cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Prognostic factors in clinical cancer trials

Differences in nontreatment-related covariates ("prognostic factors") often account for differences between treatments in clinical cancer trials. This is true even in randomized trials in which the number of patients randomized is less than 200. Hence analysis of prognostic factors is crucial in historically controlled and small randomized trials. However, it is known that factors found prognostic in one series are often not prognostic in another. This is a result of the increased type I error inherent in most methods used to identify the optimal cutpoint of a potential prognostic factor. This report describes new graphical methods, based on Martingale residuals, that can be used to better identify the relationship between outcome and a covariate. For example, use of these methods indicated that the effect of antecedent hematological disorder on survival in acute myelogenous leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome is continuous (the longer the length of antecedent hematological disorder, the shorter the survival) rather than dichotomous (antecedent hematological disorder present = unfavorable). This report also discusses the use of graphical methods to test the assumption of proportional hazards crucial to the Cox model and to account for any time-varying effects of a prognostic factor. The graphical methods discussed here provide a better fit of a statistical model to the data and provide more reliable estimates of the effect of a particular variable.
Membrane properties and selective connexions of identified leech neurones in culture.

1. Individual, identified neurones, dissected from the central nervous system of the leech and maintained in culture for several weeks, sprouted processes and formed synaptic connexions. 2. The action potentials of isolated touch (T), pressure (P), nociceptive (N) cells and Retzius cells resembled those of their counterparts in situ, enabling them to be recognized unambiguously. Their input resistances were approximately 4 times greater than those of corresponding cells within the animal. In T, P and N cells trains of impulses were followed by a pronounced after-hyperpolarization, as in the animal. 3. In certain cells, notably the L motoneurones, membrane properties became altered in culture. The current—voltage relation showed novel rectification and action potentials became much larger. 4. Numerous neurites often extended for hundreds of micrometres from isolated neurones and ended in typical growth cones. Electron micrographs revealed that many fine axons were braided together to form thicker fascicles. Frequently, the processes were orientated between two neighbouring cells rather than at random. The fine structure of the cytoplasm, nucleus and organelles in cultured cells resembled those of their counterparts in situ. The glial cell that normally surrounds the neurones was, however, absent. 5. Pairs of Retzius cells in culture usually became coupled electrically after about 6 days. Similarly L motoneurones became coupled in vitro. These junctions allowed current to pass in both directions and resembled those seen in the animal. 6. Selective connexions were made by certain types of cells. Thus, P sensory neurones did not become coupled with Retzius cells but did develop electrical connexions with L motoneurones, as in the animal. 7. Novel synaptic interactions not obvious in the animal could appear in culture. Retzius and L cells became electrically coupled and, in some instances where electrical coupling between Retzius cells failed to develop, chemically mediated inhibitory potentials became apparent. 8. Isolated, identified leech neurones not only survive but regenerate processes and are capable of forming selective connexions in culture. The ability to define interactions between isolated pairs of cells offers the opportunity to explore in detail problems relating to synapse formation and cell—cell recognition.
Parsimonious Evaluation of Concentric-Tube Continuum Robot Equilibrium Conformation

Dexterous at small diameters, continuum robots consisting of precurved concentric tubes are well-suited for minimally invasive surgery. These active cannulas are actuated by relative translations and rotations applied at the tube bases, which create bending via elastic tube interaction. An accurate kinematic model of cannula shape is required for applications in surgical and other settings. Previous models are limited to circular tube precurvatures, and neglect torsional deformation in curved sections. Recent generalizations account for arbitrary tube preshaping and bending and torsion throughout the cannula, providing differential equations that define cannula shape. In this paper, we show how to simplify these equations using Frenet-Serret frames. An advantage of this approach is the interpretation of torsional components of the preset tube shapes as ldquoforcing functionsrdquo on the cannula's differential equations. We also elucidate a process for numerically solving the differential equations, and use it to produce simulations illustrating the implications of torsional deformation and helical tube shapes.
A simulation-based process model for managing complex design projects

This paper presents a process modeling and analysis technique for managing complex design projects using advanced simulation. The model computes the probability distribution of lead time in a stochastic, resource-constrained project network where iterations take place among sequential, parallel, and overlapped tasks. The model uses the design structure matrix representation to capture the information flows between tasks. We use a simulation-based analysis to account for many realistic aspects of design process behavior which were not possible in previous analytical models. We propose a heuristic for the stochastic, resource-constrained project scheduling problem in an iterative project network. The model can be used for better project planning and control by identifying leverage points for process improvements, and for evaluating alternative planning and execution strategies. An industrial example is provided to illustrate the utility of the model.
Statistic-based MAP image-reconstruction from Poisson data using Gibbs priors

A statistical method for selecting the Gibbs parameter in MAP image restoration from Poisson data using Gibbs priors is presented. The Gibbs parameter determines the degree to which the prior influences the restoration. The presented method yields a MAP restored image, minimally influenced by the prior, for which a statistic falls within an appropriate confidence interval. The method assumes that a close approximation to the blurring function is known. A simple iterative feedback algorithm is presented to statistically select the parameter as the MAP image restoration is being performed. This algorithm is heuristically based on a model reference control formulation, but it requires only a minimal number of iterations for the parameter to settle to its statistically specified value. The performance of the statistical method for selecting the prior parameter and that of the iterative feedback algorithm are demonstrated using both 2-D and 3-D images. >
Acute physiological derangement is associated with early radiographic cerebral infarction after subarachnoid haemorrhage

Background: Cerebral infarction after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is presumed to be due to cerebral vasospasm, defined as arterial lumen narrowing from days 3 to 14. Methods: We reviewed the computed tomography scans of 103 patients with aneurysmal SAH for radiographic cerebral infarction and controlled for other predictors of outcome. A blinded neuroradiologist reviewed the angiograms. Cerebral infarction from vasospasm was judged to be unlikely if it was visible on computed tomography within 2 calendar days of SAH or if angiography showed no vasospasm in a referable vessel, or both. Results: Cerebral infarction occurred in 29 (28%) of 103 patients with SAH. 18 patients had cerebral infarction that was unlikely to be due to vasospasm because it was visible on computed tomography by day 2 (6 (33%)) or because angiography showed no vasospasm in a referable artery (7 (39%)), or both (5 (28%)). In a multivariate model, cerebral infarction was significantly related to World Federation of Neurologic Surgeons grade (odds ratio (OR) 1.5/grade, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 to 2.01, p = 0.006) and SAH-Physiologic Derangement Score (PDS) >2 (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.4 to 9.8, p = 0.01) on admission. Global cerebral oedema (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.5 to 12.5, p = 0.007) predicted cerebral infarction. Patients with cerebral infarction detectable by day 2 had a higher SAH-PDS than patients with later cerebral infarction (p = 0.025). Conclusions: : Many cerebral infarctions after SAH are unlikely to be caused by vasospasm because they occur too soon after SAH or because angiography shows no vasospasm in a referable artery, or both. Physiological derangement and cerebral oedema may be worthwhile targets for intervention to decrease the occurrence and clinical impact of cerebral infarction after SAH.
Electronic cigarettes: abuse liability, topography and subjective effects.

Objective To review the available evidence evaluating the abuse liability, topography, subjective effects, craving and withdrawal suppression associated with e-cigarette use in order to identify information gaps and provide recommendations for future research. Methods Literature searches were conducted between October 2012 and January 2014 using five electronic databases. Studies were included in this review if they were peer-reviewed scientific journal articles evaluating clinical laboratory studies, national surveys or content analyses. Results A total of 15 peer-reviewed articles regarding behavioural use and effects of e-cigarettes published between 2010 and 2014 were included in this review. Abuse liability studies are limited in their generalisability. Topography (consumption behaviour) studies found that, compared with traditional cigarettes, e-cigarette average puff duration was significantly longer, and e-cigarette use required stronger suction. Data on e-cigarette subjective effects (such as anxiety, restlessness, concentration, alertness and satisfaction) and withdrawal suppression are limited and inconsistent. In general, study data should be interpreted with caution, given limitations associated with comparisons of novel and usual products, as well as the possible effects associated with subjects’ previous experience/inexperience with e-cigarettes. Conclusions Currently, very limited information is available on abuse liability, topography and subjective effects of e-cigarettes. Opportunities to examine extended e-cigarette use in a variety of settings with experienced e-cigarette users would help to more fully assess topography as well as behavioural and subjective outcomes. In addition, assessment of ‘real-world’ use, including amount and timing of use and responses to use, would clarify behavioural profiles and potential adverse health effects.
Integration and Europe's Defense Industry

The European Union's influence on defense industry mailers has increased in recent years. This is plaiting because the Treaty of Rome permits member stales to maintain armaments production and trade issues at the national level. The argument presented in this paper is that the predominant theories of European integration cannot adequately explain this shift in policymaking from the national to the regional level. Reactive spillover combines an appreciation of international environmental pressures with the concept of spillover.
Reversible embedment cytochemistry (REC): a versatile method for the ultrastructural analysis and affinity labeling of tissue sections.

critical point-drying, and platinum-carbon rotary shadowing, were used to provide detailed images of well-preserved cell structure for conventional and high-voltage transmission electron microscopy. Fluorescein-conjugated affinity labels were used to obtain subcellular distributions of target molecules in semi-thick sections ofcultured cells and tissues
Toward a Politics of Hope: Performing Political Reality in the Age of Obama

This performance text situates itself within and against the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Republican National Convention, Election Day, and the January 20, 2009, Inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States. Melding popular fictions, media coverage, and the real (and at times fictionalized) voices of the Washington punditry and other contemporary figures, the text presents an alternative voice to the cultural pedagogies at play during the historic election season, underpinned as it was by the eight-year legacy of one of the worst presidencies in U.S. history—a presidency that witnessed a major terrorist attack on American soil, two wars of aggression, the drowning of a major city, and an economic meltdown of the likes not seen since the Great Depression.
Online Low-Price Guarantees---A Real Options Analysis

A common practice among large retailers is the low-price guarantee, rebating consumers if they find an identical product cheaper elsewhere. This provides consumers with some level of comfort in their purchase decision. A similar low-price guarantee is provided by numerous service industries that allow reservation of capacity, yet do not penalize the consumer for failure to keep that reservation---examples include hotels and car rental. Given that a consumer is not required to keep the reservation, they may make another reservation, either at a competing firm or the same firm, if future prices decline. The increasing availability of pricing information on the Internet affords consumers the opportunity to be more strategic in their purchasing behavior. As consumers, we are able to quickly and easily check prices from numerous service or goods providers. The ease of price information potentially makes these guarantees very costly to the service or good provider. We analyze the implied costs associated with these guarantees by making analogies to financial options. Motivation for this research comes from a large car rental firm, Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., that considered offering a low-price guarantee to all consumers that book a reservation though their website.
Phylogenetic Relationships of Cucullanidae (Nematoda), with Observations on Seuratoidea and the Monophyly of Cucullanus, Dichelyne and Truttaedacnitis.

Abstract: The phylogenetic relationships of Cucullanidae were explored using near-complete sequences of the 18S rDNA (rRNA gene). Sequences (1,750–1,760 bp) were obtained from 7 species of Cucullanidae belonging to 3 genera, Cucullanus (2 spp.), Dichelyne (2 spp.), Truttaedacnitis (3 spp.), and 1 species of Quimperiidae (Paraseuratum sp.). These sequences were aligned with those of 128 other nematode species available in GenBank, including 3 other cucullanids (Dichelyne mexicanus, Cucullanus robustus, and Cucullanus baylisi) and 2 non-cucullanid seuratoids (Paraquimperia africana, and Linstowinema sp.). Bayesian (BPP) and maximum likelihood (ML) analyses of 2 different datasets strongly supported a monophyletic Cucullanidae. Bayesian analysis placed this family as the sister group to a clade containing species of Diplogasterida, Strongylida, Rhabditida, and Tylenchida with very strong support. Neither BPP nor ML analyses recovered a close relationship of Cucullanidae to Ascaridida. None of the 3 non-cucu...
Practical Aspects of Quasioptical Focusing Elements

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Single-Pixel and Imaging Systems The Eikonal Equation Refractive Focusing Elements Zoned Lenses Zone Plate Lenses Metallic Lenses Reflective Focusing Elements Bibliographic Notes
Enhancement in the sensitivity of microfluidic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays through analyte preconcentration.

In this Article, we describe a microfluidic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method whose sensitivity can be substantially enhanced through preconcentration of the target analyte around a semipermeable membrane. The reported preconcentration has been accomplished in our current work via electrokinetic means allowing a significant increase in the amount of captured analyte relative to nonspecific binding in the trapping/detection zone. Upon introduction of an enzyme substrate into this region, the rate of generation of the ELISA reaction product (resorufin) was observed to increase by over a factor of 200 for the sample and 2 for the corresponding blank compared to similar assays without analyte trapping. Interestingly, in spite of nonuniformities in the amount of captured analyte along the surface of our analysis channel, the measured fluorescence signal in the preconcentration zone increased linearly with time over an enzyme reaction period of 30 min and at a rate that was proportional to the an...
Cognitive Process and Foreign Policy Decision-Making

As the analysis of foreign policy decision-making has become a more theoretical enterprise, the production of historically oriented case studies has been supplemented by a growing number of investigations employing psychological or socialpsychological perspectives. Early studies of foreign policy decision-making with a psychological orientation emphasized the influence of various psychological traits on those involved in foreign policy decisions (e.g., Levinson, 1957), but, more recently, the emphasis has been on perception, cognition, and information-processing. The cognitive process approaches, by contrast, have attempted, in varying degrees, to map out the belief structures of decision makers and explore the implications of these structures for the way international events are understood and policy alternatives are considered. Studies under this rubric have focused upon the perceptions of particular foreign policy decision makers (Holsti, 1962), on the perceptions and choices of groups of persons simulating the roles of foreign policy decision makers (Driver, 1962; Hermann, 1969; Hermann and Hermann, 1967; Shapiro, forthcoming), and on the decision process of national decision groups focused upon particular policy problems (Steinbruner, forthcoming).
Planar and Curved Defects in Aluminum Nitride: Their Microstructure and Microchemistry

The microstructure and microchemistry of planar and curved defects in Aluminum Nitride (AIN) has been investigated using Conventional Transmission Electron Microscopy (CTEM), Convergent Beam Electron Diffraction (CBED), and Analytical Electron Microscopy (AEM) techniques. Both defect morphologies were identified as Inversion Domain Boundaries (IDB). Microchemical analysis revealed oxygen segregation to the planar faults; when present on the curved defects, oxygen was at a lower concentration than in the planar defect case. Annealing experiments on defect containing AIN support our microchemical analysis of oxygen segregation. A proposed model for the formation of these two types of boundaries is presented.
Effects of polyphosphate additives on the pH of processed chicken exudates and the survival of Campylobacter.

Campylobacter spp. are nutritionally fastidious organisms that are sensitive to normal atmospheric oxygen levels and lack homologues of common cold shock genes. At first glance, these bacteria seem ill equipped to persist within food products under processing and storage conditions; however, they survive in numbers sufficient to cause the largest number of foodborne bacterial disease annually. A mechanism proposed to play a role in Campylobacter survival is the addition of polyphosphate-containing marinades during poultry processing. Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli strains incubated in chicken exudates collected from poultry treated with a marinade demonstrated considerable survival advantages (1 to 4 log CFU/ml) over the same strains incubated in chicken exudate from untreated birds. Polyphosphates, which constitute a large portion of the commercial poultry marinades, were shown to account for a majority of the observed influence of the marinades on Campylobacter survival. When six different ...
Endocrine levels at the start of treatment are associated with subsequent psychological adjustment in cancer patients with metastatic disease.

OBJECTIVE This study examined the association between hormonal profiles at the start of cancer treatment and subsequent psychological symptomatology. METHODS Twenty-seven patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and 18 patients with metastatic melanoma completed three assessments during the course of treatment: at the start of treatment (baseline), at the end of treatment (3 weeks after baseline), and at a follow-up appointment 1 month later. Cortisol, norepinephrine, and epinephrine levels were measured at baseline using 15-hour urine samples. At each assessment, patients completed the Impact of Event Scale (IES) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). RESULTS Patients reported moderate levels of distress throughout treatment as measured by the IES and BSI. Norepinephrine levels at the start of treatment were positively associated with IES total scores at the end of treatment and at follow-up, and cortisol levels were positively associated with IES total scores at follow-up after adjusting for baseline IES and overall distress scores. Norepinephrine levels were also positively associated with depression scores at follow-up, and cortisol levels were positively associated with depression scores at the end of treatment and at follow-up after adjusting for baseline depression and overall distress scores. CONCLUSIONS Hormonal profiles at the start of cancer treatment are associated with subsequent psychological adjustment.
Characterization of the primary pollen signal in the postpollination syndrome of Phalaenopsis flowers

In many flowers, and especially in orchids, pollination regulates a syndrome of developmental events that collectively prepare the flower for fertilization while shedding of organs that have completed their function in pollen dispersal and reception. In this study, we performed a water extraction of the primary pollen signal(s) from the pollinia of Phalaenopsis flowers and characterized its biochemical nature. The primary pollen signal is readily soluble in water and is a relatively small molecular substance below 3000 MW. The pollen signal is probably not proteinaceous in nature, since biological activity was retained after digesting the pollen diffusate by Proteinase K or boiling for 30. By separating the pollen diffusate on an amino anion exchange column, we found that different fractions induced the postpollination syndrome suggesting that different pollen-borne substances may be involved in the pollination response. More than 90% of a radiolabeled free IAA standard coeluted with a specific fraction, however other collected fractions also induced the postpollination response, suggesting that IAA can not be the only primary pollen signal as previously described. High pressure liquid chromatography analysis revealed that the pollen diffusate contained two major peaks and five smaller peaks of detected substances. Fractions containing substances from two of these peaks completely mimicked the postpollination response of perianth senescence and ovary growth, while fractions of the other peaks only induced perianth senescence. By running additional standards, it was found that 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid peaked at the same retention time as one of the major pollen diffusate peaks, while the free IAA standard peak could not be correlated to any of the pollen diffusate peaks. In the future, further purification of these peaks, and analysis by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, will provide more information about the exact nature of the primary pollen signals.
Prevention of hepatic fibrosis with liver microsomal triglyceride transfer protein deletion in liver fatty acid binding protein null mice

Blocking hepatic very low-density lipoprotein secretion through genetic or pharmacologic inhibition of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (Mttp) causes hepatic steatosis, yet the risks for developing hepatic fibrosis are poorly understood. We report that liver-specific Mttp knockout mice (Mttp-LKO) exhibit both steatosis and fibrosis, which is exacerbated by a high-transfat/fructose diet. When crossed into germline liver fatty acid (FA) binding protein null mice (Mttp-LKO, i.e., double knockout mice) hepatic steatosis was greatly diminished and fibrosis prevented, on both low-fat and high-fat diets. The mechanisms underlying protection include reduced long chain FA uptake, shifts in FA distribution (lipidomic profiling), and metabolic turnover, specifically decreased hepatic 18:2 FA and triglyceride species and a shift in 18:2 FA use for oxidation versus incorporation into newly synthesized triglyceride. Double knockout mice were protected against fasting-induced hepatic steatosis (a model of enhanced exogenous FA delivery) yet developed steatosis upon induction of hepatic de novo lipogenesis with fructose feeding. Mttp-LKO mice, on either the liver FA binding protein null or Apobec-1 null background (i.e., apolipoprotein B100 only) exhibited only subtle increases in endoplasmic reticulum stress, suggesting that an altered unfolded protein response is unlikely to account for the attenuated phenotype in double knockout mice. Acute, antisense-mediated liver FA binding protein knockdown in Mttp-LKO mice also reduced FA uptake, increased oxidation versus incorporation of 18:2 species with complete reversal of hepatic steatosis, increased hepatic injury, and worsened fibrosis. Conclusion: Perturbing exogenous hepatic FA use modulates both hepatic steatosis and fibrosis in the setting of hepatic Mttp deletion, adding new insight into the pathophysiological mechanisms and consequences of defective very low-density lipoprotein secretion. (Hepatology 2017;65:836-852).
Fractal analysis of visual search activity for mass detection during mammographic screening.

Purpose The objective of this study was to assess the complexity of human visual search activity during mammographic screening using fractal analysis and to investigate its relationship with case and reader characteristics. Methods The study was performed for the task of mammographic screening with simultaneous viewing of four coordinated breast views as typically done in clinical practice. Eye-tracking data and diagnostic decisions collected for 100 mammographic cases (25 normal, 25 benign, 50 malignant) from 10 readers (three board certified radiologists and seven Radiology residents), formed the corpus for this study. The fractal dimension of the readers' visual scanning pattern was computed with the Minkowski–Bouligand box-counting method and used as a measure of gaze complexity. Individual factor and group-based interaction ANOVA analysis was performed to study the association between fractal dimension, case pathology, breast density, and reader experience level. The consistency of the observed trends depending on gaze data representation was also examined. Results Case pathology, breast density, reader experience level, and individual reader differences are all independent predictors of the complexity of visual scanning pattern when screening for breast cancer. No higher order effects were found to be significant. Conclusions Fractal characterization of visual search behavior during mammographic screening is dependent on case properties and image reader characteristics.
A Bacterial Cause of Cancer: An Historical Essay

This article reviews the history of the discovery of microbes that increase the risk of cancer of some tissues with a special emphasis on the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and the role played by two Australian physicians, neither schooled in research, who had open minds about the shibboleth that mycobacteria (acid-fast organisms) can survive the acid environment of the stomach, but that other pathogenic bacteria cannot. They discovered one of the most important human pathogens, Helicobacter pylori, and showed it capable of inducing severe gastric inflammatory disease. Subsequently, others built on their observations and showed it capable of inducing two gastric neoplasms: carcinoma and lymphoma. The Oncologist 2017;22:542-548.
Non-radioactive LATS in vitro Kinase Assay

This protocol describes a method to directly measure LATS activity by an in vitro kinase assay using YAP as a substrate.
The rhetoric of auscultation: Corporeal sounds, mediated bodies, and abortion rights

ABSTRACTThis essay argues that corporeal sound, including the spoken voice and the auscultated heartbeat, can be understood as material rhetoric, and that material rhetoric, by extension, should be understood as both a force and a networked fluid. I illustrate this argument through the case study of abortion practices and policies, arguing that both mandated heartbeat auscultation and physician speech-and-display provisions represent the forceful fluidity of material rhetoric and demonstrate the power of such rhetoric to carve out networks of meaning. Through this networking, sound’s material role in defining autonomy takes on a powerful role in debates over fetal personhood.
Solution of Equations

The rank of a matrix is the number of nonzero rows in an associated echelon form. This is the same as the number of distinguished columns in the echelon form. The chapter presents the proof of a theorem that states that a system of equations has a solution if and only if the rank of the coefficient matrix equals the rank of the augmented matrix. It also presents another theorem that states that a system of linear equations has exactly one solution if and only if the rank of the coefficient matrix, rank of the augmented matrix, and number of unknowns are all equal. A homogeneous system of m linear equations in more than m unknowns always has infinite many solutions. In particular, it has an infinite number of nonzero solutions.
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Religious (Dis)Affiliation and Depressive Symptomatology:

Religious affiliation is generally associated with better mental health. The nonreligious, however, currently constitute one of the fastest-growing religious categories in the United States. Since most of the nonreligious were raised in religious homes, their growth raises important questions about the mental health of those who consider dropping out of religion. In this article, I use longitudinal data from the Portraits of American Life Study to examine the impact of religious affiliation on mental health. Specifically, I compare individuals who dropped out of religion (leavers) with individuals who considered dropping out (stayers) and individuals who are more consistent in their religious (stable affiliates) and nonreligious (stable Nones) affiliations. I find that stayers experience more depressive symptoms than any other group and that they experience a greater increase in depressive symptoms over time. My findings are consistent with identity theories in sociology, and they provide evidence that a ...
A foodborne acute gastroenteritis outbreak caused by GII.P16-GII.2 norovirus in a boarding high school, Beijing, China: a case-control study.

In December 2017, an acute gastroenteritis outbreak involving 61 students occurred in a boarding high school in Beijing, China. We conducted an outbreak investigation immediately in order to determine the cause of this outbreak and provide effective control measures. The laboratory inspection showed that this outbreak was caused by GII.P16-GII.2 norovirus. Risk factor analysis indicated that the lunch provided by Cafeteria 1 on Dec 12 might be the risk factor of the outbreak with an odds ratio (OR) of 3.800 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.089–13.258). Additionally, a tray line server of Cafeteria 1 was found to have gastro-enteral symptoms recently. Based on the clinical symptoms and epidemiology investigation, the symptomatic server was considered to be the possible source of infection.
Management of Hospitalized Patients with Unexpected Cardiopulmonary Arrest

The optimal management of an in-hospital cardiac arrest goes beyond the measures employed during the resuscitation. Clinicians should possess skills to deliver bad news and to guide decision making discussions. Scores are available and should be utilized to aid in prognostication to better guide these discussions. Prediction of neurologic outcome is challenging in the era of therapeutic hypothermia but the wealth of literature available provides a guide to understanding which patients may survive and which patients are unlikely to do so. Finally, using risk scores to guide code status discussions and systems-based patient safety measures can reduce the number of in-hospital cardiac arrests.
CoreTSAR: Adaptive Worksharing for Heterogeneous Systems

The popularity of heterogeneous computing continues to increase rapidly due to the high peak performance, favorable energy efficiency, and comparatively low cost of accelerators. However, heterogeneous programming models still lack the flexibility of their CPU-only counterparts. Accelerated OpenMP models, including OpenMP 4.0 and OpenACC, ease the migration of code from CPUs to GPUs but lack much of OpenMP's flexibility: OpenMP applications can run on any number of CPUs without extra user effort, but GPU implementations do not offer similar adaptive worksharing across GPUs in a node, nor do they employ a mix of CPUs and GPUs. To address these shortcomings, we present CoreTSAR, our library for scheduling core s via a t ask- s ize a dapting r untime system by supporting worksharing of loop nests across arbitrary heterogeneous resources. Beyond scheduling the computational load across devices, CoreTSAR includes a memory-management system that operates based on task association, enabling the runtime to dynamically manage memory movement and task granularity. Our evaluation shows that CoreTSAR can provide nearly linear scaling to four GPUs and all cores in a node without modifying the code within the parallel region. Furthermore, CoreTSAR provides portable performance across a variety of system configurations.
Oxidative Stress Contributes to Microvascular Endothelial Dysfunction in Men and Women With Major Depressive Disorder

Rationale: In rodent models of depression, oxidative stress-induced reductions in NO bioavailability contribute to impaired endothelium-dependent dilation. Endothelial dysfunction is evident in maj...
North Carolina [Un]incorporated: Place, Race, and Local Environmental Inequity:

Research linking municipal underbounding to racialized environmental inequality suggests that understanding the built environmental outcomes of municipal annexation or incorporation may add an impo...
Cataract surgery. Current approaches.

Cataract surgery in the dog and cat is reviewed. Included are preoperative considerations and medications; techniques, including phacofragmentation; and postoperative complications. The use of viscoelastic materials, intraocular lens implants, and Nd:YAG laser capsulotomies is also discussed.
Perceived Value of Microenterprise for Low-Income Women Living with HIV in Alabama

We characterized the potential benefits and risks of participating in a microenterprise program targeting low-income women living with HIV (WLWH) in Alabama; and described potential mechanisms through which microenterprise programs could influence sexual risk behaviors and engagement in HIV care. Fourteen stakeholders and 46 WLWH (89% African American) participated in the qualitative study. Data were collected using in-depth interviews (stakeholders) and focus group discussions (WLWH). NVivo qualitative software was used for the management and analysis of the data. The data revealed four main mechanisms through which microenterprise programs could potentially improve health outcomes: (1) social support and encouragement from other women, (2) improvement in self-esteem, (3) creating structure in the women’s lives, and (4) financial strengthening. Potential risks included unwanted disclosure of HV status, stigma and loss of insurance benefits. Microenterprise programs have the potential to be acceptable and may contribute to improved health and social outcomes among low-income WLWH in Alabama.
Learning audio representations via phase prediction

We learn audio representations by solving a novel self-supervised learning task, which consists of predicting the phase of the short-time Fourier transform from its magnitude. A convolutional encoder is used to map the magnitude spectrum of the input waveform to a lower dimensional embedding. A convolutional decoder is then used to predict the instantaneous frequency (i.e., the temporal rate of change of the phase) from such embedding. To evaluate the quality of the learned representations, we evaluate how they transfer to a wide variety of downstream audio tasks. Our experiments reveal that the phase prediction task leads to representations that generalize across different tasks, partially bridging the gap with fully-supervised models. In addition, we show that the predicted phase can be used as initialization of the Griffin-Lim algorithm, thus reducing the number of iterations needed to reconstruct the waveform in the time domain.
CompressNet: Generative Compression at Extremely Low Bitrates

Compressing images at extremely low bitrates (< 0.1 bpp) has always been a challenging task as the quality of reconstruction significantly reduces due to the strongly imposing constraint on the number of bits allocated for the compressed data. With the increasing need to transfer large amounts of images with limited bandwidth, compressing images to very low sizes is a crucial task. However, the existing methods are not effective at extremely low bitrates. To address this need we propose a novel network called CompressNet which augments a Stacked Autoencoder with a Switch Prediction Network (SAE-SPN). This helps in the reconstruction of visually pleasing images at these low bi-trates (< 0.1 bpp). We benchmark the performance of our proposed method on the Cityscapes dataset, evaluating over different metrics at very low bitrates showing that our method outperforms the other state-of-the-art. In particular, at a bitrate of 0.07, CompressNet achieves 22% lower Perceptual Loss and 55% lower Frechet Inception Distance (FID) compared to the deep learning SOTA methods.
Synthesis and Evaluation of 18F-Labeled GRP78-Targeting Probe for Prostate Cancer Imaging with PET

1029 Purpose: The glucose-regulated protein 78K (GRP78) overexpression is closely associated with aggressive growth and invasive properties of many human cancers. In this study, we developed a 18F labeled BC71 peptide for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of prostate cancer by targeting GRP78 overexpression. Methods: GRP78-targeting peptide BC71 was first conjugated with a macrocyclic chelator, 1,4,7-triazacyclononane-1,4,7-triacetic acid (NOTA), and the resulted bioconjugate NOTA-BC71 was then 18F-labeled to synthesize 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71. The disassociation constant of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 for PC3 tumor cell line was measured through Scatchard plot. The tumor targeting efficacy and in vivo profile of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 were further evaluated in a subcutaneous PC3 prostate cancer xenograft model by PET and biodistribution study. Results: NOTA-BC71 was successfully 18F-fluorinated with good yield within 40 min using the Al18F intermediate. The Kd of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 was determined to be 3.46 ± 0.48 nM by Saturation binding assay. Serum stability of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 demonstrated its excellent in vitro stability up to 2-hour incubation at 37 °C. Small animal PET quantitation of tumor and major organs was realized by pixel analysis of regions of interest. Uptake in PC3 tumors, muscle, heart, liver, and kidney at 60 min. post injection was calculated to be 1.97 ± 0.50, 0.90 ± 0.20, 1.12 ± 0.20, 1.22 ± 0.29, and 7.06 ± 1.17%ID/g, respectively. When coinjected with 5 µg/g body weight of unlabeled BC71 peptide, the tracer uptake in the PC3 tumor dropped from 3.87 ± 1.05 %ID/g to 1.44 ± 0.38 %ID/g at 30 min p.i. and from 1.97 ± 0.50 %ID/g to 0.74 ± 0.15 at 60 min p.i., which demonstrate GRP78 receptor specific binding for 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71. In the biodistribution study, the tumor/muscle ratios of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 at 60 min p.i. was 4.81 ± 0.43, which is consistent with the high tumor to non-tumor contrast observed in the PET images. The bone uptake of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 was only 0.27 ± 0.03 %ID/g at 2 h p.i., which proves the good in vivo stability of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 against the 18F-deflourination. Taken together, 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 showed good stability, high tumor uptake, fast clearance from the body, and good tumor to normal organ uptake ratios. Conclusions: NOTA-BC71 bioconjugate has been successfully prepared and labeled with Al18F in one single step of radiosynthesis. The favorable in vivo performance and the short radiosynthetic route of 18F-AlF-NOTA-BC71 warrant further optimization of the probe and the radiofluorination strategy to accelerate the clinical translation of 18F-labeled BC71 peptide for GRP78 receptor quantification for prostate cancer.
Against the Doctrine of Infallibility

Abstract According to the doctrine of infallibility, one is permitted to believe p if one knows that necessarily, one would be right if one believed that p. This plausible principle—made famous in Descartes’ cogito—is false. There are some self-fulfilling, higher-order propositions one can’t be wrong about but shouldn’t believe anyway: believing them would immediately make one's overall doxastic state worse.
Overview of the SAMPL6 pK a challenge: evaluating small molecule microscopic and macroscopic pK a predictions

The prediction of acid dissociation constants (pKa) is a prerequisite for predicting many other properties of a small molecule, such as its protein–ligand binding affinity, distribution coefficient (log D), membrane permeability, and solubility. The prediction of each of these properties requires knowledge of the relevant protonation states and solution free energy penalties of each state. The SAMPL6 pKa Challenge was the first time that a separate challenge was conducted for evaluating pKa predictions as part of the Statistical Assessment of Modeling of Proteins and Ligands (SAMPL) exercises. This challenge was motivated by significant inaccuracies observed in prior physical property prediction challenges, such as the SAMPL5 log D Challenge, caused by protonation state and pKa prediction issues. The goal of the pKa challenge was to assess the performance of contemporary pKa prediction methods for drug-like molecules. The challenge set was composed of 24 small molecules that resembled fragments of kinase inhibitors, a number of which were multiprotic. Eleven research groups contributed blind predictions for a total of 37 pKa distinct prediction methods. In addition to blinded submissions, four widely used pKa prediction methods were included in the analysis as reference methods. Collecting both microscopic and macroscopic pKa predictions allowed in-depth evaluation of pKa prediction performance. This article highlights deficiencies of typical pKa prediction evaluation approaches when the distinction between microscopic and macroscopic pKas is ignored; in particular, we suggest more stringent evaluation criteria for microscopic and macroscopic pKa predictions guided by the available experimental data. Top-performing submissions for macroscopic pKa predictions achieved RMSE of 0.7–1.0 pKa units and included both quantum chemical and empirical approaches, where the total number of extra or missing macroscopic pKas predicted by these submissions were fewer than 8 for 24 molecules. A large number of submissions had RMSE spanning 1–3 pKa units. Molecules with sulfur-containing heterocycles or iodo and bromo groups were less accurately predicted on average considering all methods evaluated. For a subset of molecules, we utilized experimentally-determined microstates based on NMR to evaluate the dominant tautomer predictions for each macroscopic state. Prediction of dominant tautomers was a major source of error for microscopic pKa predictions, especially errors in charged tautomers. The degree of inaccuracy in pKa predictions observed in this challenge is detrimental to the protein-ligand binding affinity predictions due to errors in dominant protonation state predictions and the calculation of free energy corrections for multiple protonation states. Underestimation of ligand pKa by 1 unit can lead to errors in binding free energy errors up to 1.2 kcal/mol. The SAMPL6 pKa Challenge demonstrated the need for improving pKa prediction methods for drug-like molecules, especially for challenging moieties and multiprotic molecules.
Clonal analysis and dynamic imaging identify multipotency of individual Gallus gallus caudal hindbrain neural crest cells toward cardiac and enteric fates

Neural crest stem cells arising from caudal hindbrain (often called cardiac and posterior vagal neural crest) migrate long distances to form cell types as diverse as heart muscle and enteric ganglia, abnormalities of which lead to common congenital birth defects. Here, we explore whether individual caudal hindbrain neural crest precursors are multipotent or predetermined toward these particular fates and destinations. To this end, we perform lineage tracing of chick neural crest cells at single-cell resolution using two complementary approaches: retrovirally mediated multiplex clonal analysis and single-cell photoconversion. Both methods show that the majority of these neural crest precursors are multipotent with many clones producing mesenchymal as well as neuronal derivatives. Time-lapse imaging demonstrates that sister cells can migrate in distinct directions, suggesting stochasticity in choice of migration path. Perturbation experiments further identify guidance cues acting on cells in the pharyngeal junction that can influence this choice; loss of CXCR4 signaling results in failure to migrate to the heart but no influence on migration toward the foregut, whereas loss of RET signaling does the opposite. Taken together, the results suggest that environmental influences rather than intrinsic information govern cell fate choice of multipotent caudal hindbrain neural crest cells. Neural crest stem cells formed from the caudal hindbrain migrate long distances to the heart and gut, but how cell fate is determined is unclear. Here, the authors use multiplex clonal analysis and single-cell photoconversion lineage tracing to show environmental not intrinsic factors affect the cell fate of multipotent caudal hindbrain cells in the chick.
Impact of COVID-19 on the Health and Well-being of Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Rapid Systematic Review

Background: In December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or COVID-19, raised worldwide concern. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively influenced he...
NOMENCLATURAL NOTES ON EIGHTEENTH CENTURY STOMATOPODA (HOPLOCARIDA)

Four stomatopod species described in the 18th century, the names of which have not or not consistently been used in modern literature, are now identified. The name Astacus vitreus Fabricius, 1775 (fam. Lysiosquillidae), is a senior synonym of the well-known and widely used name Lysiosquilla scabricauda (Lamarck, 1818). As the reintroduction of the specific name vitrea will cause an undesirable confusion, it is advised to have this specific name suppressed by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in order to save the name scabricauda. The other three names Squilla phalangium Fabricius, 1798 (fam. Nannosquillidae), S. ichneumon Fabricius, 1798, and Cancer neptuni Linnaeus, 1768 (both fam. Squillidae), are senior synonyms of respectively Acanthosquilla acanthocarpus (Claus, 1871), Cloridina microphthalma (H. Milne Edwards, 1837) and Alima alba (Bigelow, 1893). As neither of the three species is common or well known, there is no reason not to follow the International Code strictly here. For each of the three a neotype has been ,selected.