cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maternal Influenza Immunization and Birth Outcomes of Stillbirth and Spontaneous Abortion: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Despite strong evidence that maternal influenza vaccination during pregnancy is safe, uptake of influenza vaccination during pregnancy remains low. We identified studies that assessed outcomes of stillbirth or spontaneous abortion after administration of influenza vaccine during pregnancy. We conducted a literature search in November 2013 that yielded 447 total citations. After removal of duplicates and studies deemed not relevant based on the title and abstract, 36 records underwent a full text review and 7 studies were included in the final review. Where possible, adjusted results were included in the meta-analysis. Women in the influenza vaccine group had a lower likelihood of stillbirth (relative risk [RR], 0.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], .55-.96); this association was similar when restricted to the H1N1pdm09 vaccine (RR, 0.69; 95% CI, .53-.90). The pooled estimate for spontaneous abortion was not significant (RR, 0.91; 95% CI, .68-1.22). These analyses add to the evidence base for the safety of influenza vaccination in pregnancy.
Home automated telemanagement in hypertension

Recent studies demonstrated that successful chronic disease management requires a coordinated effort that includes health care providers who follow recent clinical guidelines in their every day practice, educated patients who are adherent to their prescribed treatment plans and comprehensive patient-provider communication. Studies employing telecommunication technologies have been successful in affecting the major components of chronic disease care including physician practice patterns, patient adherence to therapy, and patient-provider communication. These studies were focused mainly on an improvement of a single component of clinical care process. To date there have been no studies targeting a comprehensive coordinated approach that concurrently employs all of these components in an integrated framework linked to primary care. In this study we propose a multi-component telemanagement system providing an integrated support both to clinicians and patients in implementing hypertension treatment guidelines promulgated by the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.
Direct Targets of CodY in Staphylococcus aureus

More than 200 direct CodY target genes in Staphylococcus aureus were identified by genome-wide analysis of in vitro DNA binding. This analysis, which was confirmed for some genes by DNase I footprinting assays, revealed that CodY is a direct regulator of numerous transcription units associated with amino acid biosynthesis, transport of macromolecules, and virulence. The virulence genes regulated by CodY fell into three groups. One group was dependent on the Agr system for its expression; these genes were indirectly regulated by CodY through its repression of the agr locus. A second group was regulated directly by CodY. The third group, which includes genes for alpha-toxin and capsule synthesis, was regulated by CodY in two ways, i.e., by direct repression and by repression of the agr locus. Since S. aureus CodY was activated in vitro by the branched chain amino acids and GTP, CodY appears to link changes in intracellular metabolite pools with the induction of numerous adaptive responses, including virulence.
Who speaks what to whom? Multilingualism and language choice in Misión La Paz

The multilingualism and patterns of language use in Mision La Paz, Salta Province, Argentina are described and analyzed. Three indigenous languages, Chorote, Nivacle, and Wichi, are spoken here, but interlocutors in conversations usually do not speak the same language to one another. There is extensive linguistic exogamy, and husbands and wives typically speak different languages to one another. Individuals identify with one language, speak it to all others, and claim only to understand but not to speak the other languages spoken to them. Children in the same family very often identify with and thus speak different languages from one another. This situation is examined and explanations are offered, with comparisons to similar situations elsewhere. The pattern of language choice and multilingual use in this case is arguably unique, with implications for several general claims about language contact and multilingualism.
Data Information Literacy and Undergraduates: A Critical Competency

As a primer on data information literacy (DIL), this column will cover the background of the field and why it is relevant to college and university libraries serving undergraduate populations. This article includes how data information literacy relates to information literacy, competencies associated with DIL, the relevance of DIL to undergraduates, DIL in library instruction, and the reasons for library engagement with DIL. Examining DIL within the larger framework of information literacy can help outreach and instruction librarians engage with a format that may be unfamiliar to them but whose underlying foundation is well-established.
Alveolar epithelial injury in vitro: temporal evolution and strain rate sensitivity

The onset of ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is linked to a number of possible mechanisms. To isolate the role alveolar epithelial deformation may play in the development of VILI, we have developed an in vitro system in which changes in alveolar epithelial cell viability can be measured after exposure to tightly controlled and physiologically relevant deformations. In this communication we explore the relative effect of deformation rate and duration on cell viability. Rat primary alveolar epithelial cells were exposed to a variety of cyclic biaxial stretch protocols, and deformation-induced injury was found to occur rapidly, with the majority of cell death occurring during the first five minutes of deformation. In addition, deformation-induced injury was found to be relatively insensitive to the rate of deformation.
ASYNCHRONOUS DISCUSSION GROUPS IN TEACHER TRAINING CLASSES: PERCEPTIONS OF NATIVE AND NON-NATIVE STUDENTS

This paper discusses students’ perceptions of an asynchronous electronic discussion assignment implemented shortly after the technology had been introduced to the university. In addition to the weekly face-to-face class meetings, students in two graduate level teacher training courses were assigned to small groups for an entire semester and made weekly contributions to their group’s course web discussion forum in which they discussed course content. Students were to make explicit references to course readings and postings by their group members. The instructor evaluated students' postings on a weekly basis. At the end of the course, students completed a survey assessing their satisfaction and asking for their suggestions for modification of the particular assignment type and format. For all students, the extension of course-related discussions outside the regular face-to-face class meetings offered benefits in the form of greater social interaction with other class members; for the non-native speakers among the students, the asynchronous discussions facilitated assimilation of course content, but it was not perceived as providing additional language practice. For all students, the two main issues perceived as negative related to their perceptions of forced, unnatural interaction promoted by the asynchronous discussions and lack of topic prompts, the requirement to make connections to prior postings, and the frequency of required contributions to discussions. Possible reasons for students’ perceptions are explored and suggestions for further research are provided.
Gentrified Sustainability: Inequitable Development and Seattle’s Skewed Riskscape

This paper examines the tensions of sustainable development in Seattle, Washington, a commonly recognised urban environmental leader. Drawing on the perspective of sustainability as a conflicted process, this research expected a negative relationship between gentrification and environmental justice when affluent residents outcompete less affluent ones for neighbourhoods with fewer environmental hazards. The methods combine geographic cluster analysis and longitudinal air toxic emission comparisons to analyse socioeconomic changes in Seattle Census block-groups between 1990, 2000, and 2009 coupled with measures of relative potential risk and pollution volume. The property and development conflicts embedded within sustainability lead to pollution exposure risk and socioeconomic vulnerability converging in the same areas and reveal one of the 'Emerald City's' significant environmental challenges. Inequitable development and environmental injustice remain overlooked dimensions of sustainability that interdisciplinary research should address.
Coal Desulfurization. The Protodesulfurization of Naphthalene Thiols and Sulfides

Basic information concerning the chemistry of organosulfur compounds is needed for the design of new coal desulfurization reactions. A study of the nucleophilic replacement of sulfur by oxygen in aryl thiols and sulfides led to the discovery of an acid-catalyzed reductive desulfurization reaction that proceeds readily under surprisingly mild conditions. Specifically, the treatment of 1- and 2-naphthalenethiol, 1- and 2-naphthyl alkyl sulfides, and di-1- and di-2-naphthyl sulfide with triflic acid in methylene chloride at 40°C leads to the formation of naphthalene as the principal organic product. The scope and limitations of the reaction have been explored and the reaction mechanism has been investigated. Several lines of evidence indicate that the process is best described as an electrophilic protodesulfurization reaction that yields naphthalene and oxidized sulfur compounds.
How Operational Parameters and Membrane Characteristics Affect the Performance of Electrodialysis Reversal Desalination Systems: The State of the Art

Operating parameters and membrane characteristics strongly affect the performance of electrodialysis reversal systems. The most impactful factors are applied voltage, flow rate, temperature, initial feed composition, and ion exchange membrane characteristics; the pH of the feed also has an effect, although to a lesser extent. To determine more precisely how all of these factors impact performance – especially as measured by desalination rate and the quality of the desalinated water – several valuable studies have been conducted. However, no comprehensive paper has been published, and some researchers have reported different findings from differently designed electrodialysis reversal systems. Therefore, to synthesize previous research and reconcile superficially disparate findings, this review discusses, analyzes, and summarizes the results from the literature. Such a review can help researchers and technicians optimize electrodialysis reversal systems and improve the quality of desalted water.
Vegetative response to 37 years of seasonal burning on a Louisiana longleaf pine site

From 1962 through 1998,20prescribed burns were applied in a natural stand of longleafpine (Pinus palustris Mill.) to determine the ejfects of variousfire regimes on theforestplan t community. The original longleaf seedlings regeneratedfrom the 1955 seed crop and were growing in a grass-dominated cover when the study began. By 1999, prescribed burning in March and May resulted in a significantly greater stocking of longleafpine (203 trees/UC) than on the unburned and July burned treatments (72 trees/UC) (a = 0.05). Fire arrested the growth of natural loblolly pine (P. taeda L.) and hardwoods, but loblolly pines and hardwoods of at least 4 in. dbh added 7Oft2/ac of basal area on the unburned plots. Thus, total woody basal area was significantly greater on the unburned (117@/ac) and May burned (132@/ac) treatments than on the July burned treatment (66@/ac); basal area was intermediate on the March burned treatment (97@/ac). Pine volume was 4,315,2,870,2,652, and 1,97Oft3 inside-bark/at on the May burned, March burned, unburned, and July burned treatments, respectively, but these differences were not statistically significant (P = 0.06). There was only 1 I lb/at of herbaceous plants on the unburned plots. Herbaceous plants averaged 993 lb/at on the three burned treatments, withpinehill bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium var. divergens (Hack) Gould} being the most common herbaceousplant. We believe the chief influence ofbuming in this natural longleafpineforest was not on pine yield but how fires influenced overall stand structure and species composition. South. J. Appl. For. 25(3):122-130.
EVIDENCE FOR SELECTION ON SENSORY STRUCTURES IN A CAVE POPULATION OF GAMMARUS MINUS (AMPHIPODA)

Morphologie des pedoncules, des antennes et des yeux chez les individus se reproduisant d'une population cavernicole de G. minus etudiee en vue de detecter une selection sexuelle
Innovative Determination of Nearshore Flood Frequency

Reliable estimates of coastal flooding from tides and storm surges are required for making sound engineering decisions regarding the design, operation and maintenance of many coastal projects. A recent investigation of flood frequency along the coast and within the bays of southern Long Island, New York, produced new and optimal approaches to obtain meaningful statistical estimates of flood levels. This paper summarizes various elements of the study and concentrates on the problem of stage-frequency computations in the inland bay areas. Methods for optimizing the number of necessary storm/tide simulations and estimating the accuracy of results are presented.
An ℵ1-dense ideal on ℵ2

This paper establishes the consistency of a countably complete, uniform, ℵ1-dense ideal on ℵ2. As a corollary, it is consistent that there exists a uniform ultrafilterD on ω2 such that |ω 1 ω2 D|=ω1. A general “transfer” result establishes the consistency of countably complete uniform ideal K on ω2 such thatP(ω2)/K≅P(ω1)/ {countable sets}.
Silicone insulation improves aerospace electronic high-voltage power supply MTBF

A lightweight, small-volume, electronic high-voltage power supply has been verified to have improved life characteristic when encapsulated with Silicone E rather than epoxy. High-failure-rate modules and two assembled power supplies were subjected to accelerated-life, thermal shock, altitude, and vibration tests to prove that Silastic E was a superior encapsulation medium.
Mechanism and Model Realization of Pulverized Coal Combustion Simulation and Calculation with FLUENT

In-depth knowledge of the mechanism and model realization approach of pulverized coal combustion simulation and calculation with FLUENT is required for modification of calculation model of pulverized coal combustion.This paper elaborates the implication and switching conditions for every step of combustion of a single particle,performs the study on the method of calculating the number of particles for tracking with User Defined Function(UDF),switching between processes,relationship between process and rules,maximum transfer number of user-defined rules in particle life cycle and the transfer mechanism of process rules.The study is illustrated clearly with the schematic diagram.The indepth knowledge can be obtained as to mechanism and model realization approach of pulverized coal combustion simulation and calculation with FLUENT based on the research result so that it can provide basis for rebuilding the pulverized coal combustion model.
Geo-location for Voice Search Language Modeling

We investigate the benefit of augmenting with geo-location information the language model used in speech recognition for voice-search. We observe reductions in perplexity of up to 15% relative on test sets obtained from both typed query data, as well as transcribed voice search data; on a subset of the test data consisting of “local” queries — search results displaying a restaurant, some address, or similar — the reduction in perplexity is even higher, up to 30% relative. Automatic speech recognition experiments confirm the utility of geo-location information for improved language modeling. Significant reductions in word error rate are observed both on general voice search traffic, as well as “local” traffic, up to 2% and 8% relative, respectively.
Tests of the Statistical Model

Abstract'The statictical model of Nelson and Yianoulis rests on an energetic criterion and on a statistical treatment of ionization energies of idividual sensitizer molecules. A test of the energetic criterion as an indicator of efficiency of sensitizers shows that It has a consIderable range of validity. It is also shown that a low-temperature effect having the same qualitative character as that. observed for photographic films is a general property of statistical models based on unimodal distributions with extended talis. The Nelson-Yianoulis model predicts the magnitude of the temperature effect satisfactorily.
Contraception for the perimenopausal woman

Perimenopause, or the menopause transition, is a time in a woman's life that bridges her reproductive years through to the non-surgical cessation of ovulation, or menopause. For many women this time is one of changes: changes in gynecological issues, onset of symptoms not experienced in her youth and increasing risks for adverse medical conditions. Despite the clear changes that occur for many women during this time, one critical issue is frequently ignored, namely, that, until the onset of menopause, she is exposed to pregnancy if sexually active, and pregnancy for older reproductive women is fraught with considerable increases in morbidity and mortality compared to younger women. This paper will present a review of the reproductive issues of the perimenopause and interventions geared to preventing pregnancy and relieving menopause-related symptoms. As counseling remains a critical aspect in empowering women to make informed choices about their health care, this paper will present current evidence that will help clinicians provide accurate reproductive counseling to women in the menopause transition.
Relationship between transfusion volume and outcomes in children undergoing noncardiac surgery

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between the volume of red blood cells (RBCs) transfused and outcomes in children undergoing noncardiac surgery. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Children undergoing noncardiac surgery recorded in the 2012 and 2013 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) pediatric databases were included. Outcomes included 30-day mortality and the incidence of major postoperative complications. Children who received RBC transfusions were further classified into four subgroups based on the volume transfused. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis and propensity-matched analysis to match each child who received a transfusion with a nontransfused control and to compare the incidences of 30-day mortality and adverse postoperative outcomes. RESULTS After propensity-matched analysis, there were 4496 children in the group that received transfusion volumes from 1 to 19 mL/kg, 1557 in the group that received volumes from 20 to 39 mL/kg, 506 in the group that received from 40 to 59 mL/kg, and 412 in the group that received ≥60 mL/kg. Children who received RBC transfusion volumes from 40 to 59 mL/kg and ≥60 mL/kg had an increased risk for 30-day mortality of 7.3% versus 1.4% (p < 0.001) and 11.2% versus 2.9% (p = 0.005), respectively, compared with their matched controls. No statistical difference was reported for children who were exposed to transfusion volumes from 20 to 39 mL/kg (3.3% vs 1.3%; p = 0.021), or from 1 to 19 mL/kg (1.4% vs. 1.2%; p = 0.691). Although no effect was observed on the incidence of postoperative renal failure or wound complications, RBC transfusions were associated with an increased incidence of postoperative infection when the volume transfused exceeded 20 mL/kg. CONCLUSIONS RBC transfusion is associated with an increased incidence of 30-day mortality and postoperative infections in children undergoing noncardiac surgery, and there is a correlation between the volume of red blood cells transfused and the incidences of adverse outcomes. Potential associations related to the reason to transfuse, the cause of the bleeding, or the actual blood products themselves need to be studied in further prospective trials.
Non-Dissipative and Non-Symmetric Kinetic Models

In previous chapters we developed the existence and uniqueness theory for boundary value problems of the form as well as the corresponding problem for the interval −∞<x≤0.
Hyperbolic tangent function avoided for encoded pilot low density parity check decoding

Very recently the same authors of this paper proposed an encoded pilot system where pilot bits are encoded with the message bits using a systematic code, e.g., a systematic low density parity check (LDPC) code. The authors claimed that the encoded pilot system can have significantly lower complexity and better energy efficiency at the same bandwidth efficiency or even higher bandwidth efficiency over the no pilot systems or the conventional time multiplexed pilot systems. The pilot bits have not been encoded with message bits but multiplexed after the encoder and de-multiplexed before decoding at the conventional receiver. The last case is called a deleted case because its corresponding parity check matrix is obtained by deleting the corresponding columns of the original parity check matrix. This paper finds a difficulty to use the well known sum-product LDPC decoding algorithm for the deleted case because hyperbolic tangent function causes overflow and underflow. In this paper the sum-product algorithm is modified. And this paper takes a well known Hamming code of (3,7) parity check matrix H under additive white Gaussian noise environment (AWGN) and demonstrates that the encoded pilot system is superior to the other systems, using the modified algorithm
Highly predictive and interpretable models for PAMPA permeability

Cell membrane permeability is an important determinant for oral absorption and bioavailability of a drug molecule. An in silico model predicting drug permeability is described, which is built based on a large permeability dataset of 7488 compound entries or 5435 structurally unique molecules measured by the same lab using parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA). On the basis of customized molecular descriptors, the support vector regression (SVR) model trained with 4071 compounds with quantitative data is able to predict the remaining 1364 compounds with the qualitative data with an area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic (AUC-ROC) of 0.90. The support vector classification (SVC) model trained with half of the whole dataset comprised of both the quantitative and the qualitative data produced accurate predictions to the remaining data with the AUC-ROC of 0.88. The results suggest that the developed SVR model is highly predictive and provides medicinal chemists a useful in silico tool to facilitate design and synthesis of novel compounds with optimal drug-like properties, and thus accelerate the lead optimization in drug discovery.
Spatial Spectral Estimation with Product Processing of a Pair of Colinear Arrays

The product of the scanned responses of two colinear interleaved arrays estimates the spatial power spectral density of the received signal. This estimate has mathematical structure similar to the classical periodogram and hence is called the generalized periodogram. The generalized periodogram includes sparse arrays such as coprime arrays and two level nested arrays. This paper derives the analytical expected value of the generalized periodogram output for any signal. The generalized periodogram expected value is the convolution of the true spectral density with a windowing function. This result reveals that the expected product spectrum is not guaranteed to be positive definite. The paper also derives the covariance function of the generalized periodogram for a white Gaussian process. Finally, the paper illustrates the implicit equivalence between the product spectrum and estimation of the correlation function from the products of appropriately spaced pairs of sensors.
An Educational Intervention Decreases Opioid Prescribing After General Surgical Operations.

Objective:The aim of this study was to determine whether an educational intervention was sufficient to decrease opioid prescribing after general surgical operations.Summary of Background Data:We recently analyzed opioid prescription and use for 5 common outpatient operations at our institution: part
Period Robustness and Entrainability of the Kai System to Changing Nucleotide Concentrations

Abstract Circadian clocks must be able to entrain to time-varying signals to keep their oscillations in phase with the day-night rhythm. On the other hand, they must also exhibit input compensation: their period must remain approximately one day in different constant environments. The posttranslational oscillator of the Kai system can be entrained by transient or oscillatory changes in the ATP fraction, yet is insensitive to constant changes in this fraction. We study in three different models of this system how these two seemingly conflicting criteria are met. We find that one of these (our recently published Paijmans model) exhibits the best tradeoff between input compensation and entrainability: on the footing of equal phase-response curves, it exhibits the strongest input compensation. Performing stochastic simulations at the level of individual hexamers allows us to identify a new, to our knowledge, mechanism, which is employed by the Paijmans model to achieve input compensation: at lower ATP fraction, the individual hexamers make a shorter cycle in the phosphorylation state space, which compensates for the slower pace at which they traverse the cycle.
A measurement of and R with the CCFR detector

Abstract We report on a measurement of the neutrino-nucleon and antineutrino-nucleon differential cross sections in the CCFR detector. The measurement of the differential cross sections over a wide range of energies allows ΔχF 3 = χF 3 ν −χF 3 v and R to be extracted. ΔχF3 is related to the difference between the contributions of the strange and charm seas in the nucleon to production of massive charm quark. The results for ΔχF3 are compared to various massive charm NLO QCD models. The Q2 dependence of R for χ
Autonomic dysfunction as a mechanism of intradialytic blood pressure instability

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the principal endogenous defense mechanism that maintains blood pressure in the setting of hypotension. Disruption of the ANS impairs this ability and can contribute to blood pressure instability, including hypotension and hypertension. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of the ANS and the consequences of its dysfunction in patients with end-stage kidney disease treated with dialysis. We also discuss possible mechanisms of this autonomic dysfunction that may need future investigation.
MODELING WATER QUALITY CHANGES IN DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS: A U.S. PERSPECTIVE

There is growing interest in understanding the factors that influence changes in water quality in distribution systems. Water quality models provide a systematic method for studying these factors. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has developed a water quality model called EPANET that is widely used in the U.S. In addition the U.S. EPA is conducting a comprehensive research program to study water quality in networks that includes bench, pilot and field studies.
Introduction: Sociocultural Approaches to Understanding Nuclear Thresholds

This chapter serves as the introduction to the volume Crossing Nuclear Thresholds: Leveraging Sociocultural Insights into Nuclear Decisionmaking, introducing the key conceptual and policy issues addressed in the text and providing an overview of the structure and content of the book. The concept of nuclear thresholds, those associated with decisions both to acquire nuclear weapons and to use them, is developed and situated in the existing nuclear literature; and the unique contributions of turning a sociocultural analytic lens to the question of nuclear decisionmaking are explored. In particular, the author evaluates the novel concept of “sacred values,” as it might apply to nuclear aspirations, and gives attention to the strength or fragility of the so-called nuclear taboo. Finally, this chapter provides an overview of the structure and contents of the book by introducing the authors and the principal contributions of each chapter.
A novel endoscopic grading system for prediction of disease-related outcomes in patients with diverticulosis.

Abstract Background We describe a simple endoscopic grading system of diverticular disease for the assessment of disease severity and prediction of outcomes. Methods A retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained colonoscopy database was conducted. A single endoscopist prospectively graded disease severity according to the number and size of diverticula, the degree of muscular hypertrophy and rigidity of the sigmoid colon. Results 762 patients were included in the analysis. Mean patient age was 70 years (range 37–97). Endoscopic severity of diverticulosis was predictive of the need for surgery, with 2% in the mild-moderate, 12% in the severe and 33% in the acute group (p Conclusion Surgeons should consider using endoscopic grading as an adjunct to clinical management decisions.
Correlation between toxicity and outcome after multimodality therapy of locoregionally advanced (LRA) adenocarcinoma (ACA) of the esophagus (E) and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ).

e14611 Background: Multiagent concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) and surgery is a standard curative-intent approach for patients (pts) with LRA ACA of the E/GEJ. This single institution retrospective ...
Robots, Transportation, and Society

It has long been a goal of robotics researchers to build smart vehicles: automobiles and buses and trucks that could avoid accidents, decrease congestion, and decrease driver effort. General Motors built self-driving cars in the 1950’s; Ohio State did land mark work on wire-guided cars in the 1960’s; Moravec’s thesis work in the 1970’s was motivated by this topic; and numerous groups in the 80’s and 90’s in Japan, the US, and Europe have built some sort of self-driving car.
Nucleation and Condensation in Polymer Systems

Synthetic high-polymeric materials, particularly crystallizable ones, have the following two attributes which sharply distinguish them from most other substances: (1) essentially all of them were unknown as recently as thirty years ago, and (2) their molecules have an essentially thread-like shape. Liquids of metals or low-molecular-weight molecules can, to a good approximation, be regarded as aggregates of spheres, or at worst, ellipsoids of small axial ratio. On the other hand, the length of a typical, synthetic, high-polymer molecule is several thousand times its width. Thus, it is not surprising that synthetic high polymers exhibit properties that are very different from those of low-molecular-weight substances, e.g., rubbery behavior. The molecules of synthetic high polymers, being held together by covalent bonds, usually remain inviolate throughout the manipulations to which they are subjected. This is in contradistinction to the melting behavior of inorganic glasses where, because of structure, there must be interchange of bonds between neighboring atoms [1].
Evaluating facial expressions in american sign language animations for accessible online information

Facial expressions and head movements communicate essential information during ASL sentences. We aim to improve the facial expressions in ASL animations and make them more understandable, ultimately leading to better accessibility of online information for deaf people with low English literacy. This paper presents how we engineer stimuli and questions to measure whether the viewer has seen and understood the linguistic facial expressions correctly. In two studies, we investigate how changing several parameters (the variety of facial expressions, the language in which the stimuli were invented, and the degree of involvement of a native ASL signer in the stimuli design) affects the results of a user evaluation study of facial expressions in ASL animation.
Heme Oxygenase-1 and Carbon Monoxide in Vascular Regulation

The gaseous signaling molecules nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO), which are generated endogenously by the heme oxygenase (HO) and nitric oxide synthase (NOS) systems, respectively, play significant roles in the regulation of vascular function. The HO enzymes exist in both constitutive (HO-2, HO-3) and inducible (HO-1) isoforms, the latter identified as a component of the cellular stress response. HO converts heme to CO, biliverdin, and iron; and these metabolites may all contribute to the apparent cytoprotective effects of HO. Like NO, CO has potent vasodilator properties, and may regulate other vascular functions such as the aggregation of platelets and the proliferation of smooth muscle. These effects of CO typically depend on the activation of soluble guanylate cyclase activity. Although toxic at elevated concentrations, exogenous CO may exert anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic properties at low concentration, which depend on the modulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Manipulation of the HO-1/CO system, either by gene transfer or application of low-dose CO, could be applied in the treatment of vascular disease. Beneficial effects of HO/CO have recently been demonstrated in the limitation of ischemia/reperfusion injury during organ transplantation.
A neural mass model to predict electrical stimulation evoked responses in human and non-human primate brain.

Objective Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a valuable tool for ameliorating drug resistant pathologies such as movement disorders and epilepsy. DBS is also being considered for complex neuro-psychiatric disorders, which are characterized by high variability in symptoms and slow responses that hinder DBS setting optimization. The objective of this work was to develop an in silico platform to examine the effects of electrical stimulation in regions neighboring a stimulated brain region. Approach We used the Jansen-Rit neural mass model of single and coupled nodes to simulate the response to a train of electrical current pulses at different frequencies (10-160 Hz) of the local field potential recorded in the amygdala and cortical structures in human subjects and a non-human primate. Results We found that using a single node model, the evoked responses could be accurately modeled following a narrow range of stimulation frequencies. Including a second coupled node increased the range of stimulation frequencies whose evoked responses could be efficiently modeled. Furthermore, in a chronic recording from a non-human primate, features of the in vivo evoked response remained consistent for several weeks, suggesting that model re-parameterization for chronic stimulation protocols would be infrequent. Significance Using a model of neural population activity, we reproduced the evoked response to cortical and subcortical stimulation in human and non-human primate. This modeling framework provides an environment to explore, safely and rapidly, a wide range of stimulation settings not possible in human brain stimulation studies. The model can be trained on a limited dataset of stimulation responses to develop an optimal stimulation strategy for an individual patient.
Effect of wetting states on frequency response of a micropillar-based quartz crystal microbalance

Abstract A new acoustic wave resonance device induced by coupling micropillars with a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM-P) was developed for potential use in a wide range of applications such as drug discovery and development. The effect of wetting states of liquid on the micropillars of the QCM-P devices becomes essential in understanding the frequency signals from QCM in these applications. Euler-Bernoulli beam theory-based models were developed to establish the relationship between the resonance frequency shift of QCM-P and different wetting states of liquid on the micropillar surface including Cassie and Wenzel states. To validate the models, micropillars were fabricated on a QCM substrate by using nanoimprinting lithography (NIL) and liquids with different viscosity and surface tension, as well as different surface treatments were utilized to achieve Cassie and Wenzel states. The experimental results show that both wetting states and micropillar height have profound impact on the frequency shift of the QCM devices and the model can accurately capture the resonance of the QCM-P device and predict the surface-liquid interactions with a reasonable accuracy.
Long-term follow-up after conventional transarterial chemoembolization (c-TACE) with mitomycin for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Background: Conventional transarterial chemoembolization (c-TACE) is a common treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). It is associated with increased overall survival (OS) when compared to conservative management. The purpose of this study is to analyze all c-TACE with mitomycin in patients with HCC at a single institution to determine safety, efficacy, and prognostic factors in a long-term follow-up. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients with HCC treated only with c-TACE with Mitomycin between 2007 and 2012. Efficacy was determined by OS at 1, 3, and 5 years, censored by date of death or last known follow-up. Treatment response was assessed according to mRECIST criteria and the degree of lipiodol uptake by the lesions was assessed by CT at 1-month follow-up. Prognostic factors were analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis, significance levels set at 0.05. Results: A total of 60 patients were identified. OS rate at 1, 3 and 5 years was 72.1%, 47.8% and 39.3%, respectively. Median OS was 15 months. Tumor response by mRECIST criteria was complete; objective response, defined as combination of complete response (CR) and partial response (PR) patients, was 76%. When stratified by tumor response, risk of death in patients with progressive disease in 5 years was significantly higher compared to patients with objective response [hazard ratio (HR): 2.531, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.110–5.778, P=0.0273]. Lipiodol uptake analysis was available in 51 patients; there was no statistically significant difference in OS in patients with higher lipiodol uptake compared to less uptake ( 50% uptake; HR: 0.713, 95% CI: 0.316–1.611, P=0.4161]. Conclusions: c-TACE with mitomycin was effective and safe in this long-term follow-up study. Risk of death was significantly higher in patients without objective tumor response.
Mechanism of stimulation of glucose transport in response to inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation: analysis with myc-tagged Glut1

To determine the role of ‘translocation’ vs. ‘activation’ of Glut1 in the stimulation of glucose transport in response to inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation, we measured the abundance of myc-tagged Glut1 in plasma membrane of stably transfected Clone 9 cells, a rat liver cell line expressing only the Glut1 isoform. The myc epitope-tag is located between Ile56 and Pro57 in the putative first extracellular loop of Glut1. Under basal conditions, transfected cells expressed ~3 fold higher levels of Glut1 and exhibited a ~3 fold higher rate of glucose transport than non-transfected cells. To delineate the mechanism mediating the stimulation of glucose transport by a azide we employed two strategies: (1) mild cell surface biotinylation followed by isolation of plasma membranes and quantitation of Glut1 sites in Western blots employing anti-Glut1 and anti-myc antibodies, and (2) quantitative immunofluorescence of myc epitopes in plasma membrane sheets. The rate of glucose transport increased 2.9 ± 0.5 fold in transfected cells exposed to 5 mM azide for 1 h. Exposure to azide, however, resulted in no significant increase in Glut1 content of plasma membranes using anti-Glut1 or anti-myc antibodies in Western blots (1.0 ± 0.1 and 0.9 ± 0.2 fold, respectively; azide/control), and was associated with no detectable increase in immunofluorescence using either anti-Glut1 or anti-myc antibodies (p > 0.1 for both measurements). Treatment of cells with cobalt chloride (employed as a positive control) resulted in marked increases in glucose transport, cell and plasma membrane Glut1 content, and immunofluorescence of plasma membrane sheets (8-10 fold increase in each parameter). We conclude that the stimulation of glucose transport by azide results mainly from activation of Glut1 transporters pre-existing in the plasma membrane.
Inhibition of DNA-end binding complex formation as a mechanism for celecoxib-induced radioenhancement in human head and neck carcinoma cells

1352 Introduction: Radiotherapy is a key component in the treatment of locally advanced colorectal carcinoma. Some colorectal tumors, however, respond poorly to irradiation and the exact mechanism by which these tumors fail to respond to radiotherapy remains unclear. p53 and p21 status are known to be important mediators of the cell cycle and may be involved in tumor radio-responsiveness. The goal of this study was to examine the role of p53 and p21 in the response of HCT-116 colon carcinoma cells to ionizing irradiation (IR). Methods: The colon carcinoma cell line HCT-116 and its isogenic clones (HCT-116 p53-/p21wt, HCT-116 p53wt/p21-) were utilized for these studies. Asynchronous cells were irradiated and then assessed by clonogenic assay and flow cytometry (FACS). The expression of key cell cycle regulators was measured using Western blot analysis. Results: Sixteen hours after WT cells were exposed to 6 Gy of IR a decrease in S (25% ± 3), a corresponding increase in G2 (30% ± 4), and a stable G1 population (3% ± 2) were noted. In contrast, both p53- and p21- cells showed a marked increase in G2 (62% ± 5 and 48% ± 6, respectively) with a decrease in both G1 (22% ± 3 and 15% ± 3, respectively) and S (40% ± 5 and 34% ± 4, respectively). Examination of the kinetics of the IR induced cell cycle phase changes was performed by exposing the isogenic cells to low (2 Gy) and moderate (6 Gy) IR after which the cells were harvested for FACS over a 48h period (1.5 X doubling time). Both 2 Gy and 6 Gy IR resulted in a sustained (33h) G1 block in WT cells, which began at 12h and peaked at 24h. Although 2 Gy IR induced a similar G1 arrest in p53- cells, the block was significantly attenuated and of shorter duration (12h); no changes were noted in p21- cells. Higher 6 Gy IR resulted in a sustained (18h) G2 block in p53- cells, but only an abbreviated (8h) G2 arrest in p21- cells. Consistent with cell cycle kinetics, western blot analysis of irradiated WT cells showed a 3-fold induction of p53, a 4-fold induction of p21, and a 2-fold decrease in pRb. p53- cells showed similar changes in p21 and pRb, while p21- cells failed to show significant changes in any of the cell cycle regulators examined. Survival analysis revealed that p21- cells were the most radioresistant with 20.8% cell survival. In contrast, WT cells were the most radiosensitive with only 8.9% cell survival, while p53 deficient cells displayed intermediate radiosensitivity (13.6%). Analysis of the apoptotic pathway showed upregulation of the pro-apoptotic proteins BAX and caspase 3 in WT and p53- cells, but not p21- cells. Conclusion: IR induces a differential cell cycle arrest in colon carcinoma cells depending on the IR dose and the p53/p21 status of the tumor. HCT-116 p21- cells were the most radioresistant, yet showed the least amount of cell cycle checkpoint activation after IR. Our data suggests that this radioresistance may be mediated through the inability of p21- cells to activate pro-apoptotic pathways.
Curriculum in conflict: how African American and Indigenous educational thought complicates the hidden curriculum

This article is a discussion of the hidden curriculum and the settler-colonial erasure that it propagates. There are two guiding questions that focus this work: (1) what are the assumptions that un...
Exploring Spatiotemporal Functional Connectivity Dynamics of the Human Brain using Convolutional and Recursive Neural Networks

Many cognitive pathologies can be characterized by abnormalities in functional connectivity. Deep artificial neural networks may provide an innovative tool, capable of modeling highly complex spatiotemporal connectivity dynamics. We combine convolutional and recursive artificial neural network architectures to differentiate functional connectivity patterns associated with high and low working memory load conditions. Source-level Pearson correlation coefficient-estimated parcellated connectomes, detected using magnetoencephalography, are processed as machine learning input. Initial findings show patterns of increasing artificial neural network accuracy linked to task evoked functional network coherence dynamics. Planned artificial neural network architecture optimizations may improve feature detection and projection of learned features onto input space for translational applications.
Literature and Professionalism in Medicine

This chapter presents the usefulness of literature to the development of professionalism in healthcare. More specifically, it presents narratives of three physicians and the ethical and professional issues with which they engage: an analysis of the experience of Dr. Michael LaCombe, a short story by Richard Selzer focused on surgeon, and a poem in which Dr. Audrey Shafer balances her family life and her professional career. This chapter is closely related to Appendix 5, which describes the usefulness of literature in relation to the way in which the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education incorporates professionalism as one of the six “core competencies” that are required to be assessed by graduate medical education training programs for all trainees.
Ramps remain a barrier to safe wheelchair user transit bus ingress/egress.

Background: Wheelchair users (WCUs) often rely on ramps for access to transit buses. Previous studies indicate WCUs have difficulty using ramps for bus ingress/egress and many transportation-relate...
The application of Salmonella serotype and pulsed field gel electrophoresis molecular typing in epidemiological investigation

Salmonella can cause food poisoning and food-borne disease outbreaks,which is a significant global public health problem.The serotype of salmonella isolated from human infection,and the PFGE molecular typing of Salmonella strains with the same serotype,can enhance the ability of identifying food-borne disease outbreaks,detect cases and trace the source of infection.In the article,the advance of Samondla serotype and PFGE molecular typing and its apphcation are reviewed. Key words: Samonella; Serotype; Outbreak; Pulsed field gel electrophoresis; PulseNet
Taking Sides: Urban Wandering as Decolonial Translation and Critique of Settler Colonialism

Abstract: Colonialism fragments meaning. This essay takes up colonial fragmentation of meaning as a question of translation. It offers a decolonial methodology to unpack the political stakes as one moves back and forth across the colonial line. The methodology is based on a conscious process of urban wandering or drifting, what the Situationists called the “derive.” Two case studies of itinerant decolonial theorizing follow. The first is a sketch of the militarized border between the US and Mexico, and the second example has to do with Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day. In the case studies, translating is treated as a question of “tuning in” as one tunes into a conversation, or, alternatively, as if into a radio frequency. The metaphor of translation-as-tuning-in allows us to address practical and concrete questions of translation in everyday settings, as well as contemporary theoretical debates in translation studies. Keywords: translation; colonialism; decolonial methodology; border; derive