground; the usual probabilistic approach is claimed to be more objective and more ″scientific″, under the grounds that it reduces false positive error. We examine this mostly-implicit debate about error, which apparently mirrors the old Jeffrey-Rudner debate. We also argue that there is an overlooked component to the role of values in science: that of second-order inductive risk, and that it makes the relative role of values in the two methods different from what it first appears to be. In fact, neither method helps us to escape social values, and be more scientifically ″objective″ in the sense of being removed or detached from human values and interests. The probabilistic approach does not succeed in doing so, contrary to the claims of its proponents. This is important to understand, because neither method is, fundamentally, a successful strategy for climate scientists to avoid making value judgments.
Weighted Bergman projections and kernels: $L^{p}$ regularity and zeros

We investigate L p regularity of weighted Bergman projections and zeros of weighted Bergman kernels for the weights that are radially symmetric and comparable to 1 on the unit disc.
Association between Drusen Burden Determined by OCT and Genetic Risk in Early and Intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration

ABSTRACT PURPOSE To determine associations between macular drusen parameters derived from an automatic optical coherence tomography (OCT) algorithm, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) stage and genetic variants. METHODS Eyes classified as early or intermediate AMD with OCT imaging and genetic data were selected (n=239 eyes). Drusen area and volume measurements were estimated using the Zeiss Cirrus advanced retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) analysis algorithm in a 5mm diameter (perifoveal) zone centered on the fovea. Associations between drusen measurements and common genetic variants in the complement and high density lipoprotein (HDL) lipid pathways and the ARMS2 variant were calculated using generalized estimating equations and linear mixed models adjusting for age, sex, smoking, BMI, and education. RESULTS When compared to eyes with no measurable drusen, drusen area ≥ the median was independently associated with a higher number of risk alleles for CFH risk score, risk variants in C3 and ARMS2/HTRA1. Similar results were obtained for drusen volume. When all genes were analyzed in the same model, only CFH score and ARMS2/HTRA1 were associated with drusen measurements. HDL pathway genes were not significantly related to drusen parameters. Early and intermediate AMD stages were associated with OCT derived drusen area and volume. CONCLUSION Genetic variants in CFH and ARMS2/HTRA1, commonly associated with advanced AMD, were independently associated with higher drusen burden determined by OCT in eyes with early and intermediate AMD. The automatic RPE algorithm using OCT provides a quantitative classification of non-advanced AMD. Drusen morphology and other OCT-derived sub-phenotypes are biomarkers that could provide early anatomic endpoints for clinical trials.
Shared Decision Making: Radiology's Role and Opportunities

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to present a targeted literature review describing the current state of radiology initiatives in support of shared decision making and gaps that offer opportunities for innovation and improvement. CONCLUSION. Breaking down the shared decision-making process into its four major components (access to information, comprehension of the information, appraisal of the information, application of knowledge in care decisions) reveals the role of radiologists in the decision-making process and opportunities for expanding this role.
Assessing Hospital Staff Knowledge of and Barriers to Implementation of a Safe Sleep Environment on an Inpatient Pediatrics Unit

Background: Inpatient modeling of safe sleep behaviors strongly influence caregiver home practices, but little is known about staff knowledge, attitudes, and perceived barriers to implementation of a safe sleep environment in the hospital. Objective: To assess staff knowledge of and attitudes towards infant safe sleep recommendations and hospital practices. Design/Methods: This cross-sectional de-identified survey of pediatric staff (residents, physician assistants (PAs) attendings, nursing assistants (NAs) and nurses on an inpatient infant unit in an urban tertiary care children’s hospital assessed …
Factors Impacting the Adoption of a New Dominant Institutional Logic

Building upon institutional logics theory, we argue for a model in which all three levels of a field – the institutional level, the organization level, and the individual level – must be convinced ...
Development of Conceptual Animation Video Library to Explain Health Behavior Theory Applications from the Peer-reviewed Public Health Literature

While most undergraduate students in public health are aware of health behavior theories and models, they lack sufficient knowledge about how to apply and test them in Health Education/promotion re...
Commentary: vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty in the United States 2004-2017: national trends, regional variations, associated diagnoses, and outcomes.

Hafezi-Nejad et al have provided an overview of the United States’ national trends, regional variations, associated diagnoses, and outcomes from hospitalized patients treated with vertebroplasty and/or kyphoplasty between 2004 and 2017.1 While some results were predictable, such as decreased use following publication of negative augmentation trials, their review has also yielded other surprising and certainly intriguing results. It is important to consider, however, that this review is based on data obtained from the national inpatient sample. As such, the population analyzed would represent a group of patients with the most debilitating symptoms of vertebral compression fractures such as unremitting pain and immobility. The authors describe a period of decreased use from 2008 to 2012 as being attributable to the 2009 publication of two contentious and negative trials comparing vertebroplasty non-operative …
Can the Penalties for Treason Co-Exist with the Concept of Private Property? A Book Review of Charles Yorke’s

This book review of a 1745 British author provides an unintuitive insight that all property is either all private or all public (but not both), seen through the lens of widely accepted historical property and estate penalties for treason. The book review suggests a path of compromise between the State and private individuals and corporations that avoids this binary conclusion.
Abstract 1436: Mechanistic investigation of NAP1051, a lipoxin A4 biomimetic, in treating colorectal cancer

Purpose: Resolving tumor-associated inflammation in the tumor microenvironment (TME) can restore the immune response against malignant tissue. Lipoxin A4 (LXA4) is a short-lived endogenous bioactive lipid with potent anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving properties. We developed a LXA4 biomimetic, NAP1051, with increased stability and longer half-life, and demonstrated its properties using in vitro assays and in vivo xenograft tumor models and explored the underlying mechanism of action (MoA). Methods: Differentiated HL-60 and THP-1 induced by DMSO and PMA, respectively, were used as models. dHL-60 was used to determine the effect of NAP1051 on fMLP-induced neutrophil chemotaxis. NAP1051-induced dTHP-1 efferocytosis of apoptotic dHL-60 was measured using fluorescent microscopy. Concentration escalation and time of NAP1051 exposure were used to probe the molecular mechanism using Western Blot and RT-PCR. The efficacy of oral NAP1051 was evaluated in CT26 (CRC) xenograft model established in immunocompetent Balb/c mice with a dosage escalation design. Results: NAP1051 inhibited neutrophil chemotaxis towards fMLP by > 40% at 1, 10 and 100 nM (p Conclusions: NAP1051 has LXA4-like activity including inhibiting fMLP-mediated neutrophil chemotaxis and promoting macrophage efferocytosis of apoptotic cells. The molecular MoA of NAP1051 involves ERK1/2 and AKT signaling pathways which are interrelated closely. A PI3K-independent pathway may be activated and resulted in AKT activation. NAP1051 inhibited tumor growth significantly at 5 mg/kg/day in a CRC model with significant changes in splenic and intratumoral immune cell populations. With these properties, NAP1051 may be an effective component in the treatment of CRCs by modulating the inflammatory immune cells in the TME. Citation Format: Tiange Dong, Priyal Dave, Brandon Ebright, Kabir Ahluwalia, Eugene Zhou, Isaac Asante, Malika Salimova, Hua Pei, Tracey Lin, Andrew Mead, Zeyang Li, Nicos Petasis, Stan Louie. Mechanistic investigation of NAP1051, a lipoxin A4 biomimetic, in treating colorectal cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1436.
Successful spinal cord stimulation for chronic pancreatitis and post-laminectomy pain

Approximately one in five adults in the United States experiences chronic pain. Over the last 50 years, spinal cord stimulation has become increasingly recognized as a minimally invasive, efficacious treatment modality for the management of chronic pain. The authors report a case study of a 46-year-old female in the first documented spinal cord stimulation simultaneously targeting intractable neuropathic and visceral pain caused by post-laminectomy syndrome and chronic pancreatitis, respectively. This case study demonstrates near-total relief of the patient's neuropathic low back/leg pain and visceral epigastric pain, showing evidence of potential clinical usefulness for spinal cord stimulation as a treatment option in patients who present with a combination of visceral and somatic pain symptoms.
Tourists as reflexive agents of change: proposing a conceptual framework towards sustainable consumption

The transformation of the tourism industry to ensure more sustainable consumption and production practices also requires the transformation of tourists. Tourism is assumed to possess the potential ...
Validation of a Custom Next-Generation Sequencing Assay for Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening

Newborn screening (NBS) for Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is associated with improved outcomes. All US states screen for CF; however, CF NBS algorithms have high false positive (FP) rates. In New York State (NYS), the positive predictive value of CF NBS improved from 3.7% to 25.2% following the implementation of a three-tier IRT-DNA-SEQ approach using commercially available tests. Here we describe a modification of the NYS CF NBS algorithm via transition to a new custom next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform for more comprehensive cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene analysis. After full gene sequencing, a tiered strategy is used to first analyze only a specific panel of 338 clinically relevant CFTR variants (second-tier), followed by unblinding of all sequence variants and bioinformatic assessment of deletions/duplications in a subset of samples requiring third-tier analysis. We demonstrate the analytical and clinical validity of the assay and the feasibility of use in the NBS setting. The custom assay has streamlined our molecular workflow, increased throughput, and allows for bioinformatic customization of second-tier variant panel content. NBS aims to identify those infants with the highest disease risk. Technological molecular improvements can be applied to NBS algorithms to reduce the burden of FP referrals without loss of sensitivity.
Specifying crash safety for storage systems

Software that is provably correct has been a long-time goal of computer science. Until recently this goal was realized for only small programs, but over the last decade several large systems have been built that have provable correctness properties. Examples include CompCert [21], seL4 [20], IronClad [13], CertiKOS [12], Bedrock [4, 5], Termite [32], Click’s dataplane [8], and Jitk [35]. One aspect not covered by these systems is reasoning about failures—power failures, hardware faults, or software bugs—which is well-known to be tricky in systems code. An important example of where failures matter is a file system, because developers often make subtle mistakes in recovery code, and recovery code is complex and not frequently executed. Even if such bugs are rare, they can still be costly, since they can lead to complete data loss [41]. Proving the absence of such bugs in critical software, such as a file system, is an appealing proposition. To explore what it takes to certify a file system, we are in the process of building one such file system and its machine-checked proof. Our goal is to certify a simple Unix-like file system with logging. We want to prove that our file system’s implementation is correct: it matches the specification, even if there are crashes. There are many aspects involved in implementing a certified file system, but the design choice on which everything else depends is the question of how to write specifications. We found that writing specification is surprisingly tricky. This paper summarizes what we have learned from exploring several specification strategies, including one approach that has worked well for us. Writing a precise specification assumes that you know what the specification is. Unfortunately, POSIX is not well specified: file systems have many different interpretations of what POSIX means, in particular under failures. Furthermore, file systems allow operators to configure them to have different behaviors under failure, which can result in surprising results for application writers [29]. In this paper, we adopt a simple compromise: each system call runs atomically. If there is a failure, either the system call happened completely or not all. The system call never leaves the file system in an intermediate state. There are many ways to write a specification for atomic systems calls, like there are many ways to design and implement an API, and it was initially unclear to us which one was the right choice. What criteria determine if a specification is a good one? Our three goals were (1) to prevent real bugs, (2) to enable proof automation, and (3) to allow for modularity. The rest of this paper explores this question by examining different approaches to specify the behavior of a file system under crashes. We report on what approaches we discarded and describe why an approach based on Hoare logic with an extensions for crash predicates and recovery semantics works well.
Programming Embedded Computing Systems using Static Embedded SQL

The information technology boom in the last decade has made embedded computing systems increasingly common. This has fueled the need for increased automation for large parts of the software development process of such systems. However, such automation must account for the fact that embedded software may require guarantees on response times and can have limited memory available for storing code and data. In this paper, we show how parts of the software can be written in a declarative programming language such as SQL. This is challenging because (1) SQL is a declarative language that abstracts any consideration of execution time, (2) most commercial SQL engines have a large footprint that cannot be stored on an embedded device, and (3) most SQL operations can be executed in satisfactory time only when potentially large amounts of additional storage is available for auxiliary structures, such as indices and materialized views. The paper shows how these challenges can be addressed by using the following strategies. (1) A subset of SQL is deflned, called „SQL, with the property that operations in this subset can always be supported in time logarithmic in the size of the underlying database. Consequently, programmers have immediate guarantees on worst case response times for control data access and update. (2) All data operations are pre-compiled in order to avoid expensive query parsing and optimization during run-time and to avoid the need for storing large components of a general purpose database engine on the embedded device itself. (3) Only data required for e‐cient execution of the predeflned operations is stored on the embedded system. (4) All search structures are implemented using a novel physical design that reduces the need for storing duplicate data.
Localized micro-scale disruption of cells using laser-generated focused ultrasound.

We utilize laser-generated focused ultrasound (LGFU) to create targeted mechanical disturbance on a few cells. The LGFU is transmitted through an optoacoustic lens that converts laser pulses into focused ultrasound. The tight focusing (<100 µm) and high peak pressure of the LGFU produces cavitational disturbances at a localized spot with micro-jetting and secondary shock-waves arising from micro-bubble collapse. We demonstrate that LGFU can be used as a non-contact, non-ionizing, high-precision tool to selectively detach a single cell from its culture substrate. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of biomolecule delivery in a small population of cells targeted by LGFU at pressure amplitudes below and above the cavitation threshold. We experimentally confirm that cavitational disruption is required for delivery of propidium iodide, a membrane-impermeable nucleic acid-binding dye, into cells. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
James Baldwin's Blues and the Function of Art

James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues," first published in 1957, has been anthologized several times since its inclusion in Baldwin's Going to Meet the Man (1965). It is a fine and immediately appealing story, but it has never received critical treatment adequate to its complexity. The best analysis—an essay by John M. Reilly—rightly asserts the centrality of the blues in the story as a means of personal and social communication. In the last scene, Reilly sees the reconciliation of the narrator and his brother (which certainly does occur) and an affirmation of the blues as "a metaphor of Black community." But the meaning of the "blues is, as I hope to show, rather wider than Reilly seems to think, and is part of a larger theme which is conveyed almost wholly through the story's images. "Sonny's Blues" is Baldwin's most concise and suggestive statement about the nature and function of art, and is doubly artful in making that statement through life situations.
Neurotrophic factors improve muscle reinnervation from embryonic neurons

Motoneurons die in diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and after spinal cord trauma, inducing muscle denervation. We tested whether transplantation of embryonic cells with neurotrophic factors into peripheral nerve of adult rats improves muscle reinnervation and motor unit function more than cells alone. One week after sciatic nerve section, embryonic ventral spinal cord cells were transplanted into the tibial nerve with or without glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, hepatocyte growth factor, and insulin-like growth factor-1. These cells represented the only neuron source for muscle reinnervation. Ten weeks after transplantation, all medial gastrocnemius muscles contracted in response to electrical stimulation of cell transplants with factors. Only 80% of muscles responded with cells alone. Factors and cells resulted in survival of more motoneurons and reinnervation of more muscle fibers for a given axon (motor unit) number. Greater reinnervation from embryonic cells may enhance muscle excitation by patterned electrical stimulation.
Unconventional Transmission at Conventional Synapses of an Inhibitory Interneuron

The AII amacrine cell (AII) is a key information hub in the retina, allowing rod-driven signals to piggyback onto cone-dominated circuitry. In this issue, Balakrishnan et al. (2015) use capacitance recordings to unravel mechanisms of inhibitory synaptic transmission by AIIs.
Ethical Challenges for Intervening in Drug Use: Policy, Research, and Treatment Issues, by John Kleinig and Stanley Einstein (Eds.)

Numerous forms of psychoactive substances have existed for a long time with varying and complicated social responses in terms of policies, treatment, sanctions, and public opinion. The variation in...