cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emerging concepts for patients with treatment-resistant hypertension.

Treatment-resistant hypertension (TRH) is defined as elevated blood pressure despite treatment with three properly dosed antihypertensive drugs, and is associated with adverse cardiovascular and renal outcomes and increased mortality. Treatment of patients with TRH focuses on maximizing the doses of antihypertensive drugs and adding drugs with complementary mechanisms of action, including a combination of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers, calcium channel blockers, and thiazide-like diuretics. Randomized clinical trials have demonstrated the efficacy of the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone as a fourth-line therapy for patients with TRH. Other pharmacologic considerations include adding α-blockers, combined α–β-blockers, centrally acting α-agonists, or direct vasodilators. However, a small, but important subset of patients remain hypertensive despite combination regimens with multiple antihypertensive drugs, underscoring the need for novel blood pressure-lowering therapies. Over recent years, alternative approaches for treating TRH have emerged, including agonists of natriuretic peptides, endothelin-receptor antagonists, and additional vasoactive drugs. Lastly, device-based interventions, such as renal denervation or carotid baroreflex activation, may supplement drug therapy for these patients. This review summarizes current knowledge on the management of TRH, with focus on novel therapeutic strategies designed to achieve optimal blood pressure control.
Acute effects of partial compression of ductus arteriosus on fetal pulmonary circulation.

To determine the acute effects of increased pulmonary artery pressure and flow on the fetal pulmonary circulation, we studied the response of pulmonary blood flow and vascular reactivity to partial compression of the ductus arteriosus in 22 chronically prepared late-gestation fetal lambs. An inflatable occluder was placed loosely around the ductus arteriosus for compression. Partial compression of the ductus rapidly increased mean pulmonary artery pressure from 45 +/- 1 to 60 +/- 1 mmHg (mean +/- SE) and left pulmonary artery blood flow from 65 +/- 6 to 151 +/- 11 ml/min at 30 min (P less than 0.001; 12 animals). Despite keeping pulmonary artery pressure constant, pulmonary blood flow steadily declined and by 2 h was not different from base-line values. Pulmonary vascular resistance initially fell during the first 30 min of partial compression but then steadily increased and remained elevated above base-line values for at least 30 min after the release of the occluder (P less than 0.001). The decline of pulmonary vascular resistance during the first 30 min of compression was blunted after treatment with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, meclofenamate (P less than 0.001; 6 animals). Rapid incremental ductus compressions demonstrated a decrease in the slope of the pressure-flow relationship from 3.30 +/- 0.27 (control) to 1.59 +/- 0.21 ml.min-1.mmHg-1 during the postcompression period (P less than 0.001; 12 animals). The vasodilation response to small increases of fetal PO2 was markedly blunted during the postcompression period (P less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Error and Uncertainty Analysis

In our private lives, we make decisions that affect our personal future and our community’s future based on conceptual models. Accurate models that result in predictable futures bring success and satisfaction to our lives. Each of us is blessed with some level of capability to absorb the lessons of the past into our personal models that then help us move toward a desirable future. We are all aware of the difficulties associated with making decisions when the model is incomplete—either because we lack confidence in the model or we are seeking additional information as inputs to the decision process. Sometimes we accept the fuzziness in our thinking and the available information and make a decision with full awareness that the decision will need to be revisited as our understandings (our models) improve and input information is made more complete. Sometimes we are more comfortable with “black and white” and find ourselves turning a “gray” area decision into a confident yes or no. Uncertainty is uncomfortable for most of us, and we can find it easy to move to adopting ideas or decisions that appear to have more certainty than is actually the case.
Association Between Self-Esteem and Depressive Symptoms Is Stronger Among Black than White Older Adults.

Although poor self-esteem is a core component of depression, we still do not know if racial and ethnic groups differ in the magnitude of this link. This study compared Black and White older adults on the association between self-esteem and depressive symptoms. With a cross-sectional design, this study enrolled 1493 older individuals (age 66 or more) from the 2001 Religion, Aging, and Health Survey, a nationally representative study in the United States. Participants were either Blacks (n = 734) or Whites (n = 759). Depressive symptoms and self-esteem were measured using brief measures of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale (CES-D) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, respectively. Demographics, socioeconomics, and self-rated health (SRH) were covariates and self-identified race was the moderator. Linear regression models were used for data analysis. Low self-esteem was associated with more depressive symptoms (B = 0.17, 95 % CI 0.15–0.28), above and beyond all covariates. We found a significant and positive interaction between race (Black) and poor self-esteem on depressive symptoms (B = 0.34, 95 % CI 0.17–0.36), suggesting a stronger association between self-esteem and depressive symptoms among Blacks compared to Whites. Although low self-esteem is associated with higher depressive symptoms in both Whites and Blacks (p < 0.05 for both races), the standardized coefficient was 0.25 (95 % CI = 0.20–0.43) for Blacks and 0.16 (95 % CI = 0.09–0.29) for Whites. Low self-esteem and high depressive symptoms are more closely associated among Blacks than Whites. It is not clear whether depression leaves a larger scar on self-esteem for Blacks, or Blacks are more vulnerable to the effect of low self-esteem on depression.
Abundant Inverse Regression Using Sufficient Reduction and Its Applications

Statistical models such as linear regression drive numerous applications in computer vision and machine learning. The landscape of practical deployments of these formulations is dominated by forward regression models that estimate the parameters of a function mapping a set of p covariates, \(\varvec{x}\), to a response variable, y. The less known alternative, Inverse Regression, offers various benefits that are much less explored in vision problems. The goal of this paper is to show how Inverse Regression in the “abundant” feature setting (i.e., many subsets of features are associated with the target label or response, as is the case for images), together with a statistical construction called Sufficient Reduction, yields highly flexible models that are a natural fit for model estimation tasks in vision. Specifically, we obtain formulations that provide relevance of individual covariates used in prediction, at the level of specific examples/samples — in a sense, explaining why a particular prediction was made. With no compromise in performance relative to other methods, an ability to interpret why a learning algorithm is behaving in a specific way for each prediction, adds significant value in numerous applications. We illustrate these properties and the benefits of Abundant Inverse Regression on three distinct applications.
Abstract 436: Macrophage-Specific Cholesterol Efflux Capacity as a Biomarker for High-Density Lipoprotein Function: Comparison of Isotopic Versus Fluorometric Methods for High-Throughput Assessment

Background: Cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) is emerging as a novel cardiovascular biomarker of HDL function. To facilitate large-scale human studies, we analyzed analytical performance of CEC and compared a high-throughput fluorometric method with the standard isotopic method. Methods: CEC was assessed in J774 cells with either 3H-cholesterol (isotopic) or BODIPY-cholesterol (fluorometric) to 2.8% apo B-depleted plasma over 4h. Three cohorts were studied: 22 healthy men and women, 38 patients with premature coronary heart disease (CHD) and 196 subjects selected from the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), a population-based study of Dallas county residents. All samples were stored greater than 1 year prior to measurement. Results: In healthy subjects (A-B), CEC by both methods did not show diurnal or weekly variation or changes with prandial status, or one freeze/thaw cycle. However, storage at -20o C resulted in lower CEC compared to storage at -80o C (p=0.02). CEC by both methods was similarly decreased in patients with CHD compared to healthy controls (p=0.06). In 212 DHS subjects, CEC for the two methods were correlated with each other (r=0.54, p<0.0001) but had differential correlations with HDL-C and HDL-P (figure). Conclusions: CEC to apo B-depleted human plasma is not influenced by timing of sampling or storage conditions, with the exception of storage at -20oC. A 96-well high-throughput fluorometric method using BODIPY-cholesterol exhibited similar performance characteristics as the standard isotopic method with differing correlations with HDL composition and may therefore be advantageous in large scale human studies. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Abstract 1534: The microbiome of cancer as seen through the lens of public genome sequence data

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA There are 10 times more bacterial cells in the human body than human cells and various bacteria are known to influence carcinogenesis. Therefore we sought to investigate if publicly available whole genome and whole transcriptome sequencing data generated by large public cancer genome efforts, like The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), could be used to examine the microbial composition of tumors. The Burrows-Wheeler Aligner (BWA) was used to align a selection of Illumina paired-end sequencing data from TCGA data to the human reference genome and all complete bacterial genomes in the RefSeq database. Reads were filtered for low complexity and duplicates and then assigned an Operational Taxonomic Unit (OTU). Through careful consideration of all of the bacterial taxa present in the cancer types investigated, we found an increased abundance of Acinetobacter spp. in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) samples, Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in ovarian serous cystadenocarcinomas (OV), and Pseudomonas spp. in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) samples. Further investigation prompted us to conclude that Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex read pairs were found in the OV samples due to sequencing center batch effects. The same analysis of the AML and STAD samples suggests that Acinetobacter spp. are truly present in AML samples and that Pseudomonas spp. are actually present in the STAD samples investigated. Upon completion of this analysis, we determined that it is possible to identify bacteria in human tumor samples. However, care must be taken to assess bacteria that arrived in the sample via various forms of contamination. It is also important to note that the sequencing library method heavily biases the bacterial taxa identified. One sample sequenced with RNA-Sequencing, whole exome sequencing (WXS), and whole genome sequencing (WGS) had extensively different bacteria reflected in the RNA-Seq data compared to that of WGS and WXS. In the future, a comprehensive approach should be used when evaluating the microbiome of tumor samples via sequencing data. The methods used in this study are valid and useful for identifying the presence of bacteria in human samples, but may not be an exhaustive picture. More weight should be given to this approach in the future when bacterial associations with diseases are suspected. Citation Format: Kelly M. Robinson, Karsten B. Sieber, Kathleen E. Anderson, David R. Riley, Julie C. Dunning Hotopp. The microbiome of cancer as seen through the lens of public genome sequence data. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1534. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1534
Alcohol intake and mortality among survivors of colorectal cancer: The Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort

BACKGROUND Alcohol consumption is associated with a higher risk of colorectal cancer, but to the authors' knowledge its influence on survival after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer is unclear. The authors investigated associations between prediagnosis and postdiagnosis alcohol intake with mortality among survivors of colorectal cancer. METHODS The authors identified 2458 men and women who were diagnosed with invasive, nonmetastatic colorectal cancer between 1992 (enrollment into the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort) and 2011. Alcohol consumption was self-reported at baseline and updated in 1997, 1999, 2003, and 2007. Postdiagnosis alcohol data were available for 1599 participants. RESULTS Of the 2458 participants diagnosed with colorectal cancer, 1156 died during follow-up through 2012. Prediagnosis and postdiagnosis alcohol consumption were not found to be associated with all-cause mortality, except for an association between prediagnosis consumption of <2 drinks per day and a slightly lower risk of all-cause mortality (relative risk [RR], 0.86; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.74-1.00) compared with never drinking. Alcohol use was generally not associated with colorectal cancer-specific mortality, although there was some suggestion of increased colorectal cancer-specific mortality with postdiagnosis drinking (RR, 1.27 [95% CI, 0.87-1.86] for current drinking of <2 drinks/day and RR, 1.44 [95% CI, 0.80-2.60] for current drinking of ≥2 drinks/day). CONCLUSIONS The results of the current study do not support an association between alcohol consumption and all-cause mortality among individuals with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. The association between postdiagnosis drinking and colorectal cancer-specific mortality should be examined in larger studies of individuals diagnosed with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. Cancer 2017;123:2006–2013. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Heterogeneous nucleation on platinum doped Li 2 O·2SiO 2 glass by differential thermal analysis

Abstract Differential Thermal Analysis was used to calculate the heterogeneous nucleation rates for lithium disilicate glass doped with different concentrations of platinum particles. The lithium disilicate glass was melted with 0.001 and 0.005 wt% platinum and with PtCl 4 for the investigation, and compared with the same glass un-doped. Heterogeneous volume nucleation was observed and the number of nuclei as a function of time was calculated for temperatures 440 °C, 450 °C, and 470 °C. Results indicated a higher magnitude of heterogeneous nucleation rate for the glass doped with platinum compared to glass doped with PtCl 4 . Highest nucleation rate was at 455 °C with 6.5 × 10 11 m − 3 s − 1 for the glass doped with 0.005 wt% platinum particles while nucleation rate for glass doped with 0.001wt%PtCl 4 was 9.5 × 10 8 m − 3 s − 1 . Results calculated by differential thermal analysis are in good agreement to those estimated by the optical microscopy and molecular simulation measurements.
Carbon nanomaterial based sensors for astrobiology exploration

Carbon nanomaterials are emerging as popular platforms for the development of advanced sensor technologies. This paper reports fabrication, characterization, and testing of carbon nanomaterial based sensors for astrobiology exploration. Development of nanostructured sensor instruments and associated sensor electronics are designed to implement a prototype sensor instrument in “lab-in-a-teacup” platform. The prototype nanostructured sensors consisting of vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNF) are capable of providing a basis for small volume electroanalyses in probing regions elevated above the planar substrate. In addition, the sensor probes demonstrate excellent sensitivity and fast response time which can potentially extend the application of these probes in various electrochemical sensor systems. The prototype sensors instrument incorporates massively parallel electrochemical sensing devices capable of investigating life in either terrestrial or extraterrestrial environment.
Spirulina for snack enrichment: Nutritional, physical and sensory evaluations

Abstract The aim of this work was to develop snacks enriched with Spirulina and thus improve their nutritional characteristics. Two formulations were developed: SP added with 2.6% Spirulina sp. LEB 18 and C (0% Spirulina). These snacks were evaluated with respect to the nutritional content (protein, lipids, ash, carbohydrates, carotenoids and in vitro protein digestibility), physical properties (expansion index, bulk density, hardness, water absorption index, water solubility index, microstructure and color parameters) and sensorial characteristics (flavor, color, taste, texture, overall acceptance and purchase intention), as well as microbiological analyses. The addition of Spirulina provided nutritional increase of 22.6% in proteins, 28.1% in lipids and 46.4% in minerals, without significantly affecting (p > .05) the physical parameters such as expansion index and hardness. The pigments of such microalga significantly influenced (p
Application of a free drift tactical ice forecast model in pack ice conditions

Abstract The extension of oil and gas exploration in High Arctic offshore locations will likely require floating drilling capability in the presence of high-concentration sea ice (pack ice) at the beginning and end of the open water season. The detection and drift forecasting of potentially unmanageable ice features (PUIF) will be key components of an ice management system designed to manage risk while drilling during pack ice intrusions. In September 2015 during the Oden Arctic Technology Research Cruise 2015 (OATRC 2015), an ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company (EMURC) free drift tactical ice forecast model designed to forecast the drift of individual ice floes in low concentration ice conditions was applied in near real-time to high concentration pack ice with predominant thicknesses of medium first-year ice in the Arctic Ocean. The description and application of the proposed ice drift forecast model is presented in this paper. In addition, forecast results are compared to drift data collected during OATRC 2015. It is shown that the free drift forecasting tool produces reasonably accurate and useful forecasts in the high concentration ice observed.
Effect of pyrolysis on the removal of antibiotic resistance genes and class I integrons from municipal wastewater biosolids

Wastewater biosolids represent a significant reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). While current biosolids treatment technologies can reduce ARG levels in residual wastewater biosolids, observed removal rates vary substantially. Pyrolysis is an anoxic thermal degradation process that can be used to convert biosolids into energy rich products including py-gas and py-oil, and a beneficial soil amendment, biochar. Batch pyrolysis experiments conducted on municipal biosolids revealed that the 16S rRNA gene, the ARGs erm(B), sul1, tet(L), tet(O), and the integrase gene of class 1 integrons (intI1) were significantly reduced at pyrolysis temperatures ranging from 300–700 °C, as determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Pyrolysis of biosolids at 500 °C and higher resulted in approximately 6-log removal of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. ARGs with the highest observed removals were sul1 and tet(O), which had observed reductions of 4.62 and 4.04-log, respectively. Pyrolysis reaction time had a significant impact on 16S rRNA, ARG and intI1 levels. A pyrolysis residence time of 5 minutes at 500 °C reduced all genes to below detection limits. These results demonstrate that pyrolysis could be implemented as a biosolids polishing treatment technology to substantially decrease the abundance of total bacteria (i.e., 16S rRNA), ARGs and intI1 prior to land application of municipal biosolids.
Political Economy through the Looking Glass: Imagining Six Impossible Things about Finance before Breakfast

Two sets of co-authors, LiPuma and Lee, and Bryan and Rafferty, each argue that contemporary ‘speculative’ or ‘circulatory’ capitalism represents a deep rupture in the modality of capitalist accumulation from earlier forms of industrial capitalism such that the Marxian critique of value-form is now redundant. I argue that despite the altered surface-appearances of financialisation, the essential character of social domination carried out in the process of capitalist production-circulation in financialisation constitutes, rather, a continuation of the particular movement of capital from earlier historical conjunctures. As such, traditional formulations of Marxian categories such as class, exploitation and the value-form remain relevant and, indeed, necessary for the analysis of the mode of social domination in the era of financialisation.
Quant data science meets dexterous artistry

Data science is a bridge discipline connecting fundamental science, applied disciplines, and the arts. The demand for novel data science methods is well established. However, there is much less agreement on the core aspects of representation, modeling, and analytics that involve huge and heterogeneous datasets. The scientific community needs to build consensus about data science education and training curricula, including the necessary entry matriculation prerequisites and the expected learning competency outcomes needed to tackle complex Big Data challenges. To meet the rapidly increasing demand for effective evidence-based practice and data analytic methods, research teams, funding agencies, academic institutions, politicians, and industry leaders should embrace innovation, promote high-risk projects, join forces to expand the technological capacity, and enhance the workforce skills.
The influence of password restrictions and mnemonics on the memory for passwords of older adults

Accessing Internet accounts can provide convenient services to users, regardless of age. However, these online services typically require that users enter a username and password. Forgetting one's password, then, often results in the inconvenience of having to reset your password. Although there has been research on the memorability of passwords, this research often focuses on younger adults. Little research has taken older adults into consideration when designing password requirements. Older adults show cognitive decline in memory, which can make the task of remembering passwords especially difficult. However, older adults experience less difficulty in memory for familiar pictures, making the use of pictures an ideal candidate for cuing passwords. Participants in this study were asked to generate passwords for five different fictitious online accounts using a text-based or image-based mnemonic technique. Older adults were less likely to forget passwords that were generated using image-based mnemonic technique compared to the text-based one, implying that pictures can be used as cues for password recall for older adults.
A method for assessing influence relationships among KPIs of service systems

The operational performance of service systems is commonly measured with key performance indicators (KPIs), e.g., time-to-resolve, SLA compliance, and workload balance. The assumption is that healthy KPIs lead to healthy business outcomes such as customer satisfaction, cost savings, and service quality. Although the domain experts have an intuitive understanding of the causal relationships among the KPIs, the degree of influence a cause KPI has on the effect KPI is difficult to estimate based on intuition. Also, the intuitive understanding could be wrong. Further, we show how the causal relationships are intricate with aspects such as the rate of influence and conditionality in measurements. As a result, although crucial, it is nontrivial to estimate the degree of influence. Without the degree of influence, prediction of business outcomes and decisions based on them tend to be ad hoc. This paper presents a novel method for validating the intuitive direction and the polarity of a causal relationship provided by domain experts. Further, the method also estimates the degree of influence based on the measure of Pearson's correlation. Using the degree of influence and least squares regression, the method predicts values of effect KPIs. The method is evaluated by applying it on 10 widely used KPIs from 29 real-life service systems. We find that the method validates 8 of the 15 intuitive relationships and estimates the degree of influence for each of the validated relationships. Further, based on the degrees of influence and the regression model learned from the 29 service systems, the method could estimate the values of the effect KPIs with an average root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of 1.2%, in 9 additional service systems.
'Lock to Live': development of a firearm storage decision aid to enhance lethal means counselling and prevent suicide.

Objectives We sought to (1) clarify decision needs among suicidal adults with home firearm access; (2) identify accurate, unbiased and acceptable approaches for content and messaging; and (3) develop a tablet-delivered decision aid for firearm storage options. Methods Following international standards, we used stakeholder interviews to develop a decision aid for the decision, ‘what option(s) to choose to reduce home access to firearms for an adult at risk of suicide’. Participants were adults with personal or family history of suicidal ideation or behaviours, firearm ownership or employment in a firearm range or store, involvement in suicide prevention field, or work as emergency department or other healthcare provider. Results Through 64 interviews, we created the ‘Lock to Live’ decision aid, which includes (1) introduction specifying the decision, (2) clarification of preferences and logistics, (3) table of storage options and (4) summary with specific next steps. The final tool had high user acceptability. Conclusions Should the ‘Lock to Live’ decision aid prove useful in a pilot feasibility trial and subsequent testing, it could enhance lethal means counselling and help prevent firearm suicide.
Atherosclerosis-associated differentially methylated regions can reflect the disease phenotype and are often at enhancers

Abstract Background and aims Atherosclerosis is a widespread and complicated disease involving phenotypic modulation and transdifferentiation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), the predominant cells in aorta, as well as changes in endothelial cells and infiltrating monocytes. Alterations in DNA methylation are likely to play central roles in these phenotypic changes, just as they do in normal differentiation and cancer. Methods We examined genome-wide DNA methylation changes in atherosclerotic aorta using more stringent criteria for differentially methylated regions (DMRs) than in previous studies and compared these DMRs to tissue-specific epigenetic features. Results We found that disease-linked hypermethylated DMRs account for 85% of the total atherosclerosis-associated DMRs and often overlap aorta-associated enhancer chromatin. These hypermethylated DMRs were associated with functionally different sets of genes compared to atherosclerosis-linked hypomethylated DMRs. The extent and nature of the DMRs could not be explained as direct effects of monocyte/macrophage infiltration. Among the known atherosclerosis- and contractile SMC-related genes that exhibited hypermethylated DMRs at aorta enhancer chromatin were ACTA2 (aorta α2 smooth muscle actin), ELN (elastin), MYOCD (myocardin), C9orf3 (miR-23b and miR-27b host gene), and MYH11 (smooth muscle myosin). Our analyses also suggest a role in atherosclerosis for developmental transcription factor genes having little or no previous association with atherosclerosis, such as NR2F2 (COUP-TFII) and TBX18. Conclusions We provide evidence for atherosclerosis-linked DNA methylation changes in aorta SMCs that might help minimize or reverse the standard contractile character of many of these cells by down-modulating aorta SMC-related enhancers, thereby facilitating pro-atherosclerotic phenotypic changes in many SMCs.
Abstract 027: Hyperglycemia and Oxidative Stress Contribute to Impaired CerebralAutoregulation in Association With Dementia in Diabetes

Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia and is well established to associate with oxidative stress. The present study examines whether impaired myogenic response of middle cerebral arte...
Should mucosal bowel invasion in ovarian cancer be assigned to FIGO stage IV disease

Abstract Objectives The FIGO staging consensus agreement from 2012 indicates that bowel mucosal invasion for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) should be assigned to stage IV disease. Finding no evidence justifying this recommendation, we examined the impact of recto-sigmoid colonic invasion on survival based on depth of invasion. Methods Patients having recto-sigmoid resection to achieve complete gross resection for stage IIIC/IV EOC between 2003 and 2011 were included. For this study, mucosal invasion alone was not considered as stage IV. Degree of bowel invasion was defined as: serosal/subserosal vs. muscularis/submucosa/mucosa. Patients with only mesenteric invasion were excluded. Intraperitoneal disease (IP) dissemination patterns were defined as pelvic, lower abdomen, upper abdomen, and miliary disease. Comparisons between groups were evaluated using the log-rank test for progression-free and overall survival (PFS, OS) and the chi-square test for IP dissemination pattern. Results Eighty-five patients were included with a mean age of 64.5 years. Most cases were serous (87.1%) and stage IIIC (83.5%). There were 53 (62.4%) patients with serosal/subserosal and 32 (37.6%) with muscularis/submucosa/mucosa invasion. Although not statistically significant, PFS and OS both favored cases with deeper invasion (muscularis/submucosa/mucosa vs. serosal/subserosal invasion: median PFS, 33.5 vs. 18.2 months, p = 0.34; median OS, 82.3 vs. 51.5 months, p = 0.46). When comparing patterns of disease dissemination, we observed that patients with serosal/subserosal invasion (vs. those with deeper invasion) tended to have more upper abdominal or miliary disease (67.9% vs. 48.4%, p = 0.08). Conclusions Depth of recto-sigmoid colon wall invasion does not have prognostic significance. Our observations do not support assignment to a higher FIGO stage (IV) based solely on this factor.
Belatacept and CD28 Costimulation Blockade: Preventing and Reducing Alloantibodies over the Long Term

Highlight developments in T and B cell biology that are helping elucidate the mechanisms underlying CD28 pathway blockade-mediated inhibition of alloantibodies in transplantation, and discuss recent clinical observations on the impact of belatacept on de novo and established HLA antibodies. The identification of T follicular helper cells as the CD4+ T cell subset required for optimal humoral immunity, along with newly identified roles for CD28 and the B7 molecules on B cell lineage cells, has begun to pave the way for improved understanding and discovery of the mechanisms of CD28 costimulation blockade-mediated antibody inhibition. There has been resurgent clinical interest in the ability of belatacept to attenuate alloantibody responses. New reports have continued to document its ability to prevent de novo antibody responses, and more recent studies have surfaced exploring its potential to control nascent or pre-existing HLA antibodies. A growing understanding of the mechanisms of anti-CD28-mediated alloantibody inhibition and continued clinical successes will guide the clinical optimization of belatacept and next-generation CD28 blockers to prevent and reduce alloantibodies over the long term.
Enhanced Conductivity via Homopolymer-Rich Pathways in Block Polymer-Blended Electrolytes

The optimization of ionic conductivity and lithium-ion battery stability can be achieved by independently tuning the ion transport and mechanical robustness of block polymer (BP) electrolytes. However, the ionic conductivity of BP electrolytes is inherently limited by the covalent attachment of the ionically conductive block to the mechanically robust block, among other factors. Herein, the BP electrolyte polystyrene-block-poly(oligo-oxyethylene methacrylate) [PS-b-POEM] was blended with POEM homopolymers of varying molecular weights. The incorporation of a higher molecular weight homopolymer additive (α > 1 state) promoted a “dry brush-like” homopolymer distribution within the BP self-assembly and led to higher lithium salt concentrations in the more mobile homopolymer-rich region, increasing overall ionic conductivity relative to the “wet brush-like” (α < 1 state) and unblended composites, where α is the molecular weight ratio between the POEM homopolymer and the POEM block in the copolymer. Neutron and...
Greece, Tourism and Disability

Accessibility, Tourism and Greece. How are these three words connected, collide or consistent? The concept of access takes its true value when talking about universal access to all sectors focused to the specific category of people with disabilities. Accessibility is everyone’s right. The right of access for people with disabilities to culture, tourism and entertainment is a fundamental human right, and is directly related to their quality of life and their ability to participate in social activities and in that way should be dealt by the State and its law enforcement agencies, according to the Constitution of Greece. The need to participate in the tourism sport activities, the lack of access in the structured or not environment for the disabled groups of visitors, create misinterpretation and lack of guaranteed levels of services. In 2003, which was also the European Year for People with Disabilities, in the Council of Ministers of the EU the resolution on the Accessibility of people with disabilities to Cultural Infrastructure was adopted in many respects, including accessibility to travel and tourism. It was that year when the first official actions to build access to the ‘sea and sand’ were run in Greece under the guidance of the Ministry of Development. Since then many accessible beaches were created in many Greek places and structures has been used independently by people with disabilities. After a great number of beaches all over, the accessible beaches and bathing facilities remain minimal in number and location.
HSV-1 Hijacks the Host DNA Damage Response in Corneal Epithelial Cells through ICP4-Mediated Activation of ATM.

Purpose Herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) infection of corneal epithelial cells activates ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM), an apical kinase in the host DNA damage response pathway, whose activity is necessary for the progression of lytic HSV-1 infection. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanism of ATM activation by HSV-1 in the corneal epithelium, as well as its functional significance. Methods Mechanistic studies were performed in cultured human corneal epithelial cell lines (hTCEpi, HCE), as well as in esophageal (EPC2) and oral (OKF6) cell lines. Transfection-based experiments were performed in HEK293 cells. HSV-1 infection was carried out using the wild-type KOS strain, various mutant strains (tsB7, d120, 7134, i13, n208), and bacterial artificial chromosomes (fHSVΔpac, pM24). Inhibitors of ATM (KU-55933), protein synthesis (cycloheximide), and viral DNA replication (phosphonoacetic acid) were used. Outcomes of infection were assayed using Western blotting, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, and comet assay. Results This study demonstrates that HSV-1-mediated ATM activation in corneal epithelial cells relies on the viral immediate early gene product ICP4 and requires the presence of the viral genome in the host nucleus. We show that ATM activation is independent of viral genome replication, the ICP0 protein, and the presence of DNA lesions. Interestingly, ATM activity appears to be necessary at the onset of infection, but dispensable at the later stages. Conclusions This study expands our understanding of HSV-1 virus-host interactions in the corneal epithelium and identifies potential areas of future investigation and therapeutic intervention in herpes keratitis.
Rarefactive lattice solitary waves with high-energy sonic limit.

We compute rarefactive solitary wave solutions in a nonlinear lattice with nearest-neighbor interaction forces that are sublinear near the undeformed state. This setting includes bistable bonds governed by a double-well potential. In contrast to the prototypical Korteweg--de Vries--type delocalization, the obtained solutions feature a nontrivial sonic limit (Chapman-Jouguet regime) with nonzero energy and algebraic decay at infinity. In the bistable case the waves are strongly localized and have high energy over the entire velocity range. Direct numerical simulations suggest stability of the computed solitary waves. We consider several quasicontinuum models that mimic some features of the obtained solutions, including the nontrivial nature of the sonic limit, but fail to accurately approximate their core structure for all velocities in the bistable regime.
First-in-human neuroimaging of soluble epoxide hydrolase using [18F]FNDP PET.

Soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) is an enzyme with putative effect on neuroinflammation through its influence on the homeostasis of polyunsaturated fatty acids and related byproducts. sEH is an enzyme that metabolizes anti-inflammatory epoxy fatty acids to the corresponding, relatively inert 1,2-diols. A high availability or activity of sEH promotes vasoconstriction and inflammation in local tissues that may be linked to neuropsychiatric diseases. We developed [18F]FNDP to study sEH in vivo with positron emission tomography (PET). Brain PET using bolus injection of [18F]FNDP followed by emission imaging lasting 90 or 180 min was completed in healthy adults (5 males, 2 females, ages 40–53 years). The kinetic behavior of [18F]FNDP was evaluated using a radiometabolite-corrected arterial plasma input function with compartmental or graphical modeling approaches. [18F]FNDP PET was without adverse effects. Akaike information criterion favored the two-tissue compartment model (2TCM) in all ten regions of interest. Regional total distribution volume (VT) values from each compartmental model and Logan analysis were generally well identified except for corpus callosum VT using the 2TCM. Logan analysis was assessed as the choice model due to stability of regional VT values from 90-min data and due to high correlation of Logan-derived regional VT values with those from the 2TCM. [18F]FNDP binding was higher in human cerebellar cortex and thalamus relative to supratentorial cortical regions, which aligns with reported expression patterns of the epoxide hydrolase 2 gene in human brain. These data support further use of [18F]FNDP PET to study sEH in human brain.
“Detrimental to the Team Dynamic”: Exploring College Student-Athlete Dissent:

To properly manage college student-athlete dissent, stakeholders (e.g., coaches, teammates, administration, athletic trainers, etc.) must first recognize the situations that cause athletes to disse...
Validity of a 3-compartment body composition model using body volume derived from a novel 2-dimensional image analysis program.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was: (1) to compare body volume (BV) estimated from a 2-dimensional (2D) image analysis program (BVIMAGE), and a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) equation (BVDXA-Smith-Ryan) to an underwater weighing (UWW) criterion (BVUWW); (2) to compare relative adiposity (%Fat) derived from a 3-compartment (3C) model using BVIMAGE (%Fat3C-IMAGE), and a 4-compartment (4C) model using BVDXA-Smith-Ryan (%Fat4C-DXA-Smith-Ryan) to a 4C criterion model using BVUWW (%Fat4C-UWW). SUBJECT/METHODS Forty-eight participants were included (60% male, 22.9 ± 5.0 years, 24.2 ± 2.6 kg/m2). BVIMAGE was derived using a single digital image of each participant taken from the rear/posterior view. DXA-derived BV was calculated according to Smith-Ryan et al. Bioimpedance spectroscopy and DXA were used to measure total body water and bone mineral content, respectively, in the 3C and 4C models. A standardized mean effect size (ES) assessed the magnitude of differences between models with values of 0.2, 0.5, and 0.8 for small, moderate, and large differences, respectively. Data are presented as mean ± standard deviation. RESULTS Near-perfect correlation (r = 0.998, p < 0.001) and no mean differences (p = 0.267) were observed between BVIMAGE (69.6 ± 11.5 L) and BVUWW (69.5 ± 11.4 L). No mean differences were observed between %Fat4C-DXA-Smith-Ryan and the %Fat4C-UWW criterion (p = 0.988). Small mean differences were observed between %Fat3C-IMAGE and %Fat4C-UWW (ES = 0.2, p < 0.001). %Fat3C-IMAGE exhibited smaller SEE and TE, and tighter limits of agreement than %Fat4C-DXA-Smith-Ryan. CONCLUSIONS The 2D image analysis program provided an accurate and non-invasive estimate of BV, and subsequently %Fat within a 3C model in generally healthy, young adults.
The history and future of the journal of social work practice in the addictions: an interview with Dr. Lala Straussner and Dr. Lisa Berger: INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY:

Social Workers and other allied professionals interact with person who use and misuse substances in a variety of settings, whether or not people are seeking specific assistance with their use. Acco...
High-Throughput Adaptable SARS-CoV-2 Screening for Rapid Identification of Dominant and Emerging Regional Variants

AimsEmerging SARS-CoV-2 variant strains are associated with increased transmissibility, more severe disease, and reduced effectiveness of treatments. Genomic surveillance for identifying variants would better inform resource allocation and hotspot control. Yet, the implementation of variant surveillance has been regionally variable and prohibitively slow. To improve the availability of variant surveillance, we describe a variant genotyping system that is rapid, accurate, adaptable, and able to detect new low-level variants built with existing hospital infrastructure. MethodsWe use a tiered high-throughput SARS-CoV-2 screening program to characterizes variants in a supra-regional health system over 76 days. Combining targeted qPCR and selective sequencing, we screen positive SARS-CoV-2 samples from all hospitals within our health care system for genotyping dominant and emerging variants. ResultsThe median turn-around for genotyping was two days using the high-throughput qPCR-based screen, allowing us to rapidly characterize the emerging Delta variant. Consistent with prior work, in our population, the Delta variant is associated with a lower CT value (a surrogate for viral load), lower age at infection, and increased vaccine breakthrough cases. Detection of low-level and potentially emerging variants highlights the utility of a tiered approach. ConclusionsThese findings underscore the need for fast, low-cost, high-throughput monitoring of regional viral sequences as the pandemic unfolds and the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants increases. Combing qPCR-based screening with selective sequencing allows for rapid genotyping of variants and dynamic system improvement. Key messagesO_LIA tiered approach that uses qPCR-based screening to identify dominant variants and sequencing for unique variants maximizes throughput, turn-around time, and information gleaned from each sample. C_LIO_LIIn our population, the Delta variant became dominant in less than a month and is associated with lower CT, lower age at infection, and increased breakthrough cases. C_LIO_LIWe identified low-level variants, including the variant of interest B.1.621 and a Delta variant with an E484K mutation in our population. C_LIO_LIThe tiered approach allows for dynamic feedback and iterative improvement, enabling adaptation to newly emerging variants with existing hospital infrastructure. C_LI
Teen angels & new mutants: Rick Veitch's Brat Pack and the art, karma, and commerce of killing sidekicks, by Stephen R. Bissette

Teen Angels & New Mutants is ostensibly a book about Rick Veitch's early 1990s series Brat Pack, though it largely eschews hermetic textual analysis of these comics. Brat Pack follows the rise and ...
Legal Sufficiency of Testing Processes

Software processes are executed for a purpose: to satisfy a set of process requirements and to meet process constraints [1]. This paper shows that there is a critical set of process constraints, often considered only implicitly or even ignored, that are derived externally from social expectations. This paper suggests an approach to determining this set of process constraints and a basic method for their consideration during safety-critical testing process design.
Overlapping transcription by RNA polymerases II and III of the Xenopus TFIIIA gene in somatic cells.

Abstract Xenopus TFIIIA gene expression is developmentally regulated. The per cell level of steady-state TFIIIA mRNA present in oocytes is drastically reduced (10(6)-fold) in adult somatic cells, suggesting regulation at the transcriptional level. This is supported by the presence of TFIIIA mRNAs with different 5'-ends in oocytes and in somatic cells, which suggests the presence of distinct cell-/stage-specific promoters, i.e. a strong oocyte-specific and a weak somatic-specific promoter. Here, by mapping the 5'-ends of TFIIIA RNAs found in Xenopus somatic cells, we document the activity not only of an upstream somatic-specific promoter, but also of a down-stream "oocyte-specific" promoter that gives rise to a minor population of somatic TFIIIA mRNAs initiated from the same transcription start site utilized in oocytes. This result explains the presence of an oocyte-type form of TFIIIA protein in somatic cells. Furthermore, by characterizing transcription from the Xenopus TFIIIA promoter in somatic cell nuclear extracts and comparing the in vitro transcription start sites with the 5'-ends of endogenous somatic TFIIIA transcripts in poly(A)+ and poly(A)- RNA fractions, we show that RNA polymerase III initiates at position -70 of the "oocyte-specific" core promoter and transcribes through the promoter and into the TFIIIA coding sequences in somatic cells. These results suggest a possible polymerase III transcription-mediated down-regulation of the oocyte-specific TFIIIA promoter in Xenopus somatic cells.
ARCSEC source location measurements in gamma‐ray astronomy from a lunar observatory

The physical processes typically used in the detection of high energy γ rays do not permit good angular resolution, which makes difficult the unambiguous association of discrete γ‐ray sources with objects emitting at other wavelengths. This problem can be overcome by placing γ‐ray detectors on the Moon and using the horizon as an occulting edge to achieve arcsec resolution. For the purposes of discussion, this concept is examined for γ rays above about 20 MeV for which pair production dominates the detection process and locally‐generated nuclear γ rays do not contribute to the background.