cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Safety Implications for Lumbar Epidural Injections: Caudal, Interlaminar, and Transforaminal Approaches

Epidural injections of corticosteroids are commonly performed in the United States for pain relief. They can be done via the transforaminal, interlaminar, or caudal route. Each of these routes has a unique risk profile due to the inherent anatomy associated with the procedure. It is imperative that physicians understand these relative risks along with their potential efficacy to best calculate a risk–benefit ratio for a given patient undergoing any procedure. This article will cover the common risks associated with epidural injections, and when available the relative rates of complications depending on route of injection will also be discussed.
Capsule Commentary on Kesselheim et. al., Variations in Patients’ Perceptions and Use of Generic Drugs: Results of a National Survey

O ver the past decade, there has been a drastic increase in the number of insurance benefit designs with high deductibles and tiered formularies, which has made brand-name drugs more expensive for consumers. At the same time, the Bpatent cliff^ of the early 2010s led to an increase in choice of generic medications. Not surprisingly, utilization of generic drugs has increased as a percentage of all drugs dispensed. However, what remained unclear was how consumer perceptions of generic drugs had evolved over time, given patients’ increasing exposure to them. This study by Kesselheim et al. presents findings from a survey on consumer preferences and beliefs about generic and brand-name drugs. Previous studies, in particular a study by Shrank et al. based on data from 2007, found that patients were skeptical of generic drugs, and the results of this study show that this has changed. For example, the 2007 study found that 30% of respondents believed that Bbranded drugs are more effective than generics^, while this newer study found that only 13% had similar views. However, on other measures, little progress has been made. For example, the 2007 study found that 38% of patients preferred generic drugs, while the current study found that only 27% of patients preferred generics. As the authors note, the wording and order of the questions and the survey population are slightly different between studies, which makes comparison somewhat difficult. Ideally, the same survey should be repeated over time in order to truly study changes in preferences. One concerning finding is that generic drug skepticism was much higher in non-white patients, which suggests that minorities may be missing out on some of the benefits of cheaper medications. This may a consequence of the widely studied racial disparities in general distrust of the healthcare system, and could be a contributor to disparities in cost-related non-adherence. This warrants further study to understand why minority patients are more skeptical, and how to increase trust and utilization of generic medications among this population.
Retrospective Study of One Case of Spinal Muscular Atrophy with Respiratory Distress Type 1

Aim To report the first case of spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1(SMARD1) in China and discuss the diagnosis strategy of SMARD1. Methods The history, physical examination, clinical exams and genetic analysis results of the patient with SMARD1 were retrospectively analyzed, and the related literatures were reviewed. Results At 1 month old, the patient had scaffold orthodontic treatment because of the hip dysplasia, then developed into muscle weakness, more evident in the distal parts and predominantly in the legs. At the age of 2 years old, she developed contractures of the knees and elbows. Respiratory failure happened at the age of 4 years and 10 months. Her blood tests and genetic analysis of SMN gene were not remarkable except for the slightly increased of creatine kinase and the aminotransferases. The EMG revealed neurogenic damages. Her chest X-ray reported eventration of the right diaphragm. IGHMBP2 gene sequencing identified homozygous mutation of c.1813 CT. The diagnosis of SMARD1 was conformed. Conclusion SMARD1 is one of the variation types of spinal muscular atrophy, which manifested as irreversible diaphragmatic paralysis, respiratory failure between 6 weeks and 6 months of age, as well as progressive symmetrical muscular weakness and muscle atrophy. Nowadays, genetic analysis is the principal method for diagnosis.
Conversion of Δ5,7-Cholestadien-3β-ol to 3α, 7α, 12α-Trihydroxy-5β-cholanoic Acid in the Bile Fistula Rat

Abstract The present study has shown that labeled cholic acid is a major metabolite formed when 7-dehydrocholesterol-4-14C is fed to bile fistula rats. Since biliary and hepatic cholesterol were essentially devoid of radioactivity, it has been postulated that the biogenesis of cholic acid under these conditions may proceed either through a pathway that excludes cholesterol as a metabolic intermediate or through a small pool of cholesterol which is being actively converted to bile acids. In intact rats, however, the efficient conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol to cholesterol was shown. The results are discussed in the light of recent observations that naturally occurring sterols containing 27 carbon atoms could be oxidized to more polar products by microsomal enzymes similar to those which catalyze hydroxylation reactions in the early stages of bile acid biogenesis.
An Alternative Approach to Family Communication Studying the Family from a Group Communication Perspective

Family communication and group communication scholars have largely worked independently of each other, despite calls for collaboration (Socha, 1999; Turner, 1970). Family communication research has generally followed the interpersonal communication tradition, with primary emphasis on dyadic relationships in the family. Up until the last decade, group communication scholars have generally focused on task-oriented, zero-history groups (Keyton, 1999). However, due to the theoretical and methodological evolution of both family and group communication research, this chapter argues that the present is an appropriate time for collaboration, and, more specifically, that three group-oriented theories (social identity theory, theory of transactive memory, faultline theory) and subsequent research on these theories would prove fruitful to family communication scholars’ understanding of family interaction. Five theoretical concepts within these three theories are explored, with specific future research suggestions of...
Learning in massively parallel nets

The human brain is very different from a conventional digital computer. It relies on massive parallelism rather than raw speed and it stores long-term knowledge by modifying the way its processing elements interact rather than by setting bits in a passive, general purpose memory. It is robust against minor physical damage and it learns from experience instead of being explicitly programmed. We do not yet know how the brain uses the activities of neurons to represent complex, articulated structures, or how the perceptual system turns the raw input into useful internal representations so rapidly. Nor do we know how the brain learns new representational schemes. But over the past few years there have been a lot of new and interesting theories about these issues. Much of the theorizing has been motivated by the belief that the brain is using computational principles which could also be applied to massively parallel artificial systems, if only we knew what the principles were. In the talk, I shall focus on the issue of learning. Early research on perceptrons and associative nets (or matrix memories) showed how to set the weights of the connections between input units and output units so that a pattern of activity on the input units would cause the desired pattern of activity on the output units. A variant, called the auto-associative net, did not distinguish between input and output units. It modified the weights of pairwise inter-connections among the units to ensure that any sufficiently large part of a stored pattern could recreate the rest. Recently, Hopfield has developed an interesting way of analyzing the behavior of iterative, auto-associative nets, but research on simple associative networks is generally of limited interest because most interesting tasks are too complex to be performed by auto-association or by direct connections from the input units to the output units. Many intervening layers of "hidden" units are generally required and the tough learning problem is to decide how to use these hidden units. The reason this is so difficult is that we are requiring the network to invent its own representational scheme, and the space of possible schemes is immense, even if we restrict ourselves to those that can be implemented conveniently in networks of neuron-like units.
Applications and Extensions

A few years after the publication of their seminal paper, Michael Jensen combined with the great mind Eugene Fama to further explore the hidden costs of the separation of ownership and management. In their paper “Separation of Ownership and Control,” Fama and Jensen further specified the nature of the decision process. They described four different steps in the decision process: 1. The solicitation and ranking of various corporate projects. 2. The selection of the projects that offer a return above the firm’s weighted average cost of capital. 3. The implementation of the projects selected; and 4. The monitoring of the incentives and their results on each project.
Evolving from 4G to 5G

5G will lead us into an “all-time connectivity society” where mobile devices will play an even more important role in people’s lives. 5G will be not only a cellular standard but a combination of cellular and other heterogeneous standards. In this chapter we will focus on the cellular characteristics of 5G.
Surface Membrane Specialisations and the Pollen Wall

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses surface membrane specializations and the pollen wall. After meiosis, the four microspores of Nelumbo become separated by a callose-containing wall continuous with the special cell wall. Thiocarbohydrazide (TCH), a multidentate ligand, binds to certain cations found in thin sections of biological material. When microspores of Nelumbo in the tetrad stage are treated with PA-TCH-Pro, the fibrous wall gives a positive response, as do restricted areas on the plasma membrane, small vesicles in the cytoplasm, and distal cisternae of dictyosomes. The microtubules of Aegiceras have a similar diameter to the wall microtubules in Nuphar, but they are found on the exine surface and the locular surface of tapetal cells. A plug of polysaccharide is found in the aperture of Impatiens after the microspores are released from the special cell wall.
Casting doubt on the causal link between intelligence and age at first intercourse: A cross-generational sibling comparison design using the NLSY.

Abstract Halpern et al. (2000) published a study based on early Add Health data with the provocative title “Smart Teens Don’t Have Sex (or Kiss Much Either).” Several following papers reported the same result, a positive correlation between the intelligence of adolescent girls and age at first intercourse (AFI). However, the causal mechanism has not been carefully investigated. Harden and Mendle (2011) used Add Health data within a biometrical design and found that the relationship between intelligence and AFI was fully accounted for by shared environmental differences, suggesting at least the location of the causal mechanism — the part of the household environment shared by siblings that influences both child intelligence and AFI. In this study, we use an intergenerational sibling comparison design to investigate the causal link between intelligence and AFI, using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and the NLSY-Children/Young Adult data. We measured maternal IQ using the AFQT, child IQ using PPVT, PIAT, and Digit Span, and AFI, using respondent self-report. Our analytic method used Kenny's (2001) reciprocal standard dyad model. This model supported analyses treating the data as only between-family data (as in most past studies), and also allowed us to include both between- and within-family comparisons. These analyses included two forms, first a comparison of offspring of mothers in relation to maternal IQ, then a comparison of offspring themselves in relation to offspring IQ. When we evaluated the relationship between maternal/child intelligence and AFI, using a between-family design, we replicated earlier results; smart teens do appear to delay sex. In the within-family analyses, the relationship between intelligence and AFI vanishes for both maternal intelligence and child intelligence. The finding is robust across gender and age. These results suggest that the cause of the intelligence-AFI link is not intelligence per se, but rather differences between families (parental education, SES, etc.) that correlate with family-level (but not individual-level) intelligence.
Physics and technology of ultra short channel MOSFET devices

It is pointed out that, as MOSFET channel lengths are scaled below about 0.15 mu m, nonstationary carrier transport effects become increasingly important. These effects can result in increased drain current over what is expected from stationary transport theory (i.e. velocity saturation), and in decreased hot-carrier energy spectrum spread, or carrier temperature, leading to improved device reliability. However, the magnitude of these effects depends strongly not only on channel length but also on overall device design such as channel doping configuration, drain junction depth, etc. Besides minimization of junction depths, optimal device design requires a super-steep-retrograde channel doping, with surface doping concentration no higher than mid-10/sup 16/ cm/sup -3/. This can be achieved with indium doping for NMOS, and antimony or arsenic doping for PMOS extreme submicron transistors. >
Characterizing the Impact of RTN on Logic and SRAM Operation Using a Dual Ring Oscillator Array Circuit

The impact of random telegraph noise (RTN) on circuit delay has been experimentally verified using a dual ring oscillator (ROSC) array test structure. The proposed on-chip monitor utilizes the tested-and-proven beat frequency detection technique to measure RTN-induced frequency shifts with high precision (>0.01%) and short sampling time (>1 $\mu \text{s}$ ). The main idea is to pair an ROSC in the first array with an ROSC having a similar frequency from a second array, so that the frequency measurement resolution is not compromised at sub-0.5-V supply voltages. RTN-induced frequency shifts at different supply voltages, temperatures, and stress conditions were measured from a 32-nm high-k metal-gate test chip. The impact of RTN on logic and SRAM performance was analyzed based on the measured RTN data. We also present the quantitative results of logic timing margin and SRAM noise margin, with and without RTN. According to this paper, RTN appears to have a modest 1% impact on circuit operating frequency in 32 nm, even under pessimistic conditions (i.e., $V_{\mathrm {dd}} = 0.6$ V, multiple RTN traps in circuit path).
Implementing the Standards: Transition to High School Mathematics

The Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989) pro poses a common core of mainstream mathe matical topics that all high school students should have the opportunity to learn. The need for such a reconceptualization of the curriculum is dramatically documented in the NRC report Everybody Counts (MSEB and National Research Council 1989). But the success of the proposal hinges to a large degree on the nature of mathematical expe riences in the transition years, grades 7-8. Ample evidence shows that the excessive redundancy of the current seventhand eighth-grade curriculum does not prepare students for the intellectual demand and pace of the high school curriculum. Rather than spend these critical years rehashing a paper-and-pencil-arithmetic curriculum, students need a broadened curriculum that lays the experiential foundation for the mathematical elements in the common core of high school mathematics. In particular, topics from algebra, geometry, statistics, and probability should be prominent fea tures of the curriculum in grades 7 and 8. The introduction of these topics is certainly a necessary condition to ensure a smooth
3D computer-generated holography by non-convex optimization

3D computer-generated holography uses a digital phase mask to shape the wavefront of a laser beam into a user-specified 3D intensity pattern. Algorithms take the target 3D intensity as input and compute the hologram that generates it. However, arbitrary patterns are generally infeasible, so solutions are approximate and often sub-optimal. Here, we propose a new non-convex optimization algorithm that computes holograms by minimizing a custom cost function that is tailored to particular applications (e.g., lithography, neural photostimulation) or leverages additional information like sample shape and nonlinearity. Our method is robust and accurate, and it out-performs existing algorithms.
Seeing What You Feel: Affect Drives Visual Perception of Structurally Neutral Faces

Affective realism, the phenomenon whereby affect is integrated into an individual’s experience of the world, is a normal consequence of how the brain processes sensory information from the external world in the context of sensations from the body. In the present investigation, we provided compelling empirical evidence that affective realism involves changes in visual perception (i.e., affect changes how participants see neutral stimuli). In two studies, we used an interocular suppression technique, continuous flash suppression, to present affective images outside of participants’ conscious awareness. We demonstrated that seen neutral faces are perceived as more smiling when paired with unseen affectively positive stimuli. Study 2 also demonstrated that seen neutral faces are perceived as more scowling when paired with unseen affectively negative stimuli. These findings have implications for real-world situations and challenge beliefs that affect is a distinct psychological phenomenon that can be separated...
Shrinking Budgets, Growing Demands: Neoliberalism and Academic Identity Tension at Regional Public Universities:

Faculty (N = 156) at regional public universities (RPUs) in the United States were surveyed for self-reports of their primary academic identity (teacher, researcher) along with alignment of that identity with perceived departmental expectations and how their time is spent. Well-being and job satisfaction were examined as outcome measures of identity and alignment. The results are examined in the context of international concerns about neoliberalism in higher education, particularly with respect to academic identity. Participants were employed by RPUs in Illinois, a state with severe budget challenges, to assess the combined impact of neoliberalism and financial pressures on academic identity at traditionally teaching-focused institutions. Results of MANCOVA and MANOVA analyses suggested that participants who identify as teachers had greater overall well-being and job satisfaction than those who identified as researchers. Greater satisfaction was associated with alignment between identity and how time is s...
Amor, Que Piensas?: Spousal Political Socialization in Mexican Immigrant Communities

AbstractThis article examines the role of spousal political socialization among Mexican immigrants in the United States. Political socialization literature has often dismissed the socializing influences of spouses or significant others due to a focus on native born respondents. In immigrant communities, however, spousal political socialization plays a more vital role given the presence of a non-native born spouse. The result is a distinct dynamic that influences immigrant political socialization in previously under-explored ways. I use the theory of multi-tiered membership to examine the interactions of spouses within Mexican households, and immigrants specifically, to explain their subsequent informal and formal membership in the US. I use quantitative data from the Developing Civic Actors survey to model these experiences. I hypothesize that Mexican origin households where one spouse is an immigrant will rely more heavily on their spouses for political information and communication, compared to native b...
A Cytoskeletal Symphony: Owed to TOG.

Like permutating motifs in music, similar protein folds are employed across biology for distinct functions. In this issue of Developmental Cell, Aher et al. (2018) provide insight into how variable TOG domains within an array in the microtubule regulator CLASP are used to prevent microtubule catastrophe and potentiate rescue.
Modeling and Solving Real-Life Global Optimization Problems with Meta-heuristic Methods

Many real-life problems can be modeled as global optimization problems. There are many examples that come from agriculture, chemistry, biology, and other fields. Meta-heuristic methods for global optimization are flexible and easy to implement and they can provide high-quality solutions. In this chapter, we give a brief review of the frequently used heuristic methods for global optimization. We also provide examples of real-life problems modeled as global optimization problems and solved by meta-heuristic methods, with the aim of analyzing the heuristic approach that is implemented.
Environmental Aspects of Obesity

The dramatic increase in obesity in both children and adults over the past two to three decades represents a national and global concern because obesity can significantly increase the risk of a myriad of chronic health conditions. Macroenvironmental influences on food consumption, including changes in food supply trends, fast food consumption, increases in portion size and food availability as well as changes in physical activity patterns in schools and workplaces have been implicated. Societal efforts undertaken to stem the surge of obesity in children and adults must address this “toxic environment,” which encourages food over-consumption and discourages physical activity. Some community-based efforts aimed at reversing this trend are meeting with promising results; however, additional research, policy changes, and a committed partnership between industry, schools, indivi duals and the media may be necessary to achieve lasting impact.
Introduction to Energy and Climate: Developing a Sustainable Environment

The purpose of this textbook is to provide a well-rounded working knowledge of both climate change and environmental sustainability for a wide range of students. Students will learn core concepts and methods to analyze energy and environmental impacts; will understand what is changing the earth’s climate, and what that means for life on earth now and in the future. They will also have a firm understanding of what energy is and how it can be used. This text intends to develop working knowledge of these topics, with both technical and social implications. Students will find in one volume the integration and careful treatment of climate, energy, and sustainability.
Detection of Infrasound Signals and Sources Using a Dense Seismic Network

This new era of massive datasets gives us the opportunity to examine Earth structure and geophysical phenomena in more detail than previously possible. Large datasets hold much promise for transformative research but require new analytical methods that are both efficient and capable of extracting useful information from faint signals immersed in noise. With these needs in mind, we developed the AELUMA (Automated Event Location Using a Mesh of Arrays) method that recasts any dense network of sensors as a distributed mesh of small triangular arrays (triads). Each array provides a local estimate of signal properties. Information from arrays distributed across the footprint of the network is combined to estimate the source origin time and location. The process is repeated without oversight to catalog events that have occurred over a period of time. We have analyzed ground-coupled airwaves recorded on vertical component broadband seismometers of the USArray Transportable Array (TA). We estimate the accuracy of the AELUMA algorithm using ground truth events at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR). In a study of 23 surface explosions, the mean AELUMA source location estimate is 8.6 km northwest of the ground truth location. The origin time estimates were late for most events. The mean time misfit is 19 s with a standard deviation of 39 s. We attribute the positive bias in origin time estimates to signal dispersion, as the AELUMA method estimates the time of the signal’s peak amplitude, not its onset. A comparison of AELUMA and a reverse time migration method indicates that AELUMA is more sensitive to faint signals from weak events and the event locations are more accurate in space and time. A catalog of acoustic activity from across the continental United States in the band from 0.7 to 4.0 Hz includes 7935 events that were detected by 10 or more triads. Most events were clustered into hotspots and are likely anthropogenic.
Compact and Wideband General Coupled-Line Ring Hybrids (GCRHs) for Arbitrary Circumferences and Arbitrary Power-Division Ratios

Coupled-line ring hybrids (CRHs) are presented for arbitrary circumferences and for arbitrary power-division ratios. They each consist of three single transmission-line sections and a set of coupled transmission-line sections with or without two identical capacitances and contain most properties of the conventional ring hybrids. Therefore, they may be called general CRHs and can be designed for the frequency performance better than that of any other conventional one. By adopting the coupled-line sections, the 180° phase shift can be guaranteed, regardless of fabrication technologies, but three or four unknown variables more should be considered additionally, which results in a complicated derivation process. To make it simpler, two conditions of $S_{11}^{e}=S_{22}^{o}$ and $S_{22}^{e}=S_{11}^{o}$ , where $S_{11}$ and $S_{22}$ are scattering parameters, and the superscripts of ${e}$ and ${o}$ are meant as even- and odd-mode excitations, respectively, are newly employed. To verify the suggested theory, two prototypes were tested for the power-division ratios of 0 and −5 dB without and with capacitances, respectively. The measured results are in good agreement with the predicted ones, and the measured bandwidths with 15-dB return loss are 82.9 % and 97.65 % for the power-division ratios of 0 and −5 dB, respectively.
Laboratory Testing: Neurologic Manifestations with Rheumatic Diseases—Associated Findings and Recommended Laboratory Evaluation

In this chapter, laboratory tests relevant to major disorders in rheumatology that can affect the nervous system are discussed. While laboratory tests can be helpful in evaluating patients with suspected or established rheumatic disease, they are often not diagnostic due to imperfect sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, it is particularly important to recognize that the pretest probability of disease is the driving factor in determining the utility of any laboratory value. Laboratory testing may make a particular diagnosis more or less likely, but ultimately, consideration of the clinical context is essential for disease diagnosis. In many cases, laboratory testing is more helpful to rule out disease than to rule in disease.
Gratitude for Being

In this paper, I argue that what I call ‘gratitude for being’ can capture the distinctive sort of gratitude that we typically owe to our intimates, such as parents and close friends. Instead of spe...
Taming the tamed elephant: Rāvaṇa, aesthetics, and the generation of humor in Raviṣeṇa’s Padmapurāṇa

The seventh-century Digambara author Raviṣeṇa is an important figure in the history of pre-modern South Asian literature, having composed the earliest extant Jain Rāma narrative in Sanskrit, the Pa...
CHAPTER 15 – Nucleotides and Nucleosides1

Publisher Summary This chapter describes phosphorolysis, hydrolysis, deamination, and the enzymatic synthesis of nucleotides and nucleosides. In the case of polysaccharides and sucrose, both phosphorolytic and hydrolytic types of cleavage have been recognized; they are hydrolysis and base transfer reactions. The hydrolytic mechanism, first demonstrated with a partially purified enzyme preparation from bakers' yeast, degrades uridine to uracil and D-ribose. Another enzyme has been purified from autolysates of dried bakers' yeast which catalyzes the hydrolysis of a number of purine ribosides, both natural and synthetic. Nucleoside phosphorylase is also present in yeast autolysates, but it is completely separated from the hydrolytic enzyme by fractionation with ammonium sulfate at pH 4.6. Ribonuclease is a specific pyrimidine nucleotide ester diesterase, whose mode of cleavage is indicated by unbroken lines. The deamination of nucleosides and nucleotides occurs in many plant, bacterial, and animal tissues. A number of specific deaminases are known, and some of them have been used as analytical reagents in biochemical studies. In theory, nicotinamide mononucleotide does not have any known coenzyme function but is an intermediate in the formation of diphosphopyridine nucleotide. It can be synthesized by the direct phosphorylation of nicotinamide riboside.
Hemodynamic and clinical consequences of early versus delayed closure of patent ductus arteriosus in extremely low birth weight infants.

To describe changes in hemodynamics, respiratory support, and growth associated with transcatheter PDA closure (TCPC) in ELBW infants, stratified by postnatal age at treatment. This is an observational study of ELBW infants who underwent TCPC at ≤4 weeks (Group-1; n = 34), 4–8 weeks (Group-2; n = 33), and >8 weeks of age (Group-3; n = 33). Hemodynamic assessment was performed during TCPC. Multivariate Cox-proportionate-hazard modeling was used to identify factors associated with respiratory severity score (RSS) > 2 for >30 days following TCPC. In comparison with Group-1, Group-3 infants had higher pulmonary vascular resistance (PVRi = 3.3 vs. 1.6 WU*m2; P = 0.01), less weight gain between 4 and 8 weeks of age (16 vs. 25 g/day) and took longer to achieve RSS 2 for >30 days was associated with TCPC > 8 weeks (OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.75–5.8; p = 0.03) and PVRi ≥ 3 (OR = 4.5, 95% CI: 2.7–8.9; p < 0.01). ELBW infants may benefit from PDA closure within the first 4 weeks of life in order to prevent early onset pulmonary vascular disease, promote faster growth, and for quicker weaning of ventilator and oxygen support.
Synthesis of [225Ac]PSMA-617 for preclinical evaluation

1126 Objectives: Alpha-emitting radionuclides such as actinium-225 (225Ac) can be used to treat cancers showing resistance to beta-radiotherapy using lutetium-177, or progressive cancers in patients undergoing chemotherapy.1 Ongoing studies using 225Ac-PSMA-617 have shown great promise in treatment of metastatic and/or resistant prostate cancers. As it is not commercially available, it is necessary to produce 225Ac-PSMA-617 on-site. The objective of this work is to communicate a repeatable, reliable synthesis with complete experimental information for better advancement of radiotherapy using 225Ac. Methods: Production chemistry was adapted from select previously published methods.2-4 Free actinium-225 was received from Oak Ridge National Lab in the form of [225Ac]Ac(NO3)3 and was solvated in 0.05 M HCl. PSMA-617 precursor was dissolved in 25 μL metal free water (0.67 mg/mL), and combined with 500 μL 0.05M Tris buffer, pH 9. [225Ac]Ac(NO3)3 (15 μL, ~30-65 μCi) was then combined with the PSMA-617 precursor in Tris buffer. After heating for 40-50 minutes at 120°C, the reaction was allowed to cool. To stabilize the product and adjust the pH, 0.6 mL gentistic acid solution (4 mg/mL gentisic acid in 0.2 M NH4OAc) was added. The final product was analyzed by radio TLC (eluent: 9% NaCl, 10 mM NaOH). Results: Incorporation of 225Ac into the PSMA-617 precursor was successful, with yields over 90% (27µCi). Conclusions: This work demonstrates a reliable, consistent, straightforward procedure for the radiosynthesis of 225Ac-PSMA-617. Pre-clinical therapeutic studies in prostate cancer models are underway. Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank Clemens Kratochwil (University Hospital Heidelberg), Alfred Morgenstern (Joint Research Centre, Eurpean Commission), and Sophie Poty (Memorial Sloan Kettering) for their valuable assistance with experimental details. We also thank Michigan Medicine and the Department of Radiology for Pilot Grants References:1. Sathekge, M.; Bruchertseifer, F.; Knoesen, O.; Reyneke, F.; Lawal, I.; Lengana, T.; Davis, C.; Mahapane, J.; Corbett, C.; Vorster, M.; Morgenstern, A., (225)Ac-PSMA-617 in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced prostate cancer: a pilot study. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging 2019,46 (1), 129-138.2. Kratochwil, C.; Bruchertseifer, F.; Giesel, F. L.; Weis, M.; Verburg, F. A.; Mottaghy, F.; Kopka, K.; Apostolidis, C.; Haberkorn, U.; Morgenstern, A., 225Ac-PSMA-617 for PSMA-Targeted alpha-Radiation Therapy of Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. J Nucl Med 2016,57 (12), 1941-1944.3. Maguire, W. F.; McDevitt, M. R.; Smith-Jones, P. M.; Scheinberg, D. A., Efficient 1-step radiolabeling of monoclonal antibodies to high specific activity with 225Ac for alpha-particle radioimmunotherapy of cancer. J Nucl Med 2014,55 (9), 1492-8.4. Poty, S.; Membreno, R.; Glaser, J. M.; Ragupathi, A.; Scholz, W. W.; Zeglis, B. M.; Lewis, J. S., The inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction as a new methodology for the synthesis of (225)Ac-labelled radioimmunoconjugates. Chem Commun (Camb) 2018,54 (21), 2599-2602.
SU‐A‐210‐04: Panel Discussion

The purpose of this student annual meeting is to address topics that are becoming more relevant to medical physicists, but are not frequently addressed, especially for students and trainees just entering the field. The talk is divided into two parts: medical billing and regulations. Hsinshun Wu – Why should we learn radiation oncology billing? Many medical physicists do not like to be involved with medical billing or coding during their career. They believe billing is not their responsibility and sometimes they even refuse to participate in the billing process if given the chance. This presentation will talk about a physicist’s long career and share his own experience that knowing medical billing is not only important and necessary for every young medical physicist, but that good billing knowledge could provide a valuable contribution to his/her medical physics development. Learning Objectives: The audience will learn the basic definition of Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes performed in a Radiation Oncology Department. Understand the differences between hospital coding and physician-based or freestanding coding. Apply proper CPT coding for each Radiation Oncology procedure. Each procedure with its specific CPT code will be discussed in detail. The talk will focus on the process of care andmore » use of actual workflow to understand each CPT code. Example coding of a typical Radiation Oncology procedure. Special procedure coding such as brachytherapy, proton therapy, radiosurgery, and SBRT. Maryann Abogunde – Medical physics opportunities at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) The NRC’s responsibilities include the regulation of medical uses of byproduct (radioactive) materials and oversight of medical use end-users (licensees) through a combination of regulatory requirements, licensing, safety oversight including inspection and enforcement, operational experience evaluation, and regulatory support activities. This presentation will explore the career options for medical physicists in the NRC, how the NRC interacts with clinical medical physicists, and a physicist’s experience as a regulator. Learning Objectives: Explore non-clinical career pathways for medical physics students and trainees at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Overview of NRC medical applications and medical use regulations. Understand the skills needed for physicists as regulators. Abogunde is funded to attend the meeting by her employer, the NRC.« less
Pancytopenia Associated with Shapiro Syndrome in a Patient with Posterior Porencephaly (P3.233)

OBJECTIVE: To describe a patient with pancytopenia associated with Shapiro syndrome, without another identifiable cause. BACKGROUND: Spontaneous periodic hypothermia and hyperhidrosis, or Shapiro syndrome, is a rare condition. The pathophysiology is not understood; it has been associated with agenesis of the corpus callosum and hypothalamic lesions. Shapiro syndrome appears to represent an altered “set point” of central thermoregulatory mechanisms. Proposed mechanisms include neurochemical dysfunction, altered response to physiologic temperature change, a neurodegenerative process, migrainous phenomenon, and intermittent epileptic activity. DESIGN/METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 24 year old female with a history of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Shapiro syndrome, and diabetes insipidus presented with a one year history of intermittent episodes of hypothermia of increasing frequency, with associated pancytopenia. She had intractable epilepsy since childhood and seizures increased during the episodes of hypothermia. Over the preceding year, her antiepileptic medications were changed due to possible contribution to her intermittent cytopenias. At presentation, she was on zonisamide, clobazam and lamotrigine. Physical exam was consistent with developmental delay. An MRI brain showed posterior porencephaly and right frontal cortical malformation. The hypothalamus appeared normal. Her temperature fluctuated from 37 to 34 degrees Celsius during events, without diaphoresis or rigors. Laboratory evaluation revealed anemia, thrombocytopenia, and leukopenia. Her intermittent cytopenias resolved with normothermia. A bone marrow biopsy showed slightly hypocellular marrow with mild granulocytic hypoplasia and megakaryocytic hyperplasia. Records from outside admissions corroborated the association between hypothermic episodes and suppressed blood counts. CONCLUSIONS: Shapiro syndrome has been associated with a variety of co-morbidities including cognitive impairment, sex hormone abnormalities, and neurologic disorders. This patient had these features, along with episodic cytopenias. Pancytopenia is a recognized potential complication of hypothermia, and has been described in sporadic cases of hypothermia. To the best of our knowledge, periodic cytopenias associated with thermodysregulation, as in Shapiro syndrome, has not been described. Disclosure: Dr. Schaefer has nothing to disclose. Dr. Crepeau has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rodriguez has nothing to disclose.
Economic Analysis of Same-Sex Marriage

This article applies the neoclassical microeconomic analysis of marriage as developed by Nobel laureate economist Gary Becker to same-sex marriage. The objective is to demonstrate that the economic analysis of marriage supports allowing same-sex marriage, and that same-sex marriages would strengthen the incentive to marry, increase the efficiency of marriage markets, provide for more children to be raised in two-parent optimum environments, and benefit states economically overall. The article concludes with an overview of the economic impact of same-sex marriages on states based on the analysis, data and fiscal information currently available from researchers and economists in the field.
Supreme Court Nominee Candor and Judiciary Committee Votes: Does Answering Questions Really Matter?

This paper examines Supreme Court confirmation hearings and their role in the political process. In particular, we are interested here in exploring the relationship between nominee candor and the Judiciary Committee’s votes. Do senators support nominees who are more forthcoming and vote against those who are evasive? We hypothesize that since 1981, when the hearings were first televised, senators have been influenced more by partisanship and ideology than by nominee candor. To test this hypothesis, we draw on the results of a recently completed content analysis of every confirmation hearing transcript since 1955. Our results suggest that, during the pre-television era, candor was influential in determining committee votes. However, contrary to what many senators claim, candor during the televised hearings era plays almost no role in determining committee votes. Moreover, it appears that partisanship has taken the place of candor in determining the committee votes. We discuss the implications of these findings and close by outlining possible next steps.
Influence of Indigenous Microbiota on Amount of Protein and Activities of Alkaline Phosphatase and Disaccharidases in Extracts of Intestinal Mucosa in Mice

The protein content and the activities of alkaline phosphatase, maltase, and sucrase were measured at 0800, 1000, 1200, 1400, and 1600 in saline extracts of the proximal small bowels of germfree and of ex-germfree mice colonized with an indigenous microbiota. In extracts prepared from germfree mice, the total activities of all of the enzymes were relatively constant throughout the sampling period. Likewise, the total activity of alkaline phosphatase in extracts prepared from associated mice varied little as a function of time. By contrast, the total activities of maltase and sucrase in the extracts from these latter animals varied significantly from sample to sample. The total activity levels in extracts from germfree mice were approximately twofold greater than the levels in extracts from associated mice. The specific activities of alkaline phosphatase and sucrase did not vary from sample to sample in extracts prepared from either type of mouse. In contrast, the specific activity of maltase in extracts prepared from both germfree and associated mice differed significantly from sample to sample. The specific activities of all three enzymes were greater in extracts from germfree animals than in those from associated animals. The protein content of extracts prepared from germfree mice also was greater than that of extracts prepared from associated animals at every sampling time. The amount of protein extractable from the mucosa of the small bowels of the former animals varied significantly at different sampling times during the day, whereas the amount of protein extractable from the tracts of associated animals remained relatively constant throughout the day. The indigenous microbiota apparently stabilizes in some way the amount of protein extractable from the mucosa of the mouse small bowel.
Modeling multi-factor multi-site risk-based offloading for mobile cloud computing

Offloading decisions for computation-intensive applications in mobile cloud computing may involve many decision factors. Important decision factors such as offloading node reliability and privacy protection have not been well studied. Moreover, existing offloading models mainly focus on the one-to-one offloading relation. To address the multi-factor and multi-site offloading mobile cloud application scenarios, we present a multifactor multi-site risk-based offloading model that abstracts the offloading impact factors as for offloading benefit and offloading risk. The offloading decision is made based on a comprehensive offloading risk evaluation. This presented model is generic and extendible. Four offloading impact factors are presented to show the construction and operation of the presented offloading model, which can be easily extended to incorporate more factors to make offloading decision more comprehensive. The overall offloading benefits and risks are aggregated based on the mobile cloud users' preference. The performance evaluation presents the practicality of the presented solution.
Compact formulation of economic load dispatch problems with disjoint prohibited-zones

The economic load dispatch (ELD) problem with prohibited-zones was conventionally formulated by means of multiple disjoint constraints. Proposed is an approach to convert these constraints into a single formulation, which simplifies the representation of ELD models and expedites the implementation of their algorithms. This type of conversion would play a pivotal role to invoke representative optimisation procedures in an engineering software package.
The oldowan reassessed: a close look at early stone artifacts

Abstract Early Stone Age assemblages called “Oldowan” and early “Developed Oldowan” are discussed, based on the results of a long-term study of Plio-Pleistocene sites at Koobi Fora, Kenya and an extensive experimental research program of replicating and using early stone artifact forms. Five major conclusions are drawn from this investigation: (1) many Oldowan core forms (“core-tools”) are probably simple by-products of flake manufacture rather than representations of stylistic norms; (2) flakes and retouched flakes - were essential tools in Oldowan technology, particularly for activities involving cutting; (3) this simple technology does not necessarily reflect the cognitive abilities of the early hominids that manufactured the stone artifacts; (4) there is evidence to show that Oldowan technology can be viewed as a simple curated one, in which raw material was intentionally carried from place to place for future use; (5) early hominid populations that made and used stone implements were not necessarily dependent upon them for their survival.
Test-specific analgesia elicited by kindled seizures in rats.

Abstract Analgesia following kindled seizures in rats was studied using a test thought to measure pain integration at 3 levels of the CNS. Seizures caused an elevation of the threshold at which tail shocks elicited multiple squeaks, without affecting single squeak or tail withdrawal thresholds. Opioid involvement was indicated by naloxone's partial blockade of this effect.
Application of CW local correction approach to SLW modeling of radiative transfer in non-isothermal gaseous media

The solution of the RTE equation in non-isothermal media by the SLW method is handled with the help of the local correction factor instead of the traditionally used so-called reference approach. Two methods of calculation of the correction factor are shown: one is based on the cumulative wavenumber (CW) distribution function developed with the HITEMP spectroscopic data; the other method uses the relationship between the reordered wavenumber and cumulative wavenumber. It is shown how this method is applied to different forms of the partition of absorption cross-section into gray gases. Further, it is shown theoretically that this method approaches the exact solution for non-isothermal media in the limit as the number of gray gases tends to infinity.
Tetanic contraction of the crab nerve evoked by repetitive stimulation

Abstract Viscoelastic properties of the crab nerve were examined. Repetitive stimulation was found to produce a sustained, i.e. “tetanic”, contraction of the nerve. Involvement of ectoplasmic filamentous elements in the observed contraction of the nerve is suggested.