cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Future microfluidic and nanofluidic modular platforms for nucleic acid liquid biopsy in precision medicine

Nucleic acid biomarkers have enormous potential in non-invasive diagnostics and disease management. In medical research and in the near future in the clinics, there is a great demand for accurate miRNA, mRNA, and ctDNA identification and profiling. They may lead to screening of early stage cancer that is not detectable by tissue biopsy or imaging. Moreover, because their cost is low and they are non-invasive, they can become a regular screening test during annual checkups or allow a dynamic treatment program that adjusts its drug and dosage frequently. We briefly review a few existing viral and endogenous RNA assays that have been approved by the Federal Drug Administration. These tests are based on the main nucleic acid detection technologies, namely, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR), microarrays, and next-generation sequencing. Several of the challenges that these three technologies still face regarding the quantitative measurement of a panel of nucleic acids are outlined. Finally, we review a cluster of microfluidic technologies from our group with potential for point-of-care nucleic acid quantification without nucleic acid amplification, designed to overcome specific limitations of current technologies. We suggest that integration of these technologies in a modular design can offer a low-cost, robust, and yet sensitive/selective platform for a variety of precision medicine applications.
In vitro release of metoprolol from various transdermal formulations.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the release of metoprolol from two types of transdermal delivery systems ― reservoir type (ointments) and matrix type (polymer based-polyethylene vinyl acetate copolymer). The secondary purpose of this investigation was to evaluate factors, such as drug loading, system type, excipient nature, etc., that influence the release of 1 from such systems. The tertiary purpose of this investigation was to determine the mechanism of release of drug from the various systems evaluated. The entire process of evaluation was geared towards arriving at an optimal formulation
CLINICAL AND ELECTRONIC AIRWAY MONITORING

SUMMARY Monitoring the airway gives unique insight into cardiopulmonary physiology. Recognition of this has lagged, perhaps because the benefits of monitoring the respiratory system are less obvious than those of monitoring the cardiac system. The anesthesiologist has a unique opportunity to observe and appreciate the lessons to be learned from airway monitoring.
Discussion on “Sequential detection/isolation of abrupt changes” by Igor V. Nikiforov

ABSTRACTIn this interesting article, Professor Nikiforov reviewed the current state of quickest change detection/isolation problem. In our discussion of his article we focus on the concerns and the opportunities of the subfield of quickest change detection or, more generally, sequential methodologies, in the modern information age.
Jaco: The Film; Jaco: Original Soundtrack

“My name is John Francis Pastorius III, and I’m the greatest bass player in the world.” According to Weather Report co-founder Joe Zawinul, this is how electric bassist Jaco Pastorius introduced hi...
Expiratory flow limitation and operating lung volumes during exercise in older and younger adults

We determined the effect of aging on expiratory flow limitation (EFL) and operating lung volumes when matched for lung size. We hypothesized that older adults will exhibit greater EFL and increases in EELV during exercise compared to younger controls. Ten older (5M/5W; >60years old) and nineteen height-matched young adults (10M/9W) were recruited. Young adults were matched for%predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) (Y-matched%Pred FVC; n=10) and absolute FVC (Y-matched FVC; n=10). Tidal flow-volume loops were recorded during the incremental exercise test with maximal flow-volume loops measured pre- and post-exercise. Compared to younger controls, older adults exhibited more EFL at ventilations of 26, 35, 51, and 80L/min. The older group had higher end-inspiratory lung volume compared to Y-matched%Pred FVC group during submaximal ventilations. The older group increased EELV during exercise, while EELV stayed below resting in the Y-matched%Pred FVC group. These data suggest older adults exhibit more EFL and increase EELV earlier during exercise compared to younger adults.
Montaigne’s Swerve: The Geometry of Parallels in the Essays and Other Writings

When Michel de Montaigne criticizes different forms of knowledge in his Essays, geometry gets a decidedly bad rap. Geometrical assertions rely on abstract thought, and the essayist would rather we concentrate on concrete measurements of the world around us. While we have until now made much of the philosophical consequences these criticisms engendered, namely that Montaigne was heavily persuaded by skepticism, we have not looked at the extent to which Montaigne was fascinated by the language of geometry and even, in his writing, obsessed with a particular geometrical debate that dates back to the very first commentaries on Euclid: the necessary, infinite separation between parallel lines and between asymptotes and their hyperbola. Montaigne’s writing produces counter proofs to non-incident lines by forming parallels and asymptotes into demonstrable, everyday actions, expressing them in a more colloquial, French equivalent, and proposing the essay as a parallel figure that challenges theorems of infinite separation. The following will read these moments in Montaigne’s writing as conscious and unconscious instances of his geometrical language and, in Lucretian terms, his swerve [clinamen]. Montaigne’s explicit opposition to lines that never cross, specifically his aversion to the asymptote proposed to him by Jacques Peletier and the parallel lines asserted in Epicurus’ atomist discourse, constitutes a geometrical language in which crossing and contact are moral imperatives that promote social togetherness and exchange.
The Responsiveness of Patient- Reported Outcome Tools in Shoulder Surgery Is Dependent on the Underlying Pathological Condition:

Background:Given the high number of available patient-reported outcome (PRO) tools for patients undergoing shoulder surgery, comparative information is necessary to determine the most relevant form...
Sustained delivery of anti-VEGF from injectable hydrogel systems provides a prolonged decrease of endothelial cell proliferation and angiogenesis in vitro

Therapeutic antibodies are attractive treatment options for numerous diseases based on their ability to target and bind to specific proteins or antigens. Bevacizumab, an antiangiogenic antibody, has shown promise for multiple diseases, including various cancers and macular degeneration, where excessive VEGF secretion induces aberrant angiogenesis. In many cases local, sustained delivery of a therapeutic antibody would be preferable to maximize the therapeutic at the disease site, eliminate the need for repeated doses, and reduce systemic side effects. The biodegradable polysaccharides alginate and chitosan can electrostatically interact to form a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC), and have proved effective as a carrier for controlled release of antibodies. In this work, an alginate–chitosan PEC system was designed to produce targeted 30-day delivery of non-specific IgG and anti-VEGF antibodies. The release of anti-VEGF was slow relative to IgG release, suggesting that release rate is antibody specific and is based on the interactions of the PEC with charges present on the antibody surface. The anti-VEGF released from the PEC was shown to successfully inhibit VEGF-induced proliferation and angiogenesis in vitro throughout the 30-day test period.
Role of TFH Cells in Promoting T Helper 17-Induced Neuroinflammation

Both T cells and B cells are implicated in the pathology of multiple sclerosis (MS), but how these cells cooperate to drive disease remains unclear. Recent studies using experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) demonstrated that the TH17 pathway is correlated with increased numbers of ectopic B-cell follicles in the central nervous system (CNS). As follicular T helper (TFH) cells are regulators of B cell responses, we sought to examine the role of TFH cells in EAE induced by the transfer of myelin-specific TH17 cells (TH17-EAE). In this study, we first confirmed previous reports that B-cells are a major cell type infiltrating the CNS during TH17-EAE. In addition, we found that B cells contribute to the severity of TH17-EAE. Class-switched B-cells in the CNS were positively correlated with disease and, strikingly, the severity TH17-EAE was diminished in B cell deficient mice. We next focused on the role TFH cells play in TH17-EAE. We found substantial numbers of CXCR5+PD1+CD4+ TFH cells in the CNS tissue of TH17-EAE mice and that at the peak of disease, the number of infiltrating TFHs was correlated with the number of infiltrating B-cells. Using congenic CD45.1+ donor mice and CD45.2+ recipient mice, we determined that the TFH cells were recipient-derived, whereas IL-17+ cells were donor-derived. We assessed whether myelin-specific TFH cells are capable of inducing EAE in recipient mice and found that transferring TFH cells failed to induce EAE. Finally, we tested the effects of blocking TFH trafficking in TH17-EAE using an antagonistic antibody against CXCL13, the chemokine ligand for CXCR5 on TFH cells. We found anti-CXCL13 treatment significantly reduced TH17-EAE disease. This treatment blocked CD4+ T cells from entering the CNS, but had no effect on infiltration of B cells. Strikingly, this antibody treatment had no measurable effect on TH17 disease in B cell-deficient mice. These data demonstrate that infiltrating TFH cells are a key cell type that contributes to an inflammatory B cell response in TH17-EAE and provide evidence for targeting TFH cells as a treatment for neuro-autoimmune diseases like MS.
Acute Sinusitis in Adults and Children: Evidence-Based Emergency Imaging

Sinusitis is diagnosed and managed based on clinical grounds and imaging is not indicated for initial diagnosis of uncomplicated sinusitis. CT remains the primary imaging study of choice for patients with acute and chronic sinusitis. CT is indicated when patients do not respond to medical management as patients may have a structural abnormality or obstructive lesion. Imaging is also indicated in patients who are suspected of having sinusitis related to orbital and intracranial complications, to immunocompromised state, or for pre-operative surgical planning.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Psychological Interventions in Patients with Psoriasis: A Review:

Psoriasis is a common condition, often associated with substantial psychological morbidity. Stress is frequently implicated in the onset or exacerbation of psoriasis, giving rise to the possible us...
Protoplasma, Koagulation und Kolloide

Schon in den 70er Jahren des 19. Jh.s schrieben die historisch wichtigsten mechanistischen Theorien der Narkose ihre masgebliche Ursache den Wechselwirkungen von Anasthetika mit Proteinen zu. Dem zugrunde liegenden Gedankengang zufolge war die Narkose des Gesamtorganismus das Ergebnis von Veranderungen in der Konsistenz des zellularen Protoplasmas.
Q-Value Measurements at M. I. T.

The original planning of the program for making precision energy measurements of nuclear reaction products at M. I. T. can perhaps be traced back to 1939. At that time plans were made for the construction of a magnetic spectrograph of the type built by Cockcroft 1 and used by Rutherford and his collaborators2 in their early measurements on the deflection of radioactive alpha emitters. Two one-ton cylindrical sections of Armco iron were procured in 1940 but, because of the interruption brought about by the Second World War, the design and construction of the 180-degree focusing magnet were delayed until 1945.
The Backtrack Method (BACKTR)

This chapter presents an algorithm BACKTR focusing on the backtrack method. The backtrack method is a reasonable approach to use on problems of exhaustive search when all possibilities must be enumerated or processed. The backtrack procedure grows the vector from left to right and tests at each stage to see if the partially constructed vector has any chance to be extended to a vector which satisfies ζ. If not, the partial vector is rejected, then moving on to the next one, thereby saving the effort of constructing the descendants of a clearly unsuitable partial vector. The chapter discusses the computer implementation of this procedure. The aim is to split off the universal aspects of the backtrack method as a subroutine, which will be useful in most, or all, applications, and to leave the part of the application that differs from one situation to the next to the user, as a program which the user must prepare within certain guidelines. In this approach, it is supposed that the user wishes to prepare a program that will exhibit one vector at a time, satisfying his condition ζ.
Applications of Computational Phantoms

Significant progress has been made in the development of computational anthropomorphic phantoms over the last few decades. A historical overview and discussion on computational phantoms can be found in Chap. 12. Such progress would not have been possible without the availability of large amounts of affordable random access memory (RAM)
Characterizing Workflow to Inform Clinical Decision Support Systems in Nursing Homes.

Background and objectives Clinical decision support systems (CDSS) hold promise to influence clinician behavior at the point of care in nursing homes (NHs) and improving care delivery. However, the success of these interventions depends on their fit with workflow. The purpose of this study was to characterize workflow in NHs and identify implications of workflow for the design and implementation of CDSS in NHs. Research design and methods We conducted a descriptive study at 2 NHs in a metropolitan area of the Mountain West Region of the United States. We characterized clinical workflow in NHs, conducting 18 observation sessions and interviewing 15 staff members. A multilevel work model guided our data collection and framework method guided data analysis. Results The qualitative analysis revealed specific aspects of multilevel workflow in NHs: (a) individual, (b) work group/unit, (c) organization, and (d) industry levels. Data analysis also revealed several additional themes regarding workflow in NHs: centrality of ongoing relationships of staff members with the residents to care delivery in NHs, resident-centeredness of care, absence of memory aids, and impact of staff members' preferences on work activities. We also identified workflow-related differences between the two settings. Discussion and implications Results of this study provide a rich understanding of the characteristics of workflow in NHs at multiple levels. The design of CDSS in NHs should be informed by factors at multiple levels as well as the emergent processes and contextual factors. This understanding can allow for incorporating workflow considerations into CDSS design and implementation.
Trauma y memoria en La sangre de la aurora de Claudia Salazar y Magallanes de Salvador del Solar

A dieciseis anos del fin del conflicto armado interno entre el Estado peruano y el PCP-Sendero Luminoso (1980-2000), continuan emergiendo nuevas voces en el extenso mapa de la produccion cultural que siguen inquiriendo, desde novedosas tecnicas, acerca de las razones, logicas y consecuencias de dicho conflicto. El sistematico maltrato sexual y fisico perpetrado por parte de los representantes del Estado, especificamente hacia mujeres indigenas quechua-hablantes, durante este conflicto ha sido una constante dentro de la produccion cultural peruana de los ultimos anos. Este articulo reflexionara acerca de como la novela La sangre de la aurora (2013) de Claudia Salazar y la pelicula Magallanes (2015) de Salvador del Solar, desestabilizan las relaciones de poder entre victima y victimario, articulando una memoria historica-politica-cultural distinta a la trabajada por publicaciones anteriores con respecto a la victimizacion de la mujer indigena peruana durante el conflicto armado interno. Estos dos objetos culturales, pues, presentan a la misma desde una posicion empoderada que no cae en el retrato simple de la mujer violada sin agencia y rompe con la representacion de la mujer sin recursos ante la logica patriarcal abusiva.
The Nature of Energy Received from the Sun—Figuring Out What Light Really IsOpen image in new window

The nature of light was long a mystery. The first measurement of the speed of light was made in 1676, only 25 % short of the modern value.
Overeating during painful episodes among adults with chronic pain: A preliminary study.

Abstract Introduction A bidirectional relationship exists between obesity and chronic pain. How the two variables influence one another is unclear, especially in the context of prescription opioid use. The current study aimed to explore the phenomenon of overeating in the context of chronic pain and obesity among adults prescribed opioids. Methods Adults with a self-reported pain condition taking a prescription opioid completed surveys for this exploratory study. Participants provided demographic data and reported appetite changes when in pain. Chi-square analyses and analyses of variances (ANVOAs) were conducted to establish baseline comparability among body mass index (BMI) groups. Relative risk ratios were calculated to determine risk for reporting an increased appetite among BMI groups. Participants’ responses to an open-ended question on appetite when in pain were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. Results In total, 219 participants’ data were analyzed. Of these, 46.8% reported eating less, 38.2% reported an unchanged appetite, and 11.9% reported eating more to feel better when in pain. Adults with obesity were over three times more likely to report an increased appetite compared to adults with normal weight. Participants reported having either a nutritional or a non-food response to painful episodes. Conclusions This preliminary study supports that some adults with chronic pain follow poor nutritional patterns when in pain which may make weight management difficult. Pain clinicians should assess and counsel clients for overeating or undereating risks to facilitate pain and weight management.
Structures of human ENT1 in complex with adenosine reuptake inhibitors

The human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1), a member of the SLC29 family, plays crucial roles in adenosine signaling, cellular uptake of nucleoside for DNA and RNA synthesis, and nucleoside-derived anticancer and antiviral drug transport in humans. Because of its central role in adenosine signaling, it is the target of adenosine reuptake inhibitors (AdoRI), several of which are used clinically. Despite its importance in human physiology and pharmacology, the molecular basis of hENT1-mediated adenosine transport and its inhibition by AdoRIs are limited, owing to the absence of structural information on hENT1. Here, we present crystal structures of hENT1 in complex with two chemically distinct AdoRIs: dilazep and S-(4-nitrobenzyl)-6-thioinosine (NBMPR). Combined with mutagenesis study, our structural analyses elucidate two distinct inhibitory mechanisms exhibited on hENT1 and provide insight into adenosine recognition and transport. Our studies provide a platform for improved pharmacological intervention of adenosine and nucleoside analog drug transport by hENT1.
African American mothers’ attitudes towards genetic testing in the InterGEN study

The paucity of representation of people of color, particularly those of African ancestry, is a major issue in contemporary omics research. Metadata summarizing genome-wide association studies from 2005 to 2015 suggest that nearly 80% of participants are of European ancestry and only 2.4% are of African ancestry. Negative attitude towards genetic testing is a commonly cited belief as to why there is low representation of Americans of African ancestry participating in genetic studies. Using the attitudes towards genetic testing survey, administered as part of our parent (epi)genome-wide association study, we characterized the perceptions of genetic research among our cohort of African ancestry women (n = 168). Our data show generally favorable perceptions of genetic testing among our cohort. Further, we demonstrate that more favorable attitudes towards genetic testing correlated with higher levels of income, even when accounting for commonly cited negative predictors such as maternal age, education, country of origin, and religion. Overall, our data characterize generally positive perceptions of genetic testing among women of African ancestry.
Projected 20- and 30-Year Outcomes for Pediatric Liver Transplant Recipients in the United States

BACKGROUND Observed long-term outcomes no longer reflect the survival trajectory facing pediatric liver transplant (LT) recipients today. We aimed to use national registry data and parametric models to project 20- and 30-year post-transplant outcomes for recently transplanted pediatric LT recipients. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 13,442 first-time pediatric (age <18) LT recipients using 1987 to 2018 Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients data. We validated the proposed method (ie, to project long-term patient and graft survival using parametric survival models and short-term data) in 2 historic cohorts (1987-1996 and 1997-2006) and estimated long-term projections among patients transplanted between 2007 and 2018. Projections were stratified by raft type, recipient age, and indication for transplant. RESULTS Parsimonious parametric models with Weibull distribution can be applied to post-transplant data and used to project long-term outcomes for pediatric LT recipients beyond observed data. Projected 20-year patient survival for pediatric LT recipients transplanted in 2007 to 2018 was 84.0% (95% confidence interval 81.5-85.8), compared to observed 20-year survival of 72.8% and 63.6% among those transplanted in 1997 to 2006 and 1987 to 1996, respectively. Projected 30-year survival for pediatric LT recipients in 2007 to 2018 was 80.1% (75.2-82.7), compared to projected 30-year survival of 68.6% (66.1-70.9) in the 1997 to 2006 cohort and observed 30-year survival of 57.5% in the 1987 to 1996 cohort. Twenty- and 30-year patient and graft survival varied slightly by recipient age, graft type, and indication for transplant. CONCLUSIONS Projected long-term outcomes for recently transplanted pediatric LT recipients are excellent, reflective of substantial improvements in medical care, and informative for physician-patient education and decision making in the current era.
Incidence and Risk Factors Associated with Hip Pain in Children with SMA and Spinal instrumentation

Purpose: Children with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) types I and II develop hip subluxation and dislocation. Benign neglect has been the longstanding approach as they were thought to be largely asymptomatic. Through a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach, life expectancy for these children has increased. Spinal stabilization via spinal fusion or growing rods has been part of our multidisciplinary approach. Following spinal instrumentation, we have observed clinically relevant hip pain develop in a subset of this population. The goal of this study was to define the incidence of hip pain …
Stochastic Compartmental Modelling of SARS-CoV-2 with Approximate Bayesian Computation

ABSTRACT In this proof-of-concept study, we model the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in various environments with a stochastic susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) compartmental model. We fit this model to the latest epidemic data with an approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) technique. Within this SIR-ABC framework, we extrapolate long-term infection curves for several regions and evaluate their steepness. We propose several applications and extensions of the SIR-ABC technique.
1 – Computational Framework

Human intelligence is discretely blended with artificial intelligence to the extent that a human thought process flows into knowledge machine function. The progress inherent in software engineering is ported into knowledgeware engineering. With due diligence, the operation codes (opcs) for the CPUs are translated into knowledge-based operation codes (kopcs) for the knowledge processor units or KPUs. The entire history of the explosion in the design of microprogramming, assembly language, higher-level language, and application programming repeats with an emphasis to solve human problems rather than scientific or corporate problems. The steps and stages to realize these monumental strides are outlined in this chapter. When an object finds its way into any language, it establishes its roots and connectivity. Even the gibberish of a child has mental process(es) to which it is connected. A nonobject has neither ties nor any connectivity. The portrait of any object presented throughout this chapter has a graph that a computer can analyze, synthesize, and optimize.
Surgical treatment of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum

Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum(PA/IVS)is one of the complicated cyanotic congenital heart diseases with high mortality, which needs early intervention after birth.With further understanding of the disease and the development of surgery, the operative plan of the disease is gradually changing and some fundamental changes have taken place.The hemodynamic awareness of the disease is an important factor in the selection of surgery and the improvement of prognosis.In addition, it is also important for the selection of surgery and the improvement of prognosis to evaluate the development degree of the right ventricle comprehensively and accurately.At present, it is generally believed that the most effective treatment strategy can be obtained by classifying the development degree of the right ventricle in morphology.The surgical treatment has developed from early surgical pulmonary bypass to the interventional and hybrid surgery, which greatly improves prognosis and reduces surgical trauma.Among them, the percutaneous pulmonary valve radiofrequency perforation plus balloon dilation and PDA stent implantation can be used as the preferred treatment for PA/IVS with dysplasia of the right ventricle.Particularly, PA/IVS can be cured with the interventional surgery alone for children with mild or even moderate dysplasia of the right ventricle.Hybrid surgery that significantly reduces trauma compared with traditional surgery is also an important choice for the areas where interventional surgery is relatively outdated.This article reviews and summarizes the progress of recognition and surgical treatment of PA/IVS, in order to provide reference for the clinical diagnosis and treatment. Key words: PA/IVS; Surgical surgery; Interventional surgery; Hybrid surgery
Inertial-based Fluidic Platform for Rapid Isolation of Blood-borne Pathogens.

Introduction Bacterial sepsis is a life-threatening disease and a significant clinical problem caused by host responses to a microbial infection. Sepsis is a leading cause of death worldwide and, importantly, a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in combat settings, placing a considerable burden on military personnel and military health budgets. The current method of treating sepsis is restricted to pathogen identification, which can be prolonged, and antibiotic administration, which is, initially, often suboptimal. The clinical trials that have been performed to evaluate bacterial separation as a sepsis therapy have been unsuccessful, and new approaches are needed to address this unmet clinical need. Materials and methods An inertial-based, scalable spiral microfluidic device has been created to overcome these previous deficiencies through successful separation of infection-causing pathogens from the bloodstream, serving as a proof of principle for future adaptations. Fluorescent imaging of fluorescent microspheres mimicking the sizes of bacteria cells and blood cells as well as fluorescently stained Acinetobacter baumannii were used to visualize flow within the spiral. The particles were imaged when flowing at a constant volumetric rate of 0.2 mL min-1 through the device. The same device was functionalized with colistin and exposed to flowing A. baumannii at 0.2 mL h-1. Results Fluorescent imaging within the channel under a constant volumetric flow rate demonstrated that smaller, bacteria-sized microspheres accumulated along the inner wall of the channel, whereas larger blood cell-sized microspheres accumulated within the center of the channel. Additionally, fluorescently stained A. baumannii displayed accumulation along the channel walls in agreement with calculated performance. Nearly 106 colony-forming units of A. baumannii were extracted with 100% capture efficiency from flowing phosphate-buffered saline at 0.2 mL h-1 in this device; this is at least one order of magnitude more bacteria than present in the blood of a human at the onset of sepsis. Conclusions This type of bacterial separation device potentially provides an ideal approach for treating soldiers in combat settings. It eliminates the need for immediate pathogen identification and determination of antimicrobial susceptibility, making it suitable for rapid use within low-resource environments. The overall simplicity and durability of this design also supports its broad translational potential to improve military mortality rates and overall patient outcomes.
On the Nielsen root theory of n-valued maps

Let $$\phi :X \multimap Y$$ be an n-valued map of connected finite polyhedra and let $$a \in Y$$ . Then, $$x \in X$$ is a root of $$\phi $$ at a if $$a \in \phi (x)$$ . The Nielsen root number $$N(\phi : a)$$ is a lower bound for the number of roots at a of any n-valued map homotopic to $$\phi $$ . We prove that if X and Y are compact, connected triangulated manifolds without boundary, of the same dimension, then given $$\epsilon > 0$$ , there is an n-valued map $$\psi $$ homotopic to $$\phi $$ within Hausdorff distance $$\epsilon $$ of $$\phi $$ such that $$\psi $$ has finitely many roots at a. We conjecture that if X and Y are q-manifolds without boundary, $$q \ne 2$$ , then there is an n-valued map homotopic to $$\phi $$ that has $$N(\phi : a)$$ roots at a. We verify the conjecture when $$X = Y$$ is a Lie group by employing a fixed point result of Schirmer. As an application, we calculate the Nielsen root numbers of linear n-valued maps of tori.
MRI Super-Resolution Through Generative Degradation Learning

Spatial resolution plays a critically important role in MRI for the precise delineation of the imaged tissues. Unfortunately, acquisitions with high spatial resolution require increased imaging time, which increases the potential of subject motion, and suffers from reduced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Super-resolution reconstruction (SRR) has recently emerged as a technique that allows for a trade-off between high spatial resolution, high SNR, and short scan duration. Deconvolution-based SRR has recently received significant interest due to the convenience of using the image space. The most critical factor to succeed in deconvolution is the accuracy of the estimated blur kernels that characterize how the image was degraded in the acquisition process. Current methods use handcrafted filters, such as Gaussian filters, to approximate the blur kernels, and have achieved promising SRR results. As the image degradation is complex and varies with different sequences and scanners, handcrafted filters, unfortunately, do not necessarily ensure the success of the deconvolution. We sought to develop a technique that enables accurately estimating blur kernels from the image data itself. We designed a deep architecture that utilizes an adversarial scheme with a generative neural network against its degradation counterparts. This design allows for the SRR tailored to an individual subject, as the training requires the scan-specific data only, i.e., it does not require auxiliary datasets of high-quality images, which are practically challenging to obtain. With this technique, we achieved high-quality brain MRI at an isotropic resolution of 0.125 cubic mm with six minutes of imaging time. Extensive experiments on both simulated low-resolution data and clinical data acquired from ten pediatric patients demonstrated that our approach achieved superior SRR results as compared to state-of-the-art deconvolution-based methods, while in parallel, at substantially reduced imaging time in comparison to direct high-resolution acquisitions.
Electro-optic polymer channel waveguide fabrication using multiphoton direct laser writing

An all-reflective multiphoton microscope has been used for direct laser lithography and photo-bleaching of SEO250 EO polymer using a 1550nm femtosecond laser to fabricate 4µm channel waveguides. Waveguide loss and cladding index change have also been investigated.
Smart Skins: Information Processing by Lateral Line Flow Sensors

The information processing capabilities of the lateral line system and its potential utility in surveying foreign environments and providing sensory guidance to autonomous vehicles in dark or highly turbulent conditions is reviewed. The lateral line is a spatially-distributed system of directionally-sensitive sensors that respond to low-frequency water motions created by nearby moving sources, the animal's own movements, the ambient motions of the surrounding water, and distortions in ambient or self-generated motions caused by the presence of stationary objects. While lateral line sensors on the skin surface appear to serve behaviors dependent on large-scale stimuli, such as upstream orientation to bulk water flow, other sensors enclosed in fluid-filled canals appear to subserve behaviors requiring information about fine spatial details, such as prey localization. Stimulation patterns along sensor arrays provide rich information about the location, distance and direction of moving sources. The lateral line system has also evolved several different mechanisms—static biomechanical filters at the periphery and dynamic neural filters in the central nervous system—for enhancing signal-to-noise ratios in different behavioral contexts, ranging from unexpected events of importance (e.g., an approaching predator or prey) to expected events of little relevance (e.g., the animal's own repeated and regular breathing movements).
Therapy of Invasive Aspergillosis: Current Consensus and Controversies

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) has emerged as an important infection, accounting for 20 to 40% of systemic fungal infections in patients with acute leukemia, 10 to 20% in blood and marrow transplant (BMT) recipients, and 5 to 15% in solid organ transplant recipients. This chapter provides a conceptual framework for the consensus and controversies in primary and salvage therapies for this infection. A large randomized multicenter study comparing the triazole voriconazole (VRC) to amphotericin-deoxycholate (DAMB; given at relatively high doses of 1 to 1.5 mg/kg of body weight/day), followed by other licensed antifungal therapy (mostly lipid formulations of AMB) for patients with lack of response or toxicity, showed a survival advantage in patients randomized to the VRC arm. The modern way of giving AMB-based therapy, especially if a patient is to be committed to weeks or even months of therapy, is with lipid AMB formulations, as these agents have lower nephrotoxicity and infusion related toxicity. Residual cavitary lesions, especially those containing fungus balls, after successful antifungal therapy may cause late exsanguinating hemorrhage or reactivation of infection during subsequent myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Advancements in early diagnosis by CT and the introduction of effective agents have improved response rates of primary antifungal therapy.
Factors Influencing Land Management Practices on Conservation Easement Protected Landscapes

The goal of this article is to investigate factors influencing conservation-oriented land management practices on land holdings with conservation easements. We report the results of a mail survey that produced responses from 251 out of a total of 518 landowners with a permanent conservation easement on their property. We predicted that landowner satisfaction with their easement and good relationships between landowners and easement holders would be positively correlated with the amount of conservation-oriented land management practices. However, we found landownership motivations to be a stronger predictor of active land management. We also found significant management differences between landowners with different easement holders. The results of this study suggest the need for increased easement holder capacity supporting targeted outreach with landowners; increased monitoring of ecological targets on easement properties; promotion of landowner participation in peer-to-peer management networks; and incre...
Excess body mass is associated with T cell differentiation indicative of immune ageing in children.

Obesity has been associated with accelerated biological ageing and immunosenescence. As the prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing, we wanted to determine if associations between obesity and immunosenescence would manifest in children. We studied 123 Mexican American adolescents aged 10-14 (mean 12·3 ± 0·7) years, with body weights ranging from 30·1 to 115·2 kg (mean 52·5 ± 14·5 kg). Blood samples were obtained to determine proportions of naive, central memory (CM), effector memory (EM), senescent and early, intermediate and highly differentiated subsets of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells. Overweight and obese children had significantly lowered proportions of early CD8(+) T cells (B = -11·55 and -5·51%, respectively) compared to healthy weight. Overweight children also had more EM (B = +7·53%), late (B = +8·90%) and senescent (B = +4·86%) CD8(+) T cells than healthy weight children, while obese children had more intermediate CD8(+) (B = +4·59%), EM CD8(+) (B = +5·49%), late CD4(+) (B = +2·01%) and senescent CD4(+) (B = +0·98%) T cells compared to healthy weight children. These findings withstood adjustment for potentially confounding variables, including age, gender and latent cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus infections. We conclude that excess body mass, even in adolescence, may accelerate immunosenescence and predispose children to increased risks of incurring immune-related health problems in adulthood.
Ontogeny and dietary modulation of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase activities in neonatal pigs

The development of hepatic and ileal 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase was studied in three types of young pigs (crossbred, obese, and lean pigs). Pigs were fed one of two diets : a high-fat (coconut oil), high-cholesterol (1.0% ; designated HC) diet or a high-fat, no-cholesterol (designated NC) diet from postpartum d 3 to d 13, 25, and 42 (crossbred only). There were four pigs per age per diet group (except for obese pigs). Liver and ileal mucosal microsomal reductase activities were determined by the conversion of [ 14 C]HMG-CoA to mevalonic acid followed by lactonization of the product. The samples were analyzed by thin layer chromatography and liquid scintillation spectrometry. Hepatic reductase activity (1 unit of specific activity = 1 pmol.min -1 .mg protein -1 ) was .1) by either age or diet. The data suggest that dietary cholesterol suppressed hepatic reductase activity in young pigs (d 13 and 25) from divergent genetic backgrounds. The data also suggest that the stage of development is a dominant factor in regulating porcine hepatic HMG-CoA reductase activity, which was considerably increased at d 13, even in pigs fed HC diets. The relatively modest increase in plasma cholesterol, even in pigs fed cholesterol during the suckling period, provides evidence that both dietary and endogenously synthesized cholesterol are probably used predominantly for tissue building in very young pigs (d 13).
Pressing the Fight: Print, Propaganda, and the Cold War

The edited volume Pressing the Fight: Print, Propaganda, and the Cold War examines the role of print in the global ideological struggle that defined much of the latter part of the twentieth century...
Dissociation by Pelota, Hbs1 and ABCE1 of mammalian vacant 80S ribosomes and stalled elongation complexes.

No-go decay (NGD) and non-stop decay (NSD) are eukaryotic surveillance mechanisms that target mRNAs on which elongation complexes (ECs) are stalled by, for example, stable secondary structures (NGD) or due to the absence of a stop codon (NSD). Two interacting proteins Dom34(yeast)/Pelota(mammals) and Hbs1, which are paralogues of eRF1 and eRF3, are implicated in these processes. Dom34/Hbs1 were shown to promote dissociation of stalled ECs and release of intact peptidyl-tRNA. Using an in vitro reconstitution approach, we investigated the activities of mammalian Pelota/Hbs1 and report that Pelota/Hbs1 also induced dissociation of ECs and release of peptidyl-tRNA, but only in the presence of ABCE1. Whereas Pelota and ABCE1 were essential, Hbs1 had a stimulatory effect. Importantly, ABCE1/Pelota/Hbs1 dissociated ECs containing only a limited number of mRNA nucleotides downstream of the P-site, which suggests that ABCE1/Pelota/Hbs1 would disassemble NSD complexes stalled at the 3′-end, but not pre-cleavage NGD complexes stalled in the middle of mRNA. ABCE1/Pelota/Hbs1 also dissociated vacant 80S ribosomes, which stimulated 48S complex formation, suggesting that Pelota/Hbs1 have an additional role outside of NGD.
How Scholarly Is Google Scholar? A Comparison to Library Databases

Google Scholar was released as a beta product in November of 2004. Since then, Google Scholar has been scrutinized and questioned by many in academia and the library field. Our objectives in undertaking this study were to determine how scholarly Google Scholar is in comparison with traditional library resources and to determine if the scholarliness of materials found in Google Scholar varies across disciplines. We found that Google Scholar is, on average, 17.6 percent more scholarly than materials found only in library databases and that there is no statistically significant difference between the scholarliness of materials found in Google Scholar across disciplines.
A prospective comparison of postoperative pain and quality of life in robotic assisted vs conventional laparoscopic gynecologic surgery

Objective We sought to compare robotic vs laparoscopic surgery in regards to patient reported postoperative pain and quality of life. Study Design This was a prospective study of patients who presented for treatment of a new gynecologic disease requiring minimally invasive surgical intervention. All subjects were asked to take the validated Brief Pain Inventory-Short Form at 3 time points to assess pain and its effect on quality of life. Statistical analyses were performed using Pearson x 2 and Student's t test. Results One hundred eleven were included in the analysis of which 56 patients underwent robotic assisted surgery and 55 patients underwent laparoscopic surgery. There was no difference in postoperative pain between conventional laparoscopy and robotic assisted surgery for gynecologic procedures. There was a statistically significant difference found at the delayed postoperative period when evaluating interference of sleep, favoring laparoscopy (ROB 2.0 vs LSC 1.0; P = .03). There were no differences found between the robotic and laparoscopic groups of patients receiving narcotics (56 vs 53, P = .24, respectively), route of administration of narcotics (47 vs 45, P > .99, respectively), or administration of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory medications (27 vs 21, P = .33, respectively). Conclusion Our results demonstrate no difference in postoperative pain between conventional laparoscopy and robotic assisted surgery for gynecologic procedures. Furthermore, pain did not appear to interfere consistently with any daily activity of living. Interference of sleep needs to be further evaluated after controlling for bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy.
Web services architecture for m-government: issues and challenges

Several governments have started looking at how mobile technologies can help increase service levels, efficiency and constituent participation. Mobile government (m-government) implementation provides unique opportunities to exploit mobile devices to receive government services and information literally from any place, at any time, using varieties of wireless networks. This paper describes the web services based framework that could be used for developing m-government applications. The framework will be a great help to deliver m-government applications in different format such as audio, video and text in multi-supporting multi-lingual formats.
Interpretation of Bilateral Positive Biopsies in Prostate Cancer

AbstractPurpose: When 6 systematic prostate needle core biopsies are positive for cancer bilaterally, prediction of clinical cancer volume is limited by the unpredictable presence of contralateral incidental tumors. Criteria were sought to improve prediction.Materials and Methods: Core cancer lengths were summed unilaterally (3 biopsies) and bilaterally (6) in 65 patients with bilateral positive cores. Of the patients 31 had true bilateral cancer spread and 34 had unilateral disease with contralateral incidental tumors.Results: For both groups correlation with prostatectomy cancer volume (r = 0.65, p less than 0.001) was the same for the sum of 3 ipsilateral cores as for all 6 cores.Conclusions: Core cancer length sum of 3 ipsilateral biopsies predicts the largest prostatectomy cancer volume as well as the bilateral sum. Contralateral biopsies do not contribute to prediction nor distinguish bilateral spread from contralateral incidental cancers.
Role of electrode placement as a contributor to variability in cochlear implant outcomes.

Hypothesis:Suboptimal cochlear implant (CI) electrode array placement may reduce presentation of coded information to the central nervous system and, consequently, limit speech recognition.Background:Generally, mean speech reception scores for CI recipients are similar across different CI systems, y
Approximation Algorithms for the Class Cover Problem

We introduce the class cover problem, a variant of disk cover with forbidden regions, with applications to classification and facility location problems. We prove similar hardness results to disk cover. We then present a polynomial-time approximation algorithm for class cover that performs within a ln n+1 factor of optimal, which is nearly tight under standard hardness assumptions. In the special case that the points lie in a d-dimensional space with Euclidean norm, for some fixed constant d, we obtain a polynomial time approximation scheme.
Finite-volume Euler and Navier-Stokes solvers for three-dimensional and conical vortex flows over delta wings

A unified central-difference finite-volume Euler and Navier-Stokes solver with four-stage Runge-Kutta time stepping is presented. The computer code developed for this purpose is capable of solving the standard set and nonstandard sets (zero-total-pressure loss) of Euler equations and the thin-layer and full Navier-Stokes equations. Applications are presented for conical supersonic flows with weak shocks using the standard and nonstandard sets of Euler equations, and the thin-layer and full Navier-Stokes equations for sharp and round-edged delta wings. Applications are also presented for three-dimensional transonic and subsonic flows using the standard set of Euler equations for sharp-edged delta wings. The computational results of the different sets of equations are compared with each other and with the experimental results and conclusions on the validity of these sets to these applications, are presented.