cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) attachment and nonstructural proteins modify the type I interferon response associated with suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins and IFN-stimulated gene-15 (ISG15)

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of severe lower airway disease in infants and young children, but no safe and effective RSV vaccine is yet available. Factors attributing to this problem are associated with an incomplete understanding of the mechanisms by which RSV modulates the host cell response to infection. In the present study, we investigate suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS)-1 and SOCS3 expression associated with the type I IFN and IFN-stimulated gene (ISG)-15 response following infection of mouse lung epithelial (MLE-15) cells with RSV or RSV mutant viruses lacking the G gene, or NS1 and NS2 gene deletions. Studies in MLE-15 cells are important as this cell line represents the distal bronchiolar and alveolar epithelium of mice, the most common animal model used to evaluate the host cell response to RSV infection, and exhibit morphologic characteristics of alveolar type II cells, a primary cell type targeted during RSV infection. These results show an important role for SOCS1 regulation of the antiviral host response to RSV infection, and demonstrate a novel role for RSV G protein manipulation of SOCS3 and modulation of ISG15 and IFNβ mRNA expression.
The Development of Classroom Sharing by a Teacher Using Positive Practice

A kindergarten class of five hearing-impaired children initiated and reciprocated sharing responses through the use of positive practice. Positive practice was conducted by a teacher in the regular classroom during a free-play period in which toys were available. Students who were not sharing practiced asking other students to share, and the rquested student was required to acquiesce in the sharing. Failure to acquiesce led to the positive practice of that correct role. A design which utilized individual probes interspersed among treatment sessions was employed. Positive practice resulted in more than a threefold increase in physical sharing of toys. All five children increased their physical sharing. Verbal sharing was unaffected by the procedure. Fifteen weeks after termination of the experiment, physical sharing still occurred approximately three times more often than during the initial baseline. Sharing generalized to a new teacher, a larger class with untrained students, and new toys. The results sug...
Pentamidine aerosol versus trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for Pneumocystis carinii in acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia remains one of the most common opportunistic infections in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Treatment with either intravenous pentamidine or ...
Rapid Gastric Absorption of Sodium Nitrite in Mice

The concentration of available gastric sodium nitrite and the major pathways involved in its disappearance in mice following single administration were determined. At 10 min. after oral administration, 85% of the available sodium nitrite was lost from the mouse stomach. Ligation of the gastroduodenal junction had no effect on nitrite loss. Following 30 min. incubation in vitro, where loss of nitrite by absorption was prevented, there was 63% loss of sodium nitrite, of which 40% had been converted to sodium nitrate.
Impact of nutrition on the innate immune response to infection in poultry

Viral and bacterial diseases remain a threat to the poultry industry and countermeasures to prevent and control them are needed due to production losses. With the continued threat of exotic and emerging diseases and concern over the use of antibiotics in animal production, there is a serious and urgent need to find safe and practical alternatives to prevent or control pathogens. Identification of new tools for the design of new immunological interventions or therapeutic antimicrobials to reduce microbial pathogens in poultry is now required more than ever. Immunological interventions to reduce microbial pathogens in poultry would be of great value to the poultry industry and to the consumer. We have been advocating boosting immunity and encouraging the host to utilize its innate immune system to control and clear infections. Our research has addressed the use of innate immune mechanisms and components to develop new immune modulators (prophylactic and therapeutic) and the characterization and production of antimicrobial peptides as potential immune modulators in poultry. Dietary bioactive food components that interact with the immune response have considerable potential to reduce susceptibility to infectious diseases. With this premise, this paper asks and answers a series of pertinent questions on the utilization of avian immunity for increasing resistance to a variety of potential pathogens problematic in today's commercial poultry industry. Using experimental data to provide answers to these questions, we hope to stimulate a dialog between avian immunologists and nutritionists that results in coordinating and integrating their expertise into specific practical solutions that will benefit the industry and improve the well-being of commercial poultry.
γ‐Radiation‐initiated post‐polymerization of methacrylic acid in the solid state

The solid-state postpolymerization of slowly crystallized methacrylic acid was studied at 0°C with 60Co γ-radiation as the initiator. The yield, molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and stereosequencing of the polymer product were determined as a function of polymerization time. The narrow molecular weight distribution and the linear dependence of molecular weight on polymer yield were attributed to a polymerization mechanism characterized by both independent chain propagation and essentially no termination step. The overall polymerization rate was substantially faster than that reported previously for shock-crystallized monomer, a result which was attributed to termination by the occlusion of propagating radicals at defects in the shock-crystallized monomer. Although largely atactic, the polymer synthesized in the solid state contained a secondary kind of stereosequencing; the meso triad probability was highest at the end of the chain, where propagation had initiated and decreased continuously with chain growth. The gradient in stereosequencing along the chains was attributed to defects that were introduced into the monomer crystals by the growing polymer chains.
Signaling and Tariff Policy: The Strategic Multistage Rent Reduction Game

This study uses a game-theoretic analysis to suggest that governments can minimize the political risks associated with significant liberalization of trade by employing a multistep process in the reduction of state-supplied rents. The model argues that when governments precede significant reductions in state-supplied rents with a smaller reduction, or with a reduction that can be portrayed credibly as externally imposed, they may be in a position to evaluate, and hence mitigate, costs associated with significant trade liberalization. Substantive implications are explored in the context of United States trade policy and the still-curious ability of the Franklin Roosevelt administration to engage in strategic rent reductions without suffering meaningful political backlash.
Use of portable sleep monitors to diagnose sleep apnea during predeployment assessment.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Portable sleep monitors (PMs) may be more expeditious and convenient than in-laboratory sleep studies in diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We report for the first time the use of PMs in a military population to demonstrate feasibility in predeployment assessments. Methods: A nested, descriptive study was undertaken at 7 military medical facilities as part of a larger clinical trial. Subjects answered two questionnaires to identify OSA symptoms and used an ApneaLink Plus portable monitor to test for OSA. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the subjects and to report results of PM use. Results: 101 subjects were enrolled, and 77 subjects completed the study. 4.0% of subjects did not tolerate PM use. We found 15 subjects with OSA, with mean age of 31.4 ± 12.8 years, mean body mass index of 33.0 ± 7.4 kg/m2, and mean apnea–hypopnea index of 19.6 ± 13.9 per hour. Subjects with OSA were more likely to have high pretest probability of disease than those without OSA. Con...
A Stepwise Approach to Investigating the Movement Patterns and Habitat Utilization of Goliath Grouper, Epinephelus itajara, Using Conventional Tagging, Acoustic Telemetry and Satellite Tracking

Goliath grouper,1 Epinephelus itajara, the largest grouper in the western North Atlantic, has been protected from all harvest in U.S. waters since 1990, after years of overexploitation at its spawning aggregations. We are currently assessing this species’ recovery by using a variety of tagging methods, including conventional tagging and acoustic telemetry. We have been monitoring the adult populations at offshore spawning aggregations and the juveniles at their nursery areas along mangrove shorelines. Conventional mark/recapture studies enabled us to predict juvenile goliath grouper population densities, growth rates and survival rates. Conventional tagging and recaptures of both adults and juveniles have given information on habitat use and movement patterns, while manually tracking acoustically tagged fish provided fine-scale habitat use and seasonal movements. Continuous data-logging hydrophones provided long-term data on site residency of both juveniles and adults. Future studies will include the use of satellite tracking to define large scale ontogenetic and spawning migrations to previously undescribed habitats. Each method of tagging has provided answers to key questions regarding goliath grouper population biology, but every method also has had its limitations. By starting with the most economical and simplest methods, we have built upon each study by adding complexity as it is warranted.
Conceptual convergence: increased inflammation is associated with increased basal ganglia glutamate in patients with major depression

Inflammation and altered glutamate metabolism are two pathways implicated in the pathophysiology of depression. Interestingly, these pathways may be linked given that administration of inflammatory cytokines such as interferon-α to otherwise non-depressed controls increased glutamate in the basal ganglia and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) as measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Whether increased inflammation is associated with increased glutamate among patients with major depression is unknown. Accordingly, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 50 medication-free, depressed outpatients using single-voxel MRS, to measure absolute glutamate concentrations in basal ganglia and dACC. Multivoxel chemical shift imaging (CSI) was used to explore creatine-normalized measures of other metabolites in basal ganglia. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inflammatory markers were assessed along with anhedonia and psychomotor speed. Increased log plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) was significantly associated with increased log left basal ganglia glutamate controlling for age, sex, race, body mass index, smoking status and depression severity. In turn, log left basal ganglia glutamate was associated with anhedonia and psychomotor slowing measured by the finger-tapping test, simple reaction time task and the Digit Symbol Substitution Task. Plasma CRP was not associated with dACC glutamate. Plasma and CSF CRP were also associated with CSI measures of basal ganglia glutamate and the glial marker myoinositol. These data indicate that increased inflammation in major depression may lead to increased glutamate in the basal ganglia in association with glial dysfunction and suggest that therapeutic strategies targeting glutamate may be preferentially effective in depressed patients with increased inflammation as measured by CRP.
On grain boundary dissociation during diffusion (and stress) induced grain boundary migration

The purpose of this paper is to examine the microscopic nature of the contact angles that dissociated boundary segments make with undissociated boundary segments in grain boundaries which have undergone DIGM. Ig local equilibrium exists at these grain boundary intersections, this study will reveal information about the nature of the driving force for grain boundary dissociation during DIGM. Evidence will then be presented which suggests that an applied stress can result in grain boundary migration and dissociation in a manner analogous to that observed during DIGM.
Current Treatment Trends of Psychosis in Youth with Schizophrenia

Given the current state of the literature, we recommend using evidence-based antipsychotic selection and empirically supported dosing for medications, data for which have only recently become available. Despite the paucity of evidence supporting psychosocial interventions in youth with psychosis, we extrapolate effectiveness conclusions from both the first-episode psychosis and the adult literature. We recommend interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy, social skills, multi-family group therapy, and some briefer forms of cognitive rehabilitation training. Additionally, we have found that some combination of psychiatric rehabilitation programs, case management, and supported vocational/academic programs enhance functioning and subjective quality of life in our own patients. It is our recommendation that the decision whether or not to prescribe pharmacological interventions for the clinically high risk/prodromal youth be decided on a case by case basis, but that psychosocial interventions and family support for this population should be employed during this period of vulnerability.
Impact of the Topical Ophthalmic Corticosteroid Loteprednol Etabonate on Intraocular Pressure.

Corticosteroids are a mainstay therapeutic option for the treatment of ocular inflammation. However, safety remains a concern for clinicians, particularly with long-term use. Though highly effective at suppressing inflammatory and allergic responses, topical ophthalmic corticosteroids carry an inherent risk of side effects, including elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), a risk factor for the development of glaucoma. The corticosteroid loteprednol etabonate (LE) contains an ester rather than a ketone at the C-20 position, minimizing the potential for side effects, including IOP elevation. In early pivotal clinical trials of LE ophthalmic suspension for conjunctivitis (allergic, giant papillary), anterior uveitis, and post-operative inflammation, LE had minimal impact on IOP over short-term (<28 days) and long-term (≥28 days) use. Since then, new LE formulations—including a gel, an ointment, and a suspension of LE in combination with tobramycin—have become commercially available. Multiple studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of LE for inflammatory conditions have been reported, including those requiring longer-term treatment such as photorefractive keratectomy, corneal transplantation, and dry eye disease. We review the available published data on the effect of LE on IOP and report on the cumulative incidence of clinically significant IOP elevations (≥10 mm Hg from baseline) with short-term and long-term LE use. In all studies, LE consistently demonstrated a low propensity to elevate IOP, regardless of formulation, dosage regimen, or treatment duration, including in known steroid responders. The cumulative proportion of patients exhibiting clinically significant IOP increases was 0.8% (14/1725 subjects) in studies evaluating short-term LE treatment and 1.5% (21/1386 subjects) in long-term studies. Furthermore, use of LE was associated with significantly lower rates of IOP elevation ≥10 mm Hg as compared to prednisolone acetate or dexamethasone (when used in combination with tobramycin). The cumulative data to date substantiates a favorable IOP-safety profile for LE with both short-term and long-term use.
Durchfall bei Kleinsäugern – optimale diagnostische Aufarbeitung

Durchfall bei Kleinsaugern zahlt zu den haufigsten Vorstellungsgrunden in der Kleintierpraxis. Durchfallursachen konnen primar gastrointestinal oder extragastrointestinal sein. Zu den haufigsten Durchfallursachen bei Kleinsaugern zahlen diatetische und infektios-entzundliche, gastrointestinale Ursachen, wobei die Parasitosen keineswegs uberwiegen, sondern eher die Dysbiosen. Von den extragastrointestinalen Ursachen spielen die Intoxikationen durch Medikamente und die Neoplasien die groste Rolle. Je systematischer man vorgeht, umso schneller kommt man zur richtigen Diagnose und damit zur optimalen ursachenbezogenen Therapie.
Defect Structures and Electrical Behavior of Rapid Thermally Annealed Ion Implanted Silicon

The importance of the knowledge of implantation induced damage structures in annealing studies is emphasized. The existence of various observed microstructures is reviewed and their distributions are presented schematically. It was found that although the usefulness of RTA in controlling dopant profiles is indisputable, the control of microstructure by RTA especially in “non-amorphized” or incompletely amorphized Si samples is questionable. Significance of complete surface amorphization to achieve better structural perfection on subsequent RTA or FA is discussed. An attempt was made to explain the published electrical data on rapid thermally annealed B+ and As+ implanted Si based on expected location and annealing behavior of defects for such implants. Recent structural and electrical results from B implanted pre-amorphized Si are presented.
Moving toward Participation and Involvement Managing and Measuring Organizational Culture

This article describes a communication intervention program designed to change the culture of a governmental organization from hierarchical and authoritarian to participative and involved. This cultural shift is then measured through a triangulation approach. Specifically, questionnaires, interview data, and direct observation were combined to study the areas of cultural change. Subjects completed the Organizational Culture scale (OCS) before the intervention and a representative sample was interviewed. Then, the entire organization participated in an organizational development program. Two years later, subjects again completed the OCS and were interviewed. The postintervention results were statistically analyzed and compared to the preintervention data. Finally, subjects were directly observed in the workplace. These observations and the interview data placed the results of statistical analyses in context by specifying and clarifying perceptions of change. Results suggest that the organization changed si...
Effects of d-band shape on the surface reactivity of transition-metal alloys

The $d$-band shape of a metal site, governed by the local geometry and composition of materials, plays an important role in determining trends of the surface reactivity of transition-metal alloys. We discuss this phenomenon using the chemisorption of various adsorbates such as C, N, O, and their hydrogenated species on Pd bimetallic alloys as an example. For many alloys, the $d$-band center, even with consideration of the $d$-band width and $\mathit{sp}$ electrons, can not describe variations in reactivity from one surface to another. We investigate the effect of the $d$-band shape, represented by higher moments of the $d$ band, on the local electronic structure of adsorbates, e.g., energy and filling of adsorbate-metal antibonding states. The upper $d$-band edge ${\ensuremath{\varepsilon}}_{u}$, defined as the highest peak position of the Hilbert transform of the density of states projected onto $d$ orbitals of an active metal site, is identified as an electronic descriptor for the surface reactivity of transition metals and their alloys, regardless of variations in the $d$-band shape. The utilization of the upper $d$-band edge with scaling relations enables a considerable reduction of the parameter space in search of improved alloy catalysts and further extends our understanding of the relationship between the electronic structure and chemical reactivity of metal surfaces.
GNF-2 Inhibits Dengue Virus by Targeting Abl Kinases and the Viral E Protein.

Summary Dengue virus infects more than 300 million people annually, yet there is no widely protective vaccine or drugs against the virus. Efforts to develop antivirals against classical targets such as the viral protease and polymerase have not yielded drugs that have advanced to the clinic. Here, we show that the allosteric Abl kinase inhibitor GNF-2 interferes with dengue virus replication via activity mediated by cellular Abl kinases but additionally blocks viral entry via an Abl-independent mechanism. To characterize this newly discovered antiviral activity, we developed disubstituted pyrimidines that block dengue virus entry with structure-activity relationships distinct from those driving kinase inhibition. We demonstrate that biotin- and fluorophore-conjugated derivatives of GNF-2 interact with the dengue glycoprotein, E, in the pre-fusion conformation that exists on the virion surface, and that this interaction inhibits viral entry. This study establishes GNF-2 as an antiviral compound with polypharmacological activity and provides "lead" compounds for further optimization efforts.
Videoteleconferencing Early Child Anxiety Treatment: A Case Study of the Internet-Delivered PCIT CALM (I-CALM) Program

Anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent and impairing classes of mental health difficulties affecting young children. Though the vast majority of supported programs for child anxiety focus on youth ages 7 years and up, preliminary support has emerged for exposure-based adaptations of parent-coaching interventions, i.e., the Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) CALM Program, to address anxiety disorders in early childhood. Despite these advances, low rates of community service use and accessibility persist. The increased ubiquity of Internet access has positioned videoteleconferencing (VTC) as a powerful tool to overcome traditional barriers to care. The present case study details the VTC delivery of the PCIT CALM Program in the treatment of a 6 year-old boy presenting with generalized anxiety disorder and separation anxiety disorder. This case provides qualitative support for the feasibility of delivering integrated real-time parent coaching and exposure therapy to address early childhood anxiety disorders via VTC. The remission of the patient's anxiety across treatment sessions suggests that the telehealth format may be a useful modality for the delivery of early childhood anxiety treatment. The technical considerations for the delivery of VTC therapy as well as the implications for treatment are discussed.
Biodegradable resistive switching memory based on magnesium difluoride

This study presents a new type of resistive switching memory device that can be used in biodegradable electronic applications. The biodegradable device features magnesium difluoride as the active layer and iron and magnesium as the corresponding electrodes. This is the first report on magnesium difluoride as a resistive switching layer. With on-off ratios larger than one hundred, the device on silicon switches at voltages less than one volt and requires only sub-mA programming current. AC endurance of 10(3) cycles is demonstrated with ±1 V voltage pulses. The switching mechanism is attributed to the formation and rupture of conductive filaments comprising fluoride vacancies in magnesium difluoride. Devices fabricated on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate are tested for functionality, and degradation is subsequently demonstrated in de-ionized water. An additional layer of magnesium difluoride is used to hinder the degradation and extend the lifetime of the device.
Monkeys on the Menu? Reconciling Patterns of Primate Hunting and Consumption in a Central African Village

The bushmeat crisis is often portrayed as a serious threat to primates, especially slow-reproducing ape species. And yet, most bushmeat markets in Central and West Africa are dominated by ungulates, rodents, and carnivores. While markets are a measure of hunters’ off-take, they may not adequately capture information on species consumed in households or traded locally. Comparing changes in prey availability at markets, households, and other trading points can assist efforts to assess the magnitude of faunal extraction. Overall, subsistence needs of local human populations combined with the transnational demand for bushmeat results in the amplification of hunter catchments. What remains unclear is how the availability of nonhuman primates is reconciled with cultural preferences and market values to determine what appears in cooking pots. This study examines this question using market (n = 157 days) and hunter preference surveys (n = 290), in addition to semi-structured interviews with market women (n = 10) and hunters (n = 210) in the rural town of Bayanga, Central African Republic (2008–2009) located within the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas (APDS). Integrating multiple approaches, we were able to reconcile and contextualize discrepancies between market data, hunter surveys, and interviews with market women and community members. We found that the sale and consumption of primate meat at APDS was more likely related to a decline in preferred ungulate species along with an increase in the availability of firearms. These results suggest nuanced avenues for increasing the protection of vulnerable and endangered primate species with the introduction of well-priced, alternative protein sources.
Spyware – Risk and Ambiguity Attitudes

In this paper, we argue that ambiguity, that is people’s inability to judge likelihood of risk, is a significant contributor to aversion to spyware risk. Since no objective or authoritative estimates of risk likelihood are available, but users still make decision, it must be the case that user’s judgments of risk likelihood are reflected in their decision weights. Using the theory and methods developed in the field of decision theory, we plan to conduct an experiment to a) assess the separate contributions of standard risk aversion and aversion to ambiguity to overall risk and b) examine whether peoples traits (optimism/pessimism, tolerance for ambiguity) and perception of information explain the patterns in the parameters corresponding to risk and ambiguity functions.
Effect of skin coverage method following subcuticular suturing on wound infection rates at cesarean delivery.

AbstractObjective: The objective of this study was to determine whether the use of cyanoacrylate skin glue following subcuticular skin closure was associated with a decrease in wound outcomes in comparison with subcuticular closure plus Steri-strips at cesarean delivery.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients undergoing cesarean delivery at a single center over a two-year period. The primary outcome of wound infection and secondary outcomes of wound separation and composite wound complication rate were assessed throughout the six-week postpartum period.Results: Of 660 women who met inclusion criteria, 35 (5.3%) experienced a wound infection and 90 (13.6%) experienced a wound separation. The composite wound complication rate was 16.4% (n = 108). Of the 515 cases with a skin coverage method noted, use of skin glue was associated with a marginal decrease in wound infections (p = 0.057), as well as a significantly reduced incidence of wound separation (p = 0.03) and composite wound complica...
The Complex Parameter Rao Test

The Rao test is an important method in signal detection in the presence of unknown parameters. The traditional approach to the problem when the unknown parameters are complex valued is to form a corresponding real-valued parameter vector and then to use the real Rao test. Alternatively, we present a complex parameter Rao test by reformulating the calculations with respect to the complex-valued quantities directly. Two important examples of the application of the complex parameter Rao test are given to illustrate the procedure.
Ultrasound-Guided Percutaneous Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Postoperative Analgesia Could Neurostimulation Replace Continuous Peripheral Nerve Blocks?

The moderate-to-severe pain many patients experience after orthopedic surgery is often treated with opioids, which are associated with undesirable adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting, sedation, and respiratory depression. Potent site-specific analgesia with far fewer adverse effects may be provided with a continuous peripheral nerve block.1,2 Unfortunately, perineural infusion has its own set of limitations such as inducing motor, sensory, and proprioception deficits that possibly increase the risk of falling3; limited duration due to the risk of infection4; and, for ambulatory patients, the burden of carrying an infusion pump and local anesthetic reservoir. These, among other, limitations have led some leaders in regional anesthesia to conclude that this technique is often “effective, but unrealistic”5; and calls within the surgical literature to abandon continuous peripheral nerve blocks.6,7 There is new evidence that suggests an analgesic alternative—ultrasound-guided percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (pPNS)—holds promise to provide postoperative analgesia free of many of the major limitations of both opioid analgesics and continuous peripheral nerve blocks.
What Do Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Service Providers Need to Know About Survivors to Deliver Services

Using survey data, we investigate perspectives of 80 program directors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault agencies regarding whether gathering specific information at intake is helpful in determining survivors' needs for five service areas: legal advocacy, medical advocacy, support group, counseling, and shelter. We explore whether directors' opinions of information-type usefulness differ by type of service agency (single- or dual-focus). Findings show directors perceive the information most helpful to early service provision includes survivors' goals, experiences of violence and trauma, and health status. MANOVA results show no significant differences among directors from single- or dual-focus agencies.
Atopic dermatitis: therapeutic care delivery: therapeutic education, shared decision-making, and access to care

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin condition affecting children and adults, with a significant negative impact on patient and caregiver quality of life (QOL). Although effective treatments for AD are available, outcomes are often limited by poor adherence to treatment plans. Effective patient and caregiver education about the disease and its management is a necessary and important component of AD care. Therapeutic patient education (TPE) is a patient-centered process that aims to transfer information and skills necessary to manage and cope with a disease from health care professionals to patients and caregivers. Shared decision making between the health care provider and the patient/caregiver is an integral component of the TPE process and recognizes the importance of both the medical provider's clinical expertise, as well as the patient/caregiver's preferences and experiences regarding their own medical condition and its treatment. TPE programs for patients with AD and their caregivers are typically provided by multidisciplinary teams and utilize a number of different methods and tools to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and skills through both individual care and group-based educational sessions. TPE has been demonstrated to improve outcomes such as AD disease severity, treatment adherence, QOL, and coping with itch. It is important to consider strategies to reduce barriers to cost-effective accessible AD education and treatment.
LibGuides as a Platform for Designing a Library Homepage

In the fall of 2015, the librarians at Tidewater Community College decided use LibGuides in order to redesign the library homepage. Using LibGuides offers librarians the opportunity to quickly and easily edit the homepage and maintain control rather than outsourcing web control to an outside developer. The benefits of using LibGuides as a design platform are discussed, as well as its limitations and challenges.
How #Blacklivesmatter: exploring the role of hip-hop celebrities in constructing racial identity on Black Twitter

Pundits disagree on the extent to which hip-hop artists have used their celebrity clout to further the #BlackLivesMatter movement. This study adds to a nascent body of research on Black Twitter by ...
Communicating Risk Information in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Television Ads: A Content Analysis.

ABSTRACTDirect-to-consumer (DTC) television ads for prescription drugs are required to disclose the product’s major risks in the audio or audio and visual parts of the presentation (sometimes refer...
Crawling and Extracting Process Data from the Web

In this paper, we address the design and implementation of a supporting system for process-based searches. This supporting system can efficiently crawl the Web and extract processes from obtained data. The retrieved processes can then be used in a Process-Based Search Engine (PBSE). In this work, a process is defined as a sequence of activities for achieving a goal. A PBSE uses the extracted processes to transform an original query into multiple sub-queries, and then performs keyword search for each transformed sub-query. To facilitate effective process-based searches, a large number of high quality processes are required. This paper focuses on how to efficiently and effectively build a database of processes by exploring the Web.
Biomedical Applications of Polymer Particles with Emphasis on Cell Separation

Applications of polymer particles in the biomedical field have been concentrated in the past primarily in the areas of blood flow determination and in vitro immunoassays. Microspheres have been employed for the determination of myocardial, renal, cerebral and other blood flow and perfusion rates (Phibbs, et al, 1967; Hollenberg, 1975; Hoffbrand and Forsyth, 1969). Polymer particles, and latexes in particular have been extensively used in immunoassays, starting in 1956 with the development of the Latex Agglutination Test (Singer and Plotz, 1956). Recently a significant number of additional applications of polymer particles in the biomedical field have emerged. These applications exploit advances in polymer chemistry in combination with new developments in the field of biotechnology. Several of these applications are well underway, whereas others are at an early developmental stage. Several of these applications are described in the following paragraphs of this review, with emphasis on the use of microspheres in cell separation.
Some Developments in Sanitary Engineering Laboratory Equipment at New York University

It is indeed fortunate for sanitary engineers that there has been available for the past twenty-five years a "Standard Methods" for the various chemical, biological and physical tests applied to the examination of water and sewage. Notwithstanding the fact that these editions have undergone changes and revisions with the increase of knowledge in the several sanitary sciences, they have at all times presented a complete, concise and reasonably accurate procedure. A uniformity of procedure, however, is quite difficult in many tests unless a uniformity of apparatus exists, and differences of either may result in data which is not truly comparable. With the latter phase this paper chiefly concerns. Sanitary chemistry, bio-chemistry, biology and bacteriology are not new and distinct sciences. They are rather a specialization of these particular branches with regard to the constituents found in natural or spent natural waters. It is generally agreed that the primary constructive specialization in this field began in this country with the Lowell Experiment Station of the Massachusetts State Board of Health about 1890, but since that time there are few sections of the country which have not and which are not today contributing towards its advancement.
Principles of Physics of External Beam Radiotherapy

The overall goal of radiation therapy is to inflict maximum radiation damage in the volume to be treated (target) and to minimize that damage to any non-target tissue. This chapter is a short overview of the principles of physics and technology that are employed in external beam radiation therapy to achieve a high degree of conformity between the total irradiated volume and the target volume. These principles are described in the context of treating tumors of the central nervous system.
Abstract 5422: TMPRSS2-ERG fusions confers efficacy of enzalutamide in an in vivo bone tumor growth model

Castrate Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC) is an advanced disease resistant to systemic anti-androgen therapies and resistance is primarily attributed to reactivation of AR through multiple mechanisms. TMPRSS2-ERG fusions have been shown to regulate AR signaling, interfere with pro-differentiation functions, and mediate oncogenic signaling. In fact, cooperation between AR and ERG drives invasive adenocarcinoma even in the castrate environment. We have recently shown that ERG regulates intra-tumoral androgen synthesis thereby facilitates AR function in CRPC disease. We hypothesize that enzalutamide treatment will be more effective in cells/tumors with TMPRSS2-ERG translocations because these tumors have increased AR signaling. In other words, AR blockade is likely to induce a greater treatment response in tumors with ERG gene fusions than in tumors without such fusions. ERG knockdown was performed with VCaP cells using lentiviral infections to generate VCaP ERGshRNA cells and control VCaP scr cells with scrambled shRNA. Cell-growth analysis was performed to determine the effect of enzalutamide. Luciferase tagged VCaP scr and shRNA infected cells were used in intra-tibial animal model for bone tumor growth analysis and enzalutamide treatment used to inhibit AR signaling in bone tumors. Reverse transcription, quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to determine the expression of AR responsive genes and androgen biosynthetic enzyme genes; Western blotting (WB) samples, for ERG, AR and AKR1C3 in VCaP bone tumors. Enzalutamide inhibited VCaP scr more effectively than shERG cells. Analysis of AR responsive genes show that Enzalutamide treatment at 5 micro molar concentration inhibited 85-90% in VCaP Scr cells whereas these genes inhibited to lesser extent in VCaP shERG cells. In bone tumor growth experiment, VCaP ERG shRNA cells grown at slower than VCaP scr shRNA cells. Enzalutamide treatment resulted in a sever growth inhibition in VCaP scr shRNA cells compared to VCaP shERG cells. Androgen biosynthetic enzyme expression is lower VCaP shERG bone tumors compared to VCaP scr shRNA bone tumors and enzalutamide inhibited the enzyme expression in both types of tumors. These data suggest that ERG transcription factor regulates androgen biosynthetic enzyme expression and enzalutamide treatment is effective against VCaP bone tumors with an intact ERG expression, and knocking down ERG in VCaP cells leads lesser response for enzalutamide therapy. Citation Format: Sreenivasa R. Chinni, Louie Semaan, Michael Cher. TMPRSS2-ERG fusions confers efficacy of enzalutamide in an in vivo bone tumor growth model [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5422.
Subtypes in patients with opioid misuse: A prognostic enrichment strategy using electronic health record data in hospitalized patients.

Background Approaches are needed to better delineate the continuum of opioid misuse that occurs in hospitalized patients. A prognostic enrichment strategy with latent class analysis (LCA) may facilitate treatment strategies in subtypes of opioid misuse. We aim to identify subtypes of patients with opioid misuse and examine the distinctions between the subtypes by examining patient characteristics, topic models from clinical notes, and clinical outcomes. Methods This was an observational study of inpatient hospitalizations at a tertiary care center between 2007 and 2017. Patients with opioid misuse were identified using an operational definition applied to all inpatient encounters. LCA with eight class-defining variables from the electronic health record (EHR) was applied to identify subtypes in the cohort of patients with opioid misuse. Comparisons between subtypes were made using the following approaches: (1) descriptive statistics on patient characteristics and healthcare utilization using EHR data and census-level data; (2) topic models with natural language processing (NLP) from clinical notes; (3) association with hospital outcomes. Findings The analysis cohort was 6,224 (2.7% of all hospitalizations) patient encounters with opioid misuse with a data corpus of 422,147 clinical notes. LCA identified four subtypes with differing patient characteristics, topics from the clinical notes, and hospital outcomes. Class 1 was categorized by high hospital utilization with known opioid-related conditions (36.5%); Class 2 included patients with illicit use, low socioeconomic status, and psychoses (12.8%); Class 3 contained patients with alcohol use disorders with complications (39.2%); and class 4 consisted of those with low hospital utilization and incidental opioid misuse (11.5%). The following hospital outcomes were the highest for each subtype when compared against the other subtypes: readmission for class 1 (13.9% vs. 10.5%, p<0.01); discharge against medical advice for class 2 (12.3% vs. 5.3%, p<0.01); and in-hospital death for classes 3 and 4 (3.2% vs. 1.9%, p<0.01). Conclusions A 4-class latent model was the most parsimonious model that defined clinically interpretable and relevant subtypes for opioid misuse. Distinct subtypes were delineated after examining multiple domains of EHR data and applying methods in artificial intelligence. The approach with LCA and readily available class-defining substance use variables from the EHR may be applied as a prognostic enrichment strategy for targeted interventions.
Where the Buffalo Roamed

By mid-april, winter has released its grip on northeastern Colorado, and the Pawnee National Grassland is no longer a lifeless stretch of snow, mud, and dead grass. To the contrary, the place is fresh and green, and the newly arrived birds are engaged in a frenzy of courtship and homesteading. In this flat, treeless environment, male birds face a dilemma: how do they make their presence known to one another and to the females as they go about the business of setting up territories and attracting mates? For the grassland spar- rows—the chestnut-collared longspurs, McCown’s longspurs, and lark buntings—the answer is to take to the air. The males shoot up into the sky like little champagne corks, singing vigorously as they climb. At the apex of their flights, they flair their wings and rock back and forth, thereby slowing their descent as they parachute back to earth, singing all the while. Leaning against my car, I look around and see a dozen or more of these little birds popping into the air. This place is magical.
Astronomy in the Cloud: Using MapReduce for Image Co-Addition

In the coming decade, astronomical surveys of the sky will generate tens of terabytes of images and detect hundreds of millions of sources every night. The study of these sources will involve computation challenges such as anomaly detection and classification and moving-object tracking. Since such studies benefit from the highest-quality data, methods such as image co-addition, i.e., astrometric registration followed by per-pixel summation, will be a critical preprocessing step prior to scientific investigation. With a requirement that these images be analyzed on a nightly basis to identify moving sources such as potentially hazardous asteroids or transient objects such as supernovae, these data streams present many computational challenges. Given the quantity of data involved, the computational load of these problems can only be addressed by distributing the workload over a large number of nodes. However, the high data throughput demanded by these applications may present scalability challenges for certain storage architectures. One scalable data-processing method that has emerged in recent years is MapReduce, and in this article we focus on its popular open-source implementation called Hadoop. In the Hadoop framework, the data are partitioned among storage attached directly to worker nodes, and the processing workload is scheduled in parallel on the nodes that contain the required input data. A further motivation for using Hadoop is that it allows us to exploit cloud computing resources: i.e., platforms where Hadoop is offered as a service. We report on our experience of implementing a scalable image-processing pipeline for the SDSS imaging database using Hadoop. This multiterabyte imaging data set provides a good testbed for algorithm development, since its scope and structure approximate future surveys. First, we describe MapReduce and how we adapted image co-addition to the MapReduce framework. Then we describe a number of optimizations to our basic approach and report experimental results comparing their performance.
Frazil ice growth and production during katabatic wind events in the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Abstract. During katabatic wind events in the Terra Nova Bay and Ross Sea polynyas, wind speeds exceeded 20 m s−1, air temperatures were below −25 ℃, and the mixed layer extended as deep as 600 meters. Yet, upper ocean temperature and salinity profiles were not perfectly homogeneous, as would be expected with vigorous convective heat loss. Instead, the profiles revealed bulges of warm and salty water directly beneath the ocean surface and extending downwards tens of meters. Considering both the colder air above and colder water below, we suggest the increase in temperature and salinity reflects latent heat and salt release during unconsolidated frazil ice production within the upper water column. We use a simplified salt budget to analyze these anomalies to estimate in-situ frazil ice concentration between 332 × 10−3 and 24.4 × 10−3 kg m−3. Contemporaneous estimates of vertical mixing by turbulent kinetic energy dissipation reveal rapid convection in these unstable density profiles, and mixing lifetimes from 2 to 12 minutes. The corresponding median rate of ice production is 26 cm day−1 and compares well with previous empirical and model estimates. Our individual estimates of ice production up to 378 cm day−1 reveal the intensity of short-term ice production events during the windiest episodes of our occupation of Terra Nova Bay Polynya.
The free spectrum of A5

We obtain a formula for the orders of the relatively free groups of finite rank in the variety generated by the alternating group A5. This is accomplished by explicitly determining the structure of...