cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transstadial transmission of larval hemocoelic infection negatively affects development and adult female longevity in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

During all life stages, mosquitoes are exposed to pathogens, and employ an immune system to resist or limit infection. Although much attention has been paid to how adult mosquitoes fight infection, little is known about how an infection during the larval stage affects the biology of the resultant adult. In this study, we investigated whether a bacterial infection in the hemocoel of the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, is transstadially transmitted from larvae to adults (both females and males), and whether immune stimulation in the hemocoel as a larva alters development or biological traits of the adult. Specifically, larvae were injected in the hemocoel with either fluorescent microspheres or Escherichia coli, and the following traits were examined: transstadial transmission, larval development to adulthood, adult survival, and adult body size. Our results show that transstadial transmission of hemocoel contents occurs from larvae to pupae and from pupae to adults, but that bacterial prevalence and intensity varies with age. Injury, immune stimulation or infection decreases the proportion of larvae that undergo pupation and eclosion, infection decreases the longevity of adult females, and treatment has complex effects on the body size of the resultant adults. The present study adds larval hemocoelic infection to the known non-genetic factors that reduce overall fitness by negatively affecting development and adult biological traits that influence mosquito vector competence.
Abstract 18300: Reduction in Blood Pressure with Weight-loss Intervention in Overweight and Obese Patients with Heart Failure

Background: Reductions in blood pressure (BP) have been reported with energy restriction and weight loss; however, the effect of a behavioral weight management intervention on BP in overweight and ...
Teachers’ Learning Journeys Toward Reasoning and Sense Making

Despite ongoing recommendations by NCTM over the past 30 years, research points to a persistent deficit between national recommendations and classroom practice. Consideration of teachers as learners, and the examination of underlying issues, are critical to addressing this deficit. The purpose of this study was to investigate seven teachers’ experiences attempting to align their practice with a recent iteration of NCTM (Focus in high school mathematics: Reasoning and sense making, 2009) recommendations, Focus in High School Mathematics: Reasoning and Sense Making. Narrative inquiry, designed for the study of experience, is used to illustrate the complexity of teachers’ changes through the perspective of the teacher. Findings, presented through four mathematical analogies, illustrate teachers’ varied experiences moving through stages of the change process. This research is timely and relevant to teacher educators working with prospective and practicing high school mathematics teachers. An understanding of teachers’ experiences attempting changes informs the consideration of ways of supporting other teachers in enacting similar changes.
Clinical Outcomes after Conservative Management of Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia Grade 2 (CIN2) in Women Ages 21–39 Years

Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2) frequently regresses, is typically slow-growing, and rarely progresses to cancer. Some women forgo immediate treatment, opting for conservative management (heightened surveillance with cytology and colposcopy), to minimize overtreatment and increased risk of obstetric complications; however, there are limited data examining clinical outcomes in these women. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of younger women diagnosed with initially untreated CIN1/2, CIN2 and CIN2/3 lesions at Kaiser Permanente Northern California between 2003 and 2015. Clinical outcomes were categorized into five mutually exclusive hierarchical groups: cancer, treated, returned to routine screening, persistent high-grade lesion, or persistent low-grade lesion. Median follow-up for the 2,417 women was 48 months. Six women were diagnosed with cancer (0.2%), all with history of high-grade cytology, and none after a negative cotest. Thirty percent of women were treated, and only 20% returned to routine screening; 50% remained in continued intensive follow-up, of which 86% had either low-grade cytology/histology or high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) positivity, but not necessarily persistence of a single HPV type. No cancers were detected after a single negative cotest in follow-up. Almost half of initially untreated women did not undergo treatment, but remained by protocol in colposcopy clinic for 2 or more years in the absence of persisting CIN2+ Their incomplete return to total negativity was possibly due to sequential new and unrelated low-grade abnormalities. The prolonged colposcopic surveillance currently required to return to routine screening in the absence of persisting CIN2+ might not be necessary after a negative cotest.Significance: Many younger women under conservative management following an initial CIN2 result remain in a clinical protocol of prolonged intensified surveillance without a subsequent diagnosis of CIN2 or more severe diagnoses. More research is needed to determine whether such prolonged management might be unnecessary following a negative cotest for those women with an initial CIN2 but otherwise only low-grade findings. Cancer Prev Res; 11(3); 165-70. ©2018 AACR.
Believing and Doing: Values in Social Work Education:

A value has small worth if it can not be transmuted from idea or conviction into some form, quality, or direction of behavior
Permanent Paddle-lead Trial for Spinal Cord Stimulation.

Objectives A significant number of chronic pain patients rely on spinal cord stimulation (SCS) for treatment of their intractable pain. A screening trial using percutaneous electrodes is an integral step for predicting a successful treatment course with a permanent SCS system. Most of these trials are performed in an outpatient ambulatory surgical center and some in the office setting. However, there are select patients who are considered poor candidates for percutaneous trials. We present the initial report of patients who have received surgical implantation of permanent paddle-leads for SCS trials at our institution and show that this was a safe and effective alternative for our patients who could not undergo percutaneous trials. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the hospital charts of 12 patients who underwent permanent surgically-implanted paddle-lead trials from 2014 to 2017. Success was considered positive with a 50% reduction in pain rating. If positive, patients were brought back to the operating room to have the implanted leads connected to an internalized pulse generator. Results All 12 patients met the criteria for a successful trial. Only one patient had his SCS system surgically removed after nine months. None of our patients reported or returned with paddle-lead migrations or infections. Conclusions We report that surgically-implanted paddle-lead trials were a safe and effective alternative to percutaneous trials in our patients who were deemed poor candidates for percutaneous trials. No complications occurred and all of our patients received a second surgery for internalization of the SCS system. Patients who have previously failed percutaneous trials may be false-negatives to SCS.
Probabilistic Assessment of the Satellite Rainfall Retrieval Error Translation to Hydrologic Response

Satellite-based precipitation retrieval techniques and algorithms have been developed to estimate precipitation from satellite observation. The realistic characterization of uncertainty in satellite precipitation estimate and the corresponding uncertain hydrologic response can better aid water resources managers in their decision making. In this study, the standard error of satellite-based PERSIANN-CCS rainfall estimates conditioning on the assumed true field (i.e. radar rainfall) is obtained according to a multivariate function considering the spatial and temporal scales. Accepting the multiplicative nature of this error, the Monte Carlo simulation is used to generate the ensemble of precipitation and propagate them into a conceptual hydrologic model to investigate the impact of input error on streamflow simulation. The statistical assessment of the results through probabilistic measures explores the more in-depth quality and reliability of the hydrologic response resulted from input error characterization.
A Practical Approach for the Operational Level Monitoring of Executable Business Process Implemented by BPEL

Operational level monitoring of business process by business users is a key requirement for enterprises to improve business processes’ visibility and efficiency. Nowadays more and more enterprise business processes are implemented by BPEL(Business Process Execution Language). Even though BPEL engine is often provided with monitoring capability, it is primarily designed to support problem determination and debugging for system administrators or developers. Business users can hardly leverage these capabilities to monitor the process at operational level. This paper introduces an approach to easily enable the operational level monitoring of business process implemented by BPEL. Operational level monitoring takes out execution status information of a process instance and renders them into an operational view for business user to track the process execution status and issue management commands. In this paper, an operational level process monitor model is developed to bridge the gap between the BPEL model and the process monitoring needs of business users, then tooling and engine extension architecture is recommended on top of a BPEL engine, finally a real customer case study is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of this proposed approach
Life on a Stoichiometric Knife Edge: Biogeochemical Interactions and Trophic Interactions in Stromatolites in Rio Mesquites

One of the unique features of CCB is its diverse and abundant microbialites (“stromatolites”). For example, in Rio Mesquites there are abundant spheroid or “oncoid” microbialites (akin to fossil stromatolites). These microbial communities form layers of CaCO3 when photosynthesis raises pH and precipitates CaCO3. We hypothesized that CaCO3 precipitation accentuates P limitation in CCB as carbonate deposition can trap phosphate in inorganic and organic forms in the growing matrix. A series of field experiments tested these ideas. In the first, investigators determined the balance of calcification on oncoid stromatolites with and without snails. In the next series of experiments, oncoid stromatolites were fertilized with P, and responses of biomass C:N:P ratios, microbial communities, and performance of snails were assessed. Stromatolite C:P and N:P ratios were high but decreased under P fertilization. Surprisingly, P fertilization stimulated snail performance when C:P was reduced moderately but inhibited growth and increased mortality when C:P was strongly reduced, leading us to propose a “stoichiometric knife edge” for snails, with both high and low C:P being detrimental. Finally, studies in Rio Mesquites explored the process of calcification and supported the concept of an active “competition” for P between calcification and biotic P uptake. We emerge with a view that CCB’s intense P limitation is at least in part a result of widespread CaCO3 precipitation and that this P limitation imposes a strong stoichiometric limitation on herbivore growth and thus is likely a strong selective factor for consumers.
Behavioral Health and Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease causing tremendous burden on people worldwide. In the 2017 Standards of Medical Care for Diabetes, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends the assessment and integration of psychosocial factors such as depression and diabetes distress into initial and routine patient care to improve outcomes and overall quality of life for patients with diabetes. Psychological conditions, such as depression, distress and stress, serious psychological distress, fatalism, self-efficacy, and social support influence diabetes-related self-management and outcomes and should be incorporated into clinical care practices, addressed in research interventions, and considered in policy implementations. These factors are important to consider as they can significantly impact glycemic control and other outcomes in adults with diabetes. Integrating behavioral and physical care for patients with diabetes will take a coordinated effort, focused on systematic screening, clear treatment pathways, and ongoing monitoring. However, efforts to integrate care have promise to better address the healthcare goals of providing patient-centered care, decreasing both morbidity and cost, and increasing satisfaction with care.
Myxoid Liposarcoma: Treatment Outcomes from Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy.

Introduction. Myxoid liposarcoma (MLS) is a subtype of liposarcoma characterized morphologically by lipomatous differentiation with a myxoid stroma. The purpose of this study was to review clinical and pathological information for patients treated for MLS at our institution to better understand neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy. Materials and Methods. An institutional database of sarcomas was queried for patients who were treated for MLS at our institution between 1992 and 2013. Survival curves were constructed using Kaplan–Meier analysis, and univariate and multivariate statistics were performed using the Cox-proportional hazards model and using linear regression. Results. A total of 85 patients with myxoid liposarcoma were identified. The mean and median histologic response rate to treatment for patients who received preoperative radiation therapy was 77.6%. Five-year disease-free survival, distant metastasis-free survival, local recurrence-free survival, and overall survival were 78.6% (95% CI: 67.8–86.1), 84.7% (95% CI: 74.5–91.0), 95.6% (95% CI: 86.9–98.6), and 87.5% (95% CI: 77.2–93.3) respectively. On univariate analysis, there was a trend towards higher necrosis or treatment response rates in patients who received concurrent chemotherapy, 84.7% (95% CI: 75.9–93.4) and 69.5% (95% CI: 55.1–83.8), . Tumor size was associated with inferior disease-free and overall survival. Hazard ratio for disease-free survival is 1.08 (per cm) (95% CI: 1.01–1.16), . Conclusions. Myxoid liposarcoma exhibits histological response to chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Tumor size appears to be greatest predictor of long-term disease control and overall survival. We were not able to show that chemotherapy provides a clinical benefit with regard to local control, disease-free survival, or overall survival. However, it is important to note that the selected usage of chemotherapy in the highest risk patients confounds this analysis. Further investigation is needed to help better determine the optimal use of chemotherapy in this group of patients.
Are Changes in Medical Group Practice Characteristics Over Time Associated With Medicare Spending and Quality of Care

Physician practices have been growing in size, and becoming more commonly owned by hospitals, over time. We use survey data on physician practices surveyed at two points in time, linked to Medicare...
Implications of introgression for wildlife translocations: the case of North American martens

The evolutionary consequences of natural introgression provide a rare opportunity to retrospectively evaluate how the introduction of exotics or genetic rescue efforts may impact endemic faunas. Phylogeographic structure among mainland, endemic insular, and introduced North American marten (Martes americana and M. caurina) populations have been shaped by a complex history of natural, post-glacial population expansion followed by a series of anthropogenic introductions. In some cases, both natural colonization and translocations facilitated secondary contact, offering a series of replicated experiments that demonstrate how introgression, in these cases following isolation (insular and refugial), shapes genetic diversity. We test whether genetic exchange is occurring between North American marten species using mitochondrial genomes and ten nuclear loci. We present evidence of biased nuclear introgression from M. caurina into M. americana across two natural hybrid zones (insular and mainland) and found no remnant evidence of M. caurina on islands that received M. americana translocations, suggesting prior absence, potential extirpation, or genetic swamping of M. caurina from these islands. Our results highlight the importance of understanding phylogeographic variation prior to identifying source populations for wildlife translocations and caution the use of genetic rescue for North American marten populations. Although previously managed as a single species, these two species show substantial genetic divergence. When the two are placed into contact, they exhibit unidirectional, asymmetric introgression with potentially negative consequences for M. caurina, underscoring the value of mindful consideration of introgression in wildlife management.
Damaging democracy? Security provision and turnout in Afghan elections†

In emerging democracies, elections are encouraged as a route to democratization. However, not only does violence often threaten these elections, but citizens often view as corrupt the security forces deployed to combat violence. We examine the effects of such security provision. In Afghanistan's 2010 parliamentary election, polling centers with similar histories of pre-election violence unintentionally received different deployments of the Afghan National Police, enabling identification of police's effects on turnout. Using data from the universe of polling sites and various household surveys, data usually unavailable in conflict settings, we estimate increases in police presence decreased voter turnout by an average of 30%. Our results adjudicate between competing theoretical mechanisms through which security forces could affect turnout, and show behavior is not driven by voter anticipation of election-day violence. This highlights a pitfall for building government legitimacy via elections in weakly institutionalized and conflict-affected states.
STI Vaccines: Status of Development, Potential Impact, and Important Factors for Implementation

248 Primary prevention efforts for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have historically focused on behavioral strategies, including encouraging abstinence, the delay of sexual initiation, careful partner selection, condom use, and partner management. Several potential emerging technologies, including microbicides and prophylactic vaccines, could add an additional focus to efforts to change individual sexual risk, at least in the case of certain STIs (1). One of the difficulties associated with traditional behavioral primary prevention efforts is that they seek to modify contextually complex, socially imbedded behaviors, such as condom use. The requirement for sustained behavior change over time adds to the difficulty of achieving long-term success with these kinds of interventions. In contrast, vaccination typically involves no more than three discrete events, which may be amenable to brief targeted interventions. The contextual complexity of vaccination is substantially less than with condom use, and effective vaccines would have no requirement for sustained behavior change. Efforts to encourage vaccination may need to differentially target specific immunization behaviors, including original and follow-up dosages, and possible booster shots. Although getting vaccinated against an STI is, in many ways, a simpler behavior than consistent use of condoms in a sexual relationship, vaccination certainly will be uniquely challenging, requiring different approaches than those used to encourage safer sexual behaviors. It has been suggested that to have maximal impact, STI vaccination should occur prior to initiation of sexual activity, which often occurs during young adulthood (1–4). This suggestion to vaccinate adolescents is based on several considerations, including vaccine safety and efficacy studies among adolescents, data on STI epidemiology and age of sexual initiation in the United States, cost effectiveness evaluations, and established and recommended adolescent health care visits. Based on such considerations, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
Extrahepatic Clinical Application of Vessel Tracking Software and 3D Roadmapping Tools: Preliminary Experience.

Abstract This article demonstrates the use of a representative commercially available automated vessel-tracking software originally intended for liver-only application (Vessel Assist Flight Plan for Liver; GE) in 4 patients. Treatment settings included embolization of small bowel hemorrhage source, treatment of renal cell carcinoma, management of symptomatic benign prostate hypertrophy, and detection with subsequent closure of a mesenteric pseudoaneurysm. All patients were treated successfully.
The Coevolution Effect as a Driver of Spillover

Global habitat fragmentation is associated with the emergence of infectious diseases of wildlife origins in human populations. Despite this well-accepted narrative, the underlying mechanisms driving this association remain unclear. We introduce a nuanced hypothesis, the ‘coevolution effect’. The central concept is that the subdivision of host populations which occurs with habitat fragmentation causes localized coevolution of hosts, obligate parasites, and pathogens which act as ‘coevolutionary engines’ within each fragment, accelerating pathogen diversification, and increasing pathogen diversity across the landscape. When combined with a mechanism to exit a fragment (e.g., mosquitoes), pathogen variants will spill over into human communities. Through this combined ecoevolutionary approach we may be able to understand the fine-scale mechanisms that drive disease emergence in the Anthropocene.
Tagamet® (Smith Kline & French)

Tagamet is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist that is used in the treatment of ulcers and other conditions characterized by excesses of gastric acid secretions. This drug inhibits the action of histamine at the histamine (H2) receptors of the parietal cells and also inhibits gastric acid secretion stimulated by food, histamine, caffeine, insulin, and pentagastrin. Tagamet is not an anticholinergic drug. The use of H2 receptor antagonists represents a new method of treatment of peptic ulcer and Tagamet is the first drug in this class.
The Association Between Mindfulness and Postoperative Pain: A Prospective Cohort Study of Gynecologic Oncology Patients Undergoing Minimally Invasive Hysterectomy.

ABSTRACT Study Objective To describe the association between preoperative dispositional mindfulness (the personality trait of being mindful) and postoperative pain in gynecologic oncology patients undergoing minimally invasive hysterectomy. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting University-affiliated teaching hospital. Patients Gynecologic oncology patients (n = 126) planning minimally invasive hysterectomy. Interventions Minimally invasive hysterectomy. Measurements and Main Results Baseline mindfulness was assessed at the preoperative visit using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Postoperative pain and opioid usage were evaluated via chart review and surveys at postoperative visits at 1 to 2 weeks and 4 to 6 weeks. Higher baseline mindfulness was correlated with lower postoperative pain as measured by both the average and highest numeric pain scores during the inpatient stay (r = –.23, p = .020; r = –.21, p = .034). At the initial postoperative visit, pain score was also inversely correlated with preoperative mindfulness score (r = –.26, p = .008). This relationship was not observed at the final postoperative visit (r = –.08, p = .406). Pre-operative mindfulness and opioid usage were also inversely associated, though this relationship did not reach statistical significance (r = −.18, p = .066). Conclusion Mindfulness was previously shown to be a promising intervention for chronic pain treatment. Our study demonstrates that higher preoperative dispositional mindfulness is associated with more favorable postoperative pain outcomes, including lower pain scores but not lower opioid consumption. This relationship provides an opportunity to target the modifiable personality characteristic of mindfulness, to reduce postoperative pain in patients following gynecologic surgery.
From Fugu With Love: New Capabilities for the Web

We present a greeting card web application that is useful in all modern browsers, but sees its experience progressively enhanced through new and upcoming browser capabilities such as native file system access, system clipboard access, contacts retrieval, periodic background sync, screen wake lock, web sharing features, and more.
Common Data Elements in Head and Neck Radiology Reporting

Radiologists must convert the complex information in head and neck imaging into text reports that can be understood and used by clinicians, patients, and fellow radiologists for patient care, research, and quality initiatives. Common data elements in reporting, through use of defined questions with constrained answers and terminology, allow radiologists to incorporate best practice standards and improve communication of information regardless of individual reporting style. Use of common data elements for head and neck reporting has the potential to improve outcomes, reduce errors, and transition data consumption not only for humans but future machine learning systems.
Development of an algorithm for intraoperative autofluorescence assessment of parathyroid glands in primary hyperparathyroidism using artificial intelligence.

Abstract Background Previous work showed that normal and abnormal parathyroid glands exhibit different patterns of autofluorescence, with the former appearing brighter and more homogenous. However, an objective algorithm based on quantified measurements was not provided. The aim of this study is to develop objective algorithms for intraoperative autofluorescence assessment of parathyroid glands in primary hyperparathyroidism using artificial intelligence. Methods The utility of near-infrared fluorescence imaging in parathyroidectomy procedures was evaluated in a study approved by the institutional review board. Autofluorescence patterns of parathyroid glands were measured intraoperatively. Comparisons were performed between normal and abnormal glands, as well as between different pathologies. Using machine learning, decision trees were created. Results Normal parathyroid glands were brighter (higher normalized autofluorescence pixel intensity) and more homogenous (lower heterogeneity index) compared to abnormal glands. Optimal cutoffs to differentiate normal from abnormal parathyroid glands were >2.0 for normalized autofluorescence intensity (sensitivity 73%, specificity 70%, area under the curve 0.756) and Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study to date reporting objective algorithms using quantified autofluorescence data to intraoperatively assess parathyroid glands in primary hyperparathyroidism. These results suggest that objective data can be obtained from autofluorescence signals to help differentiate abnormal parathyroid glands from normal glands.
Quantifying Region-Specific Hot Carrier Degradation in LDMOS Transistors Using a Novel Charge Pumping Technique

Since the 1970s, LDMOS transistors have been used in a variety of applications because of their versatility and monolithic integration with CMOS logic. Despite the advantages, interface defects (N IT ) generation due to Hot Carrier Degradation (HCD) has been a persistent reliability challenge for LDMOS transistors. Unfortunately, neither classical charge pumping nor single-pulse charge pumping techniques can be used to locate/quantify N IT in a source-body-tied LDMOS configuration. Here we: i) identify the multiple hotspots of HCD in an LDMOS using experimentally validated TCAD simulations; ii) introduce and implement a TCAD-enabled novel charge pumping technique to probe region-specific interface states in a source-body-tied (SBT) LDMOS; and iii) develop a unified multi-hotspot HCD model to interpret the degradation kinetics in power transistors. The analysis provides deep insights into the HCD in an LDMOS and the generalized charge pumping technique can be used to map interface states in a variety of transistors with non-traditional doping and contact configurations.
A Nonequilibrium Analysis of Unanimity Rule, Majority Rule, and Pareto

It is widely held that in the absence of transaction costs unanimity rule is more effective at producing Pareto improvements and Pareto optimal outcomes than majority rule. We compare unanimity rule and majority rule in their ability to adhere to the Pareto criterion and to select Pareto-optimal alternatives using a single-dimensional spatial voting model without rational proposals. This produces two interesting results. First, if proposals are random, then majority rule is almost always more adept at selecting Pareto-optimal alternatives than unanimity rule. Second, if individuals propose their ideal points, then majority rule selects Pareto-optimal outcomes at least as well as unanimity rule. These results contrast with equilibrium analyses, which typically show that unanimity rule is the best voting procedure for maintaining Pareto optimality. (JEL D7, C61)
The conquest of US inflation: Learning and robustness to model uncertainty

Abstract Previous studies have interpreted the rise and fall of US inflation after World War II in terms of the Fed's changing views about the natural rate hypothesis but have left an important question unanswered. Why was the Fed so slow to implement the low-inflation policy recommended by a natural rate model even after economists had developed statistical evidence strongly in its favor? Our answer features model uncertainty. Each period a central bank sets the systematic part of the inflation rate in light of updated probabilities that it assigns to three competing models of the Phillips curve. Cautious behavior induced by model uncertainty can explain why the central bank presided over the inflation of the 1970s even after the data had convinced it to place much the highest probability on the natural rate model.
Post-bariatric Surgery Outcomes and Complications in Patients with Celiac Disease: a Matched Case-Control Study

The shift towards an obese phenotype in celiac disease (CD) patients increases risk of morbidity and mortality. Bariatric surgery (BS) is the gold standard treatment for obesity. Few studies have explored the role of BS in patients with CD. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of BS in this population. This is a retrospective matched case-control (1:5) study of adult patients with confirmed CD who underwent BS at our institution from 1998 to 2018. Demographics, operative data, post-operative outcomes, complications, and nutritional parameters were collected. Seventy-eight patients (mostly Caucasian females) were included. Thirteen had confirmed CD and were compared with 65 controls. The most common type of BS was the RYGB. The percent of total body weight loss (%TWL) was similar for both groups at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months, with the highest weight loss being at 12 months: %TWL 28.4 (20.2–38.4) for CD, n=13; vs. 29.1 (19.6–39.3) for non-CD, n=49; p=0.8. Obesity-associated co-morbidities greatly and comparably improved in both groups. Patients with CD had no complications after BS. Post-BS malodorous and oily stools were more common among patients with CD (23.1% vs. 4.6%, p=0.03). Micronutrient deficiencies were common and comparable among both groups with iron and vitamin D being the most common deficiencies. Gluten-free diet (GFD) non-adherence post-operatively was associated with a higher incidence of post-BS abdominal pain (60.0% vs. 0.0%, p=0.012). BS is safe and effective in patients with CD. Close monitoring is necessary to ensure compliance with GFD and vitamin supplementation. • Bariatric surgery leads to significant weight loss in celiac disease (CD) patients. • Mid- and long-term weight loss does not differ between patients with and without CD. • Obesity-associated co-morbidities significantly improve after surgery in CD patients. • The incidence of post-surgical complications is not higher in CD patients.
Understanding gender differences in statin use among elderly Medicare beneficiaries: an application of decomposition technique.

Pharmacotherapy with statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors) is the cornerstone for lipid management in individuals with or at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Although the clinical benefits of statins are established for both women and men, there is evidence of a gender difference in their use. The current study extends prior scientific research by estimating the extent to which individual-level variables may explain gender differences in statin use by using a post-regression non-linear decomposition technique. The objective of this study was to estimate the magnitude of gender differences in statin use among the elderly and examine individual-level variables that can explain the gender differences in statin use among elderly individuals with or at risk of cardiovascular diseases. A retrospective cross-sectional study design was adopted. Data were derived from the 2005 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS), a nationally representative survey of Medicare beneficiaries in the US. The analytic study sample consisted of community-dwelling elderly Medicare beneficiaries, aged 65 years or older, who had reported any of the following conditions: heart disease, hyperlipidaemia or diabetes mellitus, and who were alive during the observation year. Chi-square tests were used to evaluate the unadjusted associations between gender and statin use for each of the characteristics. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to evaluate the relationship between gender and statin use. A post-regression non-linear decomposition approach was used to understand individual-level variables that could explain gender differences in statin use. Among 5,508 elderly, 47.2 % of the women and 55.5 % of the men reported any statin use in 2005, which translates to an 8.3 percentage point difference in statin use. In the multivariate logistic regression on statin use, women were 21 % less likely than men to use statins (adjusted odds ratio = 0.79; 95 % CI 0.69, 0.89). Post-regression non-linear decomposition analysis revealed that of the 8.3 percentage point difference in statin use, 29.5 % was explained by the individual-level variables. Lifestyle risk factors accounted for most of the explained portion of the gender difference in statin use. Among elderly Medicare beneficiaries, women were less likely than men to report any use of statins. Less than one third of the total gender difference in statin use was attributed to individual-level variables such as demographics, economic status, physical health status, depression and lifestyle risk factors. Further research is needed to identify whether provider and/or organizational-level factors can further explain the gender difference in statin use.
Learning to appreciate at‐risk students: Challenging the beliefs and attitudes of teachers and administrators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the issue of at‐risk students in a rural district in Midwestern USA.Design/methodology/approach – This field‐based research study used a qualitative embedded case study of a middle and high school informed by an appreciative inquiry theoretical research perspective to identify a positive core of teacher and administrator experiences related to at‐risk students. At‐risk students are those who under‐perform in mandated academic assessments as well as school‐related academic achievement. Social capital and appreciative inquiry served as theoretical perspectives. Focus groups, semi‐structured interviews, and an online survey were the primary data‐gathering methods.Findings – Three findings illustrated the gap between present practice and the ideal state. The research team concluded that there was a foundation of positive core experiences from which to build on the espoused theory of caring professed by teachers and administrators.Originality/value – The study'...
Thermodynamic Properties of Materials in Externally Applied Fields

The properties of matter in externally applied fields are described collectively in an unusual collage of interrelated theoretical constructs: material subject to gravitational fields, a systematic analysis of gas adsorption processes, surface vs bulk effects and self-assembly, manifestations of electromagnetic radiation, thermodynamics of electric and magnetic field effects, transitions to superconductivity, adiabatic demagnetization, thermodynamic treatment of anisotropic phenomena, thermodynamics of interacting electron assemblies, and related phase diagrams: the latter analysis is not available in current reviews.
Mining E-Documents to Uncover Structures

An e-Document, D, coded in HTML is comprised of a body and a head. The body includes the contents of the e-document, and the head includes, among other things, metadata.
System-level synthesis using re-programmable components

The authors formulate the synthesis problem of complex behavioral descriptions with performance constraints as a hardware-software co-design problem. The target system architecture consists of a software component as a program running on a re-programmable processor assisted by application-specific hardware components. System synthesis is performed by first partitioning the input system description into hardware and software portions and then by implementing each of them separately. The synthesis of dedicated hardware is then achieved by means of hardware synthesis tools (D.D. Mitchell, D.C.Ku, F. Mailhot, and T. Truong, 'The Olympus Synthesis System for digital design' IEEE Design and Test Magazine, p.37-53, Oct. 1990), while the software component is generated using software compiling techniques. The authors consider the problem of identifying potential hardware and software components of a system described in a high-level modeling language and they present a partitioning procedure. They then describe the results of partitioning a network coprocessor. >
The Latitudinal Diversity Gradient Through Deep Time: Testing the “Age of the Tropics” Hypothesis Using Carboniferous Productidine Brachiopods

The latitudinal gradient in global diversity, in which the number of species decreases away from the tropics, is widely recognized and well-studied but no consensus exists as to its cause. The “Age of the Tropics” hypothesis argues that the tropics have more species because young, ecologically dominant, tropical clades have not had sufficient time to disperse and adapt to colder climates; given time, the tropics act as a diversity pump. This hypothesis is tested using Carboniferous productidine brachiopods, which at that time were a young, ecologically dominant clade that originated in the tropics. A database of geographic occurrences indicates that productidines did not manifest a pattern of dispersal away from the tropics through time. A phylogeny of one productidine clade demonstrates that many lineages contracted, rather than expanded, their ranges over time. The results suggest that the hypothesis that the tropics are a diversity pump cannot be generalized across time and taxa.
B-Cell and T-Cell Epitopes in Anti-factor VIII Immune Responses

Adequate hemostasis is achieved for many hemophilia A patients by infusion of plasma-derived or recombinant factor VIII (FVIII), but unfortunately, a significant subset of patients develop an immune response in which anti-FVIII antibodies, referred to clinically as “inhibitors,” interfere with its procoagulant activity. Inhibitors are the subset of anti-FVIII antibodies that bind to surfaces on FVIII (B-cell epitopes) that are important for its proper functioning in coagulation. Less antigenic FVIII molecules may be designed by identifying and then modifying the amino acid sequences of inhibitor B-cell epitopes. Conversely, characterization of these epitopes can yield important information regarding functionally important surfaces on FVIII. The production of inhibitor antibodies is driven by T cells. T cells recognize FVIII as foreign when FVIII-derived peptides bind to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules on the surface of antigen-presenting cells. The class II–peptide complexes must then be recognized by T-cell receptors (TCRs). T-cell stimulation requires sustained association of antigen-presenting cells and T cells through formation of a class II–peptide–TCR complex, and peptide sequences that mediate this association are termed “T-cell epitopes.” MHC class II tetramers that bind FVIII-derived peptides and recognize antigen-specific TCRs are proving useful in the characterization of human leukocyte antigen-restricted T-cell responses to FVIII.
Fiber Fabry-Perot Sensors For Detection Of Partial Discharges in Power Transformers

A diaphragm-based interferometric fiber optic sensor that uses a low-coherence light source was designed and tested for on-line detection of the acoustic waves generated by partial discharges inside high-voltage power transformers. The sensor uses a fused-silica diaphragm and a single-mode optical fiber encapsulated in a fused-silica glass tube to form an extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer, which is interrogated by low-coherence light. Test results indicate that these fiber optic acoustic sensors are capable of faithfully detecting acoustic signals propagating inside transformer oil with high sensitivity and wide bandwidth.
SURFACE PLASMON RESONANCE OF AU COLLOID-MODIFIED AU FILMS : PARTICLE SIZE DEPENDENCE

The influence of colloid diameter on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) response of a colloidal Au modified Au film is described. Adsorption of 30−59 nm diameter colloidal Au on the surface of a 4...
Differential perturbation of erythrocyte membrane function by structurally related polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons

Examination of the interaction of a number of structurally related polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with the erythrocyte plasma membrane indicated that the presence and position of methyl groups on the lipophilic hydrocarbon nucleus determined whether the compound acted as an inhibitor of membrane function. 7,12-Dimethylbenz(a)anthracene, a potent carcinogen, acted as a noncompetitive inhibitor of membrane acetylcholinesterase. The inhibition depended on the anion composition of the buffer at the time of exposure of the cells to inhibitor, i.e., it was only manifest in the presence of an anion gradient. The temperature dependence of the intact cell enzyme in the presence of inhibitor was influenced by the temperature at which the compound was added prior to assay and may involve the perturbation of tightly associated lipids. Glucose exchange across the membrane was inhibited by the same compounds which inhibit acetylcholinesterase. The temperature dependence of the exchange was not grossly altered by the presence of 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene. The observed inhibition of two membrane functions by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons does not correlate simply with their theoretical octanol/water partition coefficients, water solubilities, or ability to confer membrane stabilization against osmotic hemolysis. This demonstration of differential inhibition by compounds having the same overall hydrophobicity was unexpected and suggests a more complex mode of interaction with the cell membrane.
Inside and Outside The Republic

An engaged reader of the Republic must at some point wonder how or if it all fits together. There seems to be jumbled within that text a challenge to conventional justice, a political theory, a psychology, a metaphysics, a theory of education and a critique of art, music and poetry. A brilliant work; but is it an integrated whole? A just republic, for Plato, turns out to be a harmonious, though differentiated, unity; and so the question can be rephrased: is the Republic a just Republic? Most of the illuminating discussions of the Republic can be seen as attempts to answer this question. I would like to suggest that this problem of unity arises in a particularly acute form for modern readers, because we are disposed to see the Republic as existing in bits. For we tend to conceive of psychology as the psychology of the individual. Since Plato, in the Republic, is concerned with the constitution of the individual psyche, it is easy for us to assume that his psychology is revealed in that account.' But this omits what, I believe, is the most distinctive aspect of Plato's psychology: a dynamic account of the psychological transactions between inside and outside a person's psyche, between a person's inner life and his cultural environment, between intrapsychic and interpsychic relations?2 If we ignore these dynamic transactions, we cannot
A comparison of methods for morphological studies of cultured cells

A number of fixation methods for different types of cells in culture were compared, and the best preservation of nuclear and cytoplasmic details was obtained by fixation with Bouin's solution for 15 min, prior to staining with hematoxylin and eosin. All of the fixatives, including Bouin's solution, damaged various structures, notably the peripheral glas-attached cytoplasm and the intercellular connections. Micrographs obtained by bright field, phase contrast, and interference contrast (Nomarski) microscopy are presented. Much more realistic pictures, bringing out details not observed after fixation and staining, were obtained by Nomarski microscopy of living, unfixed cultures. Most conspicuous were numerous thin, cytoplasmic, cilia-like extensions, concentrated on the glass-attached peripheral margins, which were also visible on other cell surfaces and as intercellular connections. These structures were most characteristic of SV40-transformed human amnion cells. Although fixation and staining emphasize certain cell components (for example, inclusion bodies), many aspects of cellular morphology are better demonstrated by observing living cells by interference microscopy or by Nomarski interference contrast microscopy. Surface features of unfixed cells, seen by Nomarski interference contrast microscopy, were similar to the surface features of glutaraldehyde-osmium tetroxide-fixed cells studied as metallic replicas in the electron microscope.
Lignin Biodegradation with Laccase-Mediator Systems

Lignin has a significant and largely unrealized potential as a source for the sustainable production of fuels and bulk high-value chemicals. It can replace fossil-based oil as a renewable feedstock that would bring about socio-economic and environmental benefits in our transition to a biobased economy. The efficient utilization of lignin however requires its depolymerization to low molecular weight phenolics and aromatics that can then serve as the building blocks for chemical syntheses of high-value products. The ability of laccase to attack and degrade lignin in conjunction with laccase mediators is currently viewed as one of the potential “breakthrough” applications for lignin valorization. Here we review the recent progress in lignin biodegradation with laccase-mediator systems, and research needs that need to be addressed in this field.