cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radioimmunoscintigraphy of recurrent, metastatic, or occult colorectal cancer with technetium 99m-labeled totally human monoclonal antibody 88BV59: results of pivotal, phase III multicenter studies.

PURPOSETo assess the performance and potential clinical impact of a totally human monoclonal antibody, 88BV59 (HumaSPECT) (INTRACEL, Corp, Rockville, MD), in 202 assessable presurgical patients with recurrent, metastatic, or occult colorectal cancer.METHODS88BV59, labeled with technetium Tc 99m (99mTc) (HumaSPECT-Tc), was injected intravenously, and planar and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) images were obtained 14 to 20 hours postinjection. Surgical and pathologic verification of tumor were used as the standard against which the performance of HumaSPECT-Tc imaging and computed tomography (CT) analysis were evaluated.RESULTSAll patients entered onto the recurrent disease study had at least one tumor site defined on CT. The sensitivity of HumaSPECT-Tc in those CT-positive patients was 87%. The specificity of HumaSPECT-Tc was 57% compared with 17% for CT and the difference was statistically significant (P < .001). The diagnostic information provided by HumaSPECT-Tc significantly (P < .001) improve...
Predictors of Agitation in Nursing Home Residents

Agitation in nursing home residents presents a serious challenge to caregivers and may place residents at risk for harm. Understanding the etiology of agitation can assist clinicians in developing nonpharmacologic interventions for preventing and treating this problem. The purpose of this study was to examine independent and common predictors of resident agitation with structural equation modeling. Agitation was measured with both a standardized staff report rating scale and direct behavioral observation. No indirect or mediating effects were found. Cognitive impairment, vision and hearing impairment, and gender were found to be independent predictors of agitation as measured by direct behavioral observation. Only cognitive impairment was found to be predictive of agitation as measured by the standardized staff report scale. An unexpected finding was that vision impairment appeared to exert a protective effect for agitation in these severely cognitively impaired residents. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed as well as the relative merits of the two methods of measuring agitation.
Blind Spots, the Rear View Mirror, and A Road Map for Cultural Diversity

Excerpt] Imagine a man driving down a street that he has driven everyday for the past 10 years. In the years that he has driven on this street, it has always been one-way. Over time, this driver has become so familiar with this street that he no longer looks out the windshield at the road, but drives while looking in the rear view mirror. At first, looking in the rear view mirror was just an interesting way of driving for this man. More recently however, since he had never been in an accident while driving by looking in the rear view mirror, he has come to believe that this is a safe and effective manner of driving. Now imagine that, unbeknownst to this man, the street has become, for the first time today, a two-way street. Since the man does not know of the change, he is driving on the road as if it is still one-way and he continues to look exclusively in the rear view mirror to navigate. He sees in his rear view mirror cars swerving as they pass. He can see the drivers of these other cars swearing at him. He wonders what has gotten into these people; why are they going the wrong way? Why are they acting so angry with him? He has not done anything wrong. He has been a model driver for 10 years. What is wrong with these crazy people? He thinks they are going to get him into an accident. He begins to panic. He grips the steering wheel and desperately scans the scene in the rear view mirror, trying to avoid an accident. As he scans the road he notices that some other cars (though not the regulars on this route) are going the same way as always. This, he thinks, proves that the drivers going the other way are wrong.
The Cytoprotective Effect of N-acetyl-L-cysteine against ROS-Induced Cytotoxicity Is Independent of Its Ability to Enhance Glutathione Synthesis

2,3,5-Tris(glutathion-S-yl)-hydroquinone (TGHQ), a metabolite of hydroquinone, is toxic to renal proximal tubule epithelial cells. TGHQ retains the ability to redox cycle and create an oxidative stress. To assist in elucidating the contribution of reactive oxygen species (ROS) to TGHQ-induced toxicity, we determined whether the antioxidant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), could protect human kidney proximal tubule epithelial cells (HK-2 cell line) against TGHQ-induced toxicity. NAC provided remarkable protection against TGHQ-induced toxicity to HK-2 cells. NAC almost completely inhibited TGHQ-induced cell death, mitochondrial membrane potential collapse, as well as ROS production. NAC also attenuated TGHQ-induced DNA damage and the subsequent activation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase and ATP depletion. Moreover, NAC significantly attenuated c-Jun NH2terminal kinase and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation induced by TGHQ. In contrast, NAC itself markedly increased extracellular regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2) activation, and the upstream mitogen-activated protein/ extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase inhibitor, PD-98059, only partially inhibited this activation, suggesting that NAC can directly activate ERK1/2 activity. However, although NAC is frequently utilized as a glutathione (GSH) precursor, the cytoprotection afforded by NAC in HK-2 cells was not a consequence of increased GSH levels. We speculate that NAC exerts its protective effect in part by directly scavenging ROS and in part via ERK1/2 activation.
Amelioration of hyperglycemia by intestinal overexpression of glucagon-like peptide-1 in mice

To investigate whether the local production of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the intestine can differentiate intestinal stem/progenitor cells into insulin-producing cells, we intra-intestinally injected a recombinant adenovirus expressing GLP-1 (rAd-GLP-1) into diabetic mice. There were no significant differences in body weight or food intake between rAd-GLP-1- and rAd-βGAL-treated control mice. rAd-GLP-1-treated mice showed intestinal insulin mRNA expression, insulin- and glucagon-positive cells in the intestine, and significantly increased serum insulin, but not glucagon. rAd-GLP-1 injection significantly reduced blood glucose levels and improved glucose tolerance compared with controls. Expression of transcription factors related to β cell differentiation, neurogenin3 (ngn3) and neurogenin differentiation factor (NeuroD), was detected in the intestine at 2 weeks after rAd-GLP-1 injection. We suggest that expression of GLP-1 in the intestine by intra-intestinal delivery of rAd-GLP-1 may induce differentiation of intestinal stem/progenitor cells into insulin-producing cells, mediated by ngn3 and NeuroD expression, contributing to lowered blood glucose levels in diabetic mice.
Fast Geometric Routing with Concurrent Face Traversal

We present a concurrent face routing CFR algorithm. We formally prove that the worst case latency of our algorithm is asymptotically optimal. Our simulation results demonstrate that, on average, CFR significantly outperforms the best known geometric routing algorithms in the path stretch: the speed of message delivery. Its performance approaches the shortest possible path. CFR maintains its advantage over the other algorithms in pure form as well as in combination with greedy routing; on planar as well as on non-planar graphs.
Spontaneous Activity of Primary Afferent Neurons in Diabetic BB/Wistar Rats: A Possible Mechanism of Chronic Diabetic Neuropathic Pain

The mechanism of painful diabetic neuropathy remains unknown. Spontaneous activity in nociceptive primary afferents has been implicated in the genesis of chronic pain due to peripheral nerve injury, and diabetic axonopathy shares some histologic features with traumatic neuropathy. We hypothesized that spontaneous hyperactivity of nociceptive neurons might represent the neurophysiologic mechanism of diabetic neuropathic pain. To test this, we examined the spontaneous activity of primary afferent axons from diabetic BB/Wistar and normal Wistar rat saphenous nerves isolated from central and peripheral connections. Microfilament recordings from diabetic nerves showed a significantly higher incidence of spontaneous discharges in comparison to normal nerves. Furthermore, this spontaneous hyperactivity occurred almost exclusively in potentially nociceptive C-fibers. We conclude that in the diabetic BB/Wistar rat, spontaneous impulses are generated in potential nociceptive primary afferent neurons, and that this may represent the mechanism of chronic diabetic neuropathic pain.
The Life of Professor John H. Wrenn

‘ On a cold day at Port Hudson National Cemetery last week, I shivered as a pair of Marine sergeants solemnly folded an American flag. My friend John Wrenn had lost his battle. He was 62 years old. He had recurrent pancreatic cancer…. Following a simple, richly personal service, the U.S. Marine Corps paid the veteran final respect, standing at attention through the haunting playing of taps, carefully folding the flag from his coffin and presenting it to his widow. ’ Laurie Smith Anderson, Journalist, The Advocate, Baton Rouge, December 8th, 2006. John H. Wrenn John Harry Wyckoff Wrenn was our former student and our friend. He was born in Jackson, Michigan, and spent his younger years in Arlington Heights, Illinois, where he was known by most of his school friends as Jack. His father, Webster Wrenn, was much older than his mother and was a veteran who had been stationed in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Jerry Orgler, John’s childhood buddy, remembers well that ‘Web’ was a conservative and tough father who believed in protocol and in following the rules. Web’s military experience fascinated John, and by his freshman year in high school he began talking non-stop about joining the military. After his graduation he volunteered for the United States Marine Corps, and was stationed at Camp Pendleton, California from 1962 to 1965. During his time at Camp Pendleton, he was sequestered for the weeks of basic training and by January 1963 he confided to his friend Jerry that his belief in the value of the military was still strong, and he was proud of his service, but military life and the Marines were not for him. To George he once said the Marine Corps was an important period of his life that taught him a lot: especially ‘never …
Activation loop dynamics determine the different catalytic efficiencies of B cell- and T cell-specific tec kinases.

Itk (interleukin-2–inducible T cell kinase) and Btk (Bruton’s tyrosine kinase) are nonreceptor tyrosine kinases of the Tec family that signal downstream of the T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR), respectively. Despite their high sequence similarity and related signaling roles, Btk is a substantially more active kinase than Itk. We showed that substitution of 6 of the 619 amino acid residues of Itk with the corresponding residues of Btk (and vice versa) was sufficient to completely switch the activities of Itk and Btk. The substitutions responsible for the swap in activity are all localized to the activation segment of the kinase domain. Nuclear magnetic resonance and hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry analyses revealed that Itk and Btk had distinct protein dynamics in this region, which could explain the differences in catalytic efficiency between these kinases. Introducing Itk with enhanced activity into T cells led to enhanced and prolonged TCR signaling compared to that in cells with wild-type Itk. These findings imply that evolutionary pressures have led to Tec kinases having distinct enzymatic properties, depending on the cellular context. We suggest that the weaker catalytic activities of T cell–specific kinases serve to regulate cellular activation and prevent aberrant immune responses.
P. gingivalis and E. coli Lipopolysaccharides Exhibit Different Systemic but Similar Local Induction of Inflammatory Markers

Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative bacterium that is an important etiologic agent of human adult periodontitis. The goal of the study was to test the hypothesis that two isoforms of P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (PgLPS), PgLPS1435/1449 and PgLPS1690, exhibit differences in their capacity to stimulate systemic versus local responses compared to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS).Methods: LPS was inoculated into the scalp of mice, and the response was measured locally at the site of inoculation and systemically in the heart/aorta. Vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 was assessed at the protein level by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and VCAM-1, E-selectin, and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 were assessed at the RNA level of the RNase protection assay. Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels were also measured.Results: E. coli LPS and both isoforms of P. gingivalis LPS were relatively potent in stimulating the expression of inflammatory markers, with...
Chemical and electrochemical doping in poly(paraphenylene vinylene) blends

Blends of poly(p-phenylene vinylene) (PPV), with other polymers were made by film-casting from an aqueous mixture of the water-soluble sulfonium salt precursor to PPV and the second polymer. The rates of chemical doping, using As F5, and of electrochemical doping, using perchlorate counter ion, of the PPV component are strongly influenced by the nature of the added macromolecule. In all cases studied the blends appear to be phase separated under all conditions. The most versatile blend was with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), which could be heated to 225°C without degradation and which yielded the highest electrical conductivity when doped. The utility of blends was demonstrated using free-standing PPV/PEO blend samples as rechargeable battery electrodes.
Patellofemoral joint contact area increases with knee flexion and weight‐bearing

Patellofemoral pain is a common and debilitating disorder. Elevated cartilage stress of the patellofemoral joint is hypothesized to play a role in the onset of pain. Estimating cartilage stress requires accurate measurements of contact area. The purpose of this study was to estimate patellofemoral joint contact areas in a group of healthy, pain-free subjects during upright, weight-bearing conditions. Sixteen subjects (8 female, 8 male) were scanned in a GE Signa SP open configuration MRI scanner, which allowed subjects to stand or squat while reclining 25 degrees from vertical with the knee positioned at 0 degrees , 30 degrees , or 60 degrees of flexion. A custom-built backrest enabled subjects to be scanned without motion artifact in both weight-bearing (0.45 body weight per leg) and reduced loading conditions ('unloaded' at 0.15 body weight) at each knee flexion posture. Male subjects displayed mean unloaded patellofemoral joint contact areas of 210, 414, and 520 mm(2) at 0 degrees , 30 degrees and 60 degrees of knee flexion, respectively. Female subjects' unloaded contact areas were similar at full extension (0 degrees ), but significantly smaller at 30 degrees and 60 degrees (p<0.01), with mean values of 269 and 396 mm(2), respectively. When normalized by patellar dimensions (heightxwidth), contact areas were not different between genders. Under weight-bearing conditions, contact areas increased by an average of 24% (p<0.05). This study highlights the differences in patellofemoral joint contact area between gender, knee flexion postures, and physiologic loading conditions.
Evaluation of Strawberry Sap Beetle (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) Use of Habitats Surrounding Strawberry Plantings as Food Resources and Overwintering Sites

The matrix of strawberry and alternate host crops, wooded areas, and uncultivated sections that comprises a farm landscape provides not only food resources but also habitat in both a spatial and temporal context. Reports of the strawberry sap beetle as a pest in strawberry in the northeastern United States have increased along with a trend to produce a wider diversity of fruit crops on individual farms. The three objectives of this study focused on determining which, if any, habitats outside strawberry plantings are important to consider when developing control strategies for strawberry sap beetles. First, sampling of wooded areas and multiple crops showed that strawberry sap beetles overwinter not only in wooded areas but also in blueberry and raspberry. No overwintering beetles were found in strawberry. Second, up to a 70-fold increase in mean number of strawberry sap beetles in a no-choice food source experiment indicated that considerable reproduction can occur on blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and strawberry. Third, sampling summer-bearing raspberry, peach, blueberry, and cherry in 2004 and 2005 confirmed that beetles were present, often in high densities (0.1–108.5 strawberry sap beetles/m2), in commercial fields with fruit or vegetable material on the ground. In summary, the beetles are able to feed, complete development, and overwinter in habitats other than strawberry. An effective integrated pest management program to control strawberry sap beetles will need to consider the type of habitat surrounding strawberry fields.
Vinum novum in utres veteres

The “new” in the NewDSB perhaps should be read as a publisher’s blurb. Noretta Koertge and her twenty-three field editors have not designed a work conceived on new principles; it is meant primarily as a supplement, the third, to the OldDSB. As a supplement it deserves high marks, and the editors congratulations, for maintaining the standards of their prototype. Where the new dictionary ventures beyond the old, however, it is not entirely successful.
The managerial flash sales dash: Is there advantage or disadvantage at the finish line?

Abstract The central intent of this qualitative inquiry is to investigate the benefits, drawbacks, and performance measures of hotel room inventory distribution via flash sales websites. Key advantages and disadvantages of using such a distribution channel fall within the categories of inventory management, revenue management, brand marketing, customer relationships, and operational challenges. The significance of the study is in providing a comprehensive review of the flash sales phenomenon in the lodging industry that may assist hotel managers with the performance evaluation of this distribution channel. Using grounded theory methodology, a flash sales evaluation framework was developed based on 46 phone interviews with hotel managers from different segments of the American hotel industry.
A Follow-up Study of 172 Peripheral Nerve Injuries in the Upper Extremity in Civilians

One hundred and seventy-two injuries of the main nerves in the upper extremity were studied in 149 patients. There were ninety-eight primary sutures, seventy-two secondary sutures, and thirty-five resutures. School children accounted for 26 per cent of the cases; 60 per cent of the lesions resulted from injuries with different kinds of glass; 46.5 per cent of the nerve lesions were combined with tendon injuries; and 14.7 per cent were associated with some kind of arterial injury. The assessment of recovery was made primarily on a neurological basis. Motor and semisory recovery were assessed separately according to the British (Highet) method. The results of the median, ulnar, and radial nerves after primary suture, secondary suture, and resuture were analyzed with respect to the level of injury (high, intermediate, and low), delay of repair, length of nerve defect, and age of the patient. The results of two nerve grafts were also assessed. Although there were too few cases to permit definite conclusions, the results appeared to be best in low-level lesions and in lesions of the posterior interosseous branch of the radial nerve. Repairs of the median nerve were somewhat more successful than those of the ulnar nerve. Secondary suture gave better results than primary suture in the median and ulnar nerve. In the few radial-nerve lesions in this study, no difference in the results by the two methods was apparent. There were more failures after primary than after secomidary suture.
Nose and Nasal Planum Neoplasia, Reconstruction

Most intranasal lesions are best treated with radiation therapy. Computed tomographic imaging with intravenous contrast is critical for treatment planning. Computed tomographic images of the nose will best assess the integrity of the cribriform plate for central nervous system invasion by a nasal tumor. Because of an owner's emotional response to an altered appearance of their dog's face, discussions need to include the entire family before proceeding with nasal planectomy or radical planectomy. With careful case selection, nasal planectomy and radical planectomy surgeries can be locally curative.
Apanteles militaris and Its Host Pseudaletia unipuncta: Biology and Rearing

Apanteles militaris (Walsh), a gregarious braconid parasitoid, attacked 3rd, 4th, and 5th instars of Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth) in the laboratory. The mean period from oviposition in the host to emergence was 12.5 days, the pupal stage lasted 6.4 days, and the overall life cycle ranged from 17–30 days and averaged 19 days at 27°C. The mean generation time of P. unipuncta was 35 days; egg, 4 days; larva, 15 days; prepupa, 2 days; pupa, 10 days; and preoviposition, 3–4 days. The cost of mass-rearing the parasitoid and its host was ca. 50/100,000 insects (1971). Parasitoids from the laboratory colony successfully parasitized hosts in field cage studies.
Maimon’s Conception of Philosophy

Maimon is a true follower of Kant in that he has drawn the conclusions of critical philosophy with a systematic consistency unsurpassed by any of his contemporaries. In addition, he follows in the tradition of Leibniz, apparent not only in his adoption of certain of Leibniz’ doctrines, but also in his realization of the close connection between philosophy and the natural sciences. Of his contemporaries only Beck can be classed with those rationalist thinkers whose philosophic orientation was towards mathematics and the natural sciences; the great speculative system-builders of the post-Kantian period were oriented towards the humanistic branches of knowledge.
VLSI floorplanning based on a hybrid differential evolution algorithm

B*-tree representation is adopted in this paper.Combined with the global search ability of differential evolution and local search,a hybrid differential evolution algorithmisproposed.The effectiveness of our method is demonstrated on several cases of MCNC benchmarks.
Speech Sound Disorders: What's Motor Got To Do With It?

Speech sound disorders (SSDs) are commonly viewed as involving impaired articulation and/or phonological skills. Speech language pathologists working with individuals with (SSDs) assess the articulation of speech sounds and the coordination of articulatory structures with other components of the speech mechanism, including the phonatory, respiratory, and resonatory subsystems. The sound system of the language and the rules that govern how phonemes are combined are equally critical for clinicians to explore. While the terms “articulation” and “phonology” provide clinicians with a framework for classification, children who are broadly identified with (SSDs) may also display characteristics of a motor speech impairment, which can obscure the decision making process with respect to both diagnosis and treatment. One such motor speech disorder is childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). The focus of this paper is to discuss motor speech deficits in children and to review research that aims to distinguish motor speech...
Analytical Prediction of Torque Ripple in Surface-Mounted Permanent Magnet Motors Due to Manufacturing Variations

In the production of surface-mounted permanent magnet machines, manufacturing tolerances also contribute to torque ripple. Additional harmonics of low electrical orders are created in the torque spectrum. Slight manufacturing variations develop asymmetry conditions in the rotor as well as in the stator. Finite element models can be used to analyze the magnitude of pulsating torque generated due to these asymmetries. However, due to its random nature, lack of periodicity, and symmetry, it is time consuming to study the problem with numerical methods for its uneven geometry that does not allow reduced geometrical models. Moreover, the experimental verification of all possible variations would be very challenging as it would require part dimensioning and part sorting a large quantity of motor builds and finally testing of all samples. Therefore, in this paper an analytical model is presented to study the effect of such imbalance on the torque ripple. The model shows an agreement against finite element models and also with experimental results when predicting torque harmonics that come from asymmetries.
An (Im)penetrable Fortress: The Mythology of Estadio Azteca in the US–Mexico Men’s National Team Soccer Rivalry

This chapter considers how stadia fill a significant social space in the lives of sports fans and athletes. Sport scholars have examined stadia in terms of their cultural significance as public spaces, contributing to both identity and heritage. Yet commodification, corporate naming, public subsidation, and relocation have worked to erode the aforementioned social attributes of stadia. Building upon that tradition, this work documents how one particular stadium, Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, has become a significant feature of the US–Mexico Men’s National Team soccer rivalry. An exploration of how the US media through print, broadcast, and web content have promoted a particular mythology of the Azteca as a once impenetrable fortress and signifier of Mexican dominance in the US–Mexico soccer rivalry is provided. An analysis of media content illustrates that several recurrent themes infuse the Azteca stadium with a socially significant role in the rivalry narrative.
How Architecture became Capitalism’s Handmaiden: Architecture as Alibi for The High Line’s Neoliberal Space of Capital Accumulation

Architects define much of the fabric of our cities and associated public realms (parks, plazas, facades, public buildings), but do so in service of clients who provide both the program and the fina...
Measurement, simulation and theory of creeping wave propagations around the human head at 2.45 GHz

The concept of Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) technology holds great potential for many applications such as continuous, remote, healthcare monitoring. Motion activities associated with the head reveal important physiological information about the health of the user. In order to develop a system capable of tracking and characterizing these activities, a fundamental understanding of the propagation medium must be developed. This paper investigates the creeping wave transmission path loss and phase delay of a horizontal path around the human head at 2.45 GHz. Measurements are compared to FEKO simulations and a theoretical model of the same scenario.
Niacin-Nicotinamide Deficiency

Nicotinic acid (niacin) has been known for well over a century; however, the biological importance of this acid and its amide (nicotinamide) did not become apparent until the discovery of the pyridine nucleotides, NAD and NADP, and the recognition that this vitamin serves as a precursor of the pyridine nucleotide cofactors. The human disease caused by niacin deficiency is pellagra, a disease that filled insane asylums all over the world before its origin was discovered. The recognition of pellagra as an endemic disease in the United States dates from Searcy’s report in 1907 describing 88 cases of dementia in the Mount Vernon, Alabama, Insane Asylum. In spite of our extensive knowledge about the course of pellagra and our ability to eradicate this disease as a public health problem, there remain great gaps in our understanding of the exact relationship between niacin deficiency and specific pathological lesions in neural tissue.
An Ichor-dependent apical extracellular matrix regulates seamless tube shape and integrity

During sprouting angiogenesis in the vertebrate vascular system, and primary branching in the Drosophila tracheal system, specialized tip cells direct branch outgrowth and network formation. When tip cells lumenize, they form subcellular (seamless) tubes. How these seamless tubes are made, shaped and maintained remains poorly understood. Here we characterize a Drosophila mutant called ichor (ich), and show that ich is essential for the integrity and shape of seamless tubes in tracheal terminal cells. We find that Ich regulates seamless tubulogenesis via its role in promoting the formation of a mature apical extracellular matrix (aECM) lining the lumen of the seamless tubes. We determined that ich encodes a zinc finger protein (CG11966) that acts, as a transcriptional activator required for the expression of multiple aECM factors, including a novel membrane-anchored trypsin protease (CG8213). Thus, the integrity and shape of seamless tubes are regulated by the aECM that lines their lumens.
The Rise and Fall of Metronidazole for Clostridium difficile Infection

Clostridium difficile is posing urgent health threats. Older studies have shown that metronidazole and vancomycin are equally effective in the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Given its inexpensive cost and low propensity to select antimicrobial resistant organisms, metronidazole became rapidly the drug of choice despite its pharmacokinetic limitations in the treatment of CDI. However, newer studies demonstrated that metronidazole is inferior to vancomycin, prompting clinicians to change their long-standing position on using metronidazole for mild to moderate infections and on reserving vancomycin for severe infections. Moving forward, metronidazole will fall out of favor in the treatment of CDI.
Exponential Hilbert series and the Stirling numbers of the second kind

Abstract We consider the exponential generating function whose coefficients encode the dimensions of irreducible highest weight representations which lie on a given ray in the dominant chamber of the weight lattice. This formal power series can be considered as an exponential version of the Hilbert series of a flag variety. In this context, we compute a simple closed form for the exponential generating function in terms of finitely many differential operators and the Stirling polynomials. We prove that this series converges to a product of a rational polynomial and an exponential, and that, by summing the constant term and linear coefficient of this polynomial, we recover the dimension of the representation.
Evaluation of hepatic impairment on pharmacokinetics and safety of crizotinib in patients with advanced cancer

This phase 1 study evaluated the effect of hepatic impairment on pharmacokinetics and safety of crizotinib in patients with advanced cancer. Patients were dosed according to hepatic function classified by modified National Cancer Institute Organ Dysfunction Working Group criteria and group assignment [normal (A1 and A2), mild (B), moderate (C1 and C2), or severe (D)]. Primary pharmacokinetic endpoints included area under the concentration–time curve as daily exposure (AUCdaily) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) at steady state. Safety endpoints included types, incidence, seriousness, and relationship to crizotinib of adverse events. The AUCdaily and Cmax in patients with normal liver function were 7107 ng h/mL and 375.1 ng/mL (A1) and 5422 ng h/mL and 283.9 ng/mL (A2), respectively. The AUCdaily and Cmax ratios of adjusted geometric means for Groups B, C2, and D versus Group A1 were 91.12 and 91.20, 114.08 and 108.87, and 64.47 and 72.63, respectively. Any grade treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) occurred in 75% of patients; grade 3/4 TRAEs occurred in 25%, including fatigue (6%), hyponatremia (5%), and hyperbilirubinemia (3%). No adjustment to the approved 250 mg twice daily (BID) dose of crizotinib is recommended for patients with mild hepatic impairment. The recommended dose is 200 mg BID for patients with moderate hepatic impairment, and the dose should not exceed 250 mg daily for patients with severe hepatic impairment. Adverse events appeared consistent among the hepatic impairment groups. NCT01576406.
Encoding the Expectations of a Sensory Stimulus

Abstract Most organisms possess an ability to differentiate unexpected or surprising sensory stimuli from those that are repeatedly encountered. How is this sensory computation performed? We examined this issue in the locust olfactory system. We found that odor-evoked responses in the antennal lobe (downstream to sensory neurons) systematically reduced upon repeated encounters of a temporally discontinuous stimulus. Rather than confounding information about stimulus identity and intensity, neural representations were optimized to encode equivalent stimulus-specific information with fewer spikes. Further, spontaneous activity of the antennal lobe network also changed systematically and became negatively correlated with the response elicited by the repetitive stimulus (i.e. ‘a negative image’). Notably, while response to the repetitive stimulus reduced, exposure to an unexpected/deviant cue generated undamped and even exaggerated spiking responses in several neurons. In sum, our results reveal how expectation regarding a stimulus is encoded in a neural circuit to allow response optimization and preferential filtering.
Neutron Scattering Instrumentation for Biology at Spallation Neutron Sources

Conventional wisdom holds that since biological entities are large, they must be studied with cold neutrons, a domain in which reactor sources of neutrons are often supposed to be pre-eminent. In fact, the current generation of pulsed spallation neutron sources, such as LANSCE at Los Alamos and ISIS in the United Kingdom, has demonstrated a capability for small angle scattering (SANS) — a typical cold-neutron application — that was not anticipated five years ago. Although no one has yet built a Laue diffractometer at a pulsed spallation source, calculations show that such an instrument would provide an exceptional capability for protein crystallography at one of the existing high-power spallation sources. Even more exciting is the prospect of installing such spectrometers either at a next-generation, short-pulse spallation source or at a long-pulse spallation source. A recent Los Alamos study has shown that a one-megawatt, short-pulse source, which is an order of magnitude more powerful than LANSCE, could be built with today’s technology. In Europe, a preconceptual design study for a five-megawatt source is under way. Although such short-pulse sources are likely to be the wave of the future, they may not be necessary for some applications — such as Laue diffraction — which can be performed very well at a long-pulse spallation source. Recently, it has been argued by Mezei that a facility that combines a short-pulse spallation source similar to LANSCE, with a one-megawatt, long-pulse spallation source would provide a cost-effective solution to the global shortage of neutrons for research. The basis for this assertion as well as the performance of some existing neutron spectrometers at short-pulse sources will be examined in this presentation.
Is Genetic Exceptionalism Past Its Sell-By Date? On Genomic Diaries, Context, and Content

At barely 21 years of age, there are already calls for genetic exceptionalism to be retired. A little background on the circumstances of its birth might be helpful.The labor was prolonged and arduo...
New High Throughput Approaches to Detect Partial-body and Neutron Exposures on an Individual Basis

Biodosimetry-based discrimination between homogeneous total-body photon exposure and complex irradiation scenarios (partial-body shielding and/or neutron + photon mixtures) can improve treatment decisions after mass-casualty radiation-related incidents. Our study objective was to use high-throughput biomarkers to: a) detect partial-body and/or neutron exposure on an individual basis, and b) estimate separately the photon and neutron doses in a mixed exposure. We developed a novel approach, where metrics related to the shapes of micronuclei distributions per binucleated cell in ex-vivo irradiated human lymphocytes (variance/mean, kurtosis, skewness, etc.) served as predictors in machine learning or parametric analyses of the following scenarios: (A) Homogeneous gamma-irradiation, mimicking total-body exposures, vs. mixtures of irradiated blood with unirradiated blood, mimicking partial-body exposures. (B) X rays vs. various neutron + photon mixtures. Classification of samples as homogeneously vs. heterogeneously irradiated (scenario A) achieved a receiver operating characteristic curve area (AUROC) of 0.931 (uncertainty range of 0.903-0.951), and R2 for actual vs. reconstructed mean dose was 0.87. Detection of samples with ≥10% neutron contribution (scenario B) achieved AUROC of 0.916 (0.893-0.943), and R2 for reconstructing photon-equivalent dose was 0.77. These encouraging findings demonstrate a proof-of-principle for the proposed approach of analyzing micronuclei/cell distributions to detect clinically-relevant complex radiation exposure scenarios.
Estimation of Vascular Permeability in Irregularly Shaped Cancers Using Ultrasound Poroelastography

Objective: Vascular permeability (VP) is a mechanical parameter which plays an important role in cancer initiation, metastasis, and progression. To date, there are only a few non-invasive methods that can be used to image VP in solid tumors. Most of these methods require the use of contrast agents and are expensive, limiting widespread use. Methods: In this paper, we propose a new method to image VP in tumors, which is based on the use of ultrasound poroelastography. Estimation of VP by poroelastography requires knowledge of the Young's modulus (YM), Poisson's ratio (PR), and strain time constant (TC) in the tumors. In our method, we find the ellipse which best fits the tumor (regardless of its shape) using an eigen-system-based fitting technique and estimate the YM and PR using Eshelby's elliptic inclusion formulation. A Fourier method is used to estimate the axial strain TC, which does not require any initial guess and is highly robust to noise. Results: It is demonstrated that the proposed method can estimate VP in irregularly shaped tumors with an accuracy of above $\text{80}\%$ using ultrasound simulation data with signal-to-noise ratio of 20 dB or higher. In vivo feasibility of the proposed technique is demonstrated in an orthotopic mouse model of breast cancer. Conclusion: The proposed imaging method can provide accurate and localized estimation of VP in cancers non-invasively and cost-effectively. Significance: Accurate and non-invasive assessment of VP can have a significant impact on diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of cancers.
A 0.6-mm 2 Powering and Data Telemetry System Compatible with Ultrasound B-Mode Imaging for Freely Moving Biomedical Sensor Systems

A 0.6 mm2 integrated circuit, fabricated in a 180 nm process, is designed to operate within the field of view of an ultrasound B-mode imager, allowing data to be received from ultra-small-form-factor devices that can be localized, powered, and configured as multiple freely moving ingestible or implantable systems. Power is harvested from ultrasound pulses emitted by the imaging transducer array and a bi-directional data link is established that is synchronized to the frame rate of the imager. The chip consumes 57 pW of power and supports data rates of 25 bit/s for uplink and 50 bit/s for downlink for an imager operating at 50 frames per second. Fully packaged within 11 mm3 with a piezoelectric transducer, the chip enables tissue implants as deep as 71 mm. Real-time localizations of devices is possible within the field of view of the imager at 0.8-mm accuracy. An on-chip instruction set allows for software configuration and a smooth transition to a more power-intensive mode of operation using focused ultrasound pulses after localization, with 280 nW power delivery verified using 0.5% duty cycle ultrasound.
Aberrant Cost–Benefit Integration During Effort-Based Decision Making Relates to Severity of Substance Use Disorders:

Aberrant cost–benefit decision making is a key factor related to individual differences in the expression of substance use disorders (SUDs). Previous research highlights how delay-cost sensitivity ...
Cross-Border Shopping and Employment Patterns in the Southwestern United States

Price differentials, among other factors, persuade many residents of Northern Mexico to shop in the Southwestern United States border region. Employment patterns in the latter region are studied us...
Come Now, Let Us Reason Together

In defending a new framework for incorporating metacognitive debiasing strategies into critical thinking education, Jeffrey Maynes (2015; 2017) draws on ecological rationality theory to argue that in felicitous environments, agents will achieve greater epistemic success by relying on heuristics rather than more ideally rational procedures. He considers a challenge presented by Mercier and Sperber’s (2011; 2017) “interactionist” thesis that individual biases contribute to successful group reasoning. I argue that the challenge can be met without assuming an individualist ideal of the critical thinker as a solitary reasoner. Focusing on cognitive laziness and myside bias, I then argue that a more complete reckoning with the implications of interactionism about reasoning will require us to transcend individualism more fully to embrace the selection, design, regulation, and navigation of dialogic environments as central pedagogical aims of critical thinking education.
When Brain Stimulation Backfires: The Effects of Prefrontal Cortex Stimulation on Impulsivity.

Transcranial direct current stimulation can sometimes cause the opposite of its intended effect. These reverse effects may be related in part to individual differences in personality and neurochemistry. Previous studies have demonstrated that dopamine levels can impact the effects of tDCS. In the present study, 124 healthy participants took the UPPS Impulsive Behavior scale. Participants then underwent a single, randomized anodal or sham tDCS session on the prefrontal cortex. While the effects of tDCS were still active, they performed the Stop Signal Task, a measure of state impulsivity. tDCS was associated with increased errors on this task in people who had higher scores on the UPPS in two facets of impulsivity that correlate with dopamine levels. tDCS had no effects on people low in trait impulsivity. These results suggest that the reverse effects of tDCS could be associated with inter-individual differences in personality and neurochemistry.
Quantification of bronchoalveolar neutrophil extracellular traps and phagocytosis in murine pneumonia

The past two decades have witnessed a resurgence in neutrophil research, inspired in part by the discovery of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and their myriad roles in health and disease. Wit...
Are We Spending Too Little in Retirement

The drumbeat of “retirement crisis” is much too loud. Madamba and Utkus (2017) reported that 55 percent of retirees believe there is a national retirement crisis, but only 4 percent describe their own retirement situation as a crisis. They also reported that 90 percent of recent retirees are able to spend freely, within reason, or cover needs with some discretionary spending; only 10 percent said that they are on a strict budget. Concern about running out of money is regularly exaggerated in inflated estimates of life-expectancy. Social Security tables indicate that, on average, only one in 10 of today’s 65-year-old men will live to age 95. Moreover, as reported by Vettese (2016) older people spend less, in large part because physical limitations make them less able to spend and because they are less inclined to spend for personal reasons. Spending at age 84, adjusted for inflation, is 23 percent less than it was at age 62 among college-educated American couples. Spending on movies, theatre, opera, and concerts declines by more than 50 percent between the ages of 60 and 80. Spending on hearing aids, nursing homes, and funeral expenses increases by more than 50 percent. We tackle the saving and spending task with the mental tools of framing, mental accounting, and self-control, as described by Thaler and Shefrin (1981), Shefrin and Thaler (1988), and Shefrin and Statman (1984). We frame our money into distinct mental accounts, mainly “capital” and “income,” and set self-control rules of saving and spending. Self-control tools include the rule of “spend income but don’t dip into capital.” Self-control is not easy to muster and some fail to muster it at all. Yet self-control can be excessive. Indeed, excessive self-control is as prevalent as insufficient self-control. Excessive self-control is evident in the tendency to spend less today than our ideal level of spending, driving tightwads to extremes beyond frugality. We need not feel guilty about spending our hard-earned savings on ourselves. And if we derive no pleasure from spending on ourselves, why not spend on family and the needy in our communities and beyond them? It is better to give with a warm hand than with a cold one.
Induction of scaffold angiogenesis by recipient vasculature precision micropuncture.

Abstract The success of engineered tissues continues to be limited by time to vascularization and perfusion. Here, we studied the effects of precision injury to a recipient macrovasculature in promoting neovessel formation in an adjacently placed scaffold. Segmental 60 μm diameter micropunctures (MP) were created in the recipient rat femoral artery and vein followed by coverage with a simple collagen scaffold. Scaffolds were harvested at 24, 48, 72, and 96 h post-implantation for detailed analysis. Those placed on top of an MP segment showed an earlier and more robust cellular infiltration, including both endothelial cells (CD31) and macrophages (F4/80), compared to internal non-micropunctured control limbs (p
A Neural Network Approach for High-Dimensional Optimal Control

We propose a neural network approach for solving high-dimensional optimal control problems arising in real-time applications. Our approach yields controls in a feedback form and can therefore handle uncertainties such as perturbations to the system's state. We accomplish this by fusing the Pontryagin Maximum Principle (PMP) and Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) approaches and parameterizing the value function with a neural network. We train our neural network model using the objective function of the control problem and penalty terms that enforce the HJB equations. Therefore, our training algorithm does not involve data generated by another algorithm. By training on a distribution of initial states, we ensure the controls' optimality on a large portion of the state-space. Our grid-free approach scales efficiently to dimensions where grids become impractical or infeasible. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on several multi-agent collision-avoidance problems in up to 150 dimensions. Furthermore, we empirically observe that the number of parameters in our approach scales linearly with the dimension of the control problem, thereby mitigating the curse of dimensionality.