cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Increasing proportion of clinical trials using noninferiority end points.

This study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (T32 HL094301-01A1 and T32 HL007604-27). Dr. Bhatt discloses the following relationships - Advisory Board: Medscape Cardiology; Board of Directors: Boston VA Research Institute, Society of Chest Pain Centers; Chair: American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines Science Subcommittee; Honoraria: American College of Cardiology (Editor, Clinical Trials, Cardiosource), Duke Clinical Research Institute (clinical trial steering committees), Slack Publications (Chief Medical Editor, Cardiology Today Intervention), WebMD (CME steering committees); Research Grants: Amarin, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eisai, Ethicon, Medtronic, Sanofi Aventis, The Medicines Company; Unfunded Research: FlowCo, PLx Pharma, Takeda. Drs. Murthy and Desai have received consulting fees from Novo Nordisk. The authors have no other funding, financial relationships, or conflicts of interest to disclose.
Ineffectiveness of Dexamethasone for Treatment of Experimental Cerebral Infarction

Ischemic cerebral edema occurring with cerebral infarction may cause increases of intracranial pressure and neurological deficits or death. Certain other types of cerebral edema are influenced by adrenal glucocorticoids; there is conflicting evidence about effects on ischemic edema, largely due to differences in experimental models and dosages. Therefore, dexamethasone in large doses was studied in 15 cats with experimental cerebral ischemia and infarction produced by transorbital occlusion of one middle cerebral artery (MCA). Five cats received dexamethasone, 4 mg per kilogram intramuscularly, twice daily for two weeks before and two weeks after MCA occlusion; five received dexamethasone for two weeks after occlusion; and five received no dexamethasone. There were no apparent differences among the three groups in the neurological deficits resulting from MCA occlusion, and no statistically significant differences in the sizes of cerebral infarcts. Dexamethasone is ineffective for the treatment of experimental cerebral ischemia produced by MCA occlusion.
Factors Associated With Hospital Length of Stay Following Fibular Free-Tissue Reconstruction of Head and Neck Defects: Assessment Using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Criteria.

Importance Cost containment is at the forefront of responsible health care delivery. One way to decrease costs is to decrease hospital length of stay (LOS). Data are lacking on factors contributing to LOS in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) undergoing fibular free-tissue reconstruction (FFTR) of head and neck defects. Objective To identify factors contributing to increased LOS following FFTR of head and neck defects in patients with HNC using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) methodology. Design Retrospective medical record review, with reference to the ACS NSQIP form, of 30 consecutive patients with HNC undergoing FFTR of head and neck defects in a single tertiary academic institution from July 2013 through June 2014. Data were collected on demographic and tumor characteristics, preoperative risk factors, operative variables, and postoperative adverse events. Main Outcomes and Measures Factors associated with increased hospital LOS. Results Median LOS was 10 days (range, 8-31 days), and patients were divided into 2 groups (LOS, ≤10 days [n = 16]; and LOS, >10 days [n = 14]). There were no significant differences in demographics, tumor characteristics, or preoperative medical comorbidities between the 2 groups. Univariate analysis demonstrated that operative time, ventilator dependence, wound event, and altered mental status were associated with longer LOS. Multivariate analysis revealed significant association with LOS greater than 10 days for operative time of longer than 11 hours (odds ratio [OR], 7.26; 95% CI, 1.12-47.29; P = .04) and ventilator dependence for more than 48 hours postoperatively (OR, 12.05; 95% CI, 1.06-137.43; P = .045). Conclusions and Relevance Evaluated by the ACS NSQIP criteria, FFTR of head and neck defects in patients with HNC was associated with LOS longer than 10 days for procedures lasting longer than 11 hours and for patients who are ventilator dependent for more than 48 hours.
Action Detection by Implicit Intentional Motion Clustering

Explicitly using human detection and pose estimation has found limited success in action recognition problems. This may be due to the complexity in the articulated motion human exhibit. Yet, we know that action requires an actor and intention. This paper hence seeks to understand the spatiotemporal properties of intentional movement and how to capture such intentional movement without relying on challenging human detection and tracking. We conduct a quantitative analysis of intentional movement, and our findings motivate a new approach for implicit intentional movement extraction that is based on spatiotemporal trajectory clustering by leveraging the properties of intentional movement. The intentional movement clusters are then used as action proposals for detection. Our results on three action detection benchmarks indicate the relevance of focusing on intentional movement for action detection, our method significantly outperforms the state of the art on the challenging MSR-II multi-action video benchmark.
Studies on the biosynthesis of heme from iron and protoporphyrin.

1. Additional evidence has been presented that the formation of heme in vitro from iron and protoporphyrin is enzyme dependent. 2. An enzyme solution was prepared from the active particulate matter of a chicken erythrocyte hemolysate. The enzyme is soluble in 0.15 M KCl and optimally active at pH 7.9. 3. The rate of heme synthesis was constant over the first 30 minutes and approached maximal values at 3 to 4 hours. At optimal concentrations of protoporphyrin and iron the rate of heme synthesis over the first 30 minutes was proportional to enzyme concentration. 4. The enzyme solution was 89 per cent inactivated after heating at 56 C. for 30 minutes. Optimal stability for 3 hours was at pH 7.4. It was unstable when lyophilized or on storage at 5 C. or -30 C. 5. The enzyme was inhibited by 1 x 10-2 M p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonate and 1 x 10-2 M iodoacetamide. 6. There was a 70 per cent loss of activity after dialysis of the enzyme solution for 22 hours against water. The dialyzed enzyme solution was reactivated with either reduced glutathione or cysteine. 7. The enzyme solution augmented heme synthesis in vitro from δ-amino-levulinic acid, porphobilinogen and protoporphyrin, but not from glycine.
Biodegradation of poultry manure by house fly (Diptera : Muscidae)

This study was made to assess the nature and extent of changes in moisture and mass of poultry manure that result from feeding activity by house fly larvae ( Musca domestica L.). Larval density and different concentrations of fly-degraded manure in the developmental medium were related to changes in manure mass, moisture, and dry matter content. In laboratory assays, larval density changed all manure parameters but the effect was most notable at the level of 600 larvae per 100 g manure. In factorial experiments, the concentration of degraded manure (5 levels), but not larval density (4 levels), changed each manure parameter, whereas both manure mass and moisture content were affected by the 2-factor interaction. Under conditions in the field, manure parameters did not vary in response to larval density, although feeding activity reduced manure mass by 75%, moisture content by 89%, and manure dry matter content by 35%.
The Influence of Ablation on Radiative Heating for Earth Entry

Using the coupled ablation and radiation capability recently included in the LAURA flowfield solver, this paper investigates the influence of ablation on the shock-layer radiative heating for Earth entry. The extension of the HARA radiation model, which provides the radiation predictions in LAURA, to treat a gas consisting of the elements C, H, O, and N is discussed. It is shown that the absorption coefficient of air is increased with the introduction of the C and H elements. A simplified shock layer model is studied to show the impact of temperature, as well as the abundance of C and H, on the net absorption or emission from an ablation contaminated boundary layer. It is found that the ablation species reduce the radiative flux in the vacuum ultraviolet, through increased absorption, for all temperatures. However, in the infrared region of the spectrum, the ablation species increase the radiative flux, through strong emission, for temperatures above 3,000 K. Thus, depending on the temperature and abundance of ablation species, the contaminated boundary layer may either provide a net increase or decrease in the radiative flux reaching the wall. To assess the validity of the coupled ablation and radiation LAURA analysis, a previously analyzed Mars-return case (15.24 km/s), which contains significant ablation and radiation coupling, is studied. Exceptional agreement with previous viscous shock-layer results is obtained. A 40% decrease in the radiative flux is predicted for ablation rates equal to 20% of the free-stream mass flux. The Apollo 4 peak-heating case (10.24 km/s) is also studied. For ablation rates up to 3.4% of the free-stream mass flux, the radiative heating is reduced by up to 19%, while the convective heating is reduced by up to 87%. Good agreement with the Apollo 4 radiometer data is obtained by considering absorption in the radiometer cavity. For both the Mars return and the Apollo 4 cases, coupled radiation alone is found to reduce the radiative heating by 30 60% and the convective heating by less than 5%.
Floral display size, conspecific density and florivory affect fruit set in natural populations of Phlox hirsuta, an endangered species

Background and aims Natural variation in fruit and seed set may be explained by factors that affect the composition of pollen grains on stigmas. Self-incompatible species require compatible outcross pollen grains to produce seeds. The siring success of outcross pollen grains, however, can be hindered if self (or other incompatible) pollen grains co-occur on stigmas. This study identifies factors that determine fruit set in Phlox hirsuta, a self-sterile endangered species that is prone to self-pollination, and its associated fitness costs. Methods Multiple linear regressions were used to identify factors that explain variation in percentage fruit set within three of the five known populations of this endangered species. Florivorous beetle density, petal colour, floral display size, local conspecific density and pre-dispersal seed predation were quantified and their effects on the ability of flowers to produce fruits were assessed. Key results In all three populations, percentage fruit set decreased as florivorous beetle density increased and as floral display size increased. The effect of floral display size on fruit set, however, often depended on the density of nearby conspecific plants. High local conspecific densities offset - even reversed - the negative effects of floral display size on percentage fruit set. Seed predation by mammals decreased fruit set in one population. Conclusions The results indicate that seed production in P. hirsuta can be maximized by selectively augmenting populations in areas containing isolated large plants, by reducing the population sizes of florivorous beetles and by excluding mammals that consume unripe fruits.
Maintenance of Infectivity and Virulence of Nuclear Polyhedrosis Viruses During Serial Passage in Noctuid (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Cell Lines

Nuclear polyhedrosis viruses isolated from the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner) (TnMNPV), Rachiplusia ou (Guemee)(RoMNPV), and a plaque purified variant of Autographa califarnica (Speyer) (AcMNPV6R) were serially passaged numerous times in larvae of the cabbage looper and the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner). These viruses were then serially passaged in the IPLB-SF-21AE cell line from the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugtperda (J. E. Smith), and in the TNFH-368 cell line from T. ni in standard media and in media fortified with the addition of liposomal material. All of the viruses, after being passaged in these two cell lines, were bioassayed in neonate T. ni to evaluate the effect of the additional sterol and lipids in the growth media on the viruses. For each of the viruses produced in the TNFH-368 cell line with the addition of liposomes, the fifth passage virus was more virulent than the fifth passage virus in this cell line without the supplement. In addition there was no significant loss in the virulence of the fifth passage virus from that of the first passage virus when the cell growth medium was supplemented with liposomal material. It appeared that the addition of liposomal material was not as necessary for the production of these viruses when cultured in the IPLB-SF-21AE cell line as when cultured in the TNFH-368 cell line. The growth medium used for the IPLB-SF-21AEline is balanced so that the cells can utilize the exogenous sterols and lipids provided by the serum supplement in the standard medium in such a manner that the virulence of the enveloped viruses produced in this cell line did not deteriorate in the absence of liposomes.
Factors Affecting Students' Grades In Principles Of Economics

Factors affecting students grades in principles of microeconomics and macroeconomics students are analyzed from the data collected in two public universities. Results indicate that gender, number of hours worked, SAT scores, number of missed classes, recommending the course to a friend, instructors, being a junior, number of economics courses taken, course, and interest in the course, were significant factors contributing to learning and success as measured by grades. Moreover, GPA, age, staying in university housing, number of mathematics classes taken, instructors use of graphs to explain a topic, being a fourth year student, enrolling for a class because of the reputation of an instructor had positive effect on students grades, while the effect of the number of hours per week spent on studying for the class was negative.
A Similar Place Resistance and Existence in 21st Century Black and Native Women’s Memoirs

In 2014, Nishnaabeg scholar Leanne Simpson connected #BlackLivesMatter and #MMIWG2S by highlighting their existence in “a similar place.” Here, I interpret this as a space of shared emotion and geo...
Recent Transmission of Tuberculosis — United States, 2011–2014

Tuberculosis is an infectious disease that may result from recent transmission or from an infection acquired many years in the past; there is no diagnostic test to distinguish the two causes. Cases resulting from recent transmission are particularly concerning from a public health standpoint. To describe recent tuberculosis transmission in the United States, we used a field-validated plausible source-case method to estimate cases likely resulting from recent transmission during January 2011-September 2014. We classified cases as resulting from either limited or extensive recent transmission based on transmission cluster size. We used logistic regression to analyze patient characteristics associated with recent transmission. Of 26,586 genotyped cases, 14% were attributable to recent transmission, 39% of which were attributable to extensive recent transmission. The burden of cases attributed to recent transmission was geographically heterogeneous and poorly predicted by tuberculosis incidence. Extensive recent transmission was positively associated with American Indian/Alaska Native (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR] = 3.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.9-4.4), Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (aPR = 3.2, 95% CI 2.3-4.5), and black (aPR = 3.0, 95% CI 2.6-3.5) race, and homelessness (aPR = 2.3, 95% CI 2.0-2.5). Extensive recent transmission was negatively associated with foreign birth (aPR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.2-0.2). Tuberculosis control efforts should prioritize reducing transmission among higher-risk populations.
Children’s intended responses to gender-based bullying as targets and bystanders

This study examines gender-based bullying from the perspective of targets and bystanders. A total of 64 children (36 boys and 28 girls; 67% African American) in grades 3–5 were given hypothetical g...
T lymphocyte and monocyte-macrophage interaction in colony-stimulating activity elaboration in man.

Using in vitro culture systems, we have studied the effect of coincubating human monocyte-macrophages with autologous T lymphocytes on colony-stimulating activity (CSA) elaboration in response to methanol extraction residue (MER) of BCG. When monocyte-macrophages were coincubated with T lymphocytes for 4 days at a ratio of 1:3, the resultant colony-stimulating activity, assayed against light density nonadherent human marrow cells, was significantly higher (p
An ordinary man, a national hero, a Polish Palach? : some thoughts on the memorialization of Ryszard Siwiec in the Czech-Polish context

On 8 September 1968, Ryszard Siwiec set fi re to himself during a harvest festival in the 10th Anniversary Stadium in Warsaw. Through his self-immolation, he sought to protest against Communist rule in general and the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in particular. However, his death did not gain wider attention. Further protests ‘by fi re’ took place in the subsequent months and years in East Central Europe. Among them was the self-immolation by the Czech student Jan Palach in Prague. In contrast to Siwiec, this young man was immediately recognized as a martyr in Czechoslovakia as well as on the other side of the Iron Curtain. It was only after 1989 that Ryszard Siwiec’s story became increasingly well-known. Today, his act still remains in the shadow of Palach’s, however. This article deals with the marginal position of Siwiec in the Polish national pantheon. By reflecting on the various constraints on creating martyrs in state and post-socialism, it focuses on one particular aspect of Polish and Czech – or rather Polish-Czech – memory politics. As for the ‘Polish Palach’ Ryszard Siwiec, the paper demonstrates that Czechs have played a crucial role in popularizing him.
Counting-MLNs: learning relational structure for decision making

Many first-order probabilistic models can be represented much more compactly using aggregation operations such as counting. While traditional statistical relational representations share factors across sets of interchangeable random variables, representations that explicitly model aggregations also exploit interchangeability of random variables within factors. This is especially useful in decision making settings, where an agent might need to reason about counts of the different types of objects it interacts with. Previous work on counting formulas in statistical relational representations has mostly focused on the problem of exact inference on an existing model. The problem of learning such models is largely unexplored. In this paper, we introduce Counting Markov Logic Networks (CMLNs), an extension of Markov logic networks that can compactly represent complex counting formulas. We present a structure learning algorithm for C-MLNs; we apply this algorithm to the novel problem of generalizing natural language instructions, and to relational reinforcement learning in the Crossblock domain, in which standard MLN learning algorithms fail to find any useful structure. The C-MLN policies learned from natural language instructions are compact and intuitive, and, despite requiring no instructions on test games, win 20% more Crossblock games than a state-of-the-art algorithm for following natural language instructions.
Wound Healing and Skin Regeneration

Depending on the healing time, skin wounds can be divided into two classes: acute and chronic wounds [1, 2]. Acute wounds are characterized by broken or punctured skin layers and usually heal over a short time frame. Acute wounds can be further divided into different types based upon their causes, for example: surgical incision, thermal, abrasion, laceration, gunshot wounds, etc. In addition to epidermal cells, acute wounds may involve a part or the full thickness of the dermal layer. Chronic wounds, which have become an epidemic, take a long time to heal as they are mostly associated with diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Impact of bone fracture on stroke recovery

S is the leading cause of disability in adults and an important risk factor for bone fracture. Alternatively, stroke is one of the most devastating complications of bone fracture. In the United States, approximately 70,000 stroke victims suffer from bone fracture within the first year after their stroke. Reported date showed that about 0.2% to 4.1% patients suffer from stroke after hip surgery. However, the impact of bone fracture on stroke recovery has not been fully studies. We have studied the influence of bone fracture shortly before or after ischemic stroke on stroke recovery in a mouse model. We found that bone fracture increases alarmins and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood and increase stroke related injury as well as functional deficits through augmenting the neuroinflammatory response. Mice with stroke and bone fracture have more severe functional deficits, larger infarct sizes, and more CD68+ macrophages in the peri-infarct region than mice that have stroke only. Bone fracture also increases oxidative stress in the injury and promotes pro-inflammatory polarization (M1) of macrophage. Antiinflammatory therapies reduce the negative impact of bone fracture on stroke recovery.
An All Digital Maximum a Posteriori based Synchronizer for MSK

A digital joint maximum a posteriori (MAP) symbol synchronizer and phase estimator is realized for minimum shift keying (MSK) modulation. This development permits direct digital implementation of closed loop synchronization and coherent demodulation. Advantages derived from this approach are parameter stability and accuracy with system flexibility and reliability.
219. Assessment of IL-15/sIL-15Rα Gene Therapy on Lewis Lung Carcinoma Growing in Mouse Lung, Liver and Kidneys

Interleukin 15 (IL-15) is a multi-functional cytokine and plays an important role in stimulating proliferation and activation of NK and T cells. It binds to cells and signals through a complex formed between IL-15 and IL-15 receptor α (IL-15Rα). The objective of this study is to evaluate therapeutic activity of transferring IL-15 and soluble form of IL-15Rα gene (sIL-15Rα) against lung tumor growing in mouse lung, liver and kidneys. Antitumor activity of IL-15/sIL-15Rα gene transfer was compared to that of chemotherapy using gemcitabine, and the combination of IL-15/sIL-15Rα gene therapy and gemcitabine chemotherapy. Multi-organ tumor growth was established by hydrodynamic tail vein injection of 10^6 LL/2-Luc cells per mouse and tumor growth was monitored by luciferase-based bioluminescent imaging. Gene therapy was performed by hydrodynamic delivery of 2 mg/mouse of AG209 plasmid carrying IL-15/sIL-15Rα genes 3 days after tumor cell injection. Chemotherapy was conducted every 4 days by intra-peritoneal injection of gemcitabine (120 mg/kg) starting on day 3 after tumor cell injection. Luciferase assay on collected organs from tumor-bearing mice showed that hydrodynamic tail vein injection of LL/2-Luc cells resulted in a distribution of tumor cells in the lung (46%), liver (52%), and kidneys (6%). Compared to control animals with an average survival time of 10 days after hydrodynamic tail vein injection of tumor cells, animals with IL-15/sIL-15Rα gene transfer lived an average of 17 days, 1.7 folds longer than the control. Similar antitumor activity was seen in the gemcitabine treated animals, an increase in survival time of 1.75 folds. Combination therapy with IL-15/sIL-15Rα gene transfer and gemcitabine chemotherapy resulted in the best outcome with an average survival of animals for 33 days. Anatomic examination and bioluminescent imaging of tumor-bearing mice revealed that treatment with IL-15/sIL-15Rα gene transfer alone, or in combination with gemcitabine was effective in blocking tumor growth in the liver and kidneys, but failed to block tumor growth in the lung. These results demonstrate that same tumor growing in different organs responds to the same treatment differently. IL-15/sIL-15Rα gene transfer is effective in eliminating tumor growth in the liver and kidney. This work also suggests that mice with multi-organ tumor growth are valuable model for development of treatment strategy in dealing with late stage tumor with metastasis.
Comparing diets for weight loss and improvement in biomarkers in men with prostate cancer on surveillance: A pilot study.

159Background: Weight loss is recommended for treatment of prostate cancer, yet the most efficacious diet is not clear. The diet should improve biomarkers for prostate cancer, not increase risk of other chronic diseases, and be acceptable for long term use. Ascertaining appropriate dietary treatment for men on surveillance is crucial in preventing future cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in these men. Methods: Men with prostate cancer on surveillance and/or with untreated biochemical relapse followed 2 diets for 8 weeks of weight loss with random assignment to the order: (1) the diet recommended by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF); (2) a plant-based, olive oil diet (PBOO), which included 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil/ daily. After completing both diets, participants selected one of the diets for 6 months of follow-up (FU). Results: 30 started the protocol; 12 dropped out, 11 due to diet compliance (n = 3 PBOO; n = 8 PCF); 18 completed the 8 weeks of both diets and a...
Reaction Pathways and Kinetics for Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of Acidic NOx Emissions from Power Plants with NH3

Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH3 by supported vanadium oxide catalysts is an important technology for reducing acidic NOx emissions from stationary sources and mobile diesel vehicles. However, rational design of improved catalysts is still hampered by a lack of consensus about reaction pathways and kinetics of this critical technology. The SCR fundamentals were resolved by applying multiple time-resolved in situ spectroscopies (ultraviolet–visible light (UV-vis), Raman and temperature-programmed surface reaction (TPSR)) and isotopically labeled molecules (18O2, H218O, 15N18O, ND3). This series of experiments directly revealed that the SCR reaction occurs at surface V5+O4 sites that are maintained in the oxidized state by O2 and the rate-determining step involves the reduction of V5+O4 sites by NO and NH3, specifically the breaking of N–H bonds during the course of formation or decomposition of the NO–NH3 intermediate.
Challenges and Directions in Service Management Automation

Research teams and IT service providers are continuously increasing the degree of Automation in Hybrid IT environments spanning multi-provider Clouds as well as traditional IT. Automation and Cognitive Systems are widely regarded as the foundation for improving the productivity as well as the quality of Service Delivery. At the same time, Hybrid IT deployments are being subject to a variety of challenges in large deployments on a global scale. Based on our experience of running a service practice that delivers IT Service Management in Hybrid IT environments to customers worldwide, this paper will review the challenges and directions in implementing Integrated Network, Systems and Service Management technologies and point out gaps encountered in current tools and implementations. This is fueled by the desire of Service Providers to evolve Automation from a development activity to an approach focusing on recording and storing the practices of the best system administrators and further on to a cognitive activity where the management system learns over time which actions need to be undertaken under a given set of circumstances. By means of real-life examples, we identify candidate concepts and technologies that will help us build the next generation of Integrated Network, Systems and Service Management.
EBV latent membrane protein 2A orchestrates p27kip1 degradation via Cks1 to accelerate MYC-driven lymphoma in mice.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes lifelong infection in B lymphocytes of most human hosts and is associated with several B lymphomas. During latent infection, EBV encodes latent membrane protein 2A (LMP2A) to promote the survival of B cells by mimicking host B-cell receptor signaling. By studying the roles of LMP2A during lymphoma development in vivo, we found that LMP2A mediates rapid MYC-driven lymphoma onset by allowing B cells to bypass MYC-induced apoptosis mediated by the p53 pathway in our transgenic mouse model. However, the mechanisms used by LMP2A to facilitate transformation remain elusive. In this study, we demonstrate a key role of LMP2A in promoting hyperproliferation of B cells by enhancing MYC expression and MYC-dependent degradation of the p27kip1 tumor suppressor. Loss of the adaptor protein cyclin-dependent kinase regulatory subunit 1 (Cks1), a cofactor of the SCFSkp2 ubiquitin ligase complex and a downstream target of MYC, increases p27kip1 expression during a premalignant stage. In mice that express LMP2A, Cks1 deficiency reduces spleen weights, restores B-cell follicle formation, impedes cell cycle progression of pretumor B cells, and eventually prolongs MYC-driven tumor onset. This study demonstrates that LMP2A uses the role of MYC in the cell cycle, particularly in the p27kip1 degradation process, to accelerate lymphomagenesis in vivo. Thus, our results reveal a novel mechanism of EBV in diverting the functions of MYC in malignant transformation and provide a rationale for targeting EBV’s roles in cell cycle modulation.
Thwarting Shared Decision Making Is an Egregious Medical Error: Let's Treat It Like One.

The authors of Empowerment Failure in this issue of the Journal emphasize that there are many ways in which physicians today pay tribute to patient autonomy. It has apparently become quite common f...
Spatial Release from Masking with a Moving Target

In the visual domain, a stationary object that is difficult to detect usually becomes far more salient if it moves while the objects around it do not. This "pop out" effect is important for parsing the visual world into figure/ground relationships that allow creatures to detect food, threats, etc. We tested for an auditory correlate to this visual effect by asking listeners to identify a single word, spoken by a female, embedded with two or four masking words spoken by males. Percentage correct scores were analyzed and compared between conditions where target and maskers were presented from the same position vs. when the target was presented from one position while maskers were presented from different positions. In some trials, the target word was moved across the speaker array using amplitude panning, while in other trials that target was played from a single, static position. Results showed a spatial release from masking for all conditions where the target and maskers were not located at the same position, but there was no statistically significant difference between identification performance when the target was moving vs. when it was stationary. These results suggest that, at least for short stimulus durations (0.75 s for the stimuli in this experiment), there is unlikely to be a "pop out" effect for moving target stimuli in the auditory domain as there is in the visual domain.
Virtual Reality, Psychology of

The term ‘virtual reality’ refers to a computer program that gives its users the sense of being in a world that exists outside physical space. The experience may be created through visual images and/or text. In some virtual realities we are alone as we navigate virtual oceans, unravel virtual mysteries, and engineer virtual skyscrapers. In others, we are in the company of other people, all connected to the same program and to each other through the Internet, the rapidly expanding global system of networks that links millions of personal computer users together. The psychology of virtual reality includes a broad set of questions, both because of the diversity of virtual environments and the wide range of psychological frameworks that may be brought to bear on their exploration. The perspective taken in this article necessarily narrows the field, focusing on the experience of the self in social virtual realities, environments where people interact with each other through their self-representation in computational worlds. The current practice of social virtual reality enables people to recast their notions of personal identity in more flexible terms, because they are able to use relationships in cyberspace to explore multiple aspects of self.
Superconductivity and anomalous phonon dispersion in TaC

The family of rocksalt-structure transition metal carbides and nitrides contains materials whose physical properties (such as hardness, melting temperature, and superconducting transition temperature T c ) tend toward extremes.1 Values of T c greater than 10°K and less than 0.1°K occur in closely related materials such as TaC and HfC (which are both good metals). Recently Smith and Glaser2 and Smith3 have reported inelastic neutron scattering studies of the phonon dispersion in several compounds. Their data clearly indicate that high values of T c are associated with phonon anomalies which are absent from the spectra of low-T c materials. In particular, TaC has sharply defined softening of the LA mode at large q in every direction which was measured, and similar behavior of the TA modes in many directions, while HfC has a nearly identical dispersion relation except for the lack of these anomalies.
Differential Pricing of Pharmaceuticals: Theory, Evidence and Emerging Issues.

Differential pricing—manufacturers varying prices for on-patent pharmaceuticals across markets—can, in theory, lead to increased patient access and improved research and development (R&D) incentives compared with charging a uniform price across markets. Theoretical models of price discrimination and Ramsey pricing support differentials based inversely on price elasticities, which are plausibly related to average per capita income. However, these models do not address absolute price levels and dynamic efficiency. Value-based differential pricing theory incorporates insurance coverage and addresses static and dynamic efficiency. Limited empirical evidence indicates a weak positive relationship between prices and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. External referencing and parallel trade undermine differential pricing. We discuss previously neglected factors that undermine differential pricing in practice. High price growth relative to GDP in the USA leads to widening differentials between the USA and other countries. Concerns over the effects of confidential rebating challenges acceptance of this approach to implementing price differentials. The growth of branded generics in low- and middle-income countries leads to complex markets with product and price differentiation.
Explaining declines in US rural mortality, 1910–1933: The role of county health departments

Abstract This study assesses the mortality decline associated with one of the first and most extensive rural public health efforts in the United States. Between 1908 and 1933, county governments enacted county health departments (CHDs) that provided sanitation and child-oriented health services. Using an event study design, I exploit variation in the location and timing of CHD arrival to measure the health effects. I find that CHD entry led to a decline in infant mortality, but provided little advantage to overall population health. For infants, CHDs prevented two deaths per 1000 births, which accounts for 8–10% of the period-specific mortality decline. The effect is most substantial in rural-only counties where infant mortality declines by roughly three deaths per 1000 births.
To be seen and/or heard: audience design in bimodal bilingual families

ABSTRACTFamilies with deaf parents and hearing children often demonstrate bimodal bilingualism, using both a signed and a spoken language. This study uses an audience design framework to analyze the home language use of two bimodal bilingual families in the United States. The school-age children in these families appeared to design their utterances for reception by their addressees while using as much speech as possible. All of the children demonstrated fluency in both American Sign Language and spoken English, and parent–child communication was generally easy and clear. The children typically signed to their parents, but the children in one family often included simultaneous speech when addressing the parent with the greatest receptive abilities for speech. They generally used only speech to address their siblings, leaving parents who were present to either request a translation or accept a degree of exclusion. However, in each family, the oldest child sometimes accommodated to the presence of a deaf par...
The case for the Freud-Breuer theory of hysteria: A response to Grünbaum's foundational objection to psychoanalysis.

ABSTRACTIn his influential critique of psychoanalysis, philosopher Adolf Grunbaum has repeatedly objected that the psychoanalytic enterprise has a foundational flaw in that its fundamental claim th...
The British Museum Should Return the Parthenon Marbles to Greece

This oped traces some of the arguments for the return of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to Greece.
Tools for End-to-end Analysis, Calibration and Troubleshooting of Synchrophasor Systems

The data quality issues in synchrophasor systems are quite complex and require new test methodology and tools to detect and mitigate the causes of bad data. This paper presents an approach for end-to-end testing of synchrophasor systems based on nested testing of the system components. It also introduces a portable device capable of performing calibration and troubleshooting tests on synchrophasor systems, from the components installed in substations to the ones installed in control centers. The capability to analyze each system component separately, one at a time, allows locating as well as characterizing data quality deterioration causes or any design anomalies very accurately. After the system components are tested, based on the obtained troubleshooting information, a comprehensive end-to-end calibration can be performed.
117 – Floquet Theory

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the yield and application of Floquet theory. It is applicable to linear ordinary differential equations with periodic coefficients, and periodic boundary conditions. It yields knowledge of whether all solutions are stable. It is found that if a linear differential equation has periodic coefficients, and periodic boundary conditions, then the solutions will generally be a periodic function times an exponentially increasing, or an exponentially decreasing function. Floquet theory will determine if the solution is exponentially increasing, or exponentially decreasing. An nth order linear ordinary differential equation whose coefficients are periodic with common period T is assumed. The general technique is to write the ordinary differential equation as a first-order vector system, of dimension n, and then the vector ordinary differential equation for any set of n linearly independent conditions is solved.
Kidney disease and nutrition in adults and children

Summary Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects over 20 million individuals in the United States and 752 million individuals worldwide. 1 Progressive kidney disease that leads to the need for dialysis (end-stage renal disease or ESRD) or transplantation affects over 700,000 individuals in the United States. CKD is defined as abnormalities of kidney structure or function present for >3 months, with stratification based on estimated glomerular filtration rate category and the magnitude of albuminuria. 2 The Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes group has updated the classification of CKD and changed the term “stage” to “grade,” as not all kidney disease is progressive, and noted that the presence or absence of albuminuria can greatly influence prognosis. 3 In this chapter, we describe in brief the primary nutritional and metabolic derangement in children and adults with CKD.
Outcomes of ST-elevation myocardial infarction by age and sex in a low-income urban community: The Montefiore STEMI Registry

OBJECTIVES To compare outcomes by age and sex in race/ethnic minorities presenting with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), as studies are limited. METHODS We studied sociodemographics, management, and outcomes in 1208 STEMI patients evaluated for primary percutaneous coronary intervention between 2008 and 2014 at Montefiore Health System (Bronx, NY). A majority of patients self-identified as nonwhite, and nearly two-thirds were young (<45 years) or middle-aged (45-64 years). RESULTS Risk factors varied significantly across age groups; with more women and non-Hispanic whites, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, prior cardiovascular disease, non-sinus rhythm, and collagen vascular disease in the older age group (≥65 years); and higher body mass index, smoking, cocaine use, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and family history of heart disease in the young. Younger women had lower summary socioeconomic scores than younger men. Middle-aged women had more obesity and dysmetabolism, while men had more heavy alcohol use. There was greater disease severity with increasing age; with higher cardiac biomarkers, 3-vessel disease, cardiogenic shock, and coronary artery bypass grafting. Older patients had higher rates of death and death or readmission over 4.3 (interquartile range 2.4, 6.0) years of follow-up. Middle-aged women had higher rates of death or any readmission than men, but these differences were not significant after adjustment. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate a high burden of risk factors in younger adults with STEMI from an inner-city community. Programs to target sociobehavioral factors in disadvantaged settings, including substance abuse, obesity, and risk of HIV, are necessary to more effectively address health disparities in STEMI and its adverse consequences.
Measuring and Teaching Confidence Calibration Among Radiologists: A Multi-Institution Study.

Abstract Objective Our purpose was to assess the calibration of resident, fellow, and attending radiologists on a simple image classification task (presence or absence of an anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] tear based on interpretation of sagittal proton density, fat-saturated MR images) and to assess whether teaching residents could improve their calibration. Methods We created a test containing 30 randomized, sagittal, proton density, fat-saturated MR images of the ACL (15 normal, 15 torn). This test was administered in person to 20 trainees and 3 attendings at one medical center in one state. An online version of the test was given to 23 trainees and 14 attendings from 11 other medical centers in nine other states. Subjects were asked to give their confidence level (0%-100%) that each ACL was torn. Results Cross-sectional data were collected from 60 radiologists (mean time after medical school = 9.3 years, minimum = 1 year, maximum = 36 years). This demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in calibration as a function of increasing experience (P = .020). Longitudinal data were collected from 12 trainees at the start and end of their musculoskeletal radiology rotation, with an intervening review of the primary and secondary signs of ACL tear on MR. A statistically significant improvement in calibration was noted during the rotation (P = .028). Conclusions Confidence calibration is a promising tool for quality improvement and radiologist self-assessment. Our study showed that calibration loss improves with experience in radiologists tested on a common and clinically important image classification task. We also demonstrated that calibration can be successfully taught to residents over a relatively short period (2-4 weeks).
Empirical Models for Multidimensional Regression of Fission Systems.

The development of next-generation autonomous control of fission systems, such as nuclear power plants, will require leveraging advancements in machine learning. For fission systems, accurate prediction of nuclear transport is important to quantify the safety margin and optimize performance. The state-of-the-art approach to this problem is costly Monte Carlo (MC) simulations to approximate solutions of the neutron transport equation. Such an approach is feasible for offline calculations e.g., for design or licensing, but is precluded from use as a model-based controller. In this work, we explore the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Gradient Boosting Regression (GBR), Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Support Vector Regression (SVR) to generate empirical models. The empirical model can then be deployed, e.g., in a model predictive controller. Two fission systems are explored: the subcritical MIT Graphite Exponential Pile (MGEP), and the critical MIT Research Reactor (MITR). Findings from this work establish guidelines for developing empirical models for multidimensional regression of neutron transport. An assessment of the accuracy and precision finds that the SVR, followed closely by ANN, performs the best. For both MGEP and MITR, the optimized SVR model exhibited a domain-averaged, test, mean absolute percentage error of 0.17 %. A spatial distribution of performance metrics indicates that physical regions of poor performance coincide with locations of largest neutron flux perturbation -- this outcome is mitigated by ANN and SVR. Even at local maxima, ANN and SVR bias is within experimental uncertainty bounds. A comparison of the performance vs. training dataset size found that SVR is more data-efficient than ANN. Both ANN and SVR achieve a greater than 7 order reduction in evaluation time vs. a MC simulation.
Real-world data for endoscopic therapy in LGD: not looking so good.

Low-grade dysplasia (LGD) in Barrett’s oesophagus (BE),1 due to the inconsistency in its diagnosis, identification and cancer progression, has been a management challenge for gastroenterologists. LGD, as classified by the Vienna classification, includes a histological subtype of BE where nuclei are hyperchromatic, enlarged and stratified, with this change extending to the surface epithelial cells and loss of surface maturation.2 However, there is a coexistent inflammation-mediated epithelial injury that can make the histopathological diagnosis difficult. There is significant variability in the histopathological diagnosis and progression rates of LGD. A recent, large, multicentre study involving pathologists from the USA and Europe demonstrated that the interobserver agreement (IOA) for the diagnosis of LGD is very poor (![Formula][1] ).3 Similarly, several other studies have shown IOAs ranging from 0.17 to 0.32.4 5 Similarly, there is also a wide range in progression rates (0.02%6– 11.4%4) from LGD to neoplasia, and other studies also report either regression or persistence of LGD without neoplastic progression. A recent study also demonstrated that BE referral centres identified high grade dysplasia/esophageal adenocarcinoma (HGD/EAC) in 27% of the patients referred with a recent diagnosis of LGD, suggesting overestimation of neoplastic progression.7 Thus, the current expert best practice recommendation is to have an expert gastrointestinal pathologist confirm the diagnosis of LGD,8–10 repeat examination with white-light endoscopy (consideration for virtual chromoendoscopy) within 3–6 months of confirmed LGD to rule out higher grade lesions, that is, coexisting high-grade dysplasia or cancer8 and consideration for either … [1]: /embed/mml-math-1.gif