cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Browsing on small screens: recasting web-page segmentation into an efficient machine learning framework

Fitting enough information from webpages to make browsing on small screens compelling is a challenging task. One approach is to present the user with a thumbnail image of the full web page and allow the user to simply press a single key to zoom into a region (which may then be transcoded into wml/xhtml, summarized, etc). However, if regions for zooming are presented naively, this yields a frustrating experience because of the number of coherent regions, sentences, images, and words that may be inadvertently separated. Here, we cast the web page segmentation problem into a machine learning framework, where we re-examine this task through the lens of entropy reduction and decision tree learning. This yields an efficient and effective page segmentation algorithm. We demonstrate how simple techniques from computer vision can be used to fine-tune the results. The resulting segmentation keeps coherent regions together when tested on a broad set of complex webpages.
Peptide and antibody imaging in lung cancer.

Noninvasive differentiation of malignant from benign pulmonary nodules and the staging of lung cancer are major challenges and opportunities for radionuclide imaging. Despite the performance of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in addressing these needs, access to PET imaging in the United States and other countries is still limited for many people. Furthermore, FDG-PET imaging has left room for improvement. Thus, the need for addressing these diagnostic issues exists for a significant portion of the population of the United States and the rest of the world. Labeled antibody and peptide single-photon emisson computed tomography imaging offers a reasonable alternative for these indications and comes close to FDG-PET imaging in performance, along with a lower cost when all overhead is included. Although these tracers have a high sensitivity in the diagnosis of primary and metastatic tumors, their specificity is limited by uptake in granulomatous disease, similar to that of FDG-PET. Regardless of these daunting challenges, radiolabeled antibody and peptide imaging deserves a recognized role in the clinical management of lung cancer.
Web-based Three-dimensional Virtual Body Structures: W3D-VBS

Major efforts are being made to improve the teaching of human anatomy to foster cognition of visuospatial relationships. The Visible Human Project of the National Library of Medicine makes it possible to create virtual reality-based applications for teaching anatomy. Integration of traditional cadaver and illustration-based methods with Internet-based simulations brings us closer to this goal. Web-based three-dimensional Virtual Body Structures (W3D-VBS) is a next-generation immersive anatomical training system for teaching human anatomy over the Internet. It uses Visible Human data to dynamically explore, select, extract, visualize, manipulate, and stereoscopically palpate realistic virtual body structures with a haptic device. Tracking user's progress through evaluation tools helps customize lesson plans. A self-guided “virtual tour” of the whole body allows investigation of labeled virtual dissections repetitively, at any time and place a user requires it.
Grounding Communication Without Prior Structure

This work describes an approach to time-series modeling of social interactions between human and robot, which is motivated by the social psychology concept of social grounding. In this model, the goal of the agents is to establish and use patterns of communication, rather than rely on existing patterns. Our goal is to allow an artificial agent to construct a pattern of shared meaning with a human or other agent through shared experience rather than relying a model provided a priori. We describe a preliminary human robot interaction study which illustrates the proposed approach. The flow of time is a situated, context-dependent experience. Face-to-face with a snarling dog, you may feel time slow down to a trickle, seemingly giving you a chance to react. Spending time with friends, it may surprise you to find that the hours have flown by “in no time.” Technological artifacts, such as clocks and electricity, have had a rationalizing effect on our representation of the passage of time, turning our situated reactions and diurnal rhythms into mechanically standardized minutes, hours, and days. These technologies have also allowed for the construction of analytical concepts with which to objectively describe and measure the passage of time, such as speed, acceleration, tempo, and delay. In the moment of action, however, our experience of time emerges through our interactions with the environment and the common understanding that we develop with other actors, rather than being perceived as a quantity denoting a particular speed or rate of acceleration.
Automatic Alignment of Motion Capturing System Markers to a Small Differential Drive Robot’s Position and Heading Angle

Marker-based motion capturing systems are effective in tracking a robot only if the marker configuration is somehow aligned with the robot’s body. To overcome the manual alignment, in this paper we propose an automatic procedure for a small differential drive ground robot. The procedure requires that the robot travels along an arbitrary curved trajectory. The parameters describing the relative position between the marker configuration and the robot’s body are estimated. Once the parameters are known, they can be used to compute the robot’s center and its heading angle. The effectiveness of the procedure is illustrated by an experiment and the results showing that the accuracy of the robot center position exceeds the accuracy of the motion capturing measurements of the markers’ positions.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Abundance of House Dust Mites, Dermatophagoides Spp., 1 Influenced by Environmental Conditions in Homes in Southern California 2

The abundance of house dust mites, Dermatophagoides spp., as influenced by environmental conditions in human dwellings, was investigated in southern California. Significant positive correlation was found between mite numbers and house dust load. A significantly reduced amount of dust and number of mites occurred on mattresses fully encased with plastic sheeting as compared to those unencased. Noncarpeted floors under beds yielded a significantly lower quantity of dust and mites than those carpeted. Amount of dust and mite abundance on floors under beds was noted to depend on frequency and extent of vacuuming by residents. Significantly fewer mite numbers occurred on unencased new mattresses than unencased older ones. No significant positive correlation was noted for dust load and mite numbers as related to house age, nor was significant positive correlation noted for mattress age as compared to house age.
The diagnosis of brain death.

Physicians, health care workers, members of the clergy, and laypeople throughout the world have accepted fully that a person is dead when his or her brain is dead. In the United States, the principle that death can be diagnosed by neurologic criteria (designated as brain death) is the basis of the Uniform Determination of Death Act,1 although the law does not define any of the specifics of the clinical diagnosis. There is a clear difference between severe brain damage and brain death. The physician must understand this difference, because brain death means that life support is useless, and brain death . . .
Exploring the determinants of trace amine-associated receptor 1's functional selectivity for the stereoisomers of amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Amphetamines are widely abused drugs that interfere with dopamine transport and storage. Recently, however, another mechanism of action was identified: stereoselective activation of the GαS protein-coupled trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1). To identify structural determinants of this stereoselectivity, we functionally evaluated six mutant receptors in vitro and then used homology modeling and dynamic simulation to predict drug affinities. Converting Asp102 to Ala rendered mouse and rat TAAR1 (mTAAR1 and rTAAR1, respectively) insensitive to β-phenylethylamine, amphetamine (AMPH), and methamphetamine (METH). Mutating Met268 in rTAAR1 to Thr shifted the concentration–response profiles for AMPH and METH isomers rightward an order of magnitude, whereas replacing Thr268 with Met in mTAAR1 resulted in profiles leftward shifted 10–30-fold. Replacing Asn287 with Tyr in rTAAR1 produced a mouselike receptor, while the reciprocal mTAAR1 mutant was rTAAR1-like. These results confirm TAAR1 is an AMPH/METH recep...
Abstract 32: PER3 gene in association with plasma melatonin in Caucasian men.

Circadian rhythm disruption is classified as a possible human carcinogen, and has been associated with incidence, survival and prognosis of multiple cancers. Melatonin is the central circadian rhythm biomarker and identifying its genetic determinants will shed light on the mechanisms of the circadian rhythm-cancer relationship. We have conducted what we believe is the first genome wide association scan (GWAS) of morning circulating melatonin levels in humans. We used data from 1250 Caucasian men from the screening arm of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO). Serum used for melatonin measurements were prospectively collected and prediagnostic of cancer; all serum were collected in the morning (7:00-11:00 am). We evaluated ∼ 2.5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), and gave priority to 1298 SNPs in 20 candidate genes related to melatonin and circadian rhythm (20 kb upstream-10 kb downstream). Single SNP analyses were performed using linear models for log transformed melatonin concentrations, coding SNPs additively, and adjusting for age (≤59, 60-64, 65-69, ≥70 years) time of blood draw (6-7, 8, 9, 10, 11 am), study center, prostate cancer status, and eigenvectors that captured population stratification. Gene based P-values (Pgene) were computed using the minP method and 10,000 permutations. For the most significant SNPs, we also performed sensitivity analyses by restricting the analysis to men who were not subsequently diagnosed with prostate cancer. We did not detect a signal at the genome-wide significance level (10-8). However, we observed that PER3 , one of the 9 core circadian rhythm regulating genes, was significantly associated with serum melatonin after Bonferroni correction for the 20 a priori candidate genes (Pgene=9×10−4). The top SNP (SNP1-7763877 G>T) achieved significance after Bonferroni correction that takes into account the total number of SNPs (1298) in the 20 candidate genes selected (P=1.24×10−5). For this SNP, serum melatonin decreased by 28% (14.8-40%) per T allele. Our study suggests that PER3 gene polymorphisms might be associated with melatonin production, the velocity of diurnal decrease, or its diurnal pattern. This results warrant replication in independent samples, in females, and in urine for metabolites of melatonin. Citation Format: Fangyi Gu, Lisa W. Chu, Kai Yu, Zhaoming Wang, Stephen Chanock, Ann Hsing, Neil E. Caporaso. PER3 gene in association with plasma melatonin in Caucasian men. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr 32.
Considerations for Interval Management Operations in a Mixed-Equipage Environment

Interval Management (IM) encompasses an evolving set of applications that enable more precise and consistent spacing between aircraft to yield increased throughput and efficiency in the National Airspace System. Most IM applications contain relative (flightdeck) and absolute (ground-based) components. Relative spacing relates the position of an aircraft in a stream to its preceding aircraft and is different from absolute spacing, where spacing is achieved by independently controlling aircraft to a specified point-inspace at a desired time. The flight-deck component consists of avionics that provide speeds to the flight crew to achieve and maintain a desired spacing interval relative to a target aircraft. The ground-based component helps controllers initiate the flight-deck operation and also provides air traffic controllers with speed advisories to manage the unequipped aircraft to absolute scheduled times of arrival at a specified point. In a mixed-equipage IM environment, where both of these components are used to manage the spacing of equipped and unequipped aircraft, the relative spacing flight-deck component and absolute spacing concept for the ground-based component are combined into a single operation. This paper addresses some of the challenges and considerations for the mixed-equipage operation, including performance differences in the two concepts and scheduling considerations that could be developed to increase system benefits. The results of this paper may help to drive decision-making for implementing IM in a mixed-equipage operation. Results also suggest that in many cases the relative spacing concept provides operational throughput benefits over the absolute spacing concept.
Abstract A2: Genetic variation in estrogen receptor genes and mammographic breast density

Mammographic density is one of the strongest, independent risk factors in the development of breast cancer. Women with mammographically dense breasts, those with greater than or equal to 75% dense tissue, are at a four to six‐fold greater risk of developing breast cancer when compared to those with “no measurable dense tissue,” in which the breasts are composed entirely of fat. Many of the established risk factors for breast cancer have been shown to be associated with variations in breast density (i.e., age, menopausal status, parity, BMI, and postmenopausal hormone use). Additionally, twin studies have also shown that heritability accounts for approximately 60% of the variance in mammographic density. Given the established role of estrogens in the development and progression of breast cancer, we have evaluated the role of 17 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the estrogen receptor 1 and 2 genes ( ESR1 and ESR2 ), and the recently identified G‐Protein Coupled Estrogen Receptor 1 ( GPER ) gene, which has been demonstrated to regulate physiologic responses to estrogens independent of the traditional estrogen receptors. This study population consisted of 370 cancer‐free (excluding cancers of the skin) Caucasian, postmenopausal women enrolled in the Mammograms and Masses Study (MAMS). Three different measures of mammographic density were computed: dense breast area, total breast area, and percent breast density, using the classification system developed by Wolfe in 1976, and a compensating polar planimeter, wax pencil, and transparent overlay. Breast density was calculated as the proportion of visibly dense breast to total breast area, expressed as a percentage. DNA was extracted from buffy coat samples, and genotyping was done using the Sequenom iPLEX Gold Assay. Heterozygote and homozygous variant genotypes were collapsed and compared to the common allele genotype for all statistical analyses. General linear models and χ 2 analyses were conducted. We arranged our percent density variable into tertiles for further analysis. We observed that three SNPs in ESR2 (rs12435857, rs1256044, and rs1256031) were significantly associated with percent mammographic density. For ESR2 rs1256044 and rs1256031, mean percent mammographic density was significantly higher among women with at least one rare allele compared to women homozygous for the common allele (respectively, P =0.02 and P =0.03). Conversely, mean percent mammographic density was significantly higher among women with ESR2 rs12435857 GG genotype compared to those with GA/AA genotypes, 29.0 and 23.7, respectively ( P =0.03). Our results suggest that common genetic variation in ESR2 is associated with percent mammographic density. Since estrogen receptor genes are highly expressed in breast tissue, functional SNPs in these genes may alter breast cancer risk, by altering mammographic density. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2010;3(1 Suppl):A2.
Shape threat detection via adaptive computed tomography

X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is used widely for screening purposes. Conventional x-ray threat detection systems employ image reconstruction and segmentation algorithms prior to making threat/no-threat decisions. We ﬁnd that in many cases these pre-processing steps can degrade detection performance. Therefore in this work we will investigate methods that operate directly on the CT measurements. We analyze a ﬁxed-gantry system containing 25 x-ray sources and 2200 photon counting detectors. We present a new method for improving threat detection performance. This new method is a so-called greedy adaptive algorithm which at each time step uses information from previous measurements to design the next measurement. We utilize sequential hypothesis testing (SHT) in order to derive both the optimal "next measurement" and the stopping criterion to insure a target probability of error Pe. We ﬁnd that selecting the next x-ray source according to such a greedy adaptive algorithm, we can reduce Pe by a factor of 42.4× relative to the conventional measurement sequence employing all 25 sources in sequence.
Giant prosthetic reinforcement of the visceral sac

One hundred and seventy-nine patients with 237 hernias of the groin who were at high risk for recurrence after classic hernioplasty were operated upon; the procedure of giant prosthetic reinforcement of the visceral sac (GPRVS) was used. The patients in this series had predominantly recurrent and re-recurrent hernias. However, a few were obese with bilateral primary direct hernias and some had associated connective tissue disorders, such as Marfan and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. GPRVS eliminates hernias of the groin by rendering the peritoneum inextensible by placing, in the preperitoneal space, a large prosthesis that extends far beyond the borders of the myopectineal orifice. The myopectineal orifice is the weak spot at which all hernias of the groin begin and is bounded by the rectus, oblique abdominal and iliopsoas muscles and the pectin of the pubis. In bilateral GPRVS, the peritoneum of both groins is reinforced with a single prosthesis inserted in the preperitoneal space through the midline. In unilateral GPRVS, the mesh envelops the peritoneum of a single groin. This simplifies the operation and makes it suitable for surgical centers that perform outpatient operations. The prosthesis with the best physical characteristics for GPRVS is Mersilene (polyester fiber). Unsutured prostheses of polypropylene and Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) may not adhere at the far edges, leading to a failure and recurrence. The over-all recurrence rate in this series of problem hernias was 3.7 per cent, which is extremely good. However, the rate becomes outstanding if recurrences resulting from meshes unsuitable for GPRVS are excluded.
The Vitamin D Receptor

Cutaneous malignancies including melanomas and non melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) are the most common types of cancer, occurring at a rate of over 1 million per year in the United States. The major cell in the epidermis, the keratinocyte, not only produces vitamin D but contains the enzymatic machinery to metabolize vitamin D to its active metabolite, l,25(OH)2D, and expresses the receptor for this metabolite, the vitamin D receptor (VDR), allowing the cell to respond to the l,25(OH)2D that it produces. In vitro, l,25(OH)2D stimulates the differentiation and inhibits the proliferation of these cells and so would be expected to be tumor suppressive. However, epidemiologic evidence demonstrating a negative relationship between circulating levels of the substrate for CYP27B1, 250HD, and the incidence of these malignancies is mixed, raising the question whether vitamin D is protective in the in vivo setting. UV radiation (UV), both UVB and UVA, as occurs with sunlight exposure is generally regarded as causal for these malignancies, but UVB is also required for vitamin D synthesis in the skin. This complicates conclusions reached from epidemiologic studies in that UVB is associated with higher 250HD levels as well as increased incidence of cutaneous malignancies. Based on our own data and that reported in the literature we hypothesize that vitamin D signaling in the skin suppresses UVR induced epidermal tumor formation. In this chapter we will flrst discuss recent data regarding potential mechanisms by which vitamin D signaling suppresses tumor formation, then focus on three general mechanisms that mediate tumor suppression by VDR in the skin: inhibition of proliferation and stimulation of differentiation, immune regulation, and stimulation of DNA damage repair (DDR).
When to start paediatric testing of the adult HIV cure research agenda

Ethical guidelines recommend that experimental interventions should be tested in adults first before they are tested and approved in children. Some challenge this paradigm, however, and recommend initiating paediatric testing after preliminary safety testing in adults in certain cases. For instance, commentators have argued for accelerated testing of HIV vaccines in children. Additionally, HIV cure research on the use of very early therapy (VET) in infants, prompted in part by the Mississippi baby case, is one example of a strategy that is currently being tested in infants before it has been well tested in adults. Because infants’ immune systems are still developing, the timing of HIV transmission is easier to identify in infants than in adults, and infants who receive VET might never develop the viral reservoirs that make HIV so difficult to eradicate, infants may be uniquely situated to achieve HIV cure or sustained viral remission. Several commentators have now argued for earlier initiation of HIV cure interventions other than (or in addition to) VET in children. HIV cure research is therefore a good case for re-examining the important question of when to initiate paediatric research. I will argue that, despite the potential for HIV cure research to benefit children and the scientific value of involving children in this research, the HIV cure agenda should not accelerate the involvement of children for the following reasons: HIV cure research is highly speculative, risky, aimed at combination approaches and does not compare favourably with the available alternatives. I conclude by drawing general implications for the initiation of paediatric testing, including that interventions that have to be used in combination with others and cures for chronic diseases may not be valuable enough to justify early paediatric testing.
Inverted Ordering of Acceptor Bound Exciton States in Semiconductors

The j-j coupling scheme in the acceptor bound exciton (A°X) in semiconductors has been a confusing issue for more than a decade. For most semiconductors the valence band at zone center is four-fold degenerate; thus a hole is usually treated as a particle with intrinsic angular momentum j=3/2. The mutual interaction between two j=3/2 holes leads to a j-j splitting in the energy spectrum of A°X. In a spherical approximation, the total angular momenta of the antisymmetric two-hole state are given by J=0 and 2. If crystal field is included, the symmetries of these states are described by Γ1, Γ3, and Γ5 (the irreducible representations of the Td point group1), where Γ1 corresponds to J=0 and correspond to two split states of J=2. According to the theory of atomic spectra,2 the ground state should have J=2 (i.e. Γ3 or Γ5). This is found to be true only for the most shallow A°X complexes in GaAs3 and InP.4 For many other materials such as Si doped with Al, Ga, or In,5 and GaAs doped with Sn,6 the ground state of A°X is found to have J=0 (or Γ1-symmetry). Thus the ordering of the A°X states is inverted.
Auto-fusion and the shaping of neurons and tubes

Cells adopt specific shapes that are necessary for specific functions. For example, some neurons extend elaborate arborized dendrites that can contact multiple targets. Epithelial and endothelial cells can form tiny seamless unicellular tubes with an intracellular lumen. Recent advances showed that cells can auto-fuse to acquire those specific shapes. During auto-fusion, a cell merges two parts of its own plasma membrane. In contrast to cell-cell fusion or macropinocytic fission, which result in the merging or formation of two separate membrane bound compartments, auto-fusion preserves one compartment, but changes its shape. The discovery of auto-fusion in C. elegans was enabled by identification of specific protein fusogens, EFF-1 and AFF-1, that mediate cell-cell fusion. Phenotypic characterization of eff-1 and aff-1 mutants revealed that fusogen-mediated fusion of two parts of the same cell can be used to sculpt dendritic arbors, reconnect two parts of an axon after injury, or form a hollow unicellular tube. Similar auto-fusion events recently were detected in vertebrate cells, suggesting that auto-fusion could be a widely used mechanism for shaping neurons and tubes.
EEG Seizures in Neonates

Ictal and interictal electrographic seizure durations were compared in 33 preterm(PT) and 35 full-term(FT) neonates studied retrospectively at the Magee-Womens Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Dietary Supplementation with Ipriflavone Decreases Liver Iron Loading in Wild Type Mice

Hepcidin, a peptide hormone produced in the liver, decreases intestinal iron absorption and macrophage iron release by causing internalization and degradation of the iron exporter ferroportin. Because its levels are inappropriately low in patients with iron overload syndromes, Hepcidin is a potential drug target. We previously conducted a chemical screen in human hepatocytes (HepG2 cells) to identify small molecules that upregulate Hepcidin transcript levels. One of the small molecules that we identified was ipriflavone, a synthetic isoflavone, which has been used to treat osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. To evaluate ipriflavone’s effect on iron homeostasis in a mammalian model, we placed groups of 5-week old C57BL/6 male mice on a soy-free, iron-sufficient diet, AIN-93G containing 220 mg/kg iron and 0, 250, 500 or 750 mg ipriflavone per kg of food (n=4 or 5 per group) for 50 days, then sacrificed the animals for analysis of changes in gene expression by quantitative realtime RT-PCR, liver and spleen iron content, blood indices, and intestinal ferroportin expression. While producing less than a two-fold increase in liver hepcidin transcript levels, ipriflavone supplementation was associated with a significant decrease in liver iron content (mean±SE): 39.22±2.06 µg iron/g tissue, p=0.0033, and 44.10±2.58 µg iron/g tissue, p=0.0124, at 500 and 750 mg ipriflavone per kg of food, respectively, vs 57.77±3.39 µg iron/g tissue in mice that did not receive ipriflavone. Ferroportin expression detected in intestinal epithelial cells by immunohistochemistry was notably decreased in mice receiving ipriflavone: 66.6% and 80% of the animals receiving 500 and 750 mg/kg groups, respectively, exhibited decreased ferroportin staining versus 40% of the group not receiving ipriflavone. There was no significant difference in hemoglobin, hematocrit, or spleen iron among the groups. In conclusion, we have shown that orally administered ipriflavone is effective in decreasing liver iron content and intestinal ferroportin expression in vivo. Future experiments will evaluate ipriflavone’s effects on iron homeostasis and hematopoiesis in genetic models of iron overload disorders. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Research in database systems: Challenges, principles, prototypes, and results

A great deal of database research is largely systems-driven, with less of a focus on well thought out, clean foundations. My approach has been to lay solid theoretical foundations first, then develop a prototype system realizing those foundations. This talk focuses specifically on the challenges of developing new data models and query languages that are simultaneously well-defined, understandable, expressive, and can be implemented efficiently.
Event model to facilitate data sharing among services: Closing the gap between research and implementation

Development of smart city services is presently hindered because the data is too heterogeneous, despite the increasing availability of data in open data initiatives. We determined metadata fields and semantics for our proposed model after a survey of other event models, and after its trial implementation in actual applications. Our event metadata model is unique among event models in being extensible as needed. We illustrate our model by showing it with different data types, and we validate it using real-world data in a prototype smart cities service for pedestrian safety. Wide adoption of our event metadata model has the potential to broaden the number and scope of smart city services.
Abstract 425: Coronary Artery Disease in Patients with Premature Atherosclerotic Peripheral Artery Disease

Objective: Premature atherosclerotic peripheral artery disease (PAD) is being diagnosed with increasing frequency. Little is known about concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with p...
Pituitary Tumors: Genetics and Heritable Predisposition

Pituitary tumors are the most common intracranial tumors. Most pituitary tumors are thought to be sporadic, with estimates showing that genetic heritability in the form of traditional syndromes, including multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) and Carney complex (CNC), accounts for only 5% of all cases. The monoclonality of pituitary tumors is a widely established model in which a genetic mutation in one cell leads to the formation of an adenoma. On a larger scale, however, the pituitary gland may contain multiple hyperplastic cells, each with its own origin. The predominant cell type within the adenoma is dependent on a variety of oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes including GSP, RAS, Cyclin D1, PTTG, and p53. Multiple other studies show germline mutations in a variety of additional genes, including AIP, BMP-4, CDKN1B, CDKN2A, CDKN2C, GADD45G, PDt-FGFR4, PKC, PRKAR1A, RB, WIF1, and ZAC. More recently, studies of genetic mutations leading to pituitary adenomas and population studies of patients and families with pituitary adenomas have revealed a significant heritable predisposition for pituitary tumors outside of traditional syndromes. These studies, while confirming the heritability of pituitary tumors, unfortunately only provide a glimpse into the multifactorial cause of pituitary adenomas.
A shared decision-making tool for obstructive sleep apnea without tonsillar hypertrophy: A randomized controlled trial.

Objectives/hypothesis Shared decision-making is a process whereby patients and clinicians jointly establish a treatment plan integrating clinical evidence and patient values and preferences. Although this approach has been successfully employed in numerous medical disciplines, often using shared decision-making tools, otolaryngologic research assessing its use is scant. Our primary objective was therefore to determine if the tools we developed reduced decisional conflict for children with obstructive sleep apnea without tonsillar hypertrophy. Study design Prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Methods We enrolled consecutive patients meeting inclusion criteria who were referred to our multidisciplinary upper airway center. Study patients used a shared decision-making tool whereas controls did not. Measures of decisional conflict (SURE [Sure of myself, Understanding information, Risk benefit ratio, Encouragement], CollaboRATE, and the Decisional Conflict Scale [DCS]) were obtained pre- and postvisit. Results We assessed 50 families (study group = 24, controls = 26). The mean age was 8.8 ± 6.6 years, 44% were female, 86% were white, and the mean obstructive apnea-hypopnea index was 12.7 ± 15.6 events/hour. The previsit mean DCS score was similar for controls (42.7) and study patients (40.8) (P = .38). The postvisit mean DCS score for controls was 13.3 and for study patients 6.1 (P = .034). Improvement in this score was greater in the study group (P = .03). At previsit evaluation, 63% of controls and 58% of study patients were unsure about their options. Postvisit, this improved to 4.1% and 0%, respectively. Conclusions Families counseled regarding treatment options using shared decision-making tools had significantly less decisional conflict than those who did not use these tools. These positive outcomes suggest that clinicians should consider integrating this approach into clinical practice. Level of evidence 1b. Laryngoscope, 128:1007-1015, 2018.
Implementing Malloc: Students and Systems Programming

This work describes our experience in revising one of the major programming assignments for the second-year course Introduction to Computer Systems, in which students implement a version of the malloc memory allocator. The revisions involved fully supporting a 64-bit address space, promoting a more modern programming style, and creating a set of benchmarks and grading standards that provide an appropriate level of challenge. With this revised assignment, students were able to implement more sophisticated allocators than they had in the past, and they also achieved higher performance on the related questions on the final exam.
MANGANESE PORPHYRIN COMPLEXES II-ELECTRONIC SPECTROSCOPY AND STRUCTURE

In green plant photosynthesis several transition elements are needed for normal function of the chloroplast. One of these, manganese, is required for the oxygen evolution that occurs in photosystem II.1 Several investigations have suggested, on the basis of photochemical experiments, that the manganese is involved in the breakdown of a primary oxidant which is formed in the photolytic splitting of water.2 The nature of the primary oxidant and the detailed description of the action of manganese on it are still to be determined. It appears that there is one manganese atom present per 50 chlorophylls in the photosynthetic unit.3 The metal atoms are physically located in the protein portion of photosystem II.4 The manganese is difficult to remove from the chloroplast and no physical property (namely, ESR spectra) of the metal can be observed in vivo. The ligand atoms binding the metal are not known. The manganese complex does not appear to be a special chlorophyll molecule associated with chlorophyll in the lipid phase.4 The evidence, however, does not rule out a similar complex contained in the protein phase. Recent evidence4 indicates that the manganese is in a high oxidation state, +3 or +4. Calvin has suggested that the manganese atoms in the chloroplast are bound to porphyrin-like ligands.5 In fact, it has been demonstrated that porphyrin complexes can be generated in which the manganese atom is in the + 3 and +4 oxidation states.6
Multiple interstrut cavities: a potential mechanism for very late stent thrombosis? Insights from optical coherence tomography.

A 48-year-old man who had had a 3.5 × 33 mm sirolimus-eluting stent (Cypher, Cordis, Warren, New Jersey) deployed 46 months earlier for unstable angina, presented with a 1-h history of chest pain due to an anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. He was taken to the cardiac
Immunology of Inflammatory Breast Cancer

It was shown several decades ago that IBC patients were immunocompetent as demonstrated by their ability to develop normal delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to common recall microbial antigens. However, studies of larger numbers of patients were needed to establish an immune profile that is unique to IBC patients and to determine whether the immune system plays a role in the pathogenesis of the disease.
A CASE OF PRIMARY UNDIFFERENTIATED PLEOMORPHIC SARCOMA OF THE RIGHT VENTRICLE

Neoplasms in the heart are exceptionally rare. Cardiac sarcomas are the most common malignant type. Clinical presentations can vary from congestive heart failure, to thromboembolism and arrhythmias. A 76-year-old male with history of severe mitral regurgitation status post mitral valve annuloplasty
State of the states: A survey of statutory law, regulations and court rules pertaining to guilty pleas across the United States.

A psycholegal research agenda on guilty pleas is in its nascent stage. Multijurisdictional surveys of related law and policy may advance this research agenda by focusing investigators on the specifics of existing policies and motivating cross-jurisdictional comparisons of diverse policies. We thus conducted a systematic, national survey of statutes, regulations and court rules across the United States pertaining to nine aspects of the guilty plea process, including sentencing differentials, collateral consequences and waiver of rights, which have been identified in existing legal and psycholegal research and commentary. Following a discussion of these issues, including legal concerns and existing research findings, we present the results of our systematic survey. We supplement this review with a non-systematic sampling of appellate case law. Broadly, there was notable diversity in whether and how jurisdictions approached these issues. We discuss general and specific implications of our findings for future research, emphasizing the importance of data on actual policies and procedures to the design of studies that may contribute to evidence-based criminal justice policy.
Growing Small Business: Mitigating the Wage and Wealth Gap:

This article not only acknowledges that the wage and wealth gap is an issue larger than the scope of the following research, but also endeavors to begin foundational conversations in order to assis...
First Analysis of Human Coccidioides Isolates from New Mexico and the Southwest Four Corners Region: Implications for the Distributions of C. posadasii and C. immitis and Human Groups at Risk.

Coccidioidomycosis (Valley Fever) is a disease caused by species of Coccidioides. The disease is endemic to arid regions of the Southwestern US and while most common in CA and AZ is also present in NM. We present the first genetic analysis of clinical isolates from NM. Travel and demographic information was available for a number of patients, which included individuals from NM and the Southwestern US Four Corners region. Multi-gene phylogenetic analyses revealed the presence of both C. posadasii and C. immitis. While NM is predicted to be within the endemic range for C. posadasii, our results expand the known range of C. immitis, often considered to be the “California species”. Five of eight infections for which patient ethnicity existed occurred in Native Americans, and two occurred in African Americans. Several isolates came from the northwestern part of NM—outside the predicted “highly-endemic” region. Our study suggests Native Americans represent an unrecognized at-risk group, and it provides a foundation for better defining the geographic distribution of the Coccidioides species and for preventing exposure among populations at risk. In the course of this study, we developed a reliable PCR-based method to distinguish species targeting regions of the mitochondrial genome.
Predicting Success for Student Physical Therapists on the National Physical Therapy Examination: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background In physical therapist education, the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) is the predominant measure of student success. Because the NPTE is a high-stakes examination, predicting NPTE performance is important for physical therapist students and programs. Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between first attempt NPTE performance, physical therapist applicant variables, and physical therapist student variables. The 4 identified physical therapist applicant variables were undergraduate cumulative grade point average (GPA), undergraduate GPA for prerequisite courses, Graduate Record Examination verbal and quantitative subscale scores, and admission scores. The 4 identified physical therapist student variables were first- and third-year physical therapist student GPA, clinical performance scores (first and final clinical experiences), noncognitive student variables, and comprehensive examination scores. Data sources A systematic search was performed using the databases PubMed and EBSCO (1966-2018). Study selection Studies included in the review met the following criteria: the physical therapist education program offered an entry-level master's or doctorate degree, pertinent data were available for each independent variable, the relationship between the independent variable and the NPTE was investigated, the NPTE was a continuous variable, the program was a US entry-level therapist education program, and the study was peer reviewed. Data extraction Two independent reviewers completed data extraction and quality appraisal using the McMaster Appraisal Tool. Data synthesis Random-effects meta-analyses using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient as the measure of effect size was used. Limitations Limitations of the review included a lack of homogeneity, high NPTE pass rates, modifications to the McMaster Appraisal Tool, small sample sizes, and publication bias. Conclusions No one physical therapist applicant variable should be used as an independent predictor of first attempt NPTE performance. For physical therapist students, first- and third-year physical therapist student GPA had a strong relationship with first attempt NPTE performance; clinical performance had a weak and nonsignificant relationship with first attempt NPTE performance.
Hospital teaching status associated with reduced inpatient mortality and perioperative complications in surgical neuro-oncology

Studies have demonstrated that higher surgical volumes correlate with improved neurosurgical outcomes yet none exist evaluating the effects of hospital teaching status on the surgical neuro-oncology patient. We present the first analysis comparing brain tumor surgery perioperative outcomes at academic and non-teaching centers. Brain tumor surgeries in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 1998 to 2014 were identified. A teaching hospital, defined by the NIS, must have ≥ 1 Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) approved residency programs, Council of Teaching Hospitals membership, or have a ratio ≥ 0.25 of full-time residents to hospital beds. Annual treatment trends were stratified by hospital teaching status, assessing yearly caseload with linear regression. Multivariable logistic regression determined predictors of inpatient mortality/complications. Hospitals were further divided into quartiles by case volume and teaching status was compared in each. Teaching hospitals (THs) exhibited an average annual increase in brain tumor surgeries (+ 1057/year, p < 0.0001). In multivariable analysis, teaching status was associated with decreased risk of mortality (OR 0.82, p = 0.0003) and increased likelihood of discharge home (OR 1.21, p < 0.0001). In subgroup analysis, within the highest hospital quartile by caseload, higher mortality rates and lower routine discharges were again seen at non-teaching hospitals (NTHs) (p = 0.0002 and p = 0.0016, respectively). THs are performing more brain tumor surgeries over time with lower rates of inpatient mortality and perioperative complications even after controlling for hospital case volume. These results suggest a shift in neuro-oncology practice patterns favoring THs to optimize patient outcomes especially at the highest volume centers.
An arbitrarily high-order three-dimensional Cartesian-grid method for reconstructing interfaces from volume fraction fields

Abstract This work describes a newly developed, arbitrarily high-order Cartesian-grid method for reconstructing material interfaces from a volume fraction field. The method begins by identifying all of the grid cells in the volume fraction field that are intersected by the interface and need to be approximated by the reconstruction scheme. Finite-differences are used to calculate the gradient of the volume fraction field and provide an estimate of the surface normal in all of the interfacial grid cells. Groups of connected grid cells are then identified which all have the same dominant component of the normal vector. This grouping by orientation determines the proper dependent variable to use in the surface reconstruction (e.g. for a 2D curve, this step determines if the surface will be approximated by a function of x or y). A cumulative integral over the surface is constructed and fit using b-splines for two-dimensional problems or tensor-product b-splines for three-dimensional problems. This construction allows for the interface to be recovered through application of the second fundamental theorem of calculus. Fitting the cumulative integral with N th-order b-splines (or tensor-product b-splines) yields an ( N − 1 ) th-order convergence rate of the interface shape. Differentiation of the b-spline interface function(s) allows for the high-order approximation of the normal vector and curvature to be obtained directly anywhere along b-spline. Together, the proposed reconstruction technique can achieve arbitrarily high mesh convergence rates. Validation tests are presented with mesh convergence rates ranging from fourth- to tenth-order.
In vivo production of neuraminidase by Pasteurella multocida A:3 in goats after transthoracic challenge.

Six goats were injected transthoracically with live Pasteurella multocida A:3 to examine if an extracellular enzyme, neuraminidase, was produced in vivo during infection with this organism. The principal group of goats (n = 6) each received 1 ml of live 7.5 × 104 cfu of P. multocida mixed with polyacrylate beads transthoracically in the left lung on day 0 and 1 ml of live P. multocida (2.2 × 108 cfu) mixed with polyacrylate beads transthoracically in the left lung on day 22. Six goats were used as negative controls and received 0.3 g of polyacrylate beads subcutaneously in the right flank on days 0 and 22. Serum was obtained from all animals on days 0, 7, 14, 22, 29, and 36. Preimmune sera from all animals showed no detectable antibody to P. multocida A:3 neuraminidase in an enzyme neutralization assay. None of the sera from the negative control animals demonstrated a significant antibody titer against the P. multocida A:3 neuraminidase. On day 36, serum samples from the six infected animals possessed complete enzyme-neutralizing activity. Anti-neuraminidase antibody could be detected as early as day 14 in the infected animals. These data show that neuraminidase is produced in vivo during an active P. multocida A:3 lobar infection.
SHBG and total testosterone levels in men with adult onset hypogonadism: what are we overlooking?

Adult onset male hypogonadism (AOH) is a common clinical condition whose diagnosis and management are controversial, and is often characterized by a low level of SHBG, but our understanding of why testosterone levels are low when SHBG is low is incomplete. This retrospective chart review was performed to compare the relationship between SHBG and testosterone in the plasma of men presenting for evaluation of AOH with a cohort of men treated chronically with transdermal testosterone. The level of SHBG was < 30 nmol/L in 73% of men who presented for evaluation of AOH, and was inversely proportional to BMI in both the untreated and the testosterone-treated men. As in previous populations, the level of SHBG was highly positively correlated (r = 0.71, p < 0.01) with the total testosterone level in untreated men presenting for evaluation of AOH, but no relationship was found between the level of SHBG and total testosterone among men who were being treated with a transdermal testosterone preparation. These findings further support the idea that SHBG regulates testicular negative feedback either directly or by modulating the entry of testosterone or estradiol into cells in the hypothalamus and/or pituitary to control gonadotropin synthesis and secretion which explains in part the low testosterone levels in men with AOH. Not applicable