cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Receptor editing and genetic variability in human autoreactive B cells

The mechanisms by which B cells undergo tolerance, such as receptor editing, clonal deletion, and anergy, have been established in mice. However, corroborating these mechanisms in humans remains challenging. To study how autoreactive human B cells undergo tolerance, we developed a novel humanized mouse model. Mice expressing an anti-human Igκ membrane protein to serve as a ubiquitous neo self-antigen (Ag) were transplanted with a human immune system. By following the fate of self-reactive human κ(+) B cells relative to nonautoreactive λ(+) cells, we show that tolerance of human B cells occurs at the first site of self-Ag encounter, the bone marrow, via a combination of receptor editing and clonal deletion. Moreover, the amount of available self-Ag and the genetics of the cord blood donor dictate the levels of central tolerance and autoreactive B cells in the periphery. Thus, this model can be useful for studying specific mechanisms of human B cell tolerance and to reveal differences in the extent of this process among human populations.
High Affinity Macrocycle Threading by a Near-Infrared Croconaine Dye with Flanking Polymer Chains

Croconaine dyes have narrow and intense absorption bands at ∼800 nm, very weak fluorescence, and high photostabilities, which combine to make them very attractive chromophores for absorption-based imaging or laser heating technologies. The physical supramolecular properties of croconaine dyes have rarely been investigated, especially in water. This study focuses on a molecular threading process that encapsulates a croconaine dye inside a tetralactam macrocycle in organic or aqueous solvent. Macrocycle association and rate constant data are reported for a series of croconaine structures with different substituents attached to the ends of the dye. The association constants were highest in water (Ka ∼ 10(9) M(-1)), and the threading rate constants (kon) increased in the solvent order H2O > MeOH > CHCl3. Systematic variation of croconaine substituents located just outside the croconaine/macrocycle complexation interface hardly changed Ka but had a strong influence on kon. A croconaine dye with N-propyl groups at each end of the structure exhibited a desirable mixture of macrocycle threading properties; that is, there was rapid and quantitative croconaine/macrocycle complexation at relatively high concentrations in water, and no dissociation of the preassembled complex when it was diluted into a solution of fetal bovine serum, even after laser-induced photothermal heating of the solution. The combination of favorable near-infrared absorption properties and tunable mechanical stability makes threaded croconaine/macrocycle complexes very attractive as molecular probes or as supramolecular composites for various applications in absorption-based imaging or photothermal therapy.
Is Tax Increment Financing Effective for Residential Development

The authors look at whether placement within a tax increment financing (TIF) district significantly increases the value of residential property over time. They say its success can be hindered by incentives for private developers. During times of fiscal constraint, TIF represents a viable atlernative for promoting residential development and increasing property valuation, the authors say.
Meningitis Due to Staphylococcus aureus in Children

Meningitis due to Staphylococcus aureus is uncommon, occurring primarily in patients with known preexisting abnormalities of the CNS (including patients who have undergone previous neurosurgery or trauma). We reviewed our experience with meningitis due to S. aureus in children seen at two medical centers. Among the 40 patients, 32 (80%) had a known predisposing abnormality of the CNS at the time of diagnosis of S. aureus meningitis; all of these 32 patients had had recent neurosurgery, most for placement or revision of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Eight patients had no known predisposing CNS abnormality. Four of these eight patients were known to be immunocompromised. The other four patients all had an occult CNS abnormality demonstrated during subsequent workup. Our series demonstrates that when the diagnosis of S. aureus meningitis is made in the absence of a known predisposing CNS abnormality or immunologic defect, then a timely search for an occult CNS abnormality should be undertaken.
Rabies prophylaxis. The physician's dilemma.

The decision to administer rabies vaccine can be made only by the attending physician and should be based solely on the probability that the patient has been exposed to rabies virus in such a manner that infection is likely to result. This probability is based on the biting species, local prevalence of rabies, clinical status of the animal, vaccination history of the animal, severity of the bite, exposure site, local wound cleansing, previous immunization history of the patient, and age. If vaccine is to be administered, it should be initiated as soon as possible after the exposure, and should be accompanied by thorough local wound cleansing.
Cultured thyroid cells respond to exogenous thyroxine.

SummaryThyroxine (1.78 × 10-8-1.78 × 10-5M) enhances the colony-formation of serially propagated steer throid cells. Radio-autographs indicate that thyroxine likewise stimulates the incorporation of 3H-leucine by these cultured cells. The analogous effects in situ of thyroxine on the thyroid follicular cell should be sought.
Sunday Business and the Decline of Sunday Closing Laws: A Historical Overview

Sunday closing laws, once deeply embedded in American govern ment practice and public behavior, have largely vanished or become inconsequential in the United States. Initially they were inspired by a strong religious heritage that sought to order society by God's com mands. But over time, people who supported those laws, Sabbatarians, as they are now known, regarded them as symbolic expressions of the dominant culture asserting order and stability in an increasingly diverse and changing society. Because Sunday closing laws declined only after often bitter conflicts, much of the serious attention given to their his tory has properly focused on clashing cultural preferences and civil lib erties issues involving church-state relations. To understand what happened to Sunday closing laws, however, at tention must also be directed at competing economic interests and atti tudes. Apart from religious devotion or cultural symbolism, practical considerations led some Americans to support Sunday closing laws and others to oppose them. In ways insufficiently appreciated, those laws were eventually undermined by the gradual public acceptance of the commercialization of Sunday, part of the spreading culture of con sumption that included buying, selling, and leisure activities. Cultural critic Witold Rybczynski poses an interesting rhetorical question: "Is the weekend merely the cunning marketing ploy of the materialist cul ture, a device to increase consumption?"1 The history of Sunday clos ing laws suggests an answer in the affirmative. Those laws declined, in large part, because Americans wanted to go shopping on Sundays.
Association of varicella zoster virus with giant cell arteritis.

Among the many scientific interests of Hilary Koprowski, I believe he was most excited by the possibility that multiple sclerosis (MS) was caused by a virus. Although our close collaboration from 1971 to 1985 did not reveal an association between MS and a virus, if HK (as we affectionately called him) were alive today, I am sure he would be equally tantalized by the recent studies described below that link varicella zoster virus (VZV) with giant cell arteritis (GCA).
Studies of Tissue Permeability: VI. THE PENETRATION AND PHOSPHORYLATION OF 2-DEOXYGLUCOSE IN THE DIAPHRAGM OF DIABETIC RATS

The utilization of glucose by striated muscle of the diabetic animal is markedly impaired. Whether this is a consequence of decreased cellular permeability to glucose or a diminution in the ability of muscle to phosphorylate glucose has not been resolved, since previous investigations have been concerned with measurements of utilization rates, a parameter which does not enable one to distinguish between transport and subsequent phosphorylation. Recent observations on intact animals (1) suggested that both processes are impaired in the diabetic state. A further exploration of this problem has been carried out in vitro with an intact rat diaphragm preparation with the glucose analogue 2-deosyglucose. This sugar is phosphorylated by hexokinase as rapidly as is glucose,’ but the phosphorylated product, 2-deoxyglucose g-phosphate, is not acted upon appreciably by other muscle enzymes and hence accumulates within the cell. These properties permitted the investigation of cellular penetration and phosphorylation as separate events. In the present paper it will be shown that there is a disturbance of both penetration and phosphorylation in diabetic muscle. The former is caused by a lack of insulin, whereas the latter can be attributed, at least in part, to the action of adrenal cortical secretions. Additional observations are recorded which indicate that the cut hemidiaphragm preparation is much more permeable to sugars than the intact preparation.*
A systematic review of clinically available gene expression profiling assays for stage II colorectal cancer: initial steps toward genetic staging.

Abstract Background In recent years, increasingly accessible and novel genetic technologies have spurred keen interest in the application of cancer genetics in predicting prognosis and response to treatment. In particular, investigators have eagerly sought to establish and validate genetic signatures that might improve the identification of patients with stage II colorectal cancer (CRC) who are at highest risk of recurrence. To better understand the evidence for incorporation of genetic assays into clinical practice, we have systematically reviewed those assays that have been validated and are available for clinical use in stage II CRC. Methods A systematic review was performed using PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases. The GRADE system was used to evaluate level of evidence and strength of recommendations. Results After duplicates were removed and exclusion criteria were applied, there were 13 articles for review. Conclusion Identifying high-risk patients with stage II CRC using molecular profiling has been the primary aim of many investigators, and the approach is translating into clinical utility.
Predicting Poll Trends Using Twitter and Multivariate Time-Series Classification

Social media outlets, such as Twitter, provide invaluable information for understanding the social and political climate surrounding particular issues. Millions of people who vary in age, social class, and political beliefs come together in conversation. However, this information poses challenges to making inferences from these tweets. Using the tweets from the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign, one main research question is addressed in this work. That is, can accurate predictions be made detecting changes in a political candidate’s poll score trends utilizing tweets created during their campaign? The novelty of this work is that we formulate the problem as a multivariate time-series classification problem, which fits the temporal nature of tweets, rather than as a traditional attribute-based classification. Features that represent various aspects of support for (or against) a candidate are tracked on an hour-by-hour basis. Together these form multivariate time-series. One commonly used approach to this problem is based on the majority voting scheme. This method assumes the univariate time-series from different features have equal importance. To alleviate this issue a weighted shapelet transformation model is proposed. Extensive experiments on over 12 million tweets between November 2015 and January 2016 related to the four primary candidates (Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Ted Cruz) indicate that the multivariate time-series approach outperforms traditional attribute-based approaches.
Requirements for Molecular Programmed Nanosystems (Keynote)

Molecular programming of DNA makes use of computeraided design, a programming language to encode the design, and a a compiler that compiles the code into a list of corresponding DNA strands. To implement the code, the developer orders the DNA from a supplier and then runs the molecular program in the laboratory. Instruments such as spectrofluorometers and atomic force microscopes help verify that the molecular program ran correctly, self-assembling to achieve the intended structure and behavior. Applications of molecular programming that are on the horizon for commercial production include targeted and personalized medical applications, biosensors for air and water, molecular robots that can navigate in cells, and biocompatible computational devices. In this talk I describe the experiences and results of our interdisciplinary team in applying goal-oriented requirements techniques, reaction network modeling, and probabilistic model checking to molecular programmed nanosystems. Requirements challenges include handling scalability to very large numbers of devices or services (roughly similar to the internet of things), dealing with probabilistic behavior, and understanding the limits of safe operation in changing (literally fluid) environments. I discuss how computational tools and thinking assist the development efforts and what limitations currently hamper our requirements analysis in practice. More broadly, I suggest that the approaches useful for molecular programming may help with understanding the requirements for other large, distributed, autonomous systems.
Regulation of Gastric Metaplasia, Dysplasia, and Neoplasia by Bone Morphogenetic Protein Signaling

The bone morphogenetic proteins, (BMP)s are regulatory peptides that have significant effects on the growth and differentiation of gastrointestinal tissues. In addition, the BMPs have been shown to exert anti-inflammatory actions in the gut and to negatively regulate the growth of gastric neoplasms. The role of BMP signaling in the regulation of gastric metaplasia, dysplasia and neoplasia has been poorly characterized. Transgenic expression in the mouse stomach of the BMP inhibitor noggin leads to decreased parietal cell number, increased epithelial cell proliferation, and to the emergence of SPEM. Moreover, expression of noggin increases Helicobacter-induced inflammation and epithelial cell proliferation, accelerates the development of dysplasia, and it increases the expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). These findings provide new clues for a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms that regulate gastric inflammation and the development of both dysplastic and neoplastic lesions of the stomach.
Unusual ultrasound appearance of small bowel intussusception and secondary bowel obstruction in a child with Peutz-Jeghers syndrome

Small bowel intussusception (SBI) in pediatric patients resolves spontaneously in the majority of cases. Pathologic small bowel intussusception with a lead point is rare in children. Ultrasound (US) is the preferred initial imaging study for the diagnosis of intussusception. We report a case of long-segment SBI and secondary bowel obstruction caused by a large hamartomatous polyp. This case emphasizes unique, atypical ultrasound findings that may be encountered in small bowel intussusception, with correlative radiographic, CT (computed tomography) and intra-operative findings. Increased awareness of these atypical imaging features can lead to early diagnosis and decrease the risk of potential complications including mesenteric venous thrombosis, bowel ischemia and necrosis.
The Role of Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in the Treatment of Brain Tumors

The standard of care for malignant gliomas of the brain has changed very little over the last few decades, and does not offer a cure for these rare, but fatal, tumors. The field of immunotherapy has brought potent new drugs into the oncological armamentarium, and is becoming recognized as a potentially important arm in the treatment of glioblastoma for adults. Immune checkpoints are inhibitory receptors found on immune cells that, when stimulated, cause those immune cells to become quiescent. While this is a natural mechanism to prevent excessive inflammatory damage and autoimmunity in otherwise healthy tissues, cancer cells may utilize this process to grow in the absence of targeted immune destruction. Antibodies derived to block the stimulation of these negative checkpoints, allowing immune cells to remain activated and undergo effector function, are a growing area of immunotherapy. These therapies have seen much success in both the preclinical and clinical arenas for various tumors, particularly melanoma and nonsmall-cell lung cancer. Multiple clinical trials are underway to determine if these drugs have efficacy in glioblastoma. Here, we review the current evidence, from early preclinical data to lessons learned from clinical trials outside of glioblastoma, to assess the potential of immune checkpoint inhibition in the treatment of brain tumors and discuss how this therapy may be implemented with the present standard of care.
Chiari I malformation with underlying pseudotumor cerebri: Poor symptom relief following posterior decompression surgery.

Abstract Introduction Pseudotumor cerebri (PTC) patients exhibit clear clinical signs and symptoms of higher intracranial pressure (ICP) without ventricular enlargement or mass lesions. The clinical picture of patients with PTC can sometimes be similar to that of Chiari Malformation type I (CMI). There is some evidence that Chiari I malformation and PTC may coexist, which raises the question of whether PTC is an idiopathic disease or a complication of posterior decompression surgery—treatment of choice for Chiari I malformation. Presentation of cases A retrospective review of electronic medical records of patients diagnosed with PTC at the University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC) was performed. The objective was to determine whether PTC patients had a concurrent diagnosis of Chiari I malformation and whether the diagnosis of PTC occurred before or after posterior decompression surgery. Out of the 8 eligible patient medical records reviewed, 5 patients diagnosed with PTC had undergone posterior decompression surgery for Chiari I malformation at anywhere from several days to three years prior to being diagnosed with PTC. The diagnosis of PTC was based on temporary symptomatic relief following lumbar puncture which also showed elevated CSF opening pressures. Finally, a VP shunt was placed in each of the 5 patients to relieve the elevated intracranial pressure which resulted in the complete resolution of the patients' symptoms. Discussion Our study focuses on patients who were diagnosed with and treated for CMI then reported back to the clinic within several days to three years complaining of symptoms of headache. Upon re-presenting to the clinic, a CSF flow study was performed which showed normal flow of CSF. Then, these patients underwent a lumbar puncture which demonstrated an elevated opening pressure (and ICP) and a temporary relief of the headache with lumbar drainage. A VP shunt was placed for each patient to treat for PTC, and the patients’ headaches were relieved. Conclusion This study suggests that the presence of Chiari I malformation in a patient conceals the symptoms of PTC which may become apparent following posterior decompression surgery. Other possibilities could be that the patients are misdiagnosed for Chiari I malformation when they are in fact suffering from PTC, or that PTC is a complication of surgery.
Equity premium predictions with many predictors: A risk-based explanation of the size and value factors

Abstract This paper investigates whether a direct mechanism can be found that demonstrates that the size and value factors of Fama and French (1993) are indeed ICAPM factors, as some have suggested. The results endorse this hypothesis: small size and value portfolios reflect changes in future investment opportunities. To test the hypothesis, the paper forecasts the equity premium using disaggregated portfolio returns with a partial least squares (PLS) regression approach. PLS is chosen as it is particularly suited to condense a large set of portfolios into a single index. The “index” portfolio obtained from the forecast performs well out of sample and hedges against future market risk, in addition to explaining future market returns in sample. Thus, the index portfolio may be viewed as an additional risk factor in the form of a Merton (1973) state variable. The index places larger weights on small size and value portfolios. This also provides a possible explanation for why equal-weighted portfolios typically perform better out of sample compared to factors implied by traditional mean-variance approaches and asset pricing models.
Inflation in Europe after the Great Recession

Abstract Inflation in Europe fell sharply after the Great Recession in 2008 due to the severity of the financial crisis. However, the post-recession sharp decline in inflation in 2012 was not anticipated by most observers. This paper seeks to explain this behavior of eurozone core inflation, which we do by estimating a Phillips curve with professional forecasters' inflation expectations. Doing so produces inflation predictions that closely match the observed behavior of core inflation, whereas lagged expectations fail to predict the 2012 disinflation. Furthermore, we find that short-term inflation expectations are most relevant for the euro area, rather than longer-term ones. Indeed the evidence suggests that the ECB's inflation anchor of 2% has weakened since the Great Recession, and is something that should cause policymakers a lot of concern.
Scaling Up Parallel Computation of Tiled QR Factorizations by a Distributed Scheduling Runtime System and Analytical Modeling

Implementing parallel software for QR factorizations to achieve scalable performance on massively parallel manycore systems requires a comprehensive design that includes algorithm redesign, efficie...
Isopycnic analysis of intact cells — II: Changes in Aspergillusornatus with age

Abstract Shake cultures of the Ascomycetes fungus Aspergillus ornatus were tested for changes in cellular specific gravity versus aging. The sharp rise in specific gravity in the germinating culture was followed by a slower, but substantial drop as the hyphal cells aged. DNA, RNA, crude protein, and crude lipids were all measured against the pycnotic curve. The decline of the cellular specific gravity is attributed to a substantial rise in lipid content.
Chapter 15 – SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS

Publisher Summary The optimal design of structural and thermal systems is usually obtained by employing finite element models. Usually, these are viewed as either a shape optimization for minimum weight or fully stressed designs or the determination of design parameters, such as thickness, for a given shape. Sensitivity analysis is an important aspect of these optimal design problems. Various sensitivity formulations are available but the question is which is computationally most efficient when used in conjunction with a finite element analysis. Most of the literature addresses structural problems. This chapter presents a review of the notation for finite element structural analysis. It introduces the notation for the optimal design problem, the sensitivity analysis for structures, and a new method for addressing stress failure criteria sensitivity.
Teaching software engineering through the use of mobile application development

Mobile computing is on the brink of becoming the most widely used form of computing. In the October-November 2012 of The Economist [4] it was reported that "[b]y 2017 the volume of mobile data traffic will be 21 times greater than it was in 2011." Smartphones and tablets will increase subscriptions for mobile-broadband to approximately 5 billion. With this predicted increase in users and devices, it is essential that students majoring in computer science today be prepared for the future. If not, they will be left behind. Practical software engineering requires experience in developing applications that have significant complexity and reality. Developing applications for mobile devices provides the opportunity to meet both of these requirements while introducing undergraduate and graduate students to topics and skills that can contribute to their employability. This paper describes the efforts being conducted to teach advanced software engineering concepts at Jackson State University through the use of its Innovative Mobile Application Development (iMAD) Laboratory. Topics discussed in this paper are applicable to all persons interested in establishing a similar lab and introducing students to software engineering for mobile application development.
Forecasting bacterial survival-success and adaptive evolution through multi-omics stress response-mapping, network analyses and machine learning

Whether a bacterial pathogen establishes an infection and/or evolves antibiotic resistance depends on successful survival while experiencing stress from for instance the host immune system and/or antibiotics. Predictions on bacterial survival and adaptive outcomes could thus have great prognostic value. However, it is unknown what information is required to enable such predictions. By developing a novel network-based analysis method, a bacterium's phenotypic and transcriptional response can be objectively quantified in temporal 3D-feature space. The resulting trajectories can be interpreted as a degree of coordination, where a focused and coordinated response predicts bacterial survival-success, and a random uncoordinated response predicts survival-failure. These predictions extend to both antibiotic resistance and in vivo infection conditions and are applicable to both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Moreover, through experimental evolution we show that the degree of coordination is an adaptive outcome - an uncoordinated response evolves into a coordinated response when a bacterium adapts to its environment. Most surprisingly, it turns out that phenotypic and transcriptional response data, network features and genome plasticity data can be used to train a machine learning model that is able to predict which genes in the genome will adapt under nutrient or antibiotic selection. Importantly, this suggests that deterministic factors help drive adaptation and that evolution is, at least partially, predictable. This work demonstrates that with the right information predictions on bacterial short-term survival and long-term adaptive outcomes are feasible, which underscores that personalized infectious disease diagnostics and treatments are possible, and should be developed.
It’s a Win–Win–Win: Using Human Peer to Peer Networks to Reach Learners Where They Are

In the Spring 2017 semester, an instructional designer, a writing center coordinator, and a director of distance library services initiated a pilot project for a seven-campus, eight-satellite cente...
Computed tomographic angiography and ultrasonography in the diagnosis and evaluation of acute pancreatitis in dogs

Background Acute pancreatitis in dogs is an under-diagnosed disease. Current diagnostic methods are insufficient at identifying sequelae and lack prognostic capability. Computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is accurate for diagnosis and prognostication of pancreatitis in humans. Objectives In comparison to ultrasound (US), CTA will (1) better diagnose more severe pancreatitis and sequelae and (2) provide assessment of patient outcome by identification of pancreatic contrast enhancement patterns. Animals Twenty-six client-owned dogs suspected to have acute pancreatitis. Methods US and CTA examinations performed at time of admission were compared to determine the detection of pancreatic changes and sequelae. CTA findings also were compared to outcome indicators for prognosis of dogs with acute pancreatitis. Specific canine pancreatic lipase (cPL) samples were obtained and compared with CTA findings. Results Ten of 26 dogs had heterogeneous contrast enhancement of the pancreas. Compared to US, CTA better identified portal vein thrombosis (P = .003). Patients with heterogeneous contrast enhancement had longer hospitalization (P = .01), including hospital stays for >5 days (P = .02), had more relapses, and were more likely to have portal vein thrombosis (P = .002). Patients with heterogeneous contrast enhancement had increased spec cPL (P = .006). Conclusions and clinical importance In comparison to US, CTA better identified dogs with more severe acute pancreatitis and those with portal vein thrombosis, factors that may predict longer hospitalization and increased risk of relapse. The presence of heterogeneous contrast enhancement and portal vein thrombosis may change therapy for patients with acute pancreatitis.
Frequency of "on-label" use of intravenous diltiazem for rate control in patients with acute-onset atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter.

Purpose The study was designed to characterize "on-label" use of i.v. diltiazem in patients with acute atrial fibrillation or flutter (AFF). Methods An IRB-approved, single-center, retrospective, observational design was used. Eligible patients had acute AFF with heart rate >120 bpm and received i.v. diltiazem from June 1, 2012, to June 30, 2014. The primary outcome was frequency of on-label use of i.v. diltiazem, defined as use of at least one FDA-approved weight-based bolus dose followed by an infusion, if appropriate, in the absence of contraindications. Results A total of 300 patients were screened; 97 patients were included for analysis. I.V. diltiazem was used on-label in only 14 patients (14%). Of the 96 patients who received an initial diltiazem bolus injection, the median dose was significantly higher in patients for whom the diltiazem dose was on-label, as follows: 17.5 mg (interquartile range [IQR]), 10-20 mg vs. 10.0 mg (IQR, 10-20 mg), p < 0.02). Twenty-nine patients (35%) in the off-label group had a therapeutic response to diltiazem alone compared with 8 patients (57%) in the on-label group (p = 0.11). More patients treated with off-label diltiazem bolus injection required additional rate control medications (41% vs. 7%, p < 0.04). Conclusion In most patients, i.v. diltiazem was not used in accordance with FDA labeling. For most, i.v. diltiazem doses were lower than recommended and many of these patients required additional rate control medications to achieve a therapeutic response.
Concomitant bone regeneration to restore bone stock during revision distal femur replacement after large tumor resection

Loss of bone stock is a common problem in revision arthroplasty, specifically in large distal femur replacements (DFRs) after tumor resection. It can lead to worse functional outcomes and increased risk of revision procedures. Restoration of bone using distraction osteogenesis (DO) with an intramedullary nail may be an appropriate solution for this problem, especially in younger adults who may require future surgical interventions. In this series of three patients, we describe the successful use of DO through an internal device to address bone loss after a large osseous resection and revision endoprosthetic reconstruction. Bone stock was restored with a combination of lengthening and bone transport using a multistage revision strategy: removal of existing hardware, treatment of infection if present, lengthening of proximal femur with a temporary antibiotic spacer in the distal femur, and reimplantation of a definitive DFR after bone stock restoration. A magnetically actuated internal lengthening intramedullary rod was utilized to perform the proximal femur osteoplasty. Conversion to a definitive weight-bearing DFR was achieved in two patients; one patient required an above-the-knee amputation for chronic osteomyelitis which could not be controlled after numerous debridements and courses of IV antibiotics. In this patient, the infection could be eradicated from the lengthened bone, the regenerate bone served to provide length to the amputation stump and fully remodeled to provide full weight-bearing and prosthetic use. DO was successfully used in three patients for revision DFR and bone stock restoration. In one of the two patients who required revision surgery for infection, amputation was ultimately required. All three patients achieved successful bone regeneration.
How Are Children in the United States Doing

The growing discrepancy in family wealth has created two sets of young people: those with educated, thriving parents and those with less-educated, poor parents. Only 31% of our children have all of the five basic supports thought to be needed for optimal healthy development. One-third have significant educational, health, mental health, or behavioral problems. Disruptive behavior in many schools necessitates the presence of police. An increasing cohort of children is growing up uncontrollable and unreachable because they did not form secure attachment bonds during early life. They do not have functioning consciences.
Love Understood: The Science of Who, How, and Why We Love

Love Understood is a popular psychology book that reviews the research literature on various aspects of love relationships and illustrates empirically derived insights with extensive verbatim quote...
AB0707 IS ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED MALIGNANCY RISK

Background: Increased cancer risk has been reported with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Few studies on malignancy risk in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients have provided conflicting data. Objectives: To look at the risk of cancer in AS patients in the US and identify any risk factors associated with increased cancer frequency. Methods: This is a retrospective observational study using the IBM Explorys data base, a pooled de-identified clinical data base of > 60 million unique patients in the US with patient level data. The Explorys collects aggregated, standardized and normalized clinical data from different electronic health records automatically updated in near real time. In Explorys, patient records are mapped into a single set of Unified Medical Language System ontologies to facilitate searching and indexing. Diagnoses, findings and procedures are mapped into the systematized nomenclature of medicine – clinical terms (SNOMED-CT) hierarchy. Criteria of AS included at least one visit with a rheumatologist and the diagnosis code of AS (N=14,310) between 2009-2019. We further stratified the cohorts by adding the following variables to the search tool: race, gender, smoking, laboratory data (elevated ESR and CRP, HLA-B27 status), extra articular manifistations (psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease or uveitis) and medication use (TNF inhibitor, secukinumab or NSAIDs). The index date was defined as the date of the first ever malignant neoplastic disease diagnosis occurring after the qualifying AS diagnosis. The controls group (24,542,770) included all adults ≥ 18 years of age with exclusion of positive ANA, diagnosis of RA, SLE, AS, or vasculitis, and at least one outpatient office visit during the study period. For both groups we excluded previous diagnosis of cancer prior to 2009. A chi-square test of association was performed between the 2 groups (AS patients and controls) and the odds ratio (OR), its standard error, and the 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results: Of the 14,310 patients with AS, only 1300 (9.08%) patients had a cancer diagnosis compared to 2,719,240 controls (11.07%). The AS patients found to have decreased odds of cancer compared to control group (Odds ratio 0.9004, 95 % CI: 0.8502 to 0.9536, P = 0.0003). Demographics and clinical characteristic of AS patients and controls with cancer are shown in table 1. Risk factors for increased cancer risk in AS patients are shown in table 2. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that cancer risk was lower in the AS patients in the USA compared to the controls with no rheumatic disease. Male sex, white race, HLA-B27 positivity, history of IBD, NSAIDs use, and elevated makers of inflammation were associated with higher odds of cancer in AS patients. Acknowledgments: Dr. Yasir Tarabichi and Dr. David Kaelber Disclosure of Interests: Sali Merjanah: None declared, Mohamad Bittar: None declared, Marina Magrey Grant/research support from: AbbVie, Amgen, and UCB, Consultant of: Eli Lilly and Novartis
Key Clinical and Translational Research Questions to Address Unmet Needs in Mantle Cell Lymphoma.

Survival for patients with mantle cell lymphoma has improved dramatically over the last 2 decades owing to a better understanding of disease biology and the development of more effective treatment regimens for patients with untreated and relapsed disease. With these advancements, we are now poised to ask questions that challenge old treatment strategies, use new technologies, and improve our understanding of disease heterogeneity. This article focuses on questions that we believe will drive the future of mantle cell lymphoma treatment. Although not an exhaustive list, we review current literature, ongoing studies, and provide expert opinion on future trial design.
Commander-in-Chief, India: Campaigns (1893–1898)

Chapter 7, “Commander-in-Chief, India: Campaigns (1893–1898),” continues the investigation of White’s five-year tenure as senior military officer in India. White was responsible for launching a number of expeditions to the North-West Frontier including those to Malakand, Chitral, and Tirah, the latter of which proved to be Great Britain’s largest in the region.
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Lessens the Deleterious Effect of Omission of Adjuvant Chemotherapy

Despite controversy regarding the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, nearly half of resected patients do not receive chemotherapy postoperatively. This study aimed to examine whether use of NAC compensates for omission of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) for resected pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Adults with resected stages 1 to 3 pancreatic adenocarcinoma were enrolled from the National Cancer Database NCDB (2006–2016). Overall survival (OS) analyses were used to examine the impact of NAC on those who did not receive AC. The study analyzed a national cohort of 56,286 patients: 30% without chemotherapy, 11% with NAC, 54% with AC, and 5% with NAC plus AC. Use of NAC increased by more than 400% from 2006 to 2016, whereas the rates for omission of chemotherapy remained unchanged. The OS rates were similar between the patients who received NAC and those who received AC (hazard ratio, 0.97; p = 0.21). Among the patients who did not receive AC, NAC was associated with improved OS (26.7 vs. 18.4 months; p < 0.0001). The patients who did not receive AC but underwent NAC had a median OS comparable with the OS of those who received AC alone (26.9 vs. 24.7 months). In the adjusted analysis, the use of NAC for those without AC was significantly associated with improved OS (estimate, − 0.24; p < 0.0001). Although data are limited regarding the survival benefit derived from neoadjuvant versus adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, nearly half of patients do not receive adjuvant chemotherapy. This study demonstrates that the use of NAC lessens the survival disadvantage caused by omission of AC. Despite controversy, NAC may be considered for pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients given the high likelihood that adjuvant chemotherapy will be omitted.
Can Health Care Law and Policy Be Guided by Basic Values?: The Crucial Role of Perfectionist Solidarity

Against the background of continuing national debate over health care law and policy, this Article addresses questions of fundamental justification. Health care law and policy arrangements are often defended in terms of one form or another of the idea of equality. This Article contends, however, that no conception of equality can adequately serve as the primary or most crucial justificatory value underlying a health care system. The most promising candidate for such a role is, instead, what the Article introduces and describes as the value of perfectionist solidarity.
Accelerating ocean-based renewable energy educational opportunities to achieve a clean energy future

The United Nations has named 2021–2030 the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development with goals to "strengthen the international cooperation needed to develop the scientific research and innovative technologies that can connect ocean science with the needs of society" (IOC 2019). Important actions that have been identified in support of sustainable development goals include capacity-building, training, and education. This includes educational opportunities for ocean-based renewable energy development in support of a healthy planet and ocean. Offshore wind is experiencing rapid development globally and, while the U.S. offshore wind market is still nascent, it is on the brink of exponential growth based on large cost reductions driven largely by European development and technology advances. Growth is also expected in wave and tidal energy with significant opportunities identified for various distributed markets through the Powering the Blue Economy initiative, with longer-term implications for expansion at the utility scale (LiVecchi et al. 2019). In order to expedite progress and maximize benefits to the national, state, and local economies, these development actions will require a broad, diverse, and appropriately trained workforce. The ocean-based renewable energy workforce needs engineers and scientists to develop cost-effective technologies, as well as trade and maritime workers to eventually deploy the technologies at scale. In the United States, educational institutions, state governments, and private developers are taking action to understand job skills and capability requirements and to develop educational and training programs to meet offshore workforce needs; most are focused on offshore wind power, with gaining interest in marine energy. This article explores the workforce requirements of the growing ocean-based renewable energy industry and the current state of education and training programs to meet those requirements in order to identify gaps and make recommendations for further workforce development activities and initiatives. An international view needs to be adopted that incorporates the education and skill needs of early-stage marine energy technologies and evolving offshore wind technologies together with more market-ready offshore renewable energy markets. By accelerating educational development opportunities in ocean-based renewable energy, these growing blue economy markets can deliver significant economic and social benefits.
Analysis of the Reduction of 4-Nitrophenol Catalyzed by Para-Mercaptobenzoic Acid Capped Magic Number Gold Clusters

The magic number clusters Au102(p-MBA)44 and Au144(p-MBA)60 were synthesized and tested for their ability to catalyze the reduction of 4-nitrophenol. Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses demonstrate that both clusters are effective catalysts with activation energies less than 10 kJ/mol and turnover frequencies approaching 103 h–1 per surface gold atom.
Computational Study Of Behavior Of Gas Absorption In Data Center Equipment And Its Effects On The Rate Of Corrosion/contamination

The reliability of the data center equipment is being compromised as the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers recommendable psychometric limits are stretched outside the recommendable zones. When the ambient conditions are conducive enough the humidity and the gaseous contaminants present in the data centers react with the elements of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) at various temperatures. The products of the reaction may lead to short circuit or extra resistance to the passage of current. This poses an increased threat to the reliability of the PCB. Contamination has become a serious problem in the developing nations like China and India where new data centers are rapidly coming up. The heavy industrialization and vehicular activities are the major source of the contamination. The losses due the corrosion of PCB by contaminants depends on various factors like concentration of gases, amount of humidity present, time of the day, location of the data center, filtration technique used for the air-conditioning system, etc. An actual study of effects of contaminants in data centers across the world would be a tedious task. Computational study saves the time as well as cost for this study. This research study gives deeper insights of the reaction mechanism. A computational study of the reaction of copper foils (representing the PCB) placed in a Paddle Wheel Test setup would be carried out. A Paddle Wheel Test setup gives us the flexibility to test various gases, that could pose a threat to data center equipment, without disturbing the actually data center servers. A reaction of hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide on copper in the presence of humidity will be carried out in this study.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Crame/spl acute/r-Rao bounds for compound-Gaussian clutter and target parameters

We compute Crame/spl acute/r-Rao bounds (CRBs) for the target and compound-Gaussian clutter parameters using radar array measurements. In particular, we compute CRBs for (i) complex target amplitudes, (ii) the spatial covariance matrix of the speckle component, (iii) texture distribution parameters. We first derive general CRB expressions under an arbitrary texture model and simplify them for gamma and inverse gamma texture distributions. We use the generalized Gauss-Laguerre quadrature to compute the CRBs for gamma texture, whereas the CRBs for inverse-gamma texture do not require numerical integration. We use numerical simulations to validate our results.
Sigma receptors mitigate Aβ-potentiated calcium dysfunction during ischemia (846.7)

Stroke is the second cause of death and the leading cause of serious long-term disability. Ischemic stroke often overlaps with diseases involving amyloid-β (Aβ), such as Alzheimer’s and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. These comorbidities lead to potentiated responses that ultimately result in vascular dementia. The mechanism(s) contributing to this potentiation remain poorly understood. One key player in the pathobiology of stroke and Aβ toxicity is the dysregulation of intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) homeostasis. Experiments were carried out to determine if application of A affects the [Ca2+]i overload produced by in vitro ischemia in isolated cortical neurons. Aβ potentiated neuronal increases in [Ca2+]i following ischemia in a manner suggesting that acid-sensing ion channels, known to promote neurodegeneration, are being functionally upregulated under these conditions. Moreover, our results showed that activation of the neuroprotective sigma (σ) receptors abolished this enhancement of [Ca2+]i overload. Th...
Dispelling the Fog of Learning through SoTL

Students, faculty, and administrators in higher education work in a pervasive fog, a state of diminished perception of those processes most relevant to learning, caused by a lack of information, unreliable information, and distorted information. SoTL can address this problem by clarifying providing needed information and helping to correct distortions.
Transient temperatures from periodic surface heat flux for slabs, cylinders, and spheres

The transient temperatures resulting from a periodically varying surface heat flux boundary condition have numerous applications. In this work, explicit, analytic solutions are presented for the transient surface and medium temperatures due to periodically varying step changes in surface heat flux for geometries such as a slab, cylinder, and sphere. The nonlinear case allowing for the added effects of radiation from the surface into an external ambient are studied numerically.