cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Transcatheter Management of the Neonate and Infant with Pulmonary Atresia and Intact Ventricular Septum

The optimal management of the neonate and infant with pulmonary atresia (PA) and intact ventricular septum (IVS) remains controversial. The ultimate aim of any treatment algorithm is to achieve a four-chambered, biventricular, completely separated circulation. In 1991, transcatheter perforation of the atretic membrane followed by successful balloon valvuloplasty was reported using a laser-assisted guidewire in the United Kingdom and the stiff end of a guidewire in the United States. The following year, a radiofrequency (RF) guidewire was successfully used, while stenting of the ductus arteriosus to maintain adequate pulmonary blood was also reported. Most recently, a steerable 5 Fr RF catheter was used to “burn” the atretic membrane. From a series of 15 publications, a total of 69 neonates underwent attempted pulmonary valve perforation: 17 laser guidewire, 28 RF guidewire, 25 stiff end guidewire, and 1 steerable RF catheter. Successful perforation by technique was: 82.4% laser, 88.5% RF, 68% stiff end, and 100% steerable RF. The accumulative success rate was 79.7%, mortality 4.3%, major complication 18%, and need for additional pulmonary blood 48%. Follow-up thus far has been encouraging. The technique of transcatheter perforation of the atretic pulmonary valve membrane is demanding and not without risk, but in experienced hands can be successful nearly 90% of the time using the RF guidewire. RF energy is commonly used for other cardiac problems and has inherent cost and availability advantages over laser energy. Since nearly 50% of the neonates still require additional pulmonary blood flow, the interventionalist must be capable and ready to stent the PDA, or send to surgery. The neonate with right ventricular (RV) dominant coronary circulation remains a high risk group. However, careful cardiac catheterization with temporary transcatheter RV decompression may lead to a better understanding of this complex physiology.
On the genus of five‐ and six‐regular graphs

This paper shows how to construct infinitely many regular graphs of degrees five and six having given genus γ > 0, which settles favorably Conjecture 1 stated by T. W. Tucker. Tucker has shown that there are infinitely many regular graphs of degrees four and three of arbitrary given genus (Theorem 1). He also proved that the number of regular graphs of degree greater than six embeddable in a given surface is finite (Corollary to Proposition 1). The case of the regular graphs of degrees six and five was left unanswered (Conjecture 1). This paper also shows a new way of constructing infinitely many regular graphs of degrees three and four of arbitrary genus γ > 0.
Formation of ketone ions upon the loss of CH2O from ionized esters

Unimolecular and collision-induced decompositions of the products of CH2O loss from propyl propanoate and butyl butanoate demostrate that the respective products are the 3-pentanone and 4-heptanone ions.
Dual-syringe reactive electrospinning of cross-linked hyaluronic acid hydrogel nanofibers for tissue engineering applications

A facile fabrication of a cross-linked hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel nanofibers by a reactive electrospinning method is described. A thiolated HA derivative, 3,3'-dithiobis(propanoic dihydrazide)-modified HA (HA-DTPH), and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) are selected as the cross-linking system. The cross-linking reaction occurs simultaneously during the electrospinning process using a dual-syringe mixing technique. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) is added into the spinning solution as a viscosity modifier to facilitate the fiber formation and is selectively removed with water after the electrospinning process. The nanofibrous structure of the electrospun HA scaffold is well preserved after hydration with an average fiber diameter of 110 nm. A cell morphology study on fibronectin (FN)-adsorbed HA nanofibrous scaffolds shows that the NIH 3T3 fibroblasts migrate into the scaffold through the nanofibrous network, and demonstrate an elaborate three-dimensional dendritic morphology within the scaffold, which reflects the dimensions of the electrospun HA nanofibers. These results suggest the application of electrospun HA nanofibrous scaffolds as a potential material for wound healing and tissue regeneration. [image: see text] Laser scanning confocal microscopy demonstrates that the NIH3T3 fibroblast develops an extended 3D dendritic morphology within the fibronectin-adsorbed electrospun HA nanofibrous scaffold.
The Efficacy of Business Political Activity: Competitive Considerations in a Principal-Agent Context

This paper attempts to specify some conditions affecting the efficacy of business efforts to influence political decision making in legislatures and regulatory agencies. Two streams of literature are integrated to provide a model of political decision making from political economy and to draw on the strategic management literature to facilitate consideration of the implications of competition in the market to influence political decisions."In short, the overall policy impact of business political activity remains debatable, and the desirable mode and level of corporate political influence... remains undefined.New research on business and politics should involve something more than the accumulation of additional case studies; these are the raw materials for serious analysis, but not the final product. The significant studies will be those that specify more clearly the conditions under which political activity of different types and levels produces (or fails to produce) different kinds of effects."Preston, ...
New Faces in New Places: The Changing Geography of American Immigration

Douglas S. Massey, editor. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 2008. 384 pages. $42.50. Over the last two decades, immigrants have settled in the South and Midwest, regions that previously had been ...
Multichip modules vs. high-density printed wiring boards: a trade-off study

A comparison of conventional single-chip on high-density printed wiring board (PWB) packaging with both ceramic and silicon-substrate multichip module (MCM) strategies is presented. Both approaches are assessed given current state-of-the-art manufacturing capabilities and projections for the foreseeable future. The computer system used as the basis to investigate the relative impact of these packaging approaches is representative of a current workstation with a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture. This study was conducted with AUDiT Version 4.2, an innovative simulation tool for evaluating the physical design of electronic systems. It is demonstrated that the maximum efficiency of the conventional single-chip PGA module on PWB packaging of state-of-the-art RISC workstations, such as the IBM RS/6000, is only about 14%. The addition of signal layers may improve speed performance for a given PWB design rule, but not beyond the PGA package tiling limit constraint. Introduction of multichip packaging greatly increases processor speed and dramatically reduces the overall system size. >
The Role of Headwater Streams in Downstream Water Quality

Knowledge of headwater influences on the water-quality and flow conditions of downstream waters is essential to water-resource management at all governmental levels; this includes recent court decisions on the jurisdiction of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA) over upland areas that contribute to larger downstream water bodies. We review current watershed research and use a water-quality model to investigate headwater influences on downstream receiving waters. Our evaluations demonstrate the intrinsic connections of headwaters to landscape processes and downstream waters through their influence on the supply, transport, and fate of water and solutes in watersheds. Hydrological processes in headwater catchments control the recharge of subsurface water stores, flow paths, and residence times of water throughout landscapes. The dynamic coupling of hydrological and biogeochemical processes in upland streams further controls the chemical form, timing, and longitudinal distances of solute transport to downstream waters. We apply the spatially explicit, mass-balance watershed model SPARROW to consider transport and transformations of water and nutrients throughout stream networks in the northeastern United States. We simulate fluxes of nitrogen, a primary nutrient that is a water-quality concern for acidification of streams and lakes and eutrophication of coastal waters, and refine the model structure to include literature observations of nitrogen removal in streams and lakes. We quantify nitrogen transport from headwaters to downstream navigable waters, where headwaters are defined within the model as first-order, perennial streams that include flow and nitrogen contributions from smaller, intermittent and ephemeral streams. We find that first-order headwaters contribute approximately 70% of the mean-annual water volume and 65% of the nitrogen flux in second-order streams. Their contributions to mean water volume and nitrogen flux decline only marginally to about 55% and 40% in fourth- and higher-order rivers that include navigable waters and their tributaries. These results underscore the profound influence that headwater areas have on shaping downstream water quantity and water quality. The results have relevance to water-resource management and regulatory decisions and potentially broaden understanding of the spatial extent of Federal CWA jurisdiction in U.S. waters.
Potential management of Florida red tide through selective photodynamic action

Abstract The unarmoured dinoflagellate, Gymnodinium breve (or Ptychodiscus brevis) was used to test the effectiveness of the photodynamic action of hematoporphyrin. Four systems were compared: light control and dark control (organisms in light and dark, respectively, for 24 hours) versus dark and light test (organisms plus 8 x 10‐5 M porphyrin in dark and light, respectively, for 24 hours). Essentially total destruction was observed for the last system (light test) and no statistically significant differences were observed among the other three systems. The effect of concentration of porphyrin was tested in preliminary experiments using the (10‐4.1, 10‐5.1, 10‐6.1, 10‐7.l M) and the lowest concentration had no discernable effect.
Uptake of exogenous coenzyme Q and transport to mitochondria is required for bc1 complex stability in yeast coq mutants.

Coenzyme Q (Q) is an essential component of the mitochondrial respiratory chain in eukaryotic cells but also is present in other cellular membranes where it acts as an antioxidant. Because Q synthesis machinery in Saccharomyces cerevisiae is located in the mitochondria, the intracellular distribution of Q indicates the existence of intracellular Q transport. In this study, the uptake of exogenous Q6 by yeast and its transport from the plasma membrane to mitochondria was assessed in both wild-type and in Q-less coq7 mutants derived from four distinct laboratory yeast strains. Q6 supplementation of medium containing ethanol, a non-fermentable carbon source, rescued growth in only two of the four coq7 mutant strains. Following culture in medium containing dextrose, the added Q6 was detected in the plasma membrane of each of four coq7 mutants tested. This detection of Q6 in the plasma membrane was corroborated by measuring ascorbate stabilization activity, as catalyzed by NADH-ascorbate free radical reductase, a transmembrane redox activity that provides a functional assay of plasma membrane Q6. These assays indicate that each of the four coq7 mutant strains assimilate exogenous Q6 into the plasma membrane. The two coq7 mutant strains rescued by Q6 supplementation for growth on ethanol contained mitochondrial Q6 levels similar to wild type. However, the content of Q6 in mitochondria from the non-rescued strains was only 35 and 8%, respectively, of that present in the corresponding wild-type parental strains. In yeast strains rescued by exogenous Q6, succinate-cytochrome creductase activity was partially restored, whereas non-rescued strains contained very low levels of activity. There was a strong correlation between mitochondrial Q6 content, succinate-cytochrome c reductase activity, and steady state levels of the cytochrome c1 polypeptide. These studies show that transport of extracellular Q6 to the mitochondria operates in yeast but is strain-dependent. When Q biosynthesis is disrupted in yeast strains with defects in the intracellular transport of exogenous Q, the bc1complex is unstable. These results indicate that delivery of exogenous Q6 to mitochondria is required fore activity and stability of the bc1 complex in yeast coqmutants.
Effects of Insecticide-Treated and Lepidopteran-Active Bt Transgenic Sweet Corn on the Abundance and Diversity of Arthropods

Abstract A field study was conducted over 2 yr to determine the effects of transgenic sweet corn containing a gene from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) on the diversity and abundance of nontarget arthropods. The Bt hybrid (expressing Cry1Ab endotoxin for lepidopteran control) was compared with near-isogenic non-Bt and Bt hybrids treated with a foliar insecticide and with a near-isogenic non-Bt hybrid without insecticides. Plant inspections, sticky cards, and pitfall traps were used to sample a total of 573,672 arthropods, representing 128 taxonomic groups in 95 families and 18 orders. Overall biodiversity and community-level responses were not significantly affected by the transgenic hybrid. The Bt hybrid also had no significant adverse effects on population densities of specific nontarget herbivores, decomposers, and natural enemies enumerated at the family level during the crop cycle. As expected, the insecticide lambda-cyhalothrin had broad negative impacts on the abundance of many nontarget ...
Diffusion Tensor Imaging: Introduction and Applications to Brain Tumor Characterization

Accurate diagnosis and grading of brain tumors are often crucial as the management and prognosis substantially differ depending on the type and grade of the tumor. Diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) has been recently applied to brain tumor characterization. Various DTI metrics derived from the diffusion-weighted imaging data provide information about the orientation and architecture of tissue microstructure at the voxel level. This chapter provides a brief review on the basic principles of DTI and its clinical application in brain tumors. It also includes discussions on some practical issues to further improve the reliability and reproducibility of the method.
Oleic acid uptake and binding by rat adipocytes define dual pathways for cellular fatty acid uptake.

Oleic acid (OA) uptake by rat adipocytes and the proportions of intracellular unesterified [3H]OA and its 3H-labeled esters were determined over 300 s. Uptake was linear for 20;-30 s, with rapid esterification indicating entry into normal metabolic pathways. Initial rates of OA uptake and its binding to plasma membranes were studied over a spectrum of oleic acid:bovine serum albumin (BSA) ratios, and expressed as functions of unbound OA concentrations calculated with both the 1971 OA:BSA association constants of Spector, Fletcher, and Ashbrook and more recent constants (e.g., the 1993 constants of Richieri, Anel, and Kleinfeld), which generate concentrations 10- to 100-fold lower. In either case, uptake was the sum of saturable and linear processes, with > or =90% occurring via the saturable pathway when the OA:BSA molar ratio was within the physiologic range (0.5;-3.0). Within this range, rate constants for saturable transmembrane influx (k(s)), calculated from both sets of constants, were similar (2.9 s(-1)) and were 10- to 30-fold faster than those for nonsaturable uptake (k(ns) = 0.26;-0.10 s(-1), t1/2 = 2.7;-6.6 s, based on the constants of Spector et al. and Richieri et al., respectively). The rate of oleic acid flip-flop into rat adipocytes (k(ff) = 0.16 +/- 0.02 s(-1), t1/2 = 4.3 +/- 0.5 s), computed from published data, was similar to k(ns). Thus, OA uptake occurs by both a saturable mechanism and passive flip-flop. This conclusion is independent of the OA:BSA association constants used to analyze the experimental measurements.
Leadership, collaboration, and effective training principles and practices from a decade of training by a center for public health preparedness

Objective: To review a decade's experience of a Centers for Disease Control and Preparedness (CDC) funded Center for Public Health Preparedness (hereafter referred to as the Center) and to identify interventions that led to surmounting serious obstacles to achieving the Center's CDC-mandated goals and objectives. The Center's purpose was to train the public health workforce to protect the population from bioterrorism, infectious diseases, and emerging public health threats. Design: This case study used the concepts of the judgment process as developed by Noel Tichy and Warren Bennis to describe the experiences and actions of the Center's leaders. Center staff used public health principles of collaboration, the use of relevant science, and professional training principles in developing and delivering training in epidemiology, behavioral health, crisis leadership, and other fields through distance learning and on-site methods. Setting: The study's primary focus was on training in Florida, although the program's reach was national and international. Participants: Preparedness training was provided to approximately 10,000 public health officials, primarily drawn from Florida. Main outcome measure(s): This is a descriptive study of the Center's activities. The interventions were the steps taken by Center leadership to accomplish the federal and state goals of the program, despite meeting major challenges. The outcome measures were degrees of success, as measured by federal and state officials and other indicators, in delivering high quality training that met CDC and state goals. Results: The Center delivered trainings in fields determined to be needed in Florida and nationally. Participant and observer evaluations were strongly positive. Nationally published papers and presentations contributed to the training evidence base. The Florida Department of Health incorporated the trainings into Florida's mandatory training for Incident Command strike teams. The leaders of the Center and the Florida Department of Health developed a formal statement of principles to guide the training. These could be useful to other training organizations. Conclusions: The study illustrates the value of the Tichy and Bennis judgment process framework to describe actions of the Center leadership's successful effort to overcome system obstacles and provide high quality training to public health workers. The framework can be used by leaders in other organizations to increase their ability to make good judgments.
Large-Eddy Simulation of a High-Pressure, Single-Element Lean Direct-Injected Gas-Turbine Combustor

A Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) study of a liquid-fueled lean-direct injection (LDI) combustor operating under high pressure conditions is conducted using the subgrid turbulent combustion model based on the Linear-Eddy Mixing (LEM) model for closure. The present simulation resolves the entire flow through the swirl vanes, combustor and converging-diverging nozzle. A coupled Lagrangian-Eulerian formulations is used to simulate the spray injection and mixing processes. Results obtained for two operating conditions of the experimental setup are analyzed, and some preliminary comparison of the predicted acoustic signature is carried out with available data. The simulations also show the nature of flame holding under the high pressure operating conditions.
A large extracellular loop of TSPAN8 as a novel therapeutic target for metastatic colorectal cancer cell invasion

We recently reported a study that identified the relevance of the large extracellular loop of tetraspanin 8 (TSPAN8-LEL) in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) cell invasion. This study suggested a functional role for TSPAN8-LEL in mCRC cell invasion and the potential use of an antibody to inhibit the invasion of TSPAN8-expressing mCRCs. In this research highlight, we describe TSPAN8-LEL as a novel potential therapeutic target in mCRCs. TSPAN8 plays a key role in TSPAN8-expressing HCT116 mCRC cell invasion. Among its two extracellular loops, TSPAN8-LEL is the key domain that regulates HCT116 mCRC cell invasion. In addition, a fully human monoclonal antibody specific to TSPAN8-LEL (anti-TSPAN8-LEL HuMab) efficiently suppresses the invasion of HCT116 and LoVo mCRC cell lines more potently than HCT-8 and SW480 non-mCRC cell lines. These results indicate that targeting TSPAN8-LEL may suppress the invasion of TSPAN8-expressing mCRCs. Therefore, TSPAN8 may be a novel potential therapeutic target for antibody-based mCRC therapy.
A compact and robust circularly-polarized wearable antenna using an anisotropic metasurface

In this paper, we present the design of a compact circularly-polarized antenna employing a truncated anisotropic metasurface. The antenna structure is comprised by a loop monopole at the top and a metallic sheet backed metasurface at the bottom, which are separated by a foam spacer. The metasurface contains an array of two by two loop resonators with edge-chamfering as well as a pair of slot cuttings on the inner periphery. The resulting antenna, operating at the 2.4 GHz ISM band, possesses a stable input impedance, axial ratio, and gain under structural deformation. Polydimethylsiloxane and silver nanowire clusters are assumed as the constitutive materials for constructing the antenna, which are extremely flexible. Hence, the proposed antenna represents an ideal candidate for integration into wearable devices which are part of a body-area network.
Infections in Obstetrics and Gynecology: New Developments in Treatment

The well documented clinical success in the control of life-threatening infections of women has contributed to the emergence of new bacterial pathogens. Infections caused by Bacteroides fragilis constitute the most important problem of infection control facing the practicing obstetrician and gynecologist today. New developments in diagnosis and treatment include urinary mucopolysaccharide excretion and nitroblue tetrazolium tests, earlier operative intervention, and more frequent use of anticoagulants.
Characterizing Hadoop applications on microservers for performance and energy efficiency optimizations

The traditional low-power embedded processors such as Atom and ARM are entering the high-performance server market. At the same time, as the size of data grows, emerging Big Data applications require more and more server computational power that yields challenges to process data energy-efficiently using current high performance server architectures. Furthermore, physical design constraints, such as power and density have become the dominant limiting factor for scaling out servers. Numerous big data applications rely on using the Hadoop MapReduce framework to perform their analysis on large-scale datasets. Since Hadoop configuration parameters as well as architecture parameters directly affect the MapReduce job performance and energy-efficiency, system and architecture level parameters tuning is vital to maximize the energy efficiency. In this work, through methodical investigation of performance and power measurements, we demonstrate how the interplay among various Hadoop configurations and system and architecture level parameters affect the performance and energy-efficiency across various Hadoop applications.
Poster 199: Support specific modulation of grip force in persons with hemiparesis.1

Objective: To characterize changes in the grip force with provision of a support while performing the tasks of lifting and transporting a cup. Design: Seated subjects lifted and transported a cup that was instrumented with 2 strain gauges with no support, while the arm was positioned on a freely moving skateboard, and with a light touch of the index finger of the contralateral arm. Setting: Free-standing acute inpatient rehabilitation hospital. Participants: 6 persons with unilateral hemiparesis and 6 healthy control subjects. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Normalized grip force and temporal coupling between the grip force application and lift-off of the cup. Results: In the no-support conditions, persons with hemiparesis applied significantly larger grip force with the affected arm compared with the control subjects (57.5%±18.49% vs 38.78%±21.12%, P<.05). In the light-touch conditions, both groups needed smaller grip force to lift and transport the same cup (persons with hemiparesis, 51.05%±21.36%; healthy subjects, 33.52%±22.65%). Persons with hemiparesis demonstrated statistically significant prolongation of timing between the grip force application and the lift-off of the object as compared with the control subjects (P<.05). Conclusions: Providing supports to the affected extremity while lifting and manipulating an object could be a useful strategy in reducing grip force and improving functional performance in persons with impaired upper-extremities force control.
Turnover of mammalian surface membranes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some of the mechanisms for the turnover of surface membranes and also describes some membrane-related phenomena, which influence the interpretation of turnover studies. The turnover of the surface membrane has been examined by considering the concept in each of two arbitrary categories: (1) the turnover of domains and (2) the turnover of individual components. Although there are no sufficient data to allow a firm conclusion, it seems unlikely that a process that in some cases must account for the removal and replacement of as much as 50% of the surface membrane in a few hours could be accomplished by the insertion and removal of individual molecules. It is believed that many of the conflicting data can explained by proposing a three-step process for surface membrane turnover: (1) bulk removal by endocytosis; (2) variable degradation and reutilization; and (3) bulk replacement by exocytosis. An additional feature is that specific modifications are made at any point in response to a variety of stimuli. The three steps model shows continuous vesicle formation through the exocytosis and endocytosis of a constantly undulating membrane. It also allows the movement of material into and out of the cell with concomitant turnover of the surface membrane.
Variation in infant EEG power across social and nonsocial contexts.

Abstract To understand the infant social brain, it is critical to observe functional neural activation during social interaction. Yet many infant electroencephalography (EEG) studies on socioemotional development have recorded neural activity only during a baseline state. This study investigated how infant EEG power (4–6 Hz and 6–9 Hz) varies across social and nonsocial contexts. EEG was recorded in 12-month-olds across controlled conditions to disentangle the neural bases of social interactions. Four conditions—nonsocial, joint attention, language-only, and social engagement—were designed to tease apart how different environmental inputs relate to infant EEG power. We analyzed EEG power in frontal, central, temporal, and parietal regions. During the joint attention condition compared with the other conditions, 4–6 Hz frontal, central, and parietal power was lowest, indexing greater neural activation. There was lower 4–6 Hz and 6–9 Hz power in the temporal region in both the joint attention and social engagement conditions compared with the nonsocial condition. In 6–9 Hz, the pattern was consistent with 4–6 Hz findings for the frontal region such that 6–9 Hz frontal power was lower, indexing greater neural activation, in the joint attention condition compared with the nonsocial condition. There were no differences between conditions in central and parietal regions in 6–9 Hz. Findings highlight the methodological importance of recording functional brain activity in multiple controlled contexts to explicate the neural bases of the infant social brain.
Simulations and measurements of large phase progression in multi-layered metamaterials

Insertion phase in multi-layered metamaterials play an important role in understanding the constitutive parameters of the material. Simulations and measurements show the distinct large phase change across the frequency band in which the metamaterial exhibits special parameters. This paper addresses the phase behavior for materials that use loops or rings for magnetic properties and rods, wires, or probes for electric properties. Continuous wires and cut wires in the structure show different properties, especially in the frequency regions where negative refraction occurs. The conjecture that negative refraction is a manifestation of insertion phase variations is reiterated in this paper.
Biological Control in Support of Nature Conservation

Natural ecosystems, biological reserves, and other undeveloped land and water of conservation importance are regularly invaded by nonindigenous plant and animal species. Such invasions reflect, in part, the level of human activity in the region, with the consequent human-assisted movement of adventive species by commerce (Fig. 1.1). Some adventive species threaten the continued existence of native flora or fauna, by competition or direct attack. Other adventive species alter basic properties of the ecosystems they invade, rendering them less suitable for the continued existence of broad sets of native species. Efforts to combat such adventive species by chemical or mechanical means are often unsatisfactory, the former because of the risk of chemical pollution, damage to nontarget species, and cost, and the latter because of cost and the difficulty of applying mechanical remedies to any large region. Biological control, through the introduction of natural enemies specialized to attack the undesired adventive species, offers a method to solve this problem in many cases. This chapter discusses the principles behind the use of biological control for conservation of natural areas, the past achievements of such efforts, and future prospects for additional applications. Means to ensure that biological control agents themselves do not become environmental pests are discussed in the safety sections in Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11.
Impact of High Dose Cyclophosphamide on the Outcome of Autologous Stem Cell Transplant in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma

Abstract 4127 In the age of novel targeted agents, autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) remains the standard of care for younger patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM), offering similar treatment responses and overall survivals as standard chemotherapeutic agents but with the added benefit of a prolonged treatment-free period. Nevertheless, a standard of care for stem cell mobilization for ASCT has yet to be determined. Even in the era of new mobilization agents such as Plerixafor, Cyclophosphamide (Cy) and G-CSF combination remains the preferred mobilizing approach for patients with MM. Several studies have shown that Cy improves the stem cell yield at the expense of increased toxicity, but whether the administration of this chemotherapeutic agent pre-transplant has any impact on the long-term event-free and/or overall survival of myeloma patients remains controversial. In this study, we present a retrospective analysis of 186 patients with newly diagnosed MM who underwent ASCT with high-dose melphalan 200 mg/m2 (HDM) between December of 2000 and 2008 at our Institution. Eighty-three patients were mobilized with single agent G-CSF and 103 patients received high dose Cy (4 gm/m2) and G-CSF combination. Patient characteristics were similar between the treatment groups, including: age, gender, disease stage, and disease status prior to transplant. However, toxicity post-mobilization with Cy/G-CSF was significantly higher compared with G-SCF alone, including: febrile neutropenia (23%), hemorrhagic cystitis (8%), GI toxicity (57%), re-hospitalization due to complications and transplant delay (14%). The overall post-transplant toxicity was similar in the 2 groups, though the treatment related mortality was slightly higher in the Cy/G-CSF arm (4% versus 2%). Post transplant responses were not significantly different in the 2 groups, with 60% of patients achieving a VGPR or better after ASCT in the G-CSF group and 49% in the Cy/G-CSF group (p = 0.33). The median event-free survivals (EFS) for the Cy/G-CSF and G-CSF cohorts were 21.6 and 22.6 months, respectively, (p = 0.62) yielding no significant difference (Figure 1). Similarly, with a median follow up for surviving patients of 34.3 and 32.7 months, the median overall survivals were 68.2 and 62.3 months (p = 0.23) for the Cy/G-CSF and G-CSF cohorts, respectively (Figure 2). This retrospective analysis confirms that the addition of high dose Cy as part of the mobilizing regimen offers no improvement on the transplant outcome for patients with newly diagnosed myeloma and should therefore only be used in cases of difficult stem cell mobilization. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Speech-Language Pathologists’ Perceptions of Persons Who Stutter Before and After Speech Therapy

Background and Aim : It has been well established that the general public and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) perceive persons who stutter (PWS) in a negative manner. SLPs’ perceptions of PWS, before and after the completion of speech therapy, were examined. Their perceptions were contrasted with those of persons with aphasia (PWA) and a typical normal speaker. Methods : SLP participants ( N = 188) completed bipolar adjectives/semantic differential test scales. Each participant completed three scales (i.e., one for the normal speaker, PWS, and PWA). Results : SLPs perceived PWS and PWA significantly more negatively (e.g., more guarded, nervous, shy, tense, anxious, withdrawn, reticent, avoiding, introverted, and self-derogatory) than a normal speaker ( p .002). While the perception of numerous scale items improved for PWS and PWA after therapy, many were still significantly different than the normal speaker ( p < .002). Conclusions : The findings of the present study suggest SLPs perceive PWS and PWA in a negative light. While perceptions of clients improve following therapy, some negative stereotypes remain relative to a typical normal speaker.
Photocatalytic photosystem I/PEDOT composite films prepared by vapor-phase polymerization

Photosystem I (PSI) achieves photo-induced charge separation with outstanding internal quantum efficiency and has been used to improve the performance of various photoelectrochemical systems. Herein, we describe a fast and versatile technique to assemble composite films containing PSI and a chosen intrinsically conductive polymer (ICP). A mixture of PSI and a Friedel–Crafts catalyst (FeCl3) is drop cast atop a substrate of choice. Contact with ICP monomer vapor at low temperature stimulates polymer growth throughout PSI films in minutes. We assess the effects of PSI loading on the rapid vapor-phase growth of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) within and above PSI multilayer films, and characterize the resulting film's thickness, electrochemical capacitance, and photocatalytic response. Composite films generate cathodic photocurrent when in contact with an aqueous redox electrolyte, confirming retention of the photocatalytic activity of the polymer-entrapped PSI multilayer assembly.
First-principles study of adsorption–desorption kinetics of aqueous V2+/V3+ redox species on graphite in a vanadium redox flow battery

Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) represent a promising solution to grid-scale energy storage, and understanding the reactivity of electrode materials is crucial for improving the power density of VRFBs. However, atomistic details about the interactions between vanadium ions and electrode surfaces in aqueous electrolytes are still lacking. Here, we examine the reactivity of the basal (0001) and edge (110) graphite facets with water and aqueous V2+/V3+ redox species at 300 K employing Car–Parrinello molecular dynamics (CPMD) coupled with metadynamics simulations. The results suggest that the edge surface is characterized by the formation of ketonic CO functional groups due to complete water dissociation into the H/O/H configuration with surface O atoms serving as active sites for adsorption of V2+/V3+ species. The formation of V–O bonds at the surface should significantly improve the kinetics of electron transfer at the edge sites, which is not the case for the basal surface, in agreement with the experimentally hypothesized mechanism.
Single progenitor model for GW150914 and GW170104

The merger of stellar-mass black holes (BHs) is not expected to generate detectable electromagnetic (EM) emission. However, the gravitational wave (GW) events GW150914 and GW170104, detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) to be the result of merging, ~60 solar mass binary black holes (BBHs), each have claimed coincident gamma-ray emission. Motivated by the intriguing possibility of an EM counterpart to BBH mergers, we construct a model that can reproduce the observed EM and GW signals for GW150914- and GW170104-like events, from a single-star progenitor. Following Loeb (2016), we envision a massive, rapidly rotating star within which a rotating bar instability fractures the core into two overdensities that fragment into clumps which merge to form BHs in a tight binary with arbitrary spin-orbit alignment. Once formed, the BBH inspirals due to gas and gravitational-wave drag until tidal forces trigger strong feeding of the BHs with the surrounding stellar-density gas about 10 seconds before merger. The resulting giga-Eddington accretion peak launches a jet that breaks out of the progenitor star and drives a powerful outflow that clears the gas from the orbit of the binary within one second, preserving the vacuum GW waveform in the LIGO band. The single-progenitor scenario predicts the existence of variability of the gamma-ray burst, modulated at the ~0.2 second chirping period of the BBH due to relativistic Doppler boost. The jet breakout should be accompanied by a low-luminosity supernova. Finally, because the BBHs of the single progenitor model do not exist at large separations, they will not be detectable in the low frequency gravitational wave band of the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). Hence, the single-progenitor BBHs will be unambiguously discernible from BBHs formed through alternate, double-progenitor evolution scenarios.
Image Latency and Reported Clarity as Functions of Image Complexity

The effects of image “complexity” on image clarity and latency of image formation were examined. 20 Ss imagined and rated the image clarity of single common animals, animal pairs, and triads while E recorded intervals between successive images. As the number of to-be-imagined animals was increased, the time taken to form images increased and ratings of image clarity decreased. The results add support to the view that imaginal behavior is amenable to scientific study.
6 Applying a positive deviance framework to the prevention of sexual intimate partner violence in 30 low- and middle-income countries

Statement of purpose This study examines whether positive deviance to specific community norms is associated with experiences of sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) among women in 30 low- and middle-income countries. Methods/approach Positive deviants are individuals who transcend community norms and obtain better health outcomes than their peers with similar resources. In the first-ever application of positive deviance to IPV, this analysis used 30 nationally-representative Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) completed in 2010 or later and containing a domestic violence module. Currently-married women ages 15–49 interviewed as part of the domestic violence module (n=350,794) were included. Respondents indicated their husbands ever committed sexual IPV, creating a binary outcome. Twelve theory-derived variables were created and aggregated to the Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) to create community-level norms. Multilevel modelling was used to examine the association between positive departure from community-level norms and individual experiences of sexual IPV. Subsequent analyses stratified countries by IPV prevalence and score on the Gender Inequality Index (GII). Results Results show positive deviance from at least one community-level norm was significantly associated with not reporting IPV in all 30 countries. These effects vary considerably by country, country-level IPV prevalence, and GII score. Conclusions Positive deviance to certain community norms is associated with not experiencing sexual IPV among women across low- and middle-income countries. The increased normativity of abuse in countries with higher scores on the GII and higher rates of IPV may explain the stronger association between positive deviance and sexual IPV in these contexts. Significance/Contribution to Injury and Violence Prevention Science This study is the first to apply positive deviance to the study of IPV and identifies factors that may be used for the primary prevention of IPV. The social proof that these are already adopted by some members of a community indicate scale-up may be possible.
Overview of computational structural mechanics in the Department of Defense

Publisher Summary This chapter gives an overview of some of the types of problems that the Department of Defense (DoD) faces and the codes that are used to meet these challenges. Computational Structural Mechanics (CSM) is extremely important to the DoD. The different classes of problems are addressed by each of the armed services and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The DoD has made a large investment in high-performance computing (HPC) hardware, and it uses a combination of Commercial-Off-the-Shelf, Department of Energy, and DoD developed codes. The DoD has a need for coupled codes. One of the primary concerns of the Navy is the response of ships to explosive detonation in the water. The loads on the ship are affected by the response of the ship, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-CSM coupled codes are needed to determine the loads and response.
Leadership Practices for Teaming Across Boundaries

This paper identifies four leadership practices associated with teaming across boundaries in the context of innovation. Prior research on leadership has not emphasized leadership practices for proj...
Cortisol, Testosterone, and Prospective Risk for War-zone Stress-Evoked Depression

Introduction The major challenges of efforts to reveal biological risk factors and biomarkers of depression include the complexity of underlying systems, interactions with other systems, and contextual factors governing their expression. Altered endocrine function is believed to be a central contributor to depressive illness, but across studies, evidence for a link between endocrine markers and depression has been mixed, inconclusive, or conditional in nature. In the present study, we evaluated basal testosterone (T), cortisol (C), and CO2 inhalation-stress-reactivity measures of these hormones (TR, CR) as pre-deployment moderators of the later impact of war-zone stressors on depression symptoms in-theater. Materials and methods At pre-deployment, U.S. soldiers (N = 120) completed demographic, clinical and hormone measures, and during deployment, they completed monthly, web-based assessments of war-zone stressors and depression symptoms (N = 533 observations). Mixed effects models estimated the effects of the pre-deployment hormone profiles in moderating war-zone stressors' impact on in-theater depression. Models also tested whether hormonally linked risk for later stress-evoked depression depends on pre-existing depression. Results Controlling for pre-deployment depression, high T was protective; whereas TR had depressogenic effects that were amplified by pre-deployment depression. Further, high C was protective, but heightened CR was depressogenic, but only among those with elevated pre-deployment depression. Conclusions Findings highlight the importance of examining basal and reactivity measures of endocrine function, and use of prospective, longitudinal models to test hypothesized causal pathways associated with depression vulnerability in the war-zone. Results also suggest that pre-existing depression and cortisol may work in tandem to increase vulnerability for later stress-evoked depression in the war-zone.
Systematic Review: Rectal Administration of Medications for Pediatric Procedural Sedation.

Abstract Background Per rectum (PR) medication delivery is an alternative to traditional oral (PO), intravenous (IV), or intramuscular (IM) administration of medication for procedural sedation of pediatric emergency department patients. However, many emergency physicians are unfamiliar with its use, and there are no widely adopted guidelines or reviews dedicated to this topic. Objective Our aim was to provide emergency physicians with an overview of PR procedural sedation medications in pediatric patients. Methods We performed a PubMed literature search of relevant keywords limited to studies of human subjects published in English between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 2017. We excluded case reports, general review articles, editorial/opinion pieces, correspondence, and abstracts. Two of the authors then conducted a structured review of the selected studies. Results A total of 315 PubMed citations meeting the search criteria were found. Twenty-eight articles were included for final detailed review. Only 4 of the 28 included studies were conducted in the emergency department setting. A total of 9 different medications have been studied for PR procedural sedation. Sedation effectiveness ranged from 40% to 98%. No life-threatening complications were reported in any of the included clinical trials. Hypoxia was found to occur in up to 10% of those receiving PR sedation. Conclusions Pediatric procedural sedation with PR medications appears to be feasible, moderately effective, and safe based on our review of the current literature. However, further studies on its applicability in the emergency department setting are needed.
Neurological Complications of Pediatric Disease

The acute onset of a neurological problem, such as coma or seizures, is dramatic when it occurs and demands immediate evaluation and emergency treatment. In this context, it is easy to overlook the possibility that the nervous system abnormality does not represent a primary neurological disorder but is secondary to systemic disease or failure of one or more organ systems. Ascertainment of an underlying condition obviously has important implications for treatment.
The Control of Cholesterol Homeostasis: Regulation of HMG CoA Reductase

Cholesterol homeostasis within cells is regulated so as to provide adequate cholesterol without building up excessive stores. Two regulated pathways account for this cholesterol. The LDL receptor pathway mediates the uptake of cholesterol-containing lipoproteins from the plasma by receptor-mediated endocytosis. The endogenous cholesterol synthetic pathway which converts acetyl CoA to cholesterol via a multi-enzyme pathway is regulated by changes in the activity of HMG CoA reductase. Changes in the expression of HMG CoA reductase have been shown to affect the expression of LDL receptors both in cultured cells as well as in intact animals [1, 2]. To better understand the mechanisms that control cholesterol homeostasis, the means by which HMG CoA reductase is regulated have been studied. In cells, suppression of HMG CoA reductase activity by cholesterol is accomplished by at least two mechanisms: 1. decreased transcription of the HMG CoA reductase gene 2. enhanced degradation of the reductase protein.