cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solventless photocurable film coating: evaluation of drug release, mechanical strength, and photostability.

A new solventless photocurable film-coating system was investigated in which nonpareil beads were coated in a minicoating pan with liquid prepolymer (L) and powdered solid pore-forming agents (S) and cured by UV light. Release from the coating could by altered by changing the material, the number of layers, and the coating thickness. Immediate release of a blue dye contained in the nonpareils was obtained with sodium starch glycolate as a pore former that swelled the coating and yielded large pores; through these pores the dye quickly released while leaving behind the scaffold provided by the photocured prepolymer. Simple pore formers (lactose and sodium chloride) dissolved away without swelling and provided a more sustained release. The nature of the scaffold and pore structure of the coating were determined by simultaneously monitoring the release of sodium chloride from the coating and blue dye from the beads. At least 50% of the sodium chloride that was incorporated into the coating released before the dye released through the coating, except at an S/L ratio (ratio of the amount of solid pore-forming agent to the volume of liquid prepolymer) of 2.4, where 40% of the sodium chloride was released before the release of dye. The coupling between dye release and pore formation was found to be dependent on the S/L ratio of the coating. Simulation based on percolation theory showed that the coupling of pore formation and dye release was higher when the variance in tortuosity was lower. The coating was photostable and could withstand normal handling stress.
Characteristics of Postgraduate Year 1 Pharmacy Residency Programs at Veterans Affairs Medical Centers

Purpose:Although the characteristics of pharmacy postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) residency programs have been examined among large academic medical centers, there are no identified studies comparing the...
Further evidence for differentiation effects of context stimuli: a reply to Birnbaum.

Previous paired-associate studies show that the addition of distinctive colors to verbal stimuli facilitates learning. The present paper is concerned with whether this facilitation occurs because color aids in differentiating the verbal stimuli or whether facilitation is due to color serving as an additional associative cue to the correct response. Further analysis of data from Saltz (1963) indicates that the order of difficulty of the pairs in the lists used was determined primarily by the verbal stimuli; the colors, per se, used as cues, produced orders that were moderately negatively related to the orders found in lists containing compound stimuli of both color and verbal components. The results support a differentiation position.
Where in the World Am I? Where Should I Be? Experiences and Exhortations of an Itinerant Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

This article describes the development of a lifelong interest in and commitment to the well-being of the world's children. Following a trip to Africa as a teenager, the author chose nursing as a vehicle for involvement with the delight, diversity, and disparities among children. The "accidents" of birth and the impact of geography and poverty on child health are demonstrated in global statistics but are better grasped by experiences in resource-poor countries such as Haiti, as presented here. Interest, involvement, and advocacy by pediatric nurse practitioners are encouraged and needed.
Implementation of a fast 16-Bit dynamic clamp using LabVIEW-RT.

The dynamic-clamp method provides a powerful electrophysiological tool for creating virtual ionic conductances in living cells and studying their influence on membrane potential. Here we describe G...
Cardiovascular risk estimation in 2012: lessons learned and applicability to the HIV population

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment tools such as the Framingham Risk Functions, often called Framingham Risk Scores, are common in the evaluation of the CVD risk among individuals in the general population. These functions are multivariate risk algorithms that combine data on CVD risk factors, such as sex, age, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol level, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, smoking behavior, and diabetes status, to produce an estimate (or risk) of developing CVD or a component of it (such as coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, and heart failure) over a fixed period (eg, the next 10 years). These estimates of CVD risk are often major inputs in recommending drug treatments, such as agents to reduce cholesterol level. The Framingham Risk Functions are valid in diverse populations, at times requiring a calibration adjustment for proper applicability. With the realization that individuals with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection often have elevated CVD risk factors, the evaluation of CVD risk for these individuals becomes a serious concern. Researchers have recently developed new CVD risk functions specifically for HIV-infected patients and have also examined the extension of existing Framingham Risk Functions to the HIV-infected population. This article first reviews briefly the Framingham Study and risk functions, covering their objectives, their components, evaluation of their performance, and transportability and validity on non-Framingham populations. It then reviews the development of CVD risk functions for HIV-infected individuals and comments on the usefulness of extending the Framingham risk equation to the HIV-infected population and the need to develop more-specific risk prediction equations uniquely tailored to this population.
Cirrus Microphysical Properties and Air Motion Statistics Using Cloud Radar Doppler Moments. Part II: Climatology

Abstract The algorithm described in Part I has been applied to the millimeter cloud radar observations from January 1999 to December 2005 at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) and Tropical Western Pacific (including Manus and Nauru) sites. Approximately 10 000 cirrus hours from each of these sites were analyzed. Retrieved cloud properties including condensed mass, particle size, optical depth, and in-cloud vertical air motions were analyzed in terms of their geographical, seasonal, and diurnal variations. The analysis shows that tropical ice clouds observed by millimeter radar are very different from ice clouds at SGP, with the tropical clouds having slightly larger particle sizes and greater ice masses and being more likely to be associated with ascending air motions, in addition to being colder and higher in altitude. A positive residual of derived in-cloud air motion found in the tropical data likely provides evidence for lofting of air into the tropopause t...
Metabolism-perfusion imaging to predict disease activity in cardiac sarcoidosis

FDG-PET is a sensitive but not specific test for myocardial sarcoidosis and its ability to define prognosis remains unclear. Combination with perfusion scanning may improve accuracy by differentiating scar from inflammation. We conducted this retrospective chart review to ascertain the utility of a rubidium -FDG PET scan for assessment of disease activity in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. The presence of any perfusionmetabolism mismatch or a mismatch of > 6% of the myocardium on the scan were compared with the clinical course. Among 18 subjects, mismatched segments were present in 11 scans, whereas 7 demonstrated mismatch > 6%. There was a suggestion of association between PET scan and active disease using the threshold of any mismatch (p=0.09), with sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 62.5%.The threshold of >6% mismatch improved the specificity to 100% with 70% sensitivity, and the association between PET findings and clinically active disease was highly significant (p=0.0002). Eight patients had follow-up Rb-FDG PET scans, all of which were concordant with the clinical course. The positive predictive value of Rb-FDG PET scan showing >6% mismatch for detecting clinically active cardiac sarcoidosis was 100%. However, the finding of any mismatch still portends a high chance of clinical activity. Further studies to define the utility of Rb-FDG PET scan for management of cardiac sarcoidosis are warranted.
Therapeutic Dilemma of Fluconazole Prophylaxis in Intensive Care

OBJECTIVE:To review the data concerning the use of prophylactic fluconazole in intensive care patients who are not immunocompromised.DATA SOURCE:Literature identified through MEDLINE (1966–March 2001) and recent abstracts of data presented at scientific meetings.DATA SYNTHESIS:The use of fluconazole as a prophylactic antifungal agent is well documented in patients who are immunocompromised or undergoing bone marrow or solid organ transplantation, with supportive results. Recently published data suggest that the use of fluconazole in high-risk surgical patients can be safe and effective for preventing certain candida infections. However, there is growing evidence that the use of fluconazole may be contributing to the higher prevalence of fluconazole-resistant fungal infections.CONCLUSIONS:The use of prophylactic fluconazole in nonneutropenic patients is controversial. Retrospective and surveillance studies of nosocomial fungal infections suggest that the use of fluconazole may be contributing to the shift ...
Core dimension group constraints for factors of sofic shifts

We give constraints on the existence of factor maps between sofic shifts. These constraints yield examples of sofic shifts of entropy log n which do not factor onto the full n -shift. We also show that any prime which divides the degree of an endomorphism of a sofic shift must divide the non-leading coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of the core matrix of the shift.
Effects of coconut and fish oils on ruminal methanogenesis, fermentation, and abundance and diversity of microbial populations in vitro

Coconut (CO) and fish (FO) oils were previously shown to inhibit rumen methanogenesis and biohydrogenation, which mitigates methane emission and helps improve beneficial fatty acids in meat and milk. This study aimed at investigating the comparative effects of CO and FO on the methanogenesis, fermentation, and microbial abundances and diversity in vitro rumen cultures containing different doses (0, 3.1, and 6.2 mL/L) of each oil and 400mg feed substrate using rumen fluid from lactating dairy cows as inocula. Increasing doses of CO and FO quadratically decreased concentrations of methane, but hydrogen concentrations were only increased quadratically by CO. Both oils linearly decreased dry matter and neutral detergent fiber digestibility of feeds but did not affect the concentration of total volatile fatty acids. However, CO reduced acetate percentage and acetate to propionate ratio and increased the percentages of propionate and butyrate to a greater extent than FO. Ammonia concentration was greater for CO than FO. As determined by quantitative real-time PCR, FO had greater inhibition to methanogens than CO, but the opposite was true for protozoal, Ruminococcus flavefaciens, and Fibrobacter succinogenes. Ruminococcus albus was not affected by either oil. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) profiles revealed that bacterial and archaeal community composition were changed differently by oil type. Based on Pareto-Lorenz evenness curve analysis of the DGGE profiles, CO noticeably changed the functional organization of archaea compared with FO. In conclusion, although both CO and FO decreased methane concentrations to a similar extent, the mode of reduction and the effect on abundances and diversity of archaeal and bacterial populations differed between the oils. Thus, the use of combination of CO and FO at a low dose may additively lower methanogenesis in the rumen while having little adverse effect on rumen fermentation.
Miscibility and ferroelectric behavior in blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene) and poly(vinyl acetate)

The blend system containing a poly(vinylidene fluoride/trifluoroethylene) [P(VDF/TrFE)] copolymer (68/32 mol %) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) was miscible from the results of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies that exhibit the presence of a single, composition-dependent glass transition temperature (T g ) and a strong melting point depression for the semicrystalline P(VDF/TrFE) component. However, differences between the DSC and dielectric measurements, which showed a separate P(VDF/TrFE) T g peak, suggests that the P(VDF/TrFE)/PVAc blends are actually partially miscible. Because of the lower dielectric constant of PVAc and the reduced sample crystallinity caused by the addition of PVAc, both the dielectric constant and the remanent polarization of the copolymer blends decrease with increasing PVAc content. The presence of a small amount of PVAc stabilized the anomalous ferroelectric behavior of ice-water-quenched P(VDF/TrFE), and the blend portrayed normal polarization reversal behavior after adding only 1 wt % PVAc. The piezoelectric response suggests small changes with an increasing number of poling cycles. It is believed that PVAc affects the D-E hysteresis behavior at the interface between crystalline and amorphous phases, although much work remains to be done to confirm this hypothesis.
Risk Factors and Consequences of Unwanted Sex Among University Students: Hooking Up, Alcohol, and Stress Response

This is the first study of unwanted sexual experiences in the collegiate "hooking-up" culture. In a representative sample of 178 students at a small liberal arts university. Twenty-three percent of women and 7% of men surveyed reported one or more experiences of unwanted sexual intercourse. Seventy-eight percent of unwanted vaginal, anal, and oral incidents took place while--"hooking up,"--whereas 78% of unwanted fondling incidents occurred at parties or bars. The most frequently endorsed reason for unwanted sexual intercourse was impaired judgment due to alcohol. The most frequently endorsed reason for unwanted fondling was that it happened before the perpetrator could be stopped. Of those affected by unwanted sexual intercourse or unwanted fondling, 46.7% and 19.2% reported unwanted memories, 50% and 32.7% reported avoidance and numbing responses, and 30% and 26.9% reported hyperarousal responses, respectively. A preliminary model of unwanted sex and collegiate social dynamics is proposed to provide a heuristic for further research.
Photothermal imaging of high T/sub c/ superconductor

The authors have demonstrated the ability to make high-resolution thermal conductivity measurements of ceramic superconductors. The technique is nondestructive, has submicron resolution, and can measure the conductivity in a specified direction. The authors have measured the anisotropy in thermal conductivity of Bi/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/CaCu/sub 2/O/sub x/ and found that the conduction along the Cu-O planes is six times greater than in the perpendicular direction. By incorporating refrigeration in their setup, they plan to measure the full, anisotropic thermal conductivity as a function of temperature, with particular emphasis on the behavior near T/sub c/. >
STRATEGIC GROUPS: A COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

The strategic group concept provides an attractive middle ground between firm and industry for both theory development and empirical analysis. To date, this concept has been defined by researchers in terms of secondary accounting and financial data, and a number of critics have questioned the validity of this work. Our research shows that industry participants share perceptions about strategic commonalities among firms, and that participants cluster competitors in subtle ways not reflected in extant academic research on strategic groups. Decision makers' perceptions and cognitions are phenomena that can be expected to influence industry evolution. They are of research interest as an additional source of data on firm commonalities which helps address concerns about previous strategic group research.
Phase stability technique for inverse scattering in optical coherence tomography

We present a technique for maintaining phase stability in a three-dimensional optical coherence tomography system. When determining the inverse scattering solution, phase stable measurements are required to ensure proper object reconstruction. The proposed method uses a reference object placed above the specimen to facilitate the retrieval of accurate constant phase surfaces throughout the specimen. Our algorithm locates the reference object, determines the phase and group delay, and corrects the phase disturbance accordingly.
Estimation for a probabilistic stress-strength model

Estimation for an unknown strength distribution is considered in two situations: (1) independent identically distributed stresses are applied to the component until it fails (no cumulative damage); and (2) each applied stress causes damage to the component and damage cumulates until the component fails. Both situations lead to mixtures of probability distributions, with the strength distribution playing the role of the mixing distribution. Based on the observation of cycles to failure of several independent components and on the theory of mixtures of distributions, estimators of the mixing distributions are obtained using linear programming. In particular, the solution to the linear-programming problem yields a probability mass function which approximates the unknown strength distribution. From this estimate of the strength distribution, an estimate of the mean strength of the item can be obtained by the usual computation of the mean of a probability distribution. Hence, the results provide a method of estimating the mean strength, or other parameters of the strength distribution, without requiring observations directly on the strengths of the test components. >
A qualitative evaluation of medical student learning with concept maps

Purpose and Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate the ways in which the use of concept maps influenced the learning processes of third year internal medicine students in the context of medical education. Reported here are the qualitative results of this study.Methods: One–hundred thirty four medical students were taught to use concept mapping as a learning strategy at the beginning of their internal medicine rotations. Upon completion of the internal medicine rotation students were asked to evaluate how concept maps fostered the process of linking theoretical information to clinical practice. Additionally, students described how concept maps impacted their learning.Results: In this study, concept maps fostered a positive connection between theory and practice. Additionally, students described three major themes impacting their learning: concept mapping as a facilitator of knowledge integration and critical thinking, as a teaching methodology and finally, as a learning method.Conclusions: This...
18F-FDG PET Assessment of Lewy Body Dementia with Cerebellar Diaschisis

Alzheimer disease and Lewy body dementia are the 2 most common causes of dementia. Each disease has distinctive regional metabolic reduction patterns on (18)F-FDG PET. In this report, we present a rare case of an elderly man with dementia whereby (18)F-FDG PET clearly showed Lewy body disease with crossed cerebellar diaschisis.
Diverse Effects of Heparin on Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase–Dependent Signal Transduction in Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells

Abstract Proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) is implicated in pathological events, including atherosclerosis and intimal hyperplasia following angioplasty. The glycosaminoglycan heparin is a growth inhibitor of SMCs in vitro and in vivo. The underlying mechanism, however, is still poorly understood. In the present study, we report that heparin inhibited the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in baboon SMCs by serum but not by platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). When fibroblast growth factor was used, heparin had a stimulatory effect on MAPK. The only MAPK-activating kinase found in SMCs was MAPK kinase (MAPKK)-1, although MAPKK-2 was present in comparable amounts. Activation of MAPKK-1 and DNA synthesis were affected by heparin in a similar fashion. Heparin does not appear to exert its effects through members of the protein kinase C family, which are downregulated by phorbol esters, because it was still capable of inhibiting MAPK/MAPKK-1 stimulation by FCS in phorbol ester–pretreated cells. The present findings support the conclusions that the effects of heparin depend on the nature of the mitogen and that heparin inhibits SMC proliferation by preventing activation of MAPKK-1.
The Economics of Co-Management

Economics is the study of how people allocate scarce resources among competing ends. This allocation addresses the production and distribution of goods and services over time and space. It takes place within the context of both human behaviour and organisational structure. In publicly owned fisheries, economics is further concerned with the allocation of access to the resource and with managing the interaction of people with the resource. Fisheries co-management, as an arrangement where responsibility for resource management is shared between the government and user groups, is one approach to allocating access and to managing the interaction.
Social hierarchical learning

My dissertation research focuses on the application of hierarchical learning and heuristics based on social signals to solve challenges inherent to enabling human-robot collaboration. I approach this problem through advancing the state of the art in building hierarchical task representations, multiagent task-level planning, and learning assistive behaviors from demonstration.
Image Formation in Multiscale Optical Systems

We present image formation (IF) strategies developed for multiscale imaging systems. In this context, IF takes advantage of significant prior knowledge of array geometry and relies on parallelizable algorithms to handle the high data bandwidth.
Local calibration of rigid pavement performance models using resampling methods

AbstractThe performance prediction models in the Pavement-ME design software are nationally calibrated using in-service pavement material properties, pavement structure, climate and truck loadings, and performance data obtained from the Long-Term Pavement Performance programme. The nationally calibrated models may not perform well if the inputs and performance data used to calibrate those do not represent the local design and construction practices. Therefore, before implementing the new M-E design procedure, each state highway agency (SHA) should evaluate how well the nationally calibrated performance models predict the measured field performance. The local calibrations of the Pavement-ME performance models are recommended to improve the performance prediction capabilities to reflect the unique conditions and design practices. During the local calibration process, the traditional calibration techniques (split sampling) may not necessarily provide adequate results when limited number of pavement sections ...
Natural Language Aided Visual Query Building for Complex Data Access

Over the past decades, there have been significant efforts on developing robust and easy-to-use query interfaces to databases. So far, the typical query interfaces are GUI-based visual query interfaces. Visual query interfaces however, have limitations especially when they are used for accessing large and complex datasets. Therefore, we are developing a novel query interface where users can use natural language expressions to help author visual queries. Our work enhances the usability of a visual query interface by directly addressing the "knowledge gap" issue in visual query interfaces. We have applied our work in several real-world applications. Our preliminary evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach.
Firing Frictions and the Mergers and Acquisitions Market

Following the adoption of state laws that increase firing costs, there is an immediate reduction in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity and increase in the percentage of withdrawn mergers. The reduction in M&A activity persists in the long-run and is most pronounced in labor intensive industries and for large deals. We corroborate these findings using a sample of publicly traded acquirers. Finally, event study analyses suggest that the market anticipates that firing costs will disproportionately affect active acquirers. Overall, this link between firing frictions and M&A activity suggests that post-merger labor force restructuring is an important source of M&A value.
A Geometric Proof of Machin's Formula

(1990). A Geometric Proof of Machin's Formula. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 63, No. 5, pp. 336-337.
Rapid Onset of Vascular Wall Protein Synthesis with Increase in Lability of Blood Pressure in Rabbits

1. Structural and functional changes resulting from baroreceptor denervation were studied in rabbits 4 days after surgery. 2. After section of the aortic and carotid sinus nerves, arterial pressure was characteristically labile although the mean pressures were not significantly different from those of control animals. 3. The responsiveness of isolated ear arteries and cephalic veins from deafferented animals to noradrenaline and electrical stimulation of their sympathetic innervation was similar in both groups. 4. Neuronal uptake of noradrenaline into arterial tissue was similar in both groups, although uptake into the cephalic veins of deafferented animals was less than in the control group. 5. [ 3 H]Thymidine uptake, an index of DNA synthesis, was similar in both groups, radioautography revealing no difference in smooth muscle cell labelling. 6. Uptake of [ 3 H]proline, an indicator of protein synthesis, by aorta, ear, brachial, basilar and renal arteries from deafferented animals was greater than in control animals. 7. Baroreceptor denervation altered protein metabolism in the arterial wall.
Polymorphisms in the Delta Opioid Receptor Gene (OPRD1) and Drug Addiction: Candidate Genes, Transgenic Mouse Models, and Genome-Wide Association Studies

Abstract The OPRD1 gene encodes delta opioid receptors (DORs). Opioids receptor agonists are involved in mediating reward. Numerous human candidate gene studies reported associations between various OPRD1 polymorphisms and addiction, including opioid, cocaine, and alcohol dependence. Transgenic mouse studies using knockout mice suggested that some OPRD1 variants might regulate drug reinforcement, emotional states, and behavioral inhibition. Individuals with OPRD1 risk variants may use drugs because of their specific personality features. At the same time, drug-induced changes in neurotransmitter systems may adversely affect personality traits, making some individuals even more likely to abuse drugs. Several OPRD1 polymorphisms are involved in the etiology of both Alzheimer's disease and addiction, and a number of other heritable brain-based phenotypes co-occur with drug abuse. DORs are involved in neuroprotection, and their expression is affected by several epigenetic factors. Both obese and drug-addicted individuals suffer from impairments in reward sensitivity, and opioids are involved in these processes.
Determination of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid in rice using hydrophilic interaction chromatographytandem mass spectrometry

A method was developed for the simultaneous determination of glyphosate(Gly) and aminomethylphosphonic acid(AMPA) residues in rice using hydrophilic interaction chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(HILIC-MS/MS).The samples were extracted with water,and purified using a C18 solid phase extraction cartridge followed by an ultrafiltration membrane to remove interfering materials.Gly and AMPA were separated on an HILIC column with the mobile phases of 1 mmol/L ammonium acetate(pH 11.0 adjusted with ammonium hydroxide) and acetonitrile,and finally detected with negative electrospray ionization(ESI-) in multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) mode.The matrix-matched external standard calibration curves were used for quantitative analysis.The sample pretreatment of Gly and its metabolite was successfully carried out without any derivatization.Under the optimal analytical conditions,the linearities of Gly and AMPA were in the concentration ranges of 0.001 to 0.250 mg/L and 0.0025 to 0.250 mg/L respectively,with the correlation coefficients of 0.9995 for the both analytes.The limits of detection(S/N=3) of the method were 0.010 mg/kg for Gly,and 0.020 mg/kg for AMPA.For all the samples,the mean spiked recoveries of Gly and AMPA were in the range from 96.3% to 107.3% at 3 spiked levels(0.100,0.500 and 2.500 mg/kg),and the relative standard deviations(RSDs,n=3) were in the range of 1.3%-9.1%.The method is easy,fast,sensitive and accurate,and can meet the requirements of the determination of Gly and AMPA pesticide residues in rice.
Beyond cones: an improved model of whisker bending based on measured mechanics and tapering

The sense of touch is represented by neural activity patterns evoked by mechanosensory input forces. The rodent whisker system is exceptional for studying the neurophysiology of touch in part because these forces can be precisely computed from video of whisker deformation. We evaluate the accuracy of a standard model of whisker bending, which assumes quasi-static dynamics and a linearly tapered conical profile, using controlled whisker deflections. We find significant discrepancies between model and experiment: real whiskers bend more than predicted upon contact at locations in the middle of the whisker and less at distal locations. Thus whiskers behave as if their stiffness near the base and near the tip is larger than expected for a homogeneous cone. We assess whether contact direction, friction, inhomogeneous elasticity, whisker orientation, or nonconical shape could explain these deviations. We show that a thin-middle taper of mouse whisker shape accounts for the majority of this behavior. This taper is conserved across rows and columns of the whisker array. The taper has a large effect on the touch-evoked forces and the ease with which whiskers slip past objects, which are key drivers of neural activity in tactile object localization and identification. This holds for orientations with intrinsic whisker curvature pointed toward, away from, or down from objects, validating two-dimensional models of simple whisker-object interactions. The precision of computational models relating sensory input forces to neural activity patterns can be quantitatively enhanced by taking thin-middle taper into account with a simple corrective function that we provide.
Abstract 2183: Baicalein and meformin decrease small cell lung cancer growth by inhibiting the mTOR pathway in itro

Background: Metformin use has been associated with decreased lung cancer risk in several observational studies and is currently in clinical trial in conjunction with standard chemotherapeutics. One possible antitumor mechanism is the negative regulation of the mTOR pathway. We previously reported that the natural product Baicalein has antitumor effects through targeting mTOR pathway. We hypothesized that Baicalein to have antitumor effects in small cell lung cancer. Methods: H1417 small cell lung cancer cells were cultured and treated with increasing doses of Baicalein or Metformin. The cells were harvested at 24 hours and subjected to Western blotting staining for the downstream products of the mTOR pathway. Cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay at 24, 48, and 72 hours. MTT conversion to formazan dye correlates with the number of living cells. Results: We found a dose dependent decrease in the downstream mTOR1 targets pS6K1 and pS6 using both Baicalein and Metformin. There was also an increase in the expression of the mTOR inhibitors DDIT4 and IRF-1. Using the MTT assay, we were able to demonstrate a marked dose dependent decrease in cell proliferation that was sustained over 72 hours from treatment. Interestingly, Baicalein has a markedly higher potency working at micromolar doses verses Metformin which required millimolar doses. Conclusions: Both Baicalein and Metformin effectively decrease cell proliferation in small cell lung cancer cells in vitro. We have shown these drugs to target the mTOR pathway. Cell proliferation is inhibited at a markedly smaller dose by Baicalein compared with Metformin. Baicalein may be useful in cancer chemotherapy and chemoprevention. Citation Format: Emily F. Marcinkowski, Dan Raz, Bing Shen, Quanhua Xing, Jin Yan, Wei Wen, Ernest Han, John Yim. Baicalein and meformin decrease small cell lung cancer growth by inhibiting the mTOR pathway in itro. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2183.
The Determinants of Saving Motives of Urban Government Employees in Southern Ethiopia; in a Case of Gamo Gofa Zone

This research aims at finding the determinants of saving motives of urban government employees in southern Ethiopia; in a case of Gamo Gofa Zone. There are different theoretical and empirical contradictions on consumer economic research studies of saving and little research work held on integrated saving motives of employees. The researcher was primarily motivated to explore whether employees do have willingness to save since they are expected to have better relative ability to save than other parts of the community who do not get permanent salary. The investigation was conducted in Arba Minch and Sawla town administrations in 2015. The study used purposive sampling to select the research region & Zone and considering the Southern Ethiopian government employees saving motive will not be by far different from Gamo Gofa Zone government employees. In that, the study was also concerned to identify whether salary only or saving motives, psychological features, financial literacy level and other also determine saving or not. The study contributes to build on prior research by integrating the various saving motives into a single research framework and examining their influence on saving behavior of government employees and potentially benefit financial services providers and policy makers. For this study primary data was used. Out of 330 distributed questionnaires determined by Sample Size Calculator of Raosoft, using semi structured questionnaires data was gathered from 278 government employees of the study area. The cross sectional data collected were analyzed using simple descriptive statistical analysis and multivariate analyses comprising four binary logit regressions on the different saving motives & multinomial regression on all the four saving motives simultaneously. The researcher found that, future expectation of interest rate and monthly saving deposit had positive and significant relationship with the probability of having lifecycle motive implying their being optimist and positive attitude towards deposit of saving. Risk tolerance, level of saving interest rate attraction, monthly saving and experience of income & expenditure record had significant but negative relationship with the probability of having precautionary saving motive entails these employees are less risk tolerant, no attracted by current saving interest rate; have poor saving; have problems in financial literacy. Religion and age were found significant and negative relation with the probability of having bequest motive tell that these employees are Christians and have older years of age while education & income with negative relation implying they are non-degree and have low income. Religion and marital status were resulted positive and significant relationship with the probability of having profit motive showing they are Christian couples.
The Electron Diffusion Transistor (A Proposed New Transistor Structure)

In this paper a new submicron majority carrier transistor, the EDT (electron diffusion transistor) is proposed. The EDT consists of two n+ -n contacts or junctions on a thin channel region. A gate structure is embedded in the channel with a structure similar to a PBT1. For contact spacings of the order of the extrinsic debye length the two n+ -n junctions “communicate”. The majority carrier current flow in the channel depends on the applied voltage between the n+ contacts and on the applied gate voltage. This is similar to a bipolar junction transistor, where current flows between back-to-back p-n junctions separated by a base region of the order of a minority carrier diffusion length. The EDT geometry allows the electron concentrations in the channel to be much higher than the channel doping. This higher electron concentration gives a higher drain-source current and transconductance. Computer results are given showing EDT operation for a range of dopings and contact spacings.
DETECTING SPATIAL PATTERNS OF NATURAL HAZARDS FROM THE WIKIPEDIA KNOWLEDGE BASE

Abstract. The Wikipedia database is a data source of immense richness and variety. Included in this database are thousands of geotagged articles, including, for example, almost real-time updates on current and historic natural hazards. This includes usercontributed information about the location of natural hazards, the extent of the disasters, and many details relating to response, impact, and recovery. In this research, a computational framework is proposed to detect spatial patterns of natural hazards from the Wikipedia database by combining topic modeling methods with spatial analysis techniques. The computation is performed on the Neon Cluster, a high performance-computing cluster at the University of Iowa. This work uses wildfires as the exemplar hazard, but this framework is easily generalizable to other types of hazards, such as hurricanes or flooding. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) modeling is first employed to train the entire English Wikipedia dump, transforming the database dump into a 500-dimension topic model. Over 230,000 geo-tagged articles are then extracted from the Wikipedia database, spatially covering the contiguous United States. The geo-tagged articles are converted into an LDA topic space based on the topic model, with each article being represented as a weighted multidimension topic vector. By treating each article’s topic vector as an observed point in geographic space, a probability surface is calculated for each of the topics. In this work, Wikipedia articles about wildfires are extracted from the Wikipedia database, forming a wildfire corpus and creating a basis for the topic vector analysis. The spatial distribution of wildfire outbreaks in the US is estimated by calculating the weighted sum of the topic probability surfaces using a map algebra approach, and mapped using GIS. To provide an evaluation of the approach, the estimation is compared to wildfire hazard potential maps created by the USDA Forest service.
Transplantation of Ex Vivo Expanded Umbilical Cord Blood (NiCord) Decreases Early Infection and Hospitalization

Abstract Delayed hematopoietic recovery contributes to increased infection risk following umbilical cord blood (UCB) transplantation. In a Phase 1 study, adult recipients of UCB stem cells cultured ex vivo for 3 weeks with nicotinamide (NiCord) had earlier median neutrophil recovery compared with historical controls. To evaluate the impact of faster neutrophil recovery on clinically relevant early outcomes, we reviewed infection episodes and hospitalization during the first 100 days in an enlarged cohort of 18 NiCord recipients compared with 86 standard UCB recipients at our institution. The median time to neutrophil engraftment was shorter in NiCord recipients compared with standard UCB recipients (12.5 days versus 26 days; P
Gender bias in economic evaluation methods: quality of life and family role effects.

o B d & W 1 t n this second commentary on potential gender bias in commonly used economic evaluation methods uch as cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost– enefit analysis (CBA), we consider gender differences n health-related quality of life (QOL) and gender ifferences in health impacts on family well-being. he commentary focuses on cost–utility analysis CUA). In CUA, the outcome is quality-adjusted lifeears (QALYs) and the analytic approach is often a athematical model of a sequence of events called a ecision analytic model. QALYs account for time lived in ifferent health states that are valued using societal references, namely, health-related QOL measures hat are scored based on rankings or valuations obained from a general cross-section of society. Bias in CUA related to QOL may arise if there are ender differences in the experience of symptoms as easured by commonly used QOL instruments or here are gender-specific disease symptoms and conitions that are not measured accurately by available OL instruments. The U.S. Panel on Cost-Effectiveess in Health and Medicine (Gold, Siegel, Russell, & einstein, 1996) recommended that QALYs be calcuated with health utility weights representative of the ntire population. This practice may introduce bias if en and women have different behavioral reactions o (and different QOL interpretations of) certain health imensions. Although the panel allowed for the posibility of using health utility weights specific to the ubpopulation being studied, accepted methods for
Assessing the performance of hearing aids using surveys and audio data collected in situ

Measuring the performance of hearing aids in the real-world is challenging because it depends on both the subject's auditory abilities and the auditory context in which they use their hearing aids. The auditory context includes characteristics of the listening activity, social context, and acoustic environment. Ecological momentary assessment is the state-of-the-art method for evaluating the performance of hearing aids in the real-world. It may be used to assess the auditory context and its performance in that context. However, such techniques a introduces a significant data collection burden on study participants. A potential avenue for reducing the data collection burden is to use audio data collected in-situ to characterize the auditory context automatically. This paper presents our initial attempt at answering this challenge. Our results indicate that it is possible to predict the noise level and listening activity with an accuracy of 68% and 70%, respectively. Additionally, we show that a 4.6% reduction in the mean squared error of predicting the listening effort may also be achieved by using the audio data (without including subjective self-reports).
Efficacy of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization in comparison to gastrocnemius-soleus stretching for dorsiflexion range of motion: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Objectives To determine the efficacy of IASTM of the gastrocnemius-soleus complex in comparison to a traditional stretching intervention on dorsiflexion ROM. Methods Sixty healthy participants were randomly allocated to one of 3 groups: IASTM (n = 20), stretching (n = 20), or control group (n = 20). The dependent variables for this study was dorsiflexion range of motion (ROM) via three measurement methods which included Modified root position 1- knee extended (MRP1), Modified root position 2- knee flexed (MRP2), and weight bearing lunge test (WBLT). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was utilized to analyze the ROM differences between the groups (IASTM, stretching, and control groups), with a post-hoc Tukey and pairwise least significant difference tests to assess individual pairwise differences between the groups. Results The MANOVA found significant ROM differences between the three intervention groups (F 6,110 = 2.40, p = .032). Statistically significant differences were identified between both the IASTM and control as well as the stretching and control group through the WBLT and MRP2 assessments, but not in the MRP1 assessment. Further, there was no statistically significant difference between the IASTM and stretching groups using any of the three methods. Conclusion A single session of IASTM or stretching increased ankle dorsiflexion ROM in WBLT and MRP2. No significant difference was noted in the MRP1. Both IASTM and stretching appear to have a greater effect on soleus muscle flexibility as evidenced by ROM gains measured with the knee in a flexed position. No clinically significant difference was identified between the intervention groups in weight-bearing conditions; thus empowering patients with the use of self-stretching would seemingly be reasonable and efficient. Combined effects of stretching and IASTM warrant further investigation for increasing dorsiflexion range of motion as a summative effect is unknown.
Neonatal outcomes of elective early-term births after demonstrated fetal lung maturity.

Background Studies of early-term birth after demonstrated fetal lung maturity show that respiratory and other outcomes are worse with early-term birth (370–386 weeks) even after demonstrated fetal lung maturity when compared with full-term birth (390–406 weeks). However, these studies included medically indicated births and are therefore potentially limited by confounding by the indication for delivery. Thus, the increase in adverse outcomes might be due to the indication for early-term birth rather than the early-term birth itself. Objective We examined the prevalence and risks of adverse neonatal outcomes associated with early-term birth after confirmed fetal lung maturity as compared with full-term birth in the absence of indications for early delivery. Study Design This is a secondary analysis of an observational study of births to 115,502 women in 25 hospitals in the United States from 2008 through 2011. Singleton nonanomalous births at 37–40 weeks with no identifiable indication for delivery were included; early-term births after positive fetal lung maturity testing were compared with full-term births. The primary outcome was a composite of death, ventilator for ≥2 days, continuous positive airway pressure, proven sepsis, pneumonia or meningitis, treated hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia (phototherapy), and 5-minute Apgar Results In all, 48,137 births met inclusion criteria; the prevalence of fetal lung maturity testing in the absence of medical or obstetric indications for early delivery was 0.52% (n = 249). There were 180 (0.37%) early-term births after confirmed pulmonary maturity and 47,957 full-term births. Women in the former group were more likely to be non-Hispanic white, smoke, have received antenatal steroids, have induction, and have a cesarean. Risks of the composite (16.1% vs 5.4%; adjusted odds ratio, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.1–4.8 from logistic regression) were more frequent with elective early-term birth. Propensity scores matching confirmed the increased primary composite in elective early-term births: adjusted odds ratios, 4.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.8–10.5) for 1:1 and 3.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.8–6.5) for 1:2 matching. Among components of the primary outcome, CPAP use and hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy were significantly increased. Transient tachypnea of the newborn, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and prolonged neonatal intensive care unit stay (>2 days) were also increased with early-term birth. Conclusion Even with confirmed pulmonary maturity, early-term birth in the absence of medical or obstetric indications is associated with worse neonatal respiratory and hepatic outcomes compared with full-term birth, suggesting relative immaturity of these organ systems in early-term births.