cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Injury Patterns in Female Irish Dancers

Objective To determine the type of Irish dance injuries requiring evaluation and treatment by a sports medicine physician. Design Cross-sectional retrospective chart review. Setting Academic sports medicine center in the Midwest. Participants Female Irish dancers who presented at an academic sports medicine center from June 2002 to September 2009. Main Outcome Measures This was a retrospective chart review identifying injuries sustained to female Irish dancers in a single Irish dance company in a major metropolitan area. Dancers were evaluated and injuries were diagnosed by one sports medicine physician at an academic sports medicine center. Results Sixty-nine female Irish dancers, ages 8 to 23 years, sustained 217 recorded injuries. The top injuries included stress fractures (29.9%), patellofemoral pain syndrome (11.1%), Sever condition (6.0%), ankle sprains (5.1%), posterior tibialis tendonitis (4.6%), and plantar fasciitis (4.6%). The most common site for stress fractures were the sesamoids, comprising 27.7% of all stress fractures and 8.3% of total injuries. The majority of injuries were in the lower extremities (94.9%), remaining injuries involved the lumbosacral spine and pelvis (5.1%). Most dancers (79.7%) had multiple injuries. The number of injuries per dancer increased as the dancer's level increased. There was a trend for the average age of the dancers to decrease as the level of skill increased. Conclusion Lower extremity injuries comprised the majority of Irish dance injuries. Stress fractures (29.9%), patellofemoral pain syndrome (11.1%), and Sever condition (6.0%) were the most common injuries.
Actin's Actions in LTP-Induced Synapse Growth

F-actin is required for LTP induction, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. New results show that LTP produces an increase in actin-rich spines. Furthermore, these spines have large synapses, strongly suggesting that LTP involves synapse growth. This process appears to require LIMK-1 phosphorylation of the actin depolymerizing factor cofilin.
A Family of Mammalian Anion Transporters and Their Involvement in Human Genetic Diseases

Tremendous advances in human genetics have been made in recent years, as the fruits of the Human Genome Project are facilitating the identification of genes associated with myriad genetic diseases. Among the many triumphs in positional (and positional candidate) cloning are a number of cases where apparently unrelated diseases have been found to share common genetic origins. A vivid example of this has unfolded in the past few years with the identification of the genes causing diastrophic dysplasia, congenital chloride diarrhoea and Pendred syndrome. While these three disorders are clinically distinct, the associated genes ( DTDST, CLD and PDS, respectively) emanate from a well conserved family of genes that all encode anion transporters. Our current knowledge of these diseases coupled with new insights about the implicated genes and proteins illustrates the complex nature of mammalian genomes, especially with respect to the evolutionary subtleties of protein families and tissue-specific gene expression.
Longitudinal ultrasonic attenuation in the spin spiral state of single crystal holmium

Abstract Ultrasonic attenuation experiments have been performed using 15–255 MHz longitudinal sound waves along the c -axis of single crystal holmium. Without an external magnetic field, the attenuation increases in the spin-spiral state. This anomalous increase originates, at least in part, from the spin-phonon relaxation mechanism we have proposed, which states that the attenuation coefficient Δ α 1 ∞ ω 2 /(1+ ω 2 τ 2 ) where τ is the longitudinal spin phonon relaxation time. The frequency dependence of the attenuation varies from ω 1·0 to ω 1·5 which suggests a frequency-dependent character for the spin-phonon relaxation time τ . A broad longitudinal attenuation maximum, which presumably is due to the competing processes between S ¯ , J and τ , is observed in the spin-spiral state, where S ¯ is the thermal average of the spin angular momentum per trivalent ion and J the Fourier transform of the exchange integral. An anomalous suppression of the longitudinal attenuation spike at T N for frequencies higher than 165 MHz is unexplainable at present. The longitudinal attenuation spike at T N for frequencies higher than 165 MHz is unexplainable at present. The longitudinal spin-phonon relaxation time for Ho has been determined using experimental data. It has a T −3 temperature dependence. In the presence of an external magnetic filed in the basal plane the attenuation is decreased and a new peak and a plateau appear at the intermediate phase transitions.
Consumer informatics in chronic illness.

Objective: To explore the informatic requirements in the home care of chronically ill patients. Design: A number of strategies were deployed to help evoke a picture of home care informatics needs: A detailed questionnaire evaluating informational needs and assessing programmable technologies was distributed to a clinic population of parents of children with cancer. Open ended questionnaires were distributed to medical staff and parents soliciting a list of questions asked of medical staff. Parent procedure training was observed to evaluate the training dialog, and parents were observed interacting with a prototype information and education computer offering. Results: Parents' concerns ranged from the details of managing day to day, to conceptual information about disease and treatment, to management of psychosocial problems. They sought information to solve problems and to provide emotional support, which may create conflicts of interest when the material is threatening. Whether they preferred to be informed by a doctor, nurse, or another parent depended on the nature of the information. Live interaction was preferred to video, which was preferred to text for all topics. Respondents used existing technologies in a straightforward way but were enthusiastic about the proposed use of computer technology to support home care. Multimedia solutions appear to complement user needs and preferences. Conclusion: Consumers appear positively disposed toward on-line solutions. On-line systems can offer breadth, depth and timeliness currently unattainable. Patients should be involved in the formation and development process in much the same way that users are involved in usercentered computer interface design. A generic framework for patient content is presented that could be applied across multiple disorders.
Amplitude, pulse-width, and wavelength modulation strategies for an optically-controlled power DMOSFET

We illustrate the switching performance of a novel optically triggered power MOSFET (OT-MOS) for three different optical modulation techniques. It integrates a silicon (Si) based power MOSFET and two gallium-arsenide (GaAs) based photoconductive-triggering blocks for 'all-optical' turn-on and turn-off of the OT-MOS. We investigate the effectiveness of amplitude, pulse-width, and wavelength modulation techniques to rapidly turn-on and turn-off the OT-MOS. The OT-MOS can eliminate the problems encountered in conventional high-frequency gate drivers due to electromagnetic interference (EMI). Furthermore, the design of the gate drivers for a low- or a high-side OT-MOS, unlike a conventional electrically triggered power MOSFET, is the same; this leads to simplified gate-driver architectures for two-and multilevel power-electronic converters.
Life-Span Extension in Mice by Preweaning Food Restriction and by Methionine Restriction in Middle Age

Life span can be extended in rodents by restricting food availability (caloric restriction [CR]) or by providing food low in methionine (Meth-R). Here, we show that a period of food restriction limited to the first 20 days of life, via a 50% enlargement of litter size, shows extended median and maximal life span relative to mice from normal sized litters and that a Meth-R diet initiated at 12 months of age also significantly increases longevity. Furthermore, mice exposed to a CR diet show changes in liver messenger RNA patterns, in phosphorylation of Erk, Jnk2, and p38 kinases, and in phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin and its substrate 4EBP1, HE-binding protein 1 that are not observed in liver from age-matched Meth-R mice. These results introduce new protocols that can increase maximal life span and suggest that the spectrum of metabolic changes induced by low-calorie and low-methionine diets may differ in instructive ways.
Myosin II-independent F-actin flow contributes to cell locomotion in dictyostelium.

While the treadmilling and retrograde flow of F-actin are believed to be responsible for the protrusion of leading edges, little is known about the mechanism that brings the posterior cell body forward. To elucidate the mechanism for global cell locomotion, we examined the organizational changes of filamentous (F-) actin in live Dictyostelium discoideum. We labeled F-actin with a trace amount of fluorescent phalloidin and analyzed its dynamics in nearly two-dimensional cells by using a sensitive, high-resolution charge-coupled device. We optically resolved a cyclic mode of tightening and loosening of fibrous cortical F-actin and quantitated its flow by measuring temporal and spatial intensity changes. The rate of F-actin flow was evaluated with respect to migration velocity and morphometric changes. In migrating monopodial cells, the cortical F-actin encircling the posterior cell body gradually accumulated into the tail end at a speed of 0.35 microm/minute. We show qualitatively and quantitatively that the F-actin flow is closely associated with cell migration. Similarly, in dividing cells, the cortical F-actin accumulated into the cleavage furrow. Although five times slower than the wild type, the F-actin also flows rearward in migrating mhcA- cells demonstrating that myosin II (‘conventional’ myosin) is not absolutely required for the observed dynamics of F-actin. Yet consistent with the reported transportation of ConA-beads, the direction of observed F-actin flow in Dictyostelium is conceptually opposite from a barbed-end binding to the plasma membrane. This study suggests that the posterior end of the cell has a unique motif that tugs the cortical actin layer rearward by means of a mechanism independent from myosin II; this mechanism may be also involved in cleavage furrow formation.
Stock Wealth, Consumption, and Return Predictability

The stock wealth-consumption ratio reflects expected stock returns and consumption growth. Because consumption growth is mostly unpredictable, much of the variation in this ratio likely reflects changing expected stock returns. In contrast, isolating expected stock return information from other variables may be difficult (in addition to stock returns, the dividend yield may predict dividend growth, while the consumption-wealth ratio may predict non-stock wealth returns). Empirically, a detrended version of this ratio strongly predicts U.S. and international stock returns. In contrast to other predictive variables, predictability does not deteriorate after 1980 and out-of-sample performance is impressive.
Comparisons of different techniques in semidefinite programming for hydrothermal coordination problem

Hydrothermal coordination problem (HTC) is to minimize fuel cost of thermal units under a series of constraints by means of optimization techniques. Semidefinite programming (SDP) is an emerging powerful tool to do so. This paper presents four different programming skills used in transforming HTC into its corresponding SDP models. Through a HTC test case, the computational efficiencies and the results of these skills, which are implemented on a convex solver CVX, are compared and analyzed. The conclusion shows that there exists a best way to express HTC as SDP model without exploring the sparsity of large dimensional matrices produced during the transformation.
Cancer Stem Cells in Metastatic Melanoma

Melanoma remains, by far, the most deadly skin cancer and is among the most chemotherapy-resistant malignancies. While prevention and early detection improve, the incidence of melanoma continues to rise in the USA and among most fair-skinned populations worldwide. Evidence for cancer stem cells in various malignancies is rapidly increasing, and this opens a new avenue of research toward understanding the pathogenesis and effective treatment of cancer.
Modeling of Nearshore Wave Driven Currents

A nearshore current modeling system has been assembled which consists of a shallow water directional spectral wave model, an algorithm to convert directional spectral output from the wave model to radiation stress components and a current model to calculate nearshore wave-driven currents from the radiation stress field. Wave-driven longshore currents have been hindcast at a coastal site for two wave conditions during a northeaster type storm off Cape Hatteras in October 1982. For one event, when local winds were strong, the calculated longshore current is only a fraction of what was measured. This discrepancy is attributed to a non-wave-driven component of flow which was present but not represented in the model. During the other event, winds were low and long period swell was present. In this case, the calculated and measured longshore flow agree well. Both measured and calculated shore normal profiles of longshore current in each case show a generally uniform structure across the surf zone. This is in contrast to theoretical profiles based on monochromatic waves which show a maximum in longshore flow near the breaker line.
Pre-pregnancy maternal obesity and the risk of preterm preeclampsia in the American primigravida.

Objective To estimate the risk of preterm preeclampsia in primiparous women by pre-pregnancy obesity class. Methods A retrospective cohort study of primiparous women with singleton gestations was performed for deliveries from January 2003 to April 2014. Cases were stratified by delivery occurring either at ≥ 37 weeks or < 37 weeks. Pre-pregnancy maternal obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30 kg/m2. World Health Organization criteria were used to define BMI class of obesity. Multinomial logistic regression modeling estimated the association between term and preterm preeclampsia and pre-pregnancy obesity. Results Of 28,361 women with complete pre-pregnancy BMI data, 2,588 women (9.1%) had a diagnosis of preeclampsia. Women who developed preeclampsia prior to 37 weeks (n = 784) were more likely to be women with obesity compared to women who developed preeclampsia after 37 weeks (33.1% vs. 25.3%, P = 0.0001). Compared to normal-weight women without preeclampsia, the risk of preterm preeclampsia increased proportionally with pre-pregnancy obesity class, with women with a BMI ≥ 40 kg/m2 having the greatest risk (RR 5.23, 95% CI: 3.86-7.09, P <0.001). Conclusions The risk of preterm preeclampsia increased significantly as the severity of maternal pre-pregnancy obesity increased. Reduction in maternal pre-pregnancy BMI may be protective in mitigating such risk.
Class of Rashba ferroelectrics in hexagonal semiconductors

We present a class of Rashba systems in hexagonal semiconducting compounds, where an electrical control over spin-orbital texture is provided by their bulk ferroelectricity. Our first-principles calculations reveal a number of such materials with large Rashba coefficients. We, furthermore, show that strain can drive a topological phase transition in such materials, resulting in a ferroelectric topological insulating state. Our findings can open avenues for interplay between Rashba effect, ferroelectricity, and topological phenomena.
Changing concepts in the management of testis cancer.

The emergence of extremely effective chemotherapy for testis cancer has changed many management concepts. Accurate clinical staging may eliminate the need for a node dissection in carefully selected stage I patients. Early detection of metastases is facilitated by using serum markers. Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery may virtually eliminate recurrences. High-risk patients that respond poorly to standard treatment can be identified at the time of diagnosis; new protocols for this group are being developed. Chemotherapy is an effective treatment for seminoma and is the preferred initial treatment for a high-stage disease. Postchemotherapy surgery can aggravate the pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin; consequently, appropriate precautions must be taken. All of these changes emphasize the importance of a continuing reappraisal by the practicing urologist of treatment philosophies for testis cancer.
DOES THE PEB INDEX RESPOND ONLY TO HYPOXIA IN THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA, GULF OF MEXICO?

The frequency of anthropogenic seasonal hypoxia on the continental shelf west of the Mississippi Delta (the Louisiana Bight) has increased since the middle of the 20 th century. This study applies the PEB index, a proxy for hypoxia, to four ~2 m kasten cores taken southwest of Southwest Pass of the Mississippi Delta. The PEB index is defined as the cumulative percent of Protononion atlanticum (= Nonionella atlantica of this study), Nonionella opima, Epistominella vitrea and Buliminella morgani . The PEB index varies little in the shallowest core, KC4 (59 m water depth). Assemblages were strongly dominated by PEB taxa (average 95%), due mainly to the dominance of E. vitrea (average 76%). In core KC3 (75 m), an average PEB value of 84% is also due mainly to E. vitrea (61%). The PEB index of KC3 was consistently higher above 90 cm, a level dated at 1955–1960 ( 210 Pb age estimate), and could reflect an increased influence of hypoxia or an increased rate of sediment accumulation associated with delta progradation. A similar trend characterizes core KC2 (87 m). The PEB index is 18% from 240 cm to 140 cm, increasing up core as the abundance of E. vitrea increases, likely due to delta progradation. Other PEB taxa, B. morgani and N. opima , increase in the top 30 cm of the core, probably due to increased hypoxia between 1952 and 1968 ( 210 Pb age estimate). Core KC1 (473 m) differed from shallower cores in its higher species diversity. Bolivina lowmani, Cassidulina neocarinata , and Bolivina ordinaria each comprise ~15% of assemblages and PEB taxa are rare (average 5%) but increase to 19% in a 30 cm interval attributed to off-shelf transport. We conclude that the PEB index is a useful indicator of anthropogenic hypoxia but dominance of E. vitrea may also be attributable to sedimentological factors related to delta progradation.
A new design on the derrick raising machanism for mode rig of separate drawworks

The paper describes a new kind of raising assembly for mechanical drilling rigs. It is compact in construction, convenience in raise, safe reliable in operation. It does not occupy space. During transportation it is unnecessary to install and disassemble it, only turning the support shaft makes it put into the catworks, thus reducing the labour intensity. Because the overall dimensions do not increased, the over-high and over-wide problem on catworks caused in transportation has been properly solved. After it was used in drilling rigs, it has been widely approved by customers.
137 RHO GUANOSINE TRIPHOSPHATASE-DEPENDENT SIGNALING IS REQUIRED FOR MIGRATION INHIBITORY FACTOR-MEDIATED EXPRESSION OF CYCLIN D1

Our previous studies demonstrated that the proinflammatory peptide macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) functions as an autocrine mediator of both growth factor and integrin-dependent sustained ERK MAP kinase activation, cyclin D1 expression, and cell cycle progression. We now report that MIF promotes the activation of the canonical MAP kinase cascade and cyclin D1 expression by stimulating Rho guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) activity and actin stress fiber formation. Rho-dependent stress fiber accumulation promotes the sustained activation of MAP kinase and subsequent cyclin D1 expression during G1-S phase cell cycle progression. This pathway is reported to be dependent upon myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, integrin clustering, and subsequent activation of focal adhesion kinase leading to sustained MAP kinase activity. Our current studies suggests that recombinant MIF induces cyclin D1 transcription/translation in a Rho, Rho kinase, MLC kinase, and MAP kinase-dependent manner in asynchronous NIH 3T3 fibroblasts. Moreover, MIF-/- murine embryonic fibroblasts display aberrant cyclin D1 expression that is linked to defective Rho activity and MLC phosphorylation. These results strongly suggest that MIF is an integral autocrine mediator of Rho GTPase-dependent signaling events and may provide mechanistic insight into how MIF regulates proliferative, migratory, and oncogenic processes.
PHONOCARDIOGRAPHY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE. APPLICATION TO DIAGNOSTIC PROBLEMS.

A special direct-writing phonocardiograph was used in a study of more than 300 patients who were referred to a consultation service because of unusual or perplexing auscultatory findings. The tracings accurately demonstrated time relationships and other features of murmurs and sounds which often cannot be ascertained by auscultation. Results of the study indicate that phonocardiography should be more widely applied in clinical practice. The availability of a simple, convenient, direct-writing instrument should make this practical.
A note on causality problems in the numerical solution of elastic wave propagation in cylindrical coordinate systems

Harkrider noted the presence of noncausal, nonpropagating near-field terms in the cylindrical shear wave potentials for dislocation sources. He stated that these noncausal terms drop out when the total displacement field is calculated using both SV and SH shear wave potentials. When calculating realistic far-field radial and tangential displacement time histories, one must be careful in how the higher order distance terms are truncated in order to avoid the presence of noncausal terms in the time histories. Examples of this effect for tangential displacements due to a 90° dip-slip dislocation source as well as a 90° vertical strike-slip source are given to demonstrate the numerical problem.
One Army, Many Languages: Foreign Troops and Linguistic Diversity in the Eighteenth-Century French Military

Napoleon Bonaparte reportedly once declared of the Alsatian soldiers serving in his army, ‘Let them speak German as long as they wield their swords in French’ (Maugue 1970: 146). This statement, though perhaps apocryphal, alluded both to the linguistic diversity among French troops during Napoleon’ lifetime and to his toleration of such heterogeneity so long as it did not interfere with military operations. Yet Napoleon’ attitudes on the topic of linguistic diversity in the army were far from representative of those of other French regimes during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In an era of considerable political tumult in France, policies on the languages spoken by soldiers as well as the strategies intended to bridge language barriers among troops varied widely, reflecting the broader agenda of the state and the changing notions of political legitimacy which underlay it.
Binding and lubrication of biomimetic boundary lubricants on articular cartilage

The glycoprotein, lubricin, is the primary boundary lubricant of articular cartilage and has been shown to prevent cartilage damage after joint injury. In this study, a library of eight bottle-brush copolymers were synthesized to mimic the structure and function of lubricin. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) grafted onto a polyacrylic acid (pAA) core mimicked the hydrophilic mucin-like domain of lubricin, and a thiol terminus anchored the polymers to cartilage surfaces much like lubricin's C-terminus. These copolymers, abbreviated as pAA-g-PEG, rapidly bound to cartilage surfaces with binding time constants ranging from 20 to 39 min, and affected lubrication under boundary mode conditions with coefficients of friction ranging from 0.140 ± 0.024 to 0.248 ± 0.030. Binding and lubrication were highly correlated (r2 = 0.89-0.99), showing that boundary lubrication in this case strongly depends on the binding of the lubricant to the surface. Along with time-dependent and dose-dependent behavior, lubrication and binding of the lubricin-mimetics also depended on copolymer structural parameters including pAA backbone length, PEG side chain length, and PEG:AA brush density. Polymers with larger backbone sizes, brush sizes, or brush densities took longer to bind (p < 0.05). Six of the eight polymers reduced friction relative to denuded cartilage plugs (p < 0.05), suggesting their potential to lubricate and protect cartilage in vivo. In copolymers with shorter pAA backbones, increasing hydrodynamic size inhibited lubrication (p < 0.08), while the opposite was observed in copolymers with longer backbones (p < 0.05). These polymers show similar in vitro lubricating efficacy as recombinant lubricins and as such have potential for in vivo treatment of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:548-557, 2017.
Abstract P31: Medicare Reimbursement and Patterns of tPA Utilization for Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Background. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is recommended for stroke patients presenting within 3 hours of symptom onset. Patients treated with tPA have been shown to experience superior outcomes over other thrombolytics. Higher costs for tPA are said to be offset by savings from shorter lengths of stay and lower likelihoods of being discharged to rehabilitation or long-term care. Encouraged by the American Stroke Association (ASA), CMS created DRG 559 in FY 2006, increasing the reimbursement for stroke patients receiving tPA by an average of $6,700 to advance tPA utilization. In FY 2007, CMS replaced DRGs with severity-adjusted DRGs (MS-DRGs); three MS-DRGs replaced DRG 559, lowering the reimbursement rate for tPA treatment. The primary data source was the HCUP 2005-2007, Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a 20% sample of up to 700 hospitals per year in 27 states. Discharge records were analyzed for patients aged 45 and older, with a discharge diagnosis for cerebral infarction (ICD-9 codes 362.3, 433.x1, 434.x1, and acute, but ill-defined, cerebrovascular disease (ICD-9 code 436) and excluding secondary diagnoses of traumatic brain injury (codes 800-804, 850-854). Patients were stratified by age, payer, and DRGs 61, 62, 63 or 559 with a primary ICD-9 procedure code of 99.10. Results. From 2005 to 2006, tPA utilization increased 68.1%, but increased only 1.36% from 2006 to 2007. tPa uitilization increased for Medicare and Medicaid patients overall, but declined for privately insured patients from 2006 to 2007. Discussion. The Brain Attack Coalition endorses statewide stroke systems of care, including certification of comprehensive and primary stroke centers. Comprehensive centers must be capable of providing the full range of stroke care including tPA to patients. Seven states were developing, or had in place stroke systems of care in 2007. The decline in reimbursement may act as a disincentive to other states to create systems of care. | Stroke patients with tPA as the primary procedure, number and percentage of tPa patients by row. | || | | 2005 (n=60,009) | 2006 (n=57,298) | 2007 (n=55,669) | | tPA Patients | 789 (1.31) | 1326 (2.32) | 1344 (2.41) | | DRG 14 | 480 (60.84) | - | - | | DRG 559 | 306 (38.78) | 1,317 (99.3) | 977 (72.7) | | DRG 61 | - | - | 96 (7.1) | | DRG 62 | - | - | 170 (12.6) | | DRG 63 | | | 92 (6.8) | | Medicare | 506 (1.15) | 883 (2.16) | 899 (2.3) | | Medicaid | 32 (1.09) | 58 (1.86) | 67 (2.08) | | Private Insurance | 213 (2.13) | 309 (3.26) | 296 (3.05) |
Deciphering the mechanisms involving cenexin, ninein and centriolin in sperm maturation during epididymal transit in the domestic cat.

Contents The sperm centrosome is an essential organelle with a key role in organizing the sperm aster for proper syngamy and formation of the first mitotic spindle. The sperm cell acquires the functional capability during epididymal transit by incorporation of key factors. The objective of the study was to identify these key maturation proteins, such as ninein and centriolin as well as cenexin—a scaffold protein that serves to bind ninein and centriolin. Epididymal samples were dissected from 17 adult cat testes (>1 year old) and spermatozoa were extracted from the different regions, including rete testis, caput, corpus, cauda and vas deferens. Tissue samples and sperm cells were fixed separately in 4% paraformaldehyde before immunostaining with anticenexin, ninein or centriolin antibodies. Results showed that the proportion of sperm cells with cenexin localized at the centrosome progressively increased along the tract with the lowest percentage of stained cells in the testis (mean = 45%) and highest in the cauda (mean = 81%). Although not significant, the intensity of cenexin immunofluorescence in positive cells increased twofold from the testis to vas deferens. There was no significant difference in the proportion of sperm labelled with centriolin or ninein (ranges of 21%–26% and 33%–48% between segments, respectively) or the intensity (±58% and ±63% change as compared to testis, respectively). Cenexin may serve as a scaffold protein for centriolin and ninein, as the vast majority of spermatozoa only displayed colocalization of these proteins when cenexin was also present (mean = 85% and 91% colocalization, respectively). In summary, these results could be applied to future efforts to create an in vitro culture system capable of rescuing the impaired centrosome of an infertile male, with particular potential for wild felid conservation.
Axillary Micrometastases and Isolated Tumor Cells Are Not an Indication for Post-mastectomy Radiotherapy in Stage 1 and 2 Breast Cancer.

Randomized trials demonstrate equivalent locoregional control with sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) for T1–2 micrometastatic breast cancer, but include few mastectomy patients. Consensus is lacking on indications for post-mastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) in this population. Herein, we evaluate locoregional recurrence (LRR) in an unselected, modern cohort of T1–2 breast cancer patients with micrometastases or isolated tumor cells (ITCs; N0i+/N1mi) having a mastectomy. We identified patients with T1–2N0i+/N1mi breast cancer treated with mastectomy from January 2006 to December 2011. Recurrent, bilateral, and neoadjuvant cases were excluded. The primary outcome of interest was LRR. Overall, 352 patients [211 (60%) with ITCs and 141 (40%) with micrometastases] were identified. 162 (46%) patients had SLNB alone and one node was positive in 295 (84%) cases; 31 (9%) patients had PMRT and 95% had systemic therapy. At a median 6 years of follow-up, the overall crude LRR rate was 2.8% (n = 9), with no axillary recurrences, and the crude LRR rate was 3.9% among those who had SNB alone. Those with LRR had a median age of 55 years, median tumor size of 1.7 cm, and ductal histology; the majority were high-grade (89%) and estrogen receptor positive (78%), with one positive node (89%). There was no association between LRR and receipt of PMRT (p = 0.4), SLNB versus ALND (p = 0.2), or number of positive nodes (p = 0.7) using the log-rank test. LRR was infrequent among T1–2N0i+/N1mi patients treated with mastectomy without PMRT, with no axillary failures, suggesting that PMRT or nodal radiotherapy are not routinely indicated in this population.
Model-Based Approach to Characterization of Diffusion Processes via Distributed Control of Actuated Sensor Networks

Abstract This paper presents a model-based distributed control framework for the problem of characterizing diffusion processes. Such systems arise in a wide variety of applications. We propose the use of multiple, robotic sensors that can be tasked to collect measurements of the process outputs from variable spatial locations. The notion is that a central controller uses the process model to compute a prediction of the process outputs. This prediction is then used to prescribe sampling locations, to which the sensors in a distributed sensor network are commanded. Samples obtained by the sensors are then used as constraints to correct the model-based prediction of the process outputs. The cycle of predicting, sampling, and prediction correction is repeated until the predictions converge. The idea of actuated actuator networks is also introduced. A control-theoretic formulation of the problem is presented that highlights a number of theoretical problems to be solved.
Abstract 2500: Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Detected By Prolonged Ambulatory Cardiac Monitoring In Patients With Cryptogenic Stroke: A Case-Control Study

Background: Whether a significant proportion of cryptogenic stroke (CS) is caused by under-detected paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is not known. Prolonged ambulatory cardiac monitoring may detect episodes of PAF in patients with stroke of unknown cause (cryptogenic stroke, CS). However, it is unclear whether PAF is more common in patients wtih CS compared with patients with stroke of known cause (SKC). We performed a case control study to compare the rates of detection of PAF in CS vs SKC using prolonged ambulatory cardiac rhythm monitoring. Methods and Results: We prospectively enrolled 132 patients within 3 months of a stroke (66 with CS and 66 with SKC) to undergo 3-week ambulatory cardiac rhythm monitoring using the CardioNet MCOT system. Stroke group was assigned by consensus between two vascular neurologists upon enrollment based on the Causative Classification of Stroke system. Primary endpoint was detection of PAF of any duration independently confirmed by two cardiologists blinded to the stroke group. The groups were well balanced except that patients with CS tended to be older and to have less hypertension and diabetes. Four patients (2 in each group) were excluded because of insufficient stroke evaluation or early discontinuation of monitoring. Episodes of PAF were detected in 16/64 (25%) patients with CS and 9/64 (14%) patients with SKC (p=0.12). Only 5 patients had episodes of PAF lasting > 30 seconds (3 with CS and 2 with SKC). Six of the 9 patients from the SKC group with PAF had small subcortical infarctions; the other 3 had cortical strokes ascribed to artery-to-artery embolism (2 with complex aortic plaques, 1 with severe vertebrobasilar stenosis). In patients under age 65, episodes of PAF were more common in the CS group (22% vs 3; p=0.07) while in patients age 65 or older the rates of detection were very similar (29% in CS vs 28% in SKC; p=0.9). Conclusions: Very short episodes of PAF are relatively common in patients with CS and with SKC, and their pathogenic significance is unclear. However, considering only patients under 65, a greater proportion of cryptogenic stroke patients had PAF, suggesting it might be pathogenic.
SPATIO-TEMPORAL DATA MODEL FOR INTEGRATING EVOLVING NATION-LEVELDATASETS

Abstract. Ability to easily combine the data from diverse sources in a single analytical workflow is one of the greatest promises of the Big Data technologies. However, such integration is often challenging as datasets originate from different vendors, governments, and research communities that results in multiple incompatibilities including data representations, formats, and semantics. Semantics differences are hardest to handle: different communities often use different attribute definitions and associate the records with different sets of evolving geographic entities. Analysis of global socioeconomic variables across multiple datasets over prolonged time is often complicated by the difference in how boundaries and histories of countries or other geographic entities are represented. Here we propose an event-based data model for depicting and tracking histories of evolving geographic units (countries, provinces, etc.) and their representations in disparate data. The model addresses the semantic challenge of preserving identity of geographic entities over time by defining criteria for the entity existence, a set of events that may affect its existence, and rules for mapping between different representations (datasets). Proposed model is used for maintaining an evolving compound database of global socioeconomic and environmental data harvested from multiple sources. Practical implementation of our model is demonstrated using PostgreSQL object-relational database with the use of temporal, geospatial, and NoSQL database extensions.
Minimalism and Phenomenological Evidence

It has been recently argued that the phenomenology of semantic perception casts doubts on Grice’s theory of meaning. I defend the psychological and theoretical plausibility of a form of Gricean minimalism, by setting new boundaries to the semantic-pragmatic distinction. This strategy consists in abandoning the entailment from what is said to what is meant, and advancing a conception of the semantic notion of what is said that departs from speaker-hearers’ intuitions. This proposal has important consequences both concerning the evidence that should be used by philosophers of language when evaluating semantic theories, and the way we should carve up linguistic processing.
Unwanted pregnancies and preventive health care use in Thailand.

Research on the consequences of unwanted pregnancies can offer useful perspectives on the need to improve and expand the range of family planning options available to women in developing countries. This paper investigates the use of maternal and child health services by women who have unwanted or mistimed pregnancies. The results of our analysis indicate that wantedness of births exerts a significant influence on health care use in Thailand, after controlling for other determinants of utilization. Women with unwanted pregnancies are less likely to seek prenatal care or receive tetanus toxide inoculations. Further, women from disadvantaged socioeconomic groups, women with high parity and those with lower educational levels have the highest proportion of unintended pregnancies. The study concludes by making suitable policy recommendations.
The Field of Consciousness and Extended Cognition

Extended cognition theorists claim that the definition of cognition can be extended to include not only the brain, but also the body and environment. In a series of works, Mark Rowlands has envisioned a new science of mind that explores the externalism of consciousness and cognition. This paper connects Rowlands’ work with the phenomenology of Aron Gurwitsch. It shows how Gurwitsch’s field of consciousness, in particular his conception of the marginal halo, can provide a distinct, organized way of thinking about extended cognition. A key question considered is from where do cognitive processes project and disclose meanings? By thinking of location as locus—a projecting pathway of points of intentional opportunity—organization in extended cognition becomes organization in a field of consciousness. The marginal halo in the field of consciousness is articulated as this locus of intentionality, what Rowlands (The new science of the mind: from extended mind to embodied phenomenology, MIT Press, Cambridge, 2010) calls “the noneliminable intentional core”. Problems of cognitive bloat and personal character are addressed in light of the findings. In addition to situating Gurwitsch’s work within the extended mind movement for the first time, this study highlights the importance of the marginal halo, largely neglected in previous Gurwitsch scholarship.
Head Start Children at Third Grade: Preliminary Special Education Identification and Placement of Children with Emotional, Learning, and Related Disabilities

Although children in Head Start are at risk for emotional or behavioral problems, little is known about their later need for special education. There is evidence that children at risk for emotional disturbance are underidentified or misidentified in other special education categories. We examined special education identification rates for Head Start children at risk for emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, speech or language impairments, and mental retardation as they complete third grade. Two cohorts of 4136 children across 30 sites were followed as part of a larger study on transition. Diagnosis of each child as being at risk for emotional disturbance or related disabilities was made using clinical cut-offs on teacher ratings and individual testing completed in the spring of third grade. Special education eligibility of these children was determined from school records. Only 31.8% of children considered to be at risk, based on research diagnostic criteria, were actually identified by the schools, and fewer than 6% of children at risk for ED were identified in the school category of ED. Comparisons were made between school-identified and nonidentified children in gender, ethnicity, and school variables; and findings were discussed in relation to underidentification or misidentification of children with emotional disturbance.
SOME PIECEWISE POLYNOMIAL ALTERNATIVES TO SPLINES UNDER TENSION

Publisher Summary Splines under tension were first introduced by Schweikert. The motivation was to be able to imitate the behavior of cubic interpolating splines yet avoid the extraneous inflection points. This chapter discusses the characterization of splines under tension and presents some piecewise polynomial alternatives to splines under tension. The splines are characterized under tension as having a certain minimal property. This motivates the choice for an analogous minimization problem that has piecewise polynomials as its solution. These functions are referred to as ν-splines. Many of the properties of splines under tension are shared by this class of interpolants. The chapter also illustrates the effect of the tension for both ν-splines and splines in tension and describes the advantages that ν-splines have compared to the normal splines in tension.
Bayesian hierarchical EMAX model for dose‐response in early phase efficacy clinical trials

A primary goal of a phase II dose-ranging trial is to identify a correct dose before moving forward to a phase III confirmatory trial. A correct dose is one that is actually better than control. A popular model in phase II is an independent model that puts no structure on the dose-response relationship. Unfortunately, the independent model does not efficiently use information from related doses. One very successful alternate model improves power using a pre-specified dose-response structure. Past research indicates that EMAX models are broadly successful and therefore attractive for designing dose-response trials. However, there may be instances of slight risk of nonmonotone trends that need to be addressed when planning a clinical trial design. We propose to add hierarchical parameters to the EMAX model. The added layer allows information about the treatment effect in one dose to be "borrowed" when estimating the treatment effect in another dose. This is referred to as the hierarchical EMAX model. Our paper compares three different models (independent, EMAX, and hierarchical EMAX) and two different design strategies. The first design considered is Bayesian with a fixed trial design, and it has a fixed schedule for randomization. The second design is Bayesian but adaptive, and it uses response adaptive randomization. In this article, a randomized trial of patients with severe traumatic brain injury is provided as a motivating example.
Molecular and Circuit Architecture of Social Hierarchy

SUMMARY Social hierarchy is a common organizational structure of animal groups, in which an individual’s social status generates an adaptive behavioral state that facilitates interactions with other group members. Although generally stable, the social status of an animal can change, underscoring the plasticity of the underlying neural circuits. Here, we uncover the molecular and biophysical properties of a cortico-thalamic circuit that supports the emergence of hierarchy in mice. We established a robust behavioral paradigm to explore the establishment of hierarchy among groups of unfamiliar males, and identified the mediodorsal thalamus (MDT) and the caudal part of anterior cingulate area (cACC) as brain areas that are differentially activated between dominants and subordinates. Glutamatergic MDT neurons project to inhibitory parvalbumin interneurons of the cACC, and activity levels of both cell types control competitive performance. Synaptic inputs and excitability of MDT neurons undergo dramatic changes according to the animal social status, and single nucleus sequencing identified increased transcription of the voltage gated ion channel Trpm3 in dominant mice, leading to enhanced excitatory transmission in the MDT-cACC circuit. Our data suggest a model in which cellular, molecular and biophysical plasticity in a thalamocortical circuit controls the expression of social status.
154 Changes in initial opioid prescribing doses following the release of the CDC guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Statement of Purpose In 2016, the CDC released the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. The guideline recommends using the lowest effective dose when opioids are started. We assessed changes in initial prescribing doses following the release of the CDC Guideline. Methods/Approach We used data from the OptumInsights database (1/2012–6/2017), which contains all claims made by commercial and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries enrolled with UnitedHealth. We restricted to enrollees age ≥18 years (consistent with the intended patient population of the CDC Guideline), which comprises ∼7.7% of US adults. We created a cohort of opioid naive individuals (no opioid fills for twelve months) pre-guideline that were continuously enrolled through 6/2017 (fifteen months post-guideline). To establish the pre-guideline trend, we constructed three analogous control groups, but shifted back 1, 2, and 3 years, respectively. Statistical analyses focused on the difference between observed post-guideline initial high-dose (≥50 MME/day) prescribing rates, and those predicted from the pre-existing trend. We derived adjusted effects using logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, race, insurer type, as well as state and time fixed effects. Results There were 6,276,020 beneficiaries across the four cohorts, 792,591 (12.6%) of whom received a prescription opioid during their follow-up. Among those initiating opioids post-guideline, 18.7% were started with high-dose prescriptions, lower than the 19.8% predicted by the pre-existing trend. Adjusted analyses confirmed that the post-guideline cohort had a 6.3% (95%CI: 4.1%-8.3%) lower odds of high-dose initiation than expected. Sensitivity analyses around the 50MME/day threshold showed post-guideline dosage changes were primarily reflected in lowering moderate/high dosages (40–60 MME/day) to ≤40 MME/day. Conclusions Changes in high-dose initial prescribing seen following release of the CDC guideline could not be explained by pre-existing secular trends. Significance/Contribution to Injury Science Safer opioid prescribing has great potential to reduce injuries and other harms incurred by opioid misuse.
When does Cash-flow Risk Matter to Investors? Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

I use the exogenous shock to aggregate consumption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the importance of cash-flow risk for investors. I find that the industry long-run cash-flow risk predicted which industries performed worst during the pandemic. High cash-flow risk industries experienced abnormally low excess returns and substantially higher risk levels during the first three months of 2020. I use dividend futures data to show that the equity term structure inverted and forward equity yields proliferated after mid-March 2020, which may explain the heightened relevance of cash-flow risk during the pandemic.
Clinical cardiovascular medicine and lessons learned from cancer nanotechnology

Abstract The potential applications of nanomedicine in heart failure were summarized and discussed in this book. This final chapter is focused on (i) summarizing recent advanced of the tissue engineering approaches in clinical cardiovascular medicine that can be combined with nanomedicine and enhanced their therapeutic efficacies and (ii) recommendations on using the important lessons learned from the failure and setbacks in cancer nanotechnology.