cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hydroxyacetone Production From C3 Criegee Intermediates

Hydroxyacetone (CH3C(O)CH2OH) is observed as a stable end product from reactions of the (CH3)2COO Criegee intermediate, acetone oxide, in a flow tube coupled with multiplexed photoionization mass spectrometer detection. In the experiment, the isomers at m/z = 74 are distinguished by their different photoionization spectra and reaction times. Hydroxyacetone is observed as a persistent signal at longer reaction times at a higher photoionization threshold of ca. 9.7 eV than Criegee intermediate and definitively identified by comparison with the known photoionization spectrum. Complementary electronic structure calculations reveal multiple possible reaction pathways for hydroxyacetone formation, including unimolecular isomerization via hydrogen atom transfer and −OH group migration as well as self-reaction of Criegee intermediates. Varying the concentration of Criegee intermediates suggests contributions from both unimolecular and self-reaction pathways to hydroxyacetone. The hydroxyacetone end product can pr...
Discovery of novel anticancer compounds based on quinoxalinhydrazide pharmacophore

A289 Quinoxalinehydrazines represent a novel class of compounds with excellent potency in a panel of cancer cell lines. A prototype compound, SC144, showed significant in vivo efficacy in mice xenograft models of human breast cancer cells. The subsequent structure activity relationship study resulted in the discovery of SC161 with better potency in cancer cell lines. To further explore the possible conformational space resulting in various pharmacophore orientations, we herein present a 10-ns molecular dynamics simulation of the lead compound in a hydrated system. The trajectory analysis indicated that in the majority of simulation, the molecule favorably stays in a compact planar-like orientation. We therefore built a pharmacophore model based on the cluster containing the highest number of frames to represent the most probable feature orientation. The model was applied to screen a subset of our small molecule database containing 350,000 compounds. We selected 35 compounds for the initial cytotoxicity screen. Seventeen compounds belonging to oxadiazolopyrazine or quinolin class displayed cytotoxicity in various cancer cell lines. Five of them, , 2 , 6 , 15, 16, and 19 , all bearing an oxadiazolopyrazine scaffold, showed IC 50 values 2 , showed IC 50 values 50 value of 8 µM in NIH3T3 cells. This study shows that, conformational sampling of a small lead molecule, followed by representative pharmacophore model development, is an efficient approach for rational design of novel anticancer agents with similar or better potency than the original lead but with different physicochemical properties.
European Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups are Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers of Inflammation in HIV Infection

Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups are ancestry-related patterns of single-nucleotide polymorphisms that are associated with differential mitochondrial function in model systems, neurodegenerative diseases in HIV-negative populations, and chronic complications of HIV infection, including neurocognitive impairment. We hypothesized that mtDNA haplogroups are associated with neuroinflammation in HIV-infected adults. Methods: CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) is a US-based observational study of HIV-infected adults who underwent standardized neurocognitive assessments. Participants who consented to DNA collection underwent whole blood mtDNA sequencing, and a subset also underwent lumbar puncture. IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α (high-sensitivity), and IP-10 were measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by immunoassay. Multivariable regression of mtDNA haplogroups and log-transformed CSF biomarkers were stratified by genetic ancestry using whole-genome nuclear DNA genotyping (European [EA], African [AA], or Hispanic ancestry [HA]), and adjusted for age, sex, antiretroviral therapy (ART), detectable CSF HIV RNA, and CD4 nadir. A total of 384 participants had both CSF cytokine measures and genetic data (45% EA, 44% AA, 11% HA, 22% female, median age 43 years, 74% on ART). Results: In analyses stratified by the 3 continental ancestry groups, no haplogroups were significantly associated with the 4 biomarkers. In the subgroup of participants with undetectable plasma HIV RNA on ART, European haplogroup H participants had significantly lower CSF TNF-α (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Lower CSF TNF-α may indicate lower neuroinflammation in the haplogroup H participants with well-controlled HIV on ART.
Goodness-of-Fit Ethics for Practice and Research Involving Children and Adolescents with HIV

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the concerns of an ethical nature for clinicians and researchers working in the area of pediatric HIV. Drawing on relational ethics within a goodness-of-fit model, we explore concepts related to clinical decision-making, informed consent, and confidentiality as well as ethical issues related to health inequities and work with sexual and gender minority youth. Practical recommendations for treatment and clinical research are included.
Targeted strategies directed at the molecular defect: Toward precision medicine for select primary immunodeficiency disorders.

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDs) represent a range of genetically determined diseases that typically have increased susceptibility to infections and in many cases also have evidence of immune dysregulation that often presents as autoimmunity. Most recently, the concept of gain-of-function mutations associated with PIDs has become well recognized and adds a new dimension to the understanding of this group of disorders, moving beyond the more commonly seen loss-of-function mutations. The rapidly expanding genetic defects that have been identified in patients with previously uncharacterized PIDs has opened up the potential for targeted therapy directed at the specific disease-causing abnormality. This has been driven by linking PID-specific genetic defects to the associated unique abnormalities in cellular signaling pathways amenable to directed therapies. These include agents that either block overactive or enhance underresponsive cellular pathways. Selected primary immunodeficiencies were chosen, the genetic defects of which have been recently characterized and are amenable to targeted therapy, as a reflection of the power of precision medicine.
Transmission Incompetence of Culex quinquefasciatus and Culex pipiens pipiens from North America for Zika Virus.

Abstract In late 2014, Zika virus (ZIKV; Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) emerged as a significant arboviral disease threat in the Western hemisphere. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have been considered the principal vectors of ZIKV in the New World due to viral isolation frequency and vector competence assessments. Limited reports of Culex transmission potential have highlighted the need for additional vector competence assessments of North American Culex species. Accordingly, North American Culex pipiens and Culex quinquefasciatus were orally exposed and intrathoracically inoculated with the African prototype ZIKV strain and currently circulating Asian lineage ZIKV strains to assess infection, dissemination, and transmission potential. Results indicated that these two North American Culex mosquito species were highly refractory to oral infection with no dissemination or transmission observed with any ZIKV strains assessed. Furthermore, both Culex mosquito species intrathoracically inoculated with either Asian or African lineage ZIKVs failed to expectorate virus in saliva. These in vivo results were further supported by the observation that multiple mosquito cell lines of Culex species origin demonstrated significant growth restriction of ZIKV strains compared with Aedes-derived cell lines. In summation, no evidence for the potential of Cx. pipiens or Cx. quinquefasciatus to serve as a competent vector for ZIKV transmission in North America was observed.
Myosin activity drives actomyosin bundle formation and organization in contractile cells of the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca

The contractile myoepithelial cells of the Caenorhabditis elegans somatic gonad are stretched by oocyte entry and subsequently contract to expel the fertilized embryo into the uterus. Formation of ...
Increasing Security by Focusing on Endpoints

End user devices are among the most vulnerable parts of an IT infrastructure. To help mitigate the vulnerabilities associated with these devices, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte has focused on leveraging built-in tools that secure these endpoints and reduce costs by leveraging tools that already exist. We have changed our anti-virus software, deployed security software (i.e., FileVault and BitLocker) to encrypt laptop hard drives, locked down printers, reviewed and changed our PCI compliance methods, changed the way we deploy updates for Windows and Mac devices, and have begun pushing Mac OS updates. This paper will discuss the organizational and technical changes we made to accomplish these goals along the tips and tricks we learned along the way.
School development in urban gentrifying spaces: Developers supporting schools or schools supporting developers?

This article describes the intersection of public and private interests in the context of education in a gentrified urban area. This empirical example demonstrates the ongoing neoliberalization of ...
Exploiting Parallelism and Heterogeneity in a Radiation Effects Test Vehicle for Efficient Single-Event Characterization of Nanoscale Circuits

Novel design techniques for efficient testability are developed and have been implemented in a 14-/16-nm bulk FinFET node technology characterization vehicle. The result of this paper was the measurement of over 300 000 SETs across 12 combinational logic variants and 415 000 SEUs in three D-flip-flop designs over a large test matrix of heavy-ion linear energy transfer, angle of incidence, and supply voltage in only 319 test runs with a total test time of 108 h. A similar-sized data set with equivalent technology coverage, using the traditional serial testing approach as used in previous work, would typically require thousands of test runs and a significant number of additional hours of testing. The methodologies developed in this paper are technology agnostic and have provided the capability to efficiently characterize the radiation-induced response of the 14-/16-nm FinFET technology generation and yielded insights for assessing the feasibility for incorporation in systems requiring radiation resiliency.
Statistical analysis in Small-N Designs: using linear mixed-effects modeling for evaluating intervention effectiveness.

Background: Advances in statistical methods and computing power have led to a renewed interest in addressing the statistical analysis challenges posed by Small-N Designs (SND). Linear mixed-effects...
Hematopoietic stem cell transplant in adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the present state.

Introduction: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) has an important role in management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Proper patient selection is central to ensure opti...
Korean–English bilingual sibling interactions and socialization

Abstract This paper examines how a pair of Korean–American siblings interact and socialize and how their interactions change over time as the younger sibling starts to go to an English-speaking preschool. A 7-year-old Korean–English bilingual girl and her 3-year-old sister were observed in their home over 23 visits within a year. Their discourse data, including 33 h of audio-recordings, were analyzed from the Language Socialization perspective. The older sibling's authority derived from the age-based Korean family hierarchy inevitably played a role in creating shared benefits in the bilingual sibling relationship. After the younger sibling began to speak English, there were noticeable changes in the power asymmetry and language parallelism—the younger sibling's repetition of older sibling's utterances. This study offers insight into the bidirectionality of sibling socialization processes of sibling interactions in relation to their bilingual and bicultural development.
Adhesion Energy of C. elegans

The surface adhesion between C. elegans and the agar plates on which they are commonly grown has yet to be accurately quantified. C. elegans is a scientifically important species of nematode whose simple structure allowed the first mapping of the complete nervous system in a multicellular organism. One of the current topics of research in the C. elegans community is the investigation of neuronal function in locomotion. Models of locomotion are used in these studies to aid in determination of the functions of specific neurons involved in locomotion. The adhesion force plays a critical role in developing these models. This paper presents the experimental determination of the adhesion energy of a representative sample of C. elegans. Adhesion energy was determined by a direct pull-off technique. In this approach, nematodes are anesthetized to prevent movement and secured to a small load cell before an agar plate is slowly brought into contact with the specimen and then removed. The maximum tensile force is then fit to a JKR-type adhesion model, which assumes that the nematode is a cylinder in order to determine the adhesion energy. Repeated adhesions are also investigated to determine the importance of drying on the measured adhesion force. From these experiments, the adhesion energy was found to be W = 4.94 ± 1.19 mJ/m2. Limited experiments on the rol-6 cuticle mutant found a lower adhesion energy W = 2.65 ± 1.16 mJ/m2 for these animals.
The Causal Quantum Theory Program

In this introductory essay1 about the causal quantum theory program,2 I summarize some orthodox views on quantum mechanics, sketch David Bohm’s 1952 version of quantum theory and today’s conventional wisdom about it, examine the origins of this program and the rapid rise of the Copenhagen interpretation to dominance, ask how things might have gone very differently and why they did not, illustrate (mainly by discussing Wolfgang Pauli’s own reaction) how in the 1950s Bohm’s (1952a,b) theory was rejected out of hand, and, finally, outline a landscape of the renewed interest in foundational problems of quantum mechanics I begin by recalling another infamous case, from the early part of the twentieth century, of the scientific community’s dismissing a challenging theoretical possibility without even seriously considering the evidence for it.
Cost Burden and Mortality in Rural Emergency General Surgery Transfer Patients.

Abstract Background Recent articles have suggested regionalization of some emergency general surgery (EGS) problems to tertiary referral centers. We sought to characterize the clinical and cost burden of such transfers to our tertiary referral center. Materials and methods Data were collected retrospectively for nine EGS diagnoses for patients admitted to the EGS service during calendar years 2015 and 2016. Patients were grouped as inpatient transfers (IPTs), Emergency Department transfers (EDTs), or local admissions (LAs). Demographic data, length of stay at originating site, insurance status, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and all relevant financial data were obtained. Results Six hundred sixty-three patients were reviewed: 93 IPTs, 343 EDTs, and 227 LAs. IPTs required longer lengths of stay (7.0 d compared to 4.0 d for EDTs and 3.0 d for LAs), higher median direct costs, and higher case mix index, which produced a higher median revenue but averaged a median net loss (−$264 compared to +$2436 for EDTs and +$3125 for LAs). The IPTs had higher median comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index 3.5 versus 2.9 for EDTs and 2.0 for LAs), age (62 y versus 58 for EDTs and 52 for LAs), and mortality rate (7.5% versus 2.3% for EDTs and 0.4% for LAs). Conclusions Patients who present to a tertiary care EGS service as an IPT from another hospital have more comorbidities, higher mortality rate, and result in a financial loss. These data suggest the need for adequate risk adjustment in quality assessment of tertiary referral center outcomes and the need for increased financial reimbursement for the care of these patients.
Domain Knowledge Driven Key Term Extraction for IT Services

IT service support agents are trained on knowledge sources with large volumes of domain-specific documents, including product manuals and troubleshooting contents. Self-assist applications, such as search and support chat-bots must integrate such knowledge in order to conduct effective user interactions. In particular, the very large volume of domain-specific terms referenced in training documents must be accurately identified and qualified for relevance to specific context of support actions. We propose a weakly-supervised approach for extraction of key terms from IT support documents. The approach integrates domain knowledge to refine the extraction results. Our approach obviates the need for extensive expert work creating manual annotation and dictionary collection, as typically required in traditional supervised solutions, as well as the limited accuracy obtained in unsupervised methods. Results show that domain knowledge based refinement helps improve the overall accuracy of mined key terms by 25–30%.
Sources of Variability in Real-Time Monitoring Data for Fine Particulate Matter: Comparability of Three Wearable Monitors in an Urban Setting

The increasing availability of portable air pollution monitoring devices has greatly enhanced the ability to measure personal exposure in real time. However, the cost and specifications of these devices vary considerably, and questions about their reliability and practicality for use in epidemiological investigations remain. In this field study, three personal PM2.5 exposure monitors (two nephelometers and one optical particle counter) were compared in an urban setting to assess their feasibility for use in future studies. In total, 3963 1-min measurements were collected over 12 days from locations of several types (e.g., above- and below-ground subway stations, sidewalks next to urban traffic, outdoor construction sites, etc.) in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Overall, we observed moderate to high levels of agreement in pairwise comparisons of PM2.5 concentrations between devices (R2 range of 0.37–0.75). Bland–Altman plots showed that differences in device agreement varied over the range of mean ...
Influence of Normal Aging on Brain Autophagy: A Complex Scenario.

Misfolded proteins are pathological findings in some chronic neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases. Aging is a major risk factor for these disorders, suggesting that the mechanisms responsible for clearing misfolded proteins from the brain, the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagy-lysosomal pathway, may decline with age. Although autophagic mechanisms have been found to decrease with age in many experimental models, whether they do so in the brain is unclear. This review examines the literature with regard to age-associated changes in macroautophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) in the central nervous system (CNS). Beclin 1, LC3-II, and the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio have frequently been used to examine changes in macroautophagic activity, while lamp2a and HSPA8 (also known as hsc70) have been used to measure CMA activity. Three gene expression analyses found evidence for an age-related downregulation of macroautophagy in human brain, but no published studies were found of age-related changes in CMA in human brain, although cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of HSPA8 were reported to decrease with age. Most studies of age-related changes in brain autophagy in experimental animals have found age-related declines in macroautophagy, and macroautophagy is necessary for normal lifespan in C. elegans, Drosophila, and mice. However, the few studies of age-related changes in brain CMA in experimental animals have produced conflicting results. Investigations of the influence of aging on macroautophagy in experimental animals in systems other than the CNS have generally found an age-related decrease in Beclin 1, but conflicting results for LC3-II and the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio, while CMA decreases with age in most models. CONCLUSION: while indirect evidence suggests that brain autophagy may decrease with normal aging, this issue has not been investigated sufficiently, particularly in human brain. Measuring autophagic activity in the brain can be challenging because of differences in basal autophagic activity between experimental models, and the inability to include lysosomal inhibitors when measuring the LC3-II/LC3-I ratio in postmortem specimens. If autophagy does decrease in the brain with aging, then pharmacological interventions and/or lifestyle alterations to slow this decline could reduce the risk of developing age-related neurodegenerative disorders.
‘For Girls it is an Honor …’: Women, Work, and Abortion in Communist Hungary, 1948–56

Concerned with a falling birth rate in the early 1950s, the Hungarian communist regime banned abortion and encouraged motherhood. A closer inquiry into the 1953 abortion ban and the broader cultura...
Parent activation and pediatric primary care outcomes for vulnerable children: A mixed methods study

Abstract Objective Among children in low-income families 1) examine associations between parent activation and pediatric primary care outcomes and 2) explore parent perspectives on Parent-Patient Activation Measure (P-PAM) questions in relation to pediatric primary care experiences. Methods We examined associations between P-PAM score via Spanish- or English-language survey and healthcare outcomes abstracted from electronic medical records for parent/child dyads at an urban general pediatrics clinic. Parent perspectives were elicited via qualitative interviews with a subsample of parents who “thought aloud” during P-PAM completion. Results Among 316 Spanish (68%) and English-language parent/child dyads, we found associations between parent activation and primary care outcomes only among Spanish-language dyads and only for weight and health status. Findings from 21 interviews provided possible explanations for quantitative findings including question limitations in assessing knowledge, skills, and confidence in pediatric primary care and P-PAM cultural and linguistic appropriateness for low-income Latino populations. Conclusions Pairing quantitative and qualitative methods provided insight on P-PAM measurement limitations and raised questions about its use in patient engagement interventions to reduce health disparities. Practice implications Practices serving vulnerable children and families should consider the limitations of the P-PAM for measuring parent healthcare engagement before utilizing the P-PAM in patient engagement interventions.
Short-Term Nitrogen Fertilization Affects Microbial Community Composition and Nitrogen Mineralization Functions in an Agricultural Soil

ABSTRACT Soil extracellular enzymes play a significant role in the N mineralization process. However, few studies have documented the linkage between enzyme activity and the microbial community that performs the function. This study examined the effects of inorganic and organic N fertilization on soil microbial communities and their N mineralization functions over 4 years. Soils were collected from silage corn field plots with four contrasting N treatments: control (no additional N), ammonium sulfate (AS; 100 and 200 kg of N ha−1), and compost (200 kg of N ha−1). Illumina amplicon sequencing was used to comprehensively assess the overall bacterial community (16S rRNA genes), bacterial ureolytic community (ureC), and bacterial chitinolytic community (chiA). Selected genes involved in N mineralization were also examined using quantitative real-time PCR and metagenomics. Enzymes (and marker genes) included protease (npr and sub), chitinase (chiA), urease (ureC), and arginase (rocF). Compost significantly increased diversity of overall bacterial communities even after one application, while ammonium fertilizers had no influence on the overall bacterial communities over four seasons. Bacterial ureolytic and chitinolytic communities were significantly changed by N fertilization. Compost treatment strongly elevated soil enzyme activities after 4 years of repeated application. Functional gene abundances were not significantly affected by N treatments, and they were not correlated with corresponding enzyme activities. N mineralization genes were recovered from soil metagenomes based on a gene-targeted assembly. Understanding how the structure and function of soil microbial communities involved with N mineralization change in response to fertilization practices may indicate suitable agricultural management practices that improve ecosystem services while reducing negative environmental consequences. IMPORTANCE Agricultural N management practices influence the enzymatic activities involved in N mineralization. However, specific enzyme activities do not identify the microbial species directly involved in the measured process, leaving the link between the composition of the microbial community and the production of key enzymes poorly understood. In this study, the application of high-throughput sequencing, real-time PCR, and metagenomics shed light on how the abundance and diversity of microorganisms involved in N mineralization respond to N management. We suggest that N fertilization has significantly changed bacterial ureolytic and chitinolytic communities.
How North Korea Wages Political Warfare at Home and Abroad…and How to Respond

Abstract This article assesses how the Kim regime has survived by relying on political warfare as a tool to control its people and influence its neighbors. It further contends that the Republic of Korea, the United States, Japan, as well as other countries with interests adverse to, or threatened by, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should adopt strategies centering on political warfare and, specifically, countering North Korea's political warfare. Understanding the methods and reasoning of the North Korean example, will be a basis for future countermeasures and a means to understand the weakness of this system. Other adversaries in the world recognize the success of the North Korea regime and hope to emulate its success. This in turn is a new source of danger and a threat to the way of life for the free world.
WINTER FEEDING NICHE PARTITIONMENT BY CAROLINA CHICKADEES AND TUFTED TITMICE IN EAST TEXAS

Evidence presented indicate that Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice partitioned the winter feeding niche in mixed hardwood-pine forests in East Texas. Chickadees chose taller trees and spent longer foraging periods in a given crown area than did titmice. Likewise, chickadees fed in the upper and outer areas of the trees whereas titmice utilized lower and interior areas. Each species seemed to prefer to feed in different species of trees. These differences in feeding areas indicate that chickadees were probably feeding on smaller insects than were titmice.
Why Do High-Status People Have Larger Social Networks? Belief in Status-Quality Coupling as a Driver of Network-Broadening Behavior and Social Network Size

Previous research has demonstrated that the size and reach of people’s social networks tend to be positively related to their social status. Although several explanations help to account for this r...
NONEQUILIBRIUM ELECTRONS AND THE SUNYAEV-ZEL'DOVICH EFFECT OF GALAXY CLUSTERS

We present high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of three galaxy clusters employing a two-temperature model for the intracluster medium. We show that electron temperatures in cluster outskirts are significantly lower than the mean gas temperature, because Coulomb collisions are insufficient to keep electrons and ions in thermal equilibrium. This deviation is larger in more massive and less relaxed systems, ranging from 5% in relaxed clusters to 30% for clusters undergoing major mergers. The presence of nonequilibrium electrons leads to significant suppression of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) signal at large cluster-centric radius. The suppression of the electron pressure also leads to an underestimate of the hydrostatic mass. Merger-driven, internal shocks may also generate significant populations of nonequilibrium electrons in the cluster core, leading to a 5% bias on the integrated SZ mass proxy during cluster mergers.
Flexible thermal interface based on self-assembled boron arsenide for high-performance thermal management

Thermal management is the most critical technology challenge for modern electronics. Recent key materials innovation focuses on developing advanced thermal interface of electronic packaging for achieving efficient heat dissipation. Here, for the first time we report a record-high performance thermal interface beyond the current state of the art, based on self-assembled manufacturing of cubic boron arsenide (s-BAs). The s-BAs exhibits highly desirable characteristics of high thermal conductivity up to 21 W/m·K and excellent elastic compliance similar to that of soft biological tissues down to 100 kPa through the rational design of BAs microcrystals in polymer composite. In addition, the s-BAs demonstrates high flexibility and preserves the high conductivity over at least 500 bending cycles, opening up new application opportunities for flexible thermal cooling. Moreover, we demonstrated device integration with power LEDs and measured a superior cooling performance of s-BAs beyond the current state of the art, by up to 45 °C reduction in the hot spot temperature. Together, this study demonstrates scalable manufacturing of a new generation of energy-efficient and flexible thermal interface that holds great promise for advanced thermal management of future integrated circuits and emerging applications such as wearable electronics and soft robotics.
Balloon up or balloon away? Examining the management of postoperative dysphagia following fundoplication

Dysphagia following laparoscopic fundoplication for medically refractory gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is common. In patients without an anatomic defect, it has been hypothesized that the ant reflux wrap may be too tight. Therefore, pneumatic dilation may help relieve the obstruction. While retrospective data support this hypothesis, prospective data are lacking. We summarize the @GIJournal discussion held on February 17, 2021, during which the article by Schuitenmaker et al. “Pneumatic dilation for persistent dysphagia after ant reflux surgery, a multicentre single-blind randomized sham-controlled clinical trial” was critically reviewed by our expert Dr. John Pandolfino (JP), and moderated by Dr. Marianna Papademetriou (MP).
The Generation of Security Scoring Systems Leveraging Human Expert Opinion.

While the existence of many security elements can be measured (e.g., vulnerabilities, security controls, or privacy controls), it is challenging to measure their relative security impact. In the physical world we can often measure the impact of individual elements to a system. However, in cyber security we often lack ground truth (i.e., the ability to directly measure significance). In this work we propose to solve this by leveraging human expert opinion to provide ground truth. Experts are iteratively asked to compare pairs of security elements to determine their relative significance. On the back end our knowledge encoding tool performs a form of binary insertion sort on a set of security elements using each expert as an oracle for the element comparisons. The tool not only sorts the elements (note that equality may be permitted), but it also records the strength or degree of each relationship. The output is a directed acyclic `constraint' graph that provides a total ordering among the sets of equivalent elements. Multiple constraint graphs are then unified together to form a single graph that is used to generate a scoring or prioritization system. For our empirical study, we apply this domain-agnostic measurement approach to generate scoring/prioritization systems in the areas of vulnerability scoring, privacy control prioritization, and cyber security control evaluation.
Loneliness and Mental Health: Recommendations for Primary Care Intakes.

Introduction/ObjectivesThe healthcare intake process plays a significant role in informing medical personnel about patients’ demographic information, subjective health status, and health complaints...
Sexually dimorphic muscarinic acetylcholine receptor modulation of contextual fear learning in the dentate gyrus.

Abstract Contextual fear conditioning, where the prevailing situational cues become associated with an aversive unconditional stimulus such as electric shock, is sexually dimorphic. Males typically show higher levels of fear than females. There are two components to contextual fear conditioning. First the multiple cues that encompass the context must be integrated into a coherent representation, a process that requires the hippocampus. The second is that representation must be communicated to the basolateral amygdala where it can be associated with shock. If there is inadequate time for forming the representation prior to shock poor conditioning results and this is called the immediate shock deficit. One can isolate the contextual processing component, as well as alleviate the deficit, by providing an opportunity to explore the context without shock prior to the conditioning session. The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent to which cholinergic processes within the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus during contextual processing contribute to the sexual dimorphism. Clozapine-n-oxide (CNO) is a putatively inactive compound that acts only upon synthetic genetically engineered receptors. However, we found that CNO infused into the dentate gyrus prior to exploration eliminated the sexual dimorphism by selectively decreasing freezing in males to the level of females. Biological activity of CNO is usually attributed to metabolism of CNO to clozapine and we found that clozapine, and the muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, scopolamine, produced results similar to CNO, preferentially affecting males. On the other hand, the muscarinic agonist oxotremorine selectively impaired conditioning in females. Overall, the current experiments reveal significant off-target effects of CNO and implicate muscarinic cholinergic receptors in the dentate gyrus as a significant mediator of the sexual dimorphism in contextual fear conditioning.
Pediatric Tympanostomy Tube Removal Technique and Effect on Rate of Persistent Tympanic Membrane Perforation.

Importance Tympanostomy tube removal is a commonly performed pediatric procedure. Few studies have evaluated whether removal technique influences the likelihood of the tympanic membrane (TM) to heal. Objective To determine whether the technique used for tympanostomy tube removal affects the likelihood of persistent TM perforation healing in children. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective case series with medical chart review in a tertiary care pediatric health system of 247 children undergoing tympanostomy tube removal (341 ears) between 2010 and 2013 by 1 of 4 different techniques: (1) tube removal only; (2) freshening TM perforation edges; (3) performing patch myringoplasty; or (4) both freshening edges and performing patch myringoplasty. Main Outcomes and Measures Rate of persistent TM perforation after tympanostomy tube removal using the different removal techniques. Secondary outcomes included associations between persistent TM perforation and patient and tympanostomy tube characteristics. Results The overall persistent TM perforation rate was 10% (34 of 341 ears). Tube removal technique did not significantly influence likelihood for the TM to heal: perforations persisted in 11 of 97 ears (11%) with tube removal only, 6 of 68 ears (9%) with freshened TM perforation edges, 7 of 57 (12%) with patch myringoplasty, and 10 of 119 (8%) with both edges freshened and patch myringoplasty ( P = .81). The mean (SD) age of patients with a persistent perforation at the time of tympanostomy tube removal was 8.5 (3.9) years vs 6.5 (3.2) years for those without a persistent perforation ( P = .01). In patients with trisomy 21, there was a significantly higher rate of persistent TM perforation (OR, 8.65; 95% CI, 2.13-34.74; P = .002). Short-acting tubes were found to have a significantly lower rate of persistent TM perforation (13 of 194; 7%) than longer-acting tubes (9 of 41; 22%) (OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.09-0.71; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance No reduction in persistent TM perforation rate was found following tympanostomy tube removal if TM edges were freshened and/or a patch myringoplasty was performed. Increased pediatric age, longer-acting tympanostomy tubes, and history of trisomy 21 may negatively influence likelihood of closure.
Improving public health care: An examination of the nature of Cuban government assistance to the Ghanaian public health care system

This research examines the process (and impact) of foreign technical assistance to government primary health care systems in developing countries in terms of enhancing accessibility, program effectiveness, and sustainability. The research describes how the African and Cuban health care systems work to meet the needs of their underserved, primarily rural populations, how these populations’ access to health care services are addressed, and how the Cuban assistance affects the ability of nations in the Global South to achieve their goals of providing quality health care for their populations. More specifically, the research examines the Cuban government’s multifaceted assistance to primary health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa. This research examines the experiences of the Cuban Medical Brigade in Ghana in terms of their approach to addressing issues of accessibility and capacity building as indicators of program appropriateness.
Epigenetic alterations in metastatic cutaneous carcinoma.

Background Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) are the 2 most common cutaneous carcinomas. Molecular profiles predicting metastasis of these cancers have not been identified. Methods Epigenetic profiles of 37 primary cases of cutaneous SCC and BCC were quantified via the Illumina Goldengate Cancer Panel. Differential protein expression by metastatic potential was analyzed in 110 total cases by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining. Results Unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis revealed that metastatic BCCs had a methylation profile resembling cutaneous SCCs. Metastatic cutaneous SCCs were found to be hypermethylated at FRZB (median methylation: 46.7% vs 4.7%; p = 4 × 10−5). Metastatic BCCs were found to be hypomethylated at MYCL2 (median methylation: 3.8% vs 83.4%; p = 1.9 × 10−6). Immunohistochemical staining revealed few differences between metastatic and nonmetastatic cancers. Conclusion Metastatic primary BCCs and cutaneous SCCs had distinct epigenetic profiles when compared to their nonmetastatic counterparts. Epigenetic profiling may prove useful in future diagnosis and prevention of advanced nonmelanoma skin cancers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 994–1001, 2015
Current topics in wireless and mobile ATM networks: QoS control, IP support and legacy service integration

This paper presents a selection of current topics related to emerging wireless and mobile ATM network technologies. A summary of the wireless ATM system architecture and related radio access layer and "M" UNI/NNI protocols is given. As technical approaches for these radio access and mobile network protocols are now entering the convergence phase, we identify several systems-oriented issues that need to be addressed next for efficient and flexible use of the mobile/wireless ATM networking platform. Specific topics discussed include: (1) quality-of-service (QoS) control in wireless ATM systems; (2) interworking with legacy wireless services such as GSM and IS-95/136; and (3) IP support alternatives such as IP-over-mobile ATM, IP switching (Ipsofacto), and IP routing over WATM link layer.
Effects of Atmospheric Obscurants on the Propagation of Optical/IR Radiation

Every optical remote sensor, whether looking at the natural atmospheric constituents or other obscurants or pollutants, has to be able to look through the atmosphere. It is therefore important that one understands and can reliably predict the propagation properties of the ambient atmosphere for these remote sensing systems.
Vector space approach for modelling a Hartmann wavefront sensor

The authors apply a vector space approach using matrix operations and linear algebra to develop a model of a Hartmann wavefront sensor. The wavefront sensor measures the records the wavefront phase over an aperture by dividing the total aperture in 69 subapertures. Wavefront sensor outputs obtained in experimental tests are analyzed to identify regions of linearity, nonlinearity, and saturation, and to estimate bias and noise. Since wavefront sensor measurements can be noise-corrupted, nonlinear, and limited in accuracy, a stochastic truth model that could be used to design an optimal controller to minimize the mean square phase front error is developed. >
Experimental and Analytical Study of High-Level Barge Deformation for Barge–Bridge Collision Design

AbstractSpecifications used in the design of bridges that cross barge-navigable waterways typically use, as a subcomponent of the impact-load calculation process, a barge force–deformation (crush) relationship. Such relationships model the nonlinear stiffness of the impacting barge and directly influence computed impact forces. Primarily because of logistical challenges, few studies have been conducted to experimentally quantify barge force-deformation data. A variety of analytical studies have been conducted to partially address this lack of experimental data, and to facilitate development of improved crush relationships. However, there remains a need for experimental data to validate analytically derived crush relationships, particularly at high barge-deformation levels. In this paper, an integrated experimental and analytical investigation of barge force–deformation behavior under high-energy impact loading is presented. Results from impact tests involving reduced-scale replicates of jumbo-hopper barge...
Endocrine Dysfunction in Diamond-Blackfan Anemia (DBA): A Report from the DBA Registry (DBAR).

Objective Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a rare inherited bone marrow failure syndrome. The mainstays of treatment involve chronic red cell transfusions, long-term glucocorticoid therapy, and stem cell transplantation. Systematic data concerning endocrine function in DBA are limited. We studied patients in the DBA Registry (DBAR) of North America to assess the prevalence of various endocrinopathies.
Vascular effects of lipopolysaccharide are enhanced in interleukin-10-deficient mice.

Background and Purpose —The role in blood vessels of interleukin-10 (IL-10), a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, is not known. Using mice with targeted deletion of the gene for IL-10 (IL-10−/−), we examined the hypothesis that IL-10 is a major modulator of the vascular effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Methods —We examined in vitro responses of carotid arteries obtained from wild-type (129/SvEv or C57BL/6; IL-10+/+) and IL-10–deficient mice 6 hours after injection of a relatively low dose of LPS (10 μg). Results —Contraction of the carotid artery in response to U46619 was impaired in IL-10–deficient mice treated with LPS compared with LPS-treated controls. After LPS, U46619 (0.03 and 0.1 μg/mL) contracted the carotid artery by 0.11±0.02 (mean±SEM) and 0.38±0.03 g in wild-type (n=10) and 0.03±0.01 and 0.19±0.03 g in IL-10–deficient (n=8) mice ( P <0.05 versus control). Aminoguanidine, an inhibitor of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), had no significant effect on contraction of the carotid artery from LPS-treated control mice but restored contraction of the carotid artery in response to U46619 in IL-10–deficient mice to levels seen in wild-type mice. Similar findings were obtained when phenylephrine was used as a vasoconstricting agent. These findings indicate that LPS produces much greater impairment of contractile responses of the carotid artery in IL-10–deficient mice than in control mice. Impaired contractile function was eliminated by aminoguanidine, suggesting that expression of iNOS is enhanced in arteries from IL-10–deficient mice. In carotid arteries from animals injected with LPS, reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) products for iNOS were found more frequently in IL-10–deficient mice than in wild-type mice. RT-PCR products for iNOS were not present in arteries from vehicle-treated animals (IL-10–deficient or wild-type mice). Conclusions —This is the first evidence that endogenous IL-10 is a major determinant of the effects of LPS on vascular tone. The results suggest that impaired constrictor responses of the carotid artery after LPS in IL-10–deficient mice are mediated by enhanced expression of iNOS.
The New Rhetoric’s Concept of Universal Audience, Misconceived

This paper explores The New Rhetoric’s concept of universal audience in the contexts of philosophical and traditional rhetorical discourse. It argues that, since Perelman’s final English-language article, published in 1984 to clarify misunderstandings among rhetorical scholars about his theory, rhetorical scholars have persisted in three primary misconceptions of the concept of universal audience: (1) appeals to the real are made only to universal audiences, (2) only universal audiences are qualified to establish the reasonableness of arguments, and (3) only universal audiences prevent The New Rhetoric’s rhetorical theory from degenerating into relativism. It explains why each of these misconceptions is inaccurate and provides a corrected view of universal audience that places it exclusively in the province of philosophical discourse. Finally, it questions whether constructed audiences in general add explanatory power to rhetorical analyses or are merely unnecessary constructs that should be dispensed with for the sake of theoretical parsimony.
Plastics in Aircraft Electricity

SYNTHETIC organic plastics for electrical insulation represent one of the important contributions of the plastics industry to modern military and commercial aircraft. These materials for the most part are not used as substitutes for more suitable but scarce insulating materials, but have been selected because they possess superior mechanical and electrical properties.
Oral Health in Guatemalan Rural Populations

In three Guatemalan rural populations absence of preventive measures, lack of oral hygiene, and poor diet were associated with severe dental caries. Young subjects with deciduous teeth had a higher incidence of caries than previously reported. Good masticatory functional patterns prevailed.
Critical field measurements in superconductors using ac inductive techniques

The ac in‐phase and out‐of‐phase response of type II superconductors is discussed in terms of dc magnetization curves. Hysteresis in the dc magnetization is shown to lead to a dependence of the ac response on the rate at which an external field is swept. This effect allows both Hc1 and Hc2 to be measured by ac techniques. A relatively simple mutual inductance bridge for making such measurements is described in the text, and factors affecting bridge sensitivity are discussed in the Appendix. Data for the magnetic superconductor ErRh4B4 obtained using this bridge are reported.