cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stress, anxiety, and cognitive interference: Reactions to tests.

Abstract : Test anxiety, its nature and relationships to performance and cognitive interference, are analyzed from the standpoint of attentional processes. A new instrument to assess dimensions of reactions to tests is presented, and its psychometric properties are described. The scales of the Reactions to Tests questionnaire (Worry, Tension, Test-irrelevant Thinking, Bodily Symptoms) were compared with regard to intellective performance and cognitive interference. The results were consistent with the idea that the problem of anxiety is, to a significant extent, a problem of intrusive thoughts that interfere with task-focused thinking. In the last of the three studies reported, it was shown that self-preoccupying intrusive thinking can be reduced by means of a task-focusing experimental condition. The studies suggest that the Reactions to Tests questionnaire may be useful in defining anxiety more sharply and improving understanding of how it relates to performance. (Author)
Utilizing spatial information systems for non-spatial-data analysis

Recent advances in the power and capabilities of personal computers have brought the algorithms and representational methods of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to the desktop. Information that has relationships between elements may be represented spatially, especially if some distance metric can be brought to bear. This paper discusses information cartography, the use of spatial methods for the display of non-Geographic data.
Cheating: Making It a Teachable Moment:

The author's PhD training and 25 years of teaching experience did not prepare her for dealing with widespread cheating. Is it better to confront cheaters personally, or just fix the evaluation system and move on? How can the process of failing cheaters be handled in a way that is fair to all? Finally, can a potentially disastrous cheating incident become a teachable moment? Based on the author's personal experience of failing almost a fourth of a class, this article explores both personal and procedural justice issues, and offers a case example and classroom exercise to promote classroom integrity.
Effect of enhanced ultraviolet germicidal irradiation in the heating ventilation and air conditioning system on ventilator-associated pneumonia in a neonatal intensive care unit

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that enhanced ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (eUVGI) installed in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) heating ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC) would decrease HVAC and NICU environment microbes, tracheal colonization and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Design:The study was designed as a prospective interventional pre- and post-single-center study. University-affiliated Regional Perinatal Center NICU. Intubated patients in the NICU were evaluated for colonization, and a high-risk sub-population of infants <30 weeks gestation ventilated for ⩾14 days was studied for VAP. eUVGI was installed in the NICU's remote HVACs. The HVACs, NICU environment and intubated patients’ tracheas were cultured pre- and post-eUVGI for 12 months. The high-risk patients were studied for VAP (positive bacterial tracheal culture, increased ventilator support, worsening chest radiograph and ⩾7 days of antibiotics). Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Serratia, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus aureus and Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species were cultured from all sites. eUVGI significantly decreased HVAC organisms (baseline 500 000 CFU cm−2; P=0.015) and NICU environmental microbes (P<0.0001). Tracheal microbial loads decreased 45% (P=0.004), and fewer patients became colonized. VAP in the high-risk cohort fell from 74% (n=31) to 39% (n=18), P=0.04. VAP episodes per patient decreased (Control: 1.2 to eUVGI: 0.4; P=0.004), and antibiotic usage was 62% less (P=0.013). eUVGI decreased HVAC microbial colonization and was associated with reduced NICU environment and tracheal microbial colonization. Significant reductions in VAP and antibiotic use were also associated with eUVGI in this single-center study. Large randomized multicenter trials are needed.
Optimal structural inference of signaling pathways from unordered and overlapping gene sets

Motivation: A plethora of bioinformatics analysis has led to the discovery of numerous gene sets, which can be interpreted as discrete measurements emitted from latent signaling pathways. Their potential to infer signaling pathway structures, however, has not been sufficiently exploited. Existing methods accommodating discrete data do not explicitly consider signal cascading mechanisms that characterize a signaling pathway. Novel computational methods are thus needed to fully utilize gene sets and broaden the scope from focusing only on pairwise interactions to the more general cascading events in the inference of signaling pathway structures. Results: We propose a gene set based simulated annealing (SA) algorithm for the reconstruction of signaling pathway structures. A signaling pathway structure is a directed graph containing up to a few hundred nodes and many overlapping signal cascades, where each cascade represents a chain of molecular interactions from the cell surface to the nucleus. Gene sets in our context refer to discrete sets of genes participating in signal cascades, the basic building blocks of a signaling pathway, with no prior information about gene orderings in the cascades. From a compendium of gene sets related to a pathway, SA aims to search for signal cascades that characterize the optimal signaling pathway structure. In the search process, the extent of overlap among signal cascades is used to measure the optimality of a structure. Throughout, we treat gene sets as random samples from a first-order Markov chain model. We evaluated the performance of SA in three case studies. In the first study conducted on 83 KEGG pathways, SA demonstrated a significantly better performance than Bayesian network methods. Since both SA and Bayesian network methods accommodate discrete data, use a ‘search and score’ network learning strategy and output a directed network, they can be compared in terms of performance and computational time. In the second study, we compared SA and Bayesian network methods using four benchmark datasets from DREAM. In our final study, we showcased two context-specific signaling pathways activated in breast cancer. Availibility: Source codes are available from http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16000775/sa_sc.zip Contact: [email protected] Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Comment: Adaptive Forecasting

I am not surprised by how far behind our profession is in calculating interval forecasts. After all, interval forecast is a concept not well formulated nor well understood by statisticians. On the other hand, I am amazed by Chatfield's expectation and his recommendation. Will he be satisfied when Formulas (4.1) and (4.2) are routinely used in practice? Will he be satisfied when the forecast intervals are sufficiently wide to cover all the data points in out-of-sample forecasts? I agree totally that point forecasts fail to provide uncertainty assessment of the future, and some assessment on uncertainty must be given in prediction. Are interval forecasts the solution to uncertainty assessment, however? In particular, I am unhappy about advocating the routine use of Formulas (4.1) and (4.2) in providing interval forecasts. First of all, the formulas require many strong assumptions including that (a) the underlying model is the "true" model, (b) the innovational distribution is normal, and (c) the forecasts are unbiased. Since these assumptions are always violated in practice, what can a practitioner do? Second, the probability statement associated with an interval forecast tends to be misleading. The actual coverage probability is often different from the stated probability coefficient. Is there not a danger that we might provide a false impression on the accuracy in probability statement when we give a 95% prediction interval (PI) based on these formulas? Third, judging a PI by its length is misleading. For a reasonable PI, the coverage probability is more relevant. Considering the example of Section 7, I can see the value of increasing the upper bound from 8.73 to 11.14 for the 12-step-ahead PI. I would regard lowering the lower bound from 2.66 to .86 as a disservice, however. Does Chatfield believe the U.S. quarterly unemployment rate is ever lower than 2.0? In this particular instance, widening the PI by lowering the lower bound, resulting from the mechanical use of formulas (4.1) and (4.2), seems questionable. At least, it is in conflict with common sense.
Mediation analysis when a continuous mediator is measured with error and the outcome follows a generalized linear model

Mediation analysis is a popular approach to examine the extent to which the effect of an exposure on an outcome is through an intermediate variable (mediator) and the extent to which the effect is direct. When the mediator is mis-measured, the validity of mediation analysis can be severely undermined. In this paper, we first study the bias of classical, non-differential measurement error on a continuous mediator in the estimation of direct and indirect causal effects in generalized linear models when the outcome is either continuous or discrete and exposure-mediator interaction may be present. Our theoretical results as well as a numerical study demonstrate that in the presence of non-linearities, the bias of naive estimators for direct and indirect effects that ignore measurement error can take unintuitive directions. We then develop methods to correct for measurement error. Three correction approaches using method of moments, regression calibration, and SIMEX are compared. We apply the proposed method to the Massachusetts General Hospital lung cancer study to evaluate the effect of genetic variants mediated through smoking on lung cancer risk.
On the performance of passivity-based control of haptic displays employing levant's differentiator for velocity estimation

In impedance-type haptic interfaces, encoders are typically employed to provide high resolution position measurements from which velocity is estimated, most commonly via the finite difference method (FDM). This velocity estimation technique performs reliably, unless very fast sampling is required, in which case noise or delay due to filtering of the position signals reduces accuracy in the estimate. Despite this limitation, FDM is attractive because it is a passive process, and therefore the passivity of the overall system can be guaranteed. Levant's differentiator is a viable alternative to FDM, and exhibits increased accuracy in velocity estimation at high sample rates compared to FDM. However, the passivity of this nonlinear velocity estimation technique cannot be shown using conventional methods. In this paper, we employ a time domain passivity framework to analyze and enforce passive behavior of Levant's differentiator for haptic displays in discrete time. The performance of this approach is explored both in simulation and experimentally on a custom made one degree-of-freedom haptic interface. Results demonstrate the effectiveness of the time domain passivity approach for compensating the active behavior observed with use of Levant's differentiator for velocity estimation.
Point set pattern matching using the Procrustean metric

A fundamental problem in computer vision is to determine if an approximate version of a geometric pattern P occurs in an observed set of points B. The pattern and the background are modeled as point sets Pequals{p$1,....,p$m} and Bequals{b$1,....,b$n} on the line or in the plane. We wish to find a transformation T, from a family of transformations , such that the distance between T(P) and B is minimized. The distance between T(P) and B is the sum of the distances squared between T(p$i) and the closest point in B. This is the Procrustean metric where the set of allowable mappings between P and B is the space F of all functions from P into B. The algorithms in this paper also apply when the metric is the sum of the distances between points in P and B. We present algorithms that minimize the Procrustean metric for the following families of transformations: translations in R1, translations in R2, and combined translations and rotations in R2. We prove that fixed point algorithms for computing the Procrustean metric converge to a fixed point and show a worst case lower bound on the number of fixed points.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Bis(aminopyrrolidine)-derived ureas (APUs) as potent MCH1 receptor antagonists.

Abstract Ureas derived from two substituted 3-aminopyrrolidine subunits were prepared as constrained analogs of a linear lead compound and tested as antagonists of the MCH1 receptor. The series was optimized for substitution and stereochemistry to generate a functional antagonist with a Ki of 3.3 nM and IC50 of 12 nM (GTPγS).
Nocturnal Penile Tumescence

Nocturnal penile tumescence (sleep-related erection, SRE) occurs in normal healthy males. This can be demonstrated during routine polysomnography or through the use of home test kits. Specific clinical criteria should guide the practitioner in his or her utilization of these techniques when evaluating a patient with erectile dysfunction (ED). Additionally, obstructive sleep apnea has an independent association with ED.
Hospital information systems. What lies behind friendliness and flexibility

IntroductionWhy is a hospital information system still so difficult to introduce successfully? Are the problems encountered unique, or may we learn by comparison from other information specialties, and they from us? It is the thesis of this paper that in the design of hospital systems, the practices, priorities, and vocabulary of medicine obscure otherwise familiar processes so that critical issues are often ignored or misperceived and that the systems installed suffer by consequence. If this is so then it is useful to restate hospital information processes in a manner that facilitates comparison with other systems.
The Hopelessly Delusional Patient

Ms. Daisy is a 65 year-old Caucasian new patient, who presented with a 2-year history of being infested with “parasites.” She brought with her numerous items such as impeccably prepared slides of these so-called parasite carcasses, professionally taken photographs of skin debris and other inanimate objects, and articles published in scientific journals as well as the popular press discussing parasitic infestation. She has already visited numerous dermatology practitioners and one parasitology specialist, who could not identify any ecto-parasites (i.e., those infesting visible parts of the body). Her medical history included well-controlled hypertension and chronic back pain.
Sequential Innovation by Start-Ups: Balancing Survival and Profitability

Start-up firms, which are by nature cash-constrained, often consider launching an immediately available product to generate funds for developing more advanced products. However, this release could have an adverse effect on the perception of the firm’s future products. A key decision for the start-up firm in such an environment is: when should the first product be released? In this paper we consider the product development and introduction decisions for a start-up which has a product that is ready to launch and is also developing a more advanced product, whose launch readiness is uncertain. We model the tradeoff between the adverse effect of a first version on overall profitability and the valuable stream of revenue it generates for R&D funding. We characterize an optimal policy with cash thresholds to determine when the firm should launch the first version and whether it should continue development. We derive managerial insights by studying these cash thresholds under various technological and market scenarios. Our analysis underscores a fundamental difference between how a start-up and an established firm view commercialization: a start-up would delay the launch of a good first version longer while an established firm (without bankruptcy considerations) would accelerate its launch.
Exhaustion of Local Remedies in Investor-State Dispute Settlement: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and the European Union presents an opportunity to reconsider an old idea: requiring foreign investors to exhaust local remedies before bringing investor-state claims. Globally, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) procedures are facing unprecedented scrutiny, with dozens of countries reevaluating their approach to investor protection under international investment agreements (IIAs), including both bilateral investment treaties and the investment chapters of free trade agreements. The proposal to include ISDS in TTIP has become particularly controversial and threatens to derail the broader negotiations. Adopting the local remedies rule in TTIP is arguably the single reform with the greatest potential to reduce political opposition to ISDS while still providing investors with access to ISDS when domestic remedies are inadequate. Moreover, the local remedies rule is sufficiently flexible that it could become part of a template for IIAs that could be used with all countries regardless of their standards for protection of property rights or the capacity of their judicial systems.
Abstract TP328: Video Instruction Increases Accuracy in Performance of Nurse Dysphagia Screening

Background and Purpose: Dysphagia screening prior to oral intake is standard for all stroke patients in assessing for aspiration risk that can lead to pneumonia, intubation, and increased length of stay. The standard teaching method for dysphagia screening consists of nurse to nurse instruction. Inconsistency in teaching methods and content could result in inaccurate screens and negatively affect patient outcomes. We postulated that an instructional video viewable from a smart phone would provide more consistent and easily accessible instruction than the standard teaching method and would improve the accuracy of nurse dysphagia screens. Methods: A 3.5 minute teaching video was developed and posted on the internet for on demand viewing. Additionally, within the video, an icon cue was paired with each step in the process for memory triggering and an icon card was distributed. Twenty nurses (n=20) with previous nurse to nurse instruction were video recorded performing a dysphagia screen. They subsequently watched the instructional video via a smart phone and were again video recorded performing a dysphagia screen. Each screening had a maximum score of 10 points based on order and completion of steps and was scored by three independent reviewers. A paired-samples T-test was conducted on the scorings of both educational methods to compare for screening accuracy. Results: There was a significant difference in the scores for standard instruction (M=5.6, SD= 2.0) versus video instruction (M=8.4, SD=1.3); t(19)=-8.304, p =.000, with a definite improvement in scores after video viewing. Conclusion: These results suggest that video instruction has a significant effect on the accuracy of performing dysphagia screens. Participant surveys also revealed that video instruction provided more consistent and concise education as compared to nurse to nurse instruction. We conclude that video instruction is a more effective teaching method than standard nurse to nurse instruction and allows for more consistency in learning and accuracy in application of skills. A larger randomized controlled study is warranted with attention focused on retention of learned information over time.
Tele-Nephrology: A Feasible Way to Improve Access to Care for Patients with Kidney Disease Who Reside in Underserved Areas.

Abstract Background: The Miami VA Healthcare System serves veterans in three South Florida counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe, with an estimated veteran population of 175,000. To overcome geographical barriers and facilitate the access to nephrology clinics, we implemented provider–patient tele-nephrology using secured videoconferencing. Methods: A retrospective and descriptive study design was used to evaluate the effect of the tele-nephrology clinic intervention. Multiple clinical indicators were included in the analysis: blood pressure (BP) control, stabilization of the renal function, and electrolyte/metabolic control. One hundred one patients who were evaluated in the clinic between 2013 and 2015 were included in the analysis, and the indicators were collected retrospectively. Results: One hundred one patients were included in the analysis, with 95% of patients being male (n = 96) and 5% female (n = 5). The mean age was 65.5 years. Fifty patients had chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage III (49....
Workers' compensation in Pennsylvania: the effects of delayed contested cases.

This study examines the effects of delayed workers' compensation cases in the Pennsylvania system. Forty-five claimants of a workers' compensation support group responded to interviews. Delay periods averaged two years with a 68.4% drop in income. Results indicate that claimants endured financial and emotional stress, exhausted personal assets, relied on assistance from relatives, and recieved public assistance. Implications for social work practice include education workers about benefits, counseling claimants with delayed claims, and advocation for administrative reforms.
Rethinking Foreign Aid for Fragile States

Many fragile states experienced conflict and its adverse impact on poverty and development at the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s. The conflict-trap on development and global security concern spawned empirical research on how policies should be distinctive in the conflict-affected and post-conflict recovery to avoid the recurrence of conflicts. The literature on aid effectiveness in fragile states is relatively limited in comparison to a much larger body of literature on aid effectiveness for all aid recipients. In this paper, we apply cluster analysis and robust regression to a set of OECD-DAC-designated fragile states to explore the effect of aid on development, measured by income, per capita income and by the UN Human Development Index, taking into account the interaction of weak institutional factors, and low absorptive capacity of aid associating with state fragility. The empirical results suggest positive relationship between aid and indicators of development, such as income and human development index.
380 WILD-TYPE BLOCKING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION FOR SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE DETECTION OF MINORITY MUTATIONS FROM CLINICAL SPECIMENS.

Detection and sequencing of mutations from clinical specimens are often complicated by the presence of an excess of nonmutated cells. To facilitate the detection and sequencing of minority mutations from clinical specimens, we developed wild-type blocking PCR (WTB-PCR). This technique allows sensitive detection of minority mutations in a tissue sample containing excess wild-type DNA. In WTB-PCR, a nonextendable locked nucleic acid (LNA) oligonucleotide binds tightly to a region of wild-type DNA known to develop point mutations. This LNA sequence blocks amplification of wild-type DNA during PCR while permitting amplification of mutant exon 15. Our results show that the LNA blocking oligonucleotide inhibits amplification of wild-type DNA in a dose-dependent manner. WTB-PCR was able to detect mutant DNA in clinical samples of melanoma tissue containing an excess of nonmelanoma cells. This method was also able to detect small amounts of point mutated or tandem mutated DNA diluted with a much larger concentration of wild-type DNA. This rapid and simple assay overcomes the limitations of current methods to detect minority mutations. The potential applications of WTB-PCR include early diagnosis and prognosis of various cancers.
Introduction: The Transformation of Social Democratic Parties

Gerassimos Moschonas, the author of In the Name of Social Democracy, has argued that although the social democratic and labour parties of Europe were founded with the intention of transforming capitalism, their success in doing so pales in comparison to how capitalism has transformed social democracy.1 This is indeed the case, not merely for the European social democratic parties but for their Australasian counterparts. It is rarely a surprise when parties of the right enthusiastically embrace neoliberal, market-oriented economic policies. But for parties of the left to do so, not merely as concessions in the face of objective economic conditions but at the ideological, programmatic level, indicates that a dramatic change has taken place within social democracy in general—indeed, a change in social democracy’s very ‘essence’. The question is, why has this occurred?
Post liftoff security testing of an aerospace launch system

While aerospace launch vehicles are vulnerable to security attacks, post-liftoff attacks have the most potential for destruction including loss of the vehicle or loss of life. This paper demonstrates an approach for security testing an aerospace launch system post-liftoff. This approach is based on building a security test suite from a behavioral model, an attack type and a mitigation model. Our behavioral and attack models are used to determine attack points in a system. We can then build a security test suite based on attack mitigation models.
Slow to warm up: the role of habituation in social fear

Neural habituation allows familiar information to be ignored in favor of salient or novel stimuli. In contrast, failure to rapidly habituate likely reflects deficits in the ability to learn that an environment is predictable, familiar and safe. Differences in habituation rate may underlie individual differences in the tendency to approach or avoid novelty; however, many questions remain unanswered. Given the importance of adaptive social functioning, here we tested whether habituation differences to social stimuli are associated with differences in social fearfulness, a trait that ranges from low social fear-the adaptive tendency to approach novel social stimuli-to high social fear-the maladaptive tendency to avoid novel social stimuli. Higher social fearfulness was associated with slower habituation across regions of the social brain, including the hippocampus, amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, medial orbitofrontal cortex, fusiform face area, primary visual cortex, and extrastriate visual cortex. Interestingly, habituation differences were driven by sustained amygdala-visual cortex interactions, but not deficient amygdala-prefrontal cortex interactions. Together, these findings provide evidence that a failure to filter social stimuli is associated with a key social trait. In light of the link between social fear and dysfunction, individual differences in habituation may provide an important neurobiological marker for risk for psychiatric illness, such as social anxiety disorder.
On the Relative Efficacies of Ranking and Absolute Performance Evaluation Systems

Using a setting in which an employer seeks information about talent in order to achieve a proper match between talent levels and tasks, we provide a comparative analysis of two performance evaluation systems widely used in practice ― an absolute performance evaluation system (APE) and a tournament or a ranking system (RE). An important consideration in such an analysis is the extent to which these systems are susceptible to performance manipulation, an endemic problem with most systems that are imperfect. Ranking systems are inherently superior to absolute performance evaluation absent performance manipulation. But, as we show, ranking systems are more susceptible to performance manipulation, and, therefore, absolute performance evaluation can dominate ranking systems in some settings. We also find that greater flexibility in task assignments leads to a preference for absolute evaluations. These findings support the use of absolute performance evaluation even though such a system coarsens information about talent.
Convergence Rate Evaluation of Derivative-Free Optimization Techniques

This paper presents a convergence rate comparison of five different derivative-free numerical optimization techniques across a set of 50 benchmark objective functions. Results suggest that Adaptive Memory Programming for constrained Global Optimization, and a variant of Simulated Annealing are two of the fastest-converging numerical optimization techniques in this set. Lastly, there is a mechanism for expanding the set of optimization algorithms provided.
Outcomes of Newer Generation Cementless Total Knee Arthroplasty: Beaded Periapatite-Coated vs Highly Porous Titanium-Coated Implants

Abstract Background Newer generation cementless total knee arthroplasty (TKA) designs are available and have novel implant coatings. We evaluated and compared beaded periapatite (PA)-coated vs highly porous titanium-coated cementless TKAs. Specifically, we compared: (1) survivorship, (2) Knee Society Scores (KSSs) and range of motion, (3) complications, and (4) radiographic findings. Methods There were 805 TKAs with beaded PA-coated tibial and patellar components (PA group; mean age 67 years; range 41-86 years), and 219 TKAs with highly porous titanium-coated tibial and patella components (mean age 66 years; range 34-88 years). Mean follow-up was 4.4 years (range 2-9 years; median 4 years). Implant survivorship was calculated using Kaplan-Meier curves. Student t-tests and chi-square tests were used as appropriate. Radiographic evaluation was performed using Knee Society Roentgenographic Evaluation and Scoring System. Results All-cause implant survivorship in beaded PA-coated group was 99.5% (95% CI, 97.9%-99.9%) and 99.5% (95% CI, 92.7%-99.9%) in highly porous titanium-coated group. There were no significant differences in the KSS for pain and function. Improvement in flexion and extension was similar in the 2 groups. Overall, complication rate (2.2% vs 2.3%; P = .274) and number of revisions (6 [0.8%] vs 2 [0.2%]; P = .936) were similar in the 2 groups. Excluding the aseptic and septic failures, there were no progressive radiolucencies or osteolysis on radiographic evaluation. Conclusion This study has shown good clinical and patient-reported outcomes of cementless TKA for both implants. Future multicenter large scale clinical and cost-effectiveness studies are needed to determine the superiority of one cementless implant type over the other.
One-pot blue-light triggered tough interpenetrating polymeric network (IPN) using CuAAC and methacrylate reactions

An interpenetrating polymeric network (IPN) is formed in a one-pot blue-light activated scheme, where the step- and chain-growth polymerizations of the CuAAC and methacrylate reactions, respectively, are simultaneously triggered but proceed sequentially. The glassy IPN is polymerized under ambient conditions and is able to withstand high strain before failure owing to its significantly enhanced toughness. Additionally, this material exhibits shape memory attributes with readily tunable mechanical properties at high temperature.
Clinical Development and Benefit–Risk Profile of Natalizumab

Publisher Summary Natalizumab (Tysabri™) is a humanized anti-integrin monoclonal antibody used for treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Crohn's disease. Natalizumab is a selective adhesion molecule (SAM) inhibitor therapy targeting the a-4 component of a-integrins. Integrins are one group of adhesion molecules that are involved in adhesion of activated leukocytes to underlying inflamed endothelium and consist of leukocytes function-associated integrin type-1 (VLA-4, a4â1, and a4â7). the treatment landscape for MS changed with the introduction of natalizumab, the first-in-class SAM inhibitor approved for MS. Natalizumab offers patients an alternative treatment option to the gold-standard DMTs currently available: IFN-â1b, IFN-â1a, and GA. Results from all clinical trials evaluating natalizumab have shown a consistently high level of efficacy as measured by traditional clinical and radiologic measures as well as novel treatment assessments. The strong and diverse efficacy profile of Natalizumab to date has not been shown by other classes of agents used in the treatment of MS; however, the safety issue of PML remains a concern and an active area of research.
Social support from outside the walls: Examining the role of relationship dynamics among inmates and visitors

Abstract Objectives Prison visitation serves as a critical setting by which prison life intersects with civilian life. Yet, visitation research has produced conflicting findings. Using social support theory, we fill gaps in the literature by exploring three research questions: 1) What forms do relational dynamics and exchanges with visitors take? 2) What inmate characteristics are associated with these different types of dynamics and exchanges with visitors? And, 3) what effect do such experiences have on perceptions of reentry social support? Methods Data were drawn from the Arizona Prison Visitation Project, which includes information on 687 visitors nested within 227 inmates. Latent class analysis and hierarchical generalized linear models were used to carry out these objectives. Results Both supportive and unsupportive visitors were identified. Individuals who were female, younger, had a higher number of previous incarcerations, and those visited by parents or partners were more likely to have supportive visitors. Inmates with visitors characterized as supportive had an increased expectation of instrumental support available upon release. Conclusions Social support theory furthers understanding of visitation and its effects and provides useful directions for policy and practice.
Social vulnerability to heat in Greater Atlanta, USA: spatial pattern of heat, NDVI, socioeconomics and household composition

The purpose of the article is evaluating spatial patterns of social vulnerability to heat in Greater Atlanta in 2015. The social vulnerability to heat is an index of socioeconomic status, household composition, land surface temperature and normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI). Land surface temperature and NDVI were derived from the red, NIR and thermal infrared (TIR) of a Landsat OLI/TIRS images collected on September 14, 2015. The research focus is on the variation of heat vulnerability in Greater Atlanta. The study found that heat vulnerability is highly clustered spatially, resulting in “hot spots” and “cool spots”. The results show significant health disparities. The hotspots of social vulnerability to heat occurred in neighborhoods with lower socioeconomic status as measured by low education, low income and more poverty, greater proportion of elderly people and young children. The findings of this study are important for identifying clusters of heat vulnerability and the relationships with social factors. These significant results provide a basis for heat intervention services.
Resisting Displacement in Bernardine Evaristo’s The Emperor’s Babe

Nancy Caronia explores The Emperor’s Babe (2001), a work set in AD 201 that calls into question the purity and privilege of contemporary Britain’s whiteness by confronting notions of racial and gender tensions in London, aka Londinium, Britannia, a heterogeneous outpost of the Roman Empire. Purposefully anachronistic, Evaristo’s poem as novel emulates Ovidian epic form in order to examine violence as both the means and the refusal of individual and collective madness. Madness is represented through the spectacle of the arena as well as through the narrative’s refusal to maintain linguistic accuracy. The narrator, Zuleika, the daughter of Sudanese merchant immigrants, switches between Latin and contemporary slang to reveal the ways in which she cannot occupy more than a tentative space in Londinium or in any of her relationships. In this configuration, violence is both sacrifice and self-gratification. Linguistic, cultural, and personal violence becomes the means through which to express or deny the madness of an oppressive and constraining social system.
Influence of friction characteristic on the performance of chain CVT drives

A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an emerging automotive transmission technology that offers a continuum of gear ratios between desired limits. A chain CVT falls under the category of friction-limited drives as its performance and torque capacity rely significantly on the friction characteristic of the contact patch between the chain and the pulley. The present research focuses on developing models to understand the influence of different friction characteristics on the dynamic performance of a chain CVT drive. Since the friction characteristic of the contact patch may vary in accordance with the loading and design configurations, it is crucial to study the influence of friction characteristic on the performance of a CVT. A detailed planar multibody model of a chain CVT is developed in order to accurately capture the dynamics characterized by the discrete structure of the chain, which causes polygonal excitations in the system. Friction between the chain link and the pulley sheaves is modeled using different mathematical models which account for different loading scenarios. The mathematical models, the computational scheme, and the results corresponding to different loading scenarios are discussed. The results discuss the influence of friction characteristics on the dynamic performance, the axial force requirements, and the torque transmitting capacity of a chain CVT drive.
An Overview of the Technology, History, and Application of Vibro-Acoustic Coupling

Vibro-acoustically coupled systems represent a wide ranging field that extends from very simple systems to the very complex. A number of tools and techniques have been used over the years to investigate and understand vibro-acoustic phenomena. Presented here will be a brief overview of what constitutes the field of vibro-acoustics, as well as the mathematics that are commonly used to solve these problems with the latest computational methods. In particular, a basic look at the coupling of structures and fluids will be presented. Next, an overview of various engineering applications will be reviewed showing the depth and breadth of the application of these tools and techniques. Finally, an overview of the current technical challenges with the tools will be given.
Nuclear Medicine Image Data Easy Transfer Via E-Mail

The opportunity of exchange of images and knowledge between scientists has been facilitated by net technology development. Internet offers alternative services that provide the Nuclear Medicine world with means for communication. The authors present their experience in utilising the e-mail service for the transfer of patient data between medical specialists.
Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews: Aggregating Research Results

Step 3 of the evidence-based practice (EBP) decision-making process is to critically evaluate the relevant research on your topic. In the previous two chapters, we have examined the role of research design and other methodological issues in evaluating individual practice research reports. These chapters explored how researchers design and report individual research studies in a rigorous manner. Yet in many circumstances, multiple research studies are available on a specific practice topic. In this chapter, we will explore how researchers undertake studies that aggregate the results of several separate studies on a single topic.
Adult Langerhans cell histiocytosis arising in colonic polyp: A case report and literature review

Abstract Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease characterized by unifocal, or multifocal unisystem, or disseminated/multisystem disease that commonly involves the bone, skin and lung. LCH involvement of the gastrointestinal tract (GI) in adults is uncommon and it rarely involves colon polyps with only few case reports in the literature. In this report, we present a case of an adult female who was found to have a cecal polyp on a routine screening colonoscopy. The histopathological examination and immunohistochemical studies confirmed the diagnosis of LCH. We also review the literature of adults LCH manifested in GI mostly colonic polyps.
SPHK2-Generated S1P in CD11b+ Macrophages Blocks STING to Suppress the Inflammatory Function of Alveolar Macrophages

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a lethal inflammatory lung disorder whose incidence is on the rise. Alveolar macrophages normally act to resolve inflammation, but when dysregulated they can provoke ALI. We demonstrate that monocyte-derived macrophages (CD11b+ macrophages) recruited into the airspace upregulate the anti-inflammatory function of alveolar macrophages by suppressing their stimulator of type 1 interferon gene (STING) signaling. Depletion of CD11b+ macrophages in mice (macrophagedep mice) after endotoxin or after Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes expansion of the inflammatory alveolar macrophage population, leading to neutrophil accumulation, irreversible loss of lung vascular barrier function, and lethality. We show that CD11b+ macrophages suppress alveolar macrophage-STING signaling via sphingosine kinase-2 (SPHK2) generation of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). Thus, adoptive transfer of wild-type (WT) or STING-/-, but not SPHK2-/-, CD11b monocytes from murine bone marrow into injured macrophagedep mice rescue anti-inflammatory alveolar macrophages and reverse lung vascular injury. SPHK2-induced S1P generation in CD11b+ macrophages has the potential to educate alveolar macrophages to resolve ALI.
Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World: by Ussama Makdisi, Oakland, University of California Press, 2019, 312 pp., $29.95 (hardback), ISBN 978-0520258884

What does it mean to coexist? How has the Middle East navigated the politics of inclusion? Have religious schisms and sectarianism always plagued the Middle East? Ussama Makdisi, in his monograph A...
End-of-Life Cost Trajectories in Cancer Patients Treated by Medicare versus the Veterans Health Administration

Background/objectives To evaluate differences in end-of-life cost trajectories for cancer patients treated through Medicare versus by the Veterans Health Administration (VA). Design A retrospective analysis of VA and Medicare administrative data from FY 2010 to 2014. We employed three-level generalized estimating equations to evaluate monthly cost trajectories experienced by patients in their last year of life, with patients nested within hospital referral region. Setting Care received at VA facilities or by Medicare-reimbursed providers nationwide. Participants A total of 36,401 patients dying from cancer and dually enrolled in VA and Medicare. Measurements We evaluated trajectories for total, inpatient, outpatient, and drug costs, using the last 12 months of life. Cost trajectories were prioritized as costs are not directly comparable across Medicare and VA. Patients were assigned to be VA-reliant, Medicare-reliant or Mixed-reliant based on their healthcare utilization in the last year of life. Results All three groups experienced significantly different cost trajectories for total costs in the last year of life. Inpatient cost trajectories were significantly different between Medicare-reliant and VA-reliant patients, but did not differ between VA-reliant and Mixed-reliant patients. Outpatient and drug cost trajectories exhibited the inverse pattern: they were significantly different between VA-reliant and Mixed-reliant patients, but not between VA-reliant and Medicare-reliant patients. However, visual examination of cost trajectories revealed similar cost patterns in the last year of life among all three groups; there was a sharp rise in costs as patients approach death, largely due to inpatient care. Conclusion Despite substantially different financial incentives and organization, VA- and Medicare-treated patients exhibit similar patterns of increasing end-of-life costs, largely driven by inpatient costs. Both systems require improvement to ensure quality of end-of-life care is aligned with recommended practice.
Time's Up: 2014, The Affordable Care Act and the Health of Minority Communities

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) is an ambitious, complicated but necessary undertaking to transform a fragmented American health care system with over 50 million uninsured people to a well coordinated, high quality, affordable health care system that reaches benefits most Americans. The ACA will increase access to health care especially for poor, low, and moderate income individuals and provide families with opportunities to improve their health outcomes and well-being. In addition, the impact of this legislation on people of color will be largely positive but there are some challenges ahead.
What Can an Adoption Study Tell Us About the Effect of Prenatal Environment on a Trait

Adoption studies provide possibilities for estimating the extent to which prenatal environmental events account for individual differences on a trait. Correlations with birth mothers but not adoptive mothers suggest the presence of genetic or prenatal environmental effects; higher correlations with birth mothers than with birth fathers suggest the presence of the latter. Changes over time may also be relevant. The concepts involved are illustrated with parent-child IQ correlations from the Texas and Colorado Adoption Projects.
Chascript: A Chinese interactive typographic drawing application

Chinese characters have a complex beauty as well as individual meanings. People, like artists and designers, are often drawn to this. But it is not easy for non-Chinese people to use these characters to design. This work explores how interactive multimedia can be utilized as a tool for users in type drawing. Divided in to four main sections, this thesis will offer general information about Chinese characters, will explain what stroke and stroke order is, will offer a pictograph form, and will allow the user to try and play with Chinese characters interactively in order to get the art work they want.
Development of sustained achlorhydria in a patient with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome treated with omeprazole.

Abstract Spontaneous remission of gastric acid hypersecretion in the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome occurs rarely. This study shows the development of gastric secretory mucosal atrophy resulting in achlorhydria and loss of pepsin secretion in a 63-year-old woman with the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Reduced secretion began soon after starting treatment with omeprazole, and achlorhydria became complete 6 months later. The patient remains well with normal endoscopy results and is achlorhydric 4 years after the start of treatment and 34 months after stopping omeprazole. She was not colonized with Helicobacter pylori until 36 months after developing achlorhydria. Serum gastrin has increased from 1000 to between 5000 and 12,500 ng/L (pg/mL), was not suppressible by gastric acidification, and was not associated with G-cell hyperplasia. She also has a normal Schilling test and normal immunoglobulins, and lacks antibodies to parietal cells or H + ,K + -ATPase. Moderate enterochromaffinlike cell hyperplasia is apparent for the first time on the latest biopsy sample.
Bias in Empirical Approach to Determining Bond and Mortgage Risk Premiums

Empirical studies of bond and commercial mortgage performance often quantify a required risk premium by examining the difference between the promised yield and the realized yield as adjusted for default occurrence. These studies omit the effects of various other sources of risk, however, including collateral asset market risk, interest rate risk and possibly call risk. This omission downwardly biases the empirical risk premium estimate on the debt. In this paper we disentangle and quantify the sources of this bias by modeling secured coupon debt (the commercial mortgage) as used in the calculation of a realized investment return. We consider deterministic and stochastic interest rate economies with mortgage contracts that are either non-callable or subject to a temporary prepayment lock-out period. Given realistic parameter values associated with the term structure, underlying asset dynamics and debt contracting, we show that the magnitude of the bias can be significant.