cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oxytocin receptor gene variation predicts subjective responses to MDMA

3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, "ecstasy") enhances desire to socialize and feelings of empathy, which are thought to be related to increased oxytocin levels. Thus, variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) may influence responses to the drug. Here, we examined the influence of a single OXTR nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on responses to MDMA in humans. Based on findings that carriers of the A allele at rs53576 exhibit reduced sensitivity to oxytocin-induced social behavior, we hypothesized that these individuals would show reduced subjective responses to MDMA, including sociability. In this three-session, double blind, within-subjects study, healthy volunteers with past MDMA experience (N = 68) received a MDMA (0, 0.75 mg/kg, and 1.5 mg/kg) and provided self-report ratings of sociability, anxiety, and drug effects. These responses were examined in relation to rs53576. MDMA (1.5 mg/kg) did not increase sociability in individuals with the A/A genotype as it did in G allele carriers. The genotypic groups did not differ in responses at the lower MDMA dose, or in cardiovascular or other subjective responses. These findings are consistent with the idea that MDMA-induced sociability is mediated by oxytocin, and that variation in the oxytocin receptor gene may influence responses to the drug.
Online Energy Budgeting for Cost Minimization in Virtualized Data Center

The growing environmental and sustainability concerns have made energy efficiency a pressing issue for data center operation. Governments, as well as various organizations, are urging data centers to cap the increasing energy consumption. Naturally, achieving long term energy capping involves deciding energy usage over a long timescale (without accurately foreseeing the far future) and hence, we call this process “energy budgeting”. In this paper, we introduce an online resource management solution, called eBud (energy Budgeting), for a virtualized data center. eBud determines the number of servers, resource allocation to virtual machines and corresponding workload distribution to minimize data center operational cost while satisfying a long term energy cap. We prove that eBud achieves a close-to-minimum cost compared to the optimal offline algorithm with future information, while bounding the potential violation of energy budget constraint, in an almost arbitrarily random environment. We also perform a trace-based simulation study to complement the performance analysis. The simulation results show that eBud reduces the cost by more than $\mathrm{16}$ percent (compared to state-of-the-art prediction-based algorithm) while resulting in a zero energy budget deficit. We also perform an experimental study based on RUBiS, demonstrating that in a real life scenario, eBud can achieve energy capping with a negligible increase in operational cost.
Some common neurologic pitfalls.

A fatalistic attitude regarding strokes is no longer justifiable. To apply rational therapy, accurate anatomic and pathologic diagnosis is necessary, and this requires consideration of various causes of stroke and of conditions commonly mistaken for apoplexy. Parkinsonism, too, may mimic other disorders, including functional disease. The cause of epileptic seizures may be more serious than the seizures themselves, and treatment of the cause may eradicate the seizures. Cervical spondylosis causes a wide variety of neurologic disturbances. Lumbar disk disease has been overemphasized, with disregard for other causes of sciatic neuropathy. Dementia has many causes, some remediable and reversible. The diagnosis of psychogenic disorders must be subjected to the same strict canons as are applied to organic diseases.
with documenting consultations.

The three parts of documenting a consultation remain the same: request, render, report. It is also important to document the intent of the request. If there is mutual agreement that this involves the transfer of care, a consultation is not appropriate and a new patient evaluation should be reported. However, until the surgeon has evaluated the patient--that is to say, performed the consultation--it is difficult to justify accepting the transfer of care. It is helpful if a compliance plan specifies how this intent is documented, such as a consult/transfer of care request form or letter originating with the requesting physician, and retained in both charts or in a common document.
Assessment of Topical Corticosteroid Bioavailability In Vivo and In Vitro

Bioequivalence of topical corticosteroids from commercial cream and ointment formulations is currently assessed with the skin blanching assay1 in clinical human subject trials. This method of assessing bioequivalence has been utilized to rank the relative pharmacological activities of the plethora of available commercial topical corticosteroids.2 Although generally useful, the skin blanching assay is subjective, requiring trained personnel to interpret a resulting pharmacodynamic response following topical application of the drug product. Compounding the subjective nature of interpreting a pharmacological effect is the influence of lighting, humidity, and temperature on the pharmacological response.
Examining emotions and comparing the EsSense Profile® and the Coffee Drinking Experience in coffee drinkers in the natural environment

Abstract Emotions were measured using two methods: the EsSense Profile® and the Coffee Drinking Experience (CDE) using coffee drinkers in a large metropolitan city. The CDE is a product specific emotion scale developed for coffee consumption. The objectives of the study were to measure and compare emotion changes elicited by coffee beverages consumption using the EsSense Profile® and CDE. Time of the day and gender effects were also considered as possible influences. A total of 332 coffee shop customers from six coffee shops in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area participated in the natural environment study. Questionnaires were placed at the coffee shop instructing voluntary participants to rate their emotions on a 5-point intensity scale before and after consuming their coffee beverage purchased from the coffee shop. The response rate from the six coffee shops was 57%. Both scales showed participants showed positive emotions before coffee consumption and rated the negative or unclassified terms (aggressive, bored, disgusted, guilty, and worried) the lowest in emotional intensity. Emotional change from coffee beverage consumption was captured by energetic, satisfied, and pleased by both scales at similar rating. However, additional significant emotional changes were found when using CDE in boosted, jolted, and jump start. Both male and female participants felt both positive and negative emotions with neither gender showing more pronounced emotions. For time of day effects, the evening group showed less emotion changes than the morning and afternoon group.
The Next Chapter: Continuing the Dialogue.

ABSTRACTThis article is the next chapter in the conversation about doctoral physical education teacher education (D-PETE) programs. The author challenges PETE faculty members to continue the dialogue started in this special issue about D-PETE programs.
Reducing internet access costs for community networks

An important aspect in providing Internet access is the cost for both fronthaul as well as backhaul connectivity, ultimately providing the access to the wider Internet content and services to the local community. The proliferation of media-rich content has led to a dramatic increase of backhaul costs, while creating pinching points in the often also limited fronthaul network that faces the end users. This is particularly dramatic for those deployments that rely on already expensive backhaul technologies, such as satellite, as well as limited fronthaul capacities. This paper will lay out the main cost drivers for content provisioning and how to address them through three major innovations, focusing our presentation on the aspect of cooperative off-peak time caching in the fronthaul network. We will outline a solution for addressing these challenges together with efforts related to a first proof-of-concept recently presented to the ETSI standards community.
Extraction chromatographic separations of tantalum and tungsten from hafnium and complex matrix constituents.

Abstract Tantalum (Ta), hafnium (Hf), and tungsten (W) analyses from complex matrices require high purification of these analytes from each other and major/trace matrix constituents, however, current state-of-the-art Ta/Hf/W separations rely on traditional anion exchange approaches that show relatively similar distribution coefficient (Kd) values for each element. This work reports an assessment of three commercially available extraction chromatographic resins (TEVA, TRU, and UTEVA) for Ta/Hf/W separations. Batch contact studies show differences in Ta/Hf and Ta/W Kd values of up to 10 6 and 10 4 (respectively), representing an improvement of a factor of 100 and 300 in Ta/Hf and Ta/W Kd values (respectively) over AG1 × 4 resin. Variations in the Kd values as a function of HCl concentration for TRU resin show that this resin is well suited for Ta/Hf/W separations, with Ta/Hf, Ta/W, and W/Hf Kd value improvements of 10, 200, and 30 (respectively) over AG1 × 4 resin. Analyses of digested soil samples (NIST 2710a) using TRU resin and tandem TEVA-TRU columns demonstrate the ability to achieve extremely high purification (>99%) of Ta and W from each other and Hf, as well as enabling very high purification of Ta and W from the major and trace elemental constituents present in soils using a single chromatographic step.
The Orientation and Molar Volume Dependence of Second Sound in HCP 4He Crystals

While second sound has been shown to exist in NaF1 and Bi,2 solid helium3–7 remains the only case where the phenomenon is well developed and free from resistive scattering. Furthermore, the elastic properties of helium are readily changed by large amounts with the application of modest pressures. Thus solid helium is ideally suited to test theoretical predictions for second sound in solids. The one major drawback is that sound velocities in solid helium are anisotropic and crystal orientation is not easily controlled.
Prevalence rates of impaired glucose tolerance and diabetes mellitus in various Pacific populations according to the new WHO criteria.

Abstract This report gives the prevalence rates of impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes mellitus (DM) for several Micronesian, Polynesian, and Melanesian populations in the Pacific region according to the new WHO criteria. The Micronesian population of Nauru show the highest prevalence rates of both IGT (22.7%) and DM (30.3%) - 53% of the adult population thus demonstrating abnormal glucose tolerance. The lowest prevalence rates of both IGT (4.5%) and DM (1.5%) were seen in the rural Melanesian population of the main island of New Caledonia.
High-capacity communications using multiplexing of multiple orbital-angular-momentum beams (Conference Presentation)

Optical communications has historically experienced capacity growth by multiplexing many channels, and space-division-multiplexing (SDM) appears to be the next domain to exploit. SDM can encompass multiple spatially overlapping “orthogonal” modes to achieve mode-division-multiplexing (MDM). Key advantages of modal orthogonality are the ability to efficiently (de)multiplex independent data streams and co-propagate them, all with little inherent crosstalk. An MDM approach using orbital angular momentum (OAM) has emerged as a potential method to efficiently multiplex many spatially over-lapping data-carrying beams. This presentation will highlight transmission of multiple OAM beams as well as the various technical challenges in realizing such a system.
Acute kidney injury in congenital heart disease.

Purpose of reviewAcute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in patients with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac surgery or in pediatric patients with congestive heart failure.Recent findingsThis review describes the definition and various manifestations
Design, synthesis, and characterization of lightly sulfonated multigraft acrylate-based copolymer superelastomers

Multigraft copolymer superelastomers consisting of a poly(n-butyl acrylate) backbone and polystyrene side chains were synthesized and the viscoelastic properties of the non-sulfonated and sulfonated final materials were investigated using extensional rheology (SER3). The non-linear viscoelastic experiments revealed significantly increased true stresses (up to 10 times higher) after sulfonating only 2–3% of the copolymer while the materials maintained high elongation (<700%). The linear viscoelastic experiments showed that the storage and loss modulus are increased by sulfonation and that the copolymers can be readily tuned and further improved by increasing the number of branching points and the molecular weight of the backbone. In this way, we show that by tuning not only the molecular characteristics of the multigraft copolymers but also their architecture and chemical interaction, we can acquire thermoplastic superelastomer materials with desired viscoelastic properties.
Age determination in dogs and cats

This chapter addresses age determination in domestic dogs and cats through assessment of rates of physeal and ossification center appearance and closure across different breeds. Two types of data tables were created first by completing an extensive review of the published literature on physeal and ossification center appearance and closure rates and then by validating the published data with radiographs from the University of Florida: College of Veterinary Medicine’s Small Animal Hospital. The first table created was a modification of previously published data documenting the approximate ages for appearance and closure times of physes and ossification centers at each of the major body regions. The second table created was unique to this study listing physes and ossification centers at the diaphysis, distal, and proximal epiphyses, plotted against a horizontal timeline of approximate ages. Using this horizontal timeline vs. vertical anatomical axis graph, color-coded areas were created within the chart to indicate both appearance and closure times of the major physes and ossification centers. This allows for applications in both clinical and veterinary forensic science settings since the two differing axes can be used separately (depending on the available information) or together to narrow down the most accurate age of the animal in question. The validation was not breed specific, which led to some variation within the time frames indicated in the tables. In particular, larger dogs tended to take longer for full ossification to occur whereas smaller animals—both canine and feline—experienced compete ossification sooner than their larger counterparts.
Prevention of Accidental Exposures to Radiodiagnostics and Radiotherapy Patients

New developments in the field of radiological equipment and prevention of accidental exposures to patients are being presented. The rapidly developing technologies provide valuable medical benefits to suffering patients. The consequent incorrect use of these machines increases the mistakes and incorrect doses. Clinical examinations should be performed with the lowest achievable radiation dose to the patient, consistent with diagnostic quality. A quality assurance program, implemented by dedicated people, could be a key to improved radiographic diagnoses and the prevention of accidental exposures in radiation therapy.
WindBots: A Concept for Persistent In Situ Science Explorers for Gas Giants

Visible to the naked eye, the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn have been known to astronomers since antiquity. In the modern times much was learned about them, and yet so much remains to be learned. They are made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, they have no hard surface to land to; their low temperature atmospheres are characterized by strong winds, at least in the observed upper atmosphere. What we know about them comes from remote sensing—yet their clouds impede deeper observation through remote sensing. We also have, in a singular case, data transmitted by a robotic probe that descended through the Jovian atmosphere. We need more of these probes, to confirm the models we formed about these planets, and to discover new phenomena below their clouds. This chapter examines mission concept alternatives in which robotic craft operate in the atmospheres of gas giants, for long duration, and using energy derived from local sources. In a preferred scenario these Wind Robots (WBs), with high mobility and autonomy compared to passive balloons, would operate in the Jovian atmosphere above and below the region of clouds, between 0.3 and 10 bar, for a year-long duration mission, in strong (potentially turbulent) winds. In an example, notional mission, a WB would operate in the eyewall of the Great Red Spot, using the high wind and updrafts of the anticyclone, as well as horizontal gusts. Both naturally buoyant and winged solutions, as well as hybrids of the two, are determined possible. A Network of WBs could measure wind speeds, temperatures, and atmospheric composition simultaneously, at multiple locations.
Status Spillovers: How Status in One Group Influences Perceptions and Behavior in Other Groups

How do individuals experience gains or losses in relative status as they move from one group to another? This project contributes to the emerging body of work on the dynamic nature of status by exp...
Genetic Hypertension: The Okamoto Strain of Rats

The Okamoto strain of spontaneously hypertensive rats was created in Japan in the early 1960’s and since that time it has become the most widely studied experimental model in hypertension research. A resemblance to human essential hypertension has been noted in that blood pressure increases gradually with time in both the Okamoto rat and the subject with essential hypertension, and the cause of the pressure increase remains unknown in both cases. Of the many experimental observations available for analysis, the following three may be the most relevant. Sympathetic nervous activity is significantly increased in these rats. Renal denervation has been shown to prevent hypertension as long as the denervation remains effective. When the kidneys are cross-transplanted between hypertensive animals and normotensive controls, the ultimate level of pressure is determined by the donor kidney rather than the recipient animal.
Modulated Traveling Waves in Combustion

We describe the formation of spatial and temporal patterns in cylindrical premixed flames. In particular, we consider the formation of rotating cellular flames described by modulated traveling waves (MTWs) along the flame front. We find different types of MTWs, distinguished by their symmetries, in different parameter regimes of the Lewis number, Le, the ratio of thermal diffusivity to mass diffusivity of a deficient component of the mixture. The nature and evolution of the MTWs are described for each case. The adaptive pseudo-spectral method, which we developed for these and other computations, is motivated by the asymptotic notion of “stretching” a layer in the method of matched asymptotic expansions for treating singular perturbation problems.
Perforated Meckel's diverticulum in a neonate

Abstract Background Meckel's diverticulum (MD) is a true diverticulum in the small intestine due to an incomplete obliteration of the vitelline duct. It is commonly located within two feet from the ileocecal valve and occurs in approximately two percent of the population before the age of two years. Meckel's diverticulum is often clinically silent but when symptomatic (4%), it could present with gastrointestinal bleeding, bowel obstruction, perforation or diverticulitis. Case A 1900g male infant was born at 31 weeks and six days. He was placed on CPAP for poor respiratory effort, and was transported to our intensive care unit immediately after delivery. By day of life three, he had failed to pass meconium and developed signs of intestinal perforation prompting surgical exploration. A perforated Meckel's diverticulum was discovered and he underwent a small bowel resection with primary anastomosis. Histopathology study of resected bowel showed a small intestine with focal mural necrosis and perforation, and marked serositis with abundant acute on chronic inflammation. We present a case of a neonatal symptomatic MD in a preterm infant with failure to pass meconium without obstruction on imaging, and an extensive literature review on this topic in the last 40 years. Conclusion The literature review and our case show that it can be safe to perform primary anastomosis after resection for perforated MD in the neonatal population, even in those of low birth weight.
Talking Turkey: Effects of Family Discussions About the 2016 Election over the Thanksgiving Holiday

Four hundred and seventy-nine undergraduates reported on family discussions about the 2016 election that occurred over that same year’s Thanksgiving break. Family Communication Patterns Theory was ...
Successful leadless pacemaker deployment in a patient with challenging right heart anatomy using a double snare technique.

The Micra Transcatheter Pacing System (Micra TPS, Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN) has proven to be safe and effective in appropriately selected patients.1 Its compact design and femoral-based deployment technology promote patient comfort and minimize permanently implanted hardware. The unidirectional deflectable delivery catheter design is flexible and allows for facile placement of the pacing capsule on the interventricular septum, at locations between the base of the right ventricular (RV) outflow tract and the apex, in patients with varying RV anatomy. However, little is known about how best to place a leadless pacemaker in cases where challenging anatomy, such as severe right atrial and RV dilation, make optimal deployment difficult owing to insufficient catheter reach. We present a case of successful Micra TPS deployment in a patient with severe right heart enlargement.
Distributed Flow Estimation for Autonomous Underwater Robots Using POD-Based Model Reduction

This paper presents a novel flow estimation approach that assimilates distributed pressure measurements of autonomous underwater robots through coalescing recursive Bayesian estimation and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)-based flow model reduction. The proposed flow estimation approach does not rely on any analytical flow models and is thus applicable to many and various complicated flow fields for arbitrarily shaped underwater robots while most of the existing flow estimation methods apply only to those with simple and well-defined shapes. Neural network is further used to establish the relationship between the POD flow model and the flow parameters of interest, e.g., the angle of attack and flow-relative velocity. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed distributed flow estimation approach, two simulation studies, one with a circular-shaped robot and one with a Joukowski-foil-shaped robot, are presented.
A-PANDDE: Advanced Provenance-based ANomaly Detection of Data Exfiltration

Abstract Insider threats are a serious problem that could be more damaging than outsiders’ attacks. The reason is that insiders are users who have legitimate access to the data. A database management system (DBMS) access control mechanism is unable to prevent misuse of the data to which the user is authorized to access. Many mechanisms were proposed to detect insiders’ attempts to misuse or steal data at the database level and application level. However, these mechanisms are unable to detect users’ attempts to exfiltrate the data if they store the data into files on their machines. Hence, we need a mechanism that is able to detect suspicious activities resulting from the insiders at the operating system level. As an initial step in this direction, we propose an anomaly detection system that monitors insiders’ actions on data outside the database. To be more precise, our system tracks file system access operations (e.g., read, write, and open to print) on data piped from the database to files. Our approach captures syntactic features of SQL queries that users submit to the DBMS to retrieve data from the database (e.g., select commands). It does that by recording the tables’ object identifiers. Also, the system collects some data features like the tables’ selectivities to profile the amount of data that is being accessed by the user. Furthermore, the system tracks frequencies of users’ actions on files that contain data from the database. The collected information is then used to build profiles of users’ activities. Such profiles are later used to indicate normal and abnormal users’ actions. Experimental results show that our technique is close to accurate, and the detection mechanism incurs low overhead.
The Development of Anger

In this chapter, we use a biopsychosocial perspective to highlight how the experience and expression of anger, as well as skills to regulate anger, develop from complex transactional processes across time and are associated with various aspects of adjustment or maladjustment. In particular, our goals are to (1) provide a discussion of the definition and functional significance of anger; (2) describe the development of anger, including its expression and regulation, at the behavioral and biological levels and within the context of interpersonal relationships; (3) provide a selective review of the links between the expression and regulation of anger and adjustment in terms of externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, social and academic adjustment, and aspects of physical health; and (4) discuss challenges for future research.
Standard Free Versus Osteoplastic Craniotomy: Assessment of Complication Rates During Intracranial Electroencephalogram Electrode Placement for Seizure Localization.

Objective Patients with medically intractable epilepsy often undergo sequential surgeries and are therefore exposed to an elevated risk for infection, resulting in unanticipated returns to the operating room. The goal of our study was to determine whether use of an osteoplastic bone flap technique would reduce the infection rate in these patients. Methods A single-institution, retrospective chart review of patients with medically intractable epilepsy for grid placement was performed. Univariate analyses and linear regression were used to assess primary outcomes, including infection and hematomas requiring surgical evacuation. Secondary outcomes included duration of treatment and other, unanticipated surgeries. Results A total of 199 patients were identified, 56 (28%) with osteoplastic flaps. Standard free flaps were associated with an increased rate of infection at the craniotomy site (n = 24, 17%, vs. 0, 0%, P = 0.003), whereas osteoplastic flaps were associated with more returns to operating room for hematoma evacuation (n = 5, 9% vs. 3.2%, P = 0.024). Overall, the rate of return to operating room for unanticipated surgeries was similar, but infectious complications prolonged the duration of treatment (median: 17 days vs. 2 days, χ2 = 13.97, P Conclusions Osteoplastic bone flaps markedly decreased the risk of craniotomy infections compared with free flaps in patients undergoing sequential surgeries. This decrease is offset, however, by an increase in intracranial hematoma requiring return to the operating room. Infection appeared to be a more significant complication as it was associated with increased duration of treatment. The osteoplastic technique is especially appealing in those patients likely to undergo multiple surgeries in short succession.
Setting Sail for Tipasa: Preparing for an Interlibrary Loan System Transition

AbstractThis paper is the first segment of a two-part article detailing the transition process of Northeastern State University Library’s migration from OCLC’s interlibrary loan automation system, ...
Vegetation changes along gradients of long-term soil development in the Hawaiian montane rainforest zone

The development of the Hawaiian montane rainforest was investigated along a 4.1-million-year soil age gradient at 1200 m elevation under two levels of precipitation, the mesic (c. 2500 mm annual rainfall) vs. wet (>4000 mm) age gradient. Earlier analyses suggested that soil fertility and foliar nutrient concentrations of common canopy species changed unimodally on the same gradients, with peak values at the 20,000–150,000 yr old sites, and that foliar concentrations were consistently lower under the wet than under the mesic conditions. Our objectives were to assay the influences of soil aging and moisture on forest development using the patterns and rates of species displacements. The canopies at all sites were dominated by Metrosideros polymorpha. Mean height and dbh of upper canopy Metrosideros trees increased from the youngest site to peak values at the 2100–9000 yr sites, and successively declined to older sites. A detrended correspondence analysis applied to mean species cover values revealed that significant variation among sites occurred only on one axis (axis 1), for both soil-age gradients. Sample scores along axis 1 were perfectly correlated with soil age on the mesic gradient, and significantly correlated on the wet gradient. Higher rainfall appeared to be responsible for the higher rates of species turnover on the wet gradient probably through faster rock weathering and greater leaching of soil elements. We concluded that the changes in species cover values and size of the canopy species was a reflection of the changing pattern of nutrient availability associated with soil aging.
Stress as tool or toxin: physiologic markers and subjective report in neonatal simulation

Cognitive appraisal of stress can influence performance. Increased awareness could facilitate titration to optimal stress levels. This study’s primary aim was to investigate whether physiologic variables change with increasingly stressful simulations. Secondary aims include effect of stress on procedural competency and whether individuals recognize their experienced stress. This was a single-center, mixed-method, simulation-based study. Participants completed three scenarios requiring resuscitation under increasingly stressful conditions. Wearable biometric devices recorded physiologic parameters. Subjects completed surveys assessing knowledge and perceived stress. Intubation success or failure was noted. Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis was used as a proxy for stress. Twelve participants completed the study. Survey analysis revealed progressive amplification of endorsement of affective states associated with stress. Median low frequency (LF)/high frequency (HF) ratio from scenario 1 (median = 2.29, IQR = 1.97, 3.91) was significantly lower than scenario 2 (median = 4.7, IQR = 2.32, 8.35, p = 0.04) and scenario 3 (median = 4.63, IQR = 2.2, 7.43, p = 0.04). Changes in HRV were noted during all scenarios irrespective of subjective self-assessment of stress. Procedural proficiency suffered during more stressful scenarios. This study demonstrates alterations in subjective assessment and objective physiologic data in simulations with increasing stress. HRV is useful as a proxy for stress response and does not always correlate with perception.
Book Review: Skills for social progress: The power of social and emotional skills

In Skills for Social Progress: The Power of Social and Emotional Skills, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation Development (OECD) quantifies the value and role of social and emotional skills, also known as soft skills, in global education.
Body image, weight management behavior, and women’s interest in cosmetic surgery

In the current study, we examined body image and weight management behavior as potential factors associated with young women’s interest in obtaining cosmetic surgery. Research focusing on objectifi...
A study design for statistical learning technique to predict radiological progression with an application of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis using chest CT images

Abstract Background Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a fatal interstitial lung disease characterized by an unpredictable decline in lung function. Predicting IPF progression from the early changes in lung function tests have known to be a challenge due to acute exacerbation. Although it is unpredictable, the neighboring regions of fibrotic reticulation increase during IPF's progression. With this clinical information, quantitative characteristics of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and a statistical learning paradigm, the aim is to build a model to predict IPF progression. Design A paired set of anonymized 193 HRCT images from IPF subjects with 6–12 month intervals were collected retrospectively. The study was conducted in two parts: (1) Part A collects the ground truth in small regions of interest (ROIs) with labels of “expected to progress” or “expected to be stable” at baseline HRCT and develop a statistical learning model to classify voxels in the ROIs. (2) Part B uses the voxel-level classifier from Part A to produce whole-lung level scores of a single-scan total probability's (STP) baseline. Methods Using annotated ROIs from 71 subjects' HRCT scans in Part A, we applied Quantum Particle Swarm Optimization–Random Forest (QPSO-RF) to build the classifier. Then, 122 subjects' HRCT scans were used to test the prediction. Using Spearman rank correlations and survival analyses, we ascertained STP associations with 6–12 month changes in quantitative lung fibrosis and forced vital capacity. Conclusion This study can serve as a reference for collecting ground truth, and developing statistical learning techniques to predict progression in medical imaging.
A modular tool to query and inducibly disrupt biomolecular condensates.

Dynamic membraneless compartments formed by protein condensates have multifunctional roles in cellular biology. Tools that inducibly trigger condensate formation have been useful for exploring their cellular function, however, there are few tools that provide inducible control over condensate disruption. To address this need we developed DisCo (Disassembly of Condensates), which relies on the use of chemical dimerizers to inducibly recruit a ligand to the condensate-forming protein, triggering condensate dissociation. We demonstrate use of DisCo to disrupt condensates of FUS, associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and to prevent formation of polyglutamine-containing huntingtin condensates, associated with Huntington’s disease. In addition, we combined DisCo with a tool to induce condensates with light, CRY2olig, achieving bidirectional control of condensate formation and disassembly using orthogonal inputs of light and rapamycin. Our results demonstrate a method to manipulate condensate states that will have broad utility, enabling better understanding of the biological role of condensates in health and disease. Here, the authors present DisCo (Disassembly of Condensates), a method that allows the fast, inducible, and specific disruption of tagged condensates in mammalian cells. DisCo uses chemical dimerizers to induce the recruitment of a ligand into condensates leading to condensate disassembly.
Outcomes of complex primary total knee arthroplasties performed with custom cutting guides.

Abstract Background Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is particularly challenging in patients with marked deformities or existing hardware due to the inability to use traditional instrumentation. One potential technique to mitigate this obstacle is the use of patient-specific cutting guides. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of custom cutting guides in complex primary TKAs. Methods Twenty complex TKAs performed in 18 patients were identified. Of these, 11 were performed in patients with existing hardware, three in patients with dwarfism, three in patients with post-traumatic deformities, two in a patient with multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, and one in a patient with a large deformity from Blount’s disease. All prior hardware was retained. One patient died from unrelated causes three months following surgery. The remaining patients were followed for a mean of 5.2 years (range: 1.2–9.7 years). Results One patient sustained a non-displaced, medial tibial plateau fracture intra-operatively that was successfully treated with plating. Mean operative time was 112.1 ± 44.4 min, and mean hospital stay was 2.7 ± 1.6 days. Average deviation from the mechanical axis improved from 10.5° pre-operatively to 3.1° postoperatively (P Conclusions Custom cutting guides are a viable option in complex primary TKAs where the use of traditional instrumentation would be challenging.
Problem-solving skills training in adult cancer survivors: Bright IDEAS-AC

e24109Background: Cancer patients experience significant distress throughout treatment and especially during transition back to normal life with greater burden on socially disadvantaged patients an...
Rentier Capitalism: Who Owns the Economy, and Who Pays for It?: By Brett Christophers London: Verso, 2020.

Over the past decade, Anglophone geographic political economy has experienced a renewed interest in long-dormant theories of land rent, alongside a growing interest in intellectual property, resour...
The Sociopragmatics of Stance: Community, language, and the witness depositions from the Salem witch trials

Anchored in historical pragmatics, historical sociolinguistics, and corpus linguistics, this book weaves together a powerful narrative of the significance of stance marking in the history of English. Focusing on the community of practice that developed during the witch trials in Salem (Massachusetts) in 1692–1693, it showcases how witnesses and the recorders of their ca. 450 depositions deployed linguistic features to signal the evaluation of experiences with alleged witchcraft, the intensification of those experiences, and the sources of the witnesses’ knowledge. The resulting stance profiles for groups of depositions, witnesses, and recorders highlight varying strategies of claiming, supporting, and boosting the importance of the evidence and the role of the witnesses within the community of practice. With its innovative focus on sociopragmatic variation in a historical community, the book demonstrates the essential contribution of synchronic-historical research to the analysis, description, and theorization of stance and historical English more broadly.
Walking technicolor and the Zbb vertex

Abstract A slowly running technicolor coupling will affect the size of non-oblique corrections to the Zb b vertex from extended technicolor dynamics. We show that, while “walking technicolor” reduces the magnitude of the corrections, they generally remain large enough to be seen at LEP.
Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor of the pineal region in an adult: Case report

An atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a highly malignant embryonal tumor most often occurring in the posterior fossa in children younger than 3 years of age. Adult cases of AT/RT are very rare, and 27 cases with a diagnosis of either AT/RT or (malignant) rhabdoid tumor have been reported to date. The authors report an adult case of an AT/RT occurring in the pineal region with molecular cytogenetic and immunohistochemical confirmation. A 33-year-old woman presented with a 2-month history of headache and blurred vision progressing to diplopia, and was admitted emergently due to deteriorating mental status. An MR image showed a heterogeneously enhancing mass involving the posterior third ventricle and pineal region with mild hydrocephalus. She underwent a subtotal resection of the tumor and was then treated with chemoradiation. Thirteen months after surgery, she was still alive with radiological evidence of recurrence/residual lesions. Histological sections showed epithelioid cellular sheets of rhabdoid tumor cells with scattered mitotic figures. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were diffusely and strongly positive for epithelial membrane antigen and vimentin, and showed focal expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, pancytokeratin, and neurofilament protein. Loss of nuclear immunoreactivity for INI1 protein was observed. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis showed monosomy 22. Histologically, this tumor consisted exclusively of epithelioid tumor cells with rhabdoid features. The differential diagnoses include rhabdoid glioblastoma, metastatic carcinoma, and rhabdoid meningioma. Molecular testing to identify monosomy 22 or deletions of the chromosome 22q11 containing the INI1/hSNF5 gene and/or immunohistochemical staining with INI1 antibody is of great importance for the diagnosis of this tumor.
An examination of social presence in an online learning environment

The distance education literature is lacking studies investigating the construct of social presence, the value placed on it by online learners, and whether its existence in text-based environments is necessary for learning, satisfaction, and contributing to course retention. The purpose of this study was to explore learner perceptions and experiences of the learning process within the Web-based online learning medium in terms of social presence. More specifically, it examines the relationship among learners' perceptions of social presence in asynchronous online courses and how it relates to satisfaction with learning, whether course activities perceived as having high levels of social presence also have high levels of satisfaction and quality of learning, and whether perceptions of social presence and satisfaction with learning affects their likelihood of enrolling in future online courses. The research design of this study utilized an online survey administered to 280 students enrolled in online courses of nine disciplines; both undergraduate- and graduate- level at a large urban university. Open-ended questions from the online survey were examined as well to help inform and support the findings from the quantitative data. Data were analyzed using correlations, ANOVAs, and hierarchical regression analysis. The findings demonstrated that students' perceived social presence was statistically, significantly, and positively related to their overall perceived satisfaction with learning in online courses. Furthermore, students' perceived social presence was statistically, significantly, and positively related to their perception of quality of and satisfaction with learning for each of the five course activities examined in this study. The hierarchical regression analysis suggested that perceived social presence contributed substantially more incremental variance to the decision to enroll again in an online course than the satisfaction with learning variable. Overall, the theoretical model including social presence and satisfaction with learning explained 18 percent of the variance in the dependent variable. The potential implications for theory and practice for online course designers and instructors are provided.
Regulation of Hemoglobin Synthesis PREFERENTIAL INHIBITION OF α AND β GLOBIN SYNTHESIS

Abstract A large number of synthetic polynucleotides and polydeoxyribonucleotides inhibit globin synthesis in cell-free extracts of rabbit reticulocytes; these include poly(rU), poly(rI), poly(rA), poly(dT), poly(dC), poly(dI) and poly(rU, rI). We show that all inhibit by blocking initiation of new chains, and have no effect on the rate of completion of nascent chains. Without exception all polymers inhibit preferentially initiation of α chain synthesis. One interesting possibility is that ribosomes normally are heterogenous in their ability to translate α and β globin mRNA, and that polynucleotides preferentially inhibit "α-specific" ribosomes. Alternatively, polynucleotides might interact with ribosomes so as to alter their ability to recognize the initiation sequences on the two mRNAs. When the concentration of magnesium ion used in reticulocyte cell-free synthesis is 5 mm rather than the optimal 1.5 mm, there is preferential inhibition of production of β globin chains; the ratio of α to β chains produced is 2:1. Raising the concentration of magnesium resembles in its effects addition of antibiotics which preferentially inhibit elongation of polypeptide chains and also preferentially inhibit β chain synthesis. Both result in more ribosomes than normal on each mRNA. Under such conditions initiation of protein synthesis is no longer a rate-limiting step and the relative production of proteins is proportional only to the relative amounts of messenger RNA. We also discuss some long range therapeutic implications of this work in treatment of thalassemia.
Thin films of CdIn/sub 2/O/sub 4/ as transparent conducting oxides

Cadmium indate, CdIn/sub 2/O/sub 4/, thin films have been deposited on glass substrates by reactive co-sputtering from Cd and In metallic targets in argon ambient with a partial pressure of oxygen of 0.25. The effect of the cadmium-indium ratio on the electro-optical properties of the films was investigated. It was found that films with a Cd/In ratio of 0.37 and subsequent annealing at 600/spl deg/C yielded the best electrical and optical characteristics. Films with such ratios exhibited average optical transmission in the 400-900 nm range of over 90%, with resistivities below 3/spl times/10/sup -4/ /spl Omega/-cm. The lowest resistivity obtained was 2.95/spl times/10/sup -4/ /spl Omega/-cm, corresponding to a mobility of 30.93 cm/sup 2//V/s and carrier concentration of 5.47 /spl times/ 10/sup 20/ cm/sup -3/.
When Do Special Interests Run Rampant? Disentangling the Role of Elections, Incomplete Information and Checks and Balances in Banking Crises

Government responses to banking crises are less likely to favor special interest groups when elections are near, voters are better informed about the costs of inefficient government decisions, and governments have multiple veto players. Keefer investigates the political determinants of government decisions that benefit special interest groups - especially government decisions to deal with banking crises. He finds that the better informed the voters, the more proximate elections, and the larger the number of political veto players (conditional on the costs to voters of relevant policy decisions), the smaller the government's fiscal transfers are to the financial sector and the less likely the government is to exercise forbearance in dealing with insolvent financial institutions. The results suggest that policies that might be appropriate for mitigating banking crises in the United States might be less effective in settings where voters are less informed, where elections are less competitive, and where there are fewer veto players, because in these settings checks and balances are missing. These policies include:  Disseminating information about the costs of inefficient government decisions.  Improving the structure of legislative regulatory oversight.  Intervening early in insolvent banks. Keefer concludes that the more veto players there are, the less likely policies are to favor special interest groups (contrary to previous views). Moreover, the closer the elections, the less likely policies are to favor special interest groups. This paper - a product of Regulation and Competition Policy, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to explore the policy consequences of political and social institutions.