cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of human infants and rhesus monkeys on Piaget's AB task: evidence for dependence on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

This paper reports evidence linking dorsolateral prefrontal cortex with one of the cognitive abilities that emerge between 7.5-12 months in the human infant. The task used was Piaget's Stage IV Object Permanence Test, known as AB (pronounced "A not B"). The AB task was administered (a) to human infants who were followed longitudinally and (b) to intact and operated adult rhesus monkeys with bilateral prefrontal and parietal lesions. Human infants displayed a clear developmental progression in AB performance, i.e., the length of delay required to elicit the AB error pattern increased from 2-5 s at 7.5-9 months to over 10 s at 12 months of age. Monkeys with bilateral ablations of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex performed on the AB task as did human infants of 7.5-9 months; i.e., they showed the AB error pattern at delays of 2-5 s and chance performance at 10 s. Unoperated and parietally operated monkeys succeeded at delays of 2, 5, and 10 s; as did 12 month old human infants. AB bears a striking resemblance to Delayed Response, the classic test for dorsolateral prefrontal function in the rhesus monkey, and indeed performance on AB and Delayed Response in the same animals in the present study was fully comparable. These findings provide direct evidence that AB performance depends upon dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in rhesus monkeys and indicates that maturation of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may underlie the developmental improvement in AB performance of human infants from 7.5-12 months of age. This improvement marks the development of the ability to hold a goal in mind in the absence of external cues, and to use that remembered goal to guide behavior despite the pull of previous reinforcement to act otherwise. This confers flexibility and freedom to choose and control what one does.
Osteoclasts and CD8 T Cells Form a Negative Feedback Loop That Contributes to Homeostasis of Both the Skeletal and Immune Systems

There are a number of dynamic regulatory loops that maintain homeostasis of the immune and skeletal systems. In this review, we highlight a number of these regulatory interactions that contribute to maintaining homeostasis. In addition, we review data on a negative regulatory feedback loop between osteoclasts and CD8 T cells that contributes to homeostasis of both the skeletal and immune systems.
Influence of cross‐match on posttransfusion packed cell volume in feline packed red blood cell transfusion

Objective To evaluate the influence of major cross-match on transfusion efficacy based on the change in PCV following packed red blood cell (pRBC) administration in cats. Design Retrospective study from January 2000 to December 2010. Setting University Teaching Hospital. Animals Two hundred nine cats received 233 type-specific pRBC transfusions as treatment for anemia. Forty-three transfusions were cross-match compatible and 190 were not screened with cross-match. Interventions Pretransfusion major cross-match. Measurements and Main Results Signalment, body weight, dosage of pRBC transfusion, pretransfusion PCV, posttransfusion PCV, IV fluid volumes administered between the measurement of the pretransfusion PCV and posttransfusion PCV, time delay between pretransfusion PCV measurement and transfusion administration, time between administration of transfusion and posttransfusion PCV measurement, and major cross-match testing data were extracted from the medical records of cats receiving pRBC transfusions and were evaluated for their influence on posttransfusion PCV scaled to dose of pRBC administered. The mean pretransfusion PCV was significantly lower for cross-match compatible transfusions (13.7 ± 4.2%) compared to noncross-matched transfusions (16.1 ± 4.5%; independent samples t-test, P < 0.0001). The PCV increase posttransfusion scaled by dose was significantly greater for cross-match compatible transfusions (1.02 ± 0.51%/mL/kg) than for noncross-matched transfusions (0.74 ± 0.65%/mL/kg; independent samples t-test, P = 0.0093). Of age, dose of pRBCs, cross-match status, reason for transfusion, pretransfusion PCV, and dose of IV fluids administered between the pretransfusion and posttransfusion PCV, only pRBC dose, cross-match status, and pretransfusion PCV were independent predictors of change in PCV with transfusion on multiple regression analysis (coefficient = 0.507, P < 0.0001; coefficient = 1.64, P = 0.041; coefficient = –0.235, P = 0.0009, respectively). Conclusions In this retrospective study, administration of type-specific, cross-match compatible pRBC transfusions resulted in significantly greater increases in the posttransfusion PCV when compared to administration of typed, noncross-matched pRBCs. Future prospective studies evaluating the effect of cross-match on transfusion efficacy in cats are warranted.
The jeweler's refractometer as a mineralogical tool

The jeweler's refractometer offers a simple method of determining the refractive indices of any mineral having a single polished sutface of at least 1 mm2 to a precision of about 0.002. For some crystallographic orientations of the polished sutface of anisotropic crystals, it is necessary to determine the angles the vibration directions of the measured refractive indices make with the polished sutface. This is accomplished by viewing the refractometer scale through a rotatable polarizing filter on which the transmission direction is indicated. With the knowledge of these angles, it is possible to tell if a crystal is uniaxial or biaxial: in uniaxial crystals to distinguish w from Eand tell the optic sign, and in biaxial crystals to identify all three refractive indices and thus determine the optic sign. Similar measurements can be made on a single mineral grain in a polished thin section. Also the indices of refraction of immersion liquids can be quickly determined with the refractometer.
Lumbar Lordosis and Pelvic Inclination

To the Editor: I applaud Youdas et al (Lumbar Lordosis and Pelvic Inclination of Asymptomatic Adults, October 1996) on their research examining the presumed relationship between muscle length, muscle strength, and lumbopelvic alignment. Studies of this type, which question the basis of common clinical practice, are exceedingly important in advancing our knowledge base. However, I would like to bring to the attention of your readers several areas of concern regarding some of the measures reported in the study. These considerations appear to call into question the validity of some of the measures. My first concern is with the reported measure of “pelvic inclination.” From the description of the technique and accompanying Figure 1, it appears that the authors are measuring the angle between the posterior surface of the sacrum and the true vertical. Ostensibly, the authors assume the angle somehow represents the inclination of the pelvis.… [ ARTICLE][1] [1]: /lookup/volpage/76/1066?iss=10
3-D True Amplitude Prestack Depth Migration

Most current true-amplitude migrations correct only for geometric spreading. We present a new prestack depth-migration method that uses the framework of reverse-time migration to compensate for geometric spreading, intrinsic Q losses, and transmission losses. Geometric spreading is implicitly compensated by full two-way wave propagation. IntrinsicQ losses are handled by including aQ-dependent term in the wave equation. Transmission losses are compensated based on an estimation of angle-dependent reflectivity using a two-pass recursive reverse-time prestack migration. The image condition used is the ratio of receiver/source wavefield amplitudes. Two-dimensional tests using synthetic data for a dipping-layer model and a salt model show that loss-compensating prestack depth migration can produce reliable angledependent reflection coefficients at the target. The reflection coefficient curves are fitted to give least-squares estimates of the velocity ratio at the target. The main new result is a procedure for transmission compensation when extrapolating the receiver wavefield. There are still a number of limitations e.g., we use only scalar extrapolation for illustration, but these limitations are now better defined.
Study of the Fluorescent Properties of Partially Hydrogenated 1,1′-Bi-2-naphthol-amine Molecules and Their Use for Enantioselective Fluorescent Recognition

The fluorescent properties of a series of H8BINOL-amine compounds are investigated. It is revealed that the intramolecular hydrogen bonds of these compounds contribute to the shift of the emission of their H8BINOL unit to a much longer wavelength. That is, the emission of H8BINOL is at λ = 323 nm, but that of the H8BINOL-amino alcohol (S)-5 is at λ = 390 nm. Binding of (S)-5 with mandelic acid suppresses its intramolecular hydrogen bonding and restores the short wavelength emission of the H8BINOL unit. When (S)-5 (1.0 × 10−4 in CH2Cl2) was treated with (R)-mandelic acid (4.0 × 10−3), a large fluorescence enhancement at the short wavelength (λemi = 330 nm) was observed with IR/I0 = 11.7. When (S)-MA was used under the same conditions, the enhancement at the short wavelength emission was much smaller. Thus, a good enantioselective fluorescent response was observed with ef =3.5 [ef: enantioselective fluorescence enhancement ratio = (IR − I0)/(IS − I0)]. This study demonstrates that the H8BINOL-based molecule...
Physiology and pathophysiology of pulmonary gas exchange.

Abnormal pulmonary gas exchange may result from a number of derangements of both pulmonary and nonpulmonary origin. Recognition of the mechanism of the abnormality will facilitate diagnosis and appropriate management. Using a simple model of the gas exchange unit, we can look at and analyze factors that alter the arterial blood gases in different ways.
Giant orbital materials and their dielectric properties

In the course of studying the properties of highly conjugated polymers we found that long range orbital delocalization conferred unexpected properties. The presence of giant electronic orbitals made these materials electroactive yet very stable. A new mode of electronic polarizability, a giant nomadic polarization resulted, [1-3] making these organic polymers among the most polarizable materials ever encountered. In addition, yet other attributes could be found, such as remanent magnetization [4], or metallic conductivity, or unusual pressure sensitivity. The giant orbital concept opens up new vistas of materials properties.
Pondering Farmworker Justice: The Visible and Invisible Borders of Social Change

Farmworkers play an integral part in both industrial and alternative agriculture, and in recent years the alternative agriculture and farmworker justice movements have been collaborating in more fruitful ways. These collaborations are applauded and are definite steps in the right direction; however, unlike many members of the alternate agriculture community, many farmworkers are discriminated against for their race, class, and citizenship status. These realities endure in that 25% to 50% of farmworkers are estimated to be undocumented individuals, new destinations for new farmworkers are often in states with tight immigration policies, and much of our immigration debate is based on a rhetoric of individual choice. As these types of partnerships become more common, power relations must be addressed and shifted if we wish to see more equal participation from both parties. This commentary outlines a framework for change at all levels of governance, and specifically expresses five ways in which the alternative agriculture movement can begin to shift power associated with race, class, and citizenship, and therefore create and maintain stronger partnerships with the farmworker community. These shifts will not happen overnight and will only occur if we work collaboratively to insist on a more transparent global capitalist system, advocate for immigration laws that are not based on fear, implement local food programs that include farmworker participation and input, and create new organizational policies that encourage individual voice and agency. See the press release for this article.
Post-Contact, In-Hand Object Motion Compensation With Adaptive Hands

In this paper, we present a methodology based on constrained optimization methods for estimating and compensating for post-contact parasitic object motions for underactuated, compliant robot hands and for deriving stable, minimal effort grasps to try to minimize these movements. To do so, we compute the object motions for different hand designs, object shapes, and object sizes and we synthesize appropriate robot arm trajectories that eliminate them, even in hands with complex flexure-based compliant members. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is validated using a seven DOF robot arm (Barrett WAM) and a range of compliant underactuated robot hands (Yale OpenHand models T42PP, T42PF, and T42FF). Note to Practitioners —During precision fingertip grasps, adaptive hands tend to move the object upon contact, to an equilibrium configuration determined by the elasticity of the mechanism and the forces exerted on the hand-object system. Such a behavior may be undesired for certain tasks (e.g., when grasping a full glass of water, the in-hand object perturbations may spill the water). In this paper, we propose a methodology for adaptive hands that derives stable minimal effort grasps, computes the post-contact parasitic object motions, and eliminates them using compensatory motions of a robot arm.
Thyroid Disorder-Related Immune Thrombocytopenia: Clinical and Laboratory Characteristics

Abstract Thyroid disorders have been associated with immune thrombocytopenia. However, there is little published data regarding the clinical and laboratory manifestations of patients with hyper- and hypothyroidism-related thrombocytopenia (Th-ITP) compared with those with euthyroid chronic immune thrombocytopenia (E-ITP). We reviewed the medical records for 135 patients who fulfilled American Society of Hematology criteria for chronic ITP. Results: Of the 135 patients, 71 (52.6%) were screened for thyroid disorders. Of these 71 patients, 17 (23.9%) were diagnosed with thyroid disorders, including 5 (29.4%) with overt hyperthyroidism, 5 (29.4%) with subclinical hyperthyroidism, 4 (23.5%) with overt hypothyroidism, and 3 (17.6%) with subclinical hypothyroidism. Four patients were diagnosed with thyroid disorders prior to their diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenia while 13 were diagnosed after. The duration of ITP follow-up was similar for the E-ITP (46.1 mo; range: 1– 333 mo) and Th-ITP patients (50.5 mo; range: 1– 173 mo). Age (49.9 yrs for Th-ITP vs. 45.9 for E-ITP), gender (82.3% females for Th-ITP vs. 70.3% for E-ITP), initial platelet counts (17.27 × 109/L for Th-ITP vs. 18.87 × 109/L for E-ITP), and initial bleeding manifestations (64.7% for Th-ITP vs. 66% for E-ITP) were not significantly different between the two groups. Significantly fewer Th-ITP than E-ITP patients had platelet counts Conclusions: Thyroid disorders are commonly observed in patients with immune thrombocytopenia, but do not appear to significantly affect the response to therapy or long-term outcome in ITP patients.
The Transmission of Educational Advantage across Three Generations: Grandparent Effects and Spousal Mediation in the Second Generation

The publication of research examining three-generational mobility processes has accelerated during the past half-decade, due in part to new and expanded data that now include large sample sizes of families with more than two generations. However, this area of inquiry is relatively new and little is known about the mechanisms of intergenerational effects beyond parent-child ties. In this article, we draw upon theory and research on intergenerational mobility, maternal education, educational homogamy, and status exchange to propose a new potential mechanism of the transmission of educational attainment from grandparents to grandchildren in the United States: second generation spousal mediation. Using the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we find evidence that grandparent’s educational attainment positively effects their child’s spouse’s educational attainment net of child’s educational attainment. This pathway then mediates the effect of grandparent’s educational attainment on grandchild’s educational attainment. Further analysis suggests no gender differences in the spousal mediation effect. Overall, this research suggests that grandparent’s educational attainment matters to grandchildren, but is partially mediated through child’s spouse’s educational attainment. We suggest that three-generational transmission of educational advantage is a complex topic in need of further, careful examination of original mechanisms.
Imperative BSPlib-style Communications in BSML

Abstract Bulk synchronous parallelism (BSP) offers a simple model of parallelism yet allows to take realistically into account the communication costs of parallel algorithms. BSPlib and its variants are programming libraries for the C language that support the BSP style. Bulk Synchronous Parallel ML (BSML) is a library for BSP programming with the functional language OCaml. BSML programs can be seen as sequential programs working on a parallel data structure (seq of par) while a BSPlib program is written in the SPMD style and understood as a parallel composition of communicating sequential programs (par of seq). The communication styles of BSML and BSPlib are also quite different. This paper shows that BSPlib-style communications can be implemented on top of BSML, without the need to extend BSML parallel primitives.
SHELL Revisited: Cognitive Loading and Effects of Digitized Flight Deck Automation

Acknowledging the SHELL human factors model, authors examine interfaces among components and assess problems created when the model is aligned with modern digitized flight deck systems. Complacency and over-reliance on automated systems are evaluated, and cognitive load and potential for degraded situational awareness are examined. Authors present a SHELL overlay demonstrating where particular digitized functions and operations present challenges to operators and markedly influence effective SHELL interactions in highly complex flight deck systems. Human factors contributing to the Asiana Flight 214 accident are examined and correlates identified with the SHELL analysis. Implications for advanced crew resource management are presented, and human centered system training applications are proposed for addressing the workload challenges. Implications for working and prospective memory functions are examined, along with accompanying biases. Potential for adaptive automation technology concludes the SHELL overlay analysis with potential for reducing cognitive overload in the digitized flight deck environment.
The Pupillary Control System: Its Nonlinear Adaptive and Stochastic Engineering Design Characteristics

Abstract Three developments in the bioengineering approach to a neurological control system, the pupillary response to light and accommodation are presented: (i) Wiener kernels (ii) noise analysis (iii) neurophysiological dissection The first two Wiener kernels , and a crosssection of the second kernel are shown in Figure 4. The first and second order kernels are of opposite sign and thus represent the early terms of a scale compression nonlinearity. That the first order kernel and the main diagonal slice of the second order kernel resemble the pupil pulse response suggests that the nonlinearity interaction occurs before the basic quasi-linear time shaping mechanism. The width of the second order kernel off the main diagonal is less than 1/2 second, indicating that there is no second order nonlinear interaction longer than this time. Similarly, the time delay, or non-minimum phase element is shown to be independent of the nonlinear interaction. Noise , a significant feature in the pupillary system, makes measurement of the deterministic characteristics difficult. However, the very nature of the noise itself may be independently studied to reveal aspects of the system otherwise inaccessible. This approach has enabled us to define the distribution function and frequency characteristics of pupil noise which describe a multiplicative noise generating mechanism. Ensemble characteristics displayed in the “noise plane” reveal an additional lag element in the noise pathway of a parallel path model. A similar parallel path is required in terms of a switching operation in off-responses. Other accommodation and light input experiments, and further, the strong correlation between noise in both eyes, suggest the Edinger-Westphal nucleus as the noise source or noise entry point. Neurophysiological studies involve comparison of stimulation by light with electrical stimulation of the various nuclei within the brain and to the nerves to the iris musculature. These have confirmed the locus of limiting dynamics to be in the neuromuscular plant. Microelectrode recording from single neurons in the brain stem suggest interesting interactions between different portions of the neurological subsystems controlling pupillary size. Several models of possible noise generating neuronal mechanisms within the brain, constrained to be compatible with the noise features described above, are being used to guide experimentation which may decide which model is valid. These three contemporary experimental approaches have been shown to present complementary views of the pupillary system. In addition to obtaining scientific description and deeper understanding of the pupil as a neurological control system, we are also obtaining further insight into the different number of engineering control-theoretic approaches.
Syphilis: The History of an Eponym

In the late fifteenth century, a hideous contagious disease, never previously seen or heard of, swept across Europe. It was “so cruel, so distressing, so appalling,” said Joseph Grunpeck (1473–1532), “that until now nothing more terrible or disgusting has ever been known on this earth”. The “never previously seen or heard of” disease was syphilis. When it first appeared, physicians and lay people had no term for it and invented various names to describe its causes and symptoms. The present essay is an ontological typology of many of those common names, before syphilis, an eponym named after a mythological figure, became the standard name for this sexually transmitted disease. Although syphilis is a common name rather than the kind of proper names generally discussed in Names, its eponymous character lends itself to some of the same ontological and epistemological analyses used to examine proper names.
November 2006: The Tide Turns Against the Cherkesov–Zolotov Group as the Succession Struggle Heats Up

In late 2006 the silovik war heated up still more in the wake of the murder of two anti-regime figures, journalist Anna Politkovskaya and recent emigrant to UK, Alexander Litvinenko. The circumstances surrounding the murders and their aftermaths caused serious damage to the standing of Putin and his government in the eyes of the Western world. Much evidence pointed to Kremlin guilt or at least connivance. Conveniently for the Sechinites, the Western outcry fed the anti-Western attitudes that had been intensifying since 2003 in the hardline sections of Russian elite opinion. These attitudes pushed Putin and his administration ‘to the right’ in both foreign and domestic policy. In sum, from June to November 2006, Putin had curbed the Sechin faction, and then, from November 2006 to February 2007, he restrained the Cherkesov clan. Putin also, reportedly, restored Sechin to his favour and set him to work on planning personnel changes. In February Putin aimed to keep the temperature down by appealing to all parties for restraint.
A Robust Method for Ultrasound Beamforming in the Presence of Off-Axis Clutter and Sound Speed Variation.

Abstract Previously, we introduced a model-based beamforming algorithm to suppress ultrasound imaging artifacts caused by clutter sources, such as reverberation and off-axis scattering. We refer to this method as aperture domain model image reconstruction (ADMIRE). In this study, we evaluated the algorithm’s limitations and ability to suppress off-axis energy using Field II-based simulations, experimental phantoms and in vivo data acquired by a Verasonics ultrasound system with a curvilinear transducer (C5-2). We compared image quality derived from a standard delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer, DAS with coherence factor (CF) weighting, ADMIRE and ADMIRE plus CF weighting. Simulations, phantoms and in vivo scan results demonstrate that ADMIRE substantially suppresses off-axis energy, while preserving the spatial resolution of standard DAS beamforming. We also observed that ADMIRE with CF weighting further improves some aspects of image quality. We identified limitations of ADMIRE when suppressing off-axis clutter in the presence of strong scattering, and we suggest a solution. Finally, because ADMIRE is a model-based beamformer, we used simulated phantoms to test the performance of ADMIRE under model-mismatch caused by gross sound speed deviation. The impact of sound speed errors largely mimics DAS beamforming, but ADMIRE never does worse than DAS itself in resolution or contrast. As expected the CF weighting used as a post processing technique provides a boost in contrast but decreases CNR and speckle SNR. The results indicate that ADMIRE is robust in terms of model-mismatch caused by sound speed variation, especially when the actual sound speed is slower than the assumed sound speed. As an example, the image contrast obtained using DAS, DAS + CF, ADMIRE and ADMIRE + CF in the presence of −5% gross sound speed error are 24.9 ± 0.71 dB, 39.1 ± 1.2 dB, 43.2 ± 2.3 dB and 52.5 ± 2.9 dB, respectively.
Optical properties of oxygen vacancies in HfO 2 thin films studied by absorption and luminescence spectroscopy

Hafnium oxide thin films with varying oxygen content were investigated with the goal of finding the optical signature of oxygen vacancies in the film structure. It was found that a reduction of oxygen content in the film leads to changes in both, structural and optical characteristics. Optical absorption spectroscopy, using nanoKelvin calorimetry, revealed an enhanced absorption in the near-ultraviolet (near-UV) and visible wavelength ranges for films with reduced oxygen content, which was attributed to mid-gap electronic states of oxygen vacancies. Absorption in the near-infrared was found to originate from structural defects other than oxygen vacancy. Luminescence generated by continuous-wave 355-nm laser excitation in e-beam films showed significant changes in the spectral profile with oxygen reduction and new band formation linked to oxygen vacancies. The luminescence from oxygen-vacancy states was found to have microsecond-scale lifetimes when compared with nanosecond-scale lifetimes of luminescence attributed to other structural film defects. Laser-damage testing using ultraviolet nanosecond and infrared femtosecond pulses showed a reduction of the damage threshold with increasing number of oxygen vacancies in hafnium oxide films.
Case Study: Human Trafficking in Guatemala

Maria Luisa, a 16-year-old young woman from Escuintla, Guatemala, fled to the United States and is currently living in Connecticut. She fled Guatemala by herself and after a very arduous and dangerous journey through Mexico entered the United States at Brownsville, Texas. She voluntarily turned herself into US immigration authorities and asked for asylum, telling them that she feared for her life if she were returned to Guatemala. Maria Luisa was very nearly a victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation in Guatemala. According to the analysis of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are an estimated 48,500 direct victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Guatemala. The illegal profits produced by this offense amount to 12.3 billion quetzals (1.75 billion US dollars), equivalent to 2.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP), more than the total budget that Guatemala spends to educate children and adolescents (CICIG and UNICEF 2016, p. 7).
DESIGN VARIABLES AFFECTING BONE-BIOMATERIAL INTERFACE MECHANICS

Publisher Summary This chapter describes three variables relating to bone-blomaterial attachment. These variables included material elastic modulus, material surface composition, and material surface texture. The chapter discusses the combination of these parameters that would provide the greatest interface shear strength. Histological evaluation of the implants included undecalcifled ground sections and corresponding high-resolution microradiographs. In the sections examined, it was found that the roughened surfaced implants exhibited direct bone apposition, whereas the smooth surfaced implants exhibited varying degrees of fibrous encasement. This was noted for both the uncoated and the carbon coated specimens in each material group. The material elastic modulus and the ultra-low-temperature isotropic carbon coating appeared to have had little effect on the interface mechanics or histology of the Implants. The roughened surface, however, did significantly affect these parameters. Thus, it was found that the ability to support initial interface shear stresses is a prerequisite for direct bone apposition.
Hormone Studies and the Diet and Breast Cancer Connection

The incidence rates for breast cancer vary widely in different parts of the world. The disease is more common in North America, Australia and Western Europe, relative to South and Central America, Asia and Africa.1-3 Epidemiologic studies which relate per capita consumption of various dietary constituents to international variations in breast cancer incidence provide the most consistent evidence for an association between diet and breast cancer.4-7 A significant positive association between total fat consumption and breast cancer incidence or mortality was found in all seven studies in which total dietary fat was reported. Among other dietary components that were compared to breast cancer rates, positive correlations with total calories, meat, sugar and specific fatty foods and negative correlations with cereals, beans, rice, maize and pulses were observed.7
Emerging Interventions for Age-Related Hearing Loss: Review of the CLARITY-1 Trial Through the Description of the Pharmaceutical Development Phases

Purpose Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic disabilities in the aging population. A brief review of current knowledge about the nature of auditory dysfunction commonly associated with ad...
Studying cultural relevance in online courses: A thematic inquiry

This study investigated if culturally relevant pedagogy was embedded into online reading courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in at a southeastern university college of education. The goals of the study were: to highlight the importance of a fully developed syllabus for adjunct and part-time faculty who rely heavily on the syllabus; to emphasize the importance of syllabi for curriculum and course integrity when programs move to fully online; to investigate whether the cultural relevance emphasized at the program level was evident in the syllabi. The findings indicate that alignment between assessment and objectives and a detailed syllabus in online courses are critical in creating culturally relevant online courses. This study is important to the field in several ways. First, colleges of education may benefit from the findings on explicit instructions in shared syllabi and in alignment in programs and courses. Additionally, including democratic classrooms and ensuring depth of knowledge in reading programs is important in program evaluation.
Clipping of Basilar Perforator Pure Arterial Malformation Aneurysm: 2-Dimensional Operative Video.

Pure arterial malformations are rarely-encountered intracranial lesions, often mistaken for arteriovenous malformations. A minority of these lesions may harbor associated aneurysms. In a recent series of 12 patients with pure arterial malformations, 3 patients had associated aneurysms.1 As the authors describe, the presentation and natural history of pure arterial malformations generally are considered benign. In over 85% of cases reported in the literature, they are discovered incidentally and in cases with documented follow-up the angio-architecture tends to remain stable.1 However, here we present the case of an aneurysm associated with a pure arterial malformation managed with microsurgical clipping. The patient presented to us with the development of hemorrhage within and/or around the lesion and the development of a partial CN III palsy. Using a cranio-orbital approach, we successfully performed clipping of the offending vessel in the region of the basilar apex. Critical to the successful treatment of this lesion were: the correct identification of the offending vessel, recognition of the presence of perforating arteries, and clipping of the offending artery distal to the origin of the perforating arteries. This case represents a rare instance of a symptomatic pure arterial malformation with associated aneurysm. Verbal consent was provided by the patient for reproduction and publication of her case.
Attending to What Matters

Online services are increasingly intelligent. They evolve intelligently through A/B testing and experimentation, employ artificial intelligence in their core functionality using machine learning, and seamlessly engage human intelligence by connecting people in a low-friction manner. All of this has resulted in incredibly engaging experiences -- but not particularly productive ones. As more and more of people's most important tasks move online we need to think carefully about the underlying influence online services have on people's ability to attend to what matters to them. There is an opportunity to use intelligence for this to do more than just not distract people and actually start helping people attend to what matters even better than they would otherwise. This presentation explores the ways we might make it as compelling and easy to start an important task as it is to check social media.
Fundamental limits to radiative heat transfer: Theory

Radiative heat transfer between bodies at the nanoscale can surpass blackbody limits on thermal radiation by orders of magnitude due to contributions from evanescent electromagnetic fields, which carry no energy to the far field. Thus far, principles guiding explorations of larger heat transfer beyond planar structures have assumed utility in surface nanostructuring, via enhancement of the density of states, and the possibility that such design paradigms can approach Landauer limits, in analogy to conduction. Here we derive fundamental shape-independent limits to radiative heat transfer, applicable in near- through far-field regimes, that incorporate material and geometric constraints such as intrinsic dissipation and finite object sizes, and show that these preclude reaching the Landauer limits in all but a few restrictive scenarios. Additionally, we show that the interplay of material response and electromagnetic scattering among proximate bodies means that bodies which maximize radiative heat transfer actually maximize scattering rather than absorption. Finally, we compare our new bounds to Landauer limits as well as limits that ignore the interplay between material and geometric constraints, and show that these prior limits lead to overly optimistic predictions. Our results have ramifications for the ultimate performance of thermophotovoltaics and nanoscale cooling, as well as incandescent and luminescent devices.
Exploring the Design Space of Sankey Diagrams for the Food-Energy-Water Nexus

In this work, we define a set of design requirements relating to Sankey diagrams for supporting food–energy–water nexus understanding and propose the network embodied sectoral trajectory diagram design, a visualization design that incorporates a number of characteristics from Sankey diagrams, treemaps, and graphs, to improve the readability and minimize the negative impact of edge crossings that are common in traditional Sankey diagrams.
Quality Control of Immunophenotyping

Applications of immunophenotyping using flow cytometry offer precise and accurate means for providing information used to both diagnose and monitor disease; they serve as a standard platform for many research endeavors that study discrete populations of biological entities. The proper use of this highly sophisticated technology requires daily and ongoing monitoring of both the instrument and the methodology. Best practices for this begin with quality control (QC) procedures designed to set up and monitor the instrument performance, the reagents, and the results to ensure that they are working properly both on the day of use and over time. If the results of those QC procedures are outside of acceptable then recording the corrective action taken must also be included in the quality control records. Quality assurance (QA) is a way to know that the three phases of testing, namely, preanalytic, analytic, and postanalytic procedures, are being followed. This chapter describes the procedures used to assess quality control as it pertains to flow cytometry and immunophenotyping in all three phases of testing.
Mencius, Hume, and the virtue of humanity: sources of benevolent moral development

In this paper, we elucidate the moral psychology and what we might call the moral sociology of Mencius and of Hume, and we argue for three claims. First, we demonstrate that there are strong simila...
Clinical activity of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade in never, light, and heavy smokers with non-small-cell lung cancer and PD-L1 expression ≥50.

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are standard therapies for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥50%. Tumor mutation burden (TMB) also predicts response to ICIs but is often not available in real time for decision making in the first-line setting. Smoking exposure can be a proxy for TMB in NSCLC. The impact of smoking status on efficacy of PD-1 blockade in NSCLC patients with PD-L1 TPS ≥50% has not been well defined. Patients and methods To investigate the relationship between smoking and activity of ICIs in NSCLC, we retrospectively studied 315 patients with NSCLC and PD-L1 TPS ≥50% at five USA academic medical centers. Objective response rates (ORRs), progression-free survival (PFS), and duration of response (DOR) were compared between never ( 10 pack-years) smokers. A subset of patients underwent next-generation sequencing to estimate TMB. Results We identified 36 (11%) never, 42 (13%) light, and 237 (75%) heavy smokers with NSCLC and PD-L1 TPS ≥50% treated with ICIs. Objective responses were observed in 27%, 40%, and 40% of never, light, and heavy smokers, respectively (P = 0.180 never versus heavy; P = 1.000 light versus heavy). Median PFS and median DOR were numerically shorter in never and light smokers compared with heavy smokers (PFS 3.0 versus 4.0 versus 5.4 months; median DOR 6.9 versus 10.8 versus 17.8 months), but were not statistically different [PFS: hazard ratio (HR) 1.37, P = 0.135 and HR 1.24, P = 0.272; DOR: HR 1.92, P = 0.217 and HR 1.79, P = 0.141]. Conclusions PD-(L)1 inhibitors are associated with antitumor activity in NSCLC with PD-L1 TPS ≥50% regardless of smoking status. Nevertheless, there is a signal of potentially decreased durability among never and light smokers that should be further evaluated. Distinct immunobiologic features may affect initial response versus durability of antitumor immunity to programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) blockade.
Feather morphological predictors of angle-dependent color changes in parrot plumage

Among the most ornate animal traits in nature are the angle-dependent (e.g. iridescent) structural colors of many fishes, damselflies, birds, beetles, and butterflies. Though we now have a solid un...
9. C5 palsy after cervical laminectomy: natural history and risk factors in a 10-year series

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Palsy of the fifth cervical nerve (C5) is a well-known complication of cervical laminectomy, occurring in 1-30% of cases. PURPOSE To determine the incidence of C5 palsy after posterior cervical decompression at a single institution. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING Retrospective chart review at a tertiary care academic medical center. PATIENT SAMPLE 214 patients undergoing posterior cervical decompression. OUTCOME MEASURES Development of C5 palsy postoperatively, and recovery of function in patients with new onset C5 palsy. METHODS A retrospective chart review identified patients undergoing first time cervical laminectomy for degenerative spine pathologies at a single institution between January 2008 and July 2018. Patients were included if a complete laminectomy was performed at C4 or C5. Patients with a history of prior cervical spine surgery, concurrent anterior surgery, intradural pathology, spinal tumor, or spinal trauma were excluded. Patient history, surgical specifics, and neurologic function were recorded. RESULTS A total of 214 patients were treated by 15 surgeons; 60 patients (28%) developed C5 palsy postoperatively. Of patients with C5 palsy, 47 (78%) recovered to baseline strength, 87% had at least grade 4 strength at last follow-up, and 4 (7%) had strength worse than baseline and grade less than 3. Mean time to recovery was 8 months (max 7 years). Mean length of follow-up was 22 months [AJ1]. Age, gender, vertebral levels involved, and comorbidities were not associated with a significant increase in risk of C5 stretch, or failure to recover. Fusion including the upper thoracic spine was associated with an increased risk of C5 palsy (38.6% vs 28%; p=0.019). CONCLUSIONS This represents one of the largest reported series of patients with postoperative C5 palsy. Overall prognosis is good, but the risk of C5 injury after first time cervical laminectomy may be higher than most prior reports. FDA DEVICE/DRUG STATUS This abstract does not discuss or include any applicable devices or drugs.
Lease versus Buy Analyses: Clarifying the Impact of Tax and Borrowing Rates

Most managerial finance textbooks promote the “conventional wisdom” that leasing’s main motivation is a shift in tax deductions from a lower tax rate lessee to a higher tax rate lessor, creating a benefit that is shareable via a negotiated lease payment amount. This critique clarifies two aspects of this issue for instructors and analysts. First, as a lone text shows, leasing may create an overall tax benefit even if the lessee has a higher tax rate than the lessor. Second, a difference in lessee and lessor borrowing rates may be a more important source of a lease’s overall benefit than a difference in the tax rates.
Determination of sperm whale orientation with respect to a single hydrophone

Sperm Whales (Physter macrocephalus) produce echolocation clicks composed of several pulses while searching for food when diving. An estimate of a whale's length can be calculated by determining the time interval between consecutive pulses in the echolocation click. That interval is the interpulse interval or IPI. We have developed methods to estimate the IPI of whales and thereby determine their lengths. The structure of a click from a sperm whale approaching a hydrophone is different from that of a whale moving away from a hydrophone (Zimmer, 2005). The methods we use to determine IPIs differ depending upon whether the clicks analyzed are from an approaching or leaving whale. Continuous Wavelet Transforms are used to determine if the clicks to be analyzed were produced by an approaching or leaving whale. The IPIs of data files from a mixture of approaching and leaving whales were analyzed by our method with good agreement with manual determinations of the IPIs.
Tip-enhanced Raman imaging of photocatalytic reactions on thermally-reshaped gold and gold–palladium microplates

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is used to investigate plasmonic and photocatalytic properties of walled gold-palladium microplates (WAu@PdMPs), an alloy bimetallic nanostructures with unique chemical selectivity, and high sensitivity. We found that WAu@PdMPs can reduce 4-nitrobenzenethiol simultaneously to p,p'-dimercaptoazobisbenzene (DMAB) and 4-aminothiophenol, whereas such reduction yields only DMAB on the surface of monometallic nanostructures.
Rapid Weight Gain Following Weight Cutting in Male and Female Professional Mixed Martial Artists.

Rapid weight loss or "weight cutting" is a common but potentially harmful practice used in mixed martial arts competition. Following the official weigh-in, competitors refeed and rehydrate themselves in a process known as rapid weight gain (RWG) to realize a potential competitive advantage. While data from surveys and small series have indicated the majority of mixed martial arts athletes engage in rapid weight loss, there is a lack of officially collected data from sanctioning organizations describing its prevalence. The present investigation represents a summary of the data collected between December 2015 and January 2018 by the California State Athletic Commission. In total, 512 professional mixed martial artists (455 males and 57 females) were included. Of these, 503 (98%) athletes gained body mass between weigh-in and their bouts. Total RWG between weigh-in and competition was 5.5 ± 2.5 kg, corresponding to an 8.1% ± 3.6% body mass increase. Total RWG was 5.6 ± 2.5 kg (8.1% ± 3.6%) for males and 4.5 ± 2.3 kg (8.0% ± 3.8%) for females. More than one quarter of men and one third of women gained >10% body mass between weigh-in and competition. Athletes from leading international promotions gained more absolute, but not relative, body mass than those from regional promotions. Our findings indicate RWG is nearly ubiquitous in professional , with a similar prevalence in male and female athletes. Trends based on promotion suggest a larger magnitude of RWG in presumably more experienced and/or successful mixed martial artists from leading international promotions.
Testosterone Therapy for the Treatment of Age-Related Hypogonadism: Risks with Uncertain Benefits

Testosterone replacement therapy has been approved in the United States since the 1950s for men with "classical" hypogonadism. These men have specific and well-recognized hypothalamic, pituitary, or testicular conditions leading to deficient or absent endogenous testosterone. A more controversial treatment population is aging men, many with comorbidities, who have low serum testosterone concentrations compared with young healthy men and who do not have the well-recognized medical conditions that cause "classical" hypogonadism. Testosterone continues to be widely used in these men with "age-related hypogonadism" even though the benefits of testosterone for this use are uncertain and there are important risks, including a potential risk of major adverse cardiac events for the testosterone class, and two testosterone products with increases in blood pressure that can increase the risk of myocardial infarction and stroke. Given the uncertain clinical benefit of testosterone in men with "age-related hypogonadism" in the face of known and potential adverse outcomes, none of the testosterone products is FDA approved for such use.