cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do sport-related concussions result in long-term cognitive impairment? A review of event-related potential research.

Abstract Sport-related concussions have become a major public health concern although the long-term effects on cognitive function remain largely unknown. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are ideal for studying the long-term impact of sport-related concussions, as they have excellent temporal precision and provide insight that cannot be obtained from behavioral or neuropsychological measures alone. We reviewed all available published studies that have used stimulus or response-locked ERPs to document cognitive control processes in individuals with a history of concussion. Collectively, cross-sectional evidence suggests consistent reductions in P3 amplitude in previously concussed individuals, as well as a possible impairment in cognitive processing speed (P3 latency) and error monitoring processes (ERN). The persistent neurophysiological changes found may be related to the number of previous concussions sustained and the time since injury. Future studies incorporating prospective research designs are warranted before definitive statements can be offered regarding the long-term impact of sport-related concussions on cognitive control.
Enhanced mobility CsPbI3 quantum dot arrays for record-efficiency, high-voltage photovoltaic cells

We developed lead halide perovskite quantum dot (QD) films with tuned surface chemistry based on A-site cation halide salt (AX) treatments. QD perovskites offer colloidal synthesis and processing using industrially friendly solvents, which decouples grain growth from film deposition, and at present produce larger open-circuit voltages (VOC’s) than thin-film perovskites. CsPbI3 QDs, with a tunable bandgap between 1.75 and 2.13 eV, are an ideal top cell candidate for all-perovskite multijunction solar cells because of their demonstrated small VOC deficit. We show that charge carrier mobility within perovskite QD films is dictated by the chemical conditions at the QD-QD junctions. The AX treatments provide a method for tuning the coupling between perovskite QDs, which is exploited for improved charge transport for fabricating high-quality QD films and devices. The AX treatments presented here double the film mobility, enabling increased photocurrent, and lead to a record certified QD solar cell efficiency of 13.43%.
The Positive Impact of an Extended Intervention on Dosing Accuracy of Student Compounded Suspensions.

Objective. To demonstrate the impact of an extended intervention on the dose accuracy and consistency of a compounded zonisamide suspension.Methods. A laboratory exercise was initially conducted by...
Wordsworth's Dropsy: Flux and Figure in The Excursion

This essay traces how William Wordsworth engages with both Romantic medical discourse and aesthetic theory by insisting that the mind is physically embodied, and finds his most complex and compelli...
What is Gained from Past Learning

We consider ways of enabling systems to apply previously learned information to novel situations so as to minimize the need for retraining. We show that theoretical limitations exist on the amount of information that can be transported from previous learning, and that robustness to changing environments depends on a delicate balance between the relations to be learned and the causal structure of the underlying model. We demonstrate by examples how this robustness can be quantified.
Pulmonary Screening in Subjects after the Fontan Procedure.

Objectives To review the pulmonary findings of the first 51 patients who presented to our interdisciplinary single-ventricle clinic after undergoing the Fontan procedure. Study design We performed an Institutional Review Board–approved retrospective review of 51 patients evaluated following the Fontan procedure. Evaluation included history, physical examination, pulmonary function testing, and 6-minute walk. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the population and testing data. Results Sixty-one percent of the patients had a pulmonary concern raised during the visit. Three patients had plastic bronchitis. Abnormal lung function testing was present in 46% of patients. Two-thirds (66%) of the patients had significant desaturation during the 6-minute walk test. Patients who underwent a fenestrated Fontan procedure and those who underwent unfenestrated Fontan were compared in terms of saturation and 6-minute walk test results. Sleep concerns were present in 45% of the patients. Conclusions Pulmonary morbidities are common in patients after Fontan surgery and include plastic bronchitis, abnormal lung function, desaturations with walking, and sleep concerns. Abnormal lung function and obstructive sleep apnea may stress the Fontan circuit and may have implications for cognitive and emotional functioning. A pulmonologist involved in the care of patients after Fontan surgery can assist in screening for comorbidities and recommend interventions.
THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE MESENCEPHALIC DOPAMINE NEURON SYSTEMS

The topography of the dopamine cell projections from the substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the basal forebrain, neostriatum and cortex was studied in the rat with a variety of techniques. The topographical relationships of the dopamine projections is compared to connections in the raphe and locus coeruleus projection systems. Each system is characterized by different degrees of topography, localization and laterality of projection.
High Flow Priapism: A Spectrum of Disease

We describe 4 cases of high flow arterial priapism, ranging from 1 week to 3 years in duration. The mode of presentation, evaluation using a duplex scanner, treatment and ultimate resolution are discussed. In 1 patient treated with ice compression the erection subsided spontaneously. One patient underwent percutaneous embolization and achieved detumescence. In 2 men a vascular pseudocapsule formed around the site of the ruptured cavernous artery that provided an important anatomical landmark for intraoperative localization. The ruptured branch of the cavernous artery was ligated in an open procedure. Based on these cases and a review of the literature, we outline a modified diagnostic and therapeutic approach for patients with high flow arterial priapism.
Abstract 1981: Pan-cancer pathways gene expression profiling in mantle cell lymphoma reveals upregulation of DNA damage repair genes in ibrutinib-resistant tumor

Introduction Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) accounts for 7% of all non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases and is an incurable subtype of B-cell lymphoma. Ibrutinib, a first-in-class, once-daily, oral covalent inhibitor of Bruton9s tyrosine kinase (BTK), was approved by the FDA in 2013 for relapsed-refractory MCL with an overall response rate of 68%. Unfortunately, resistance to ibrutinib inevitably develops and once patients relapse after ibrutinib treatment, the 1-year survival rate is only 22%, and median survival is only 8 months. If the response to ibrutinib can be predicted by genetic biomarkers, the ability to personalize therapy in the clinic would greatly benefit; therefore, we aimed to identify the gene expression profile associated with ibrutinib resistance in clinical samples. Methods We used clinical samples (N=16) collected from relapsed MCL patients to extract RNA, and the RNA samples were used to conduct gene expression profiling of 770 genes using Nanostring® Pan Cancer Pathways Panel in the nCounter® system (Seattle, WA). Gene expression profiling analysis was adjusted for technical and biological covariates such as binding density and sample type. We adjusted the analysis for multiples statistical comparisons using the Benjamini-Yekutieli method. Results Of the 16 clinical samples, 5 (31%) were resistant to ibrutinib as identified in clinical annotations. In univariate analysis, binding density was significantly higher in ibrutinib-resistant samples compared with the sensitive samples (P-value Conclusions In ibrutinib-resistant MCL samples, the ability to increase DNA damage repair and relative lower expression of apoptotic genes may explain the resistance mechanism. MCL cells may be vulnerable to therapeutic intervention targeting DNA damage repair pathways. Citation Format: Makhdum Ahmed, Elizabeth Lorence, Hui Guo, Shengjian Huang, Victoria Zhang, Hui Zhang, Liang Zhang, Krystle Nomie, Michael Wang. Pan-cancer pathways gene expression profiling in mantle cell lymphoma reveals upregulation of DNA damage repair genes in ibrutinib-resistant tumor [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1981.
Some transformation methods in goodness-of-fit.

A number of transformations of the form of have been given in the literature for particular parametric families. The hypothesis testing problem of is often not a very useful model in practice. The conditional probability integral transformations are given for a number of parametric families of probability distributions. Some important classes of distributions which are not covered by the transformation theory are the truncation parameter families considered by Quesenberry. The hypothesis testing problem is often not a very useful model in practice. It is more meaningful in many instances to test that the distribution function F has some specified functional form without assuming that the values of all parameters are known. Any of the multitude of goodness-of-fit tests for the completely specified null hypothesis testing problem of may be used to test normality of the normal uniform residuals.
Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology for the Next Decade

ABSTRACT The next decade of cancer research will continue to focus on identification and effective targeting of somatic driver mutations. The first successfully targeted driver mutation in lung cancer is the mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) discovered 8 years ago. Multiple prospective trials for patients with EGFR mutations comparing treatment with gefitinib and erlotinib versus combination chemotherapy have been reported. The prolongation in PFS and decreased toxicity with EGR-TKIs has led to their regulatory approval as initial systemic therapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and EGFR sensitizing mutations in many countries throughout the world. The second driver mutation successfully targeted is the ALK rearrangement in NSCLC. Five years have past since Dr. Mano et al. discovered a rearrangement between ALK and EML4 in adenocarcinomas of the lung that could transform NIH 3T3 cells. Further research has shown that additional ALK rearrangements can give rise to constitutively activated ALK tyrosine kinase in ∼5% of NSCLC patients. The ALK inhibitor, crizotinib, has been studied in NSCLC patients with prospectively identified ALK rearrangements in a series of phase I, II, and III trials. The prospective clinical studies administering crizotinib to NSCLC with ALK rearrangements have response rates of ∼60%, PFS of ∼10 months, and more than half of the patients are alive 2 years from starting crizotinib. The high response rates, prolongation in PFS and decreased toxicity with crizotinib compared with chemotherapy has led to the regulatory approval of crizotinib as systemic therapy in patients with NSCLC and ALK rearrangements in the United States in August 2011. The additional driver mutations targeted in NSCLC include KRAS, BRAF, HER2, and PIK3CA mutations, ROS1 and RET rearrangements as well as MET amplification. BRAF has been successfully targeted in melanoma and HER2 amplification in breast cancer. Multiplex genomic characterization efforts are identifying these driver mutations and multi-institutional trials with therapeutic agents directed against these genomic alterations are underway.
Co-Occurring Trajectories of Depression and Social Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: Interactive Effects of Positive Emotionality and Domains of Chronic Interpersonal Stress

Deficits in positive emotionality (PE) have been implicated in the etiology of both social anxiety and depression; however, factors that contribute to divergent social anxiety and depression outcomes among youth low in PE remain unknown. Extant research suggests that parent-child stress and peer stress demonstrate differential patterns of associations with social anxiety and depression. Thus, the present study examined prospective interactive effects of PE and chronic parent-child and peer stress on simultaneously developing trajectories of social anxiety and depression symptoms among 543 boys and girls (age 8–16 at baseline, M[SD] = 11.94[2.32] 55.6% female). Parents reported on youth PE at baseline. Domains of chronic interpersonal (parent-child and peer) stress occurring between baseline and 18-months were assessed via child-report by trained interviews using the Youth Life Stress Interview (Rudolph and Flynn Development and Psychopathology, 19(2), 497–521, 2007). Youth completed self-report measures of depression and social anxiety every three months from 18- to 36- months (7 assessments). Conditional bivariate latent growth curve models indicated that main effects of parent-child stress, but not peer stress, predicted trajectories of depression in boys and girls. In girls, high levels of chronic interpersonal stress in both domains predicted stable, elevated trajectories of social anxiety symptoms regardless of PE. In boys, PE contributed to a pattern of differential susceptibility whereby boys high in PE were particularly susceptible to the effects of chronic interpersonal stress, for better or worse.
Spatial resolution as a trade-space for low-light imaging of sensitive cultural heritage documents

Abstract A 14th-century manuscript was imaged at high image quality with an HSI detector, using a low-illumination dose of 57 lx h, significantly less than one day’s worth of museum display (≈ 400 lx h). Initial work digitally downsampled spatial resolution from 333 pixels per inch (ppi) to 161 and 80 ppi, and increased the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by a factor of 2.00 and 2.79. Despite downsampling, pan-sharpened images were up to 1.5 times spatially sharper than the reference HSI image. Relatively high spectral accuracy was maintained, with spectral angle mapper (SAM) measurements of 0.0527–0.0963. The process was then repeated with physical adjustments to imaging height replacing the digital downsampling process, decreasing resolution from 403 ppi to 111 ppi, increasing SNR from 27.1 to 95.4, and sharpness by 60% using pan-sharpening, while maintaining SAM values of 0.110. An overall image quality metric is proposed, composed of fundamental spatial, spectral, and SNR metrics. This metric highlights efficient lighting and processing methods for increased image quality while limiting total illumination dose on the target, and can be tailored based on one’s imaging constraints.
Safety of Major Abdominal Operations in the Elderly: A Study of Geriatric-Specific Determinants of Health.

Preoperative assessment of geriatric-specific determinants of health may enhance perioperative risk stratification among elderly patients. This study examines effects of geriatric-specific variables on postoperative outcomes in patients undergoing elective major abdominal operations. Patients included in the ACS NSQIP pilot Geriatric Surgery Research File program who underwent elective pancreatic, liver, and colorectal operations between 2014 and 2016 were examined. Multivariable analyses were performed to evaluate associations between patient-specific geriatric variables and risk of death, morbidity, readmission, and discharge destination. A total of 4165 patients were included. Patients ≥85 years were more likely to die, experience postoperative morbidity, and be discharged to a facility (all p ≤ 0.039) than younger patients. Preoperatively, patients ≥85 years were more likely to use a mobility aid, have a prior fall, have consent signed by a surrogate, and to live alone at home prior to operation (all p 0.055). Patients 75–84 and ≥85 years were more likely to be discharged to facility (OR 2.33 and 4.75, respectively, both p < 0.001) compared to patients 65–74 years. All geriatric-specific variables: use of mobility aid, living alone, consent signed by a surrogate, and fall history, were significantly associated with discharge to a facility (all p ≤ 0.001). After adjusting for comorbid conditions, geriatric-specific variables are not associated with postoperative mortality and morbidity among elderly patients; however, geriatric-specific variables are significantly associated with discharge to a facility.
Pediatric Smoflipid Therapy: Patient Response and Safety Concerns.

Background Intestinal failure-associated liver disease (IFALD) occurs in ≤85% of neonates receiving prolonged parenteral nutrition. Strategies for treatment of IFALD include alternative lipid therapies, such as Smoflipid (Fresenius Kabi). In this study, we reviewed our institutional Smoflipid use, including predictors of patient response and safety concerns. Methods This is a retrospective chart review of all pediatric patients who received Smoflipid therapy over a 2-year period at Riley Hospital for Children. Forty-two patients (89%) had cholestasis at the start of Smoflipid therapy and were included in group analysis. We compared patients based on response to Smoflipid therapy, identifying associations and predictors of patient response. We also documented patient safety concerns, including essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD), rapid infusion, and compatibility/access issues. Results Sixteen patients (38%) with cholestasis had resolution with Smoflipid. Those patients with resolution were older at initiation (58 vs 33.5 days; P = .010), treated with Smoflipid for longer (85.5 vs 41 days; P = .001), and had lower direct bilirubin at the start of Smoflipid therapy (3.7 vs 5.2 mg/dL; P = .035). We identified multiple safety concerns, including EFAD (54%), rapid infusion (17%), and missed doses (51%). No patient characteristics were found to correlate with Smofllpid therapy and diagnosis of EFAD. Conclusion In our patient population, Smoflipid therapy led to cholestasis resolution in patients with lower direct bilirubin or less-severe IFALD. Use of Smoflipid is also associated with significant safety concerns, and its use should be coupled with close monitoring in pediatric patients, particularly in neonates.
Antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT)

A conjugate of the bacterial enzyme carboxypeptidase G2 and the F(ab)(2) fragment of the anti-CEA monoclonal antibody A5B7 was directed in vitro at the human colon tumour cell line LS174T and the human non-small cell lung line COR-L23. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy was used to show that the conjugate bound to LS174T cells but not to COR-L23. The cytotoxicity generated by addition of a phenol mustard prodrug to each cell line after pre-incubation with conjugate was found to be significantly greater for LS174T cells (IC50=0.24 mu M) than COR-L23 cells (IC50=108 mu M). However, for a 1:1 mixture of these cells an IC50, of 3.4 mu M was obtained. These data show that phenol mustard released by a localised conjugate can exert a bystander effect on neighbouring cells to which the conjugate does not bind.
Three new species of the genus Ripipteryx from Colombia (Orthoptera, Ripipterygidae)

Three new species of Ripipteryx Newman (Orthoptera: Tridactyloidea: Ripipterygidae) are described from Colombia; namely Ripipteryx diegoi sp. n. (Forceps Group) and Ripipteryx guacharoensis sp. n. (Marginipennis Group) from Parque Nacional Natural Cueva de los Guacharos in Huila, and Ripipteryx gorgonaensis sp. n. (Crassicornis Group) from Parque Nacional Natural Gorgona in Cauca. Ripipteryx diegoi sp. n. is characterized by the antennae black with white spots on flagellomeres 3–7, male subgenital plate with median ridge forming a bilobed setose process, epiproct produced laterally near its base and phallic complex with virga thickened distally and not reaching beyond the membrane. Ripipteryx guacharoensis sp. n. is characterized by the antennae thick with white spots present dorsally on flagellomeres 1–4 and 8, epiproct narrow and triangular, uncus reduced and lacking a distal hook, phallic complex with a concave ventral plate and a dorsal elevation in the middle extended to the virga, and the virga itself with two small projections basally. Ripipteryx gorgonaensis sp. n. is characterized by the epiproct with a lateral notch, antennae with a white dorsal spot on flagellomere 1 and flagellomeres 4–7 entirely white. The antennal color pattern of Ripipteryx gorgonaensis sp. n. strongly resembles that of Ripipteryx atra but differs from the latter in the absence of any significant morphological modification of the flagellomeres.
Short-Term Circulating Tumor Cell Dynamics in Mouse Xenograft Models and Implications for Liquid Biopsy.

Motivation Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are widely studied using liquid biopsy methods that analyze fractionally-small peripheral blood (PB) samples. However, little is known about natural fluctuations in CTC numbers that may occur over short timescales in vivo, and how these may affect detection and enumeration of rare CTCs from small blood samples. Methods We recently developed an optical instrument called "diffuse in vivo flow cytometry" (DiFC) that uniquely allows continuous, non-invasive counting of rare, green fluorescent protein expressing CTCs in large blood vessels in mice. Here, we used DiFC to study short-term changes in CTC numbers in multiple myeloma and Lewis lung carcinoma xenograft models. We analyzed CTC detections in over 100 h of DiFC data, and considered intervals corresponding to approximately 1%, 5%, 10%, and 20% of the PB volume. In addition, we analyzed changes in CTC numbers over 24 h (diurnal) periods. Results For rare CTCs (fewer than 1 CTC per ml of blood), the use of short DiFC intervals (corresponding to small PB samples) frequently resulted in no detections. For more abundant CTCs, CTC numbers frequently varied by an order of magnitude or more over the time-scales considered. This variance in CTC detections far exceeded that expected by Poisson statistics or by instrument variability. Rather, the data were consistent with significant changes in mean numbers of CTCs on the timescales of minutes and hours. Conclusions The observed temporal changes can be explained by known properties of CTCs, namely, the continuous shedding of CTCs from tumors and the short half-life of CTCs in blood. It follows that the number of cells in a blood sample are strongly impacted by the timing of the draw. The issue is likely to be compounded for multicellular CTC clusters or specific CTC subtypes, which are even more rare than single CTCs. However, we show that enumeration can in principle be improved by averaging multiple samples, analysis of larger volumes, or development of methods for enumeration of CTCs directly in vivo.
How Well Can a CNN Marginalize Simple Nuisances It is Designed for

We conduct an empirical study to test the ability of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to reduce the effects of nuisance transformations of the input data, such as location, scale and aspect ratio. We isolate factors by adopting a common convolutional architecture either deployed globally on the image to compute class posterior distributions, or restricted locally to compute class conditional distributions given location, scale and aspect ratios of bounding boxes determined by proposal heuristics. As explained in the paper, averaging the latter should in principle yield performance inferior to proper marginalization. Empirical tests yield the converse, however, leading us to conclude that - at the current level of complexity of convolutional architectures and scale of the data sets used to train them - CNNs are not very effective at marginalizing nuisance variability. We also quantify the effects of context on the overall classification task and its impact on the performance of CNNs, and propose improved sampling techniques for heuristic proposal schemes that improve end-to-end performance to state-of-the-art levels. We test our hypothesis on classification task using the ImageNet Challenge benchmark, on detection and on wide-baseline matching using the Oxford and Fischer matching datasets.
Candida species in community-acquired pneumonia in patients with chronic aspiration.

When Candida species is found in a sputum culture, clinicians generally dismiss it as a contaminant. We sought to identify cases of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in which Candida might play a contributory etiologic role. In a convenience sample of patients hospitalized for CAP, we screened for “high-quality sputum” by Gram stain (> 20 WBC/epithelial cell) and performed quantitative sputum cultures. Criteria for a potential etiologic role for Candida included the observation of large numbers of yeast forms on Gram stain, intracellular organisms and > 106 CFU/ml Candida in sputum. We gathered clinical information on cases that met these criteria for possible Candida infection. Sputum from 6 of 154 consecutive CAP patients had large numbers of extra- and intracellular yeast forms on Gram stain, with > 106 CFU/ml Candida albicans, glabrata, or tropicalis on quantitative culture. In all 6 patients, the clinical diagnoses at admission included chronic aspiration. Greater than 105 CFU/ml of a recognized bacterial pathogen (Streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, or Pseudomonas) or > 106 CFU/ml of other ‘normal respiratory flora’ (Lactobacillus species) were present together with Candida spp. in every case. Blood cultures yielded Candida in 2 cases, and 1,3-beta-D glucan was > 500 ng/mL in 3 of 3 cases in which it was assayed. Since all patients were treated with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal drugs, no inference about etiology can be derived from therapeutic response. Candida spp. together with a recognized bacterial pathogen or normal respiratory flora may contribute to the cause of CAP in patients who chronically aspirate.
Association of Team-Based Care and Continuity of Care with Hospitalizations for Veterans with Comorbid Mental and Physical Health Conditions.

Integrating mental health in primary care settings is associated with improved screening and detection of mental illness. In 2010, the Veterans Health Administration launched a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model nationally across all clinical sites that integrated mental health into primary care—the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT) initiative. Team-based delivery of continuous primary and mental health care, as found in effective collaborative care models, is thought to be crucial to managing veterans with mental health disorders. The association between clinic implementation of specific aspects of PACT and clinical outcomes of veterans with mental health disorders remains unknown. To examine the association between clinic implementation of team-based care and continuity of care and subsequent hospitalizations among veterans with mental health disorders. Retrospective cohort study. A total of 1,444,942 veterans with comorbid mental health disorders and physical health conditions receiving primary care in 831 VA PACT clinics in fiscal year (FY) 2015. We examined the clinic-level implementation of team-based care and continuity of care in the clinic where veterans received their primary care. Our primary outcome was any hospitalization in the VA or fee-based service in FY2016. We examined the impact of clinic-level implementation of team-based care and continuity of care on having a hospitalization, adjusting for patient demographic, clinical characteristics, and facility characteristics. Veterans receiving care in clinics with the greatest versus lowest quartile of implementation of team-based care had lower rates of hospitalization (8.8% vs. 12.3%; adjusted OR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.85–0.99, p < 0.035). There was not a statistically significant association between clinic-level implementation of continuity of care and hospitalization. Veterans receiving care in clinics with greater implementation of team-based care had statistically significant lower rates of hospitalization.
Bifunctional Peptide that Anneals to Damaged Collagen and Clusters TGF-β Receptors Enhances Wound Healing

Transforming growth factor-{beta} (TGF-{beta}) plays important roles in wound healing. The activity of TGF-{beta} is initiated upon binding of the growth factor to extracellular domains of its receptors. We sought to facilitate activation by clustering these extracellular domains. To do so, we used a known peptide that binds to TGF-{beta} receptors without diminishing their affinity for TGF-{beta}. We conjugated this peptide to a collagen-mimetic peptide that can anneal to damaged collagen in a wound bed. We find that the conjugate enhances collagen deposition and wound closure in mice in a manner consistent with the clustering of TGF-{beta} receptors. This strategy provides a means to upregulate the TGF-{beta} signaling pathway without adding exogenous TGF-{beta} and could inspire means to treat severe wounds. TOC Graphic O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=107 SRC="FIGDIR/small/461420v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (52K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@e5974eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@130bbc9org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@78c32dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@55db4b_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG
Cells, scaffolds, and bioactive factors: Engineering strategies for improving regeneration following volumetric muscle loss

Severe traumatic skeletal muscle injuries, such as volumetric muscle loss (VML), result in the obliteration of large amounts of skeletal muscle and lead to permanent functional impairment. Current clinical treatments are limited in their capacity to regenerate damaged muscle and restore tissue function, promoting the need for novel muscle regeneration strategies. Advances in tissue engineering, including cell therapy, scaffold design, and bioactive factor delivery, are promising solutions for VML therapy. Herein, we review tissue engineering strategies for regeneration of skeletal muscle, development of vasculature and nerve within the damaged muscle, and achievements in immunomodulation following VML. In addition, we discuss the limitations of current state of the art technologies and perspectives of tissue-engineered bioconstructs for muscle regeneration and functional recovery following VML.
Utility of the Intelligibility in Context Scale for Predicting Speech Intelligibility of Children with Cerebral Palsy

The Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS) is a widely used, efficient tool for describing a child's speech intelligibility. Few studies have explored the relationship between ICS scores and transcription intelligibility scores, which are the gold standard for clinical measurement. This study examined how well ICS composite scores predicted transcription intelligibility scores among children with cerebral palsy (CP), how well individual questions from the ICS differentially predicted transcription intelligibility scores, and how well the ICS composite scores differentiated between children with and without speech motor impairment. Parents of 48 children with CP, who were approximately 13 years of age, completed the ICS. Ninety-six adult naive listeners provided orthographic transcriptions of children's speech. Transcription intelligibility scores were regressed on ICS composite scores and individual item scores. Dysarthria status was regressed on ICS composite scores. Results indicated that ICS composite scores were moderately strong predictors of transcription intelligibility scores. One individual ICS item differentially predicted transcription intelligibility scores, and dysarthria severity influenced how well ICS composite scores differentiated between children with and without speech motor impairment. Findings suggest that the ICS has potential clinical utility for children with CP, especially when used with other objective measures of speech intelligibility.
Cell-phone use diminishes self-awareness of impaired driving

Multitasking diminishes the self-awareness of performance that is often essential for self-regulation and self-knowledge. Participants drove in a simulator while either talking or not talking on a hands-free cell phone. Following previous research, participants who talked on a cell phone made more serious driving errors than control participants who did not use a phone while driving. Control participants' assessments of the safeness of their driving and general ability to drive safely while distracted were negatively correlated with the actual number of errors made when they were driving. By contrast, cell-phone participants' assessments of the safeness of their driving and confidence in their driving abilities were uncorrelated with their actual errors. Thus, talking on a cell phone not only diminished the safeness of participants' driving, it diminished their awareness of the safeness of their driving.
Cognitive impairment and dementia in patients with Parkinson disease

Parkinson disease (PD) is an already prevalent neurodegenerative disease that is poised to at least double over the next 25 years. Although best known for its characteristic movement disorder, PD is now appreciated commonly to cause cognitive impairment, including dementia, and behavioral changes. Dementia in patients with PD is consequential and has been associated with reduced quality of life, shortened survival, and increased caregiver distress. Here we review clinical presentation and progression, pathological bases, identification of genetic risk factors, development of small molecule biomarkers, and emerging treatments for cognitive impairment in patients with PD.
Heart rate variability in horses with acute gastrointestinal disease requiring exploratory laparotomy.

Objective To describe heart rate variability (HRV) in horses with acute gastrointestinal disease that undergo exploratory laparotomy. We hypothesized that horses with ischemic gastrointestinal disease will have reduced HRV compared to horses with nonischemic lesions. We further hypothesized that a reduction in HRV will be associated with nonsurvival. Design Prospective, clinical, observational study. Setting University veterinary teaching hospital. Animals Horses presented for acute colic (n = 57) or elective surgical procedures (n = 10) were enrolled. Interventions Admission heart rate (HR) was recorded and within 2 hours of recovery from general anesthesia continuous telemetry was placed, monitored and recorded for 48-52 hours postoperatively. Stored electrocardiograms were manually inspected and R-to-R intervals were extracted and uploaded into HRV software for analysis. Time domain and frequency spectral analysis were investigated at Times 1 (2–10 h), 2 (16–24 h), 3 (30–38 h), and 4 (44–52 h) postoperatively. A two-way ANOVA for repeated measures was used for group comparisons. Logistic regression analysis was used to detect potential associations between admission HR, time and frequency domain variables, and nonsurvival. Measurements and Main Results Horses diagnosed with an ischemic gastrointestinal lesion (n = 22) at the time of surgery had significantly higher postoperative heart rates and reduced time domain-derived measures of HRV than horses with nonischemic gastrointestinal lesions (n = 35) or control horses (n = 10). Horses that survived to discharge had significantly lower postoperative HRs, higher time domain, and lower low frequency spectral measures of HRV compared to nonsurvivors. The multivariable logistic regression model had a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) of 0.95 and was significantly better at predicting nonsurvival than admission HR (P = 0.0124). Conclusions Reduced HRV was strongly associated with ischemic gastrointestinal disease and nonsurvival. HRV analysis is a noninvasive technique that may provide diagnostic and prognostic information pertinent to the management of postoperative horses with severe gastrointestinal disease.
Method Without Madness

Abstract In 1993, the Central Circulation/Stacks Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign undertook a specially funded shelf-reading project in which three million volumes were shelf-read. The project was conducted using a shelf-reading technique and partner and team system developed through research and trial and error. The methods used during that project proved effective in carrying out a labor intensive, high burnout activity. Some or all of these methods can be applied successfully to library collections of any size, in small or large shelf-reading efforts.
On deformations of Hopf maps and hypergeometric series

Let R n denote the Euclidean space of dimension n ≧> 1 with the standard inner product ‹ x, y › and the norm Nx = ‹ x, x ›. We shall denote by dω n-i the volume element of the unit sphere normalized so that the volume of S n-1 is 1.
Web Information Extraction Based on Similar Patterns

Information Extraction is an important research topic in data mining. In this paper we introduce a web information extraction approach based on similar patterns, in which the construction of pattern library is a knowledge acquisition bottleneck. We use a method based on similarity computation to automatically acquire patterns from large-scale corpus. According to the given seed patterns, relevant patterns can be learned from unlabeled training web pages. The generated patterns can be put to use after little manual correction. Compared to other algorithms, our approach requires much less human intervention and avoids the necessity of hand-tagging training corpus. Experimental results show that the acquired patterns achieve IE precision of 79.45% and recall of 66.51% in open test.
Development of temporal lobe epilepsy in 21-day-old rats.

We read with interest the article by Roch et al. (1)describing the utility of magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) to predict the epileptogenicity that follows lithium-pilocarpine status epilepticus (SE) in 21-day-old rats in anoninvasive manner. Like the authors, we had found theage P21 in rats to be very useful for dissecting the in-volvement of structures that may play a critical role in theepileptogenic process, and we were the first to demon-strate that a high fraction of animals develop spontaneousrecurrent seizures after lithium-pilocarpine SE at this ageby using the same lithium-pilocarpine model (2). Further-more, our article reported an overall incidence of epilepsyin 73% of the animals with the identical model, similarto the 83% reported in their article. We believe our find-ingsareespeciallyrelevanttothisarticlebecausetheworkcited(3)bytheauthorsshowingtheonsetofepilepsyasanage-dependent phenomenon reports data from rats
Community experiences for residents: building a better rotation.

The latest iteration of the Residency Review Committee Program Requirements mandates the preparation of residents for the role of child advocate in the community.1 The Ambulatory Pediatric Association Educational Guidelines for Residency Training in General Pediatrics provides a blueprint for a community-based rotation, with goals, objectives, and suggested sites.2 In the current issue, Shope and associates share their experience with the construction of a community-based rotation for residents.3The structure of the rotation appears to reflect the design described in the Ambulatory Pediatric Association guidelines, thereby contributing real-world experience to confirm the value of the recommendations. The report also illustrates that a blueprint is only a blueprint; construction also requires bricks, mortar, knowledgeable individuals to direct the work, and a considerable amount of effort by workers. The bricks, the components that make up …
True enamel covering in teeth of the Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri

Lungfish are a unique order of sarcopterygian fish cleidographically positioned between tetrapods and fish. An uninterrupted 400-million-year-old fossil record has documented lungfish skeletal elements to remain virtually unchanged since the Early Devonian. In the current study we investigated the enamel layer of lungfish teeth in order to determine whether there was evidence for higher vertebrate "true" enamel in the Australian lungfish. Juvenile lungfish from the Brisbane River were processed for light and electron microscopy and analyzed for parameters indicative of true enamel formation. Using anti-amelogenin primary antibodies for immunodetection and Western blots, enamel protein epitopes were detected in developing lungfish teeth. Using transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction analysis, long and parallel-oriented hydroxyapatite crystals were observed in lungfish outer tooth coverings. Our findings indicate that Australian lungfish teeth are covered by a layer of true enamel. Based on the lungfish fossil record we conclude that features of true enamel formation may be as old as 400 million years. Based on taxonomic classification we confirm that true enamel is found not only in tetrapods but also in the sarcopterygian clade of the Gnathostomata.
Culture, Commerce, and Civil Society Rethinking Support for the Arts

Although the arts in the United States are predominantly nonprofit, policy analyses concerning the nonprofit sector and the arts field have largely followed separate trajectories. Thus, key policy challenges that have recently been identified for the nonprofit sector at large have found little resonance in the arts. This article reviews the implications of commercialization as one of the key issues in the nonprofit field for the arts, discusses the reasons why this issue has not gained greater prominence in arts policy, and concludes by outlining alternative policy research options.
Long-Term Effects of Acoustic Trauma on Electrically Evoked Otoacoustic Emission

Electrically evoked otoacoustic emissions (EEOAEs) are sounds measured in the ear canal when alternating current (AC) stimulation is passed into the cochlea. These sounds are attributed to the motile responses of outer hair cells (OHCs). The EEOAE has characteristic amplitude, phase, and fine structure. Multicomponent analysis of the EEOAE shows short (SDC) and long delay components (LDC) that are thought to originate from OHCs near the AC stimulating site and from OHCs at more remote locations, respectively. We measured the effects of various loud noise exposures on the EEOAE and the cochlear whole-nerve action potential (CAP) in animals chronically implanted with a scala tympani electrode. Noise exposures that produced permanent (PTS) or temporary threshold shifts (TTS) were associated with frequency-specific changes in CAP thresholds, EEOAE fine structure, and reductions in the amplitude of the LDC. A frequent observation in this study was an increase in the overall EEOAE amplitude after the noise exposure. The increase was correlated with increased SDC amplitude. The SDC was present in animals chemically treated with ototoxic drugs and mechanical damage to the cochlea. The SDC was eliminated after disarticulation of the ossicular chain. The presence of EEOAE fine structure in the postexposure response is an indicator of TTS in advance of CAP recovery. The results suggest that the EEOAE might be used to differentiate the mechanisms associated with TTS and PTS.
Cervical and Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Associated with Myelopathy and Cauda Equina Syndrome

Spinal stenosis is a common cause of pain and disability. The degenerative changes that cause progressive narrowing of the spinal canal may also give rise to myelopathy or cauda equina syndrome (CES). In the cervical spine, stenosis will usually present as pain or radiculopathy with or without myelopathy. Lumbar spinal stenosis may present in numerous ways, such as low back pain, radiculopathy, CES, and bladder/bowel dysfunction. Despite advances in diagnosis and surgical treatment, many patients still have pain and/or neurologic deficits caused by this condition. An overview of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, management, and outcomes of spinal stenosis associated myelopathy and CES is presented.
Electronic structure of (110) Ge-GaAs superlattices and interfaces

Ab initio energy-band calculations have been carried out for (110) Ge-GaAs superlattices containing 16 and 24 atoms per unit cell. Using the linear-combination-of-muffin-tin-orbitals method, the energy-level spectrum and local density of states were determined at selected points in the reduced zone. In agreement with earlier experimental findings, we find no evidence for well-defined localized interface states in the forbidden band.
Large-Cell Calcifying Sertoli Cell Tumor of the Testis: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Large-cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumor (LCCSCT) is a rare sex cord-stromal tumor found predominantly in the pediatric population. This tumor has distinctive histopathologic features and clinical associations. LCCSCT has also been noted in association with the Carney complex, and in patients with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome. The propensity to metastasize is low, and radical orchiectomy has traditionally been the treatment of choice.
Locoweed Poisoning in Sheep: Electroencephalographic and Brain Amine Changes

The effects in sheep of locoweed poisoning on electroencephalograms and on levels of the brain amines serotonin and norepinephrine were measured. Lucoweed-induced EEG changes in sheep were characterized by episodes of high voltage, slow activity (HVSA). There was no effect on brain norephinephrine levels. The mean brain serotonin level of the sheep fed locoweed was approximately 57% higher than the control but was not significant.
A theory of discontinuities in physical system models

Abstract Physical systems are by nature continuous, but often display nonlinear behaviors that make them hard to analyze. Typically, these nonlinearities occur at a time scale that is much smaller than the time scale at which gross system behavior needs to be described. In other situations, nonlinear effects are small and of a parasitic nature. To achieve efficiency and clarity in building complex system models, and to reduce computational complexity in the analysis of system behavior, modelers often abstract away any parasitic component parameter effects, and analyze the system at more abstract time scales. However, these abstractions often introduce abrupt, instantaneous changes in system behavior. To accommodate mixed continuous and discrete behavior, this paper develops a hybrid modeling formalism that dynamically constructs bond graph model fragments that govern system behavior during continuous operation. When threshold values are crossed, a meta-level control model invokes discontinuous state and model configuration changes. Discontinuities violate physical principles of conservation of energy and continuity of power , but the principle of invariance of state governs model behavior when the control module is active. Conservation of energy and continuity of power again govern behavior generation as soon as a new model configuration is established. This allows for maximally constrained continuous model fragments. The two primary contributions of this paper are an algorithm for inferring the correct new mode and state variable values in the hybrid modeling framework, and a verification scheme that ensures hybrid models conform to physical system principles based on the principles of divergence of time and temporal evolution in behavior transitions . These principles are employed in energy phase space analysis to verify physical consistency of models.