cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract PR14: Epidermal neoplasms bypass immune evasion requirements via niche occupancy

Anti-tumor immune effectors exert selective pressure against transformed clones, ultimately permitting only mutation cascades that are either non-immunogenic or include immune-evasive adaptations. This evolutionary process often includes an equilibrium phase during which immunogenic transformed cells are prevented from outgrowth by the immune system without being eliminated. In most cases, escape from this state requires loss of antigen presentation and consequent loss of immunogenicity. To characterize this pre-outgrowth phase of cancer-immune interaction and test the efficacy of interventions during dormancy, we assembled a genetically-engineered mouse model (GEMM) of inducible, Kras-driven carcinogenesis coupled to a fluorescent reporter. Early characterization of this model revealed a confounding artificial tolerance mechanism that renders inducible alleles automatically non-immunogenic in autochthonous settings. To circumvent this tolerance, we transplant dissociated epidermal keratinocytes from the GEMM onto recipient animals that do not carry the inducible mutant Kras allele. This transplant step also enables the use recipient animals carrying various immune deficiencies. After graft healing, transformation is induced and the grafts are imaged repeatedly over time via intravital confocal microscopy. In immunocompromised recipients, transformation initiates the rapid growth of labeled cells and subsequent tumor formation. In immunocompetent cohorts, tumor formation does not occur. Instead, we observe establishment of a long-term equilibrium phase characterized by cyclic growth and regression of labeled clones originating exclusively from hair follicles, suggesting that the immune privilege of this stem cell niche provides a safe harbor for transformed cells. Surprisingly, the architecture of the normal tissue defines a protected reservoir for the survival of transformed cells, a fate that usually requires cell-intrinsic immune-evasive adaptations. This provides a mechanism by which a single source of anti-tumor activity could produce the observed biphasic nature of cancer-immune interaction, including both elimination of some clones and immune-mediated dormancy of others. Most importantly, we have identified a novel pre-malignant, immune-controlled state that may represent a vulnerable target population for rational cancer prevention strategies. Citation Format: Brad Kubick, Dennis Roop. Epidermal neoplasms bypass immune evasion requirements via niche occupancy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Function of Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Progression; 2016 Jan 7–10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(15 Suppl):Abstract nr PR14.
Expression of LEF1 in mantle cell lymphoma

Small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL/SLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) usually are distinctly different in regard to clinical presentation, morphology, immunophenotype and molecular/genetic findings. In spite of this, select cases may show overlapping characteristics and represent a diagnostic challenge. Recently LEF1 staining was identified as a fairly characteristic finding in CLL/SLL, with positivity identified in up to 95% of cases. LEF1 staining has not been reported as being present in cases of MCL, making this stain a useful tool in distinguishing these diagnoses. We identified an index case of MCL with cyclin D1 expression and the presence of the typical t(11;14) IGH-CCND1, which expressed LEF1. Subsequently, we assessed LEF1 immunohistochemical staining in a series of 23 cases of MCL, as confirmed by staining for cyclin D1 and/or SOX11. We found expression present in one additional case, and evaluated some published literature suggesting a frequency of 4-9% expression of LEF1 by MCL. LEF1 expression by immunohistochemistry in MCL is unusual but can be seen rarely, and could represent a potential diagnostic pitfall.
A new regularity theorem for bang-bang trajectories

For systems of the form Σ : \(\dot x = f(x) + ug(x)\), x ∈ M, u ∈ U, where M is a real analytic manifold, f and g are real analytic vector fields on M, and U is the interval [−1,1], we show that, if p and q are points of M that can be joined by a bang-bang trajectory, then they can be joined by a bang-bang trajectory whose set of switching points has measure zero.
Revitalizing the Spirit of Management Training

The way management has been traditionally taught is linked to a management theory that dismisses the personal aspects of life. To better position managers in their organizations today, they need to embrace and apply a spiritual connotation to the work they do. By exploring how management training needs to change to include a mindset that accepts both the appeal to control and the need to be responsive to the spiritual side of both manager and employees, this article describes new skills and activities needed to engage in spiritual management. It describes traditional management theory briefly and then applies a spiritual application to that traditional work of management. With this new understanding, managers can prepare themselves to help workers be productive and useful while also helping them find meaning and personal fulfillment in the work.
Resilient Adaptation Among At‐Risk Children: Harnessing Science Toward Maximizing Salutary Environments

Compiled in this Special Section are recommendations from multiple experts on how to maximize resilience among children at risk for maladjustment. Contributors delineated processes with relatively strong effects and modifiable by behavioral interventions. Commonly highlighted was fostering the well-being of caregivers via regular support, reduction of maltreatment while promoting positive parenting, and strengthening emotional self-regulation of caregivers and children. In future work, there must be more attention to developing and testing interventions within real-world settings (not just in laboratories) and to ensuring feasibility in procedures, costs, and assessments involved. Such movement will require shifts in funding priorities—currently focused largely on biological processes—toward maximizing the benefits from large-scale, empirically supported intervention programs for today's at-risk youth and families.
Daniel Gogny's Vision for a Microscopic Theory of Fission

Daniel Gogny made many contributions to our understanding of nuclear fission over a span of 35 years. This paper reviews some of those contributions, focusing in particular on fission dynamics, the challenges of describing scission in a quantum-mechanical context, and the calculation of fragment properties such as their mass, kinetic, and excitation energy distributions. The generator coordinate method provides the common theoretical framework within which these various aspects of fission are formulated.
INVESTIGATION OF GROUND CREW NOISE EXPOSURE FOR THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE CH-149 CORMORANT HELICOPTER

Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CH-149 Search and Rescue helicopter aircrew operate in dynamic operational conditions including long-duration search and rescue as well as strenuous open-door hoisting activities. During emergencies, civilians and ground crew may be exposed to aircraft noise within the cabin as well as in the external proximity of the aircraft. Due to the demanding nature of search and rescue activities, civilians, aircrew and ground crew may or may not be equipped with properly fitted hearing protection throughout a noise exposure event. The objective of the recent National Research Council (NRC) – Department of National Defence joint investigation was to characterize the noise levels of the CH-149 helicopter cabin and cockpit throughout 48 representative flight and ground conditions. This paper will outline the NRC ground external noise measurement of the CH-149 Cormorant at Comox Canadian Forces Base, January 2017. The contextual performance of the current in-service RCAF hearing protectors whilst exposed to CH-149 aircraft noise is evaluated. Overall sound pressure levels of 109.8 dB(A) were reported in the proximity of the CH-149 Cormorant throughout standard start-up procedures. It was observed that the directivity of the aircraft engine exhaust and auxiliary power unit exhaust significantly affected external sound pressure levels heterogeneously about the aircraft. In accordance with the Canadian Aviation Occupational Health and Safety Regulations, individuals exposed to aircraft external noise, without properly fitted hearing protection, could exceed their recommended cumulative maximum noise exposure dose within 2 minutes 24 seconds for a single 24 hour period. When equipped with a properly fitted SPH5-CF hearing protector, all locations exhibited significantly reduced sound pressure levels with recommended maximum noise exposure limits in excess of 16 hours, for a single 24 hour period.
Stock market reaction to data breaches: The moderating role of corporate social responsibility

This study explores the potential role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in mitigating the damage of data breach, a topic that has received scant attention from the literature. Drawing upon the literatures on CSR, stakeholder theory, and the resource-based view (cites), we conceptualize that firms with greater CSR activities accumulate goodwill and cultivate stronger stakeholder relationships, and thus during times of a crisis, such as a data breach, stakeholders are more likely to give the socially responsible firm “the benefit of doubt” and temper their sanctions, mitigating the damage of the breach.
Biomechanical Comparison of Loaded Countermovement Jumps Performed on Land and in Water.

AbstractLouder, T, Bressel, E, Nardoni, C, and Dolny, D. Biomechanical comparison of loaded countermovement jumps performed on land and in water. J Strength Cond Res 33(1): 25–35, 2019—Researchers have observed physical improvements after the completion of aquatic-based jump training. However, there
Evaluating Cell Metabolism Through Autofluorescence Imaging of NAD(P)H and FAD.

Abstract Significance: Optical imaging using the endogenous fluorescence of metabolic cofactors has enabled nondestructive examination of dynamic changes in cell and tissue function both in vitro and in vivo. Quantifying NAD(P)H and FAD fluorescence through an optical redox ratio and fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) provides sensitivity to the relative balance between oxidative phosphorylation and glucose catabolism. Since its introduction decades ago, the use of NAD(P)H imaging has expanded to include applications involving almost every major tissue type and a variety of pathologies. Recent Advances: This review focuses on the use of two-photon excited fluorescence and NAD(P)H fluorescence lifetime techniques in cancer, neuroscience, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications over the last 5 years. In a variety of cancer models, NAD(P)H fluorescence intensity and lifetime measurements demonstrate a sensitivity to the Warburg effect, suggesting potential for early detection or high-throughp...
Molecular Characterization of Gastric Epithelial Cells Using Flow Cytometry.

The ability to analyze individual epithelial cells in the gastric mucosa would provide important insight into gastric disease, including chronic gastritis and progression to gastric cancer. However, the successful isolation of viable gastric epithelial cells (parietal cells, neck cells, chief cells, and foveolar cells) from gastric glands has been limited due to difficulties in tissue processing. Furthermore, analysis and interpretation of gastric epithelial cell flow cytometry data has been difficult due to the varying sizes and light scatter properties of the different epithelial cells, high levels of autofluorescence, and poor cell viability. These studies were designed to develop a reliable method for isolating viable single cells from the corpus of stomachs and to optimize analyses examining epithelial cells from healthy and diseased stomach tissue by flow cytometry. We performed a two stage enzymatic digestion in which collagenase released individual gastric glands from the stromal tissue of the corpus, followed by a Dispase II digestion that dispersed these glands into greater than 1 × 106 viable single cells per gastric corpus. Single cell suspensions were comprised of all major cell lineages found in the normal gastric glands. A method describing light scatter, size exclusion, doublet discrimination, viability staining, and fluorescently-conjugated antibodies and lectins was used to analyze individual epithelial cells and immune cells. This technique was capable of identifying parietal cells and revealed that gastric epithelial cells in the chronically inflamed mucosa significantly upregulated major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) I and II but not CD80 or CD86, which are costimulatory molecules involved in T cell activation. These studies describe a method for isolating viable single cells and a detailed description of flow cytometric analysis of cells from healthy and diseased stomachs. These studies begin to identify effects of chronic inflammation on individual gastric epithelial cells, a critical consideration for the study of gastric cancer.
Incident adverse events following therapy for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Abstract The use of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) combined with arsenic trioxide (ATO) with or without cytotoxic chemotherapy is highly effective in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) but incident chronic adverse events (AEs) after initiation of therapy are not well understood. We retrospectively analyzed adult patients with newly diagnosed APL from 2004 through 2014 to identify incident AEs following treatment and contributing risk factors. Cardiac and neurologic AEs were more common and characterized in detail. Cardiac AEs such as the development of coronary artery disease (CAD), arrhythmias, and heart failure had a cumulative incidence of 6.4% (CI95 1.8–11.1%), 2.9% (CI95 0.0–6.4%), 5.8% (CI95 1.2–10.3%) at 4 years from diagnosis, respectively. In multivariate analyses of factors influencing heart failure, the presence of clinical or radiographic CAD (HR 4.25; P = 0.011) or troponin elevation prior to completion of therapy (HR 8.86; P = 0.0018) were associated with increased heart failure incidence, but not anthracycline use or dose. Neurological AEs were common following therapy; at 4 years, the cumulative incidence of vision changes was 12.4% (CI95 6.0–18.7%), peripheral neuropathy 10.3% (CI95 4.5–16.1%), and memory or cognitive change 7.6% (CI95 2.5–12.7%). We did not identify any association between specific therapies and the development of cardiac and neurologic AEs. APL is a highly curable leukemia; further efforts are needed to address incident chronic AEs, with particular focus on cardiac and neurological care.
Application of Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy to Catalyst Research: Ni on γ-Al2O3

Soft X-ray L-emission spectra of nickel from several nickel compounds and impregnated nlckel-on-γ-alumina catalysts are presented. The intensity ratios of Lα, LβT and satellite peaks are characteristic of the chemical state and coordination of the metal. These are used in characterizing low concentration of nickel (0.1-1.0 wt%) supported on γ-alumina. Preliminary studies on the correlation of the chemical states of nickel with the impregnation profiles and impregnation strategies is discussed.
The Regulation of Alternative Splicing by Oncogenic Signaling Pathways.

THE REGULATION OF ALTERNATIVE SPLICING BY ONCOGENIC SIGNALING PATHWAYS. Jacqueline Coates Shultz, Ph.D. A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009 Dissertation Director: Charles E. Chalfant, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology In the presented study, we demonstrate that the alternative splicing of caspase 9 was dysregulated in a large percentage of NSCLC tumors and cell lines. These findings led to the hypothesis that survival pathways activated by oncogenic mutation regulated this mechanism. Indeed, the oncogenic PI3-Kinase/Akt pathway was demonstrated to regulate the alternative splicing of caspase 9. Further mechanistic studies demonstrate that multiple Akt isoforms can regulate the alternative splicing of caspase 9 in NSCLC. Akt was additionally shown to mediate the exclusion of the exon 3,4,5,6 cassette of caspase 9 via the phospho-state of the RNA trans-factor, SRp30a. Mutagenesis studies identified serine 199 , serine 201 , serine 227 , and serine 234 as critical residues regulating the alternative splicing of caspase 9, as well as playing a role in the anchorage-independent growth of A549 cells. Since dysregulation of this splicing mechanism correlated with NSCLC tumors/cell lines and constitutively active Akt, oncogenic factors for NSCLC known to activate the PI3Kinase/Akt pathway were examined in HBEC-3KT cells. In contrast to k-ras V12 expression, the overexpression/mutation of EGFR affected the alternative splicing of caspase 9 in a pro-oncogenic manner, dramatically lowering the caspase 9a/9b mRNA ratio. Stable downregulation of caspase 9b by shRNA blocked the ability of E746-A750 del EGFR expressing HBEC-3KTs to induce anchorage-independent growth, suggesting a role for caspase 9b as a cooperative oncogenic factor. These findings were further corroborated by the ability of caspase 9b expression to completely block the inhibition of clonogenic colony formation by erlotinib. Therefore, this study demonstrates that oncogenic factors activating the PI3-Kinase/Akt pathway regulate the alternative splicing of caspase 9, to produce caspase 9b, via a coordinated mechanism involving the phosphorylation of SRp30a. In additional studies, we demonstrate that the PI3Kinase/PKCη pathway, a pathway important for cancer cell survival and transformation of lung epithelial cells, regulates the alternative splicing of Bcl-x pre-mRNA via modulation of SAP155 expression to produce an anti-apoptotic phenotype in NSCLC. Therefore, these studies link oncogenic mechanisms in NSCLC to the therapeutically relevant and distal target mechanisms of caspase 9 and Bcl-x pre-mRNA splicing.
Fatigue life investigation for cams with translating roller-follower and translating flat-face follower systems

The cam fatigue life of the translating rollerfollower and translating flat faced follower system has been investigated for polynomial and cycloidal displacement functions. Ioannides and Harris (IH) life prediction model are used to estimate the cam fatigue life. Computer program codes are written to calculate and simulate the different types of loads that act on the cam, the contact stresses in the cam and the followers and the 'volume under risk'. Ioannides Harris theory is applied to the 'volume under risk' and expected fatigue life is calculated. The effects of cam base circle radius, cam angular velocity, roller follower radius of curvature, cam thickness, follower eccentricity (offset), total lift (rise or fall), and second dwell angle on the fatigue life are studied for the translating roller follower and flat faced follower. In the cam translating roller follower systems, it is found that the main design parameter governing the cam fatigue life is the cam base circle radius. In this system, the fatigue life curve shows an improvement in the fatigue life up to a critical cam base circle radius value. Any further increase in the cam base circle radius appears as a decrease in the fatigue life. While in the cam translating flat faced follower systems, the fatigue life curve shows an improvement in the fatigue life up to a cam base circle radius value where the fatigue life was infinite. Also it is found that the cam radius of curvature plays the major rule in controlling the cam fatigue life in the flat face follower systems. 1 CHAPTER
Moutabea gentryi (Polygalaceae), a New Species of Lianafrom Central America and Colombia

The new species Moutabea gentryi, known from Costa Rica, Panama, and northwestern Colombia, is the northernmost member of its genus and the only species of Moutabea known from Central America. It is related to M. aculeata of the western Amazon basin but is distinguished by features of venation, leaf surface texturing, petiole color, and calyx pubescence. Study of the types of M. aculeata and M. longifolia indicates that the latter is a synonym of the former. Problematic populations and probably undescribed taxa related to M. aculeata and M. gentryi exist in western South America.
Blunt Chest Wall Trauma

All patients presenting to the emergency department with blunt chest wall trauma should be initially evaluated following advanced trauma life support protocols, including the primary survey. Screening imaging should be performed (focused assessment with sonography for trauma [FAST] exam or portable chest x-ray), and any life-threatening injuries, including pneumothorax, hemothorax, and pericardial effusion, should be immediately addressed. If the patient is stable, then computed tomography (CT) chest angiography should be performed to assess for any possible injuries and appropriate management based on specific etiology. If the patient is unstable, continue resuscitation, and if the patient responds and stabilizes, CT chest angiography should be performed to assess injury to the heart, lungs, great vessels, and bony thorax. If the patient remains unstable despite further resuscitation, re-evaluate for life-threatening injuries, consider blunt cardiac injury, and follow ACLS protocols for any arrhythmias. The management of many blunt chest wall injuries is conservative, including respiratory support with mechanical ventilation, appropriate pain management, and aggressive pulmonary toilet and chest physiotherapy.
Seasonal, Weather, and Temporal Factors in the Prediction of Admission to a Pediatric Trauma Center

Our objective is to identify seasonal and weather trends associated with pediatric trauma admissions. We reviewed all trauma activations leading to admission in patients ≤18 years admitted to a regional pediatric trauma center from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2015. We reviewed climatologic measures of the mean temperature, mean visibility, and precipitation for each admission in the 6 h prior to each presentation in addition to time of arrival, weekday/weekend presentation, and season. We used a negative binomial regression model with multivariable analysis to estimate associations between weather and rate of trauma admissions. Results were presented as incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). In total, 3856 encounters [2539 males (65.8%), mean age 10.2 years ± SD 5.1 years] were included. Results from multivariable analysis (IRR, 95% CI) suggested an association of admissions with rain (0.82, 0.75–0.90) and overnight hours (23:51–05:50; 0.69, 0.58–0.82) as compared to morning (05:51–11:50). The IRR of trauma increased during the afternoon (11:51–17:50; 4.05, 3.57–4.61), night periods (17:51–23:50; 5.59, 4.94–6.33), and weekends (1.24, 1.15–1.32), and with every 1 °C increase in temperature (1.04, 1.03–1.04). After accounting for other variables, season was not found to be independently predictive of trauma admission. Trauma admissions had a higher rate during afternoon, evening hours, and weekends. The presence of rain lowered the rate of pediatric trauma admission. Each degree increase in temperature increased the rate of trauma admissions by 4%. The findings provide information from the perspective of emergency preparedness, resource utilization, and staffing to pediatric trauma centers.
Traditional Masculinity Ideology and Diagnostic Aversion Predict Symptom Expression in a Community Sample of Distressed Men

Adherence to traditional masculinity ideology (TMI) is associated with a host of negative outcomes, including higher rates of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology. However, relatively less is known about the mechanisms and contexts through which TMI affects the expression of psychological distress. In the current study, men’s aversion to being diagnosed with a mental health disorder was tested as a mediator and moderator to help clarify the relationship between TMI and symptom expression. A community sample of 72 U.S. men experiencing elevated psychological distress completed self-report questionnaires during a single session. Results demonstrated that diagnostic aversion mediated the positive association between TMI and internalizing symptoms. In addition, diagnostic aversion moderated the positive association between TMI and externalizing symptoms, such that this association was stronger among men who demonstrated higher levels of diagnostic aversion. Aversion to mental health diagnosis may be important in understanding how men who adhere to TMI manifest distress across diagnostic categories.
Randomized Controlled Trials for Geriatric Hip Fracture Are Rare and Underpowered: A Systematic Review and a Call for Greater Collaboration.

BACKGROUND Geriatric hip fracture is a common condition, and there are many open questions regarding patient management. Among the various types of medical evidence, the prospective randomized controlled trial (RCT) is considered the best. Our primary hypothesis was that small sample size would be seen frequently among RCTs involving geriatric patients with hip fracture. A related hypothesis was that studies from the United States would have particularly large deficits in sample size. Therefore, we asked the following research questions: (1) What is the mean sample size of RCTs involving geriatric patients with hip fracture? (2) How do sample sizes for studies from the U.S. differ from those performed elsewhere? METHODS Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a systematic review of hip fracture RCTs was conducted. The Embase and MEDLINE databases were searched. Additional data included the country of origin, the power of the study, and whether sample size calculations were performed. One hundred and forty-seven RCTs were identified. RESULTS The mean sample size of the 147 RCTs was 134.9. The mean sample size for the 7 American trials was 110.3, and the mean sample size for all trials conducted outside of the United States was 136.1. A sample size that was sufficient to ensure 80% power was used in only 31.3% of the RCTs. CONCLUSIONS RCTs for hip fracture are small and underpowered. Moreover, <5% of the RCT studies have been conducted in the U.S., and they were smaller than those conducted elsewhere. The shortage of American trials may be a feature of the dispersion of geriatric hip fracture care across many hospitals in the United States. If so, better clinical research might require more centralized care (e.g., in specialized geriatric hip fracture centers) or greater collaboration among the many hospitals that provide care.
PACAP27 mitigates an age-dependent hippocampal vulnerability to PGJ2-induced spatial learning deficits and neuroinflammation in mice.

Background Inflammation in the brain is mediated by the cyclooxygenase pathway, which leads to the production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandin (PG) D2, the most abundant PG in the brain, increases under pathological conditions and is spontaneously metabolized to PGJ2. PGJ2 is highly neurotoxic, with the potential to transition neuroinflammation into a chronic state and contribute to neurodegeneration as seen in many neurological diseases. Conversely, PACAP27 is a lipophilic peptide that raises intracellular cAMP and is an anti-inflammatory agent. The aim of our study was to investigate the therapeutic potential of PACAP27 to counter the behavioral and neurotoxic effects of PGJ2 observed in aged subjects. Methods PGJ2 was injected bilaterally into the hippocampal CA1 region of 53-week-old and 12-week-old C57BL/6N male mice, once per week over 3 weeks (three total infusions) and included co-infusions of PACAP27 within respective treatment groups. Our behavioral assessments looked at spatial learning and memory performance on the 8-arm radial maze, followed by histological analyses of fixed hippocampal tissue using Fluoro-Jade C and fluorescent immunohistochemistry focused on IBA-1 microglia. Results Aged mice treated with PGJ2 exhibited spatial learning and long-term memory deficits, as well as neurodegeneration in CA3 pyramidal neurons. Aged mice that received co-infusions of PACAP27 exhibited remediated learning and memory performance and decreased neurodegeneration in CA3 pyramidal neurons. Moreover, microglial activation in the CA3 region was also reduced in aged mice cotreated with PACAP27. Conclusions Our data show that PGJ2 can produce a retrograde spread of damage not observed in PGJ2-treated young mice, leading to age-dependent neurodegeneration of hippocampal neurons producing learning and memory deficits. PACAP27 can remediate the behavioral and neurodegenerative effects that PGJ2 produces in aged subjects. Targeting specific neurotoxic prostaglandins, such as PGJ2, offers great promise as a new therapeutic strategy downstream of cyclooxygenases, to combat the neuronal deficits induced by chronic inflammation.
Evaluation of a Level I trauma center provider training in patient-centered alcohol brief interventions using the Behavior Change Counseling Index rated by standardized patients.

Background Traumatic injury requiring hospitalization is common in the USA and frequently related to alcohol consumption. The American College of Surgeons requires that Level I and II verified trauma centers implement universal alcohol screening and brief intervention for injured patients. We examined whether Level I trauma center provider skill in patient-centered alcohol brief interventions improved after training and whether professional role (eg, nursing, social work) and education were associated with these skills. Methods We present evaluation data collected as part of training in alcohol brief interventions embedded within a larger clinical trial of a collaborative care intervention targeting posttraumatic stress disorder and related comorbidities. Sixty-five providers from 25 US Level I trauma centers engaged in a 1-day workshop, with 2 hours dedicated to training in patient-centered alcohol brief interventions followed by 6 months of weekly coaching in a collaborative care model. Providers completed standardized patient role-plays prior to and 6 months after the workshop training. The standardized patient actors rated provider quality of alcohol brief interventions immediately after each role-play using the Behavior Change Counseling Index (BECCI), a pragmatic measure designed to assess the quality of behavior change counseling, an adaptation of motivational interviewing suitable for brief healthcare consultations about behavior change. Results Seventy-two percent of providers completed both standardized patient role-play assessments. A statistically significant improvement in overall BECCI scores (t(41)=−2.53, p=0.02, Cohen’s d=−0.39) was observed among those providers with available pre–post data. Provider professional role was associated with BECCI scores at pre-training (F(3, 58)=11.25, p Discussion Findings underscore the need for training in patient-centered alcohol brief interventions and suggest that even a modest training helps providers engage in a more patient-centered way during a role-play assessment. Level of evidence Level V, therapeutic/care management.
Factored Occlusion: Single Spatial Light Modulator Occlusion-capable Optical See-through Augmented Reality Display

Occlusion is a powerful visual cue that is crucial for depth perception and realism in optical see-through augmented reality (OST-AR). However, existing OST-AR systems additively overlay physical and digital content with beam combiners – an approach that does not easily support mutual occlusion, resulting in virtual objects that appear semi-transparent and unrealistic. In this work, we propose a new type of occlusion-capable OST-AR system. Rather than additively combining the real and virtual worlds, we employ a single digital micromirror device (DMD) to merge the respective light paths in a multiplicative manner. This unique approach allows us to simultaneously block light incident from the physical scene on a pixel-by-pixel basis while also modulating the light emitted by a light-emitting diode (LED) to display digital content. Our technique builds on mixed binary/continuous factorization algorithms to optimize time-multiplexed binary DMD patterns and their corresponding LED colors to approximate a target augmented reality (AR) scene. In simulations and with a prototype benchtop display, we demonstrate hard-edge occlusions, plausible shadows, and also gaze-contingent optimization of this novel display mode, which only requires a single spatial light modulator.
Overarching Framework: Learning to Learn

While Germany and Japan strongly responded to their unexpected low scores after their participation in PISA in 2000 and 2003, respectively, the first noticeable public discourse within the US about international assessments happened in 2010 (Martens and Niemann in German Polit 22: 314–332, 2013; Wiseman in How the world learns: comparative educational systems. The Teaching Company, Chantilly, VA, 2015)
Constrained Crane Load Transferring and Lowering Under Uncalm Sea Conditions Using Adaptive Iterative Learning Control

A novel adaptive iterative learning control (AILC) algorithm is proposed in this work for a class of container crane systems operating under uncalm sea conditions, for the crane trolley and cable to track non-repetitive reference trajectories over the iteration domain. In particular, the desired trolley position can be iteration dependent, and the desired cable length of the crane system can be both iteration and time varying. The trolley position, cable length, and the swing angle of the cable are subject to user-defined constraints during the operation. The path planning algorithm presented in this work relaxes the traditional assumptions regarding system initial conditions in the ILC literature. We show that the control objective can be achieved asymptotically over the iteration domain, beyond a user-defined finite time interval in each iteration of operation. The constraint requirements are satisfied during the operation. In the end a simulation example further demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed algorithm.
Abstract P016: Sex Differential Effects Of Hyperoxia And Thioredoxin Reductase-1 Inhibition On The Kidney Endothelin-1 System

The vasoactive peptide endothelin-1 (ET-1) is critical in lung and kidney injury. Notably, renal damageand hyperoxia-induced lung disease are more prevalent in males than females. Aurothioglucose (...
The Acting Person on the U.S.-Mexico Border : Revisiting Karol Wojtyla’s Idea of Being a Neighbor

This article discusses the importance of being a neighbor, as understood through Karol Wojtyla’s idea of “the acting person,” in the context and experience of the migrants and humanitarian volunteers on the U.S.-Mexico border. There are three parts to this article. In the first part, I discuss the reality that migrants and humanitarian volunteers face at the U.S.-Mexico border. Migrants live in a liminal and violent space at the border, and the volunteers choose to enter this space to meet the vulnerable others. In the second part, I examine an idea presented by then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla in his book The Acting Person. In the book─published in 1969 before he became Pope John Paul II in 1978─Wojtyla addresses the importance of being a neighbor through conscious participation in actions “together with others” for the achievement of the common good. In the third part, I present a critical reflection on the connection between migrants’ context and humanitarian work experience at the U.S.-Mexico border and Wojtyla’s idea of the acting person as a neighbor. By putting the idea of a neighbor in dialogue with the context of the U.S.-Mexico border, I intend to broaden Wojtyla’s thought to address the contemporary circumstances at the border.
The Ethics of Tobacco Harm Reduction: An Analysis of E-Cigarette Availability From the Perspectives of Utilitarianism, Bioethics, and Public Health Ethics.

Much evidence suggests e-cigarettes are substantially less harmful than combustible cigarettes. Assuming this is true, we analyze the ethical case for a policy of e-cigarette availability (ECA) as a tobacco harm reduction strategy. ECA involves making e-cigarettes available to allow smokers to switch to them, and informing smokers of the lower risks of e-cigarettes vis-a-vis smoking. After suggesting that utilitarian/consequentialist considerations do not provide an adequate ethical analysis, we analyze ECA using two other ethical frameworks. First, ECA is supported by a public health ethics framework. ECA is a population-level intervention consistent with respecting individual autonomy by using the least restrictive means to accomplish public health goals, and it supports equity and justice. Second, ECA is supported by four principles that form a biomedical ethics framework. By reducing smokers' health risks and not harming them, ECA fulfills principles of beneficence and non-maleficence. Because ECA allows smokers to make informed health decisions for themselves, it fulfills the principle requiring respect for persons and their autonomy. Here, we consider whether nicotine addiction and thus ECA undermine autonomy, and also discuss the ethical warrant for special protections for youth. Finally, ECA can also advance justice by providing a harm reduction alternative for disadvantaged groups that disproportionately bear the devastating consequences of smoking. Policies of differential taxation of cigarettes and e-cigarettes can facilitate adoption of less harmful alternatives by those economically disadvantaged. We conclude that public health and biomedical ethics frameworks are mutually reinforcing and supportive of ECA as a tobacco harm reduction strategy. Implications: Making e-cigarettes and information about them available is supported as ethical from multiple ethical perspectives.
Loop Diuretics in Severe Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia: Cumulative Use and Associations with Mortality and Age at Discharge.

Objectives To measure between-center variation in loop diuretic use in infants developing severe bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in US children's hospitals, and to compare mortality and age at discharge between infants from low-use centers and infants from high-use centers. Study design We performed a retrospective cohort study of preterm infants at Results We identified 3252 subjects from 43 centers. Significant variation between centers remained despite adjustment for infant characteristics, with use present in an adjusted mean range of 7.3% to 49.4% of days (P Conclusions A marked variation in loop diuretic use for infants developing severe BPD exists among US children's hospitals, without an observed difference in mortality or age at discharge. More research is needed to provide evidence-based guidance for this common exposure.
Information Inequality in Online Education

In this paper, we study platform solutions for improving customer engagement in online higher education by reducing informational inequality for historically under-represented groups in education such as females and workers seeking to improve their skill set. Using novel search and enrollment data from the largest online education platform in Iran, we estimate a structural model of course search and enrollment for paid courses, allowing us to recover learner belief's about courses, as well as their true preference over the characteristic space of online courses. We use machine learning methods to recover the latent characteristic space of courses, identifying which courses are substitutes via a data-driven approach. We document significant heterogeneity in how learners differing by gender and working status perceive course value, due to biased beliefs, relative to the true value. Counterfactual policy exercises suggest that the platform can increase revenue, improve consumer surplus, and reduce the gender gap in quantitative courses. Finally, we also present the problem faced by the platform from an information design perspective, and characterize the optimal signal the platform can send to learners with heterogenous priors to maximize an arbitrary objective function.
Testing the Water: Drinking Water Quality, Public Notification, and Child Outcomes

Health-based drinking water violations affect about 1 in 12 Americans annually, the benefits of drinking water regulation are not well understood. I exploit plausibly exogenous variation in water q...
Tuition, Targeting, and Tradeoffs: A Conjoint Analysis of Americans’ Preferences over the Design of Higher Education Subsidies

Over the past three decades, political candidates and elected policymakers have advanced a wide variety of publicly funded tuition-subsidy programs to improve college access and -affordability. The...
Accounting for Asset Pricing Factors

This paper is a treatise on handling accounting numbers in building factor models. Those numbers include book value, investment, return on equity (ROE), and other profitability measures that appear in standard models, but often from data mining without a clear explanation of why they indicate investment risk. The numbers are generated by accounting principles that deal with risk, providing an explanation but also a critique of how the numbers enter extant models. Those principles also point to additional accounting numbers for factor construction. Empirical tests confirm. Accounting numbers are codetermined in a double-entry system, a feature that is exploited for packaging them into a factor model. Rather than entering as the separate, additive factors in extant models, adding to the “factor zoo,” the numbers are combined parsimoniously into factors that capture the information that they jointly convey about risk and return in the double-entry system. Again, empirical tests against extant models confirm.
Physiological Differences to the Brain Resulting from Anoxia & Early Childhood Trauma

The report focuses on the case of John Lane, who was convicted of murdering his girlfriend's daughter Angela Palmer by cooking her alive inside an oven. Three previously published research studies, two books, and an interview with the author were utilyzed in providing information significant to the consideration of the nature of John Lane's particular form of mental illness. Anoxia and childhood trauma are explored as causal factors leading to a higher risk of persons developing psychological problems.
HIF-dependent CKB expression promotes breast cancer metastasis, whereas cyclocreatine therapy impairs cellular invasion and improves chemotherapy efficacy

The oxygen-responsive Hypoxia Inducible Factor (HIF)-1 promotes several steps of the metastatic cascade. A hypoxic gene signature is enriched in triple negative breast cancers (TNBCs) and correlates with poor patient survival. Since inhibiting the HIF transcription factors with small molecules is challenging, we sought to identify genes downstream of HIF-1 that could be targeted to block invasion and metastasis. Creatine kinase brain isoform (CKB) was identified as a highly differentially expressed gene in a screen of HIF-1 wild type and knockout mammary tumor cells derived from a transgenic model of metastatic breast cancer. CKB is a cytosolic enzyme that reversibly catalyzes the phosphorylation of creatine, generating phosphocreatine (PCr) in the forward reaction, and regenerating ATP in the reverse reaction. Creatine kinase activity is inhibited by the creatine analog cyclocreatine (cCr). Loss and gain of function genetic approaches were used in combination with cCr therapy to define the contribution of CKB expression or creatine kinase activity to cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis in ER-negative breast cancers. CKB was necessary for cell invasion in vitro and strongly promoted tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. Similarly, cyclocreatine therapy repressed cell migration, cell invasion, formation of invadopodia, and lung metastasis. Moreover, in common TNBC cell line models, the addition of cCr to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy agents was either additive or synergistic to repress tumor cell growth.
Measuring the Heat Capacity of Superfluid (sup 4)He in the Presence of a Heat Current Near T(lambda): Progress and Prospects

It has been predicted that the heat capacity of superfluid ^4He will diverge strongly at a depressed transition temperature in the presence of a constant heat flux, Q. We have built a cell to measure this effect, and have taken preliminary measurements at various heat flux values. Our data indicate an enhancement of the heat capacity that varies as a function of Q. However, the temperature dependence of our measurements leads us to believe that our initial findings were affected by spurious heat flow.
A glimpse into Augustine Volcano's Pleistocene past: Insight from the petrology of a massive rhyolite deposit

Abstract Activity at Augustine Volcano, Alaska, has been characterized by intermediate composition domes, flows, and tephras during the Holocene. Erosive lahars and pyroclastic flows associated with the 2006 eruption revealed large exposures of voluminous rhyolite pumice fall beneath glacial tills; the massive rhyolite deposit is evidence of anomalously large prehistoric eruptions. The rhyolite is petrologically and mineralogically different from more recent eruptive products, with abundant amphibole (calcic amphiboles and cummingtonite) and quartz. Three texturally and chemically distinct lithologies are present. Fe–Ti oxide equilibria suggest temperatures of ~ 765 °C and oxygen fugacities of NNO + 1.5. Melt inclusions indicate that magma representing the stratigraphically lowest lithology was crystallizing at ~ 260 MPa with a contemporary mixed H2O–CO2 fluid phase becoming progressively more H2O-rich. Magma forming the other lithologies crystallized in the presence of this H2O-dominated fluid, as demonstrated by the presence of cummingtonite and little to no CO2 in melt inclusions. Amphibole and quartz–feldspar–melt equilibria models yield results indicating a range of crystallization pressures from ~ 400 MPa to ~ 175 MPa. Apatites and melt inclusions have lower chlorine contents than more recently erupted material at Augustine suggesting that the composition of Augustine's volatile phase has changed over time. Reheating textures in melt inclusions and phenocrysts, as well as the presence of xenocrysts of olivine and clinopyroxene containing mafic melt inclusions, signify the likelihood of mixing and/or mingling of magmas as an eruption trigger. The unique qualities of this Pleistocene rhyolite and the potential hazard of a similarly large eruption in modern times indicate that further study is warranted.
Regression comparison of organic working mediums for low grade heat recovery operating on Rankine cycle

800x600 A logistic-regression based classifier is developed here to predict the probability of any working fluid as a desirable candidate for ultra-low grade heat driven organic Rankine cycle. Global warming abilities, ozone depleting potentials as well as thermodynamic properties of the working medium are used to develop this generalized classifier. As a validation of the suggested classifier, m ore than 80 working fluids are screened, and regression analyses used to rate the most appropriate candidates. The preferable working mediums among those evaluated based on environmental impacts are HFCs. Considering environmental issues, safety concerns, and performance characteristics however, the preferable working fluids among those tested are HFC-245fa, followed by HFC-134a, HFC-227ea, HFC-236ea, HFC-236fa, HC-600, HC-600a, HC-601, and HC-601a. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}