cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adenine nucleotides mobilize cellular Ca2+ and inhibit parathyroid hormone secretion

Measurements of the concentration of intracellular free calcium [( Ca2+]i) were used to screen for the presence of Ca2+-mobilizing receptors on dissociated and purified bovine parathyroid cells loaded with fura-2. Among a wide variety of agents known to mobilize cellular Ca2+ in other cells, only ATP and certain other nucleotides were capable of altering [Ca2+]i in parathyroid cells. The addition of ATP or adenosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (ATP gamma S) (10-200 microM) to parathyroid cells evoked a rapid and transient increase that was followed by a small, steady-state increase in [Ca2+]i. Cytosolic Ca2+ transients elicited by ATP or ATP gamma S persisted in the absence of extracellular Ca2+ and presence of a mitochondrial uncoupler but were blocked by pretreatment with ionomycin or fluoride. Cytosolic Ca2+ transients elicited by ATP were inhibited by increased concentrations of extracellular Ca2+, Mg2+, or Sr2+. Conversely, ATP depressed increases in [Ca2+]i elicited by these extracellular divalent cations. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion was inhibited by ATP gamma S but not by those nucleotides that were without effect on [Ca2+]i. Loading cells with 1,2-bis-(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid and fura-2 blocked cytosolic Ca2+ transients elicited by ATP gamma S but did not block the inhibitory effects of ATP gamma S on PTH secretion. The results show that the activation of a calcium-mobilizing receptor, in this case by ATP gamma S, is sufficient to inhibit PTH secretion. This favors the view that extracellular Ca2+ acts via a Ca2+-mobilizing receptor to regulate PTH secretion.
Technical Note: Confirming the prescribed angle of CT localizer radiographs and c-arm projection acquisitions.

Purpose: Accurate CTradiograph angle is not usually important in diagnostic CT. However, there are applications in radiation oncology and interventional radiology in which the orientation of the x-ray source and detector with respect to the patient is clinically important. The authors present a method for measuring the accuracy of the tube/detector assembly with respect to the prescribed tube/detector position for CT localizer, fluoroscopic, and general radiographimaging using diagnostic, mobile, and c-arm based CTsystems. Methods: A mathematical expression relating the x-ray projection of two metal BBs is related to gantry angle. Measurement of the BBs at a prescribed gantry (i.e., c-arm) angle can be obtained and using this relation the prescribed versus actual gantry angle compared. No special service mode or proprietary information is required, only access to projection images is required. Projection images are available in CT via CT localizer radiographs and in the interventional setting via fluorography. Results: The technique was demonstrated on two systems, a mobile CTscanner and a diagnostic CTscanner. The results confirmed a known issue with the mobile scanner and accurately described the CT localizer angle of the diagnostic system tested. Conclusions: This method can be used to quantify gantry angle, which is important when projection images are used for procedure guidance, such as in brachytherapy and interventional radiology applications.
Parenting Styles in Military and Civilian Families with Adolescents: The Impact of Deployment, Mood, and Marital Satisfaction

US Military personnel and their families have been coping with repeated combat deployments for almost 15 years. The impact of this ongoing stress on parental and child psychological health has been documented, but little is known of the impact of repeated combat deployments on parenting behaviors, particularly among parents of adolescents. This chapter reports on the findings of a study examining parenting styles among military and civilian parents as well as the potential impact of deployment stress on parenting. Data from online surveys completed by 316 mothers of children aged 12–18 were analyzed. Results indicated that military-connected mothers were more restrictive in their parenting than were the civilian mothers, and as a result a greater percentage of military-connected mothers were classified as Authoritarian (43 %) or Authoritative (24 %). Parenting style variables were not related to the number of deployments, total time deployed, or percent of career time deployed. However, they were related to demographic characteristics of the sample including age, years in the current home, and number of moves experienced during the child’s life. Unexpectedly, parenting variables among the military-connected were not related to measures of depression, anxiety, stress and marital satisfaction. However, these variables were significantly related to parenting style among the civilian participants. Findings are discussed with a focus on the need for additional research into the potential positive and negative impact of differing parenting styles on the adjustment of military families and children as they cope with deployments and other stresses common to military life.
Particle Tracking and Multispectral Collocation Method for Particle-to-Particle Binding Assays

We present a simple-to-implement method for analyzing images of randomly distributed particles transported through a fluidic channel. We term this method particle imaging, tracking and collocation (PITC). Our method uses off-the-shelf optics including a CCD camera, epifluorescence microscope, and a dual-view color separator to image freely suspended particles in a wide variety of microchannels (with optical access for image collection). The particles can be transported via electrophoresis and/or pressure driven flow to increase throughput of analysis. We here describe the implementation of the algorithm and demonstrate and validate three of its capabilities: (1) identification of particle coordinates, (2) tracking of particle motion, and (3) monitoring of particle interaction via collocation analysis. We use Monte Carlo simulations for validation and optimization of the input parameters. We also present an experimental demonstration of the analysis on challenging image data, including a flow of two, inter...
Propagation of a bipartite entangled state through a fast–light medium

We generate entangled twin beams using four-wave-mixing and investigate the behavior of the quantum correlations when one field is sent through a fast-light medium with anomalous dispersion. We report an advance of 3.7±0.1 ns, marking the realization of a negative temporal delay line for quantum states.
Management of gastroduodenal stent-related complications

A B S T R A C T Endoscopic placement of a gastroduodenal self-expandable metallic stent (SEMS) is a safe and minimally invasive intervention for patients with malignant gastric outlet obstruction (GOO). One major shortcoming of SEMS, however, is a frequent need for re-interventions due to stent-related complications, such as occlusion and migration. With continuing advances in oncologic therapy and improved survival in patients with malignancy, these complications may be encountered more frequently. Mild complications include abdominal discomfort, low grade fever, and occasional vomiting without obstruction. Major complications occurring within the first week include bleeding, perforation, stent migration, severe pain, fever, and jaundice. Significant late complications include fistula formation, stent obstruction, late perforation or bleeding, biliary obstruction, and stent migration. Correctly identifying and managing SEMS-related complications in a timely manner is essential in maintaining effective palliation in patients with malignant GOO. In this review article, we discuss the management of complications arising from the placement of gastroduodenal SEMS in patients with malignant GOO.
Improving Post-Hospitalization Transition Outcomes through Accessible Health Information Technology and Caregiver Support: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objective: The goal of this trial is to evaluate a novel intervention designed to improve post-hospitalization support for older adults with chronic conditions via: (a) direct tailored communication to patients using regular automated calls post discharge, (b) support for informal caregivers outside of the patient’s household via structured automated feedback about the patient’s status plus advice about how caregivers can help, and (c) support for care management including a web-based disease management tool and alerts about potential problems. Methods: 846 older adults with common chronic conditions are being identified upon hospital admission. Patients are asked to identify a “CarePartner” (CP) living outside their household, i.e., an adult child or other social network member willing to play an active role in their post-discharge transition support. Patient-CP pairs are randomized to the intervention or usual care. Intervention patients receive automated assessment and behavior change calls, and their CPs receives structured feedback and advice via email and automated calls following each assessment. Clinical teams have access to assessment results via the web and receive automated reports about urgent health problems. Patients complete surveys at baseline, 30 days, and 90 days post discharge; utilization data is obtained from hospital records. CPs, other caregivers, and clinicians are interviewed to evaluate intervention effects on processes of self-care support, caregiver stress and communication, and the intervention’s potential for broader implementation. The primary outcome is 30-day readmission rates; other outcomes measured at 30 days and 90 days include functional status, self-care behaviors, and mortality risk. Conclusion: This trial uses accessible health technologies and coordinated communication among informal caregivers and clinicians to fill the growing gap between what discharged patients need and available resources. A unique feature of the intervention is the provision of transition support not only for patients but also for their informal caregivers.
Influence of health education on the quality of life of nonnasality malignancy patients

0bjective:To explore the influence of health education on quality of life in patients with nonnasality malignancy after operation.Methods:Forty-two cases were randomly divided into ;intervention group(n=22)and control group(n=20).The patients in the control group only received routine treatment;patients in the intervention group received comprehensive and systematic health education based on routine treatment. Scores of quality of life were compared between the two groups. Results Compared with that of the control group,quality of life in the intervention group was raised obviously. Conclusion:Comprehensive and systematic health education can obviously raise quality of life in patients with nonnasality malignancy after operation.
Patterns in matchings and rook placements

Extending the notion of pattern avoidance in permutations, we study matchings and set partitions whose arc diagram representation avoids a given configuration of three arcs. These configurations, which generalize 3-crossings and 3-nestings, have an interpretation, in the case of matchings, in terms of patterns in full rook placements on Ferrers boards. We enumerate 312-avoiding matchings and partitions, obtaining algebraic generating functions, unlike in the 321-avoiding (i.e., 3-noncrossing) case. Our approach also provides a more direct proof of a formula of Bona for the number of 1342-avoiding permutations. Additionally, we give a bijection proving the shape-Wilf-equivalence of the patterns 321 and 213 which simplifies existing proofs by Backelin–West–Xin and Jelinek.
Developing Descriptive Categories, Types, and Indicators: Multivariate Descriptions of Urban Layouts

This chapter of the book focuses on multivariate descriptions of urban layouts. Among the many statistical techniques of multivariate descriptions, factor analysis is a data reduction technique that uncovers patterns of interrelationships among a large set of variables and then clusters highly interrelated variables into factors. This technique is used here to reduce the large numbers of geometric measures of different urban layout maps to a smaller, more manageable number of factors or descriptive indicators.
Mathematical Software and Exploratory Data Analysis

Developments in data analysis in recent years have placed increasing emphasis on flexible exploration, and data on the behavior of algorithms and their implementations often responds favorably to such an approach. Many new data-analytic techniques make a wide range of demands on available numerical algorithms, and software components must be packaged in a way which provides flexible control over the data-analysis process. This paper examines a few of the ways in which mathematical software and exploratory data analysis should interact to satisfy their respective needs.
Moderate, Short-Term, Local Hyperglycemia Attenuates Forearm Endothelium-Dependent Vasodilation After Transient Ischemia-Reperfusion in Human Volunteers.

Objective Acute hyperglycemia causes endothelial dysfunction in diabetic patients, abolishes ischemic pre- and postconditioning, and is an independent predictor of adverse outcome after myocardial infarction in nondiabetic patients. Its effects on endothelial-dependent vasodilation are controversial in healthy subjects. The authors studied the effect of moderate short-term local hyperglycemia on forearm endothelium-dependent vasodilation in healthy volunteers. Design Randomized, crossover, blinded, 2-visit, pilot design. Setting Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Participants Five male and 3 female healthy adult volunteers (23±4 years; height 171±13 cm; weight 66±9 kg; [mean±standard error of the mean]). Interventions At each visit, volunteers received an infusion through a brachial artery catheter of either 0.9% saline or dextrose in the experimental, non-dominant arm, to establish mild forearm hyperglycemia. Hemodynamics and forearm blood flow (FBF; plethysmography) were measured at baseline, during brachial artery infusions of acetylcholine in consecutive increments (5, 10, and 15 μg/min), before ischemia (20 min, blood pressure cuff at 200 mmHg), and after 15 minutes of reperfusion. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations were determined from venous samples. The effect of duration of intra-arterial dextrose on FBF was examined. Measurements and Main Results Dextrose increased steady-state blood glucose concentration in the experimental but not the control arm (dominant arm). Dextrose increased FBF compared with saline (4.5±0.5 v 2.6±0.4 mL/min/100 g of tissue, respectively). Acetylcholine caused similar increases in FBF in the absence and presence of dextrose (+239±90% v+203±75%, respectively, during 15 μg/min). The duration of dextrose did not affect this acetylcholine-induced vasodilation. Acetylcholine-stimulated increases in FBF were attenuated in dextrose-treated versus saline after reperfusion (+180±18% v+257±53%, respectively, during 10 μg/min). Interventions in the experimental arm did not affect FBF in the control arm. Conclusion These results indicated that moderate, short-term, local hyperglycemia induced by intra-arterial administration of dextrose attenuated forearm endothelial-dependent vasodilation after ischemia-reperfusion injury in healthy volunteers.
Chemical and Microbial Changes in Dehulled Confectionery Sunflower Kernels during Storage Under Controlled Conditions

Samples of freshly dehulled, confectionery sunflower kernels were adjusted to moistures of 5.2, 10.5, and 14.7%, sealed in plastic bags and stored at 35, 75, and 95 F (1.7, 23.9, and 35 C) for 12 weeks. At 2-week intervals aliquots were removed for flavor, chemical, and microbiological analyses. Acid values of oil extracted from stored kernels increased with temperature, moisture content, and storage time. At acid values of 4 or higher, kernels had a sour flavor. In general, the peroxide value decreased with increased moisture at each temperature and storage period. The initial aerobic plate count of the sunflower kernels was log 6.83/g, the Enterobacteriaceae count was log 6.15/g, and the yeast and mold count was log 3.65/g. From countable plates randomly selected, about 80% of the Enterobacteriaceae were identified as Enterobacter agglomerans (Erwinia herbicola). At 35 F microbial counts generally changed little. At 75 F, however, counts decreased rapidly; and at 95 F, yeast and mold counts of 14.7% moi...
J. C. Penney: Reinventing Fair and Square Deals (a)

The new CEO and the new president of the J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP), invigorate the company with a new pricing strategy based on “Everyday Fair Prices.” Is the initial market reaction an indication of likely success? This first part of a two-part case contextualizes the initiative and provides a means of exploring differentiation in an evolving market. Excerpt UVA-M-0835 Jul. 20, 2012 J. C. PENNEY: REINVENTING FAIR AND SQUARE DEALS (A) Pricing is actually a pretty simple and straightforward thing. —Ron Johnson, J. C. Penney CEO The big week—and a troubling fiscal year—had finally come to a close. Two days earlier, on January 25, 2012, at a well-orchestrated, Apple-like event on a pier overlooking the Hudson River in New York City, Ron Johnson and Michael Francis, the newly appointed CEO and president of the J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP), respectively, had outlined their innovative new plan to invigorate the company: a three-pronged pricing strategy based on “Everyday Fair Prices.” There would be no more coupons, no more holiday sales that forced customers to get to the store in the early hours of the morning, just “Fair and Square” pricing. The new pricing strategy would take effect in all JCP stores across the nation on February 1, 2012, only a few days away. . . .
Near-field radiative thermoelectric energy converters: a review

Radiative thermoelectric energy converters, which include thermophotovoltaic cells, thermoradiative cells, electroluminescent refrigerators, and negative electroluminescent refrigerators, are semiconductor p-n devices that either generate electricity or extract heat from a cold body while exchanging thermal radiation with their surroundings. If this exchange occurs at micro or nanoscale distances, power densities can be greatly enhanced and near-field radiation effects may improve performance. This review covers the fundamentals of near-field thermal radiation, photon entropy, and nonequilibrium effects in semiconductor diodes that underpin device operation. The development and state of the art of these near-field converters are discussed in detail, and remaining challenges and opportunities for progress are identified.
Recommended practices for the specification of multi-agent systems requirements

The lack of process standardization in the development of multi-agent systems (MAS) causes a great deal of difficulty for developers in addressing major development phases, such as requirements analysis. Instead, such MAS infrastructure is generally attended to in an ad-hoc fashion and important aspects of requirements analysis are often neglected altogether. The IEEE Std 830 model plays a key role in standardizing requirement specifications (SRS) for complex development of conventional software. Knowing that MAS are a natural and logical evolution of the conventional software development paradigms, we believe that the MAS requirement phase can thoroughly benefit from applying such a specific standard model in such a way that results in a high-quality and more accepted SRS artifact. Our purpose in this paper is to utilize and extend the IEEE Std 830-2009 model to specify requirements of multi-agent systems.
A pilot study to assess the pharmacy impact of implementing a chemotherapy-induced nausea or vomiting collaborative disease therapy management in the outpatient oncology clinics.

BackgroundCollaborative drug therapy management is a formal partnership between a pharmacist and physician to allow the pharmacist to manage a patient’s drug therapy. Literature supports collaborat...
Passenger Lymphocyte Syndrome

Passenger lymphocyte syndrome (PLS) is a well-described but infrequent complication of hematopoietic progenitor cell and solid organ transplantation that occurs when viable donor B lymphocytes present within an allograft are passively transferred to a recipient during transplantation. These donor lymphocytes produce antibodies, which mount an immune response directed primarily against recipient red blood cell (RBC) antigens, resulting in antibody-mediated RBC destruction. Donor-derived antiplatelet antibodies can also result in transient thrombocytopenia. Factors affecting the degree of hemolysis or thrombocytopenia are the quantity of transplanted lymphoid tissue present within the transplanted organ, the antibody titer in the donor before transplantation, and the rate of increasing antibody titer in the recipient following transplantation. Hemolysis due to PLS following transplantation can be severe but is generally self-limited.
Approximation Algorithms for Directed Width Parameters

Treewidth of an undirected graph measures how close the graph is to being a tree. Several problems that are NP-hard on general graphs are solvable in polynomial time on graphs with bounded treewidth. Motivated by the success of treewidth, several directed analogues of treewidth have been introduced to measure the similarity of a directed graph to a directed acyclic graph (DAG). Directed treewidth, Dwidth, DAG-width, Kelly-width and directed pathwidth are some such parameters. In this paper, we present the first approximation algorithms for all these five directed width parameters. For directed treewidth and D-width we achieve an approximation factor of O( √ log n). For DAG-width, Kelly-width and directed pathwidth we achieve an O(log 3 2n) approximation factor. Our algorithms are constructive, i.e., they construct the decompositions associated with these parameters. The width of these decompositions are within the above mentioned factor of the corresponding optimal width.
Plasmonic resonant nonlinearity and synthetic optical properties in gold nanorod suspensions

We experimentally demonstrate self-trapping of light, as a result of plasmonic resonant optical nonlinearity, in both aqueous and organic (toluene) suspensions of gold nanorods. The threshold power for soliton formation is greatly reduced in toluene as opposed to aqueous suspensions. It is well known that the optical gradient forces are optimized at off-resonance wavelengths at which suspended particles typically exhibit a strong positive (or negative) polarizability. However, surprisingly, as we tune the wavelength of the optical beam from a continuous-wave (CW) laser, we find that the threshold power is reduced by more than threefold at the plasmonic resonance frequency. By analyzing the optical forces and torque acting on the nanorods, we show theoretically that it is possible to align the nanorods inside a soliton waveguide channel into orthogonal orientations by using merely two different laser wavelengths. We perform a series of experiments to examine the transmission of the soliton-forming beam itself, as well as the polarization transmission spectrum of a low-power probe beam guided along the soliton channel. It is found that the expected synthetic anisotropic properties are too subtle to be clearly observed, in large part due to Brownian motion of the solvent molecules and a limited ordering region where the optical field from the self-trapped beam is strong enough to overcome thermodynamic fluctuations. The ability to achieve tunable nonlinearity and nanorod orientations in colloidal nanosuspensions with low-power CW laser beams may lead to interesting applications in all-optical switching and transparent display technologies.
Crossing the line: early Creole Novels and Anglophone Caribbean culture in the age of emancipation

During the eighteenth century, many of the prevailing representations of West Indian creoles and planters portrayed them as lascivious, uneducated beasts—contaminated by the stain of slavery and pr...
Cloud Computing [Guest editorial]

The guest editors discuss this special issue on cloud computing, exploring how cloud platforms and abstractions can be effectively used to support real-world science and engineering applications.
Setup uncertainties and the optimal imaging schedule in the prone position whole breast radiotherapy.

To investigate the setup uncertainties and to establish an optimal imaging schedule for the prone-positioned whole breast radiotherapy. Twenty prone-positioned breast patients treated with tangential fields from 2015 to 2017 were retrospectively enrolled in this study. The prescription dose for the whole breast treatment was 266 cGy × 16 for all of the patients and the treatments were delivered with the SSD setup technique. At every fraction of treatment, patient was firstly set up based on the body localization tattoos. MV portal imaging was then taken to confirm the setup; if discrepancy (> 3 mm) was found between the portal images and corresponding plan images, the patient positioning was adjusted accordingly with couch movement. Based on the information acquired from the daily tattoo and portal imaging setup, three sets of data, named as weekly imaging guidance (WIG), no daily imaging guidance (NIG), and initial 3 days then weekly imaging guidance (3 + WIG) were sampled, constructed, and analyzed in reference to the benchmark of the daily imaging guidance (DIG). We compared the setup uncertainties, target coverage (D95, Dmax), V5 of the ipsilateral lung, the mean dose of heart, the mean and max dose of the left-anterior-descending coronary artery (LAD) among the 4 imaging guidance (IG) schedules. Relative to the daily imaging guidance (IG) benchmark, the NIG schedule led to the largest residual setup uncertainties; the uncertainties were similar for the WIG and 3 + WIG schedules. Little variations were observed for D95 of the target among NIG, DIG and WIG. The target Dmax also exhibited little changes among all the IG schedules. While V5 of the ipsilateral lung changed very little among all 4 schedules, the percent change of the mean heart dose was more pronounced; but its absolute values were still within the tolerance. However, for the left-sided breast patients, the LAD dose could be significantly impacted by the imaging schedules and could potentially exceed its tolerance criteria in some patients if NIG, WIG and 3 + WIG schedules were used. For left-side whole breast treatment in the prone position using the SSD treatment technique, the daily imaging guidance can ensure dosimetric coverage of the target as well as preventing critical organs, especially LAD, from receiving unacceptable levels of dose. For right-sided whole breast treatment in the prone position, the weekly imaging setup guidance appears to be the optimal choice.
Consistent Methodological Errors Observed in Single-Case Studies: Suggested Guidelines:

This article reviews current and consistent methodological problems that occur in research articles using single-case experimental designs. Problems discussed include (1) the use of pre- and quasi-...
GLCM-CNN: Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix based CNN Model for Polyp Diagnosis

The accurate identification of malignant polyp on colon CT is critical for the early detection of colorectal cancer, which also offers patients the best chance of cure. Deep learning based methods, especially convolution neural network (CNN) based methods, have been proposed for computer-aided polyp diagnosis due to CNN's strength in feature learning. However, most of the current CNN models focus on the 2D information or use multiple 2D slices as a 2.5D model input, which does not consider the $3D$ spatial information. In this work, we propose a CNN based 3D polyp diagnosis method. The proposed method encodes the $3D$ information into a multi-dimensional gray-level co-occurrence tensor. Each dimension represents one sampling view in the 3D space and 13 dimensions are used in this work. This model takes advantage of the co-occurrence matrix which is a good texture indicator to differentiate the tissue textures between benign and malignant. Additionally, our proposed method solves the problem of input size selection due to huge variants of polyp size and could be extended to other applications. Experiment results demonstrated that our method achieves an AUC of 0.93, which outperforms 2D (AUC 0.57) and 3D (AUC 0.72) convolution neural network solutions and the current state-of-the-art method (AUC 0.86).
Breast Cancer Chemoprevention: A Practical Guide for the Primary Care Provider.

Several organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and the United States Preventive Services Task Force, recommend incorporation ...
Association of Decreased Postsurgical Opioid Prescribing With Patients' Satisfaction With Surgeons.

Importance Opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Several studies have shown that surgeons overprescribe opioids, and guidelines for appropriate opioid prescribing are available. Concern about patient-reported satisfaction scores may be a barrier to surgeons adopting guideline-directed prescribing. Objective To determine whether decreased opioid prescribing is associated with a decrease in patient-reported satisfaction with their surgeon. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective analysis of clinician satisfaction scores at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center obtained in 2 periods: 1 before (period A) and 1 after (period B) an educational intervention that resulted in decreased opioid prescribing. The analysis included 11 surgeons who performed 5 common outpatient general surgical operations on 996 patients. Data were analyzed between March and August 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures Patient-reported overall satisfaction rating of the surgeon (scale, 0-10). This was collected by a nonstudy-related, routine general institutional survey of approximately 40% of all outpatient encounters. Results Of the total number of patients, 67% were women (667 of 996), and the mean patient age was 58 years. Comparing period A with B, the proportion of patients prescribed opioids decreased from 90.2% (n = 367 of 407) to 72.8% (n = 429 of 589) (P Conclusions and Relevance Despite a marked decrease in the proportion of patients receiving opioids and in the number of pills prescribed, there was no significant change in clinician satisfaction ratings.
An FEA Needs Model Evaluation of the Marching Band Uniform

The purpose of this study was to identify the functional, expressive, and aesthetic needs of marching band uniform wearers using Lamb and Kallal's (1992) FEA Consumer Needs Model, and to recommend design improvements based on these needs. A quota sample of marching band members at the University of Delaware participated in a focus group which yielded qualitative results. Participants were asked to perform specific actions while wearing the University of Delaware marching band uniform and answer semi-structured, open-ended questions regarding the FEA criteria. The functional needs identified include donning/doffing, comfort, fit and range of motion, and temperateness and breathability. The expressive needs identified include identity and pride, and performance and self-esteem. The aesthetic needs identified include story-telling and use of design elements. Based on the wearer needs assessment, the researcher recommends athletic fabrics, streamlined silhouettes, school colors/logos, streamlined fit, transitional pieces, and metallic/light effects to improve the marching band uniform.
Optimal Group Testing: Structural Properties and Robust Solutions, with Application to Public Health Screening

We provide a novel regret-based robust formulation of the Dorfman group size problem considering the realistic setting where the prevalence rate is uncertain, establish key structural properties of...
When to Abandon the Arthroscopic Bankart Repair: A Systematic Review:

Context:Bone loss is a major factor in determining surgical choice in patients with anterior glenohumeral instability. Although bone loss has been described, there is no consensus on glenoid, humer...
Potent Synergistic Interactions between Lopinavir and Azole Antifungal Drugs against Emerging Multidrug-Resistant Candida auris.

The limited therapeutic options and the recent emergence of multidrug-resistant Candida species present a significant challenge to human medicine and underscore the need for novel therapeutic approaches. Drug repurposing appears as a promising tool to augment the activity of current azole antifungals, especially against multidrug-resistant Candida auris In this study, we evaluated the fluconazole chemosensitization activities of 1,547 FDA-approved drugs and clinical molecules against azole-resistant C. auris This led to the discovery that lopinavir, an HIV protease inhibitor, is a potent agent capable of sensitizing C. auris to the effect of azole antifungals. At a therapeutically achievable concentration, lopinavir exhibited potent synergistic interactions with azole drugs, particularly with itraconazole against C. auris (fractional inhibitory concentration index [ΣFICI] ranged from 0.04 to 0.09). Additionally, the lopinavir/itraconazole combination enhanced the survival rate of C. auris-infected Caenorhabditis elegans by 90% and reduced the fungal burden in infected nematodes by 88.5% (P < 0.05) relative to that of the untreated control. Furthermore, lopinavir enhanced the antifungal activity of itraconazole against other medically important Candida species, including C. albicans, C. tropicalis, C. krusei, and C. parapsilosis Comparative transcriptomic profiling and mechanistic studies revealed that lopinavir was able to significantly interfere with the glucose permeation and ATP synthesis. This compromised the efflux ability of C. auris and consequently enhanced the susceptibility to azole drugs, as demonstrated by Nile red efflux assays. Altogether, these findings present lopinavir as a novel, potent, and broad-spectrum azole-chemosensitizing agent that warrants further investigation against recalcitrant Candida infections.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of toxoplasmosis among transplant recipients at two US academic medical centers.

Toxoplasma gondii can cause severe opportunistic infection in immunocompromised individuals, but diagnosis is often delayed. We conducted a retrospective review of solid organ transplant (SOT) and hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients with toxoplasmosis between 2002 and 2018 at two large US academic transplant centers. Patients were identified by ICD-9 or ICD-10 toxoplasmosis codes, positive Toxoplasma polymerase chain reaction test result, or pathologic diagnosis. Data were collected regarding transplant type, time from transplant to toxoplasmosis diagnosis, clinical and radiographic features, and mortality at 30 and 90 days. Twenty patients were identified: 10 HSCT recipients (80% allogeneic HSCT) and 10 SOT recipients (60% deceased donor renal transplants). Rejection among SOT recipients (70%) and graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis among HSCT recipients (50%) were frequent. Median time from transplant to toxoplasmosis diagnosis was longer for SOT than HSCT (1385 vs. 5 days, P-value .002). Clinical manifestations most commonly were encephalitis (65%), respiratory failure (40%), renal failure (40%), and distributive shock (40%). Cohort 30-day mortality was 45%, and 90-day mortality was 55%. Diagnosis was postmortem in 25% of the cohort. Further evaluation of toxoplasmosis screening is needed for noncardiac SOT recipients, HSCT recipients with GVHD, and periods of increased net immunosuppression.
Abstract P112: Impact Of Look Back Period Length On Associations When Using Electronic Health Record Data For Epidemiologic Research

Introduction: Studies using electronic health record (EHR) data often have a limited number of years available for analysis. There is a trade off between the look back period length used to define ...
Increasing sensitivity to olaparib through inhibition of discoidin domain receptor 2 (DDR2) in homologous-recombination proficient ovarian cancer models

Objectives: Discoidin Domain Receptor 2 (DDR2) is a tyrosine kinase receptor which binds the most common extracellular matrix protein, fibrillar collagen type 1. DDR2 expression is critical for invasion and migration of ovarian cancer tumor cells, making DDR2 a potential target for new treatments. This study aimed to determine whether genetic inactivation of DDR2 in ovarian cancer cells would increase sensitivity to treatment with PARP inhibitor. Methods: Two ovarian cancer cells lines, ES2 and COV362, were used for in vitro assays. Stable hairpin control and DDR2 knockdowns (shSCRM and shDDR2) were used for ES2 and transient small interfering RNA knockdown of DDR2 (siControl and siDDR2) were used for COV362. Homologous recombination (HR) status was determined by quantification of RAD-51 foci relative to controls using immunofluorescence after irradiation. Cell viability and survival after treatment with olaparib was quantified using MTS assays and clonogenics. The DNA damage response after treatment with olaparib was analyzed using immunofluorescence. In vivo studies to evaluate the sensitivity to olaparib in the presence or absence of DDR2 expression were performed in nude mice after intraperitoneal injection with ES2shSCRM or shDDR2 cells. Results: ES2 and COV362 cells were found to have a 2-fold increase in RAD51 foci after irradiation indicating HR proficiency. DDR2 genetically inactivated cells (ES2shDDR2) were found to be more HR deficient than DDR2 expressing cells (ES2shSCRM) which remained HR proficient (0.80 vs 4.78 relative RAD51 foci per cell). We found that genetic inactivation of DDR2 in the ES2s and COV362s led to increased sensitivity to olaparib with an 80% (15uM vs 73uM) and 68% (62uM vs 195uM) reduction in IC50s, respectively, compared to DDR2 expressing cells. Additionally, ES2shDDR2 cells had decreased cell survival by clonogenic assay after treatment with olaparib compared to ES2shSCRM cells as measured by absorbance (0.64 vs 0.80, p=0.005). We found that DNA damage and the repair response was altered in DDR2 genetically inactivated cells treated with olaparib with an increase in gamma-H2AX (8 vs 6 foci per cell, p Conclusions: DDR2 knockdown sensitizes HR proficient ovarian cancer cells to treatment with PARP inhibitor in both in vitro and in vivo models through a mechanism of induced HR deficiency and increased DNA damage. Future experiments will explore whether a DDR2 inhibitor can improve sensitivity to PARP inhibitor in HR proficient ovarian cancer models.
Special Attention to the Self: a Mechanistic Model of Patient RB’s Lost Feeling of Ownership

Patient RB has a peculiar memory impairment wherein he experiences his memories in rich contextual detail, but claims to not own them. His memories do not feel as if they happened to him. In this paper, I provide an explanatory model of RB’s phenomenology, the self-attentional model. I draw upon recent work in neuroscience on self-attentional processing and global workspace models of conscious recollection to show that RB has a self-attentional deficit that inhibits self-bias processes in broadcasting the contents of episodic memories to the global workspace. Typically, self-related contents enjoy a higher salience level than other-related contents. Elimination of bias toward self-related contents diminishes the salience of those contents to the level of other-related contents. Because the typical high salience of self-related content is necessary for the feeling of ownership, RB lacks the feeling of ownership. I also discuss potential applications of the self-attentional model to other psychopathological cases.
Fluoride Prescribing Behaviors for Medicaid-Enrolled Children in Oregon

Introduction This study aims to examine physician and dentist fluoride prescription patterns and identify the factors associated with fluoride prescriptions for Medicaid-enrolled children. The hypothesis is that dentists will be the primary prescribers of fluoride and that caries risk factors will be associated with fluoride prescriptions. Methods Data were analyzed for Oregon children aged 0–17 years enrolled in Medicaid for ≥300 days in both 2016 and 2017. The outcome variable was receiving a fluoride prescription in 2017. A 2-tailed chi-square test was used to assess fluoride prescribing differences between physicians and dentists. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the likelihood of receiving a fluoride prescription in 2017 and to generate ORs. Model covariates included child's age, sex, race, ethnicity, Medicaid plan type, previous fluoride prescription, previous restorative dental treatment, and water fluoridation status. Results Of 200,169 Medicaid-enrolled children, 6.7% (n=13,337) received fluoride prescriptions. Physicians were >3 times as likely to prescribe fluoride as dentists (73.4% vs 23.0%, p Conclusions Physicians play an important role in prescribing fluoride to Medicaid-enrolled children, especially those at increased dental caries risk. Additional research is needed on strategies to ensure that all high-risk children have an opportunity to benefit from prescription fluoride.
Digital Mass Control for an Ion Microprobe Mass Analyzer

With a double-focussing mass spectrometer as employed in Applied Research Laboratories Ion Microprobe Mass Analyzer (IMMA) and other SIMS instruments various atomic mass numbers are scanned by varying the magnetic field of the mass spectrometer. The relationship between the mass number M and the magnetic field B is given by $${\rm{M = C}}{{\rm{B}}^{\rm{2}}}$$ where C is a constant. Also for constant size of the final slit, the mass resolution is given by: $${\rm{M/\Delta M = R}}$$ where R is typically 300-500. The magnetic field is varied by changing the current to the coils driving the magnet and the field is controlled in the usual case by comparing the output of a Hall Sensor with a reference voltage which is varied according to mass number. This system has two complications which are apparent from the foregoing equation, namely: 1) a non-linear function must be used to program the current drive to the magnet for various mass numbers, and, 2) the control system must provide for greater resolution at low mass numbers.
Regulatory T cells and the eye.

Immune-mediated inflammation can be tolerated in many organs, however in the eye it has devastating consequences, as many of the tissues in the visual axis have limited or no capacity for regenerati
Calcineurin B Homologous Protein Isoform 2 Expression and Function in Low Serum Conditions in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

The Na+-H+ exchanger isoform 1 (NHE1) is a key regulator of cell proliferation, migration and invasion in cells from a variety of solid tumors including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Calcineurin B Homologous Proteins (CHP1 and CHP2) appear to be essential cofactors to support NHE1 function. CHP2 expression is elevated in tumor cells. This elevated expression supports cell proliferation and tumor formation. To evaluate the role of CHP2 and NHE1 in NSCLC progression we use three cell lines. H1299 cells are a human NSCLC carcinoma cell line. H1299 CHP2KD is a modified H1299 cell line that lacks CHP2 expression and H1299 NHE1KD which lacks NHE1 expression. We have assessed the expression of CHP1, CHP2 and NHE1 in normal (10%) and low (0.5%) serum conditions through western blot analysis. While CHP1 and NHE1 expression does not change over 48 hours of low serum exposure in any cell line, CHP2 expression increases in both H1299 and H1299 NHE1KD cells. To investigate functionality, we evaluated in vitr...
The Enzymic Synthesis of l-Cysteine in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium

Abstract A two-step pathway from l-serine to l-cysteine is described in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. Serine transacetylase, the first enzyme in this pathway, catalyzes the formation of O-acetyl-l-serine from l-serine and acetyl coenzyme A and is inhibited by l-cysteine. The enzyme has been purified approximately 1000-fold and has a spectrum similar to that of pyridoxal phosphate-containing enzymes. O-Acetylserine sulfhydrylase, the second enzyme in the pathway, catalyzes the formation of l-cysteine from O-acetyl-l-serine and sulfide. It is repressed in Salmonella grown on l-cysteine and derepressed when grown on l-djenkolic acid. Cys E mutants in S. typhimurium contain low or undetectable levels of serine transacetylase and variable levels of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase.
Modeling health care policy alternatives

Background. Computer models played an important role in the health care reform debate, and they will continue to be used during implementation. However, current models are limited by inputs, including available data. Aim. We review microsimulation and cell-based models. For each type of model, we discuss data requirements and other factors that may affect its scope. We also discuss how to improve models by changing data collection and data access procedures. Materials and Methods. We review the modeling literature, documentation on existing models, and data resources available to modelers. Results. Even with limitations, models can be a useful resource. However, limitations mustbeclearlycommunicated. Modelingapproachescouldbeimprovedbyenhancing existinglongitudinaldata, improvingaccess tolinkeddata, and developingdata focused on health care providers. Discussion. Longitudinal datasets could be improved by standardizing questions across surveys or by fielding supplemental panels. Funding could be provided to identify causal parameters and to clarify ranges of effects reported in the literature. Finally,a forum for routine communication between modelers and policy makers could be established. Conclusion. Modeling can provide useful information for health care policy makers. Thus, investing in tools to improve modeling capabilities should be a high priority.
Optimization of white matter fiber tractography with diffusional kurtosis imaging

Diffusional kurtosis imaging (DKI) is a clinically feasible diffusion MRI technique for white matter (WM) fiber tractography (FT) with the ability to directly resolve intra-voxel crossing fibers by means of the kurtosis diffusion orientation distribution function (dODF). Here we expand on previous work by exploring properties of the kurtosis dODF and their subsequent effects on WM FT for in vivo human data. For comparison, the results are contrasted with fiber bundle orientation estimates provided by the diffusion tensor, which is the primary quantity obtained from diffusion tensor imaging. We also outline an efficient method for performing DKI-based WM FT that can substantially decrease the computational requirements. The recommended method for implementing the kurtosis ODF is demonstrated to optimize the reproducibility and sensitivity of DKI for detecting crossing fibers while reducing the occurrence of non-physically-meaningful, negative values in the kurtosis dODF approximation. In addition, DKI-based WM FT is illustrated for different protocols differing in image acquisition times from 48 to 5.3 min.
Iorio's "high-precision measurement" of frame-dragging with the Mars Global Surveyor

In two analyses of orbital data from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, Iorio [1, 2] has claimed confirmation of the fram e-dragging effect predicted by general relativity. Initially to an acc uracy of 6%, and now 0.5%, exceeding the expected accuracy of NASA’s Gravity Probe B. It is shown his results come from misinterpreting the MGS data and then altering a key time period.