cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Consideration of epilepsy surgery in adults should be independent of age.

Objectives: Epilepsy surgery is performed less frequently in persons over 45 years of age than in younger individuals, probably reflecting biases among patients, referring physicians and neurologists. Methods: We report on a clinically heterogenous cohort of patients aged 45 years or older who underwent epilepsy surgery for medically intractable epilepsy. Results: Over a 15-year period, 42 patients with a mean duration of epilepsy of 27.3 years underwent elective surgery. The mean follow-up period was 48 months. Thirty-two patients had an Engel class I outcome, of which 23 were totally seizure-free (Ia). Six patients had a class II outcome (rare disabling seizures), one had a class III outcome (worthwhile improvement), and three had a class IV outcome (no worthwhile improvement). The majority of patients reported an improved quality of life and satisfaction with the epilepsy surgery. A subjective improvement in cognition was reported in 7 patients while a decline was reported in 10 patients. New neuropsychiatric difficulties were reported in three patients while three patients reported improved anxiety after surgery. Only one patient became newly employed after surgery while 23 returned to driving. Permanent complications occurred in four patients (thalamic infarct during a Wada test (n = 1) and asymptomatic visual field defect (n = 3)). Conclusions: We report a favorable outcome from epilepsy surgery in a large series of older adults and conclude that age per se is not a contraindication to epilepsy surgery. We emphasize the lack of correlation between outcome from surgery and pre-operative duration of epilepsy.
Embryology of Manekia naranjoana (Piperaceae) and the origin of tetrasporic, 16-nucleate female gametophytes in Piperales

The vast majority of flplant seeds contain a triploid endosperm formed by fertilization of a monosporic, Polygonumtype female gametophyte. However, evolutionary transitions to six other genetic constructs of endosperm are widespread, and six of seven known patterns are found in the order Piperales. Within Piperaceae, Manekia has not been described, and we report its female gametophyte to be tetrasporic and 16-nucleate at maturity. Manekia ontogeny is generally characterized by early establishment of a bipolar or weakly bipolar body plan and a binucleate central cell at maturity (Drusa-type pattern); however, ca. 16% of early stages had distinctly tetrapolar organization, and ca. 21% of mature specimens had a tetranucleate central cell (Penaea-type pattern, not previously reported in Piperaceae). An evolutionary developmental analysis indicates heterochrony, heterotopy, novelties, and sequence deletions have each played roles in modulating variation within Piperales. Our data suggest the common ancestor of Piperaceae was tetrasporic and retained a plesiomorphic bipolar body plan, producing a “ functionally bisporic ” form of triploid endosperm derived from the lineal descendants of two megaspores and a sperm. Developmental modifi cations of this tetrasporic, bipolar ontogeny can account for the origin of all three other known “ true ” tetrasporic endosperm genetic constructs, formed from derivatives of all four megaspores and a sperm. These derived endosperms in turn have higher ploidy, higher potential heterozygosity, and reduced genetic confl icts.
RIFAMPICIN INDUCTION OF CYP3A4 REQUIRES PREGNANE X RECEPTOR CROSS TALK WITH HEPATOCYTE NUCLEAR FACTOR 4α AND COACTIVATORS, AND SUPPRESSION OF SMALL HETERODIMER PARTNER GENE EXPRESSION

Bile acids and drugs activate pregnane X receptor (PXR) to induce CYP3A4, which is the predominant cytochrome P450 enzyme expressed in the liver and intestine and plays a critical role in detoxifying bile acids and drugs, and protecting against cholestasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular mechanism of PXR cross talk with other nuclear receptors and coactivators in regulating human CYP3A4 gene transcription. Rifampicin dose dependently induced the CYP3A4 but inhibited small heterodimer partner (SHP) mRNA expression levels in primary human hepatocytes. Rifampicin strongly stimulated PXR and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) interaction, and CYP3A4 reporter activity, which was further stimulated by peroxisome proliferators-activated receptorγ co-activator 1α (PGC-1α) and steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) but inhibited by SHP. Mutation of the putative HNF4α binding site in the distal xenobiotic responsive element module did not affect CYP3A4 basal promoter activity and synergistic stimulation by PXR and HNF4α. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that rifampicin-activated PXR recruited HNF4α and SRC-1 to the CYP3A4 chromatin. On the other hand, SHP reduced PXR recruitment of HNF4α and SRC-1 to the CYP3A4 chromatin. The human SHP promoter was stimulated by HNF4α and PGC-1α. Upon activation by rifampicin, PXR inhibited SHP promoter activity. Results suggest that PXR strongly induces CYP3A4 gene transcription by interacting with HNF4α, SRC-1, and PGC-1α. PXR concomitantly inhibits SHP gene transcription and maximizes the PXR induction of the CYP3A4 gene in human livers. Drugs targeted to PXR may be developed for treating cholestatic liver diseases induced by bile acids and drugs.
Short-Range Interactions Between Polyions and Small Ions

Specific short-range interactions between polyions and small ions are gradually becoming recognized for their significant and universal role in the behavior of aqueous polyelectrolyte solutions. These interactions, which are observable even with strong polyelectrolytes, — such as the alkali metal salts of polyacids — characteristically involve changes in the solvation states of the participating species and lead to deviations of the net interionic forces from Coulomb’s law. Besides being of intrinsic theoretical interest specific interactions are frequently crucial to the functioning of polyelectrolytes in technological and natural processes [1].
Neuroimaging in Neonatal Encephalopathy

Investigators at St Francis Medical Center, Cape Girardeau, MO, and multiple centers in the US, using a database from the Vermont Oxford Network Registry, studied the pattern of use and findings of computed tomography, MRI, and intracranial ultrasound in the evaluation of infants with neonatal encephalopathy.
A Model of Producer Participation in Farm Commodity Programs

The paper develops a model of producer participation in farm commodity programs. In the model, producers maximize profits subject to a common technology, but a differentiated resource endowment. As a result, in equilibrium, some producers participate in the program, while others do not. The model is calibrated to data for the U.S. wheat sector to assess the impact of the freeze on program yields instituted under the 1985 Farm Bill. We find that the yield freeze substantially lowered variable input use and raised net returns, for participants and non-participants. This is a striking result, given proposals by some farm groups to reverse this policy.
RECENT TRENDS IN HISTORICAL AND LITERARY STUDY OF THE QUR’ÂN

Tren Baru Studi Sejarah dan Sastra Terhadap al-Qur'an. Dua buah karya yang dipublikasikan ilmuan Inggris dan Amerika pada tahun 1971, Hagarism oleh Patricia Crone dan Michael Cook, dan Quranic studies: sources and methods of scriptural interpretation oleh John Wansbrough merevolusi studi baik sastra dan sejarah al-Qur'an maupun masa awal Islam. Tidak satupun dari kedua karya ini mendapatkan pengakuan signifikan dari kalangan ilmuan Islam dan menuai protes keras baik dari ilmuan Barat maupun Muslim. Tanpa memfokuskan pada kedua karya tersebut, artikel ini mengeksplorasi keilmuan Barat terkini dalam kebangkitan dan upaya mereka menakar hubungan antara pendekatan sejarah dengan sastra terhadap al-Qur'an secara tegas menekankan kedua pendekatan ini bukan menjadi ancaman bagi Islam. Pada akhirnya ada potensi signifikan untuk menciptakan pembicaraan kreatif antara Muslim dan non-Muslim tentang karakter dan pesan al-Qur'an yang menyertai munculnya karya-karya oleh berbagai ilmuan yang menulis dalam bahasa- bahasa Barat dalam kurun waktu 30 tahun terakhir.
Effect of methionine on hepatic folate metabolism in rats fed a vitamin B12- and methionine-deficient diet.

SummaryThe effect of methionine on the metabolism of hepatic folate in the vitamin B12- and methionine-deficient rat was investigated. The liver uptake of a labeled dose of PteGlu by the deficient rats remained constant at approximately 8% between 2 and 24 hr after the injection. At the early time periods (2 and 4 hr), the major labeled folate derivative was 5-methyl-H4PteGlu and no appreciable synthesis of labeled pteroylpoly-y-glutamate was detected. An injection of methionine (37 mg) suppressed the level of 5-methyl-H4PteGlu and increased the synthesis of pteroylpoly-γ-glutamates. Methionine also increased the total net hepatic uptake of the labeled folate dose. The increased net uptake was entirely due to increased synthesis of pteroylpolyglu-tamates. These results are best explained by the methyl trap hypothesis for B12/folate interrelationships.
Blood cadmium level as affected by hypertension, smoking, occupation, and body mass.

Cadmium can induce persistent hypertension in rats, yet, studies involving humans have been limited by the lack of controlling for confounding variables. The purpose of this study was to determine which lifestyle, health, and other factors are significantly related to predicting blood cadmium level. Thirty-two black female hypertensives 50-75 years of age were selected for comparison with 30 normotensives. Questionnaires were used to gather data on health and other factors. Blood cadmium levels were determined from venous blood samples using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Smoking status, blood pressure status, and body mass were the only variables significantly related (P less than .05) to blood cadmium level. In the future, studies involving a larger sample size could further clarify a possible relationship between blood cadmium level and hypertension.
Self-similar parabolic beam formation and propagation

Asymptotic solutions of the (2+1)-dimensional amplified nonlinear Schrodinger equation predict the formation and propagation of self similar parabolic beam. The solutions are verified by numerical simulations and possible experimental implementations are discussed.
When Police Dogs Attacked: Iconic News Photographs and Construction of History, Mythology, and Political Discourse

(2008). When Police Dogs Attacked: Iconic News Photographs and Construction of History, Mythology, and Political Discourse. American Journalism: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 85-105.
Improvement of low temperature mechanical property of HTPB propellant cured with IPDI

The problem that the low temperature mechanical property of HTPB propellant cured with IPDI is unstable and usually poorer than that at high or room temperature was studied experimentally.Results indicate that the key point is the uncompatibility of TB with the binder system.More TB migrates onto the surface of the solid filler.Due to the weak reaction activity of IPDI, less amount of TB and more amount of H correspondingly enter the binder networks. On the one hand, the propellant mechanical property is sensitive to the amount of TB entering binder networks, and the low temperature mechanical property becomes unstable.On the other hand, compared with HTPB propellant cured with TDI, there is no coordination effect between TB and H in HTPB propellant cured with IPDI.So the low temperature mechanical property is poorer than that at other temperature.The technical way is put forward to solve the problem.
Discussion of “Contextual Bandit Algorithms with Supervised Learning Guarantees”

Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear that supervised learning is too restrictive for some important applications. Supervised learning is about making good predictions, but often one cares more about the outcome of taking actions, in particular in environments where feedback is only received for the action taken. Applications in web search and advertising are important motivating examples: at the end of the day, what matters is what search results (or ads, or news results) we choose to show to users, and whether those users like (click) on those results. These web applications are particularly compelling because the scale of the problem and latencies required mandate an automated solution. The contextual bandit formulation captures both the measurement of success in terms of the real-world quantity of interest (clicks) as well as addressing the inherent explore/exploit trade-offs.
Closed Form of Distribution Functions for Uplink Transmissions in Cloud Radio Access Networks

For uplink transmissions in cloud radio access networks, no exact and closed-form formulas of probability distributions were reported when the path-loss exponent and the signal-to-noise ratio are arbitrary. In this letter, we derive several exact and closed-form formulas for the general scenarios. The results match well with Monte Carlo simulations.
Quantifying Risk for Anxiety Disorders in Preschool Children: A Machine Learning Approach.

Early childhood anxiety disorders are common, impairing, and predictive of anxiety and mood disorders later in childhood. Epidemiological studies over the last decade find that the prevalence of impairing anxiety disorders in preschool children ranges from 0.3% to 6.5%. Yet, less than 15% of young children with an impairing anxiety disorder receive a mental health evaluation or treatment. One possible reason for the low rate of care for anxious preschoolers is the lack of affordable, timely, reliable and valid tools for identifying young children with clinically significant anxiety. Diagnostic interviews assessing psychopathology in young children require intensive training, take hours to administer and code, and are not available for use outside of research settings. The Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (PAPA) is a reliable and valid structured diagnostic parent-report interview for assessing psychopathology, including anxiety disorders, in 2 to 5 year old children. In this paper, we apply machine-learning tools to already collected PAPA data from two large community studies to identify sub-sets of PAPA items that could be developed into an efficient, reliable, and valid screening tool to assess a young child’s risk for an anxiety disorder. Using machine learning, we were able to decrease by an order of magnitude the number of items needed to identify a child who is at risk for an anxiety disorder with an accuracy of over 96% for both generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and separation anxiety disorder (SAD). Additionally, rather than considering GAD or SAD as discrete/binary entities, we present a continuous risk score representing the child’s risk of meeting criteria for GAD or SAD. Identification of a short question-set that assesses risk for an anxiety disorder could be a first step toward development and validation of a relatively short screening tool feasible for use in pediatric clinics and daycare/preschool settings.
Pancreatic Cancer: A Survival Analysis Study in Oklahoma.

Background Pancreatic cancer is among the most deadly cancers. Risk factors associated with the disease include age, race, sex, smoking status, and diabetes status. Method We conducted a prospective analysis of risk factors and length of survival among pancreatic cancer patients living in Oklahoma between 1997 and 2012 (n=6,291). Kaplan-Meier survival curves were created followed by the log-rank test to compare difference in the survival time. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to examine the strength of association through the estimated hazard ratios. Results The median survival time of the cohort was three months. Significant risk factors for reduced survival times included age, stage at diagnosis, and year of diagnosis. Conclusion Results are in agreement with previous research findings. There have been small but noteworthy improvements in survival times for pancreatic cancer patients in Oklahoma. Length of survival during the study period was significantly associated with known risk factors such as age and stage of diagnosis.
Temperature dependence of efficiency in renewable magnetohydrodynamic power generation systems

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation is based on Faraday's law: a magnetic field induces electron movement into a passing, conductive fluid. If captured, these electrons are the source of magnetohydrodynamically generated power. Combustion gas and liquid metal (LM) have been used as work fluid in the research of the '60s, but to gain renewable energy source properties, liquid gallium is used in a circular channel to allow the use of lower temperature thermal energy as the main input. This paper focuses on the detailed description of the proposed renewable system, the efficiency derivation as well as the study of the efficiency sensitivity considering loading conditions, generator dimension, and metal temperature. Conclusions and outlook on specific applications of LM-MHD are given.
Beta-adrenergic receptor subtypes mediating lipolysis in porcine adipocytes. Studies with BRL-37344, a putative β3-adrenergic agonist.

Abstract The β 3 -selective adrenergic receptor ligand BRL 37344 (BRL) was used to differentiate the presence and functional role of β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) subtypes in pig tissues. BRL did not stimulate adenylyl cyclase in membrane preparations or increase lipolysis from pig adipocytes. In contrast to some species, BRL appears to be a poor agonist for the pig βAR and is not a useful β 3 AR ligand. Based on displacement of [ 3 H]dihydroalprenolol binding, BRL exhibited a 100-fold selectivity for pig βAR subtypes in adipose and skeletal muscle membranes. The high affinity site was proposed to be the β 2 AR. When used as an antagonist, BRL blockade of the high affinity site did not interfere with isoproterenol-stimulated lipolysis but did inhibit adenylyl cyclase activation. Results indicate that the high affinity βAR (β 2 AR) is not linked to lipolysis, possibly due to intracellular compartmentalization. Therefore, βAR subtypes may have function-specific effects.
Neuropathic Corneal Pain: Approaches for Management

Neuropathic pain is caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction of the nervous system and can occur in the cornea. However, neuropathic corneal pain (NCP) is currently an ill-defined disease. Patients with NCP are extremely challenging to manage, and evidence-based clinical recommendations for the management of patients with NCP are scarce. The objectives of this review are to provide guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of patients with NCP and to summarize current evidence-based literature in this area. We performed a systematic literature search of all relevant publications between 1966 and 2017. Treatment recommendations are, in part, based on methodologically sound randomized controlled trials (RCTs), demonstrating superiority to placebo or relevant control treatments, and on the consistency of evidence, degree of efficacy, and safety. In addition, the recommendations include our own extensive experience in the management of these patients over the past decade. A comprehensive algorithm, based on clinical evaluation and complementary tests, is presented for diagnosis and subcategorization of patients with NCP. Recommended first-line topical treatments include neuroregenerative and anti-inflammatory agents, and first-line systemic pharmacotherapy includes tricyclic antidepressants and an anticonvulsant. Second-line oral treatments recommended include an opioid-antagonist and opiate analgesics. Complementary and alternative treatments, such as cardiovascular exercise, acupuncture, omega-3 fatty acid supplementation, and gluten-free diet, may have additional benefits, as do potential noninvasive and invasive procedures in recalcitrant cases. Medication selection should be tailored on an individual basis, considering side effects, comorbidities, and levels of peripheral and centralized pain. Nevertheless, there is an urgent need for long-term studies and RCTs assessing the efficacy of treatments for NCP.
Identification of client involvement in sex trafficking in Mississippi.

Objective: Sex trafficking is an unrelenting problem in Mississippi. No quantitative data currently exist on the prevalence of sex trafficking or the identification of victims in the state.Method: ...
Model Predictive Control for Energy-Efficient, Quality-Aware, and Secure Virtual Machine Placement

Modern datacenters rely on virtualization to deliver complex and scalable cloud services. To avoid inflating costs or reducing the perceived service level, suitable resource optimization techniques are needed. Placement can be used to prevent inefficient maps between virtual and physical machines. In this perspective, we propose a holistic placement framework considering conflicting performance metrics, such as the service level delivered by the cloud, the energetic footprint, hardware or software outages, and security policies. Unfortunately, computing the best placement strategies is nontrivial, as it requires the ability to trade among several goals, possibly in a real-time manner. Therefore, we approach the problem via model predictive control to devise optimal maps between virtual and physical machines. Results show the effectiveness of our technique in comparison with classical heuristics. Note to Practitioners —This paper is motivated by the success of cloud-based services. Specifically, we consider the case where the resources of datacenters are accessed through the infrastructure-as-a-service paradigm. To efficiently handle the load of requests and to tame operational costs, a proper optimization is needed. To this end, we focus on the selection of the best maps between virtual and physical machines. We propose a holistic placement framework for the deployment of user-requested virtual machines by pursuing different performance goals, such as counteract to hardware outages or reboots due to software aging issues, ensure proper security policies, maintain a suitable service level perceived by users, and reduce power requirements. The optimal strategies are computed with model predictive control, which allows to consider complex constraints and take advantage of future information. The proposed framework is tested in different scenarios characterized by a variety of workloads and traces gathered in a real cloud datacenter. Results indicate that our approach outperforms bin-packing techniques.
Identification of Forensic Artifacts in VMWare Virtualized Computing

With popularity of virtualized computing continuing to grow, it is crucial that digital forensic knowledge keeps pace. This research sought out to identify the forensic artifacts and their locations that may be recovered from a VMware Workstation virtual machine running Windows 7 x64. Several common forensic tools were used to conduct this research, namely AccessData’s Forensic Toolkit (FTK), FTK Imager, and FTK Registry Viewer. This research verified the processes required to gather digital evidence from a virtual machine disk (VMDK) file, creation of a forensic image, and mounting of evidence into these forensic tools. This research then proceeded to document recovered artifacts and their locations related to system configuration, internet usage, file creation and deletion, user administration, and more.
“If I Am Not an Athlete, Then Who Am I?” Portrait of a Depressed Student-Athlete

College students are faced with more than just academic challenges, and those students who struggle to find the appropriate work-life balance can become depressed and anxious. This chapter focuses on the issues faced by a college student-athlete struggling with a sense of identity. Her struggles began early in childhood, worsened in high school, and continued on campus, where she sought the help of the college counseling center. This chapter details her journey, which includes the search for a college that would meet her needs as a student, an athlete, and an individual struggling with depression and identity concerns. She undergoes treatment with therapy and medications, and she experiences worsening symptoms in the context of dealing with injuries, including a concussion. The discussion focuses on questions often faced by college students who play sports at an elite level: Is she a student-athlete or an athlete-student? Does she even want to be an athlete anymore? If she gives up what her friend described as “a golden ticket of a scholarship for playing a kid’s game,” then who is she, what will others say about her quitting, and how will she pay for college without the scholarship?
Juan Bautista Cabrera Ivars: un reformador protestante en el siglo XIX español

This article synthesizes the biography of Juan Bautista Cabrera Ivars within the legal context of the period. It underlines Cabrera’s role as both an organizer and a reformer and introduces the novelty of his election as a member of the prestigious Hispanic Society of America. A number of previously unpublished documents are included within the article; likewise, in the appendix, the author classifies Cabrera’s written works, almost all of which resulted from his fervor as a reformer, and gives statistics of the growth of Protestantism in Spain from the sixteenth century until today.
Functional Abdominal Pain

Chronic abdominal pain is a common feature of most functional gastrointestinal disorders in children, including functional abdominal pain (FAP), functional dyspepsia, and irritable bowel syndrome. FAP can impair a child’s life and often leads to significant school absences. Although the underlying mechanism is likely multifactorial, early pain experiences during a vulnerable period in the developing nervous system are traditionally thought to cause long-term changes in the brain–gut axis resulting in altered pain pathways and visceral hyperalgesia. Studies suggest that surgery, gastrointestinal tract inflammation, and infection in early life can predispose children to the development of pain-associated functional gastrointestinal disorders. Recent brain imaging data indicates that altered intrinsic brain network connectivity may underlie the central sensitization seen in these disorders. Symptom-based criteria for the diagnoses of FAP have been proposed by the Rome committee. However, lack of well-designed studies evaluating their reliability in a clinical setting has hampered their use in clinical practice. Since the pathophysiology of FAP in children is poorly understood and limited data exist regarding safety and efficacy of therapeutic options in children, some care providers feel uncomfortable managing patients with chronic abdominal pain. The primary goal of therapy in FAP is to alleviate pain symptoms and to help the child return to normal daily activities. Treatment should be individualized and chosen based on the severity of symptoms, the existence of comorbid psychological disorders, and the impact the disorder has on the child’s school attendance and normal functioning. Various psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, hypnosis, acupuncture, and guided imagery, have been successfully used in patients with chronic abdominal pain. Pharmacologic therapies such as antisecretory drugs, tricyclic antidepressants, and various serotonergic drugs have been used, but controlled trials are either lacking or have shown that pharmacologic agents are no better than placebo in treating children with FAP.
Piloting the Use of Smartphones, Reminders, and Accountability Partners to Promote Skin Self-Examinations in Patients with Total Body Photography: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of a mobile application (app) in patients already using total body photography (TBP) to increase skin self-examination (SSE) rates and pilot the effectiveness of examination reminders and accountability partners. Randomized controlled trial with computer generated randomization table to allocate interventions. University of Pennsylvania pigmented lesion clinic. 69 patients aged 18 years or older with an iPhone/iPad, who were already in possession of TBP photographs. A mobile app loaded with digital TBP photos for all participants, and either (1) the mobile app only, (2) skin examination reminders, (3) an accountability partner, or (4) reminders and an accountability partner. Change in SSE rates as assessed by enrollment and end-of-study surveys 6 months later. Eighty one patients completed informed consent, however 12 patients did not complete trial enrollment procedures due to device incompatibility, leaving 69 patients who were randomized and analyzed [mean age 54.3 years, standard deviation 13.9). SSE rates increased significantly from 58% at baseline to 83% at 6 months (odds ratio 2.64, 95% confidence interval 1.20–4.09), with no difference among the intervention groups. The group with examination reminders alone had the highest (94%) overall satisfaction, and the group with accountability partners alone accounted for the lowest (71%). A mobile app alone, or with reminders and/or accountability partners, was found to be an effective tool that can help to increase SSE rates. Skin examination reminders may help provide a better overall experience for a subset of patients. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02520622.
Current status and evolving treatment for primary liver cancers

We are pleased to welcome you to the text “ Recent Advances in Primary Liver Cancers ”. Within this volume is a comprehensive assessment of medical and surgical care for the challenging malignancies that are primary liver cancers.
Effectiveness of DVD vs. group-initiated diabetes prevention on information uptake for high & low health literacy participants.

Abstract Objective This study evaluates the effectiveness of technology versus in-person, group-initiated diabetes prevention to enhance comprehension of learning objectives between patients with differing health literacy (HL). Methods Evidence-based content through either a DVD (n = 217) or in-person, group class (n = 225) to initiate the intervention. A teach-back call was used to assess comprehension of, and reinforce, learning objectives. Chi-squared was used to determine differences between conditions (DVD vs Class) and HL levels (High n = 361 vs. Low n = 81) and regression analyses were used to examine relationships. Results DVD participants performed significantly better across teach back questions (15.4 ± 2.5 v. 14.8 ± 2.6, p Conclusion Initiating a diabetes prevention program with the use of a DVD appears to be a superior option to in-person, class sessions. Teach-back and teach-to-goal strategies enables participants of both high and low health literacy levels to receive and confirm mastery of diabetes prevention objectives. Practice Implications A teach-back call may improve information uptake increasing the likelihood of health behavior uptake.
Loss of organic compounds from roots

Nutritional factors, temperature and pH were investigated for their effects on embryo germination and seedling growth of axenic peanuts. Optimum temperature range for seedling growth was between 32°C and 35°C and pH optimum was between 6 and 7. Sucrose, gibberellin and either (NH4)2SO4 or KNO3 as nitrogen sources increased seedling growth. When a mixture of thiamin (0.01 ppm), riboflavin (0.1 ppm) and 2,4-D (0.01 ppm) was added to the nutrient medium dry weight and height of the seedlings was increased as much as 50 per cent. Plants were successfully grown from axenic embryos separated from the cotyledons to mature plants which produced axenic seed in plastic isolator chambers, but growth was delayed compared to plants developing from seed. Axenic seed was planted under sterile conditions and a second generation of axenic plants obtained which produced viable seed.
Extraction of Lung Water Content from Computerized Tomography Scans

An automatic procedure is developed to extract the water content in lungs based on the computerized tomography (CT) scans of the human torso. Image processing techniques such as watershed segmentation are used to isolate the lungs from rest of the organs in the torso. The water contents of 60 sets (patients) of CT scans are calculated with a mean values similar to the values in the literature.
Psychiatric Profile of Patients Currently Listed for Kidney Transplantation: Evidence of the Need for More Thorough Pretransplant Psychiatric Evaluations.

Abstract Background Patients with end-stage renal disease are at increased risk for psychiatric and cognitive pathologies. Despite this, there is little standardization of the psychosocial and/or psychiatric evaluation of renal transplant candidates. The purpose of this study is to report the frequency of psychiatric and cognitive pathologies and corresponding psychiatric recommendations in a sample of patients actively listed for kidney transplant. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of 104 patients listed for kidney transplant who underwent semistructured psychiatric assessments as part of a novel clinical protocol. Transplant psychiatry routinely administers brief screeners of cognitive functioning and health literacy, also collected from patients’ charts. Results There were a number of primary psychiatric disorders, including active substance abuse. Even using a conservative cutoff, 52.4% of patients’ charts indicated evidence of cognitive impairment, and 28.9% indicated limited health literacy. In addition, there were numerous additional recommendations made within every category (educational, psychotherapeutic/psychiatric, cognitive, cessation of substance use, substance abuse treatment, and mobilizing support for transplant). With the exclusion of the recommendation for more education regarding the transplant process, most patients had at least 1 to 3 recommendations (n = 72, 69.2%). Conclusions We have identified a number of concerning psychosocial and psychiatric factors in patients who were evaluated and listed for kidney transplantation that can adversely impact transplant outcomes. The findings provide support for more in-depth and ongoing psychiatric assessments as standard clinical protocol for kidney transplant candidates.
Global Proteomic Analysis of Breast Cancer Cell Plasma Membrane Electroporation

The controlled application of electrical pulses (EP) creates reversible pores in the cell plasma membrane, in a phenomenon called electroporation. Electroporation is increasingly used to deliver drugs, genes and other impermeant molecules into the living cells, with great efficacy. Despite its efficacy, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of the cellular effects induced by electroporation at the molecular level. Considering the electrical nature of biological cells and processes, we hypothesized that EP application can induce a comprehensive effect on cell, not just on the membrane. For this purpose, we utilized label free quantitative global proteomics to study the effects of EP in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells.We applied eight pulses of 1200V/cm, 100µs at 1Hz, a typical parameter used to deliver chemotherapeutics in clinics and investigated the proteomics effect. Our results indicate that EP application significantly regulated the expression of 759 proteins, compared with no treatment (Ctrl). These proteins were localized in multiple cellular components, such as organelles, extracellular region, cell junction, and the membrane. EP also manifested diverse signaling pathways, which are involved in cellular metabolism to the regulation of apoptosis. Particularly, 27 proteins in the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway and 15 proteins in the citrate cycle (TCA cycle) were upregulated for EP, indicating an upregulation in cellular respiration pathway of energy production. This data provides a critical preliminary insight into the electroporation mechanism, which can be useful to improve the effects of chemotherapeutics delivered with EP for breast cancer treatment.
Correlates of the Decision to Report Incidents of “Consumer Racial Profiling”: A Preliminary Study

This exploratory paper examined the correlates of the decision of shoppers who perceived that they were victims of profiling in a retail setting to report the incident. As part of a larger study on...
Chapter 5 – Distribution

Publisher Summary This chapter attempts to synthesize what is currently known about the distribution of taxa present in culture at the Tucson Stock Center. It covers the close relatives of these species to provide a more complete picture of distributions within the various species groups in the genus Drosophila. Good distributional data are critical to understanding population structure, speciation, and change in community composition over time. This latter point is particularly important now that widespread changes in climate are taking place. Drosophila species can serve as indicators of such events, although only a few studies have attempted this to date.
Precarity Unbound: Insurrectional Migrancy and Citizen Precarity in a Globalized World

This work explores ‘insurrectional migratory movements’ and the conditions of precarity they reveal among both migrants and citizens. Mix-migrant populations composed of refugees, asylum seekers, forced migrants, economic migrants, and exiles fuel the insurrectional exhilarations of human displacement, particularly in the proverbial ‘West’. I define insurrectional movements broadly ‘as those movements that have shown extraordinary capacities to pressure “modernity” as the single hegemonic measure for political authenticity, social order and governmental conduct’ (Soguk in Borderscapes: Hidden Geographies and Politics at Territory’s Edge. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 2007; Globalizations 12(6):829–833, 2015). I characterize contemporary migrant movements as insurrectional in terms of a ‘surging politics of normative defiance vis a vis the “modern territorial mode”’ that organizes the international order. Migrants lives are at once conditioned by an existential precarity and transformative capacity within the territorial order. On the one hand, at every level, they encounter attempts to plunder their time and alienate their bodies from politics and rights. On the other hand, however, migrants only tolerate the unequal power relations and the associated vulnerabilities by redefining their own subjectivities from those who obey to those who strategically defy the normative ideals of modernity and governmentality. They defy the ideals around which modern, nation-statist territorial orders are constructed and justified, including those ideals undergirding the countries and national communities as well as the international state system. As they do so, they emerge as the existential mirrors on which citizens’ extant and future precarities are revealed. In the last three decades, the citizen/nation/state form has been under unprecedented pressure. Even in the West, the balance of power has shifted in favour of global political-economic forces beyond the control of states and citizenry. As philosopher Paul Virilio observed, modern citizenship has become a process leading to a disappearance of the right-bearing citizenship; where the citizens and others appear as little more than the ‘living-dead (mort-vivant)’ or ‘raw materials’ in the service of transpolitical capitalism and anational states.
CDK12 Deficiency and the Immune Microenvironment in Prostate Cancer

CDK12 inactivation in prostate cancer is associated with tandem genomic duplications that may generate fusion-associated neoantigens and elicit immune responses amenable to checkpoint blockade. In the first study to comprehensively characterize the T-cell immune microenvironment of CDK12-deficient prostate cancers, subsets of immunosuppressive CD4+FOXP3- T cells were increased compared with CDK12-proficient controls.See related article by Rescigno et al., p. 566.
Possibilities and Challenges: Conditions Shaping Educators’ Use of Social–Emotional Learning Indicators:

Background/ContextResearchers have amassed considerable evidence on the use of student performance data (e.g., benchmark and standardized state tests) to inform educational improvement, but few hav...
Effect of cloprostenol sodium dose on luteal blood flow and volume measurements in Holstein heifers with both day-4 and day-10 corpora lutea

ABSTRACT Establishment of a vascular system within the corpus luteum (CL) is critical for progesterone (P4) secretion. Measurement of luteal blood flow (LBF) may be a feasible way to determine luteolysis induced with cloprostenol sodium (CLO). Our overall objective was to establish timelines to assess luteolysis via Doppler ultrasonography. Estrous cycles were synchronized in 11- to 12-mo-old Holstein heifers (n = 37). Heifers were injected CLO at a random stage of the estrous cycle 12 d from treatment. Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) was administered 2 (d −10) and 8 d (d −4) after the initial CLO. This satisfied the study objective of inducing simultaneous presence of CL at d 4 of development (D4 CL) and CL at d 10 of development (D10 CL) on the day of treatment with different CLO doses (hereafter referred to as d 0). Heifers were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatments on d 0: negative control (NC) consisting of no treatment with CLO (n = 8); a quarter dose of CLO (0.125 mg; n = 8); half dose of CLO (0.25 mg; n = 8); full dose of CLO (0.5 mg; n = 8); or positive control (PC) consisting of 4 doses of 0.5 mg of CLO at 24-h intervals starting at d 0 (n = 5). Data collection was performed at d 0 (before and 1 h after treatment) and 2, 4, 6, and 8 d following treatment, to determine luteal volume (LV), LBF, and circulating concentrations of P4. Both NC and PC were efficient in mimicking physiological scenarios that occur during normal luteal development and luteolysis. Heifers that received PC had complete LBF disappearance of both D4 and D10 CL between d 2 and 4 after the first of 4 CLO treatments given 24 h apart (average 4.0 ± 0.0 and 3.2 ± 0.7 d, respectively). Complete LBF disappearance was used as a luteolysis marker. Treatment with different doses of CLO did not impair luteal development of the D4 CL. However, concurrent complete LBF disappearance for D10 CL in heifers treated with half (5/8 heifers) and full doses of CLO (8/8 heifers) resulted in less LBF in the half dose, and less LV and LBF in the full-dose treatment, in D4 CL at d 8 post-treatment, compared with NC. Treatment with various doses of CLO induced an acute increase in LBF 1 h after treatment, regardless of dose in D10 but not in D4 CL. We found a lack of dose response in LV reduction of D4 and D10 CL. Interestingly, LV of the D10 CL decreased in untreated NC between d 0 and 8 after treatment (d 10–18 of luteal development). Assessment with color Doppler ultrasound was sensitive enough to identify dose-response patterns in Holstein heifers (absence, partial, or complete luteolysis) following various doses of CLO. Variability in time to complete LBF disappearance of mature D10 CL following a full dose of CLO limits the use of Doppler ultrasonography to detect luteolysis at a single time point following treatment.
A Review of Telemedicine in time of COVID-19

Telemedicine plays an increasingly important role in global healthcare. In this study, we summarized the latest developments related to telemedicine and discussed the obstacles and challenges to its wide adoption with a focus on the impact of COVID-19.
The moderating role of mystical-type experiences on the relationship between existential isolation and meaning in life

Abstract Mystical-type experiences (MTEs) are unique phenomenological experiences that are often reported to induce significant and persisting changes in the experiencer's worldview. Previous research suggests that higher levels of existential isolation (EI) are associated with lower levels of meaning in life (MIL). This study examines the hypothesis that people who have had an MTE (compared with those who have not) will not show such a relationship between EI and MIL. Data from two samples (N = 2055) support the idea that those who have not had an MTE show a negative relationship between EI and MIL while those who have had an MTE show no relationship between EI and MIL. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Racism in medicine: A qualitative study on the impact of discussion among medical students

Background: This study evaluated the impact of the Racism in Medicine Summit on student perceptions of various topics related to racism in medicine. The Summit was organized at the Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM) to educate students, faculty and staff on how structural racism affects the residents of Detroit and the historical relationship between healthcare and vulnerable populations. The Summit aimed at providing context for what students in Detroit will encounter as physicians-in-training and the skills they will need to master while working within similar communities. Methods: Qualtrics surveys were created and distributed via email to attendees before and after the event. Responses were obtained via Likert scale and open-text questions. Results: A total of 342 out of 445 participants (77%) completed both the pre- and post-survey. Quantitative analysis in post-survey responses revealed more familiarity among participants regarding specific instances of racism in the history of medicine, greater extent of thinking the history of racism impacts present-day Detroit residents, greater extent of thinking that racism influences medical care and/or medical outcomes, and belief that racism is reflected in medical research, compared to pre-survey responses (p < 0.001). Participants also reported more often considering racial or societal influences when studying medicine and more knowledge of what they can do to combat racism as a student and physician (p < 0.001). Qualitative analysis revealed seven themes among participants: the history of racism in medicine, personal reflection, racism in research, bias and microaggression, actions to take against racism, resources for anti-racist education, and racism in medical education. Conclusions: Demonstrable changes in medical student attitude and awareness surrounding topics of racism and healthcare were achieved after the Racism in Medicine Summit. This can serve as a model for other medical schools to raise awareness about racism in medicine.
Screening and Assays for Neurotransmitters in the Insect Nervous System

Neurons in insects, as in other animal species, communicate with each other and with effector cells, such as gland cells and muscle fibers, mainly by means of chemical messengers (Hildebrand 1982). Chemical transmission of information between cells involves a number of recognized mechanisms including “fast” and “slow” chemical synaptic transmission mediated by neurotransmitter substances, relatively slower and more global transmission mediated by neurohormones, and fine-tuning of the activities of cells and synapses mediated by neuromodulators. These mechanisms share certain attributes: in every case, an appropriately stimulated nerve cell releases from its intracellular stores a chemical messenger (which may comprise one or more substances) that acts through a receptive mechanism in a target (which may be one or more cells) to alter its physiological state. For simplicity it is useful to refer to these chemical messengers, whether synaptic neurotransmitters, neurohormones, or neuromodulators, as transmitters.
Chapter 6 Arrival Processes, Random Lifetimes and Random Objects

Abstract This chapter considers (1) the modeling, estimation, and generation of arrival processes, (2) the generation of random lifetimes, and (3) the generation of random objects. Accurate modeling of arrival processes is critical for the development of valid discrete-event simulation models. Although the generation of random lifetimes is typically applied to reliability and survival analysis in a simulation setting, their use is widespread in other disciplines as well. The generation of “random objects” will be applied here to generating combinatorial objects (e.g., combinations and permutations), matrices, and polynomials. The wider literature on generating random objects is much more diverse, including generating random card shuffles, generating random colors, generating random geometric objects, and generating random spawning trees.