cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Age, fertility and reproductive behavior in cuban crocodiles, Crocodylus rhombifer, at the smithsonian's national zoological park

The Smithsonian's National Zoological Park (NZP) has a long history with Cuban crocodiles, Crocodylus rhombifer, beginning in 1900's when the first animals arrived at the NZP. Today, the Zoo has two breeding groups of C. rhombifer and has observed and analyzed reproductive behavior and fertility rates over the last three years. Fertility rates were determined initially by observing the formation of an opaque band that forms on the shell of a fertile egg, called banding. The fertility rates by banding were later compared to the observation made after opening the eggs to verify fertility. In addition to tracking fertility, nesting and agonistic behavior were also observed. Several notable observations were documented over the same period. These included a male predating a nesting female's eggs, increased aggression between two females housed together, the continued development of a partially banded egg, and the discovery of 19 additional egg shells post oviposition by both females in the enclosure. Here we discuss the nest phenology, fertility and behavior of the five exhibited C. rhombifer at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park over a 3-year period. Zoo Biol. 34:278-284, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals Inc.
Whole-Brain N-Acetylaspartate Concentration Is Preserved during Mild Hypercapnia Challenge

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although NAA is often used as a marker of neuronal health and integrity in neurologic disorders, its normal response to physiologic challenge is not well-established and its changes are almost always attributed exclusively to brain pathology. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the neuronal cell marker NAA, often used to assess neuronal health and integrity in neurologic disorders, is not confounded by (possibly transient) physiologic changes. Therefore, its decline, when observed by using 1H-MR spectroscopy, can almost always be attributed exclusively to brain pathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve healthy young male adults underwent a transient hypercapnia challenge (breathing 5% CO2 air mixture), a potent vasodilator known to cause a substantial increase in CBF and venous oxygenation. We evaluated their whole-brain NAA by using nonlocalizing proton MR spectroscopy, venous oxygenation with T2-relaxation under spin-tagging MR imaging, CBF with pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling, and the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen, during normocapnia (breathing room air) and hypercapnia. RESULTS: There was insignificant whole-brain NAA change ( P = .88) from normocapnia to hypercapnia and back to normocapnia in this cohort, as opposed to highly significant increases: 28.0 ± 10.3% in venous oxygenation and 49.7 ± 16.6% in global CBF ( P < 10−4); and a 6.4 ± 10.9% decrease in the global cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen ( P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Stable whole-brain NAA during normocapnia and hypercapnia, despite significant global CBF and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen changes, supports the hypothesis that global NAA changes are insensitive to transient physiology. Therefore, when observed, they most likely reflect underlying pathology resulting from neuronal cell integrity/viability changes, instead of a response to physiologic changes. CMRO2 : cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption pCASL : pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling TRUST : T2-relaxation under spin-tagging WBNAA : whole-brain NAA Yv : venous oxygenation
Therapeutic Efficacy of Fresh, Autologous Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Severe Refractory Gingivostomatitis in Cats

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising therapy for immune-mediated and inflammatory disorders, because of their potent immunomodulatory properties. In this study, we investigated the use of fresh, autologous, adipose-derived MSCs (ASCs) for feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS), a chronic, debilitating, idiopathic, oral mucosal inflammatory disease. Nine cats with refractory FCGS were enrolled in this pilot study. Each cat received 2 intravenous injections of 20 million autologous ASCs, 1 month apart. Oral biopsies were taken before and at 6 months after the first ASC injection. Blood immune cell subsets, serum protein, and cytokine levels were measured at 0, 1, 3, and 6 months after treatment to assess immunomodulatory effects. Seven of the 9 cats completed the study. Five cats responded to treatment by either complete clinical remission (n = 3) or substantial clinical improvement (n = 2). Two cats were nonresponders. Cats that responded to treatment also exhibited systemic immunomodulation demonstrated by decreased numbers of circulating CD8+ T cells, a normalization of the CD4/CD8 ratio, decreased neutrophil counts, and interferon-γ and interleukin (IL)-1β concentration, and a temporary increase in serum IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α concentration. No clinical recurrence has occurred following complete clinical remission (follow-up of 6–24 months). In this study, cats with 15% CD8lo cells were nonresponders. The relative absence of CD8lo cells may be a biomarker to predict response to ASC therapy, and may shed light on pathogenesis of FCGS and mechanisms by which ASCs decrease oral inflammation and affect T-cell phenotype.
A “New Frontier” for Women: The Public Policy of the Kennedy Administration

In December 1961, more than four years before the emergence of a vigorous wave of feminism, President John F. Kennedy established the President's Commission on the Status of Women. The creation of the commission, which one newspaper hailed as the launching of a "distaff 'Fair Deal,' " denoted a fundamental shift in federal policy, expressed also in the enactment of equal pay legislation and the prohibition of discrimination against women in the federal civil service.' These steps, taken without the impetus of either a widespread feminist movement or a national emergency, marked the federal government's assumption of a new responsibility with regard to equal treatment for women in the labor force. How Kennedy came to appoint such a commission, why the departure in policy took place, and what consequences resulted from the change constitute the subjects of this essay. Throughout the period 1945 to 1960, government agencies, women's organizations, educators, and journalists expressed concern about proper roles for women. Immediately after the war, those who spoke for working women concentrated on the need to "protect" women in the labor force, including their right to jobs, while providing employment for returning service personnel. Reinstitution of "labor standards" or protective labor laws and the attempt to persuade women to leave their "masculine" jobs for more "feminine" ones in the burgeoning clerical and service occupations served both purposes, and both were attempted.2 A desire to resume "normal" family
InP Optoelectronic Switches And Their High-Speed Signal-Processiny Applications

Progress in the development oil high-speed InP optoelectronic switches is reported. Two approaches are investigated for decreasing recombination time: proton bombardment and raising the Fe concentration. The former is found to produce greater increases in speed than the latter but with greater decrease in sensitivity to light. Application of the device is reported in two areas: an RF mixer and a sample-and-hold switch. For mixer applications, the off-state capacitance and on-state linearity are measured. The 20 to 75 fF of capacitance is found to limit high-freuency performance and a third-order intercept of +20 dBm for 14 mW of laser power is comparable to conventional mixers. Sample-and-hold preliminary measurements indicate a need for an oft-resistaLce > 1 MΩ and an on-resistance of < 100 Ω.
The Characteristics of Machilus chekiangensis Community in Yinpingshan Forest Park in Dongguan,Guangdong

By quadrat sampling method,the authors studied species composition and spatial distribution pattern of dominant population of Machilus chekiangensis community in Yinpingshan forest park in Dongguan,Guangdong.The results are as follows: The species composition was consist of families Lauraceae,Symplocaceae and Rubiaceae with obvious tropical and subtropical characteristics.M.chekiangensis was the dominant species.The structure of the community had three layer,including tree,shrub and herbaceous layer,with abundant interlayer plants.The community diversity was described by different indexes.The value of Simpson' s diversity index was highest in the shrub layer,followed by tree and herbaceous layer.The order of both Shannon-Wiener's index and Margalef's index were shrub layer tree layer herbaceous layer.For Pielou' s index,the order was tree layer shrub layer herbaceous layer.There were a small number of seedlings and more mid-age trees of M.chekiangensis in the community.The seedlings of M.chekiangensis were in clumped distribution pattern,while the mature ones were in random distribution pattern.
The Stone Hospital and Stone Treatment

Introduction and Objective Hospitals are an ancient structure of society to accommodate those people in need. They had their origins in helping the poor, destitute, and homeless. They evolved in the Middle Ages under the influence of the Christian values of caring for the sick. The rise of universities in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries allowed hospitals to become possible centers of learning and education. The eighteenth century saw the rise of stone disease and the development of more humane strategies for dealing with stone sufferers. The nineteenth century was associated with more technical surgeries and the rise of statistics to investigate and present outcomes.
The activity of paclitaxel in gastrointestinal tumors

Gastrointestinal malignancies, which are common around the world, are relatively refractory to available cancer chemotherapeutic agents, necessitating a search for new agents able to improve palliation and survival of patients with advanced disease. Currently, metastatic or local-regional unresectable carcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction carries a dismal prognosis. Paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ), a new mitotic spindle inhibitor, has been studied in patients with advanced gastrointestinal carcinoma. In this phase II National Cancer Institute-sponsored study, previously untreated patients with unresectable local-regional or metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus or gastroesophageal junction (either squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma) received a starting dose of paclitaxel of 250 mg/m2 administered by a 24-hour intravenous infusion (with premedication) repeated every 21 days; all patients received subcutaneous granulocyte colony-stimulating factor 5 micrograms/kg daily 24 hours after the completion of the paclitaxel infusion. Fifty-one of 53 patients were assessable for response and response duration. Thirty-three patients had adenocarcinoma and 18 had squamous cell carcinoma. Sixteen (31%) patients achieved a response (one complete and 15 partial) and 11 (22%) achieved a minor response. Among 33 patients with adenocarcinoma, 12 (36%; 95% confidence interval, 14% to 58%) achieved either a complete (one patient) or partial (11 patients) response and six patients (18%) had a minor response. Four (22%; 95% confidence interval, 3% to 41%) of 18 patients with squamous cell carcinoma had a partial response and four (22%) had a minor response. At a median follow-up of 12+ months, 28 patients remain alive with an actuarial median survival duration of 10.2 months (range, 2 to 20+ months). These data suggest that paclitaxel is active against adenocarcinoma as well as squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. In a subsequent study, the combination of paclitaxel (175 mg/m2 over 3 hours on day 1), cisplatin (20 mg/m2 on days 1 to 5), and 5-fluorouracil (1,000 mg/m2/d in the first 10 patients but then reduced to 750 mg/m2/d, given as a continuous infusion on days 1 to 5) repeated every 28 days was given to patients with advanced adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. Of 46 patients accrued (target accrual, 60), 35 are men and 11 are women, 30 have adenocarcinoma and 16 have squamous cell carcinoma. Among 39 patients evaluated for response so far, one has had a complete response and 16 have had partial responses (overall response rate, 44%; 95% confidence interval 28% to 59%). Five patients have had a minor response. The median granulocyte nadir was 1,200/microL.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Eating Murasaki Shikibu

The fifth-century transmission of China’s sophisticated writing system to Japan prompted a cascade of textual and literary developments on the archipelago. Retrofit to support Japanese phonetics and syntax, a hybrid script and literature evolved; from this negotiation of texts emerged Murasaki Shikibu’s The Tale of Genji in eleventh century Kyoto. While Genji is celebrated today as Japan’s enduring national classic, it fell out of print for much of two centuries preceding its first translation into Victorian era English. This paper examines how interregional exchanges of translations and scripts have amplified the critical and popular success of Genji . It will be argued that English translations of Genji helped to provide a stylistic and typographic model for reintroducing the text to modern Japanese readers as a mass-market novel. In theorizing about such matters, the Japanese concept of reverse-importation will be introduced and intercultural transferences are contextualized within Oswald de Andrade’s notion of cultural cannibalism.
„Wir alle sind Schauspieler auf dieser großen Bühne, die sich Erde nennt“ – Die personale Identität

William Shakespeares Zitat aus Wie es euch gefallt (1599) touchiert unser Thema der Identitat und greift die Frage auf: Spielen und wechseln wir nicht unaufhorlich Rollen, und ist die Vorstellung einer diese Segmente ubergreifenden und zusammenfassenden Identitat illusionar? Zeichnen nicht gerade der Wechsel und das Spiel unser Wesen und unsere Identitat aus, oder lasst sich bei uns als Personen bei genauem Hinhoren ein „Basso continuo“ vernehmen, den man jenseits aller daruber gelegten Melodien als das Identische und Kontinuierliche an uns erkennen kann? Kurzum: Gibt es und – wenn ja – wie entsteht personale Identitat, und was versteht man im Detail darunter?
Música, parodia y feminismo

espanolLas canciones populares han expresado tradicionalmente una gama de sentimientos humanos, entre ellos, los vinculados a las relaciones de pareja. En el caso que se estudia en estas lineas, una cancion del compositor nicaraguense Carlos Mejia Godoy, se ejemplifi ca como las canciones populares proporcionan una vision critica de las relaciones entre mujeres y hombres. EnglishPopular songs have traditionally expressed many human feelings, among them, those originated by couple liaisons. The case studied in the following essay, a song of the Nicaraguan composer Carlos Mejia Godoy, is an example of how popular songs may yield a critical vision on the relations between women
Control of Complex Mechanical Systems

Abstract Complex mechanical systems, those with such interacting components as motion control loops. process or thermal control loops, intelligent subsystems such as robots. etc ., require a design methodology for representation of control software. Transition logic has been found to be effective for design of real time control software and is used here for mechanical systems. The definition of the transition logic has been extended to include a formal function set associated with each state, and rules for how those functions must operate. This provides added formality and modularity to the software design process, and also establishes a discipline in which implementation of cooperative multitasking is simple and direct.
Prisoner’s Dilemma with A Payoff-Adjusting Option

To study the effects of a payoff-adjusting option on game behavior, 30 subject pairs played a 63-trial prisoner’s dilemma game under either individualistic, competitive, or competitive plus simulated-war instructions. All Ss had the opportunity to escalate or de-escalate the payoffs to themselves and the other players by factors from 10 to 1/10. In the competitive groups, an escalation or de-escalation tended to be countered by a response of the opposite kind. All group mean scale value choices were positive, but Ss in the individualistic condition chose higher scale values and made fewer scale value changes. No group showed a trend in scale value level across trials. The 2 competitive groups showed no behavioral differences. Game performance for Ss in all groups was unrelated to F-scale score.
The Effect of Informal Employment and Corruption on Income Levels in Brazil

This paper exploits a unique dataset on corruption and informal sector employment in 476 Brazilian municipalities to estimate whether corruption impacts GDP or income levels once variation in informal economic activity is taken into account. Overall, I find that higher levels of corruption and a larger informal economy are generally associated with poor economic outcomes. However, only the size of the informal economy has a statistically significant effect. This effect is robust to the inclusion of a variety of controls and fixed effects, as well as an instrumental variable analysis. Further, these effects are large in magnitude. For example, a one standard deviation increase in the share of total employees that are informally employed explains a decrease in GDP per-capita of about 18 percent.
Machine learning for performance and power modeling/prediction

Effective design space exploration relies on fast and accurate pre-silicon performance and power models. Simulation is commonly used for understanding architectural tradeoffs, however many emerging workloads cannot even run on many full-system simulators. Even if you manage to run an emerging workload, it may be a tiny part of the workload, because detailed simulators are prohibitively slow. This talk presents some examples of how machine learning can be used to solve some of the problems haunting the performance evaluation field. An application for machine learning is in cross-platform performance and power prediction. If one model is slow to run real-world benchmarks/workloads, is it possible to predict/estimate its performance/power by using runs on another platform? Are there correlations that can be exploited using machine learning to make cross-platform performance and power predictions? A methodology to perform cross-platform performance/power predictions will be presented in this talk. Another application illustrating the use of machine learning to calibrate analytical power estimation models will be discussed. Yet another application for machine learning has been to create max power stressmarks. Manually developing and tuning so called stressmarks is extremely tedious and time-consumingwhile requiring an intimate understanding of the processor. In our past research, we created a framework that uses machine learning for the automated generation of stressmarks. In this talk, the methodology of the creation of automatic stressmarks will be explained. Experiments on multiple platforms validating the proposed approach will also be described.
The Impact of a Low Bias in Snow Water Equivalent Initialization on CFS Seasonal Forecasts

AbstractAcross much of the Northern Hemisphere, the Climate Forecast System forecasts made earlier in the winter (e.g., on 1 January) are found to have more snow water equivalent (SWE) in April-June than forecasts made later (e.g., on 1 April), and further, later forecasts tend to predict earlier snowmelt than earlier forecasts. As a result, other forecasted model quantities (e.g., soil moisture in April-June) show systematic differences dependent on the forecast lead time. Notably, earlier forecasts predict much colder near-surface air temperatures in April-June than later forecasts. Although the later forecasts of temperature are more accurate, earlier forecasts of SWE are more realistic, suggesting that the improvement in temperature forecasts occurs for the wrong reasons. Thus, this study highlights the need to improve atmospheric processes in the model (e.g., radiative transfer, turbulence) that would cause cold biases when a more realistic amount of snow is on the ground. Furthermore, SWE difference...
Bilingual tricksters: Conflicting perceptions of bilingualism in the informal labor economy

Abstract This article explores the value of bilingualism in the informal labor economy by analyzing how Latin American immigrants in the United States draw on their language abilities when asserting their socioeconomic positionality as workers. Bilingual day laborers in the U.S.-Mexico border region cultivate bilingual identities through their work as language brokers in ways that augment their social status and facilitate employment. Yet, despite the perceived advantages of bilingualism for day laborers, their monolingual Spanish-speaking peers often evaluate bilinguals unfavorably—as tricksters—because of their ability to communicate in Spanish and English. Ultimately, by exposing the benefits and burdens of bilingualism for day laborers in the border region, this article describes the intersection of the social and economic contours of language contact.
The Transition Tax: Influencing Corporate Spending with One-Time Tax Breaks

This article is the first to propose that the goals of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, particularly with regard to corporate reinvestment, cannot be achieved without necessary requirements for how repatriated funds are spent in the U.S. This article uses the 2004 tax holiday as an example of a Congressional effort to encourage specific domestic spending through a tax cut. The 2004 tax holiday failed because, among other factors, it did not require multinational corporations to spend repatriated funds on qualified expenditures above and beyond corporations’ levels of pre-tax holiday spending. Ideal requirements for corporations to earn a repatriated income tax deduction would include: an exhaustive list of permissible expenditures, a requirement that spending on permissible expenditures be in excess of pre-tax cut levels of spending, and an enforcement and repayment mechanism for any unearned tax deduction. Parallels can be drawn between the newly enacted transition tax and the 2004 tax holiday. This article discusses the transition tax, and the provisions which end deferral and the worldwide system of taxation without any requirement as to how repatriated funds are spent. The 2004 tax holiday serves as evidence as to how corporations spend repatriated funds following a one-time tax break.
The Role of Negative Emotion Abnormalities in Anhedonic Symptoms of Schizophrenia

Abstract Anhedonia, considered a core feature of schizophrenia, has traditionally been defined as a diminished capacity to experience pleasure. However, anhedonia may more accurately reflect a behavioral deficit characterized by reductions in the frequency of pleasurable activities. Theoretical accounts of this behavioral abnormality suggest it results from abnormalities in reward processing. This chapter proposes that anhedonia results from dysfunctional negative emotion processes. Specifically, we propose that abnormalities in negative emotion reactivity and regulation result in pervasive chronic elevations in negative emotion. Abnormalities in emotional reactivity, or affective “coactivations,” lower the net hedonic value of any potentially rewarding stimulus and result in weakened persistence of positive emotional experiences over time. Impairments in emotion regulation may contribute to increased negative emotion reactivity and coactivation, as well as reductions in the frequency of pleasurable activities. We also discuss mechanisms underlying emotion regulation failures and propose a novel negative emotion conceptual model of anhedonia.
The Life Cycle of Hedge Funds: Fund Flows, Size and Performance ⁄

Since the 1980s we have seen a 25% yearly increase in the number of hedge funds, and an annual attrition rate of 7.10% due to liquidation. This paper analyzes the life cycles of hedge funds. Using the TASS database provided by the Tremont Company, it studies industry and fund speciflc factors that afiect the survival probability of hedge funds. The flndings show that in general, investors chasing individual fund performance decrease probabilities of hedge funds liquidating. However, if investors follow a category of hedge funds that has performed well, then the probability of hedge funds liquidating in this category increases. We interpret this flnding as a result of competition among hedge funds in a category. As competition increases, marginal funds are more likely to be liquidated than funds that deliver superior risk-adjusted returns. We also flnd that there is a concave relationship between performance and assets under management. The implication of this study is that an optimal asset size can be obtained by balancing out the efiects of past returns, fund ∞ows, market impact, competition and favorable category positioning that are modeled in the paper. Hedge funds in illiquid categories are subject to high market impact, have limited investment opportunities, and are more likely to exhibit an optimal size behavior compared to those in more liquid hedge fund categories.
Kortikoidtherapie der multiplen Sklerose

Die Behandlung der multiplen Sklerose (MS) mit Glukokortikoiden oder ACTH - welches uber die in der Nebennierenrinde induzierte Korti-solfreisetzung wirksam wird - begrundet sich auf die pathophysiologi-schen Vorstellungen uber diese Erkrankung.
Pediatric Pancreatitis—Molecular Mechanisms and Management

Pediatric pancreatitis is an emerging field with an increasing incidence of disease. Management of pediatric pancreatitis is understudied and, therefore, extrapolated from adult studies (although the etiologies are different). There is evidence that feeding is safe in mild acute pancreatitis in children without increased pain or length of stay. Studies are needed to predict course of the disease, disease severity, and risk of chronic pancreatitis in children.
Clinical Application of APOE in Alzheimer's Prevention: A Precision Medicine Approach.

Population-attributable risk models estimate that up to one-third of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cases may be preventable through risk factor modification. The field of AD prevention has largely focused on addressing these factors through universal risk reduction strategies for the general population. However, targeting these strategies in a clinical precision medicine fashion, including the use of genetic risk factors, allows for potentially greater impact on AD risk reduction. Apolipoprotein E (APOE), and specifically the APOE e4 variant, is one of the most well-established genetic influencers on late-onset AD risk. In this review, we evaluate the impact of APOE e4 carrier status on AD prevention interventions, including lifestyle, nutrigenomic, pharmacogenomic, AD comorbidities, and other biological and behavioral considerations. Using a clinical precision medicine strategy that incorporates APOE e4 carrier status may provide a highly targeted and distinct approach to AD prevention with greater potential for success.
Developmental effector gene regulation: Multiplexed strategies for functional analysis.

Abstract The staggering complexity of the genome controls for developmental processes is revealed through massively parallel cis-regulatory analysis using new methods of perturbation and readout. The choice of combinations of these new methods is tailored to the system, question and resources at hand. Our focus is on issues that include the necessity or sufficiency of given cis-regulatory modules, cis-regulatory function in the normal spatial genomic context, and easily accessible high throughput and multiplexed analysis methods. In the sea urchin embryonic model, recombineered BACs offer new opportunities for consecutive modes of cis-regulatory analyses that answer these requirements, as we here demonstrate on a diverse suite of previously unstudied sea urchin effector genes expressed in skeletogenic cells. Positively active cis-regulatory modules were located in single Nanostring experiments per BAC containing the gene of interest, by application of our previously reported “barcode” tag vectors of which> 100 can be analyzed at one time. Computational analysis of DNA sequences that drive expression, based on the known skeletogenic regulatory state, then permitted effective identification of functional target site clusters. Deletion of these sub-regions from the parent BACs revealed module necessity, as simultaneous tests of the same regions in short constructs revealed sufficiency. Predicted functional inputs were then confirmed by site mutations, all generated and tested in multiplex formats. There emerged the simple conclusion that each effector gene utilizes a small subset of inputs from the skeletogenic GRN. These inputs may function to only adjust expression levels or in some cases necessary for expression. Since we know the GRN architecture upstream of the effector genes, we could then conceptually isolate and compare the wiring of the effector gene driver sub-circuits and identify the inputs whose removal abolish expression.
Justice involvement and girls' sexual health: Directions for policy and practice.

Abstract Arrested girls in the United States (US) are often diverted from detention through referrals to juvenile specialty courts (e.g., juvenile drug court), community-based diversion programs, or pre-adjudicated probation services. Limited research suggests that sexual and reproductive health needs for diverted, or court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI) girls are similar to that of their detained counterparts. Despite the US justice system's emphasis on diverting youth from detention, research and programmatic efforts to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes has primarily focused on detained girls. Policy and programming for CINI girls is scant and thus warrants further attention. This report details the immediate sexual and reproductive health needs of CINI girls. We discuss implications of current health care policies and practices for this population and conclude with recommendations for research focused on improving access to sexual and reproductive health care.
Amiodarone for prevention of atrial fibrillation following esophagectomy

Abstract Objectives Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common complication after esophagectomy and is associated with symptoms, hemodynamic instability, prolonged hospital stay, and an increased incidence of mortality. Our objective was to determine the efficacy and safety of intravenous amiodarone for prophylaxis of postesophagectomy AF. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 309 patients who underwent esophagectomy formed the initial cohort. Following propensity score-matching, 110 patients who received prophylactic amiodarone 43.75 mg/hour via continuous intravenous infusion over 96 hours (total dose, 4200 mg) were matched to a control group of patients who did not undergo amiodarone prophylaxis (n = 110). The propensity score was obtained using a multivariate logistic regression model with amiodarone as the variable and the following covariates: age, sex, surgical approach, history of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, cardiovascular disease, alcohol use (>7 drinks/week), preadmission β-blockers discontinued during hospitalization, preoperative use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, preoperative use of corticosteroids, postoperative use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, postoperative use of corticosteroids, postoperative use of statins, and preoperative Charlson comorbidity index. Results The incidence of AF requiring treatment due to rapid ventricular rate and symptoms was lower in the amiodarone group (17 out of 110 [15.5%] vs 32 out of 110 [29.1%]; odds ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.23-0.86; P = .015). There were no significant differences between the groups in median postoperative length of hospital stay, incidence of pulmonary complications, or mortality. The incidences of hypotension requiring treatment (42.7% vs 21.8%; P = .001), bradycardia (8.2% vs 0.0%; P = .002), and corrected QT interval prolongation (10.9% vs 0.0%; P ≤ .0001) were significantly higher in the amiodarone group. Conclusions Prophylactic intravenous amiodarone is associated with a reduction in the incidence of AF following esophagectomy, but is not associated with shorter postoperative length of hospital stay. Intravenous amiodarone for prophylaxis of postesophagectomy AF is associated with hypotension, bradycardia, and corrected QT interval prolongation.
9.11 – Coevolution of Life and Earth

Coevolution is a process in which unrelated but mutually interdependent kinds of organisms evolve in a coordinated fashion. Coevolution of grasses and grazers is a well-known example, in which grasses evolved sod growth and abrasive leaves to cope with increasingly hard hooves and high-crowned teeth of grazers. Other plants could not withstand the grazing and other animals could not digest the grasses. The result was creation within the past 30 million years of a new ecosystem type, grasslands, with carbon sequestration, water balance, and albedo unlike other terrestrial ecosystems. These forces for global change arose because both grazers and grasses coevolved in response to biological rather than only physicochemical selection. Such coevolutionary processes can be understood not only in the linkages of interdependence between coevolving partners, but in historical patterns of change, such as promotion of global cooling by grassland coevolution. Such processes have taken Earth far from its primordial state, creating biosignatures that set it apart from known barren worlds such as the Moon, Venus, Mars, and asteroids. Plausible biosignatures of coevolutionary processes on Earth include its inflammable atmosphere, permanent liquid water, carbon-based life, spheroidal weathering, granitic rocks, convex slopes, calcic horizons, argillic horizons, mollic epipedons, and civilizations. A coevolutionary view of the origin of life requires natural selection of interacting interdependent groups of minerals or molecules. As a hypothetical example, erosion resistance (selected property) of soils could be promoted by clay (consumers) formed from hydrolytic weathering of high-temperature minerals (producers). Other soils, lacking clay cements or with clays cracking too much on desiccation, would be eroded and dispersed by wind, water, and impacts. Naturally selected clayey soils could have been a stable laboratory for the origin of life, and remain the source of nutrients fundamental for life.
Racial and ethnic differences in the risk factors associated with bully victimization

AbstractBullying victimization has been recognized as a social issue facing a large proportion of America’s children and adolescents. Although important contributions to the knowledge base have been made regarding risk factors for bullying, little is known about whether a relationship between the potential victim’s race/ethnicity and their likelihood of bully victimization exists. Further, whether the factors that place persons at risk for bullying victimization are invariant across groups is unknown. The present study attempts to fill these voids in the literature by using a national sample and incorporating a more comprehensive list of predictors compared to what has been used in previous studies. Results indicate that risk factors for bullying are largely invariant across race and ethnicity.
Mindfulness to promote nurses' well-being.

Find out how one hospital introduced a mindfulness-based stress reduction program to increase work satisfaction and decrease burnout.
Is adaptivity a core property of intelligent systems?: it depends

Autonomous systems rely upon intelligence to enable them to function without the need for human intervention. In many cases, these systems must adapt to properly react to numerous scenarios. This adaptivity could be a simple action such as activating an additional server, or could be incredibly complex in creating a completely new adaptation strategy. In the following work, we address the question "Is Adaptability a Core Property of Intelligent Systems?" We determine that due to the ambiguity of the term `intelligent system' and the wide range of such systems, that there is no clear and definitive answer to this question. This paper details the deliberation of three AI/Self-Adaptive researchers in addressing this question. We use several scenarios of intelligent systems ranging from a simple motion detector to a complex `humanoid' futuristic artificial system to demonstrate the complexity of this question.
Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and infant growth and adiposity: the Healthy Start Study

Abstract Background Prenatal exposures to certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been linked to lower weight and adiposity at birth but greater weight and adiposity in childhood. We hypothesized that faster growth in early infancy may be associated with maternal PFAS concentrations. Methods Among 415 mother-infant pairs in a longitudinal cohort study, we estimated associations between maternal pregnancy serum concentrations of six PFAS and offspring weight and adiposity at ~5 months of age, and growth in early infancy. Linear and logistic regression models were adjusted for potential confounders including maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index. Effect modification by infant sex was evaluated. We evaluated potential confounding by correlated exposures via multipollutant linear regression and elastic net penalized regression. Results Associations between maternal PFAS concentrations and infant weight and adiposity differed by offspring sex. In male infants, maternal perfluorooctanoate and perfluorononanoate were positively associated with adiposity, with percent fat mass increases of 1.5–1.7% per ln-ng/mL increase in PFAS (median adiposity at ~5 months: 24.6%). Maternal perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) were associated with lower weight-for-age z-score among female infants only (−0.26 SD per ln-ng/mL PFOS, 95% CI −0.43, −0.10; −0.17 SD per ln-ng/mL PFHxS, 95% CI −0.33, −0.01). In analyses pooled by sex, 2-(N-methyl-perfluorooctane sulfonamido) acetate above vs. below the limit of detection was associated with greater odds of rapid growth in weight-for-age (odds ratio [OR] 2.2, 95% CI 1.1, 4.3) and weight-for-length (OR 3.3, 95% CI 1.8, 6.2). Multipollutant models generally confirmed the results and strengthened some associations. Discussion We observed sex- and chemical-specific associations between maternal serum PFAS concentrations and infant weight and adiposity. Multipollutant models suggested confounding by correlated PFAS with opposing effects. Although maternal PFAS concentrations are inversely associated with infant weight and adiposity at birth, rapid gain may occur in infancy, particularly in fat mass.
Where Now? Current Observations, Future Directions:

In this final article, I sum up the major comments, respond to the questions, and address the critiques of the contributing authors. I also examine some key developments that occurred after the pub...
Antiemetics: A Window to Translational Medicine

ABSTRACT The concepts of targeted therapy, molecular pharmacology, and population genetics are not new to the field of clinical antiemetic care. The most basic principle of antiemetic care is to identify and target neurotransmitter/neurotransmitter receptor pairs within the emetic reflex arc that can be suppressed without causing severe disruption of physiologic function. Early research focused on dopamine (D2) receptors led to effective antiemetics but also resulted in significant antidopaminergic toxicity. Identification of serotonin (5HT3) receptor pathways with similar emetogenic activity provided a target that could be effectively suppressed without antidopaminergic toxicity. Appreciation of the role of neurokinin (NK-1) receptors in delayed emesis complements previous knowledge and allows for more effective suppression of emesis throughout the period of emetic risk. More recently genetic mutations that alter these neural pathways as well as the metabolic pathways of antiemetic agents have been appreciated. Over-expression of the CYP 2D6 pathway increases metabolism of some serotonin antagonist antiemetics and has been shown to decrease the efficacy of these agents. A mutation in the 5-HT3B subunit of the serotonin (5HT3) receptor itself can also alter sensitivity to emetogenic chemotherapy and to antiemetic agents. Appreciation of the role of genotype and phenotype in the response of different ethnic groups to therapy has now allowed correlation of lessons from population science with clinical treatment. A study from Malaysia comparing Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations receiving similar chemotherapy and similar antiemetics has demonstrated an increased emetic response in the Chinese population. A study from the United States similarly demonstrated increased emetic response in a Chines population compared to a Caucasian population. Whole genome analysis to identify differences between these ethnic groups may therefore lead back to genetic foci of interest that will in turn affect the clinical science of antiemetic protection. Such translational and multidisciplinary efforts increase knowledge of the basic mechanisms of disease and treatment while simultaneously improving patient quality of life. Disclosure S. Grunberg: I have served as a consultant to Helsinn, Merck, Tesaro, AP Pharma, and Prostrakan. I also am a stockholder in and have received honoraria from Merck.
Neonatal Outcomes of Triplet Pregnancies Conceived via In Vitro Fertilization versus Other Methods of Conception.

Objective This study aims to investigate neonatal outcomes of triplet gestations conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) compared with those not conceived by IVF. Study Design This is a retrospective cohort study of women who delivered a triplet gestation ≥24 weeks at a large academic center (2005–2016). Women with unknown mode of conception were excluded. Women who conceived via IVF were compared with those conceiving spontaneously or through non-IVF fertility treatments. The primary outcome was a composite severe neonatal morbidity (respiratory distress syndrome, necrotizing enterocolitis, severe intraventricular hemorrhage, retinopathy of prematurity, neonatal sepsis, or death). Bivariate comparisons were made by mode of conception and unadjusted generalized estimating equations were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) after accounting for the clustering of neonate by mother. Results Among 82 women included in this analysis, 51 (62%) conceived via IVF. Women who conceived via IVF were older (35.2 vs. 30.7, p Conclusion Neonatal outcomes among triplet gestations did not differ by IVF in this well-characterized, single-center cohort.
In healthy adults, high-dose vitamin D did not improve radial or tibial BMD or strength.

Source Citation Burt LA, Billington EO, Rose MS, et al. Effect of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on volumetric bone density and bone strength: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA. 2019;322:736-4...
Emergence of relational reasoning

We review recent theoretical and empirical work on the emergence of relational reasoning, drawing connections among the fields of comparative psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive science, and machine learning. Relational learning appears to involve multiple systems: a suite of Early Systems that are available to human infants and are shared to some extent with nonhuman animals; and a Late System that emerges in humans only, at approximately age three years. The Late System supports reasoning with explicit role-governed relations, and is closely tied to the functions of a frontoparietal network in the human brain. Recent work in cognitive science and machine learning suggests that humans (and perhaps machines) may acquire abstract relations from nonrelational inputs by means of processes that enable re-representation.
Comparing Asset Pricing Models with Non-Traded Factors and Principal Components

This paper develops a Bayesian methodology to compare asset pricing models containing non-traded factors and principal components. Existing comparison procedures are inadequate when models include such factors due to estimation uncertainties in mimicking portfolios and return covariances. Furthermore, regressions of test assets on such factors are interdependent, rendering comparisons with recently proposed priors sensitive to subsets of the test assets. Thus, I derive novel, non-informative priors that deliver invariant inferences. Simulations suggest that my methodology substantially outperforms existing methods in identifying true non-traded models. I find that macroeconomic models dominate several, recent benchmark models with traded factors and principal components.
Relationship of Dung Beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae and Geotrupidae) Abundance and Parasite Control in Cattle on Pastures throughout Maryland

Cattle treated with chemicals to control parasites can fecally excrete residues that have the potential to adversely affect local assemblages of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Using 200-m transects and dung-baited pitfall traps, we compared the dung beetle communities on 19 cattle farms in Maryland, USA where pests and/or parasites were controlled with chemicals (CU, n = 9 farms) or where no chemicals were used (NCU, n = 10 farms). Traps were baited once a month with fresh cattle dung from each location. We collected a total of 31 species comprising 12,380 dung beetle specimens. The five most abundant species, Onthophagus taurus (Schreber), Onthophagus pennsylvanicus Harold, Onthophagus hecate (Panzer), Blackburneus stercorosus (Melsheimer), and Labarrus pseudolividus (Balthasar), accounted for 85% of the total individuals sampled. No difference was found when comparing total abundances of dung beetles sampled from NCU and CU farms. There was, however, a consistent significant effect of month across multiple dominant species. Using Random Forests analyses, we determined site location, soil type, and chemical lethality as additional important predictor variables affecting dung beetle abundances on Maryland farms. Present-day management practices implement a broad spectrum of chemical usage. Our work examines this variability to facilitate the understanding of factors currently affecting the biodiversity and abundance of beneficial dung beetles.