cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effects of motion on force control abilities.

Abstract Objective . To investigate the effects of motion on submaximal force control abilities in the knee extensors. Design . Analysis of a force control task in a quasi-experimental design. Background . Measuring strength control rather than strength capacity may provide insights in therapeutic intervention. Methods . Twenty younger and 19 older community dwelling healthy adult males were instructed to maintain knee extensor strength at two levels of strength (20% and 60% of the maximal voluntary contraction) within a bandwidth (±6.10 N m) with visual feedback in isometric and isokinetic force control conditions. The effects of motion, force level, and age on force control ability were investigated. Results . The addition of motion to the force control task decreased performance for both groups at both force levels. Isokinetic force control, compared to the isometric, increased force variability at both force levels. In isokinetic force control, as the force level increased, performance decreased for both groups. For the 60% maximal voluntary contraction isokinetic force control task, the older adults, compared to the younger, had an increased bias, increased percent time in bandwidth, and decreased number of correctional instances. Conclusions . This study has demonstrated that in the presence of motion, healthy younger and older adults experienced a decreased ability to maintain submaximal forces and their ability decreased even further with an increase in force level. Age group differences became more apparent by adding motion and increasing the force level. Further, we have successfully adapted the methodology used to assess isometric force control abilities to isokinetic force control testing in the lower extremities. Relevance This study develops a method to quantify dynamic force control ability in the knee, a weight-bearing joint critical for mobility and the accomplishment of activities of daily living. The methodology provides clinicians the opportunity to complement currently available tests of maximal voluntary contractions (force capacity) with force control testing. The evaluation of force control may be useful to quantify an additional marker of strength recovery in response to therapeutic interventions designed to improve motor control, locomotion, and balance.
Spherical indentation testing of poroelastic relaxations in thin hydrogel layers

In this work, we present the Poroelastic Relaxation Indentation (PRI) testing approach for quantifying the mechanical and transport properties of thin layers of poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogels with thicknesses on the order of 200 μm. Specifically, PRI characterizes poroelastic relaxation in hydrogels by indenting the material at fixed depth and measuring the contact area-dependent load relaxation process as a function of time. With the aid of a linear poroelastic theory developed for thin or geometrically confined swollen polymer networks, we demonstrate that PRI can quantify the water diffusion coefficient, shear modulus and average pore size of the hydrogel layer. This approach provides a simple methodology to quantify the material properties of thin swollen polymer networks relevant to transport phenomena.
Meeting the Challenges of Evidence-Based Practice: Can Mental Health Therapists Evaluate their Practice?

This cross-sectional study looked at the relationship between mental health therapists’ perception of treatments’ impact and actual change. Twenty-three licensed mental health therapists, providing ‘‘treatment-as-usual’’ to foster children, rated their impact on children’s complaints of depression, anxiety, behavior problems, and self-esteem after 6 months of treatment. Actual change was measured by taking the difference from preand posttreatment on standardized instruments: Children’s Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Child Behavior Checklist, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Of the 23 therapists surveyed, only a single therapist on a single outcome variable negatively evaluated the efficacy of their practice. No correlation was found between the therapists’ perceptions of client’s progress and actual child’s outcomes. Mental health therapists are unable to subjectively evaluate their own practice accurately. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 7:184–193 (2007)]
Defending a possibilist insight in consequentialist thought

There is a heated dispute among consequentialists concerning the following deontic principle: $$ {\text{DC:}}\quad {\text{O(}}a{\text{ \& }}b{\text{)}} \to {\text{O(}}a{\text{) \& O(}}b{\text{)}} $$ The principle states that for any acts (or any bearers of normative status) a and b, if it is obligatory for a specific agent to do the conjunctive (or compound) act a & b, then that agent is obligated to do a and is also obligated to do b—the deontic operator of obligation distributes over conjunction. Possibilists—those who believe that we should always pursue a “best” possible course of action available to us—accept the principle as true. Actualists—those who believe that certain future facts about the actual world can generate obligations incompatible with the best possible course of action available to us—reject the principle as false. And recent commentators on the dispute—some who endorse DC, others who reject it—have attempted to dig out and defend intermediary positions, suggesting that extreme versions of each view are unsatisfactory. I’m out to defend DC from the actualist attack. Here I briefly present the central actualist argument against DC. I then show that possibilism has all of the resources to explain the phenomena with which actualists are so concerned. Next, I try to diagnose the actualists’ malcontent: The relevance of certain subjunctive conditionals to consequentialist reasoning has been vastly overemphasized. Finally, I attempt to shed some light on the nature of consequentialist conditionals by incorporating possibilist insights into a semantics for subjunctive conditionals appropriate for consequentialist theorizing.
Anticipatory activation in the amygdala and anterior cingulate in generalized anxiety disorder and prediction of treatment response.

Objective: The anticipation of adverse outcomes, or worry, is a cardinal symptom of generalized anxiety disorder. Prior work with healthy subjects has shown that anticipating aversive events recruits a network of brain regions, including the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex. This study tested whether patients with generalized anxiety disorder have alterations in anticipatory amygdala function and whether anticipatory activity in the anterior cingulate cortex predicts treatment response. Method: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed with 14 generalized anxiety disorder patients and 12 healthy comparison subjects matched for age, sex, and education. The event-related fMRI paradigm was composed of one warning cue that preceded aversive pictures and a second cue that preceded neutral pictures. Following the fMRI session, patients received 8 weeks of treatment with extended-release venlafaxine. Results: Patients with generalized anxiety disorder showed greater anticipatory activity than healthy comparison subjects in the bilateral dorsal amygdala preceding both aversive and neutral pictures. Building on prior reports of pretreatment anterior cingulate cortex activity predicting treatment response, anticipatory activity in that area was associated with clinical outcome 8 weeks later following treatment with venlafaxine. Higher levels of pretreatment anterior cingulate cortex activity in anticipation of both aversive and neutral pictures were associated with greater reductions in anxiety and worry symptoms. Conclusions: These findings of heightened and indiscriminate amygdala responses to anticipatory signals in generalized anxiety disorder and of anterior cingulate cortex associations with treatment response provide neurobiological support for the role of anticipatory processes in the pathophysiology of generalized anxiety disorder.
Desktop publishing-beyond gee whiz

A critical overview is provided of desktop publishing in terms of its particular significance in technical communication. Problems that may be encountered in an organization's move toward desktop publishing are addressed. Guidance is provided to help users and potential users find their way into and through this area. >
Quantitative analysis of the accommodative convergence to accommodation ratio: linear and nonlinear static models

K.N. Ogle et al. (Binocular Vision and Fixation Disparity, p. 9-119, l967; Lea and Febiger; Philadelphia, PA) proposed two measures of oculomotor linkage called the accommodative convergence to accommodation (AC/A) ratio. This ratio provided a clinically useful assessment of the drive of accommodation, or focusing system, on vergence, or binocular fixation system. The phoria method measured the relatively large deviation in eye alignment under the monocular condition, whereas the fixation disparity method measured the relatively small misalignment of the eyes under the binocular condition to obtain the AC/A ratio. Ogle et al. indicated that these two measures should be equal. However, experimental results showed a substantial difference between the AC/A ratios obtained by the two methods. To quantitatively assess the difference between the two methods, a linear static model was first evaluated. This model was based on an earlier successful model of the accommodation and vergence system. The linear-model solution showed that these two methods were equivalent and thus could not account for the differences found. Then, a nonlinear static model, containing the deadspace operators depth of field and Panum's fusional area (PFA), was evaluated. Since two solutions were possible for each deadspace operator, there were four basic solutions. However, there were two binocular-viewing paradigms. This resulted in four prism-viewing and four lens-viewing solutions. Finally, a difference was taken between the prism- and lens-viewing measures, giving a total combination of 16 solutions. Only four of these solutions were equal to that using the phoria method. Some of the other solution lines were widely separated, thus providing a range of possible data values across different solution lines. Calculations showed that the variation in AC/A ratio values for data across difference solution lines was comparable to that found experimentally. Thus, the deadspace operators in the nonlinear model were able to account for the discrepancy between the AC/A ratio determined by the phoria and fixation disparity methods.
Effect of experimental treatment on housekeeping gene expression: validation by real-time, quantitative RT-PCR

The effects of serum on the expression of four commonly used housekeeping genes were examined in serum-stimulated fibroblasts in order to validate the internal control genes for a quantitative RT-PCR assay. NIH 3T3 fibroblasts transfected with an inducible chimeric gene were serum-starved for 24 h and then induced with 15% serum for 8 h. Serum did not alter the amount of total RNA that was expressed in the cells, however, the amount of mRNA significantly increased over time with serum-stimulation. Both messenger and total RNA from each of the time points were reverse transcribed under two different conditions; one in which the reactions were normalized to contain equal amounts of RNA and another series of reactions that were not normalized to RNA content. The resulting cDNA was amplified by real-time, quantitative PCR using gene-specific primers for beta-actin, beta-2 microglobulin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and 18S ribosomal RNA. The expression of beta-actin and GAPDH increased up to nine- and three-fold, respectively, under all conditions of reverse transcription (P 0.05). The expression of beta-2 microglobulin increased up to two-fold when assayed from cDNA synthesized from non-normalized mRNA, but was unaffected by serum when the reverse transcriptions were normalized to mRNA. beta-2 Microglobulin expression was found to be directly proportional to the amount of mRNA that was present in non-normalized reverse transcription reactions. Thus, beta-2 microglobulin and 18S rRNA are suitable internal control genes in quantitative serum-stimulation studies, while beta-actin and GAPDH are not. The internal control gene needs to be properly validated when designing quantitative gene expression studies.
Soot Research in Combustion Science: Introduction and Review of Current Work

Current understanding and recent research concerning soot in flames are reviewed, considering soot physical and optical properties, interactions between soot and flow phenomena in flames, the structure of laminar soot-containing premixed and nonpremixed flames, and fundamental mechanisms of soot formation, oxidation, and nucleation. Soot physical and optical properties evolve from poorly understood condensed states near the time of nucleation toward polydisperse fractal aggregates of nearly monodisperse and spherical primary particles mainly consisting of amorphous carbon, as a result of carbonization, surface growth, oxidation and aggregation within flames. Compared to gaseous combustion products, soot exhibits unusual hydrodynamic effects because it has small mass diffusion velocities and it mainly convects by local flow velocities. Promising predictions of the structure of premixed soot-containing flames have been achieved using detailed models of hydrocarbon chemistry and transport but more work along these lines is needed, particularly to establish methods of predicting soot properties and the properties of nonpremixed flame environments. Recent studies of soot formation have demonstrated promising performance for the Hydrogen-Abstraction/CarbonAddition (HACA) mechanism of soot surface growth, dominated by acetylene and H-radical as reactants, but controversy remains about the role of PAH in soot surface growth, effects of pressure on soot growth have not received much attention, and current understanding of soot nucleation remains very incomplete. Recent studies of early soot oxidation at fuel-rich and nearly-stoichiometric conditions have indicated satisfactory performance of the OH surface oxidation mechanism with a collision efficiency of roughly 10% in both nonpremixed and premixed flames but effects of pressure have received little attention, the transition of the surface oxidation mechanism from OH-dominated to O2-dominated behavior as soot passes into fuellean environments must still be resolved, the properties of soot carbonization are largely unknown, and the final stage of soot oxidation when internal oxidation becomes important is not well understood. Thus, given current limitations about fundamental processes of soot formation and oxidation in flame environments, it appears that continued development of approximate models of soot reaction processes will be needed for simulation of practical combustion processes some time to come in spite of their limitations. "Chief, Microgravity Combustion Science Branch, Microgravity Science Division. A.B. Modine Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering; Fellow, AIAA, corresponding author. Copyright © by G.M. Faeth. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with
Government as entrepreneur: Evaluating the commercialization success of SBIR projects.

Thinking of government as entrepreneur is a unique lens through which to view a subset of government actions. The lens is not a template for an evaluation of government policy; rather, it is a characterization that underscores the government's purposeful intent, ability to act in new and innovative ways, and willingness to undertake policy actions that have uncertain outcomes. Our focus is on the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. We argue that the innovative action of government – the innovative use of public resources through the SBIR program to target and support research in small firms – does lessen innovation barriers that cause small firms to underinvest in RD or stated alternatively, we quantify the probability that a project funded by the SBIR program will fail to commercialize its results. Our empirical results show that the entrepreneurial risk that characterizes the SBIR program is, on average, somewhat more than the probability of failing to get heads on the toss of a fair coin. Importantly, however, our evidence shows that there is a large range in the entrepreneurial risk that the government accepts—across the projects, the predicted probability of failure covers essentially the entire range from 0 to 1.0.
What would Karl Landsteiner do? The ABO blood group and stem cell transplantation

ABO blood group antigens, of great importance in transplantation and transfusion, are present on virtually all cells, as well as in soluble form in plasma and body fluids. Naturally occurring plasma IgM and IgG antibodies against these antigens are ubiquitous. Nonetheless, the ABO blood group system is widely ignored by many transfusion services, except for purposes of red cell transfusion. We implemented a policy of transfusing only ABO identical platelets and red cells in patients undergoing stem cell transplantation or treatment for hematologic malignancies. Major bleeding episodes have occurred in about 5% of patients undergoing induction therapy for acute leukemia as compared with 15-20% in the literature. Overall survival times appear to be superior to that in historical cohorts. In 2002-2004, treatment-related mortality at 100 days in our Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit was 0.7% for autologous transplants (n=148), 13% for sibling allogeneic transplants (n=110), and 24% (n=62) for matched unrelated allogeneic transplants, suggesting that our approach is safe. We speculate that more rigorous efforts on the part of transfusion services to provide ABO identical blood components, and to remove incompatible supernatant plasma, when necessary, might yield reduced morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing stem cell transplantation.
On the Mode Splitting of Degenerate Mechanical Systems Containing Cracks

When cracks are introduced into such systems, a pair of repeated vibration modes may remain repeated or become distinct (termed split modes) depending on the location and geometry of the cracks. Two types of split modes can occur. Split modes of the first kind are a pair of split modes in which one mode undergoes a frequency shift but the other does not. In contrast, split modes of the second kind are a pair of split modes in which both undergo frequency shifts
Object Boundaries Influence Toddlers' Performance in a Search Task.

Previous research has shown that young children have difficulty searching for a hidden object whose location depends on the position of a partly visible physical barrier. Across four experiments, we tested whether children’s search errors are affected by two variables that influence adults’ object-directed attention: object boundaries and proximity relations. Toddlers searched for a car that rolled down a ramp behind an occluding panel and stopped on contact with a barrier. The car’s location on each trial depended on the placement of the barrier behind one of two doors in the panel. In Experiment 1, when a part of the car (a pompom on an antenna) was visible at the same distance from the object as the barrier wall in past research, search performance was above chance but below ceiling. In Experiments 2 and 3, when the visible part was close to the hidden body of the car and could be seen through one of two windows in the doors of the occluding panel, performance was near ceiling. In Experiment 4, when only the barrier was visible through one of the same windows, performance was at chance. Toddlers’ search for a hidden object therefore is affected by the proximity of a visible part of the object, though not by the proximity of a separate visible landmark. These findings suggest a parallel between the object representations of young children and those of adults, whose attention is directed to objects and spreads in a gradient-like fashion within an object.
Doubtful pathways to cold tolerance in plants

A. E. Zanne . , 89–92 (2014); doi:10.1038/nature12872 Zanne et al.1,2 addressed an important evolutionary question: how did flowering plants repeatedly enter cold climates? Herbaceous growth, deciduous leaves, and narrow water-conducting cells are adaptations to freezing. Using phylogenetic analyses, they concluded that herbs and narrow conduits evolved first in the tropics (“trait first”), facilitating movement into freezing areas, but that deciduous leaves evolved in response to freezing temperatures (“climate first”). Unfortunately, even after correcting for an error that we uncovered3, the “striking findings” of Zanne et al.1 seem inconclusive; here we highlight methodological issues of more general interest and question the value of their approach. There is a Reply to this Brief Communication Arising by Zanne, A. E. et al. Nature 521, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14394 (2015).
Intravasal Stents for Vasovasostomy in Canine Subjects

The feasibility of using absorbable suture material as an entire intravasal stent for vasovasostomy was investigated. Under general anesthesia 19 mongrel dogs were subjected to a 3- to 4-mm resection of the vas deferens with immediate reanastomosis. 4 different techniques were used. Group 1 dogs had vasovasostomies for which no stents were used. The anastomoses were performed with 6 sutures of 6-0 silk. Group 2 had vasovasostomies performed over intravasal stents of 3-0 Dexon and anastomoses were performed as in Group 1. Group 3 had vasovasostomies performed over 3-0 chromic catgut intravasal stents and anastomoses were carried out with silk as in Groups 1 and 2. Group 4 had vasovasostomies performed with chromic catgut intravasal stents as in Group 3 but the anastomses of the vas were carried out with 6-0 chromic catgut. All dogs were treated with penicillin and streptomycin for 5 days postoperatively. In Groups 1-3 the right scrotum was explored 3 months and the left 6 months after the anastomosis. In Group 4 all vasa were explored after 6 months. In all dogs vasography was carried out and sections for histopathologic study were obtained and prepared. The Group 1 over-all radiographic patency rate was 50%. The Group 2 rate was 60%. The Group 3 rate was 70%. In Groups 1-3 there were moderate to severe inflammatory reactions at the anastomotic line and nodular masses of varying sizes around the anastomoses. A patency rate of 90% was achieved in Group 4. In Group 4 there was minimal tissue reaction grossly at the anastomotic line and in several cases a careful search was required to find the exact area of anastomosis. These results indicate that chromic catgut is superior to silk for vas deferens anastomosis. They also demonstrate the feasibility of using absorbable intravasal stents.
Critical Conversations about Big Ideas in Art Using Paideia Seminar: A Focus on Early Elementary Settings.

Paideia Seminar is a method for facilitating Socratic discussions about different types of texts, whether they be texts in the literal sense of the word or any other object that represents ideas or...
DISCORDANCE BETWEEN EXERCISE ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY AND FRACTIONAL FLOW RESERVE IN A PATIENT WITH MULTI VESSEL CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, A DIAGNOSTIC DILEMMA FOR THE PERCUTANEOUS INTERVENTION: SHOULD WE HAVE FIXED THE RCA?

Exercise echocardiography can reliably localize the territory of the involved coronary artery based on the 17 segment model per American society of echocardiography. Usually coronary angiography coincides with the findings of stress echocardiography. Multi vessel coronary artery disease often poses
NULL ALLELES AS A POSSIBLE CAUSE OF HETEROZYGOTE DEFICIENCIES IN THE OYSTER CRASSOSTREA VIRGINICA AND OTHER BIVALVES.

Populations of several marine bivalves exhibit significant deficiencies of heterozygotes (compared with the Hardy-Weinberg expectations) at some allozyme loci (Berger, 1983; Singh and Green, 1984; Zouros and Foltz, 1984). These deficiencies have usually been explained by invoking nonrandom mating, selection, or population structure (Wahlund effect). Less attention has been paid to the possibility that the deficiencies are due to the occurrence of null (nonreactive) alleles or to other factors causing allozyme loci to depart from a simple codominant model of genetic control. Null alleles may lead to heterozygote deficiencies if null heterozygotes are mistakenly scored as active homozygotes. Only a few studies have reported on inheritance of allozyme phenotypes in progeny from pair crosses
Fiber optic light guides for HVDC applications

A high quality fiber optic light guide design was developed to meet the long term light transmission and electrical requirements necessary for switching solid state HVDC systems. The successful application of light guides up to 60 feet in length has been demonstrated and work is continuing to improve their capability for more extensive use in other HVDC applications.
Preliminary Research of the Physical Self Characteristics of College Sports Vulnerable Groups

By the methods of questionnaires,documents and experiments,this research makes a survey of physical self characteristics between sports vulnerable group of students and common group in university from the two aspects of self physical description and self physical satisfaction.(1)the vulnerable group shows notable high degree of attention than the common group on the athletic ability,health and exercise habit but low degree of attention on the dimension of shape;(2)as for physical self-satisfaction,the vulnerable group shows lower attention degree on the positive and neutral dimension but higher degree on negative and expectation dimensions;(3)boys and girls show significant differences on self ability,health and negative dimension.Overall,the findings reveal visible groups and sex differences in the perspective of physical self characteristics between sports vulnerable group of students and common group in university.
Inhibition of NFAT increases osteoblast differentiation by increasing Fra-2 expression.

Bone loss and osteoporosis are major public health problems in the elderly. With longer life expectancy in the USA, the number of people that will develop age-related bone loss and osteoporosis is expected to rise to over 61 million by 2020. Osteoblast differentiation is a crucial aspect of bone formation and remodeling, a process that is severely compromised in osteoporosis. Almost all the FDA-approved treatments for building healthier bones, excluding PTH, do not address the decrease in osteoblast differentiation that is seen in osteoporosis and are designed to target osteoclasts and bone resorption. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of cyclosporine A (CsA) on osteoblast differentiation and elucidate its mechanism of action. CsA, an immunosuppressive agent, is known to cause osteopenia in post-transplantation patients as a result of inhibiting calcineurin and NFAT signaling. The reported effects of CsA on bone are contradictory both in human and animal studies with a common consensus that CsA causes a high turnover bone loss due to an increase in both osteoclast and osteoblast differentiation in vivo. Despite this important observation, almost all studies addressing the effects of CsA on bone have focused on the role of Cn/NFAT on osteoclasts. Methods. The murine clonal osteogenic cell line MC3T3-E1, established from newborn mouse calvaria, was used for this study. Cells were treated with CsA or transfected with NFATc1 siRNA. At the end of the studies, cells were harvested for RNA, cytoplasmic and nuclear protein extractions. Real-time PCR, Western blotting and gel shifts were performed. Results. MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts express three NFAT isoforms (c1, c2 and c3), and CsA treatment blocks the nuclear translocation of NFATc1 and c3 and significantly decreases NFAT transactivation. CsA, in a dose-dependent manner, increases alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and mineralization. CsA also increases the gene expression of ALP and osteocalcin, markers of osteoblast differentiation. Furthermore, CsA increases osteoblast numbers (N.Ob/BS) by 31% and bone volume (BV/TV) by 18% in an in vivo mouse calvariae model (Figure 1). To elucidate the mechanism by which CsA increases bone formation, we examined the expression of Fra-2, a transcription factor that is known to be associated with osteoblast differentiation. Here we show that CsA increases Fra-2 gene and protein expression as well as AP-1 DNA binding activity. Furthermore, the direct inhibition of NFATc1 by siRNA increases Fra-2 protein expression in osteoblasts. Conclusion. We demonstrate that NFATc1 negatively regulates osteoblast differentiation by regulating Fra-2 expression. Findings from our studies provide the first documentation of a novel molecular mechanism that describes the role of NFATc1 in osteoblast differentiation. A basis will thereby be provided for the development of a new target for drug design and therapeutic intervention to combat osteoporosis. J Musculoskelet Neuronal Interact 2005; 5(4):347
Mindfulness in Action: The Emergence of Distinctive Thought and Behavior

The experience and benefits of mindfulness are framed in terms of action identification principles (Vallacher and Wegner in Handbook of Theories in Social Psychology. Sage, London, pp. 327–348, 2012). This theory holds that mental life is characterized by the emergence of progressively higher-level (superordinate, abstract) perspectives on one’s experience, complemented by a tendency to disassemble existing higher-level perspectives into lower-level representations (action details, concrete perceptual features, sensations)—which in turn sets the stage for the emergence of new higher-level perspectives. This repeated assembly and disassembly of higher-level mental states allows for new and personally meaningful insights into one’s ongoing experience. Settings conductive to mindfulness optimize this process by focusing a person’s attention on the fine-grained texture of the present moment that is normally sealed off from awareness. From this lower-level focus, the person is primed to draw novel distinctions and emerge with new ways of thinking about his or her experience, in line with Langer’s depiction of mindfulness and its benefits.
Ultrasonographic assessment of medial femoral cartilage deformation acutely following walking and running.

Summary Objective To determine the magnitude of medial femoral cartilage deformation using ultrasonography (US) following walking and running in healthy individuals. Design Twenty-five healthy participants with no history of osteoarthritis or knee injury volunteered for this study. Medial femoral cartilage thickness was assessed using US before and after three separate 30-min loading conditions: (1) walking at a self-selected speed, (2) running at a self-selected speed, and (3) sitting on a treatment table (i.e., control). Cartilage deformation was calculated as the percent change score from pre to post loading in each loading condition. The magnitude of cartilage deformation was compared between the three loading conditions. Results There was no difference in baseline cartilage thickness between the three sessions ( F 1,24 = 0.18, P = 0.68). Cartilage deformation was different between the loading conditions ( F 1,24 = 47.54, P t 24 = 6.90, P d = −1.92) and running (%Δ = −8.9, t 24 = 8.14, P d = −1.85) conditions resulted in greater cartilage deformation when compared to the control condition (%Δ = +3.4). There was no difference in cartilage deformation between the running and walking conditions ( t 24 = 1.10, P = 0.28, d = 0.33). US measured medial femoral cartilage thickness demonstrated reliability and precision within a single session (ICC 2,k = 0.966, SEM = 0.07 mm) and between additional sessions separated by seven (ICC 2,k = 0.964, SEM = 0.08 mm) and 16 days (ICC 2,k = 0.919, SEM = 0.11 mm). Conclusions US demonstrated to be a reliable and sensitive imaging modality at quantifying medial femoral cartilage deformation in healthy individuals. Both walking and running conditions created greater cartilage deformation when compared to the control conditions, but no difference was observed between the walking and running conditions.
Influence of Additives in the Production of High Coercivity Ultra-Fine Iron Powder

The effects of several additives upon the reduction characteristics of hydrogen-reduced ferrous formate are described. The various additives inhibit sintering of the reduced iron particles by apparently different mechanisms. The magnetic properties of the low density compacts produced from the resulting ultra-fine iron powders were improved markedly.
Identifying Unknown Enzyme–Substrate Pairs from the Cellular Milieu with Native Mass Spectrometry

The enzyme-substrate complex is inherently transient, rendering its detection difficult. In our framework designed for bisubstrate systems-isotope-labeled, activity-based identification and tracking (IsoLAIT)-the common substrate, such as S-adenosyl-l-methionine (AdoMet) for methyltransferases, is replaced by an analogue (e.g., S-adenosyl-l-vinthionine) that, as a probe, creates a tightly bound [enzyme⋅substrate⋅probe] complex upon catalysis by thiopurine-S-methyltransferase (TPMT, EC 2.1.1.67). This persistent complex is then identified by native mass spectrometry from the cellular milieu without separation. Furthermore, the probe's isotope pattern flags even unknown substrates and enzymes. IsoLAIT is broadly applicable for other enzyme systems, particularly those catalyzing group transfer and with multiple substrates, such as glycosyltransferases and kinases.
Abstract 316: A Novel Mechanism by Which Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Protects Mice From Lipopolysaccharide-induced Vasodilatory Shock, Hypotension, and Motility

Objectives: Sepsis is defined by a severe systemic inflammatory response to infection, and its complications, including vasodilatory shock and hypotension, can be fatal. Vasodilatory shock has long been believed as a result of failure of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to respond to vasopressors to constrict and result in hypotension; however, the mechanism is largely unknown. Approaches and Results: Here, we report that protein kinase C (PKC)-potentiated phosphatase inhibitor of 17 kD (CPI-17), a key regulator in smooth muscle contraction, was selectively downregulated by endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in mesenteric arteries from C57BL/6 mice and by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) in cultured smooth muscle tissue and cells. Downregulation of CPI-17 by LPS was associated with LPS-induced vasodilatory shock and hypotension and was largely attributed to TNF-induced CPI-17 transcriptional suppression. By various molecular approaches, including cloning, deletion, mutation, siRNA, electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), we identified two GC-boxes in the proximal CPI-17 promoter as a novel TNF-response element that is critical for TNF-induced CPI-17 downregulation, and demonstrated that in the absence of TNF, SP1 bound to the CPI-17 promoter GC-boxes and positively regulated CPI-17 transcription, whereas in the presence of TNF, Kruppel-like factor 4 (KLF4) was markedly upregulated, competed with SP1 for binding to the CPI-17 promoter, and negatively regulated CPI-17 transcription through histone deacetylases (HDACs). Moreover, specific blockage of the TNF/KLF4/SP1/CPI-17 signaling by genetic deletion of TNF prevented mice from LPS-induced hypotension and mortality. Conclusions: These data reveal a previously unrecognized but potentially important mechanism for vasodilatory shock and hypotension in sepsis, and suggest a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of patients with sepsis.
Mannequin-Based Immersive Simulation Improves Resident Understanding of a Clinical Decision Rule

Objective.Simulation-based medical education may aid to standardize clinical performance measures, though there is little evidence for using an immersive, mannequin-based simulation for knowledge a...
Pharmacological and genomic profiling of neurofibromatosis type 1 plexiform neurofibroma-derived schwann cells

Neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) is an autosomal dominant genetic condition characterized by peripheral nervous system tumors (PNSTs), including plexiform neurofibromas (pNFs) that cause nerve dysfunction, deformity, pain damage to adjacent structures, and can undergo malignant transformation. There are no effective therapies to prevent or treat pNFs. Drug discovery efforts are slowed by the 'benign' nature of the Schwann cells that are the progenitor cells of pNF. In this work we characterize a set of pNF-derived cell lines at the genomic level (via SNP Arrays, RNAseq, and Whole Exome- Sequencing), and carry out dose response-based quantitative high-throughput screening (qHTS) with a collection of 1,912 oncology-focused compounds in a 1536-well microplate cell proliferation assays. Through the characterization and screening of NF1-/-, NF1+/+ and NF1+/- Schwann cell lines, this resource introduces novel therapeutic avenues for the development for NF1 associated pNF as well as all solid tumors with NF1 somatic mutations. The integrated data sets are openly available for further analysis at http://www.synapse.org/pnfCellCulture.
Increased megalin expression in early type 2 diabetes: role of insulin-signaling pathways.

The megalin/cubilin complex is responsible for the majority of serum protein reclamation in the proximal tubules. The current study examined if decreases in their renal expression, along with the a...
Assessing Loss Reactions among Older Adults: Strategies to Evaluate the Impact of September 11, 2001

As a result of the events of September 11, 2001, older adults have experienced a multitude of death-related and non-death losses. Mental health counselors who interact with older adults have a crucial role in identifying individuals who may be at risk for experiencing a subsequent, temporary, upsurge of grief. Following a review of basic concepts and underlying philosophies that can be utilized to inform work with bereaved older adults, interviewing strategies and standardized measures available for use with older adults experiencing trauma and grief are described. Then using Corr's (2003) task-based approach as a framework, strategies for identification of need and intervention are presented.
Functional grading of pericellular matrix surrounding chondrocytes: potential roles in signaling and fluid transport

The extracellular matrix surrounding chondrocytes within cartilage and fibrocartilage has spatial gradients in mechanical properties. Although the function of these gradients is unknown, the potential exists for cells to tailor their mechanical microenvironment through these gradients. We hypothesized that these gradients enhance fluid transport around the cell during the slow loading cycles that occur over the course of a day, and that this enhancement changes the nature of the mechanical signals received at the surface of the cell. To test this hypothesis, we studied the effect of these gradients on the mechanical environment around a chondrocyte using a closed form, linearized model. Results demonstrated that functional grading of the character observed around chondrocytes in articular cartilage enhances fluid transport, and furthermore inverts compressive radial strains to provide tensile signals at the cell surface. The results point to several potentially important roles for functional grading of the pericellular matrix.
The Ghost in the Machine: A Response to Roller

In this commentary, I reflect on the productive relations of the Simone family, the occupants of the site that Roller uses for his case study, to suggest that arguments for consumption need to be dialectically integrated with understandings of production relations. Adding production to the machinic recognizes that the very concept of the machine relates to transformations in work and labor in capitalist production, as machines increasingly replace human labor. From the perspective of productive relations, different questions emerge that should resonate with everyone in our contemporary moment: What happens when capital does not need our labor? What happens when capital does not need us to consume?
Are We Optimizing the Use of Dual Antiplatelet Therapy in Patients Hospitalized with Acute Myocardial Infarction

Abstract Background Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is a mainstay treatment for hospital survivors of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, there are limited data on the prescribing patterns of DAPT among patients hospitalized with AMI during recent years. Objective To examine decade-long trends (2001−2011) in the use of DAPT versus antiplatelet monotherapy and patient characteristics associated with DAPT use. Methods The study population consisted of 2389 adults hospitalized with an initial AMI at all 11 central Massachusetts medical centers on a biennial basis between 2001 and 2011. DAPT was defined as the discharge use of aspirin plus either clopidogrel or prasugrel. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify patient characteristics associated with DAPT use. Results The average age of the study population was 65 years, and 69% of patients were discharged on DAPT. The use of DAPT at the time of hospital discharge increased from 49% in 2001 to 74% in 2011; this increasing trend was seen across all age groups, both sexes, types of AMI, and in those who underwent a PCI. After multivariable adjustment, patients 65–74 years old (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.36–0.80) and those who underwent coronary artery bypass surgery (aOR = 0.11, 95% CI: 0.07–0.18) were less likely to have received DAPT, while men (aOR = 14.60, 95% CI: 10.66–19.98) and those who underwent cardiac catheterization and stenting (aOR = 14.60, 95% CI: 10.66–19.98) were significantly more likely to have received DAPT at discharge than respective comparison groups. Conclusions Between 2001 and 2011, the use of DAPT increased markedly among patients hospitalized with AMI. However, a significant proportion of patients were not discharged on this therapy. Greater awareness is needed to incorporate DAPT into the management of patients hospitalized with AMI.
Radiation Exposure During Transcatheter Valve Replacement: What Cardiac Surgeons Need to Know.

Background Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter mitral valve replacement expose operators to radiation. These procedures differ primarily in whether they are performed via a transfemoral (TF) or an alternative access (AA) approach. This study compared operator radiation exposure during transcatheter valve implantation when performed via a TF vs an AA approach, when performed in a catheterization lab vs a hybrid operating room (OR), and investigated the potential benefit of disposable shielding. Methods Dosimeters were worn during TAVR-TF (n = 50) and TAVR-AA (n = 31) procedures by operators. All TAVR-AA procedures were performed in a hybrid OR and TF procedures were performed in either catheterization labs (n = 16) or a hybrid OR (n = 34). Disposable radiation shielding pads (RADPAD; Worldwide Innovations and Technologies, Inc, Kansas City) or a placebo were added in a randomized, blinded fashion. Results Team radiation exposure was higher after TAVR-AA vs TAVR-TF (median 15.1 mRad [interquartile range: IQR 8.6, 32.4] vs 5.5 mRad [IQR 2.4, 9.8], P Conclusions Procedures performed in the hybrid OR were associated with higher operator radiation exposure. In comparison with the TF approach, AA cases had the highest levels of operator radiation. This is particularly important in cases of transcatheter mitral valve replacement that can only be done via an AA approach. The use of disposable radiation shielding in this series did not attenuate operator radiation exposure. Radiation shielding within hybrid ORs should be scrutinized in an effort to remain on par with that found within catheterization labs.
Hospital-Specific Total Joint Arthroplasty Casemix and Patient Flows in the Era of Payment Reform: Impact on Resource Utilization Among New York State Hospitals.

Abstract Background Bundled payment models may lead to selection of healthier total joint arthroplasty (TJA) candidates resulting in comorbid patients being taken care of in fewer hospitals. We aimed to (1) evaluate hospital-specific TJA comorbidity burden (“casemix”) over time and (2) associations with resource utilization. Methods This retrospective cohort study used 2011 and 2016 New York State data (n = 36,078 hip/knee arthroplasties). Comorbidity burden was estimated by the Charlson-Deyo Index; main outcomes were hospitalization cost and nonhome discharge. Hospitals were categorized into those with a decreased, stable (with a 5% buffer), or increased percentage of comorbidity-free patients (Charlson-Deyo = 0) between 2011 and 2016. Mixed-effects models measured the association between Charlson-Deyo Index category and outcomes, by hospital casemix categorization. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) are reported. Results Overall, 29 (n = 8810), 37 (n = 16,297), and 46 (n = 10,971) hospitals were categorized into the decreased, stable, and increased Charlson-Deyo = 0 categories, respectively, with median annual TJA volumes of 499, 814, and 393 (P Conclusion Most studied hospitals show an increase in comorbidity-free TJA patients, suggestive of patient selection. This redistribution of comorbid patients to select hospitals may not necessarily be a negative development as our results suggest more efficient resource utilization for comorbid patients in such hospitals.
Association between bone involvement on PET/CT and event free survival (EFS) in follicular lymphoma (FL) grade 3b.

e20068Background: FL grade 3B (FL3B) is an aggressive subtype of FL with a distinct morphologic, cytogenetic and immunohistochemical profile that is associated with higher mortality compared to oth...
THEORY OF FLOCCULATION, SUBSIDENCE AND REFILTRATION RATES OF COLLOIDAL DISPERSIONS FLOCCULATED BY POLYELECTROLYTES

The flocculation and subsequent subsidence of colloidal suspensions are markedly increased by the addition of flocculating agents; for example various starches and recently developed synthetic polymers. The rate of flocculation depends not only upon the extent of adsorption of the agent (flocculant) but also upon the order of mixing and the character and extent of the subsequent agitation which determines the character of the floc formed. Electrolytes flocculate by reducing the electrostatic repulsions between charged particles, but long chain polymers produce flocs by a bridging mechanism which overcomes electrostatic repulsions. Quantitative relationships are developed between the optimum concentration of flocculant and the rates of flocculation, subsidence, and particularly rate of filtration through the filter cake.