cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CRIES: a new neonatal postoperative pain measurement score. Initial testing of validity and reliability

We have developed a neonatal pain assessment tool CRIES. The tool is a ten point scale similar to the APGAR score (Apgar 1953). It is an acronym of five physiological and behavioural variables previously shown to be associated with neonatal pain. C--Crying; R--Requires increased oxygen administration; I--Increased vital signs; E--Expression; S--Sleeplessness. We have tested CRIES for validity and reliability. This report is the result of that testing. We have found CRIES to be valid, reliable and well accepted by neonatal nurses.
Bisimulation as congruence in the behavioral setting

We cast the notion of bisimulation in the Willems' behavioral setting. We show that in this setting, bisimulation is also a congruence, as it is known in the field of concurrent processes. Bisimulation is a congruence means if A and A′ are bisimilar systems, then A ∥ B and A′ ∥ B are also bisimilar. Here, the operator ∥ denotes systems composition, and B is any other system that is composed with A or A′.
An Information Theoretic Approach to Macromolecular Modeling: II. Force Fields

In this article, we explore the information content of molecular force-field calculations. We make use of exhaustive lattice models of molecular conformations and reduced alphabet sequences to determine the relative resolving power of pairwise interaction-based force fields. We find that sequence-specific interactions that operate over longer distances offer greater amounts of information than nearest-neighbor or non-sequence-specific interactions. In a companion article in this issue, we explored the information content of sequence alignment procedures and the calculation of gap penalties. Both articles have implications for protein and nucleic-acid computations.
Sildenafil increases sympathetically mediated vascular tone in humans.

Sildenafil citrate (Viagra, Revatio) is a selective inhibitor of cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase-type-5 (PDE-5) approved for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension.1–3 Inhibition of PDE-5 prolongs the action of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, resulting in enhanced smooth muscle relaxation and vasodilation in the corpus cavernosum, in vessels in the lungs, and in vessels elsewhere in the body.4 Numerous studies have found that PDE-5 inhibition improves endothelial function.5–10 In healthy subjects, local intra-arterial administration of sildenafil into the brachial artery produces a modest dose-dependent increase in forearm blood flow (FBF), suggesting that PDE-5 plays a role in tonic constriction of resistance vessels.11 Sildenafil also increases endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilation in young smokers and nonsmokers.12 Oral sildenafil, however, does not appear to affect venodilation or flow-mediated dilatation of conduit vessels.13 Recent evidence demonstrates that sildenafil also enhances cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)–mediated vasodilation in healthy subjects, demonstrating ability to modulate action and effects of other PDE isozymes.14 The therapeutic vasodilatory potential of PDE-5 inhibitors is being widely investigated. In addition to use for the treatment of erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension, PDE-5 inhibitors are being investigated for use with other urologic and cardiovascular indications.15 Studies have suggested that PDE-5 inhibitors may have a role in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure.16,17 However, PDE-5 inhibition has been shown in animal and human studies to increase sympathetic drive,18,19 which could limit the cardiovascular benefits. Our laboratory found that acute PDE-5 inhibition increased muscle sympathetic nerve activity and plasma norepinephrine (NE) in healthy volunteers.18 An animal study demonstrated that injection of sildenafil into the central nervous system (lateral cerebral ventricles) of rats significantly heightened sympathetic nerve activity that was not baroreflex mediated.19 In contrast, acute PDE-5 inhibition did not significantly increase NE spillover in patients with heart failure.20 It is possible that sympathetic activation after PDE-5 inhibition may cause vasoconstriction that attenuates vasodilatory actions. However, the consequences of sympathetic activation depend on the type of tissue innervated (e.g., muscle versus fat vs. skin) and the dominant receptor subtypes in those tissues. Specifically, it is not known if sildenafil-induced sympathetic activation increases alpha-adrenergic sympathetic vascular tone. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PDE-5 inhibition alters alpha-receptor sensitivity, beta-receptor sensitivity, and alpha-adrenergic sympathetic vascular tone in healthy, middle-aged men.
A compact, reconfigurable chamber for emulating severe multipath fading

This paper details a compact, reconfigurable channel emulator (CRCE) specifically designed to create severe, multipath fading channels. The CRCE is a chamber that, unlike anechoic or reverberation chambers, provides non-uniform fading profiles for wireless devices placed within. In particular, the contribution of this work is that the CRCE is capable of creating not only Ricean and Rayleigh fading profiles, but also hyper-Rayleigh fading which is found in airframes and similar cavity structures. The CRCE enables such fading to be created in the laboratory and in a repeatable fashion.
An approximate algorithm for solving oracular POMDPs

We propose a new approximate algorithm, LA- JIV (lookahead J-MDP information value), to solve oracular partially observable Markov decision problems (OPOMDPs), a special type of POMDP that rather than standard observations includes an "oracle" that can be consulted for full state information at a fixed cost. We previously introduced JIV (J-MDP information value) to solve OPOMDPs, an heuristic algorithm that utilizes the solution of the underlying MDP and weighs the value of consulting the oracle against the value of taking a state-modifying action. While efficient, JIV will rarely find the optimal solution. In this paper, we extend JIV to include lookahead, thereby permitting arbitrarily small deviation from the optimal policy's long-term expected reward at the cost of added computation time. The depth of the lookahead is a parameter that governs this tradeoff; by iteratively increasing this depth, we provide an anytime algorithm that yields an ever- improving solution. LA-JIV leverages the OPOMDP framework's unique characteristics to outperform general-purpose approximate POMDP solvers; in fact, we prove that LA-JIV is a poly-time approximation scheme (PTAS) with respect to the size of the state and observation spaces, thereby showing rigorously that OPOMDPs are "easier" than POMDPs. Finally, we substantiate our theoretical results via an empirical analysis of a benchmark OPOMDP instance.
Auditory cortical neurons in vitro: initial pharmacological studies.

Gopal KV, Gross GW. Auditory cortical neurons in vitro: initial pharmacological studies. Acta Otolaryngol (Stockh) 1996; 116:697-704.Dissociated embryonic tissue from murine auditory cortex formed spontaneously active monolayer networks in culture that were maintained for up to 113 days in vitro (div). as a first step in determining whether neurons retain histiotypic properties, we subjected a set of 10 cultures to a sequence of 4 synaptically active substances. the test sequence consisted of 50 μM bicuculline, 10 μM strychnine, 5 μM NMDA, and 20 μM GABA. Recordings were made for 5-30 min under each condition followed by complete medium changes. Six to 14 channels with the best signal-to-noise ratios were selected for analysis that consisted of continual chart recordings of integrated burst data and further analysis of short data segments after digitizing and processing. All networks showed spontaneous activity, but had greatly varying native activity ranging from organized, quasi-periodic bursting on all...
Fast opening switches carrying multimegampere currents and their application to high velocity shock waves in xenon

High-explosive-driven, magnetic-field generators can routinely produce currents on the order of hundreds of megamperes and magnetic fields of several megagauss. However, for applications such as shock tubes, these generators compress the magnetic flux much too slowly. Using a relatively small and inexpensive high-explosive-driven generator, we have developed an aluminum switch which is opened by the pressure produced by the high magnetic field. While approximately 10% of the magnetic flux leaks through the switch early, most of the current is switched from the aluminum to a half-atmosphere of xenon gas in a time less than 2/3 of a microsecond. The xenon is compressed approximately 3-fold, and this compressed sheath reaches a velocity of nearly 4 cm/μs. However, the sheath is less dense and less uniformly compressed than similar, slightly slower-moving sheaths driven by fast capacitor banks.
Treatment of multiple hereditary osteochondromas of the forearm in children: a study of surgical procedures.

We have evaluated the clinical outcomes of simple excision, ulnar lengthening and the Sauve-Kapandji procedure in the treatment of deformities of the forearm in patients with multiple hereditary osteochondromas. The medical records of 29 patients (33 forearms) were reviewed; 22 patients (22 forearms) underwent simple excision (four with ulnar lengthening) and seven the Sauve-Kapandji procedure. Simple excision increased the mean supination of the forearm from 63.2° to 75.0° (p = 0.049). Ulnar lengthening did not significantly affect the clinical outcome. The Sauve-Kapandji technique improved the mean pronation from 33.6° to 55.0° (p = 0.047) and supination from 70.0° to 81.4° (p = 0.045). Simple excision may improve the range of movement of the forearm but will not halt the progression of disease, particularly in younger patients. No discernable clinical or radiological improvement was noted with ulnar lengthening. The Sauve-Kapandji procedure combined with simple excision of osteochondromas can improve stability of the wrist, movement of the forearm and the radiological appearance.
Surgical clipping versus endovascular coiling for elderly patients presenting with subarachnoid hemorrhage

Background The comparative effectiveness of the two treatment options (surgical clipping and endovascular coiling) for ruptured cerebral aneurysms has not been studied in real-world practice in the USA. We investigated the association between the treatment method for ruptured cerebral aneurysms and outcomes. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study of elderly patients who underwent treatment for ruptured cerebral aneurysms from 2007 to 2012 using a 100% sample of Medicare fee-for-service claims data. An instrumental variable analysis was used to control for unmeasured confounding and to create pseudo-randomization on the treatment method. In sensitivity analysis, controlling only for measured confounding, we used propensity score conditioning and inverse probability weighting with mixed effects to account for clustering at the Hospital Referral Region (HRR) level. Results During the study period 3210 patients underwent treatment for ruptured cerebral aneurysms and met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 1206 (37.6%) had surgical clipping and 2004 (62.4%) had endovascular coiling. Instrumental variable analysis demonstrated no difference between coiling and clipping in 1-year postoperative mortality (OR 1.04; 95% CI 0.70 to 1.54), likelihood of discharge to rehabilitation (OR 1.07; 95% CI 0.72 to 1.58), or 30-day readmission rate (OR 1.44; 95% CI 0.70 to 1.87). However, clipping was associated with 2.7 days longer length of stay (LOS) (95% CI 0.45 to 4.99). The same associations were present in propensity score adjusted and inverse probability weighted models. Conclusions In a cohort of Medicare patients, we did not demonstrate a difference in mortality, rate of discharge to rehabilitation, and readmissions between clipping and coiling of ruptured cerebral aneurysms. Clipping was associated with a slightly longer LOS.
Regulation of Antimicrobial Peptide Gene Expression by Vitamin D

In the mid-2000s, several investigators discovered that antimicrobial peptide (AMP) gene expression was regulated by the vitamin D pathway. This revelation provided a potential explanation for the ability of vitamin D to enhance the antimicrobial activity of immune cells like macrophages that had been observed in the 1980s. Further, this finding provided a mechanism that could explain the observed importance of vitamin D in maintaining the epithelial barrier defenses of the skin and gut. As reviewed in this chapter, an abundance of in vitro evidence demonstrates the regulation of AMPs by vitamin D. Nevertheless, there is a lack of in vivo data that demonstrates just how this regulation plays a role in the immune response against infection. This is due, in part, to the current lack of a viable animal model as the regulation of antimicrobial peptide gene expression occurs only in humans and nonhuman primates. Generation of an appropriate animal model and/or carefully designed human and primate studies should provide a clearer picture of the role that this pathway plays in barrier function and the immune response.
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE | Oncology

The optimal treatment of cancer requires accurate diagnosis and the expertise of a team of specialists. This chapter describes the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and the potential risks of chemotherapy. Examples are given of cases where errors have resulted in the risk of harm, where there would be a potential claim for damages.
Penetration of shaped sonic boom noise into a flat ocean

For a flat ocean, the penetrating underwater sound field due to an incident N wave shaped sonic boom has been known since the late 1960s. In the present research the penetrating sound field due to an arbitrarily shaped sonic boom is constructed by 1.) finding the horizontal wavenumber spectrum of the sonic boom, and 2.) superimposing the resulting penetrating waves for each frequency component. A simple algorithm is given to construct such penetrating sonic boom waveforms using fast Fourier transforms. The method is implemented in a symbolic manipulation program but should be straightforward for coding in a conventional Fortran or C computer program. Using the procedure with N wave input data gives results in agreement with the known analytical solution for incident W wave sonic booms. As examples of the predicted underwater sound field from incident arbitrarily shaped sonic booms, the resulting waveforms are provided for booms produced by hypothetical High Speed Civil Transport configurations, as well as by experimentally measured booms produced by operating U.S. Air Force aircraft. One notes from these predictions that the underwater sound field below a depth of 16 m should be relatively insensitive to perturbations induced on the incident sonic booms due to mechanisms such as atmospheric turbulence.
A 3-D TRACTION RECONSTRUCTION METHOD USING BEM AND INTERNAL STRAIN DATA

An inverse algorithm is developed in this paper to reconstruct boundary tractions from internal strains in three-dimensional elasticity using the boundary element method. The solution of this type of inverse elasticity problem in the two-dimensional case was studied by the authors. However, this study demonstrates that the previously developed solution scheme for two-dimensional problems can not be directly used to solve three-dimensional problems because the numerical instability problem is more severe for three-dimensional case than for twodimensional case. In this study, the unknown traction is represented by a polynomial which is independent of the boundary element mesh. The introduction of the polynomial approximation has the combined effect of enforcing smoothing conditions and reducing the number of unknowns. Further, global equilibrium conditions are also enforced to reduce the error in the computed tractions. As a result, stable solutions are obtained even for input strains with significant amount of random errors. Several numerical examples are given to validate the proposed inverse algorithm.
Sunflower Seed as a Protein Supplement for Cows Grazing Winter Range

Abstract Seventy-four crossbred cows (538 kg) were used in a completely randomized design to evaluate the performance of gestating and/or lactating cows individually fed different protein supplements while grazing winter pasture in northeastern Colorado. Cows were fed one of the following supplements: 1) sunflower meal, negative control, (−SFM), 2) sunflower meal, positive control, (+SFM), 3) an equal combination of nitrogen from SFM and whole sunflower seeds (SFM:WS), and 4) whole sunflower seeds (WS). Supplements provided 273 g CP per head per d, and the negative control provided 136 g CP per head per d. Cows fed SFM:WS had higher (P=0.01) body condition scores during gestation and at calving than the other treatments. Over the duration of the trial, cows fed SFM:WS or WS had higher (P=0.06) body condition scores than those fed −SFM. Experiment 2 used four mature, cannulated cattle (618 kg) in a 4 x 4 Latin square arrangement of treatments to determine the effect of sunflower meal and whole seeds on intake and digestibility of brome grass hay (9.9%CP). Treatments were identical to those in experiment 1. Digestible DM intake was lowest (P
Differential modulation by cytokines of the gene products of the HLA-D region in melanoma cells with different metastatic potential

The differential expression of HLA class II antigens in primary and metastatic melanoma lesions and the association between level of expression of HLA class II antigens in melanoma lesions and clinical course of the disease (for review, see Ref. 1) have stimulated interest in the characterization of the regulatory mechanisms controlling the expression of HLA class II antigens and in their role in the biology of melanoma cells. These investigations are facilitated by the availability of melanoma cell lines with different metastatic potential and of recombinant immunomodulators which may affect the expression of the gene products of the HLA-D region.
Secondary consent to biospecimen use in a prostate cancer biorepository.

Background Biorepository research has substantial societal benefits. This is one of the few studies to focus on male willingness to allow future research use of biospecimens.
Whatever became of the schizophrenogenic mother

From the late 1940s to the early 1970s, the concept of the "schizophrenogenic mother" was popular in the psychiatric literature. Research later confirmed that the mother who could cause schizophrenia in her offspring did not exist. Such a blame-levelling concept, which had no basis in scientific fact, may have caused a great deal of harm. Sociocultural factors, coupled with developments in psychiatric theory, contributed to the genesis of the concept. Implications of this episode in the history of psychiatry are discussed.
Investigaciones en el ushnu mayor de Incahuasi, Cañete: contribuciones al estudio de los ushnus incas

The archaeological site of Incahuasi, located in the middle valley of the Canete river, in the south-central coast of Peru, has often been mentioned in the archaeological literature; however, studies in the settlement have been superficial to date. Recent research conducted in sector E have shown the constructive complexity of the ushnu in the main square of the site and at least three construction phases associated with changes in size and orientation have been identified. Excavations of the main ushnu show the complex occupation of the site, which was developed during a much longer time than those mentioned in colonial documents.
Influences of Peers, Friends, and Managers on Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a reflection of an employee's experience of work. Previous research has analyzed each employee's experience in terms of individual factors. We provide the first report of the influence on engagement of peers (who report to the same manager) and friends (who share social ties in an internal social network), using linear regression to model employee engagement in a sample of more than 44,000 employees. We show that an employee's engagement is associated with the engagement of her/his peers, friends, and manager. Our results contribute to analyses of social factors at work, and argue for revisions to existing theories of employee engagement.
Neuroendocrine Tumors and Lanreotide Depot: Clinical Considerations and Nurse and Patient Preferences.

Background Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) are a mainstay therapy for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome associated with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). They are effective for a range of gastroenteropancreatic NETs (GEP-NETs). Lanreotide depot (Somatuline®) is an SSA that is approved for the treatment of GEP-NETs to improve progression-free survival (PFS). Objectives The article reviews the efficacy, safety, and administration of lanreotide depot and relates those attributes to considerations and preferences of oncology nurses and their patients. Methods A review of the literature on the use of lanreotide for the treatment of NETs and carcinoid syndrome was conducted. In addition, the literature on drug delivery and routes of administration was surveyed to provide context for comparative studies related to clinical and patient preferences. Findings Lanreotide depot prolongs PFS and is well tolerated by patients who expressed satisfaction in the ability to control symptoms related to carcinoid syndrome. Nurses cited several benefits to using lanreotide depot in the clinical setting, including more time saved to address other patient care issues. Attributes of lanreotide depot-including its efficacy, safety and tolerability, dosing and administration, and cost-may contribute to healthcare decisions regarding the treatment and management of NETs.
Teaching Neural Networks to Classify the Authors of Texts

A lot of research has been done on author classification using various methodologies. One of them is using artificial neural networks. It is common that the number of descriptors used for author classification exceeds two. In this paper we propose a means of using artificial neural network to classify the authors of texts using only two descriptors: the number of words in a paragraph and a number of characters per word in a paragraph. The approach taken uses committee machines based on ensemble averaging. The basic idea is to solve the complex computational task by dividing it into a number of computationally simple tasks and then combining the solution of these tasks. The high performance achieved is because the committee is much better than the single best constituent in the isolation. Our results show that with the above approach we succeeded to correctly classify the works of Leo Tolstoy and George Orwell.
Experimental and computational surface hydrophobicity analysis of a non-enveloped virus and proteins

The physical characteristics of viruses needs to be understood in order to manipulate the interaction of viruses with host cells, as well as to create specific molecular recognition techniques to detect, purify, and remove viruses. Viruses are generally believed to be positively charged at physiological pH, but there are few other defining characteristics. Here, we have experimentally and computationally demonstrated that a non-enveloped virus is more hydrophobic than a panel of model proteins. Reverse-phase and hydrophobic interaction chromatography and ANS fluorescence determined the experimental hydrophobic strength of each entity. Computational surface hydrophobicity was calculated by the solvent exposed surface area of the protein weighted by the hydrophobicity of each amino acid. The results obtained indicate a strong correlation between the computational surface hydrophobicity and experimentally determined hydrophobicity using reverse-phase chromatography and ANS fluorescence. The surface hydrophobicity did not compare strongly to the weighted average of the amino acid sequence hydrophobicity. This demonstrates that our simple method of calculating the surface hydrophobicity gives general hydrophobicity information about proteins and viruses with crystal structures. In the process, this method demonstrated that porcine parvovirus (PPV) is more hydrophobic than the model proteins used in this study. This adds an additional dimension to currently known virus characteristics and can improve our manipulation of viruses for gene therapy targeting, surface adsorption and general understanding of virus interactions.
Spectral library‐based glycopeptide analysis–detection of circulating galectin‐3 binding protein in pancreatic cancer

Purpose : Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal disease characterized by its late diagnosis, poor prognosis and rapid development of drug resistance. Using the data independent acquisition (DIA) technique, we applied a spectral library-based proteomic approach to analyze N-glycosylated peptides in human plasma, in the context of pancreatic cancer study. Experimental design : We extended the application of DIA to the quantification of N-glycosylated peptides enriched from plasma specimens from a clinically well-defined cohort that consists of patients with early stage PDAC, chronic pancreatitis and healthy subjects. Results : The analytical platform was evaluated in light of its robustness for quantitative analysis of large scale clinical specimens. Our analysis indicated that the level of N-glycosylated peptides derived from galectin-3 binding proteins (LGALS3BP) were frequently elevated in plasma from PDAC patients, concurrent with the altered N-glycosylation of LGALS3BP observed in the tumor tissue. Conclusions and clinical relevance : The glycosylation form of LGALS3BP influences its function in the galectin network, which profoundly involves in cancer progression, immune response and drug resistance. As one of the major binding ligands of galectin network, discovery of site specific N-glycosylation changes of LGALS3BP in association of PDAC may provide useful clues to facilitate cancer detection or phenotype stratification. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
TIA1 is a gender-specific disease modifier of a mild mouse model of spinal muscular atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is caused by deletions or mutations of Survival Motor Neuron 1 (SMN1) gene. The nearly identical SMN2 cannot compensate for SMN1 loss due to exon 7 skipping. The allele C (C +/+) mouse recapitulates a mild SMA-like phenotype and offers an ideal system to monitor the role of disease-modifying factors over a long time. T-cell-restricted intracellular antigen 1 (TIA1) regulates SMN exon 7 splicing. TIA1 is reported to be downregulated in obese patients, although it is not known if the effect is gender-specific. We show that female Tia1-knockout (Tia1 −/−) mice gain significant body weight (BW) during early postnatal development. We next examined the effect of Tia1 deletion in novel C +/+/Tia1 −/− mice. Underscoring the opposing effects of Tia1 deletion and low SMN level on BW gain, both C +/+ and C +/+/Tia1 −/− females showed similar BW gain trajectory at all time points during our study. We observed early tail necrosis in C +/+/Tia1 −/− females but not in males. We show enhanced impairment of male reproductive organ development and exacerbation of the C +/+/Tia1 −/− testis transcriptome. Our findings implicate a protein factor as a gender-specific modifier of a mild mouse model of SMA.
Blessings and Curses: The Impact of the North Dakota Oil Boom on Offender Reentry and Reintegration into the Community

ABSTRACTThe current study utilized a natural experiment, an oil boom in North Dakota, to examine changes in offender reentry and recidivism outcomes. The quantitative study compared a sample of male offenders released from prisons within one state prior to the oil boom to a sample of male offenders released during the highest peak of the boom. Comparisons were made on variables known in the literature to be predictive of recidivism during the reentry process; these include risk, education, employment, housing, substance abuse, and treatment. Findings show the oil boom had a negative impact on offender reentry. Offenders released from prison during the height of the oil boom were more likely to recidivate than offenders released prior to the oil boom.
Virginity for Sale II: Queering Latina Heterosexuality in America’s Next Top Virginity Auction

In July 2014, we published our rhetorical analysis of the online discourses surrounding a young woman, Natalie Dylan, announcing an auction for her virginity through the Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal Nevada brothel, in Sexuality and Culture. Although Dylan did not follow through with her auction she still earned at least $125,000. Given the potential financial gain involved, is it any surprise that another virginity auction would follow? The Moonlite Bunny Ranch announced the “America’s Next Top Bunny Ranch Virgin” competition on their websites in 2015 and introduced the only contestant, Katherine Stone. For this paper, we conducted a critical rhetorical analysis of websites announcing her auction, Stone’s YouTube video explaining her motives, and online discourses that followed. Unlike Dylan, who claimed a third wave feminist perspective that emphasized her right to choose what to do with her own body as well as a right to profit from it, Stone explains, instead, her selfless motivation: she is doing it out of love for her family. Our analysis suggests the public discourses focus on her agency only insofar as she “chose” to auction off her virginity. However, these messages also focus on Stone’s motives—sacrificing for her family and providing for her own self-improvement. Taking into consideration the seemingly contradictory discourses that characterize Stone as both passive and active, self-sacrificing and ambitious, and the virgin and the whore, we suggest that the discourses surrounding her auction queer Latina heterosexuality.
Changes in sexual behaviors following diagnosis with HIV: patterns and correlates among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in China.

Effective secondary prevention of HIV infections requires knowledge about changes in sexual behaviors after diagnosis among people living with HIV (PLHIV), yet there is a dearth of literature assessing gender-specific patterns and correlates of such changes among heterosexual PLHIV in China. Data used in the current study were derived from a cross-sectional survey conducted from 2012 to 2013 among 1212 heterosexual sexually active PLHIV in Guangxi, China. Most participants reduced sexual frequency (71.2%), reduced or maintained the same number of sexual partners (96.6%), and increased or maintained same frequencies of condom use (80.6%). Gender difference was found in changes in sexual frequency, but not in the number of sexual partners or condom use. For males, decrease in sexual frequency was associated with having no desire to have children (OR = 2.03, 95% CI 1.20, 3.44), being virally suppressed (OR = 0.27, 95% CI 0.079, 0.94), and social support (OR = 1.44, 95% CI 1.06, 1.96). Health promoting behaviors in condom use (i.e., increased or maintained same frequencies of condom use) for males was associated with being 45 years of age or older (OR = 0.35, 95% CI 0.21, 0.61), having an HIV-negative main partner (OR = 1.80, 95% CI 1.11, 2.92), and physical health-related quality of life (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 1.00, 1.04). For females, decrease in sexual frequency was associated with having no desire to have children (OR = 1.58, 95% CI 1.01, 2.47). Health promoting behaviors in condom use for females was associated with having an HIV-negative main partner (OR = 3.24, 95% CI 1.63, 6.45) and social support (OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.57, 0.99). Future intervention efforts need to target PLHIV who need extra support in making health-improvement efforts and to facilitate gender-specific behavioral changes in sexual risk reduction after HIV diagnosis.
Internationale Produktpositionierung – Implementierung eines internationalen Positionierungsmodells in der Automobilindustrie im Spannungsfeld von Wissenschaft und Praxis

Unternehmen sehen sich heute einer Umwelt mit steigender Komplexitat und Dynamik gegenuber. In der Regel ist es das Ziel einer jeden Unternehmung, im Zeitalter der Globalisierung der Markte und der rasanten technologischen Entwicklung dauerhaft wettbewerbsfahig zu bleiben. Durch die zunehmende Internationalisierung stehen Unternehmen stetig wachsenden Kundenbedurfnissen, immer kurzer werdenden Produktlebenszyklen, enormem Wettbewerbsdruck und dem daraus resultierenden Kostendruck gegenuber. Daneben kampft vor allem der gesattigte Automobilmarkt mit Uberkapazitaten und Nachfrageruckgangen. Dies verlangt eine kontinuierliche innovative Anpassung an die veranderten Rahmenbedingungen sowie die Entwicklung globaler Produkt-und Vermarktungsstrategien. Dabei sehen sich die Hersteller bei der Einfuhrung neuer Produkte mit zentralen Herausforderungen konfrontiert. Produktinnovationen zeichnen sich einerseits durch ihre subjektive Neuigkeit aus und andererseits durch ihre Durchsetzungskraft – sowohl im Unternehmen als auch auf dem Markt. Insbesondere Letzteres bereitet den Unternehmen zunehmend Schwierigkeiten, da die Kundenakzeptanz einen entscheidenden Einflussfaktor hinsichtlich der Kaufbereitschaft darstellt und sich somit auf den Markterfolg des Produktes auswirkt.
PERCEIVED QUALITY OF LIFE AND POLITICAL ACTIVITY

ABSTRACT The translation of perceived quality of life into political action is a challenging research problem as well as a central focus of democratic theory. An argument for general theory is made and, within that context: (1) a model of perceived life quality is reconceptualized, (2) the domain of political activity is expanded, (3) a model linking perceived life quality to political activity is presented, and (4) variables explaining individual differences are briefly referenced. Advantages of complex models are discussed in conclusion.
Processes of Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation

The creation of new enterprises is at the basis of economic and social development (Wu 1989; Timmons 1999). It conditions developments from the results of basic and applied technological research and the industrialization and commercialization of innovations (Del giudice et al. 2013a, b; Carayannis and Korres 2013; Campbell and Carayannis 2013).
Surgical Techniques: Medial Claviculectomy for VTOS

Removal of the clavicle yields superb exposure of the entire axillary-­subclavian-inominate vein complex, and leads to the most complete exposure possible for venous reconstruction, bypass, or replacement. At least two-thirds of the clavicle should be resected to avoid problems from the residual lateral segment; if this is done, long-term functional outcome is excellent.
Swelling of individual nanodomains in hydrated block copolymer electrolyte membranes

In this work, we examine the swelling of nanostructured block copolymer electrolytes immersed in liquid water. A series of sulfonated polystyrene-b-polyethylene-b-polystyrene (S-SES) membranes having the same nominal chemical composition but two different morphologies are prepared by systematic changes in processing. We start with a membrane comprising a mixture of homopolymer polystyrene (hPS) and a polystyrene-b-polyethylene-b-polystyrene (SES) copolymer. hPS is subsequently selectively removed from the membrane and the polystyrene domains are sulfonated to give S-SES membranes. The morphology of the membranes is controlled by controlling ϕv, the volume fraction of hPS in the blended membrane. The morphology of the membranes was studied by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy (cryo-STEM), and cryogenic electron tomography. The overall domain swelling measured by SAXS decreases slightly at ϕv = 0.29; a crossover from lamellar to bicontinuous morphology is obtained at the same value of ϕv. The bicontinuous morphologies absorb more water than the lamellar morphologies. By contrast, the nanodomain swelling of the bicontinuous membrane (120%) is slightly less than that of the lamellar membrane (150%). Quantitative analysis of the STEM images and electron tomography was used to determine the swelling on the hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains due to exposure to water. The hydrophilic sulfonated polystyrene-rich domain spacing increases while the hydrophobic polyethylene domain spacing decreases when the membranes are hydrated. The extent of increase and decrease is not a strong function of ϕv.
Patch-Clamp Analysis of the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter.

Mitochondria accumulate significant amounts of calcium when cytosolic calcium is elevated above the resting levels of 50-100 nM during signaling events. This calcium uptake is primarily mediated by a macromolecular protein assembly called mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) that resides in the mitochondrial inner membrane. In 2004, we applied patch-clamp technique for the first time to record calcium currents from the mitochondrial inner membrane and proved unequivocally that MCU is a highly selective calcium channel. This chapter describes how patch-clamp technique can be applied to record the Ca2+ uniporter currents from the mitochondrial inner membrane, isolation of mitochondria from the heart tissue, and preparation of mitoplast using French Press. We also discuss advantages of patch-clamp technique as compared to other methods of determining mitochondrial uniporter activity and important considerations in applying patch-clamp technique to such a small subcellular organelle. With small variations in the bath and pipette solution composition, the same methodology can be applied to study any other currents (e.g., H+ or Cl-) from the mitochondrial inner membrane.
From Automobile to Autonomous: Does Self-Driving Improve Traffic Conditions?

In late 2016, Uber launched its autonomous car service in multiple cities in the US. While the debate has surrounded the safety performance of autonomous cars, limited empirical work with data supports has been devoted to investigating the effects of this new technology adoption on the society, especially on the traffic condition. This paper makes the first attempt to timely exploit this entry effect, using a difference-in-difference approach applied to a unique dataset, which contains traffic accident information from multiple government sources. We find a significant decreasing trend in traffic accident volumes after the entry of Uber autonomous car service. Further, our results suggest that this entry effect is mainly driven by the change in public reaction to the technology adoption, rather than the safety performance of the autonomous car itself. The positive effects of autonomous vehicles further support the argument in recent modeling studies (Mirzaeian et al. 2018). In sum, this pilot study contributes to the understanding of practical values in the adoption of autonomous car technology, as well as its societal effects from the transportation perspective.
Leveraging Multiple Theories of Change to Promote Reform: An Examination of the AAU STEM Initiative:

An emerging body of literature suggests that systemic efforts to change institutions are enhanced when change actors utilize multiple approaches or strategies to change that capitalize on their ind...
New Esophageal Cancer Indication for Pembrolizumab.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is now approved for patients with recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus whose tumors express programmed death ligand 1. A special diagnostic test to determine patient eligibility has also been approved.The drug carries the same ad
Subdivided Claws and the Clique-Stable Set Separation Property

Let \( {\mathscr{C}} \) be a class of graphs closed under taking induced subgraphs. We say that \( {\mathscr{C}} \) has the clique-stable set separation property if there exists \( c \in {\mathbb{N}} \) such that for every graph \( G \in {\mathscr{C}} \) there is a collection \( {\mathscr{P}} \) of partitions (X, Y) of the vertex set of G with |\( {\mathscr{P}}\)| ≤ |V(G)|c and with the following property: if K is a clique of G, and S is a stable set of G, and K ∩ S = \( \emptyset\), then there is (X, Y) ∊ \( {\mathscr{P}}\) with K ⊆ X and S ⊆ Y. In 1991 M. Yannakakis conjectured that the class of all graphs has the clique-stable set separation property, but this conjecture was disproved by M. Goos in 2014. Therefore it is now of interest to understand for which classes of graphs such a constant c exists. In this paper we define two infinite families \( {\mathscr{S}}, {\mathscr{K}}\)of graphs and show that for every S ∊ \( {\mathscr{S}}\) and K ∊ \({\mathscr{K}}\), the class of graphs with no induced subgraph isomorphic to S or K has the clique-stable set separation property.
Simple spike dynamics of Purkinje cells in the macaque vestibulo-cerebellum during passive whole-body self-motion

Theories of cerebellar functions posit that the cerebellum implements internal models for online correction of motor actions and sensory estimation. As an example of such computations, an internal model resolves a sensory ambiguity where the peripheral otolith organs in the inner ear sense both head tilts and translations. Here we exploit the response dynamics of two functionally coupled Purkinje cell types in the vestibular part of the caudal vermis (lobules IX and X) to understand their role in this computation. We find that one population encodes tilt velocity, whereas the other, translation-selective, population encodes linear acceleration. We predict that an intermediate neuronal type should temporally integrate the output of tilt-selective cells into a tilt position signal.
Prostate oncologic therapy while ensuring neurovascular conservation (POTEN-C): A phase II randomized controlled trial of stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SAbR) with or without neurovascular sparing for erectile function preservation in localized prostate cancer.

TPS381Background: Radiotherapy (RT) associated sexual dysfunction occurs in half of men following treatment for localized prostate cancer. Proposed mechanisms include vascular injury of adjacent in...
Solidarity, Social Risk, and Community Engagement.

Pratt et al.’s (2020) “Solidarity and Community Engagement in Global Health Research” identifies the bases of solidarity, characteristics across various accounts of solidarity, as moral imagination...
Spindle cell variant squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity: Case presentation and review of literature

Abstract Spindle cell squamous carcinoma (SpCC) is an exceedingly rare variant of squamous cell carcinoma with unique clinicopathological characteristics. SpCC is an aggressive and rapidly progressive neoplasm, and increased awareness for dentists, oral surgeons, and head and neck specialists should aid diagnosis and prompt treatment. We present a case of SpCC in the anterior maxilla of an 84-year-old female which displayed rapid growth.
The Cost of Being Poor: The Relationship Between Poverty and Hospital Outcomes in Children Critically Ill with Bronchiolitis

Purpose: Based on 2014 US Census data, over 40% of children live in or near poverty. There are well established associations between adverse health outcomes and poverty in children. These include, but are not limited to, infant mortality, obesity, delayed language development, poor school achievement, asthma exacerbations, and mental health disorders. However, little is known regarding the effects of childhood poverty on outcomes in critically ill children. We hypothesized that poverty would be associated with unfavorable outcomes in children critically ill with bronchiolitis. Methods: …
Familial Factors Associating with Youth Physical Activity Using a National Sample

The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of familial and child-related factors with reported child physical activity using a representative sample of US children and adolescents. Data were analyzed from the combined 2017-2018 National Survey of Children's Health. Household addresses were randomly selected within each US state. One parent within each household answered health and wellness questions pertaining to one randomly selected child (n = 37,392; 48.8% female; 6-17 years old). Weighted logistic regression models examined the independent and joint associations between family-level and child-level factors with a child meeting the 60 min of physical activity per day guideline. After controlling for confounders, higher levels of family resilience (odds ratio (OR) = 2.17; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.35-3.49, p = 0.001), high event attendance (OR = 1.65; 95%CI: 1.18-2.31, p = 0.004), and high family income (OR = 1.84, 95%CI: 1.34-2.52, p < 0.001) significantly associated with higher odds of a child meeting the 60 min of physical activity per day guideline. Family generational status and adult education significantly modified the association between family resilience and child physical activity. Programs that develop family resilience and encourage parental attendance for their child's events or activities may positively influence a child's physical activity behaviors. Expanded or enhanced programming may be needed for lower income families.
Nourishing Progressive Ideals in Dark Ages:Boycotts at the Park Slope Food Coop in the 1970s

Consumer-based activism offered the predominantly white and middle-class members of Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop meaningful ways to live their politics during the alienated aftermath of the Vietnam War. In historicizing the role of solidarity efforts in the country’s largest consumer-owned food cooperative, this article makes three arguments. It points to food as a valuable tool of protest that made tangible the links between the environment, workers, and consumers. It reveals the strategic capacity of solidarity campaigns, especially boycotts, to strengthen local community. Finally, it illuminates the delicate ecosystem of cooperation in a small-scale and relatively unstructured collective enterprise.
Scalable Second Order Optimization for Deep Learning.

Optimization in machine learning, both theoretical and applied, is presently dominated by first-order gradient methods such as stochastic gradient descent. Second-order optimization methods, that involve second derivatives and/or second order statistics of the data, are far less prevalent despite strong theoretical properties, due to their prohibitive computation, memory and communication costs. In an attempt to bridge this gap between theoretical and practical optimization, we present a scalable implementation of a second-order preconditioned method (concretely, a variant of full-matrix Adagrad), that along with several critical algorithmic and numerical improvements, provides significant convergence and wall-clock time improvements compared to conventional first-order methods on state-of-the-art deep models. Our novel design effectively utilizes the prevalent heterogeneous hardware architecture for training deep models, consisting of a multicore CPU coupled with multiple accelerator units. We demonstrate superior performance compared to state-of-the-art on very large learning tasks such as machine translation with Transformers, language modeling with BERT, click-through rate prediction on Criteo, and image classification on ImageNet with ResNet-50.