cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hippocampus: Molecular Anatomy

Analysis of gene expression in the hippocampus provides a means to understand structure–function relationships at a variety of levels ranging from the global genomic view to fine-detailed cellular anatomy. Gene markers provide a means to understand the cellular complexity of the hippocampus and also provide the genetic underpinning to generate unique phenotypic properties of those cell types as they relate to hippocampal structure and function.
Supercavitating Three-Dimensional Hydrofoil Analysis by Viscous Lifting-Line Approach

A new viscous lifting-line method for three-dimensional supercavitating hydrofoils is presented. The method is designed to allow for the strong nonlinear hydrodynamic characteristic of two-dimensio...
Defining and ensuring multidisciplinary high quality patient-centered shared decision making for procedures – A brief review of current state

Abstract Defining and ensuring the quality of decision making around surgery and other procedures is extremely complex. There are a number of factors that contribute to this complexity: lack of adequate metrics to define decisional quality, lack of training in this area for clinical providers, and lack of compensation for the additional time it might take to explore all related issues. Perioperative physicians have an important role in shaping the future of shared decision making by helping the patient reach an optimal decision about their care that takes into consideration the latest research, available options, and the patient's own values and preferences. The importance of decisional quality is increasingly being recognized. As we strive in the current health care environment to provide the right procedure for the right patient, ensuring the elimination of unnecessary and unwanted care that is not aligned with patient values and goals will become even more important in the constrained economics of health care and the increasing desire for patient advocacy, engagement, and high quality communication with caregivers. We provide a brief review of current state in this evolving area.
Cultivating Conceptions of Masculinity: Television and Perceptions of Masculine Gender Role Norms

The potential of television to both reflect and shape cultural understandings of gender roles has long been the subject of social scientific inquiry. The present study employed survey methodology w...
Male competition and speciation: expanding our framework for speciation by sexual selection.

Sexual selection is a powerful source of rapid evolutionary change, and there is a long-standing hypothesis that it can cause reproductive isolation. However, our understanding of speciation by sexual selection is largely limited to mechanisms by which sexual selection via female mate choice can drive divergence (i.e., when male mating signals and female preferences for those signals diversify; Panhuis et al. 2001; Maan and Seehausen 2011). Male competition for mates—Darwin’s second mechanism of sexual selection—can also favor rapid and dramatic phenotypic and genotypic changes, yet it has been all but overlooked in speciation research (Darwin 1859, 1871; Seehausen and Schluter 2004; Qvarnstrom et al. 2012; Tinghitella et al. forthcoming). Evidence suggests that male competition is capable of driving divergence and potentially contributing to the speciation process. First, male competition can generate strong selection that favors divergent phenotypes within and between populations. In some mating systems, male competition primarily determines mating success within populations (e.g., resource or harem defense polygyny; West-Eberhard 1983; Andersson 1994). In other mating systems, male competition acts as a filter, determining which males have access to females and, thus, the phenotypes available for female mate choice (Wong and Candolin 2005; Hunt et al. 2009). Further, the remarkable diversity in competitive phenotypes (i.e., weapons, agonistic signals, and competitive strategies; Seehausen and Schluter 2004; Grether et al. 2013; McCullough et al. 2014) likely results from population differences in selection generated by competition for mates. Second, it is well established that competition for resources can drive speciation via natural selection (Schluter 2001; Pfennig and Pfennig 2010). Competition for mating resources could have similar potential to shape the speciation process. This special column addresses how and when competition for mates can generate and maintain divergent phenotypes and facilitate reproductive isolation. Moreover, the contributed papers consider how competition for mates might hinder divergence and speciation. Our aims are to expand our current speciation framework to include the contribution of male competition, explore the diversity of mechanisms by which male competition drives divergence, and motivate future work by identifying key questions and gaps in our current understanding. Whereas most work in this emerging field has focused on male–male competition, female–female competition may be similarly capable of driving divergence and speciation. Female–female competition can arise when males are a limiting resource, including, but not limited to, sex-role–reversed mating systems. Within-sex competition for mates among males or females can generate disruptive, frequency-dependent selection of mate preferences and facilitate divergence and speciation (van Doorn et al. 2004). Thus, the ideas discussed throughout this column apply broadly to within-sex competition for mates.
Präklinische Versorgung brandverletzter Patienten

Die praklinische Versorgung schwerbrandverletzter Patienten stellt das Team des Rettungsdiensts oftmals vor eine grose Herausforderung. Einerseits konnen die Unfallumstande und die resultierenden Verletzungsmuster sowohl akut als auch nachhaltig beeindruckend erscheinen, andererseits mangelt es bislang an einem strukturierten, validierten und evidenzbasierten Handlungsleitfaden zur Diagnostik und Behandlung der Patienten in dieser Initialphase. Strukturierter Diagnostik- und Behandlungsalgorithmus zur umfassenden praklinischen Erstversorgung des Schwerbrandverletzten. Auswertung und Analyse bzw. Einbeziehung der vorhandenen Leitlinien, der Literatur und der im Wesentlichen an den Kriterien des ABCDE-Schemas orientierten Ausbildungs- bzw. Kurskonzepte. Schwere Verbrennungen, in deren Folge sich das Bild der Verbrennungskrankheit entwickeln kann oder die mit weiteren mechanischen Verletzungen kombiniert einhergehen, konnen anhand eines strukturierten Algorithmus in Anlehnung an das ABCDE-Schema praklinisch richtig erkannt, eingeschatzt und behandelt werden, bevor die adaquate Verbringung in ein erstbehandelndes Krankenhaus und letztendlich eine zeitkritische oder direkte Verlegung in ein spezialisiertes Trauma- oder Brandverletztenzentrum anzustreben ist. Durch die richtige Einschatzung und Erstbehandlung schwerer Verbrennungen und insbesondere thermomechanischer Kombinationsverletzungen lasst sich die Versorgungsqualitat der betroffenen Patienten bereits praklinisch verbessern. Daraus resultiert letztendlich eine erhohte Uberlebensrate.
Sooting tendencies of co-optima test gasolines and their surrogates

Abstract This study characterized the sooting tendencies of a set of gasolines and their surrogates using both experimental and computational methods. Sooting tendency was defined in terms of the soot yield when 1000 ppm of the test fuel is doped into the fuel of a methane/air flame, and it provides a measure of the intrinsic chemical tendency of the fuels to form soot in a generic combustion environment. The test fuels were real gasolines containing enhanced concentrations of alkanes, aromatics, cycloalkanes, olefins, and ethanol. These compositional differences caused the experimentally measured sooting tendencies of the fuels to vary by 240%. The surrogates were 3 mixtures defined by Szybist et al. (2017) and 3 alternative formulations modified for greater experimental convenience. The sooting tendencies measured for the surrogate mixtures agreed with the real fuels to within 15%, and varied with composition in the same order. The sooting tendencies of the surrogates could be predicted to within experimental error with an empirical quantitative structure-property relationship and a linear mixing model. The experimental flames were computationally simulated with a 743-species mechanism, and sooting tendencies derived from the results agreed with the measured values to within 11%. Overall, these results show that the sooting behavior of gasoline can vary considerably within the range of acceptable compositions, and that these variations can be accurately predicted with empirical models and computational simulations.
Supraphysiological Levels of Oxygen Exposure During the Neonatal Period Impairs Signaling Pathways Required for Learning and Memory

Preterm infants often require prolonged oxygen supplementation and are at high risk of neurodevelopmental impairment. We recently reported that adult mice exposed to neonatal hyperoxia (postnatal day [P] 2 to 14) had spatial navigation memory deficits associated with hippocampal shrinkage. The mechanisms by which early oxidative stress impair neurodevelopment are not known. Our objective was to identify early hyperoxia-induced alterations in hippocampal receptors and signaling pathways necessary for memory formation. We evaluated C57BL/6 mouse pups at P14, exposed to either 85% oxygen or air from P2 to 14. We performed targeted analysis of hippocampal ligand-gated ion channels and proteins necessary for memory formation, and global bioinformatic analysis of differentially expressed hippocampal genes and proteins. Hyperoxia decreased hippocampal mGLU7, TrkB, AKT, ERK2, mTORC1, RPS6, and EIF4E and increased α3, α5, and ɤ2 subunits of GABAA receptor and PTEN proteins, although changes in gene expression were not always concordant. Bioinformatic analysis indicated dysfunction in mitochondria and global protein synthesis and translational processes. In conclusion, supraphysiological oxygen exposure reduced proteins necessary for hippocampus-dependent memory formation and may adversely impact hippocampal mitochondrial function and global protein synthesis. These early hippocampal changes may account for memory deficits seen in preterm survivors following prolonged oxygen supplementation.
Archiving CCD/Electronic Astronomical Data

The availability and advances in two-dimensional electronic detectors, in particular the charge-coupled-devices (CCDs), are a great asset to astronomical imaging and spectroscopy because of their sensitivity, dynamic range, and linearity. In some cases photographic plates still offer an advantage to imaging of large size, but the advent of large format CCDs may make a figure of merit, the area per exposure time, much more favorable for CCDs.
Molecular markers for resistance to Heterodera glycines in advanced soybean germplasm

Germplasm line J87-233 is resistant to soybean cyst nematode (SCN) races 1, 2, 3, 5 and moderately resistant to race 14 with resistance derived from 3 primitive sources, ‘Peking’, PI 88788 and PI 90763. F2:3 progeny of J87-233 and SCN-susceptible ‘Hutcheson’ cross were evaluated for response to SCN races 1, 2, 3, 5 and 14. Linkage groups (LG) A, B, F, G, J, M, N, S were tested with 215 genomic clones and 45 decamers for parental genotypes. QTL for race 1 and QTL for race 3 were detected on LG A2, the region of BLT65V and SCAR 548/5631100/1025,975. The cluster analysis of 12 soybean cultivars and 38 plant introductions confirmed association of SCAR1100/1025,975 with resistance to races 1 and 3, and suggested possible DNA rearrangements that might give rise to new resistance specificities in the region. The highly significant association of K69T marker with SCN race 1 resistance in conjunction with its location, 18.5 cM from the reported QTL, exemplifies the importance of the QTL locus on LG G and suggests expansion of the linkage map in the LG G-terminal region. Detected interaction between loci on LG A2 and LG G, and also with loci on LG F and LG M, may play a significant role in the genotype-specific response to SCN. Identification of two major regions on LG A2 and LG G for SCN resistance shows their applicability to advanced germplasm, however, transmission of molecular marker alleles indicates that applied markers are not yet reliable in revealing all possible recombination events in breeding for SCN resistance.
Dissociative Symptoms in the Diagnosis of Acute Stress Disorder

The proposal for a new diagnostic entity requires very careful consideration of the benefits and risks that such a decision entails. On the one hand, if a condition that is prevalent in a substantial percentage of the population goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, the affected individuals will lack proper diagnosis and treatment of their condition. In turn, the lack of recognition of the diagnostic entity might prevent the proper research designed to understand the condition, its treatment, and its clinical and social ramifications. On the other hand, carelessly introducing new diagnostic entities brings the risk of pathologizing what may be innocuous or even appropriate reactions to the misfortunes of life. Further, even if the symptomatology of the diagnosis can be considered “pathological,” it is still incumbent upon the advocates of the diagnosis to show that their proposal will not simply add to the profusion of diagnoses, but rather that the disorder cannot be reasonably accommodated by the existing nosology.
Leukocyte endothelium adhesion and microvascular hemodynamics.

The effectiveness of the inflammatory response hinges upon the interaction between hemodynamic transport of white blood cells (WBCs) to a focus of adhesion on the endothelium and the shearing forces exerted by the blood stream which tend to dislodge them prior to emigration through the vascular wall.1,2 Within the micro vasculature, the preferential margination of WBCs along the venular endothelium predisposes leukocyte endothelium adhesion (LEA) when activation of adhesion complexes on the WBC and endothelial cell are initiated by an appropriate stimulus. Several mechanisms may promote the enhancement of venular WBC saltation, which may arise from either the kinematics of red blood cell (RBC) and WBC interaction,3 the hemodynamic influence of RBC aggregation at reduced shear rates,4 or the inherent rigidity of WBCs compared to RBCs.5,6
Attenuating M-current suppression in vivo by a mutant Kcnq2 gene knock-in reduces seizure burden and prevents status epilepticus-induced neuronal death and epileptogenesis.

OBJECTIVES The M-current is a low-threshold voltage-gated potassium current generated by Kv7 subunits that regulates neural excitation. It is important to note that M-current suppression, induced by activation of Gq-coupled neurotransmitter receptors, can dynamically regulate the threshold of action-potential firing and firing frequency. Here we sought to directly examine whether M-current suppression is involved in seizures and epileptogenesis. METHODS Kv7.2 knock-in mice lacking the key protein kinase C (PKC) phosphorylation acceptor site for M-current suppression were generated by introducing an alanine substitution at serine residue 559 of mouse Kv7.2, mKv7.2(S559A). Basic electrophysiologic properties of the M-current between wild-type and Kv7.2(S559A) knock-in mice were analyzed in primary cultured neurons. Homozygous Kv7.2(S559A) knock-in mice were used to evaluate the protective effect of mutant Kv7.2 channel against chemoconvulsant-induced seizures. In addition, pilocarpine-induced neuronal damage and spontaneously recurrent seizures were evaluated after equivalent chemoconvulsant-induced status epilepticus was achieved by coadministration of the M-current-specific channel inhibitor, XE991. RESULT Neurons from Kv7.2(S559A) knock-in mice showed normal basal M-currents. Knock-in mice displayed reduced M-current suppression when challenged by a muscarinic agonist, oxotremorine-M. Kv7.2(S559A) mice were resistant to chemoconvulsant-induced seizures with no mortality. Administration of XE991 transiently exacerbated seizures in knock-in mice equivalent to those of wild-type mice. Valproate, which disrupts neurotransmitter-induced M-current suppression, showed no additional anticonvulsant effect in Kv7.2(S559A) mice. After experiencing status epilepticus, Kv7.2(S559A) knock-in mice did not show seizure-induced cell death or spontaneous recurring seizures. SIGNIFICANCE This study provides evidence that neurotransmitter-induced suppression of M-current generated by Kv7.2-containing channels exacerbates behavioral seizures. In addition, prompt recovery of M-current after status epilepticus prevents subsequent neuronal death and the development of spontaneously recurrent seizures. Therefore, prompt restoration of M-current activity may have a therapeutic benefit for epilepsy.
Association of Bilateral Salpingo-Oophorectomy Before Menopause Onset With Medial Temporal Lobe Neurodegeneration.

Importance There is an increased risk of cognitive impairment or dementia in women who undergo bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) before menopause. However, data are lacking on the association of BSO before menopause with imaging biomarkers that indicate medial temporal lobe neurodegeneration and Alzheimer disease pathophysiology. Objective To investigate medial temporal lobe structure, white matter lesion load, and β-amyloid deposition in women who underwent BSO before age 50 years and before reaching natural menopause. Design, Setting, and Participants This nested case-control study of women in the population-based Mayo Clinic Cohort Study of Oophorectomy and Aging-2 (MOA-2) and in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging (MCSA) in Olmsted County, Minnesota, included women who underwent BSO from 1988 through 2007 and a control group from the intersection of the 2 cohorts. Women who underwent BSO and control participants who underwent a neuropsychological evaluation, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography (PiB-PET) were included in the analysis. Data analysis was performed from November 2017 to August 2018. Exposure Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in premenopausal women who were younger than 50 years. Main Outcomes and Measures Cortical β-amyloid deposition on PiB-PET scan was calculated using the standard uptake value ratio. White matter hyperintensity volume and biomarkers for medial temporal lobe neurodegeneration (eg, amygdala volume, hippocampal volume, and parahippocampal-entorhinal cortical thickness) on structural MRI and entorhinal white matter fractional anisotropy on diffusion tensor MRI were also measured. Results Forty-one women who underwent BSO and 49 control participants were recruited. One woman was excluded from the BSO group after diagnosis of an ovarian malignant condition, and 6 women were excluded from the control group after undergoing BSO after enrollment. Twenty control participants and 23 women who had undergone BSO completed all examinations. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) age at imaging was 65 (62-68) years in the BSO group and 63 (60-66) years in the control group. Amygdala volume was smaller in the BSO group (median [IQR], 1.74 [1.59-1.91] cm3) than the control group (2.15 [2.05-2.37] cm3;P Conclusions and Relevance Abrupt hormonal changes associated with BSO in premenopausal women may lead to medial temporal lobe structural abnormalities later in life. Longitudinal evaluation is needed to determine whether cognitive decline follows.
The intestinal environment as an evolutionary adaptation to mouthbrooding in the Astatotilapia burtoni cichlid

Many of the various parental care strategies displayed by animals are accompanied by a significant reduction in food intake that imposes a substantial energy trade-off. Mouthbrooding, as seen in several species of fish in which the parent holds the developing eggs and fry in the buccal cavity, represents an extreme example of reduced food intake during parental investment and is accompanied by a range of physiological adaptations. In this study we use 16S sequencing to characterize the gut microbiota of female Astatotilapia burtoni cichlid fish throughout the obligatory phase of self-induced starvation during the brooding cycle in comparison to stage-matched females that have been denied food for the same duration. In addition to a reduction of gut epithelial turnover, we find a dramatic reduction in species diversity in brooding stages that recovers upon release of fry and refeeding that is not seen in females that are simply starved. Based on overall species diversity as well as differential abundance of specific bacterial taxa, we suggest that rather than reflecting a simple deprivation of caloric intake, the gut microbiota is more strongly influenced by physiological changes specific to mouthbrooding including the reduced epithelial turnover and possible production of antimicrobial agents.
Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return: A case series with management approach

Partial anomalous pulmonary venous return (PAPVR) is a rare congenital anomaly that results in a left-to-right shunt. Based on the shunt fraction, PAPVR has a wide spectrum of presentations. If a significant left-to-right shunt is left unrepaired, pulmonary vascular remodeling can occur resulting in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Furthermore, if the condition is associated with an atrial septal defect (ASD), the patient can develop shunt reversal and Eisenmenger's syndrome in setting of severe PAH. Management plans include close observation, surgical repair, and treatment with pulmonary artery vasodilator therapies. Here, we present multiple cases of PAPVR to highlight the wide spectrum of presentations and the individualized treatment for each case.
Herpes simplex pericarditis in AIDS

Viral infection is the most common cause of pericarditis in healthy young adults and is frequently associated with clinical or occult myocarditis. Although numerous viruses can infect the heart in immunologically competent individuals,1 herpes simplex virus has not been definitively identified as a cardiac pathogen.
Monitoring of residual disease in chronic myelogenous leukemia by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and clinical decision making.

To the Editor: In the May 1, 1999 issue of Blood, Faderl et al[1][1] discuss the possible clinical role of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis in the surveillance of residual disease in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Faderl et al[1][1] raise questions regarding the
Stem cells: Cloning advance calls for careful regulation

Until now, it has not been possible to achieve reprogramming of a somatic cell nucleus and derivation of embryonic stem (ES) cells by somatic-cell nuclear transfer — the established laboratory technique for creating an egg with a donor nucleus in other mammals — using human cells. But Dieter Egli and colleagues now report the successful derivation of triploid human pluripotent stem-cell lines through somatic genome transfer into human oocytes. Human oocytes reconstructed using the traditional method (enucleating the oocyte then fusing the donor cell to the karyoplast) invariably arrested during the cleavage stages of development, but when the oocyte genome was not removed and the somatic cell genome was added, the resultant triploid cells efficiently developed to the blastocyst stage. Although the study falls short of generating pristine diploid nuclear-transfer-derived ES cells, it shows that such reprogramming is possible in humans. This work is relevant to regenerative and reproductive medicine, developmental biology and the study of stem-cell pluripotency. It also raises interesting ethical questions related to altruistic egg donation. The research and ethical implications are discussed in a News & Views article by George Daley and Jan Helge Solbakk, and in a Correspondence by Insoo Hyun and Paul Tesar.
Evaluating Instructor Strategy and Student Learning Through Digital Accessibility Course Enhancements

University students graduating and entering into technology design and development fields are underprepared to support digital accessibility due to a lack of awareness and training. Teach Access is a consortium of 10 industry partners, 5 advocacy groups, and 20 university partners working to address this issue. In an attempt to bridge the gap between what is taught to students and the increasing demand from industry, the initiative described here was aimed at awarding instructor grants to support the development of accessibility modules in tech-related courses. In our study we surveyed student attitudes toward accessibility pre- and post-instruction of these modules, as well as, instructor strategy. We found that across all courses, student confidence in accessibility-related concepts increased. The largest increases were found in student confidence in defining the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Our work makes the following contributions: 1) A detailed description of how accessibility was integrated into 18 different university and college courses 2) Instructional delivery methods found to be effective by participating instructors 3) Insights for resource materials development.
Teaching Java framework design using classic problems

In a 1976 article [4] Parnas observes, "Variations in application demands, variations in hardware configurations, and the ever-present opportunity to improve a program means that software will inevitably exist in many versions." He argues that the design of a program should be approached as the design of a family of related programs. He defines a program family as a set of programs "whose common properties are so extensive that it is advantageous to study the common properties of the programs before analyzing individual members." If programmers can identify and exploit these "common aspects and predicted variabilities" [6], the resulting software can be constructed to reuse code for the common parts and to enable convenient adaptation of the variable parts for specific applications. A quarter-century after his original article, Parnas notes that there is "growing academic interest and some evidence of real industrial success in applying this idea," yet "the majority of industrial programmers seem to ignore it in their rush to produce code" [5]. If software families are to become pervasive, students need to learn to design and construct them effectively.
A New Method of Eliciting Pyramidal Tract Impairment in Adults.

Background To suggest a new way of eliciting pyramidal tract dysfunction in adults since the most widely utilized plantar reflex, which is the Babinski reflex, has limitations with different reliability and consistency among different examiners. Materials and methods 168 adult subjects were examined for the new sign in addition. It consists of just an observation of the patient’s feet and toes in a conscious patient looking for the extension of the great toe along with fanning, spreading and plantar flexion of the small toes either at rest or when patient elevates one leg up at a time. Results We were able to observe the extension of the great toe along with fanning, spreading and plantar flexion of the small toes in patients with impairment of pyramidal tract. The specificity was 94% while the sensitivity was 96%. Conclusion Pyramidal tract lesion in adults can be elicited by this new test that observes the extension of the great toe along with fanning, spreading and plantar flexion of the small toes in patients. We suggest this sign as a complement to established signs like Babinski reflex.
Simple Methods to Correlate Light and Scanning Electron Microscopy

Based on technologies capable of data collection between the millimeter and nanometer scales, correlative imaging has been transforming how researchers obtain molecular and spatial information from specimens. Attempts to combine multidimensional data are often met with the challenge of overcoming suboptimal sample conditions such as reduced fluorescence signal, poor specimen preservation, anisotropic specimen deformation, and low specimen contrast. These issues motivated the development and use of enhanced sample preparation procedures, as well as specialized imaging software to overcome such challenges. In this work we present three simple methods to correlate optical and scanning electron microscopy images.
Producing a Beam Model of the Varian ProBeam Proton Therapy System using TOPAS Monte Carlo Toolkit.

Purpose A Geant4-based TOPAS Monte Carlo toolkit was utilized to model a Varian ProBeam proton therapy system, with the aim of providing an independent computational platform for validating advanced dosimetric methods. Materials and methods The model was tested for accuracy of dose and linear energy transfer (LET) prediction relative to the commissioning data, which included integral depth dose (IDD) in water and spot profiles in air measured at varying depths (for energies of 70 to 240 MeV in increments of 10 MeV, and 242 MeV), and absolute dose calibration. Emittance was defined based on depth-dependent spot profiles and Courant-Snyder's particle transport theory, which provided spot size and angular divergence along the inline and crossline plane. Energy spectra were defined as Gaussian distributions that best matched the range and maximum dose of the IDD. The validity of the model was assessed based on measurements of range, dose to peak difference, mean point to point difference, spot sizes at different depths, and spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP) IDD and was compared to the current treatment planning software (TPS). Results Simulated and commissioned spot sizes agreed within 2.5%. The single spot IDD range, maximum dose, and mean point to point difference of each commissioned energy agreed with the simulated profiles generally within 0.07 mm, 0.4%, and 0.6%, respectively. A simulated SOBP plan agreed with the measured dose within 2% for the plateau region. The protons/MU and absolute dose agreed with the current TPS to within 1.6% and exhibited the greatest discrepancy at higher energies. Conclusions The TOPAS model agreed well with the commissioning data and included inline and crossline asymmetry of the beam profiles. The discrepancy between the measured and TOPAS-simulated SOBP plan may be due to beam modeling simplifications of the current TPS and the nuclear halo effect. The model can compute LET, and motivates future studies in understanding equivalent dose prediction in treatment planning, and investigating scintillation quenching.
Improving interactions between parents, teachers, and staff and individuals with developmental disabilities: a review of caregiver training methods and results

Individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) depend on caregivers to meet physical, emotional, and social needs. This makes relationships with caregivers particularly important to quality of li...
Robot-Assisted Radical Cystectomy: The MD Anderson Approach

Radical cystectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy is among the most morbid procedures performed by urologists, despite it being the mainstay of therapy for patients with muscle invasive and recurrent T1 high-grade bladder cancer. The robot-assisted approach has been shown to have oncologic non-inferiority to open radical cystectomy in several randomized controlled trials, along with modest improvements in hospital length of stay, decreased blood loss, and decreased transfusion requirements. With appropriate experience, careful patient selection, and a team-centered surgical approach involving preoperative patient counseling, coordination with anesthesiology, and incorporation of enhanced recovery after surgery pathways, the robot-assisted minimally invasive technique can offer excellent outcomes for patients requiring radical cystectomy.
Pediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Initially described in adults, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is well recognized in pediatrics. Pediatric ARDS (PARDS) possesses a distinct epidemiology from adult ARDS, including a lower mortality. The recent adoption of a pediatric-specific definition will assist with future studies of the pathophysiology, mechanism, treatment, and epidemiology of PARDS. As we await such studies, much of our understanding of pediatric ARDS pathogenesis and treatment is extrapolated from adult ARDS. No specific targeted treatments have been shown to be beneficial in adult ARDS or PARDS, and supportive care with lung-protective ventilation and fluid restriction remains the mainstay of treatment. Here, we review what is currently understood about PARDS and offer recommendations for initial treatment strategies.
Collaboration Dynamics of R&D Teams: Theory and Experiment

I explore the dynamics of collaboration between two agents when one is incumbent with well-known ability (resources) and another is an entrant with unobservable ability (resources). If the incumbent is a low-ability type and learns the collaborator’s type based on history, then accumulating the reputation of being a high-ability type will lead to a breakup of the partnership in every equilibrium. If the incumbent is a high-ability type, collaboration is sustainable. However, a low-ability entrant shirks on the equilibrium path, so the first-best outcome is not attainable. I conduct an experiment and find that reputation-building might hinder collaboration.
Enhanced Immunoprecipitation Techniques for the Identification of RNA Binding Protein Partners: CRD-BP interactions in mammary epithelial cells

Abstract RNA binding proteins (RBPs) regulate expression of large cohorts of RNA species to affect programmatic changes in cellular phenotypes. In order to describe the function of RBPs within a cell, it is key to identify their mRNA binding partners. This is often done by cross-linking nucleic acids to RBPs, followed by chemical release of the nucleic acid fragments for analysis. However, this methodology is lengthy, involves complex processing leading to extraordinary losses, requires large amounts of starting materials, and is prone to artifacts due to the labile nature of mRNA. To evaluate potential alternative technologies, we tested “exclusion-based” purification of immunoprecipitates (oil-based IFAST™ or air-based SLIDE™), and report here that these methods can efficiently, rapidly and specifically isolate RBP-RNA complexes with minimal handling. The analysis starts with >100x less material than for techniques that include cross-linking. Depending on the specific antibody used, 50-100% of starting protein is retrieved, allowing the assay of endogenous levels of RBP instead of tagged and over-expressed ectopic proteins. Isolated protein and nucleic acid components are purified and analyzed using standard techniques to provide a comprehensive portrait of RBP complexes. Using exclusion-based techniques, we show that the mRNA binding partners for CRD-BP/IMP1/IGF2BP1/ZBP1 in cultured mammary epithelial cells are enriched in mRNAs important for de-toxifying superoxides (glutathione metabolic enzymes) and other mRNAs encoding mitochondrial proteins.
Assessing the need for on-campus medication abortion at California Community Colleges.

OBJECTIVE No studies have assessed the need for abortion access at California Community Colleges (CCCs), despite recent research and legislative attention toward on-campus medication abortion access at California's public universities, and the fact that CCCs enroll more than twice the number of students per year as the public universities. Methods: A demographic analysis compares student populations at California's public universities and CCCs using publicly-available data. Monthly demand for medication abortion among CCC students is estimated based on campus enrollment data, and age-, method- and state-adjusted abortion rates. Results: There is demographic similarity amongst these student populations with respect to gender and age makeup, supporting the use of methods created to estimate abortion demand in California public university students in this study. It is estimated that in total, CCC students seek 865 - 1,109 medication abortions each month. Conclusions: There is a clear need for medication abortion access at CCCs.
Emerging combination immunotherapy strategies for breast cancer: dual immune checkpoint modulation, antibody-drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies

Breast cancer has historically been considered a non-immunogenic tumor. Multiple studies over the last 10–15 years have demonstrated that a small subset of breast cancers is immune-activated, with PD-L1 expression and/or TILs in the tumor microenvironment. The PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy is now approved by the US FDA for the first-line treatment of metastatic PD-L1 + triple negative breast cancer, and the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab has also demonstrated clinical activity. The median progression-free survival for pembrolizumab or atezolizumab combined with chemotherapy increased with the addition of immunotherapy by 4.1 months and 2.5 months, respectively. Despite this success, there is major room for improvement. Clinical benefit is modest. Only about 40% of triple negative breast cancers are PD-L1 + , not all PD-L1 + patients with advanced triple negative breast cancer respond, and immunotherapy is not yet approved for advanced PD-L1-negative triple negative breast cancer, HER2 + breast cancer, or ER + breast cancer. It is likely that redundant pathways of immune suppression are active in breast cancer, or that important pathways of immune activation are silent. In this review, we discuss emerging strategies for targeting multiple pathways of immunoregulation in advanced breast cancer with dual immune checkpoint inhibition, bispecific antibodies, and novel antibody drug conjugates. We also discuss the potential of nanotechnology to improve the delivery of immunotherapeutics to the breast tumor microenvironment to enhance their antitumor activity.
Use of a Percutaneous Pointed Reduction Clamp Before Screw Fixation to Prevent Gapping of a Fifth Metatarsal Base Fracture: A Technique Tip.

Abstract Intramedullary screw fixation has become widely accepted as the standard of care for operative treatment of Jones fractures, allowing not only accelerated rehabilitation but also reduction of the risk of repeat fracture. The unique anatomy of the fifth metatarsal—mainly its inherent lateral curvature—makes fixation technically challenging. In general, surgical fixation should be performed with the largest screw possible, in both diameter and length, which will provide the strongest possible construct. However, an increased screw length and width have been associated with complications, including lateral gapping and distraction of the fracture site and malreduction of the fracture. The use of a pointed reduction clamp is a simple, yet effective, method of preventing iatrogenic displacement and gapping at the fracture site during placement of an intramedullary screw. Percutaneous reduction and stabilization of the fracture using this technique could help limit the complications associated with large screw fixation of Jones fractures.
Relative energy and intelligibility of transient speech components

It is generally recognized that consonants are more critical than vowels to speech intelligibility, but we suggest that important information is contained in transient speech components, rather than the quasi-steady-state components of both consonants and vowels. Fixed-frequency filters cannot uniquely separate transients from the more steady-state vowel formants and consonant hubs, even though the former are predominately low frequency and the latter, high frequency. To study the relative speech intelligibility of the transient versus steady-state components, we employed an algorithm based on time-frequency analysis to extract quasi-steady-state energy from the speech signal, leaving a residual signal of predominantly transient components. Psychometric functions were measured for speech recognition of processed and unprocessed monosyllabic words. The transient components were found to account for approximately 2% of the energy of the original speech, yet were nearly equally intelligible. As hypothesized, the quasi-steady-state components contained much greater energy while providing significantly less intelligibility.
Sedimentation Velocity Ultracentrifugation Analysis for Hydrodynamic Characterization of G-Quadruplex Structures

Analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) is a powerful technique for the characterization of hydrodynamic and thermodynamic properties. The intent of this article is to demonstrate the utility of sedimentation velocity (SV) studies to obtain hydrodynamic information for G-quadruplex systems and to provide insights into one part of this process, namely, data analysis of existing SV data. An array of data analysis software is available, mostly written and continually developed by established researchers in the AUC field, with particularly rapid advances in the analysis of SV data. Each program has its own learning curve and this article is intended as a resource in the data analysis process for beginning researchers in the field. We discuss the application of three of the most commonly used data analysis programs, DCDT+, Sedfit and SedAnal, to the interpretation of SV data obtained in our laboratory on two G-quadruplex systems.
Interstitial cells of Cajal are functionally innervated by excitatory motor neurones in the murine intestine

Recent studies have demonstrated that intramuscular interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are preferential targets for neurotransmission in the stomach. Terminals of enteric motor neurones also form tight, synaptic-like contacts with ICC in the small intestine and colon, but little is known about the role of these cells in neurotransmission. ICC at the deep muscular plexus (ICC-DMP) of the small intestine express neurokinin 1 receptors (NK1R) and internalize these receptors in response to exogenous substance P. We used NK1R internalization as an assay of functional innervation of ICC-DMP in the murine small intestine. Under basal conditions NK1R-like immunoreactivity (NK1R-LI) was mainly observed in ICC-DMP (519 cells counted, 100% were positive) and myenteric neurones. ICC-DMP were closely apposed to substance P-containing nerve fibres. Of 338 ICC-DMP examined, 65% were closely associated with at least one substance P-positive nerve fibre, 32% were associated with at least two, 2% were associated with more than two nerve fibres and 1% with none. After electrical field stimulation (EFS, 10 Hz; 1 min) NK1R-LI was internalized in more than 80% of ICC-DMP, as compared to 10% of cells before EFS. Internalization of NK1R was not observed in myenteric ICC or smooth muscle cells in response to nerve stimulation. Internalization of NK1R-LI was blocked by the specific NK1 receptor antagonist WIN 62577 (1 μm) and by tetrodotoxin (0.3 μm), suggesting that internalization resulted from stimulation of receptors with neurally released neurokinins. These data suggest that ICC-DMP are primary targets for neurokinins released from enteric motor neurones in the intestine.
Chapter 7 Instructive roles of neurotrophins in synaptic plasticity

Publisher Summary Studies over the past decade have shown clearly that neurotrophic factors can affect synaptic plasticity in a variety of ways and on a wide range of time scales ranging from minutes to several weeks or more. As this chapter has been the focus of several recent reviews, it discusses recent studies from the lab addressing the specific issue of whether the effects of neurotrophic factors on synaptic plasticity are instructive or permissive instead. When the different members of the Trk receptor family are expressed in heterologous systems, they generally trigger identical cellular responses when activated by their cognate iigands, such as extension of neurites in the case of PC12 cells and proliferation in the case of 3T3 fibroblast cells. One straightforward way to investigate potentially instructive effects of neurotrophic factors is to compare the effects of different neurotrophic factors on the function and phenotype of target cells and neurons that express multiple receptors and are, thereby responsiveness to several different neurotrophic factors. As peripheral neurons typically express only one Trk receptor at a given developmental stage, the studies in this chapter are focused on (1) neuronal cell lines that have been manipulated to respond to multiple factors, and (2) central nervous system neurons that generally express at least two different Trk receptor species.
Pion inelastic scattering to low-lying states in /sup 12/C and /sup 40/Ca

Pion inelastic scattering at 180 MeV from the low-lying collective states of $^{12}\mathrm{C}$ and $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}$ is analyzed using distorted-wave impulse approximation calculations with no free parameters and transition densities obtained from electron scattering. These calculations adequately reproduce the pion scattering data. No significant ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}$ vs ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ differences are observed at low-momentum transfers.
Pay at the Top: When Does HR Make a Difference?

Executive compensation, board compensation, and management succession are among the most important issues confronting corporate boards. Decisions in these areas should be informed by valid information and expert knowledge. An obvious source of information and knowledge is the HR function. HR leaders bring unique professional expertise and perspective to these areas. HR information systems can potentially provide unique and relevant data and boards can benefit from an HR contribution that goes well beyond administration and program implementation. In most corporations, the chief human resource officer is not on the board so there may not be a connection between the HR function and board decisions on compensation and succession management. Unlike such disciplines as finance and marketing, in many cases, HR must be explicitly invited to participate in board and committee meetings that deal with topics that involve its area of expertise. There are a number of factors that may influence the degree to which HR is invited to work with corporate boards on compensation and succession. It may occur because HR is involved in decisions concerning change management, business strategy and succession planning; all of these have implications for compensation and succession. In addition, the way the HR function is structured, the competence of HR leaders, and the information and knowledge available in HR systems may play a major role in determining the role HR plays in these decisions.
Dural Inflammation Model of Migraine Pain

The cause of migraine pain is controversial. One recently proposed theory is that migraine pain may originate from inflammation of the meninges, particularly the dural membranes that surround the brain. This theory proposes that, during a migraine, there is an idiopathic activation of trigeminal sensory afferents, resulting in nociceptive transmission to the CNS as well as the release of pro-inflammatory substances in the periphery, particularly the dura. Dural inflammation is thought to lower the nociceptive threshold of dural afferents and facilitate nociceptive transmission to the central nervous system. In the procedure described in this unit, trigeminal sensory afferents are activated by electrically stimulating the trigeminal ganglion. This stimulation causes trigeminal peripheral sensory afferents to depolarize, inflammatory substances to be released from these afferents, and dural inflammation to appear. Dural inflammation is quantified by measuring plasma protein extravasation. The basic protocol describes this model in rats, and the alternate protocol describes the analogous procedure in guinea pigs.