cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Somatic mutation analysis in melanoma using targeted next generation sequencing

Advanced stage malignant melanoma often responds poorly to therapy with low survival rates. New therapeutic approaches are based upon a growing understanding of the underlying molecular abnormalities. We demonstrate the feasibility of a next generation sequencing (NGS) assay, which targets hotspots in 50 cancer genes, to assess genotypes that may influence therapeutic selection and response. DNA was extracted from formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) melanoma specimens to create multiplexed libraries which were sequenced. Of the 121 cases, BRAF mutations were present in 48 cases (40%) and NRAS mutations in 24 cases (20%). We identified other gene variants in 20 BRAF-mutated cases. Additional gene variants were also identified in the 57 BRAF wild-type cases. Four patients harbored different gene mutations at metastatic sites as compared to their primary lesions or metastasis from different sites. Concurrent gene variants may provide additional targets for future therapies and may suggest alternative mechanisms of secondary resistance.
Selective hydrodeoxygenation of tartaric acid to succinic acid

A novel one-step process for catalytic production of succinic acid from tartaric acid, which is largely available in the waste streams of wine making, is developed. A liquid-phase system comprised of a molybdenum oxide catalyst supported on carbon black (MoOx/BC) and hydrobromic acid in acetic acid under a H2 atmosphere is effective for selective cleavage of the C–O bonds of tartaric acid and selective hydrogenation of the resulting unsaturated carbons. Temperature, hydrogen pressure, and catalyst pre-treatment are optimized to understand their impact on catalytic activity and product distribution, leading to an 87% yield of succinic acid at 170 °C. Importantly, reduction of the carboxyl groups and C–C bond cleavage are retarded. Pre-reduction and characterization studies (TPR, XRD, XPS, and XAS) reveal that the high catalyst activity of MoOx/BC is correlated with the lower Mo oxidation states (+4 to 0) formed during pre-reduction that promote cleavage of the C–O bonds of tartaric acid and hydrogenation of the CC bond of the intermediate fumaric acid. Recyclability studies and structural characterization of the recovered catalyst indicate that MoOx/BC remains active upon reuse.
Relegated to the Margins: Federal Immigration Policy in the Nineteenth Century

In a federal system where separate levels of government share power, who, the national or state governments, controls immigration policy? In the nineteenth century before the Civil War, states almost exclusively ran immigration with the federal government relegated to the margins with naturalization and shipping policy. With immigration control such a central power to any sovereign nation, why was the federal role in immigration so anemic? The text of the U.S. Constitution only accounted for a small part of that particular division of labor. In the nineteenth century, the allocation of power between the national and state governments in migration policy was mostly determined by extra-constitutional factors and as this constellation of non-constitutional factors changed, so too did the power sharing arrangements.
Negative Descriptive Social Norms and Political Action: People Aren’t Acting, So You Should

Individuals learn about the actions or behaviors of other people through the use of descriptive social norms. Previous work has argued that the use of negative descriptive norms (or information indicating many people are not doing something) depresses participation relative to positive descriptive norms. We show that for political actions this is not always correct. Using two experiments, we examine the willingness of individuals to take public action when these requests include either a positive or a negative descriptive norm. In the first, we invite individuals to write a local city official about city policy and in the second, we ask individuals to sign a petition advocating a specific policy at a large public university. We find that individuals are more likely to act when presented with the negative descriptive norm and that this effect stems from the anger negative descriptive norms elicit.
A workstation's communication performance benchmark

In this paper we propose a communication benchmark suite: BTU(Bits To the User). In the BTU benchmarking process, the vendor supplies a workstation running a UNIX* operating system, we install our benchmark program and connect the workstation to a testbed which emulates a LAN/WAN environment. The benchmark run will submit the workstation to a carefully designed combination of tests. The result is a predictor of what the user, at the application level, can expect in terms of bits sent to or received from a remote host. Our benchmark takes into account concurrent activities such as CPU and I/O activities which compete for resources on the test machine. The combination of these activities and concurrent activities on the network will interfere with the test machine’s communication performance. The automated BTU benchmark test suite produces results at various levels of abstractions ranging from a single number, characterizing average performance in the style of SPEC92, to a TCP time sequence chart for abnormal behaviors. We intend to serve the user of a workstation by providing information which should enable the users to make a reasonable judgment when acquiring a workstation with a specific configuration within certain cost constraints. Our results when used along with existing benchmarks will make a powerful combination for predicting overall performance. Neither price nor SPECmarks are as good a predictor of communication performance as that measured by BTUs. We conclude this paper with a discussion of extensions to faster networks and our plans for having the community accept this proposal as a communication benchmark.
Identifying What Matters to Hysterectomy Patients: Postsurgery Perceptions, Beliefs, and Experiences.

Purpose Hysterectomy is the most common non-obstetrical surgery for women in the United States. Few investigations comparing hysterectomy surgical approaches include patient-centered outcomes. Methods The study was performed at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan between February 2015 and May 2015. The data were collected through structured focus groups with 24 post-hysterectomy women in order to identify PCOs to employ in a subsequent cohort study of hysterectomy surgical approaches. One pilot focus group and five additional focus groups were held. Qualitative data analysis, using data from coded transcripts of focus groups, was used to identify themes.Eligible women, aged between 18 and 65 years and had an EMR documented Current Procedural Terminology (CPT™) code or an International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems - Ninth Edition (ICD-9) code of hysterectomy between December 2012 and December 2014 (N=1,381, N=307 after exclusions) were selected and recruited. A question guide was developed to investigate women's experiences and feelings about the experience prior and subsequent to their hysterectomy. Analysis utilized the Framework Method. Results Focus groups with women who previously had a hysterectomy revealed their pre- and post-hysterectomy perceptions. Responses grouped into topics of pre- and post-surgical experiences, and information all women should know. Responses grouped into themes of 1) decision making, 2) the procedure - surgical experience, 3) recovery, 4) advice to past self, and 5) recommendations to other women. Conclusion These findings about perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes of women having undergone hysterectomy could support health care providers deliver patient-centered care. These results informed data collection for a prospective longitudinal cohort study that is now underway. The data suggest a need for increased education and empowerment in the decision making process, while expanding on information given for post-operative expectations and somatic changes that occur post-hysterectomy.
Publisher Correction: Optimal compressed representation of high throughput sequence data via light assembly

The original version of this Article contained errors in the affiliations of the authors Ibrahim Numanagic and Thomas A. Courtade, which were incorrectly given as ‘Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA’ and ‘Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA’, respectively. Also, the hyperlink for the source code in the Data Availability section was incorrectly given as https://github.iu.edu/kzhu/assembltrie , which links to a page that is not publicly accessible. The source code is publicly accessible at https://github.com/kyzhu/assembltrie . Furthermore, in the PDF version of the Article, the right-hand side of Figure 3 was inadvertently cropped. These errors have now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.
CHARACTERIZATION OF SUPERFLUID POROUS PLUG PERFORMANCE

Many designs of liquid helium cryogenic systems for space applications include a porous plug as a passive phase separator. The proper design of the cryogenic system using the plug requires performance information on the passive phase separator which has been lacking. This paper reports on sample results obtained in a testing program which will provide performance data for a number of porous samples. The results show two distinct regions of operation; (l)a low resistance region which compares with counterflow description and (2) a high resistance region which compares with a vapor flow description.
The impact of network topology on pure Nash equilibria in graphical games

Graphical games capture some of the key aspects relevant to the study and design of multi-agent systems. It is often of interest to find the conditions under which a game is stable, i.e., the players have reached a consensus on their actions. In this paper, we characterize how different topologies of the interaction network affect the probability of existence of a pure Nash equilibrium in a graphical game with random payoffs. We show that for tree topologies with unbounded diameter the probability of a pure Nash equilibrium vanishes as the number of players grows large. On the positive side, we define several families of graphs for which the probability of a pure Nash equilibrium is at least 1-1/e even as the number of players goes to infinity. We also empirically show that adding a small number of connection "shortcuts" can increase the probability of pure Nash.
Theories of Language and Mentality

There are several reasons why the nature of language is fundamental to research in artificial intelligence in particular and to cognitive inquiry in general. One tends to be the assumption — considered in part in Chapter 2 — that thinking takes place in language, which makes the nature of language fundamental to the nature of mental processes, if not to the nature of mind itself. Another is that computers operate by means of software composed by means of a language — not a natural language, to be sure, but a computer language, which is a special kind of artificial language suitable for conveying instructions to machines. And another is that debate continues to rage over whether or not machines can have minds, a question whose answer directly depends upon the nature of mentality itself and indirectly upon the nature of language, especially the nature of languages suitable for use by machines.
High Fat Diet Upregulates Fatty Acid Oxidation and Ketogenesis via Intervention of PPAR- γ

Background/aims Systemic hyperlipidemia and intracellular lipid accumulation induced by chronic high fat diet (HFD) leads to enhanced fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and ketogenesis. The present study was aimed to determine whether activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) by surplus free fatty acids (FA) in hyperlipidemic condition, has a positive feedback regulation over FAO and ketogenic enzymes controlling lipotoxicity and cardiac apoptosis. Methods 8 weeks old C57BL/6 wild type (WT) or PPAR-γ-/- mice were challenged with 16 weeks 60% HFD to induce obesity mediated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and diabetic cardiomyopathy. Treatment course was followed by echocardiographic measurements, glycemic and lipid profiling, immunoblot, qPCR and immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of PPAR-γ and following mitochondrial metabolic enzymes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGCS2), mitochondrial β- hydroxy butyrate dehydrogenase (BDH1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoform 4 (PDK4). In vivo model was translated in vitro, with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCM) treated with PPAR-γ agonist/antagonist and PPAR-γ overexpression adenovirus in presence of palmitic acid (PA). Apoptosis was determined in vivo from left ventricular heart by TUNEL assay and immunoblot analysis. Results We found exaggerated circulating ketone bodies production and expressions of the related mitochondrial enzymes HMGCS2, BDH1 and PDK4 in HFD-induced diabetic hearts and in PA-treated NRCM. As a mechanistic approach we found HFD mediated activation of PPAR-γ is associated with the above-mentioned mitochondrial enzymes. HFD-fed PPAR-γ-/-mice display decreased hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia associated with increased insulin responsiveness as compared to HFD-fed WT mice PPAR-γ-/-HFD mice demonstrated a more robust functional recovery after diabetes induction, as well as significantly reduced myocyte apoptosis and improved cardiac function. Conclusions PPAR-γ has been described previously to regulate lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. The present study suggests for the first time that increased PPAR-γ expression by HFD is responsible for cardiac dysfunction via upregulation of mitochondrial enzymes HMGCS2, BDH1 and PDK4. Targeting PPAR-γ and its downstream mitochondrial enzymes will provide novel strategies in preventing metabolic and myocardial dysfunction in diabetes mellitus.
Implementing bedside rounds to improve patient-centred outcomes: a systematic review.

Background Bedside rounds (BR) have been proposed as an ideal method to promote patient-centred hospital care, but there is substantial variation in their implementation and effects. Our objectives were to describe the implementation of BR in hospital settings and determine their effect on patient-centred outcomes. Methods Data sources included Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Scopus and Ovid Cochrane Central Registry of Clinical Trials from database inception through 28 July 2017. We included experimental studies comparing BR to another form of rounds in a hospital-based setting (ie, medical/surgical unit, intensive care unit (ICU)) and reporting a quantitative patient-reported or objectively measured clinical outcome. We used random effects models to calculate pooled Cohen9s d effect size estimates for the patient knowledge and patient experience outcome domains. Results Twenty-nine studies met inclusion criteria, including 20 from adult care (17 non-ICU, 3 ICU), and nine from paediatrics (5 non-ICU, 4 ICU), the majority of which (n=23) were conducted in the USA. Thirteen studies implemented BR with cointerventions as part of a ‘bundle’. Studies most commonly reported outcomes in the domains of patient experience (n=24) and patient knowledge (n=10). We found a small, statistically significant improvement in patient experience with BR (summary Cohen’s d=0.09, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.14, p Conclusions BR have been implemented in a variety of hospital settings, often ‘bundled’ with cointerventions. However, BR have demonstrated limited effect on patient-centred outcomes.
Nitric oxide mediates anomalous tubuloglomerular feedback in rats fed high-NaCl diet after subtotal nephrectomy.

Tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) responses become anomalous in rats fed high-NaCl diet after subtotal nephrectomy (STN), such that stimulating TGF causes single nephron GFR (SNGFR) to increase rathe...
Impact of nucleotide sugar metabolism on protein N-glycosylation in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell culture

N-Glycosylation, a critical quality attribute that affects therapeutic protein efficacy, half-life and stability, occurs through a series of reactions where nucleotide sugars are sequentially attached to the asparagine residue of a protein. Nucleotide sugar abundance can impact glycan complexity and the final glycosylation profile. Recent advances in analytical technology have allowed for a faster, more efficient detection and quantification of nucleotide sugars. Stable isotope labeling has paved the way for identifying the intricate and interconnected pathways of nucleotide sugar biosynthesis. Additionally, nucleotide sugars and their precursors have been tested as media supplements to modulate glycosylation. A better understanding of nucleotide sugar profiles, coupled with glycosylation enzyme mechanisms, will help to elucidate what glycoengineering tools are needed to more effectively control and predict protein glycosylation.
Interpretable Neural Architectures for Attributing an Ad’s Performance to its Writing Style

How much does “free shipping!” help an advertisement’s ability to persuade? This paper presents two methods for performance attribution: finding the degree to which an outcome can be attributed to parts of a text while controlling for potential confounders. Both algorithms are based on interpreting the behaviors and parameters of trained neural networks. One method uses a CNN to encode the text, an adversarial objective function to control for confounders, and projects its weights onto its activations to interpret the importance of each phrase towards each output class. The other method leverages residualization to control for confounds and performs interpretation by aggregating over learned word vectors. We demonstrate these algorithms’ efficacy on 118,000 internet search advertisements and outcomes, finding language indicative of high and low click through rate (CTR) regardless of who the ad is by or what it is for. Our results suggest the proposed algorithms are high performance and data efficient, able to glean actionable insights from fewer than 10,000 data points. We find that quick, easy, and authoritative language is associated with success, while lackluster embellishment is related to failure. These findings agree with the advertising industry’s emperical wisdom, automatically revealing insights which previously required manual A/B testing to discover.
Selling a Single Item with Negative Externalities.

We consider the problem of regulating products with negative externalities to a third party that is neither the buyer nor the seller, but where both the buyer and seller can take steps to mitigate the externality. The motivating example to have in mind is the sale of Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, many of which have historically been compromised for DDoS attacks that disrupted Internet-wide services such as Twitter. Neither the buyer (i.e., consumers) nor seller (i.e., IoT manufacturers) was known to suffer from the attack, but both have the power to expend effort to secure their devices. We consider a regulator who regulates payments (via fines if the device is compromised, or market prices directly), or the product directly via mandatory security requirements. Both regulations come at a cost---implementing security requirements increases production costs, and the existence of fines decreases consumers' values---thereby reducing the seller's profits. The focus of this paper is to understand the \emph{efficiency} of various regulatory policies. That is, policy A is more efficient than policy B if A more successfully minimizes negatives externalities, while both A and B reduce seller's profits equally. We develop a simple model to capture the impact of regulatory policies on a buyer's behavior. {In this model, we show that for \textit{homogeneous} markets---where the buyer's ability to follow security practices is always high or always low---the optimal (externality-minimizing for a given profit constraint) regulatory policy need regulate \emph{only} payments \emph{or} production.} In arbitrary markets, by contrast, we show that while the optimal policy may require regulating both aspects, there is always an approximately optimal policy which regulates just one.
MP24-15 MR/US FUSION TARGETED BIOPSY FAILED TO DETECT PROSTATE CANCER: ROLE OF CONFIRMMDX® AS AN ADJUNCT

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:Negative prostate biopsies occur in up to 40% of cases following MR/US fusion targeted biopsy (TB) with concurrent systematic biopsy (SB) for PIRADS score ≥3 after at least one prior negative 12-core SB. Was the inability to detect prostate cancer (PCa) due to targeting error, inadequate sampling, or did the radiologist overcall the MRI lesion as positive? This perplexing situation leads to clinical uncertainty as to whether repeating another MR/US fusion biopsy session would be beneficial. In this study, we sought to determine whether ConfirmMDx®, a validated DNA methylation field effect assay, would be clinically useful if applied to TB + SB cores with benign pathology.METHODS:In a retrospectively maintained database, we identified 142 consecutive patients who underwent MR/US fusion TB + SB for PIRADS ≥3 following at least one negative SB session. Multiparametric MRI was performed using a 3-Tesla scanner and scored using PI-RADS Version 2. Among the 142 patients who underwent...
Anneckecoris, a new genus of Stygnocorini from the Cape, with notes on the biology and distribution of the South African fauna (Hemiptera: Lygaeidae)

A new genus and species of Lygaeidae, Anneckecoris brunneus, are descriptionbed from the southwest Cape and assigned to the tribe Stygnocorini. Host plant, habitat information and/or nymphal descriptionptions are given for paracnemodus capensis Slater, Sweetocoris parafenestratus O'Rourke, S. slateri O'Rourke, S. minutus (Scudder) and Lasiosomus lasiosomoides (Bergevin). The eggs of S. minulus and S. drakensbergensis O'Rourke are descriptionbed. The distributions of paracnemodus, Lasiosomus and Sweetocoris are discussed, and the possible paraphyly of the Stygnocorini is suggested. Figures are included of the macropterous and coleopteroid forms, the abdomen and the spermatheca of Anneckecoris brunneus.
Integrated kinematic time-lapse inversion workflow leveraging full-waveform inversion and machine learning

Abstract We demonstrate that a workflow combining emergent time-lapse full-waveform inversion (FWI) and machine learning technologies can address the demand for faster time-lapse processing and ana...
The Impact of Hyperoxia in the Critically Ill Patient: A Review of the Literature

Oxygen has long been considered a vital and potentially life-saving component of emergency care. Given this, there is widespread and liberal use of supplemental oxygen in hospitals across the United States and throughout the world. Recent research, however, delineates serious deleterious effects at the cellular level, inducing damage to the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system, the pulmonary system, and beyond. A scoping review was conducted to identify and synthesize available research data as it pertains to the clinical effects of hyperoxia in critically ill adult patients in acute care settings. We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus databases. We also reviewed the reference lists of included publications. The selection of relevant articles was conducted by 2 researchers at 2 levels of screening. The review identified 30 studies, of which 5 were randomized controlled trials, 2 were prospective cohort studies, and 23 were retrospective cohort studies. A descriptive analysis of study results was performed. Current evidence suggests an association between hyperoxia and increased mortality after cardiac arrest, stroke, and traumatic brain injury, as well as in the setting of sepsis, although there is insufficient evidence to conclude concretely that hyperoxia effects clinical outcomes. As such, there exists a need for additional large-scale randomized controlled trials with well-defined parameters for the evaluation of clinical outcomes. Until the completion of such trials, titration of supplemental O2 to normoxia is advised to avoid the negative effects of both hyperoxia and hypoxia in acutely ill adult patients.
Liapunov functions and stability criteria for nonlinear systems with multiple critical eigenvalues

Efficient criteria are derived via explicit construction of Liapunov functions for local asymptotic stability inference of nonlinear systems, whose linearizations possessc ≥ 2 critical modes at an equilibrium point. The stability criteria are obtained in the context of two novel notions, relaxed definiteness and relaxed stability. A real symmetricc×c matrixQ isrelaxed negative definite ifw TQw<0 for any 0≠weℜ + c , ℜ+=[0, ∞); a matrixR isrelaxed stable if there is aP>0 such thatPR+R TP is relaxed negative definite. The construction leads to some characterizations of the nonlinear system's local structure,in the sense of Liapunov, and the so-called stability characteristic matrices and tensors. It is shown that a nonlinear system with multiple critical modes is locally asymptotically stable generically if the stability characteristic matrix is relaxed stable and less generically if the stability characteristic tensor is trivial or degenerate in certain way and the perturbed stability characteristic matrix is relaxed stable.
Family Experience With Pierre Robin Sequence: A Qualitative Study.

Objective:To identify concepts and constructs important to parents of children with Pierre Robin Sequence (PRS).Design:Qualitative study.Setting:All children received some care at a tertiary hospit...
The value of online user generated content in product development

Abstract An empirical study of 1287 software projects over 16 months reveals that online user- generated content (UGC) has positive effects on both the initiation and completion of product-development activities. Moreover, product adoption amplifies those positive effects. These results imply that (1) online UGC is useful for product development; (2) learning from online UGC facilitates product-development activities; and (3) product adoption moderates this learning effect, suggesting that users can shape future products through online UGC and adoption behavior. This study advances both the user innovation and open innovation research streams, and moves toward closing the gap between the two major streams in the distributed innovation paradigm.
Correction to: What’s in a Name? The Occupational Identity of Conservation and Natural Resource Oriented Law Enforcement Agencies

The authors of “What’s in a Name? The Occupational Identity of Conservation and Natural Resource Oriented Law Enforcement Agencies,”
Measuring Spectral Bandwidth with OAM Fiber Mode Induced Optical Activity

We present a high resolution optical rotary dispersion spectrometer that can detect spectral bandwidth with high sensitivity (< 1 pm) by exploiting the induced optical activity of OAM fiber modes.
Effects of parental presence during induction of anesthesia on operative and perioperative times in pediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy.

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the overall perioperative times among pediatric patients undergoing adenotonsillectomy (AT) who, in the perioperative period, received either parental presence at induction of anesthesia (PPIA), midazolam, both, or neither. Methods A retrospective chart review of patients under the age of twelve years who underwent AT during 2018 was performed at a tertiary children's hospital. Exclusion criteria were: patients with concomitant procedures done at the time of AT, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score greater than 3, or unclear documentation of PPIA participation. Patients were categorized into one of four groups: those who received PPIA, those who received midazolam, and those who received both or neither. Time spent in holding, the operating room, and in recovery were recorded. For comparison of continuous variables, either a One-Way ANOVA or a Kruskal–Wallis test was used as appropriate with post-hoc comparisons using a Dunn's Test. Results A total of 274 patient charts were reviewed. After application of exclusion criteria, 152 charts were included for analysis. A total of 69 patients had PPIA alone, 18 received midazolam alone, 57 received both, and 8 had neither. The median age of the patients was 5.34 years (range 0.62–11.97). There was no significant difference in median time in holding between groups, but there was a significant difference in both OR and recovery time (p = 0.005 and p = 0.021 respectively). On further analysis with post-hoc pairwise comparisons, the only significant difference was between the midazolam only group and the group who received both PPIA and midazolam (p Conclusion Patients who received both PPIA and midazolam had a shorter OR duration than patients in the midazolam only group. There were no significant differences found in holding time or recovery time between groups. This supports the conclusion that PPIA can be implemented when deemed appropriate without increasing time spent in the operating room and may even have a beneficial effect when compounded with midazolam.
Naturalistic Language Input is Associated with Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Infancy.

The quantity and quality of the language input that infants receive from their caregivers affects their future language abilities; however, it is unclear how variation in this input relates to preverbal brain circuitry. The current study investigated the relation between naturalistic language input and the functional connectivity (FC) of language networks in human infancy using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI). We recorded the naturalistic language environments of five- to eight-month-old male and female infants using the Linguistic ENvironment Analysis (LENA) system and measured the quantity and consistency of their exposure to adult words (AWs) and adult–infant conversational turns (CTs). Infants completed an rsfMRI scan during natural sleep, and we examined FC among regions of interest (ROIs) previously implicated in language comprehension, including the auditory cortex, the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and the bilateral superior temporal gyrus (STG). Consistent with theory of the ontogeny of the cortical language network (Skeide and Friederici, 2016), we identified two subnetworks posited to have distinct developmental trajectories: a posterior temporal network involving connections of the auditory cortex and bilateral STG and a frontotemporal network involving connections of the left IFG. Independent of socioeconomic status (SES), the quantity of CTs was uniquely associated with FC of these networks. Infants who engaged in a larger number of CTs in daily life had lower connectivity in the posterior temporal language network. These results provide evidence for the role of vocal interactions with caregivers, compared with overheard adult speech, in the function of language networks in infancy.
Framework to estimate the Benefit–Cost Ratio of establishing minimum pavement friction levels for roadway networks

Low values of pavement friction increase crash rates. Some agencies such as FHWA and AASHTO have provided guidelines for the management of pavement friction, including the definition of minimum fri...
Effects of the Application of WebQuest to Technology Education on Business Management Students' Critical Thinking Psychology and Operation Capability.

Along with the rapid development of technology, the constant innovation and application of computer and information technology has information technology change humans’ future lifestyles as well as induce comprehensive changes in humans’ learning. Due to knowledge digitization, knowledge creation and update is fast that the acceleration and enhancement of learning effectiveness becomes the important issue concerned in global education development. Along with the population of digitization, information technology largely changes life and learning model. Applying experimental design model to the quasi-experimental research, total 188 business management students of universities in Fujian are preceded technology education with WebQuest. The experimental teaching is preceded 3 hours per week for 16 weeks (total 48 hours). Research results reveal 1. WebQuest would affect critical thinking psychology, 2. WebQuest would affect operation capability, 3. critical thinking psychology presents significantly positive effects on problem clarification in operation capability, 4. critical thinking psychology shows remarkably positive effects on effective interaction in operation capability, and 5. critical thinking psychology reveals notably positive effects on inductive inference in operation capability. According to the results, suggestions are proposed, expecting to help domestic technology education get into organizational and systematic development to further cultivate students’ technology literacy.
The Refill Shoppe: A Certified B Corp on the Quest for Growth to End Plastic Pollution:

The Refill Shoppe, located in Ventura (California), is a certified B Corp zero-waste social enterprise selling personal care and cleaning supplies in refillable containers. The founder, Michelle St...
Factors associated with healthcare utilization and mortality in alcohol use disorder hospitalization.

Abstract Objective To examine the outcomes of alcohol use disorder (AUD)-hospitalizations. Methods We used the U.S. National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data from 1998 to 2016 to examine predictors of Healthcare utilization (total hospital charges, discharge destination, length of hospital stay) and in-hospital mortality for AUD-hospitalization outcomes. We used logistic regression to assess the association of patient demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, household income), comorbidity (Deyo-Charlson index), insurance payer (Medicare, Medicaid, private, self-pay or other), and hospital characteristics (location/teaching status; hospital bed size; and region) with outcomes Results There were 5,590,952 primary AUD-hospitalizations from 1998 to 2016; of these 106,419 (1.9 %) died in-hospital. The mean age was 48 years, 73 % were male, 59 % white, and 57 % had a Deyo-Charlson comorbidity score of zero. In multivariable-adjusted analyses of AUD-hospitalizations, older age, female sex, higher Deyo-Charlson index, rural location or hospitals with medium or large bed sizes were associated with significantly higher in-hospital mortality and healthcare utilization. Similarly, South or Western U.S. hospital location, White race, or high income quartile were associated with higher healthcare utilization. Compared to a private insurance payer, Medicare or Medicaid insurance payers were associated with higher healthcare utilization, but lower in-hospital mortality. Conclusions We identified several independent associations of modifiable and non-modifiable factors with healthcare utilization and mortality outcomes for AUD-hospitalizations. These findings provide an opportunity for prognosis, resource allocation and the development of interventions to improve outcomes of AUD-hospitalizations in the future.
Sub-national Institutions and Inward Foreign Direct Investment: Effects of Political Party Pendulum Swings

While the influence of national institutions is well-documented, we theorize and investigate how sub-national institutions affect localization of foreign direct investment into a sub-national geogr...
Immunological selection and monitoring of patients undergoing pig kidney transplantation

Pig kidney xenotransplantation has the potential to alleviate the current shortage of deceased and living human organs and provide patients with end-stage renal disease with a greater opportunity for long-term survival and a better quality of life. In recent decades, advances in the genetic engineering of pigs and in immunosuppressive therapy have permitted the resolution of many historical obstacles to the success of pig kidney transplantation in nonhuman primates. Pig kidney xenotransplantation may soon be translated to the clinic. Given the potential risks of kidney xenotransplantation, particularly of immunologic rejection of the graft, potential patients must be carefully screened for inclusion in the initial clinical trials and immunologically monitored diligently post-transplantation. We provide an overview of the immunological methods we believe should be used to (i) screen potential patients for the first clinical trials to exclude those with a higher risk of rejection, and (ii) monitor patients with a pig kidney graft to determine their immunological response to the graft.
Replication of Superhelical DNAs in Vitro

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses purified systems that can replicate closed-circular, double-stranded superhelical (form I) DNAs in vitro . It also discusses problems unique to the replication of DNAs under topological constraint. Studies on the reconstituted pBR322 DNA replication system are used as a guide in the chapter. Recent studies on the replication of form I DNAs indicate that new classes of proteins are required to replicate these DNAs. The activities of these new enzymes help to solve some of the problems peculiar to the replication of superhelical DNAs. The replication of the two parental DNA strands without the introduction of a discontinuity in either strand presents a unique problem for the initiation of DNA replication of form I DNAs. Two pathways of initiation have been revealed. In the case of form I DNAs containing the origins of DNA replication from either the chromosome of E. coli ( oriC ) or bacteriophage λ (λdv), special proteins interact with specific DNA sequences to form protein-DNA complexes subsequently recognized by other priming proteins that gain access to the DNA template at the site of the initial specific protein-DNA complex. In the initiation of pBR322 DNA replication, a different pathway operates. The formation of a RNA-DNA hybrid by a transcript manufactured by RNA polymerase serves to prime leading-strand DNA synthesis after being processed by RNase and allows a “primosome” assembly site sequence on the lagging strand template to assume an active configuration and catalyze the assembly of a primosome that subsequently primes lagging-strand DNA synthesis.
A Remedy for Every Right: What Federal Courts Can Learn from California's Taxpayer Standing

Under current federal taxpayer standing doctrine, the right of citizens to challenge inappropriate government spending is almost entirely unavailable. For example, in the last two years, taxpayers have sought to challenge the record $700 billion in disbursements by the Treasury as a bailout package (or to challenge the use of this bailout money for buying corporate jets or giving bonuses to bankers),1 and have had their suits dismissed for lack of standing.2 These cases follow the 2007 Supreme Court decision in Hein v. Freedom from Religion Foundation, in which the Court ruled that taxpayers have no standing to challenge executive action.3 Whether a taxpayer has standing to bring suit determines his or her ability to seek an injunction against government spending.4 Standing doctrine is already murky,5 and the Hein decision only
Evolving sensor suites for enemy radar detection

Designing optimal teams of sensors to detect the enemy radars for military operations is a challenging design problem. Many applications require the need to manage sensor resources. There is a tradeoff between the need to decrease the cost and to increase the capabilities of a sensor suite. In this paper, we address this design problem using genetic algorithms. We attempt to evolve the characteristics, size, and arrangement of a team of sensors, focusing on minimizing the size of sensor suite while maximizing its detection capabilities. The genetic algorithm we have developed has produced promising results for different environmental configurations as well as varying sensor resources.
Coefficient of Variation

The coefficient of variation is defined. Keywords: standard deviation; expected present value; uncertainty
Fracture in metallic ribbon reinforced ceramic matrix composites

The fracture surfaces of a metallic–glass (amorphous) ribbon reinforced glass–ceramic and metallic ribbon reinforced glass matrix composite were studied. The features observed in the fracture surface of the brittle matrix were interpreted in terms of fast and slow crack growth in these composites. The implications of the nature of this crack growth on the toughness of such composites was also investigated.
Effects of lipopolysaccharide priming on acute ischemic brain injury.

Background and Purpose —Infection has been implicated as a stroke risk factor. Activation and infiltration of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) after cerebral ischemia may contribute to ischemic brain injury. This study was conducted to investigate how enhanced postischemic PMN infiltration by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) altered the acute ischemic outcomes. Methods —LPS (0.05 mg/kg SC) or vehicle was given to Long-Evans male rats 24 hours before ischemia. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by temporary ligation of the right middle cerebral artery and both common carotid arteries for 45 minutes. Animals were killed 6 and 24 hours after reperfusion to determine the extent of PMN infiltration (myeloperoxidase assay), brain edema (wet-dry weight method), and vascular injury (fluorescein isothiocyanate–conjugated dextran extravasation). The infarct volumes were measured on the basis of TTC stain 24 hours after ischemia. Results —LPS had little effect on body temperature or peripheral white count but substantially enhanced PMN infiltration into the ischemic right middle cerebral artery cortex on the basis of myeloperoxidase activity (6 hours: control, 0 U/g; LPS, 0.186±0.025 U/g; 24 hours: control, 0.185±0.025 U/g; LPS, 0.290±0.040 U/g; P <0.001) and morphological studies. The extent of vascular injury defined by the extravasation of fluorescein isothiocyanate–conjugated dextran into the ischemic tissue (6 hours: control, 3.11±0.41 μL/mg protein; LPS, 0.48±0.16 μL/mg protein; 24 hours: control, 1.77±0.23 μL/mg protein; LPS, 0.90±0.19 μL/mg protein; P <0.001) and brain edema determined by the brain water content (6 hours: control, 84.77±1.63%; LPS, 82.09±1.25%; 24 hours: control, 89.40±0.43%; LPS, 87.88±0.58%; P <0.01) were paradoxically reduced by LPS priming. LPS-primed rats also had smaller infarct volumes (control, 135±5 mm3; LPS, 108±12 mm3; P <0.05). Conclusions —Enhanced postischemic PMN infiltration is anticipated to facilitate ischemic brain injury. Contrary to this expectation, results from the present study suggest that an increase in postischemic PMN infiltration after LPS priming was not detrimental. These findings challenge the notion that postischemic PMN infiltration is uniformly deleterious.
Single additional dose postpartum therapy for women with chorioamnionitis.

Abstract Objective To determine whether a short course of antibiotics provides adequate treatment for chorioamnionitis. Methods Women received intravenous ampicillin, 2 g every 6 hours, and gentamicin, 1.5 mg/kg every 8 hours, when clinical chorioamnionitis was diagnosed. After delivery, subjects were randomized to continue this regimen until afebrile and asymptomatic for 24 hours (control group) or to receive only the next scheduled dose of each drug (study group). If delivered via cesarean, patients received clindamycin, 900 mg intravenously, at umbilical cord clamping. The control group continued receiving clindamycin every 8 hours until antibiotics were discontinued. The primary outcome was treatment failure, defined as a single temperature after the first postpartum dose of antibiotics of 39.0C or more, or two temperatures 38.4C or more at least 4 hours apart. To detect a 150% increase in rate of treatment failures from 8% in the control group to 20% in the study group, 292 subjects were needed (α = .05; 1 − β = .80). Results From December 26, 1999, to March 18, 2003, a total of 292 women were enrolled in the study. In the intent-to-treat analysis, treatment failure rate did not differ between the control ( n = 141) and study ( n = 151) groups (3.5% versus 4.6%; P = .639). Conclusion If treated promptly intrapartum, one additional dose of a broad-spectrum combination of antibiotics is sufficient postpartum therapy for immune-competent women with chorioamnionitis.
Abstract PR-2: Discovery of p21‐activated kinase inhibitor PF‐03758309

The p21‐activated kinase (PAK) family members are key effectors of Rho family GTPases, which act as regulatory switches that control such cellular processes as motility, proliferation, and cell survival. Some members of this family (such as Cdc42) have been shown to be required for Ras driven tumorigenesis. PAK4 is a key effector for Cdc42 and mediates downstream signals that control cell motility, proliferation and cell survival. The PAK family consists of PAK1,2,3 (‘group 1’) and PAK4,5,6 (‘group 2’). Both PAK4 and PAK1 have been shown to be required for Ras driven transformation. PAK4 has been shown to be oncogenic and able to drive anchorage independent growth when activated. PAK4 expression and activity is broadly up‐regulated in solid tumors such as colon, ovarian and pancreatic cancers. Pfizer9s PAK4 inhibitor program started with HTS of kinase focus library compounds. Multiple series were identified from the screening effort. Initial optimization mainly focused on kinase selectivity, ADME properties and ability to modulate target in vivo, leading to selection of pyrrolopyrazoles as the lead series. By hybridizing the pyrrolopyrazole core with aminopyrimidine series, we discovered potent PAK4 inhibitors with low to sub nM cellular activity. For the new hybrid series, the challenge was to attain good oral bioavailability. The observed poor absorption was likely due to high efflux nature of the template. Medicinal chemistry strategies, such as reducing molecular charge, lowering polar surface area and improving ligand efficiency, were applied to reduce efflux. As a result, two sub‐series achieved excellent in vivo tumor growth inhibition when dosed orally. PF‐03758309 has demonstrated excellent profile, leading to its selection as a clinical development candidate. PF‐3758309 is a potent ATP‐competitive inhibitor of PAK4 kinase domain (Kd = 4.5 nM). In engineered cell assays, PF‐3758309 inhibited PAK4 dependent phosphorylation of its substrate GEF‐H1 (IC50 = 1 nM). It potently inhibits the anchorage independent growth of HCT116 cells (IC50 = 0.24 nM). PF‐3758309 exhibited broad anti‐proliferative activity across a panel of 67 cell lines (CRC/pancreatic/NSCLC): 66% IC50 70%TGI at 15–20 mg/kg PO) by PF‐3758309: HCT116, A549, MDAMB231, M24met, and Colo205. Broad kinase screening has demonstrated that this is a selective pan‐PAK inhibitor with potential additional activities (e.g. AMPK). The pharmacodynamic and antitumor effects of PF‐3758309 support its evaluation as an anticancer agent. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):PR-2.
Development of Cryogenic Power Modules for Superconducting Hybrid Power Electronic System

This paper presents the developments of high-performance integrated cryogenic power modules, where both driver components and power Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors (MOSFETs) are integrated in a single package, to be used in cryogenic inverter operating at liquid nitrogen temperature. Compact high-voltage, cryogenic integrated power modules with single power MOSFET that exhibited more than 14x improvement in on-resistance and continuous current-carrying capability exceeding 40 A. A multipower MOSFETs integrated cryogenic power module is also developed in order to further increase the power density and reduce the size and weight of the cryogenic power system. Two different approaches taken in the developments of these modules are reported in this paper.