cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transposition of the great arteries with aortic arch obstruction. Anatomical review and report of surgical management.

Transposition of the great arteries {S,D,D} is a common congenital cardiovascular malformation that is occasionally associated with ventricular septal defect and left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. Recently right ventricular outflow tract obstruction associated with an aortic arch anomaly has been recognized as an infrequent but important variant of transposition of the great arteries, and this constellation presents a unique surgical challenge. Five infants with this constellation whose systemic circulation was dependent on flow through the ductus arteriosus have undergone definitive surgical treatment with four survivors. An anatomical review of 129 specimens with transposition of the great arteries revealed that 17% had right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and 7% had associated aortic arch obstruction as well. All specimens with aortic arch obstruction and ventricular septal defect except one had a malalignment type ventricular septal defect. Although several treatment options may be considered, recent experience with arterial switch repair in the neonate with transposition of the great arteries {S,D,D} prompted repair in these patients by arterial switch, ventricular septal defect closure, repair of aortic arch obstruction, and augmentation of the right ventricular outflow tract.
The Contextual Analysis of Animal Interments and Ritual Practice in Southwestern North America

ABSTRACTAnimal burials are often encountered in excavations in southwestern North America. This paper identifies and contextually analyzes bird and mammal remains recovered from interment contexts in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. These data are presented in tabular form, followed by a contextual evaluation of patterns of interment. Three forms of interment are identified: 1) ceremonial trash, 2) dedicatory offerings, and 3) simple interment, including expedient disposal. While bird interments take the form of sacrifice followed by disposal as ceremonial trash, dogs are generally interred on the floors of pithouses or kivas as dedicatory offerings. Bird interments clustered around the period from A.D. 1050 to 1400; dog interments had substantially greater time depth. This contextual analysis demonstrates that patterning in animal interments can be recognized on a regional scale; similar analyses may be usefully applied to faunal data in other regions of the Americas in order to recons...
Alcohol and inflammation: a possible mechanism for protection against ischemic heart disease.

Aim Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with a decreased risk for ischemic heart disease. Increases in high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol may explain approximately 50% of this apparent benefit. Another potential mechanism may involve the effects of alcohol on systemic inflammation. Accordingly, the purpose of this article is to provide a narrative review of the literature concerning alcohol and inflammation. Data synthesis Relevant articles were identified by searching MEDLINE from 1966 to 2001. Search terms included alcohol or ethanol combined with inflammation, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, or tumor necrosis factor alpha. Important references from these articles were also identified and reviewed. Conclusions Considerable evidence exists from animal and human studies for potentially anti-inflammatory effects of alcohol consumption. Further research is needed to determine the effects of various patterns and levels of alcohol consumption on systemic markers of inflammation in humans.
Novel Nanostructures and Nanodevices of ZnO

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the novel nanostructures and nanodevices of zinc oxide (ZnO). ZnO is a unique material that exhibits semiconducting and piezoelectric dual properties. Using a solid–vapor phase thermal sublimation technique, nanowires, nanobelts, nanocages, nanocombs, nanosprings, seamless nanorings and nanohelixes of ZnO have been synthesized under specific growth conditions. These unique nanostructures unambiguously demonstrate that ZnO probably has the richest family of nanostructures among all materials, both in structures and in properties. The nanostructures could have novel applications in optoelectronics, sensors, transducers, and biomedical sciences. Nanostructured ZnO materials have received broad attention due to their distinguished performance in electronics, optics, and photonics. The chapter reviews the potential applications and novel nanodevices demonstrated for ZnO nanostructures along with the unique nanostructures that have been grown for ZnO and their corresponding growth mechanisms.
Cloud-native, event-based programming for mobile applications

Creating mobile applications often requires both client and server- side code development, each requiring vastly differentskills. Recently, cloud providers like Amazon and Google introduced "server-less" programming models that abstract away many infrastructure concerns and allow developers to focus on their application logic. In this demonstration, we introduce OpenWhisk, our system for constructing cloud native actions, within the context of mobile application development process. We demonstrate how OpenWhisk is used in mobile application development, allows cloud API customizations for mobile, and simplifies mobile application architectures.
Dynamic procurement from multiple suppliers with random capacities

We study a periodic-review inventory model. In each period, the buyer can source from N suppliers that have random capacities. The optimal ordering policy for this problem has been shown to be a reorder point policy in a setting that includes price-dependent demand (Feng and Shi in Prod Oper Manag 21(3):547–563, 2012). We show that if one of the suppliers is reliable, then the optimal order quantity from each unreliable and cheaper supplier stays constant when inventory level is less than the reorder point of the reliable supplier. This implies that having one reliable supplier would result in a relatively stable ordering policy, despite the unreliability of the rest of the suppliers. For the special case of sourcing from two suppliers, we first prove that the optimal policy is monotone in the inventory level. Then, we provide insights into order allocation between an expensive but more reliable supplier and a cheaper but less reliable one. Specifically, the optimal policy tends to allocate more units to the more reliable one when inventory level is low. For the special case of all-or-nothing supply, there is a threshold such that if the inventory is below the threshold, then the expensive supplier’s order quantity is larger than that of the cheaper. Finally, we show that the marginal cost of holding inventory increases, while the optimal order quantities decrease over the planning horizon.
Towards solving the hard problem of consciousness

The hard problem of consciousness is the problem of explaining how we experience qualia or phenomenal experiences, such as seeing, hearing, and feeling, and knowing what they are. To solve this problem, a theory of consciousness needs to link brain to mind by modeling how emergent properties of several brain mechanisms interacting together embody detailed properties of individual conscious psychological experiences. This article summarizes evidence that Adaptive Resonance Theory, or ART, accomplishes this goal. ART is a cognitive and neural theory of how advanced brains autonomously learn to attend, recognize, and predict objects and events in a changing world. ART has predicted that all conscious states are resonant states as part of its specification of mechanistic links between processes of consciousness, learning, expectation, attention, resonance, and synchrony. It hereby provides functional and mechanistic explanations of data ranging from individual spikes and their synchronization to the dynamics of conscious perceptual, cognitive, and cognitiveemotional experiences. ART has reached sufficient maturity to begin classifying the brain resonances that support conscious experiences of seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing. Psychological and neurobiological data in both normal individuals and clinical patients are clarified by this classification. This analysis also explains why not all resonances become conscious, and why not all brain dynamics are resonant. The global organization of the brain into computationally complementary cortical processing streams (complementary computing), and the organization of the cerebral cortex into characteristic layers of cells (laminar computing), figure prominently in these explanations of conscious and unconscious processes. Alternative models of consciousness are also discussed.
Rapid degradation of mutant SLC25A46 by the ubiquitin-proteasome system results in MFN1/2-mediated hyperfusion of mitochondria

SCL25A46 is a mitochondrial carrier protein that surprisingly localizes to the outer membrane and is distantly related to Ugo1. Here we show that a subset of SLC25A46 interacts with mitochondrial dynamics components and the MICOS complex. Decreased expression of SLC25A46 results in increased stability and oligomerization of MFN1 and MFN2 on mitochondria, promoting mitochondrial hyperfusion. A mutation at L341P causes rapid degradation of SLC25A46, which manifests as a rare disease, pontocerebellar hypoplasia. The E3 ubiquitin ligases MULAN and MARCH5 coordinate ubiquitylation of SLC25A46 L341P, leading to degradation by organized activities of P97 and the proteasome. Whereas outer mitochondrial membrane-associated degradation is typically associated with apoptosis or a specialized type of autophagy termed mitophagy, SLC25A46 degradation operates independently of activation of outer membrane stress pathways. Thus SLC25A46 is a new component in mitochondrial dynamics that serves as a regulator for MFN1/2 oligomerization. Moreover, SLC25A46 is selectively degraded from the outer membrane independently of mitophagy and apoptosis, providing a framework for mechanistic studies in the proteolysis of outer membrane proteins.
Standardized testing of non-standard photovoltaic pavement surfaces

Emerging photovoltaic products have expanded the applications for the technologies into markets previously unconsidered for what was thought to be a delicate electronic product. One company leading this effort, Solar Roadways, Incorporated, is producing pavement replacing photovoltaic systems and proposing their use in everything from sidewalks to runways. Current pavement testing methods cannot be applied to these non-homogenous structures to identify if they can support the required loads. However, the standards called out specifically for pavements may be able to be translated to these products and their non-homogenous structures and non-standard materials to identify if they are able to perform similarly to standard pavements. This research modified existing test standards in several ways: rigid pavements standards for advanced loading, structural adhesive standards for shear loading, structure specific standards for moisture conditioning, and application specific standards for freeze/thaw cycling. These modifications are due to the fact that the materials in these emerging products do not have established tests to evaluate their performance in non-traditional applications. The future of electronics is dependent on product unique applications. This, in turn, requires finding methods of testing them based on application, extrapolation, or correlation to traditional material testing which enables faster product development and subsequent roll out.
Lanterna de luz mórbida - Érico Veríssimo e os problemas raciais nos Estados Unidos

As of the 1940s, through his travel narratives, interviews and lectures, Erico Verissimo became one of the most important interpreters of the United States for Brazilians. In His Excellency, the Ambassador and O Prisioneiro [The Prisoner], Verissimo incorporates into fiction key issues of the North American reality, such as the “black problem”. In this article, we seek to analyze Verissimo›s approach to racial tensions in the United States, especially in his two travel books to the United States, Gato Preto em Campo de Neve [Black Cat in a Field of Snow] and A Volta do Gato Preto [The Return of the Black Cat]. The central idea is that over the years Verissimo refines his understanding of the American society and proposes a more complex and less optimistic view of the racial strife afflicting it
The Problem of Inferring Selection and Evolutionary History from Molecular Data

Population genetics has gone through several periods of intense theoretical and empirical advancement, in part characterized by polarization of views, and each followed by what might be characterized as pessimism and frustration at the failure to arrive at definitive conclusions. For example, the discovery of extensive chromosomal polymorphism in Drosophila contributed to the polarized views in the 1940s and 1950s concerning the extent of genetic polymorphism in natural populations and to whether mutation pressure and drift or balancing selection maintained this variation (reviewed in Lewontin, 1974). Allozymes revealed a great wealth of genetic variation in populations, leading to debate as to whether selection could maintain all of this polymorphism. These data and the newly acquired amino acid sequence data motivated the development of the view that most evolution at the molecular level was driven by drift, with selection playing primarily a constraint role, eliminating strongly deleterious mutations, and only rarely playing a creative role in adaptive change (in relative terms compared to the total number of nucleotides in the genome) (Kimura, 1983). Largely because of the ease of allozyme data collection, the “static sample” approach (Lewontin, 1991) of population genetics grew at an enormous rate, leading to the documentation of levels of variation in a tremendous diversity of organisms.
The checklist of photosynthetic euglenoids (order Euglenales) of the Czech Republic: ecology, taxonomy, distribution

This study brings results of a floristic survey of photosynthetic euglenoids. Data in this survey come from a floristic examination of more than 200 localities during the years 2008–2014 in combination with the literature data recorded from the end of 19 th century to the present. In this work, 284 euglenoid taxa which belong to the genera Colacium (6 taxa), Cryptoglena (2 species), Discoplastis (1 species), Euglena (48 taxa), Euglenaformis (1 species), Euglenaria (3 species), Lepocinclis (36 taxa), Monomorphina (7 species), Phacus (71 taxa), Strombomonas (16 taxa) and Trachelomonas (93 taxa) are listed. Four categories of rarity were designed — common (52 taxa), rare (44 taxa), very rare (120 taxa) and data deficient (68 taxa). In checklist, ecological characteristics (colonized habitats, life strategy, level of rarity) of taxa are shown. Number of species is compared with several works from European countries (Hungary, Great Britain, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine). Taxonomic notes and new combinations reflecting recent works based on molecular-morphology are made and discussed. Results of this study bring next part to the knowledge of the Czech Republic algal flora.
Abstract 13179: Bare Metal vs Drug Eluting Stent Choice: The Impact of Atrial Fibrillation and Setting of Care Among Medicare Beneficiaries

Background: In treating coronary artery disease, many factors influence the choice of bare metal (BMS) or drug eluting stents (DES), including bleeding risk and suitability for prolonged dual anti-platelet therapy (DAPT). Atrial fibrillation (AF) further complicates this choice. We examined stent selection among Medicare beneficiaries by AF status to explore how cardiologists are managing this complex choice overall and how this choice varies across academic medical centers (AMC). Methods: Using a 100% Medicare denominator file and associated inpatient claims (2008-2012), we identified patients over age 65 receiving inpatient coronary artery stents. We measured BMS and DES use in AF and non-AF patients overall and assessed variation in stent choice across 50 high volume AMCs. Results: Overall, 1,269,239 stent procedures were studied. BMS, as a percent of total inpatient stents, declined from 2008 to 2012 in AF (41% to 34%) and non-AF (30% to 21%) patients. Across high volume AMCs in 2012, the proportion of stent patients receiving BMS (5th to 95th percentile) ranged from 15% to 63% in AF patients and from 8% to 37% in non-AF patients. In 2012, the AMC-level difference in BMS stent use by AF status (proportion of BMS among AF patients minus proportion BMS in non-AF patients) ranged from 4% to 35% (5th to 95th percentile). Conclusions: Among stent recipients, AF patients are more likely to receive BMS than non-AF patients but treatment varies widely across AMCs, suggesting a lack of consensus. Studies of stent choice and outcomes among AF patients are needed to guide care decisions and optimize outcomes.
THE INTERRELATIONSHIP OF LANGUAGE AND THE BRAIN AND LANGUAGE DISORDERS IN AUGMENTATIVE AND ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATION (AAC): FINDINGS FROM A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This study presents a systematic literature review focusing on the Interrelationship of Language and the Brain and Language Disorders in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) based on a number of published researches in several refereed international journals available in various online databases. A repertory grid was utilized to plot the responses to the research questions posted. The data on the grid were analyzed to be able to identify the various gaps in the researches conducted. Consequently, this study yields the following concepts: the Role of Assistive Technology and Mediation, Interventions in AAC, and Focus on AAC Outcomes. It is concluded that these concepts should form part of the compendia to be used by language teachers, especially those specializing in psycholinguistics and AAC. Finally, the paper presents suggestions for further research into AAC and psycholinguistics per se.
Home Environment and Self‐Efficacy Beliefs among Native American, African American, and Latino Adolescents

Context helps determine what individuals experience in the settings they inhabit. Context also helps determine the likelihood that those experiences will promote adaptive development. Theory suggests likely interplay between various aspects of home context and development of ideas about self that influence patterns of development for children. This study addressed relations between two aspects of home life (companionship and investment, modeling and encouragement) and three types of self-efficacy beliefs (enlisting social resources, independent learning, self-regulatory behavior) considered important for long-term adaptive functioning. The study focused on three groups of minority adolescents (Native American, African American, Latino). Relations were examined using regression models that also included four aspects of household risk that often hinder the development of self-efficacy. Although findings varied somewhat across the three groups, significant relations emerged between the two domains of home life examined and self-efficacy beliefs in all three groups, even controlling for overall household risk. Companionship and investment appeared particularly relevant for African American adolescents, while modeling and encouragement appeared particularly relevant for Native American adolescents. Both were relevant for Latino adolescents.
Technique for Docking and Port Placement Using a Purpose-built Robotic System (SP1098) in Human Cadaver.

Abstract Objectives To describe step-by-step the port placement and the robot docking of the new purpose-built robotic platform for R-LESS. The feasibility of different approaches to the pelvic fossa and the retroperitoneum was reported in cadaver models. Methods This was a preclinical study on human cadavers to assess the feasibility of the da Vinci SP1098 surgical system for R-LESS pelvic fossa and retroperitoneal urological surgeries. We used the SP1098 to perform R-LESS prostatectomies and cystoprostatectomies with transperineal and transvesical approaches, and nephrectomies (radical or partial) with retroperitoneal approach. The primary outcome was to report the port placement and docking. The technical feasibility of the procedures was then demonstrated as measured by the need for adjunctive ports or the occurrence of intraoperative complications. Operative times were recorded. Results A total of 14 procedures were performed on 12 human cadavers. Namely 4 prostatectomies and 2 cystoprostatectomies with transperineal approach, 3 transvesical prostatectomies, 1 retroperitoneal radical, and 4 retroperitoneal partial nephrectomies. Operative times were in line with those of standard multiport robotic surgery. Neither additional ports nor percutaneous instruments were required. No intraoperative complications occurred. Limitations include the preclinical model, the small sample size, and the lack of a control group. Conclusion In this preclinical model, the port placement and robot docking using the SP1098 robotic platform is reproducible and feasible for pelvic fossa and retroperitoneal urological surgeries.
Air Force Requirements for NDE of Composites

This paper covers Air Force requirements and future needs for nondestructive evaluation in composite materials. Although composites have received only limited use in current airframe structures, vertical and horizontal stabilizers of fighter aircraft for example, aircraft on the drawing board or in testing employ graphite-fiber reinforced composites much more extensively. To anticipate the inspection requirements of these complex materials is not an easy task. Yet, many years of materials testing and the experience gained through limited service application certainly indicate the directions this work should take.
Conidia of Coccidioides immitis

Airborne fungal spores (sporangiospores, ascospores, basidiospores, and conidia) are ubiquitous (Gregory, 1973; Cole and Samson, 1984) and a source of constant aggravation to individuals suffering from inhalant allergy (Hoffman, 1984). Mold components of the air spora also represent a threat to immunocompromised patients, particularly those undergoing chemotherapy for cancer or individuals presenting with advanced stages of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS; Bronnimann et al., 1987; Musial et al.,1988). Fungi which cause respiratory infections in humans are typically opportunistic pathogens (Cox, 1983). Coccidioides immitis, however, is somewhat of an anomaly among the systemic fungal pathogens. The saprobic phase of this imperfect fungus inhabits arid soil in regions of the southwestern United States, Mexico, Central and South America (Pappagianis, 1988). Its tiny, air-dispersed conidia, if inhaled, can initiate a human respiratory disease known as valley fever (coccidioidomycosis), which is characterized by a unique parasitic cycle (Cole and Sun, 1985; Zimmer and Pappagianis, 1986a). Results of clinical studies of coccidioidomycosis have suggested that immunologically compromising illnesses, although present in some patients who have contracted this mycosis (Deresinski and Stevens, 1975; Roberts, 1984; Bronnimann et al., 1987), are not prerequisite to infection (Pappagianis, 1975; Rutala and Smith, 1978; Cox, 1983). Coccidioides,therefore, is potentially a primary pathogen. It is also an appropriate experimental model for examining both the nature of host interaction with the fungal propagule and the mechanisms by which the pathogen is able to survive in this new, hostile environment. The focus of this chapter is on the infectious conidium of C. immitis,and in particular the conidial wall.
Epileptiform activity in the CA1 region of the hippocampus becomes refractory to attenuation by cannabinoids in part because of endogenous γ-aminobutyric acid type B receptor activity.

The anticonvulsant properties of marijuana have been known for centuries. The recently characterized endogenous cannabinoid system thus represents a promising target for novel anticonvulsant agents; however, administration of exogenous cannabinoids has shown mixed results in both human epilepsy and animal models. The ability of cannabinoids to attenuate release of both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters may explain the variable effects of cannabinoids in different models of epilepsy, but this has not been well explored. Using acute mouse brain slices, we monitored field potentials in the CA1 region of the hippocampus to characterize systematically the effects of the cannabinoid agonist WIN55212-2 (WIN) on evoked basal and epileptiform activity. WIN, acting presynaptically, significantly reduced the amplitude and slope of basal field excitatory postsynaptic potentials as well as stimulus-evoked epileptiform responses induced by omission of magnesium from the extracellular solution. In contrast, the combination of omission of magnesium plus elevation of potassium induced an epileptiform response that was refractory to attenuation by WIN. The effect of WIN in this model was partially restored by blocking γ-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB), but not GABAA, receptors. Subtle differences in models of epileptiform activity can profoundly alter the efficacy of cannabinoids. Endogenous GABAB receptor activation played a role in the decreased cannabinoid sensitivity observed for epileptiform activity induced by omission of magnesium plus elevation of potassium. These results suggest that interplay between presynaptic G protein-coupled receptors with overlapping downstream targets may underlie the variable efficacy of cannabinoids in different models of epilepsy. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Die Simplexmethode mit Benutzung von Multiplikatoren

Wahrend jede Iteration der Simplexniethode verlangt, das ein vollstandig neues Tableau berechnet und aufgeschrieben werden mus, so kann man sehen, das nur die modifizierte Kostenzeile und diejenige Spalte, die der in die Basismenge eintretenden Variablen entspricht, eine Rolle in dem Entscheidungsprozes spielen. Die Idee der „Simplexmethode mit Benutzung von Multiplikatoren“ besteht darin, eine Menge von Zahlen, die Simplexmultiplikatoren (Preise) heisen, und die Inverse der Basis zu benutzen, um direkt aus den ursprunglichen Gleichungen die zum Fallen der notigen Entscheidungen verlangte Information zu erhalten. Diese Methode ist in der Literatur auch unter dem Namen revidierte Simplexmethode [Dantzig und Orchard-Hays, 1953-1] bekannt; im Gegensatz dazu nennt man die Simplexmethode ohne Multiplikatoren (Kapitel 5) auch die regulare Simplexmetliode.
III.A. Congenital Vascular Vitreoretinopathies

Congenital vitreoretinopathies manifest in the pediatric or adult population in a variety of ways and cause varying levels of vision loss. These conditions can also be influenced by environmental factors, as in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), or be associated with inheritance involving autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked patterns or be sporadic, as with familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR). As more is learned regarding gene associations, it is anticipated that complex genetic interactions may also play a role in the pathophysiology. Given the rarity of the diseases and their variable manifestations, along with the difficulty of obtaining longitudinal clinical information in the pediatric population, correct diagnosis and treatment can be quite challenging.
Peer Feedback for Learning Mathematics

AbstractThis article describes Peer-Assisted Reflection (PAR), a cycle for engaging students with rich mathematical problems. PAR gives students an opportunity to receive peer feedback and revise t...
Investigating effects of criterial consistency, the diversity dimension, and threshold variation in formulaic language research: Extending the methodological considerations of O’Donnell et al. (2013)

O’Donnell et al. (2013) considered four measures of formulaicity and reported that they produced different results concerning the effects of expertise and first/second language status on formulaic sequence usage in academic writing. The current study explores several additional methodological issues using the same dataset from O’Donnell et al. (2013). We first motivate the need for criterial consistency and investigate whether frequency- and association-based measures yield different results when they are both obtained using corpus-internal criteria. The informativeness of the diversity dimension of formulaic sequence use is then gauged by comparing the results of phrase-frame type-token ratio against those of other measures. Finally, we profile formulaic sequence distribution across quartiles of different measures to assess the effect of variable measure thresholds. Our findings highlight the criticality of issues of criterial consistency, formulaic sequence diversity, and threshold variation in formulaic language research.
The Rebirth of Time: Sir. Francis Bacon and the Origins of Modernity

Modernity properly speaking begins with Sir. Francis Bacon. Alternate accounts of modernity as beginning either with secularism or with Machiavelli (Strauss), while having partial validity are less compelling than the account of the genesis of modernity in the birth of the technological mind. Secularism is an effect not a cause of technologism by giving credibility to the idea of human self-sufficiency, while political realism was already a recognized factor in ancient Greece. The centrality of technology to modernity has been recognized as its salient feature by more recent thinkers from Marx to Heidegger. But it was Bacon who inaugurated modernity by his frontal assault on the authority of Aristotle and his conception of rationality. Though drawing on Aristotle for his inductive methodology, he critiques three fundamental assumptions of Aristotelianism. These are first the anti-utilitarian conception of Aristotle which sees wisdom as having inherent nobility quite apart from any practical considerations and consequences. Secondly, is Aristotle’s hierarchy of the sciences which privilege the theoretic sciences over the practical ones, which formed the basis for the historical privileging of the liberal arts over the mechanical arts (technology.) Third, is Aristotle’s characterization of the theoretic life which contemplates truth for its own sake as the highest. All these inter-related claims of Aristotelianism will become increasingly suspect under the impact of Baconianism which provides the foundation stone for much of the later modern outlook.
The Pharmacology of Nociceptor Priming

Nociceptors and neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) that receive nociceptive input show remarkable plasticity in response to injury. This plasticity is thought to underlie the development of chronic pain states. Hence, further understanding of the molecular mechanisms driving and maintaining this plasticity has the potential to lead to novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of chronic pain states. An important concept in pain plasticity is the presence and persistence of “hyperalgesic priming.” This priming arises from an initial injury and results in a remarkable susceptibility to normally subthreshold noxious inputs causing a prolonged pain state in primed animals. Here we describe our current understanding of how this priming is manifested through changes in signaling in the primary nociceptor as well as through memory like alterations at CNS synapses. Moreover, we discuss how commonly utilized analgesics, such as opioids, enhance priming therefore potentially contributing to the development of persistent pain states. Finally we highlight where these priming models draw parallels to common human chronic pain conditions. Collectively, these advances in our understanding of pain plasticity reveal a variety of targets for therapeutic intervention with the potential to reverse rather than palliate chronic pain states.
Stercoral Perforation in a Patient on Suboxone Treatment.

Background Opioids are a common cause of constipation, which can lead to fecal impaction, colonic ulceration, necrosis, and perforation. Although uncommon, stercoral perforation is a serious complication and carries high rates of morbidity and mortality. Prompt surgical intervention is essential to optimize outcomes. Case Presentation We present a 33-year-old Caucasian female who was transferred for management of nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. She had a history of multiple abdominal surgeries and began using prescription opioids for pain management 10 years ago and began using IV heroin 7 years ago. She had recently completed several weeks of methadone inpatient rehabilitation and was in remission with suboxone therapy. On exam, she had tachycardia and significant abdominal tenderness. She had leukocytosis. The patient received medical management for ileus, abdominal pain, and anxiety with tap water enema, IV fluids, cefepime, metronidazole, lorazepam, phytonadione, acetaminophen, pantoprazole, ondansetron, quetiapine, calcium gluconate, and suboxone. A CT scan indicated perforation in the distal sigmoid colon with feculent peritonitis, and the patient was taken to the operating room for emergency laparotomy and required a total colectomy and end ileostomy. She was stabilized and discharged home and returned several weeks later for intraperitoneal drain placement. She did not have further associated complications. Conclusion Stercoral perforation is a rare but serious complication of chronic constipation. Patients with long-term opioid use have an increased risk for stercoral perforation, and there should be a low threshold for imaging and prompt intervention to avoid this life-threatening complication.
A talker-independent deep learning algorithm to increase intelligibility for hearing-impaired listeners in reverberant competing talker conditions

Deep learning based speech separation or noise reduction needs to generalize to voices not encountered during training and to operate under multiple corruptions. The current study provides such a demonstration for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners. Sentence intelligibility was assessed under conditions of a single interfering talker and substantial amounts of room reverberation. A talker-independent deep computational auditory scene analysis (CASA) algorithm was employed, in which talkers were separated and dereverberated in each time frame (simultaneous grouping stage), then the separated frames were organized to form two streams (sequential grouping stage). The deep neural networks consisted of specialized convolutional neural networks, one based on U-Net and the other a temporal convolutional network. It was found that every HI (and normal-hearing, NH) listener received algorithm benefit in every condition. Benefit averaged across all conditions ranged from 52 to 76 percentage points for individual HI listeners and averaged 65 points. Further, processed HI intelligibility significantly exceeded unprocessed NH intelligibility. Although the current utterance-based model was not implemented as a real-time system, a perspective on this important issue is provided. It is concluded that deep CASA represents a powerful framework capable of producing large increases in HI intelligibility for potentially any two voices.
Comparing the Impact of Household Gun Ownership and Concealed Carry Legislation on the Frequency of Mass Shootings and Firearms Homicide

Although mass shootings have fueled calls for large-scale changes in gun ownership and concealed carry legislation over the past thirty years, few studies have evaluated whether permissive gun poli...
Safety-Guaranteed Learning-Predictive Control for Aggressive Autonomous Vehicle Maneuvers

This paper seeks to securely maximize the maneuverability of autonomous vehicles using a nonlinear learning-predictive controller to enable safety-guaranteed aggressive vehicle maneuvers. In the design, a data-driven Gaussian process on polynomial basis (GPPB) method is used to improve vehicle dynamics model accuracy and sum-of-square (SOS) technique is employed to estimate the vehicle operation safety boundary. A nonlinear model predictive controller is designed to incorporate the GPPB-based model and the SOS-enhanced safety region estimation. Experimental and comparison results with other two benchmark control designs on a scaled vehicle testbed demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.
Labor for community on Facebook

Digital platforms like Facebook offer marginalized individuals an appealing opportunity: to connect with others like them on a global scale. Transgender and nonbinary individuals, for example, can join ‘support groups’. However, these individuals also risk being ‘outed’ or targeted with hate-speech on a platform that offers visibility and connection. Excellent scholarship has critiqued the ways platforms perpetuate inequalities. However, few have examined the labor of human administrators who build support groups for gender identity minorities, despite these inequalities. This article asks how admin labor processes, both tangible and emotional, expose the cost of constructing a community on Facebook. Using a queer studies lens, it explores how administrators construct felt-belonging, sustain support, and defend members from being outed or targeted. Vetting new members and moderating group content act as repetitive labor processes which reiterate shared cultural ideologies of the community. This research finds something paradoxical: the feeling of disappointment fuels administrators’ commitment to continue difficult emotional labor. Paying attention to labor, especially emotional labor, reveals new tools for theorizing digital subjects and digitally-mediated social life. These tools refocus scholarly attention on why users turn to digital spaces and the human cost of sustaining community processes online. The case of gender identity support groups reveal that emotion, particularly disappointment, serves as an important lens with which to critique the sort of community digital contexts can offer “Normative conventions and our own creative repetitions are there along the way to help quell the panic we might feel at the prospect of becoming exhausted or dead before we can make sense of ourselves.”-Lauren Berlant, Cruel Optimism (2011) p.125 .
Risk for substance use among adolescents at-risk for childhood victimization: The moderating role of ADHD.

Abstract Background Youth who are victimized by violence are at heightened risk for substance use (SU) during adolescence, a period characterized by elevated impulsivity and risk-taking behavior. This risk may be magnified by attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Objective To examine risk/protective factors for adolescent SU among adolescents at-risk for victimization and whether ADHD moderates these associations. Participants and setting Participants were 1058 caregiver-adolescent dyads in the U.S. who participated in the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect (LONGSCAN). Method Binary logistic regression analyses were conducted for each SU type. First-order effects of all variables were tested first and for each SU outcome, followed by tests of two-way interactions between ADHD group and each predictor, after controlling for first-order effects. Results More externalizing behavior (odds ratio [OR] = 1.38; 95 % confidence interval [CI]:1.12, 1.71) and less parental knowledge (OR = .75; 95 %CI: .60, .95) were associated with greater risk for subsequent tobacco use. Less positive peer affiliation was associated with greater risk for subsequent illicit SU (OR = .59; 95 %CI: .36, .96). More deviant peer affiliation were associated with greater risk for all forms of SU. ADHD moderated the association between deviant peer affiliation and marijuana use [b = .9, p Conclusions Findings suggest risk and protective factors for SU are largely consistent for adolescents at-risk for victimization with and without ADHD, but at-risk adolescents with ADHD may be more susceptible to deviant peer influences.
3-D Printed Directional Couplers in Circular Waveguide

The design of an additively manufactured circular waveguide 3-dB hybrid directional coupler is proposed and demonstrated. Asymmetric corner radius perturbations at the in-plane orthogonal junction of the four waveguides along with curvilinear inductive posts designed to interact with the TE11 mode of the circular waveguide are used to facilitate directivity and isolation. Capacitive waveguide perturbations at each of the four ports provide impedance matching. The proposed design is engineered to operate within $V$ -band from 57 to 64 GHz and provide both 10-dB isolation and return loss and a 90° phase difference between the direct and coupled ports. A commercially available stereolithography (SLA) printer is used to fabricate the hybrid coupler as well as the rectangular-to-circular tapered mode transducers and the thru, reflect, line (TRL) calibration components required for experiments. The printed couplers are metallized using an electroless silver plating process by a closed-loop bidirectional multiport pump-driven fluidic system. Results from the experiment and the simulation are provided.
Financial Technology and the 1990s Housing Boom

This paper measures the effects of automated mortgage underwriting systems on leverage and house prices during the 1990s. In addition to reducing processing times, these systems expanded credit access by incorporating new rules informed by statistical analysis. In particular, Freddie Mac’s underwriting system, Loan Prospector, applied a proprietary set of rules which allowed lenders to approve loans with high debt-to-income ratios. I obtain a list of lenders who were using Loan Prospector shortly after its release in 1995, and use variation in the market share of these lenders to study the effect on house prices. I show that early adopters of Loan Prospector expanded high leverage lending, and that counties exposed to these lenders experienced substantial relative growth in house prices starting in 1995. Based on my estimates, I argue that gradual adoption of the GSEs’ underwriting systems can explain a substantial share of U.S. house price growth during the late 1990s.
De-sign a Greater Reality

A sign is communication. A sign is something that represents something. Are products signs? Signs are objects or events whose presence or occurrence indicates the probable presence or occurrence of something else. Do products communicate? If our designs do not communicate then they may not be adequate solutions. In product design, if there is no ‘sign’ then has the designer failed? A designed object or system needs to express purpose. We are all familiar with exit signs in buildings that directs us to a door. The exit sign is real, but the exit sign points to a greater reality, which is the doorway where one exits the building. This paper will explore the reality of user experience in product design as a greater reality.
Real-world antithrombotic treatment variability in patients undergoing peripheral vascular intervention: Insights from the VQI registry.

Abstract For those undergoing peripheral vascular interventions (PVI), guidelines indicate the use of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is reasonable (Class IIb), but recommendations have not reached the highest level of evidence. In the largest effort to date, we found that antithrombotic prescription was dominated by single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) (51.4%) before PVI, which switched to DAPT (57.7%) following PVI, with some patients still remaining on no therapy (8%). High site variability in prescription rates (median odds ratio: 1.40, 95% confidence interval: 1.32, 1.48) was not much explained by patient and provider factors, revealing a need for the creation and integration of the newest trial data and for interventions at the health system or practice level to help physicians determine the optimal medical therapy following PVI.
Microbial Production of Poly-β-Hydroxybutyric Acid from d-Xylose and Lactose by Pseudomonas cepacia

Poly-beta-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) was produced from xylose and lactose by using Pseudomonas cepacia. Approximately 50% PHB (grams of PHB total/grams of biomass total) was produced. With a laser-based fluorescent probe, beta-galactosidase activity was shown to be induced in P. cepacia cells grown on lactose but not in those grown on glucose or xylose. P. cepacia has the potential to produce biodegradable thermoplastics from hemicellulosic hydrolysates and cheese whey.
Ross Wilson, Shelley and the Apprehension of Life and Peter Larkin, Wordsworth and Coleridge: Promising Losses

Review by Stuart Allen (Bridgewater State University, Massachusetts) of Ross Wilson, Shelley and the Apprehension of Life . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. Pp. 241. £60. ISBN 9781107041226 and Peter Larkin, Wordsworth and Coleridge: Promising Losses . New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Pp. xx. £58. ISBN 9780230337367.
Identification of a Novel Breast- and Salivary Gland-specific, Mucin-like Gene Strongly Expressed in Normal and Tumor Human Mammary Epithelium

Expression profiling using the public expressed sequence tag (EST) and serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) databases resulted in the identification of a putative breast-specific mRNA that we have termed small breast epithelial mucin (SBEM). Hybridization analysis performed on 43 normal human tissues revealed that the SBEM gene was only expressed in mammary and salivary glands. Further reverse-transcription PCR analyses confirmed SBEM expression in most of established human breast epithelial cell lines analyzed (7 of 8) but not in cell lines of non-breast origin (0 of 6). SBEM mRNA expression was detected in >90% of invasive ductal carcinomas and correlated with the expression of a previously characterized breast-specific gene, mammaglobin-1 (n = 54; Spearman r = 0.34, P = 0.011). Interestingly, a higher SBEM:mammaglobin-1 ratio was observed in primary tumors with axillary lymph node metastasis than in node-negative tumors (n = 46; Mann-Whitney, P = 0.04). In a subset of 20 primary breast tumors and their matched axillary lymph nodes, a high concordance (Fisher's exact test, P < 0.001) was seen between PCR detection of SBEM mRNA in lymph node tissue and their histopathological status, indicating that SBEM mRNA expression is conserved in nodal metastasis. The SBEM gene is predicted to code for a putative low molecular weight, secreted sialoglycoprotein, potentially useful for the diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer.
High-affinity TCRs confer antigen sensitivity in HIV gag-specific effector CD8 T cells (VAC7P.991)

Virus infected cells are eliminated by CTLs when TCR recognizes viral Ag on MHC. Previously, we demonstrated that HIV-1-GAG specific high-affinity (ha) TCR enhanced CD8 T cell killing of HIV-1-infected cells. To elucidate why haTCR expressing T cells were better at controlling HIV-1 replication, we asked whether WT or haTCRs expressing primary human T cells had a distinct cytokine profile when stimulated with monomeric pMHC attached to magnetic beads. In this minimalistic T cell activation system, we observed robust IFNγ, TNFα, IL-2 and MIP1β induction in the presence or absence of CD28 stimulation. Interestingly, αCD3 coated beads do not induce cytokine expression. Previously, we and others demonstrated that αCD3 stimulation failed to induce AKT activation, which has a prominent role in cytokine production. Here, TCR signaling alone activates AKT. Next, we addressed whether T cells expressing haTCRs were able to respond to less Ag, and thereby control HIV-1 replication better by destroying HIV-1 infected cells before they could effectively spread the virus. By mixing various ratios of cognate pMHC with non-cognate pMHC on magnetic beads, we show that CD8 T cells, and not CD4 T cells, expressing haTCRs are able to induce Ag specific activation of phospho-ERK1/2 and -AKT with a ~10 fold increased sensitivity when compared with WT TCR expressing T cells. Thus, implicating CD8 as playing an important role in regulating how a T cell perceives differences in TCR affinity.