cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An analysis of prognostic features in infiltrating lobular carcinoma of the breast.

To establish prognostically useful pathologic features for infiltrating lobular carcinoma, histologic pattern, nuclear Grade 1 or 2, lymphatic invasion, the presence and extent of lobular carcinoma in situ, estrogen and progesterone receptor status, axillary lymph node status, tumor size, and pathologic stage were assessed as prognostic variables in 92 cases of infiltrating lobular carcinoma. Clinical follow-up was obtained (mean duration, 5.2 yr), and patients were classified as alive with no evidence of disease, alive with disease, or dead of disease. Recurrence (alive with disease and dead of disease) was associated with axillary lymph node metastases (P = 0.04), tumors measuring > 1.0 cm (P = 0.008), and pathologic Stage III/IV disease (P = 0.033). Survival (no evidence of disease and alive with disease) was associated with Stage I/II disease (P = 0.003). Statistically insignificant associations with disease recurrence or survival follow: infiltrative pattern (classical, alveolar, solid, mixed), nuclear grade, lymphatic vessel invasion, presence of lobular carcinoma in situ, extent of lobular carcinoma in situ ( or = 25%), and hormone receptor status. Many of the prognostic features used in ductal carcinoma do not appear to be applicable to infiltrating lobular carcinoma. However, tumor size, axillary node status, and pathologic stage are prognostically useful in infiltrating lobular carcinoma.
Abortion of Early Pregnancy on an Outpatient Basis Using Silastic 15(S)-15-Methyl Prostaglandin F2α Vaginal Devices

Hormonal changes associated with the use of 15(S)-15-methyl prostaglandin F2α in a Silastic device as an abortifacient were evaluated during very early first-trimester pregnancy. Five of six patients aborted completely with drug alone. Measurement of plasma samples demonstrated rapid drug absorption with apparent effective concentrations of 600 to 3000 pg/ml but without a pattern of sustained release and absorption. Routine serial determination of both serum chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and β-subunit hCG were used to assess the efficacy of treatment. Although more sensitive, β-hCG measurement offered no advantage clinically over the standard hCG assay. Plasma progesterone values also reflected success or failure of the technique. Vomiting and diarrhea continue to be problems associated with the use of these compounds. The Silastic device may be the forerunner of a self-administered early abortifacient. Continued efforts are necessary to elucidate mechanisms of action and to find an analog specific for myometrial stimulation.
Animal Models of Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 1

Abstract Expansion of a polyglutamine repeat within the spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1)-encoded protein ataxin-1 (ATXN1) causes the neurodegenerative disease SCA1. Numerous animal models have been generated that recapitulate many aspects of SCA1 pathogenesis. Studies using these animal models have led to numerous conclusions regarding the pathogenic potential of mutant ATXN1. Although protein folding and clearance pathways are important in the development of disease, ATXN1 nuclear inclusion formation is not required for initiation of disease. In the case of SCA1, Purkinje cells are the last neurons to form nuclear inclusions but are the most susceptible to the toxic effects of mutant ATXN1, suggesting inclusion formation may be a protective event. Nuclear localization of mutant ATXN1 is necessary but not sufficient to induce pathogenesis. A single amino acid, serine 776, within ATXN1 was found to be important in disease progression. Serine 776 of both wild-type and mutant ATXN1 is phosphorylated. Preventing phosphorylation of this residue by replacing it with alanine results in a mutant protein found in the nucleus that is not pathogenic. Other modifiers of ATXN1-induced neurodegeneration include components of RNA processing, transcriptional regulators along with key genes misregulated in SCA1, and protein processing pathways. More important, SCA1 animal models are being tested in hypotheses-driven, disease-modifying therapies.
Surgeon and hospital cost variability for septoplasty and inferior turbinate reduction.

BACKGROUND Septoplasty and turbinate reduction (STR) is a common procedure for which cost reduction efforts may improve value. The purpose of this study was to identify sources of variation in medical facility and surgeon costs associated with STR, and whether these costs correlated with short-term complications. METHODS An observational cohort study was performed in a multifacility network using a standardized cost-accounting system to determine costs associated with adult STR from January 1, 2008 to July 31, 2015. A total of 4007 cases, performed at 21 facilities, by 72 different surgeons were included in the study. Total costs, variable costs, operating room (OR) time, and 30-day complications (eg, epistaxis) were compared among surgeons, facilities, and specialties. RESULTS Total procedure cost: (mean ± standard deviation [SD]) $2503 ± $790 (range, $852 to $10,559). Mean total variable cost: $1147 ± $423 (range, $400 to $5,081). Intersurgeon and interfacility variability was significant for total cost (p < 0.0001) and OR time (p < 0.0001). Intersurgeon OR supply cost variability was also significant (p < 0.0001). Otolaryngologists had less total cost (p < 0.0001), OR time/cost (p < 0.0001), and complications (p = 0.0164), but greater supply cost (p < 0.0001), than other specialties. CONCLUSION There is wide variation in cost associated with STR. Significant variance in OR time and supply cost between surgeons suggests these are potential areas for cost reduction. Although no increased 30-day complications were seen with faster and less costly surgeries, further research is needed to evaluate how time and cost relate to quality of care.
Assessment of possible impacts of climate change on the hydrological regimes of different regions in China

Abstract The aim of this work is to investigate the soil water budget across China by means of hydrological modeling under current and future climate conditions and to evaluate the sensitivity to soil parameters. For this purpose, observed precipitation and temperature data (1981–2010) and climate simulations (2021–2050, 2071–2100) at high resolution (about 14 km) on a large part of China are used as weather forcing. The simulated weather forcing has been bias corrected by means of the distribution derived quantile mapping method to eliminate the effects of systematic biases in current climate modeling on water cycle components. As hydrological models, two 1D models are tested: TERRA-ML and HELP. Concerning soil properties, two datasets, provided respectively by Food and Agriculture Organization and U.S. Department of Agriculture, are separately tested. The combination of two hydrological models, two soil parameter datasets and three weather forcing inputs (observations, raw and bias corrected climate simulations) results in five different simulation chains. The study highlights how the choice of some approaches or soil parameterizations can affect the results both in absolute and in relative terms and how these differences could be highly related to weather forcing in inputs or investigated soil. The analyses point out a decrease in average water content in the shallower part of the soil with different extents according to climate zone, concentration scenario and soil/cover features. Moreover, the projected increase in temperature and then in evapotranspirative demand do not ever result in higher actual evapotranspiration values, due to the concurrent variations in precipitation patterns.
Synergetic effects of K+ and Mg2+ ion intercalation on the electrochemical and actuation properties of the two-dimensional Ti3C2 MXene

Two-dimensional materials, such as MXenes, are attractive candidates for energy storage and electrochemical actuators due to their high volume changes upon ion intercalation. Of special interest for boosting energy storage is the intercalation of multivalent ions such as Mg2+, which suffers from sluggish intercalation and transport kinetics due to its ion size. By combining traditional electrochemical characterization techniques with electrochemical dilatometry and contact resonance atomic force microscopy, the synergetic effects of the pre-intercalation of K+ ions are demonstrated to improve the charge storage of multivalent ions, as well as tune the mechanical and actuation properties of the Ti3C2 MXene. Our results have important implications for quantitatively understanding the charge storage processes in intercalation compounds and provide a new path for studying the mechanical evolution of energy storage materials.
Virtual reality distraction decreases routine intravenous sedation and procedure-related pain during preoperative adductor canal catheter insertion: a retrospective study

Background Virtual reality (VR) distraction is a nonpharmacological method to prevent acute pain that has not yet been thoroughly explored for anesthesiology. We present our experience using VR distraction to decrease routine intravenous sedation for patients undergoing preoperative perineural catheter insertion. Methods This 1-month quality improvement project involved all elective unilateral primary total knee arthroplasty patients who received a preoperative adductor canal catheter. Clinical data were analyzed retrospectively. For the first half of the month, all patients received usual care; intravenous sedation was administered at the discretion of the regional anesthesiologist. For the second half of the month, patients were offered VR distraction with intravenous sedation upon request. The primary outcome was fentanyl dosage; other outcomes included midazolam dosage, procedure-related pain, procedural time, and blood pressure changes. Results Seven patients received usual care and seven used VR. In the VR group, 1/7 received intravenous sedation versus 6/7 who received usual care (P = 0.029). The fentanyl dose was lower (median [10th-90th percentiles]) in the VR group (0 [0-20] µg) versus the non-VR group (50 [30-100] µg; P = 0.008). Midazolam use was lower in the VR group (0 [0-0] mg) than in the non-VR group (1 [0-1] mg; P = 0.024). Procedure-related pain was lower in the VR group (1 [1-4] NRS) versus the non-VR group (3 [2-6] NRS; P = 0.032). There was no difference in other outcomes. Conclusions VR distraction may provide an effective nonpharmacological alternative to intravenous sedation for the ultrasound-guided placement of certain perineural catheters.
Cucurbit[6]uril-Promoted Click Chemistry for Protein Modification

Azide–alkyne cycloaddition is a powerful reaction for the formation of bioconjugates. When catalyzed by Cu(I) or strain promotion, this cycloaddition is considered to be a “click” reaction with many applications in chemical biology and materials science. We report a new type of azide–alkyne click chemistry for the synthesis of protein conjugates using cucurbit[6]uril (CB6) supramolecular chemistry. CB6-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition has been previously used for the synthesis of rotaxanes but has not been applied to the development of complex bioconjugates. By developing new substrates for CB6 click that do not contain any cross-reactive functional groups and by optimizing reaction conditions, we converted CB6 click chemistry from a rotaxane synthesis tool into a useful bioconjugation technique. Using these new parameters, we synthesized a series of protein conjugates including protein–peptide, protein–DNA, protein–polymer, and protein–drug conjugates. We further demonstrated that CB6 click can be use...
Application of Interval Analysis Techniques to Linear Systems

Abstract We apply interval analysis techniques to linear dynamical systems endowed with a parameter which belongs to an interval. For such systems, we obtain new algorithmic results which yield solution envelopes. In doing so, we also establish several new results for continuous interval functions, rational interval functions and exponential interval functions. The application of our results to several specific examples suggests that our algorithm yields tight bounds.
When Hurt Heroes Do Harm: Collective Guilt and Leniency Toward War-Veteran Defendants With PTSD

Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at heightened risk for interfacing with the United States legal system as criminal defendants. Two experiments were used to test the hypothesis that American mock jurors would punish a veteran (vs. a civilian) with PTSD for a violent crime less harshly because of their own collective guilt (i.e., the guilt felt for the transgressions of one's in-group) about the veteran's suffering due to war. The participants were United States citizens recruited online (n = 174) who completed a mock-juror experiment involving a violent assault committed by either a veteran or a civilian with PTSD. As predicted, jurors were more lenient toward the veteran (vs. the civilian). For male mock jurors this was explained by their collective guilt for the veteran's war-related suffering. A second study experimentally induced individual and collective guilt about veteran defendants, finding that mock jurors (n = 533) who are less likely to share a salient in-group identity with the veteran (i.e., women, people with lower national identification with the United States) can be induced to feel the requisite guilt to exhibit leniency toward a veteran. Thus, veterans suffering from PTSD may receive more lenient punishment because they elicit a sense of collective guilt in legal decision-makers.
Policies to mitigate nonmedical use of prescription medications: how should emerging evidence of gabapentin misuse be addressed?

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Over the past decade, increased prescription supply has facilitated an epidemic of nonmedical use of controlled substances, including predominantly opioids, as well as benzodiazepines, z-hypnotics, and stimulants.Areas covered: More recently, misuse of noncontrolled prescriptions, such as gabapentin, has been detected. Gabapentin misuse has been associated with drug-related harm and increased healthcare service utilization in a few studies, including a recent large-sample analysis of commercially insured enrollees in the United States (U.S.) Responding to this emerging base of evidence, a small number of U.S. states have acted to prevent or detect gabapentin misuse by requiring the inclusion of gabapentin utilization in reporting to local Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) and/or imposing other restrictions on gabapentin prescribing (e.g., classification as a controlled substance, quantity limits). These efforts may result in unintentional harm by (1) encouraging ‘doctor s...
Tracing social capital: How stakeholder group interactions shape agricultural water quality restoration in the Florida Everglades

Abstract Agricultural nonpoint source pollution remains a pressing environmental problem despite decades of policy and environmental initiatives. Cooperative local actions are a crucial element of effective multilevel governance solutions to such problems, but securing farmer participation for water quality protection remains challenging. Social capital—relations of trust, reciprocity, and shared social norms within and between key stakeholder groups—has been found to enable cooperation for environmentally desirable outcomes. However, the downsides of social capital remain under-examined in multilevel governance, where cooperation within one stakeholder group (bonding social capital) may undermine cooperation with other stakeholders (bridging social capital). Given this important gap, researchers need to examine how bonding and bridging social capital may be formed, maintained, or undermined through stakeholder interactions, and the corresponding environmental consequences. In this paper, we address these gaps through a case study of south Florida’s sugar-producing region, whose drainage water flows south into the Florida Everglades. In contrast to persistent water quality impairment elsewhere, Everglades water quality has improved steadily over the past 20 years. These improvements have taken place under a complex set of governance arrangements that established a mandatory long-term numeric water quality target but which relies on shared compliance among farms. These dynamics encouraged interactions among three key groups of stakeholders—farmers, agricultural extension agents, and state regulators—to implement management changes. Drawing on semi-structured interviews, we find that bonding social capital among farmers encourages them to improve their management through a sense of shared responsibility, while also potentially limiting restoration by maintaining perceptions that the regulations are unfair. Bridging social capital helps to legitimize new management efforts, while court-mandated water quality targets incentivize farmers to draw on multiple forms of social capital. We also discuss the relevance of this case for governing agricultural nonpoint source pollution in similar settings elsewhere.
The Behavior Analyst's Role in Facilitating Interventions in General Education Settings

A recent challenge in public school systems has been to increase the amount of time students with disabilities spend with nondisabled, "typical" peers. A host of eloquent discussions have provided a foundation and logical reasons to accept this challenge; for example, social deficits of special education students, the lack of appropriate age models, and limited generalization of skills and/or successful transition for persons graduating from segregated, special education programs. What does this mean for applied behavior analysis as a consultant model? Our role is to train and assist general and special education teachers to meet the individualized needs of students while still promoting acceptable participation in the mainstream of school settings (i.e., large and small peer groups). Specifically, this means that teams of professionals (teachers, consultants, psychologists, etc.) must (a) assess the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and groups of students, (b) identify effective and ineffective classroom practices towards meeting those needs, (c) maintain or enhance "working programs" while selecting research-based interventions to address problem areas, (d) reliably and effectively implement selected intervention programs, and (e) conduct ongoing evaluations to determine program effects and necessary revisions. These steps fit a behavior-analytic approach to education, one stressing researched-based practices and accountability for results (i.e., student performance and outcomes). The following narrative elaborates on points related to the use of applied behavior analysis as a foundation for consultation in general education settings.
Cytoplasmic factors do not contribute to a maternal effect on ethanol teratogenesis.

Both maternal and fetal genetic factors influence variations in response to prenatal ethanol exposure. To assess the effect of maternal genotype on the incidence of ethanol teratogenesis, a reciprocal cross study was conducted in an animal mode using the relatively susceptible C57BL/6J (B6) and the relatively resistant DBA/2J (D2) inbred mice. This mating pattern produced four embryonic genotypes: true-bred B6B6 and D2D2 litters and hybrid B6D2 and D2B6 litters. To examine the role of maternal egg cytoplasm as the source of variation that could account for a maternal effect, B6D2 and D2B6 F1 females were mated back to B6 males, which produced two additional embryonic genotypes: B6D2.B6 and D2B6.B6. Dams were intubated with either 5.8 g/kg of ethanol or an isocaloric amount of maltose-dextrin on day 9 of pregnancy. On day 18 of pregnancy, dams were sacrificed, fetuses were removed, weighed, sexed, and examined for gross morphological malformations. Every other fetus within a litter was prepared for either skeletal or soft tissue analysis. Results showed a higher rate of teratogenesis in the B6D2 group compared to the genetically similar D2B6 group, which indicates an influence of maternal genotype on susceptibility to ethanol teratogenesis. The percentage of affected male and female fetuses did not differ, which suggests that sex-linked factors are not responsible for the maternal effect. The backcross B6D2.B6 and D2B6.B6 litters did not differ significantly for any measure of teratogenesis, suggesting that differences in maternally transmitted cytoplasmic material are not the cause of the maternal effect. Factors that could account for the maternal effect are differences in the maternal uterine environment and genomic imprinting. Separating maternal from fetal-mediated mechanisms responsible for susceptibility to ethanol teratogenesis is needed for identifying mothers and infants at risk.
Cytokines and Tear Function in Ocular Surface Disease

It is likely that rates of tear production and turnover are important in determining the cytokine environment of ocular surface tissues, by supplying cytokines in tear fluid and by clearing those produced at the ocular surface. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), which is released into tear fluid by the lacrimal gland,1–4 influences healing of corneal epithelial and conjunctival wounds.5–10 These concentrations vary inversely with reflex tear secretion,3,4 but under normal conditions in vivo, the relationships between tear concentrations of EGF and other variables such as age, gender, tear production, and clearance have not been examined. This information potentially could contribute to a better understanding of the role of EGF in maintenance of ocular surface integrity under normal circumstances, so in the first part (Tear EGF Concentrations in Normals) of a two-part study, we examined these influences in a large group of normal subjects.11
Origin of anomalous multibody interactions

In a numerical study, Bowen and Sharif1 purported to capture attractive interactions between like-charged colloidal particles by solving the nonlinear Poisson–Boltzmann equation around two particles in a pore. We are unable to replicate their results, in accord with recent proofs2,3 showing that this equation cannot produce attractions between like-charged particles. Our calculations reveal only repulsive interactions between confined particles, indicating that the cause for anomalous colloidal multibody interactions is still unknown.
Overlooked climate parameters best predict flowering onset: Assessing phenological models using the elastic net.

Determining the manner in which plant species shift their flowering times in response to climatic conditions is essential to understanding and forecasting the impacts of climate change on the world's flora. The limited taxonomic diversity and duration of most phenological datasets, however, have impeded a comprehensive, systematic determination of the best predictors of flowering phenology. Additionally, many studies of the relationship between climate conditions and plant phenology have included only a limited set of climate parameters that are often chosen a priori and may therefore overlook those parameters to which plants are most phenologically sensitive. This study harnesses 894,392 digital herbarium records and 1,959 in situ observations to produce the first assessment of the effects of a large number (25) of climate parameters on the flowering time of a very large number (2,468) of angiosperm taxa throughout North America. In addition, we compare the predictive capacity of phenological models constructed from the collection dates of herbarium specimens vs. repeated in situ observations of individual plants using a regression approach-elastic net regularization-that has not previously been used in phenological modeling, but exhibits several advantages over ordinary least squares and stepwise regression. When herbarium-derived data and in situ phenological observations were used to predict flowering onset, the multivariate models based on each of these data sources had similar predictive capacity (R2 = 0.27). Further, apart from mean maximum temperature (TMAX), the two best predictors of flowering time have not commonly been included in phenological models: the number of frost-free days (NFFD) and the quantity of precipitation as snow (PAS) in the seasons preceding flowering. By vetting these models across an unprecedented number of taxa, this work demonstrates a new approach to phenological modeling.
When a high-quality niche strategy is not enough to spur family-firm internationalization: The role of external and internal contexts

While prior research suggests that family firms are risk-averse with regards to internationalization, Hennart et al. (J Int Bus Stud, 2017) show that family firms selling high-quality niche products internationalize as much as their nonfamily-firm counterparts. Our Counterpoint extends Hennart et al.’s (2017) thesis by suggesting that this effect is not universal but depends on the external context (country-of-origin pro-market development) and internal context (professionalization practices). Our study demonstrates that family firms selling high-quality niche products struggle to internationalize when they are from countries with weaker pro-market development. We also show that professionalization practices benefit family firms selling high-quality niche products abroad.
Projected Stochastic Primal-Dual Method for Constrained Online Learning With Kernels

We consider the problem of stochastic optimization with nonlinear constraints, where the decision variable is not vector-valued but instead a function belonging to a reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS). Currently, there exist solutions to only special cases of this problem. To solve this constrained problem with kernels, we first generalize the Representer Theorem to a class of saddle-point problems defined over RKHS. Then, we develop a primal-dual method which that executes alternating projected primal/dual stochastic gradient descent/ascent on the dual-augmented Lagrangian of the problem. The primal projection sets are low-dimensional subspaces of the ambient function space, which are greedily constructed using matching pursuit. By tuning the projection-induced error to the algorithm step-size, we are able to establish mean convergence in both primal objective sub-optimality and constraint violation, to respective ${\mathcal O}(\sqrt{T})$ and ${\mathcal O}(T^{3/4})$ neighborhoods. Here, $T$ is the final iteration index and the constant step-size is chosen as $1/\sqrt{T}$ with $1/T$ approximation budget. Finally, we demonstrate experimentally the effectiveness of the proposed method for risk-aware supervised learning.
Effects of Service Projects on the Perceived Skills of Engineering Technology Students

Client based service projects offer many advantages to instructors, students and host communities. However, instructors must carefully choose the projects in order to achieve the benefits that come with this pedagogical tool. The purpose of this research was to investigate the perception of engineering technology students on how different service projects influence performance and perceived skills. A modified perceived skill model was used to measure the perceived effect of the team based service projects on: motivation to learn, contribution to research knowledge, skills and personal benefit, and project as a learning device. The projects were either client based or non-client based. In addition, they were categorized as either engineering, non-engineering, or some engineering projects. The non-engineering were the projects with no engineering content, whereas those with some form of engineering content were classified as some engineering. From the results, it appears that all the project types and categories were highly perceived by the students as contributing to their perceived skills. They were also highly perceived as great learning tools. Additionally, the projects with engineering content (client based and non-client based) provided a significantly higher perceived motivation to learn. However, there was no significant difference in the exam performance.
Epidemiology of colorectal cancer in average risk adults 20-39 years of age: a population-based national study.

While overall rates of colorectal cancer (CRC) have declined in individuals aged above 50 years of age, this decline has not been seen in younger individuals who do not benefit from current screening guidelines. We sought to describe the prevalence of CRC in adults 20–39 years of age without family history of CRC or inflammatory bowel disease as early-onset CRC (EoCRC), evaluate associated signs and symptoms and medical comorbidities in EoCRC, and compare them with individuals aged 20–39 years without CRC (NoCRC). Our secondary aim was to compare EoCRC with individuals aged 40 years and above with CRC (LoCRC). Utilizing a commercial database (Explorys Inc, Cleveland, OH), we identified a cohort of patients aged 20–39 years with first ever diagnosis of CRC between 2013 and 2018 based on the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms. We calculated the overall prevalence rate of EoCRC, described age, race, and gender-based prevalence rates of EoCRC, and identified associated symptoms and medical comorbidities associated with EoCRC. The overall rate of EoCRC was 18.9/100,000. Compared to NoCRC, EoCRC patients were more likely to be Caucasian and female, with predominant symptoms of hematochezia, anemia, and decreased appetite. EoCRC group had higher prevalence rates of medical comorbidities such as diabetes, smoking, and obesity. Compared to LoCRC, EoCRC group presented more frequently with left-sided CRC and rectal cancers. This is one of the largest studies to date to describe the epidemiology of EoCRC in USA. We found EoCRC to occur predominantly in the Caucasian and female population. EoCRC presented more frequently with left-sided and rectal CRC. We also identified signs/symptoms as well as comorbidities associated with EoCRC. Patients with these features may benefit from earlier screening.
Mechanical washing of pet food bowls is effective for Microsporum canis decontamination.

Background Dermatophyte lesions are common on the face of animals and pet food bowls can become contaminated by direct contact with the facial lesions. Owners are concerned about appropriate decontamination and yet worried about exposing pets to disinfectant residues. Objective To determine the efficacy of mechanical cleaning alone for decontamination of contaminated pet food dishes. Methods and materials An isolated infective spore suspension of Microsporum canis was used to experimentally contaminate metal (n = 4), plastic (n = 4) and glass (n = 4) pet food bowls. The experiment was repeated twice, first with just the spore suspension, and then with a mixture of spore suspension and canned pet food. The bowls were soaked in hot water (34°C) with a generic dish soap in a sink for two minutes, scrubbed using a dishwashing brush until visibly clean or for 2 min, rinsed, allowed to air-dry and then cultured. Fungal culture samples were collected using disposable dust cloths. Environmental fungal cultures were obtained from the sink after routine mechanical cleaning with a sudsy detergent. Results No environmental contamination was detected. The results of both experiments were similar. All bowls (n = 24) were fungal culture positive for M. canis before washing and all were completely decontaminated with mechanical washing alone. Conclusions and clinical importance Mechanical washing alone can decontaminate pet food bowls exposed to naturally infective material. Dishes should be soaked in hot sudsy water to loosen organic debris, scrubbed until visibly clean and then rinsed. Owners should wear dishwashing gloves for personal protection.
Torsion subgroups of elliptic curves over quadratic cyclotomic fields in elementary abelian 2-extensions

Abstract Let K denote the quadratic field Q ( d ) where d = − 1 or −3 and let E be an elliptic curve defined over K. In this paper, we analyze the torsion subgroups of E in the maximal elementary abelian 2-extension of K.
Fenfluramine-Phentermine is Associated with an Increase in Cellular Proliferation Ex Vivo and In Vitro.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY Fenfluraminephentermine (FenPhen) has been implicated in accelerated valvular heart disease, characterized by valvular regurgitation and thickening, and resembling the histopathologic lesions found in carcinoid. The study aim was to determine whether cellular proliferation is present in FenPhen-exposed valves, by utilizing an in-vitro model to test whether FenPhen has a direct mitogenic effect on cardiac valvular cells, as compared to serotonin. METHODS Ex-vivo valves were tested for proliferation in surgically removed FenPhen-exposed valves (n = 10) and compared to proliferation levels in normal human cardiac valves removed at autopsy (n = 10). Immunostaining for a DNA polymerase, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), was performed and quantified using digital imaging analysis. In-vitro assays were performed for direct proliferative effects of serotonin and FenPhen (10-6, 10-7 and 10-8 M) on porcine aortic valve subendothelial cells, using a [3H]-thymidine incorporation assay. RESULTS Ex-vivo PCNA levels in human FenPhenexposed valves were elevated compared to controls (22.8 ± 4.54 versus 1.26 ± 0.47; p <0.001). In vivo, serotonin and FenPhen markedly increased (10-fold) cell proliferation (as measured by [3H]-thymidine incorporation) in subendothelial cells in vitro (p <0.001). This proliferative response was demonstrated by PCNA staining in carcinoid heart valves and FenPhen-exposed valves. Mechanistically, plateletderived growth factor increased cell proliferation in a dose-related manner (p <0.001), the response being inhibited by a MAP kinase inhibitor (determined by monitoring p42/44 levels). CONCLUSIONS In vitro, FenPhen acts as a powerful mitogen on subendothelial myofibroblast valve cells. Ex vivo, cellular proliferation was significantly elevated in human FenPhen-exposed cells.
Learning in a Community: Evidence of the Effectiveness and Challenges of Learning Communities

Research on pedagogy has established the benefit of High Impact Practices (HIP) for student outcomes. Learning communities are a specific HIP that can vary widely in their structure. Learning commu...
Temporal trends in snowfall contribution induced by lake-effect synoptic types

Using a synoptic classification technique and gridded snow dataset, snowfall was evaluated in the eastern Great Lakes region from 1950-2009 during atmospheric conditions suitable for the developmen...
The Honey Badger in the Coal Mine

In the United States and some other nations, the energy orthodoxy is being hijacked at the highest levels of political power by a look-alike ideology. This chapter uses the canary as the totem animal of the orthodoxy and the honey badger as the totem animal of this imposter ideology. The honey badger wears all the same trappings as the orthodoxy: celebrating the control of nature, innovation, and economic growth. Yet unlike the orthodoxy, it doesn’t dare to know the truth about its impacts. The honey badger is numb, whereas the orthodoxy (like the canary) is sensitive. The orthodoxy invests its faith in a process: the unfurling of human intelligence. The honey badger is faithful only to a product: fossil fuels. Nothing could be more reckless when it comes to climate change.
Content is king: Use of educational videos in cardiac catheterization

A simple 3-min educational video viewed before cardiac catheterization significantly improved patient knowledge and alleviated patient anxiety. The key characteristics of a good educational video are: clarity, simplicity, brevity, and humanity. Educational videos may benefit both patients and operators but require continuous evaluation and improvement.
Electronic Health Record Portal Use by Family Caregivers of Patients Undergoing Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: United States National Survey Study.

Background: As family caregivers of patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation have multifaceted caregiving responsibilities (such as medical, household, financial) of long duration, they also have multiple physical, social, psychological, and informational needs. Objective: This study explored the prevalence of electronic health record patient portal use by family caregivers for managing both their own and their hematopoietic cell transplantation care recipient’s health, as well as potential factors associated with portal use. Methods: An electronic caregiver health survey, first developed via cognitive interviewing methods of hematopoietic cell transplantation caregivers, was distributed nationally (in the United States) by patient advocacy organizations to family caregivers of hematopoietic cell transplantation patients. It was used to assess self-reported caregiver demographics, caregiving characteristics, depression and anxiety with the Patient Health Questionnaire–4, coping with the Brief COPE, and caregiver portal use to manage care recipient’s and their own health. Results: We found that 77% of respondents (720/937) accessed electronic health record patient portals for their care recipients, themselves, or both. Multivariate models indicated use of care recipient electronic health record portals by caregivers was more likely with young, White, married, low-income caregivers caring for a parent, residing with the care recipient, and experiencing more caregiver depression. Caregiver use of their own electronic health record portal was more likely with young, White, high-income caregivers caring for a parent and experiencing chronic medical conditions of their own. Partially due to multicollinearity, anxiety and coping did not contribute independently to this model. Conclusions: Findings from the survey could open avenues for future research into caregiver use of technology for informational support or intervention, including wearables and mobile health.
Cooperative Diverse Opportunistic Network Coding for Wireless Networks

Opportunistic network coding (ONC) increases communication networks’ throughput by XORing two or more packets together. However, it has shown that ONC deteriorates in terms of bit error rate (BER) and throughput when deployed in noisy wireless networks. Therefore, we propose a mechanism that combines ONC, diversity coding, and cooperation to mitigate the shortcomings of ONC. Additionally, to reduce delay and error propagation at relay nodes, we limit the maximum number of packets that can be network-coded together to three and only encode packets received directly by relay nodes. Moreover, we study the effect of link outages/mobility and show how to mitigate at least one link failure. Finally, we show that our system alleviates the issues previously mentioned and provides better performance to direct transmission and ONC when implemented in noisy networks using simulations.
Nutrient availability shifts the biosynthetic potential of soil-derived microbial communities

Abstract Secondary metabolites produced by microorganisms are the main source of antimicrobials other pharmaceutical drugs. Soil microbes have been the primary discovery source for these secondary metabolites, often producing complex organic compounds with specific biological activities. Research suggests that secondary metabolism broadly shapes microbial ecological interactions, but little is known about the factors that shape the abundance, distribution, and diversity of biosynthetic gene clusters in the context of microbial communities. In this study, we investigate the role of nutrient availability on the abundance of biosynthetic gene clusters in soil-derived microbial consortia. We found that soil microbial consortia enriched in medium with 150 mg/L of glucose and 200 mg/L of trehalose (here defined as high sugar) had more biosynthetic gene cluster and higher inhibitory activity than soil microbial consortia enriched in medium with 15 mg/L of glucose + 20 mg/L of trehalose (here defined as low sugar). Our results demonstrate that laboratory microbial communities are a promising tool to study ecology of specialized metabolites.
Gsx2 but not Gsx1 is necessary for early forebrain patterning and long-term survival in zebrafish

ABSTRACT Central nervous system (CNS) development is regulated by regionally expressed transcription factors that impart initial cell identity, connectivity, and function to neural circuits through complex molecular genetic cascades. genomic screen homeobox 1 and 2 (gsx1 and gsx2) encode homeobox transcription factors expressed in the developing CNS in multiple vertebrates examined to date. However, we have limited knowledge of the expression of these transcription factors and the gene networks that they regulate across developing brain regions in zebrafish. The objective of this study was to comprehensively examine gsx1 and gsx2 expression throughout neurodevelopment and characterize gsx1 and gsx2 mutants to study the essential roles of these closely related transcription factors. Using RT-PCR, whole-mount in situ hybridization (WISH), and fluorescence in situ hybridization, we examine gsx1 and gsx2 expression from early embryonic to late larval stages. gsx1 is expressed initially in the hindbrain and diencephalon and later in the optic tectum, pretectum, and cerebellar plate. Comparatively, gsx2 is expressed in the early telencephalon and later in the pallium and olfactory bulb. gsx1 and gsx2 are regionally co-expressed in the hypothalamus, preoptic area, and hindbrain, however rarely co-localize in the same cells. To identify forebrain target genes, we utilize mutants made with Transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALEN). gsx1 mutant zebrafish exhibit stunted growth, however, they survive through adulthood and are fertile. gsx2 mutant zebrafish experience swim bladder inflation failure that prevents survival past larval stage. Using WISH and RT-qPCR we demonstrate altered expression of genes including, distal-less homeobox genes and forkhead box gene foxp2. This work provides novel tools with which other target genes and functions of Gsx1 and Gsx2 can be characterized across the CNS to better understand the unique and overlapping roles of these highly conserved transcription factors.
Rebecca West on communism’s allure for the intellectuals: An appraisal

Feminist activist, novelist, literary critic, bio-ethnographer, legal autodidact, and political writer: Rebecca West (1892–1983) was a 20th-century phenomenon. She was also a lifelong critic of com...
Adaptive Multi-Robot, Multi-Operator Work Systems

Unstructured and hostile environments impose great risk to exposed humans and present ideal domains for robotic forces; however, these dynamic environments pose considerable difficulty in autonomous multi-robot coordination, making a need for supervisory control paramount. This paper examines a three-phase approach that increases the robustness, reliability, and efficiency of human-machine work systems by dynamically altering the soldier-robot control relationships as well as the effective autonomy manifested by each robot function in response to estimated cognitive loading (stress). This approach enables an adaptive command and control structure across a spectrum of force configurations.
Fixed-duration shock treatment: Pre- and posttreatment stimulation, activity, and skin resistance as predictors of escape performance

Movement rates and skin resistance levels were recorded during a series of fixed-duration treatment shocks (ST), some coupled with a feedback stimulus (FB), and others presented in the context of procedures that offset the effects of FB on ST. These measures also were recorded in an escape-training test situation, along with escape latencies. Major findings were (1) parallel decreases in both movement and skin resistance levels in response to ST, that (2) developed over blocks of treatment shocks, and that (3) were followed by attenuated movement in the test setting. These changes, in turn, (4) were associated with impaired test escape performances. However, (5) when a FB procedure was introduced that offset the development of these movement and skin resistance changes during ST, subjects moved and escaped the same during testing as non-ST controls. Finally, (6) two procedures designed to nullify the effects of FB, introduction (in various ways) of a brief shock following the FB event (Experiment 1) and repetitious pre-ST exposure to the FB stimulus (Experiment 2), were accompanied by reinstatement of attenuated movement rates and skin resistance levels during ST and of impaired test behaviors. These outcomes were consistent with current fear interpretations of inescapable shock-treatment effects, and with condition-inhibition but not disruption or dishabituation (antihypogesic) interpretations of FB effects.
The use of peptones as medium additives for the production of a recombinant therapeutic protein in high density perfusion cultures of mammalian cells

Protein hydrolysates as substitutes for serum havebeen employed by many in cell culture mediumformulation, especially with the shift to low proteinor protein-free media. More recently, vegetablehydrolysates have also been added as nutritionalsupplements to fortify the amino acid content in smallpeptide form for batch and fed-batch fermentations. Several of these new hydrolysates (peptones of soy,rice, wheat gluten etc.) were tested as protein-freemedium supplements for the production of a recombinanttherapeutic protein. Multiple peptone-supplemented,continuous perfusion bioreactor experiments wereconducted, varying dilution rates and basal mediumcomposition over the various runs. Cell specificrates and product quality studies were obtained forthe various peptones and compared with peptone-freemedium. The potential for peptones to decreaseintrinsic and proteolytic degradation of the productwas also investigated.It was found that peptones confer a nutritionalbenefit, especially at low dilution rates, for therecombinant BHK cell line used in this investigation.The specific productivity increased 20–30% comparedto the peptone-free controls. However, this benefitwas also fully delivered by using fortified medium inplace of the peptone-enriched media. Therefore, whilepeptones may be considered as useful medium additiveswhen development time is limited, their addition maybe avoided by systematic medium development ifpermitted by the time line of the project.
Contraception after abortion and post partum: An evaluation of risks and benefits of oral contraceptives with emphasis on the relation of female sex hormones to thromboembolism and genital and breast cancer

Abstract Fertility (ovulation) returns promptly in patients after abortion. At 6 weeks post partum, about 5 per cent of nursing and 15 per cent of nonlactating women ovulate. About 10 to 20 per cent of mothers can conceive between Weeks 6 and 12 post partum even when they are nursing. Contraception, if desired, must be instituted immediately after abortion and not later than 4 to 5 weeks post partum. Literature reports regarding indications and potential hazards of contraceptives are inconsistent. In individual patients, pill intake can be related to hypertension, disturbance in liver function and carbohydrate metabolism, thromboembolic disease, decrease of milk yield in nursing mothers, or cancer of the reproductive organs. In mass studies, however, no definite cause-effect relationship has yet been established. Because female sex hormones and nonsteroid estrogens (diethylstilbestrol) in particular, may under some conditions induce or promote accelerated growth of breast or genital cancer, women with a family or personal history of such malignancies should not receive any type of female sex hormone.