cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
Heart rate variability and rhythmic influences in human endotoxemia
Creators: name: Scheff, Jeremy D.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: Inflammation is a critical component of the physiological response to stress. Ideally, the endpoint of inflammation is restoration of homeostasis. However, when anti-inflammatory processes fail to appropriately balance pro-inflammatory signals, inflammation can have deleterious effects. Clinically, this is problematic in diseases such as sepsis because therapies to control inflammation are limited. Rhythmic biological signals, ranging in time scale from very fast neural oscillations to very slow seasonal patterns, are ubiquitous in physiological systems, including those linked to inflammation. The characteristics of an oscillatory signal reflect the state of underlying rhythm-generating physiological systems. Through studying homeostatic rhythms and their disruption in inflammation, we gained insight into the underlying mechanisms and potential diagnostic utility embedded in physiologic variability via mathematical modeling and systems biology approaches.  Based on a mathematical model of human endotoxemia, an experimental model of systemic inflammation, we hypothesized that hormones entrain inflammatory mediators and impose circadian patterns on the endotoxemia response. A model of the interplay between inflammation and circadian rhythms was developed and validated based on the temporal sensitivity of the inflammatory response. In addition to circadian rhythms, ultradian (~1hr) rhythms in cortisol are another prominent hormonal pattern linked to inflammation. By combining models of cortisol production and pharmacodynamics, we evaluated the downstream implications of ultradian rhythms, finding a relationship between the amplitude of homeostatic ultradian rhythms and responsiveness to subsequent stress. Heart rate variability (HRV) has been studied as a potential prognostic marker in inflammation-linked diseases. We modeled the interactions between human endotoxemia and the autonomic nervous system to understand the loss of HRV in response to stress, allowing for the rationalization of experimental observations in the framework of a quantitative model. Finally, we identified a warning signal of transitions between steady states in a mathematical model of chronic endotoxemia, illustrating the potential for our research to be applied in a translational context. These results all point towards the importance of rhythmic patterns in the underlying physiological systems driving the inflammatory response and the potential for useful information about these systems to be derived from the analysis of variability in physiological signals.
Decoding Cancer Acquired Drug Resistance
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: The process by which initially drug sensitive tumor cells acquire drug resistance is poorly understood, but it is widely appreciated that the acquisition of resistance-conferring genetic mutations contributes to acquired cancer drug resistance in patients. The molecular mechanisms underlying the emergence of these mutations are not known. We and others have reported on a subpopulation of cancer cells termed “persister” cells, found within every solid tumor type thus far tested, which enter a quiescent pro-survival state in response to therapy and provide a surviving cancer cell reservoir from which overtly drug resistant tumors can subsequently emerge (e.g. Hangauer MJ et al., Nature 2017, 551, 247). These persister cells initially survive treatment through a reversible, non-genetic mechanism of drug-tolerance which is poorly understood. However, during prolonged treatment, it has been observed that a fraction of persister cells acquire new resistance-conferring mutations which allow for outgrowth of drug resistant cancer cells. It is not understood how persister cells acquire mutations. We recently discovered that during oncogene-targeted therapy treatment, persister cells undergo sublethal apoptotic signaling resulting in activation of apoptotic DNase DFFB which induces DNA damage and mutagenesis. While this exciting discovery points toward a potential new paradigm for how targeted therapy can produce mutations in cancer cells, it is not known whether sublethal apoptotic signaling and DFFB contribute to mutagenesis in other treatment modalities including chemotherapy, antibody treatments and immunotherapy. Here, we address these three distinct treatment modalities. In Aim 1, we will determine whether DFFB is required for chemotherapy- or antibody-induced mutagenesis in persister cells and acquired resistance. In Aim 2, we will determine whether DFFB is required for persister cell antigen loss during acquired resistance to CD8 T cell attack. Together, these proposed experiments will start a new direction of research into the role of DFFB in therapy-induced mutagenesis in persister cells and acquired resistance.
Evaluating a protocol for the removal of thirdhand smoke in homes of former smokers
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Thirdhand smoke is the tobacco residue that gets left behind by cigarette smoke – stuck to carpets, walls, and furniture. Thirdhand smoke contains many of the same harmful things as cigarette smoke; in fact, thirdhand smoke actually has MORE toxins than secondhand smoke.

 When nicotine from cigarette smoke gloms onto a speck of dust on the floor or a kitchen countertop, it starts to interact with other air pollutants that are commonly found inside homes to form something called “tobacco-specific nitrosamines.” These nitrosamines are some of the nastiest compounds found in tobacco smoke – the ones which are largely responsible for the cancer-causing effects of cigarettes. It’s these sticky traces of carcinogenic tobacco chemicals that make thirdhand smoke hazardous, above and beyond the risks already posed by secondhand smoke or active smoking.

 Because typical cleaning removes only a portion of dust from indoor environments, thirdhand smoke tends to accumulate on the dust that settles around our homes. Troublingly, previous research shows that thirdhand smoke can be transferred from settled dust into our bodies. People may be exposed to thirdhand smoke by accidentally swallowing, breathing or touching settled dust.

 Thirdhand smoke is difficult to remove and it can hang around a home for a long time, even after residents decide to quit smoking. Very few strategies for removing thirdhand smoke have been tested in the real world. So, there is an urgent need to develop an effective way to remove thirdhand smoke.

 We propose to test the efficacy of a cleaning procedure which We propose to test the efficacy of a cleaning procedure which a contact-free (i.e. remote-only) cleaning intervention where the cleaning is conducted by the family participants after an individualized plan is created to include vacuuming and wiping of household surfaces with commercially-available multi-purpose cleaners to remove thirdhand smoke. We will partner with a local Chinese community center to recruit participants for the intervention from a TRDRP priority group which is disproportionately impacted by tobacco-related disease. We will collect saliva from the participants and settled dust from their homes to evaluate whether the home cleaning was effective in lowering exposure to thirdhand smoke.
Financial Toxicity among Underserved Hispanic Breast Cancer Survivors
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Introduction: Financial toxicity, the unintended financial burdens of cancer care, is greater among racial/ethnic minorities. Hispanic individuals, particularly Spanish speaking breast cancer (BC) survivors, experience 2.8 times greater cancer-related financial challenges (i.e., medical debt, bankruptcy) as compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts. Rural cancer survivors experience greater financial challenges due to travel distance for treatments, and high rates of under-insurance and/or no insurance. Such financial challenges increase the likelihood of delays in seeking treatment, poor quality of life, and early mortality. This community-academic research partnership between the Kern County Cancer Foundation (KCCF) and San Diego State University (SDSU) aims to understand the extent of financial toxicity, its challenges, and ways to reduce financial burdens among Hispanic BC survivors in Kern County, a rural and underserved region.
 Questions: 1. How has Hispanic BC survivors’ financial status changed post-cancer diagnoses, and what might contribute to this? 2. What are the challenges to navigating financial support systems and intervention strategies to reduce financial burdens?
 General methodology: Using qualitative research methods, first, we will conduct in-depth individual interviews with 22 Hispanic BC survivors including those who are undergoing treatment or have completed treatment, and 10 health care professionals (i.e., physician, nurse, social worker) and financial liaisons (i.e., financial counselors). Second, based on data from the qualitative interviews, we will organize financial navigation tasks and develop and manualize a financial navigation protocol to enhance the existing KCCF financial program.
 Innovation and potential impact: This pilot project is innovative in that first, as a community-based participatory research project, it maximizes participants’ voices and input of the community throughout the research process. Second, existing financial navigation programs primarily focus on urban and academic-affiliated universities and little is known about areas of need and strategies to reduce financial toxicity in rural, underserved regions. Hence, the findings of this project will enable the KCCF to strengthen its existing financial programs for a greater community impact.
Microlepidogaster arachas Martins, Calegari & Langeani 2013
Creators: name: Langeani, Francisco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Siluriformes
Loricariidae
Microlepidogaster
Microlepidogaster arachas

description: Microlepidogaster arachas Martins, Calegari & Langeani (2013).
Holotype: DZSJRP 2999, 36.7 mm SL, stream in road between Sacramento and Araxá, tributary to rio Araguari, rio Paranaíba drainage, upper rio Paraná basin, Sacramento, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 19°49’11”S, 47°16’0”W, cols. F. Langeani & J.I. Montoya-Burgos, 13 August 1998 (Fig. 10).
Paratypes: 6 lots, 79 specimens; DZSJRP 5548, 11 (2 c&s), 15.6–36.3 mm SL, unnamed stream at dirt road, near BR-262 road, tributary to rio Araguari, Perdizes, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 19°36’49”S, 47°26’45”W, cols. F. Langeani et al., 20 May 2003; DZSJRP 8683, 6, 26–36.1 mm SL, Monte Carmelo Municipality, córrego Rancharia at Castelhana farm 1, tributary to rio Perdizes, dirt road near BR-262 road, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 18°52’14”S, 47°23’47”W, cols. F. Langeani et al., 5 September 2006; DZSJRP 8743, 9, 23.1–33.4 mm SL, córrego Santo Antônio, affluent to rio Capivara, tributary to rio Araguari, at dirt road, near BR-262 road, from Araxá to Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 19°34’43”S, 47°9’20”W, cols. F. Langeani et al., 7 September 2006; DZSJRP 9078, 17 (1 c&s), 35.5–43.4 mm SL, stream at country road, tributary to rio Dourados, left on Patrocínio-Coromandel road, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 18°54’16”S, 46°58’4”W, cols. F. Langeani & F.R. Carvalho, 11 Aug 2006; DZSJRP 9082, 5, 24.0– 33.1 mm SL, unnamed stream, tributary to rio Araguari at dirt road, right on BR-262 road from Araxá to Uberaba, Perdizes, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 19°35’30”S, 47°25’22”W, cols. F. Langeani & F.R. Carvalho, 13 August 2006; and DZSJRP 15808, 31 (3 c&s), 15.9–38.4 mm SL, collected with the holotype.
description: Published as part of Langeani, Francisco, 2017, Annotated catalog of the type specimens deposited at the fish collection of the " Universidade Estadual Paulista, Câmpus de São José do Rio Preto ", São Paulo, Brazil (DZSJRP), pp. 435-460 in Zootaxa 4319 (3) on page 448, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/890303
Stellar radial migration and thick disks in spiral galaxies
Creators: name: Solway, Michael
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: We present four studies of radial migration of stars in thickened galactic disks and its relation to the possible internal formation of thick disks.  This is an effect caused by transient spirals during which stars that corotate with a spiral gain or lose angular momentum and migrate radially while remaining on nearly circular orbits.  The overall angular momentum distribution and surface density of the disk remains unchanged however.  Our tools are collisionless N-body simulations that each simulate a single disk galaxy.  First, we study the extent to which radial migration is affected by the vertical motion of stars. We find that rms angular momentum changes are reduced by it, but rather gradually, and the maximum changes are almost as large for thick disk stars as for those in a thin disk.  Radial migration is also weaker in disks with greater velocity dispersions and under spirals of lower amplitude or greater number of arms.  In barred simulations, it is slightly stronger outside the bar than in comparable cases with just spirals, but the cumulative effect of multiple spiral events still dominates.  In the second study, we determine that vertical actions, and not vertical energies, of stars are conserved on average during radial migration.  Then, we test the hypothesis that bars suppress the outwards radial migration from the inner galactic region that is capable of building a thick disk in the outer regions.  If this works, it can explain why the Milky Way thick disk primarily contains old stars.  First, however, we check whether realistic thick disks form in our simulations by this proposed outwards migration mechanism.  We find that they do not, and attribute it to our particle addition prescription and the not strong enough spiral activity.  Nevertheless, we go on to test the above hypothesis, and indeed find that bars significantly reduce this outwards migration.  Although small and slow variations of the bar properties allow some trapped particles to escape, new stars that would form inside the bar would be born deep in its potential well, and would remain trapped.
Regulating Menthol Cigarettes: African Americans Attitudes Toward a Flavored Tobacco Ban
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Since the 1960s, the tobacco industry has targeted African Americans with the heavy marketing of menthol cigarettes. The retail environment is the dominant channel for the tobacco industry to market menthol cigarettes. Research shows that more tobacco retailers exist in African American neighborhoods, which contributes to greater menthol cigarette marketing exposure. In September 2019, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance to restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. Tobacco retailers in the unincorporated communities of Los Angeles (e.g., Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Willowbrook) must clear their shelves of these products by April 1, 2020 and apply for updated licenses. The proposed study is one of the first academic-community collaborations to examine knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of retailers and African American menthol smokers regarding menthol cigarette sales restrictions in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. We have created research questions from the following tobacco policy areas: 1. Tobacco product flavor bans and restrictions, 2. Restricting tobacco product availability in retail locations. Thus, in response to the Rapid Response Research to Accelerate Policy Award which contains objectives for research building “partnerships in order to plan and conduct meaningful research intended to reduce community-level tobacco use,“ we will achieve the following policy research objectives: Aim 1. Examine knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of small independent retailers regarding restrictions on menthol cigarette sales, compliance, and perceptions about the impact on reducing smoking behavior among African Americans. Aim 2. Explore African American menthol smokers’ attitudes toward restrictions on menthol cigarette sales and reducing smoking behavior.

 Our proposed study is an academic-community partnership between the University of Southern California and the California Black Women’s Health Project. We will disseminate findings broadly in both academic and community-based settings to provide an evidence-based guidance for localities. We also plan to leverage our findings to apply for an intervention development grant on tobacco cessation for African American menthol smokers.
On the syntax and semantics of mirativity
Creators: name: Torres Bustamante, Teresa
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: In this dissertation, I examine mirative constructions in Spanish and Albanian, in which past tense morphology is used to convey speaker's surprise and does not seem to contribute its usual temporal meaning to the asserted proposition. I put forward an analysis that makes the following claims.   First, mirative sentences are assertions that include a modal component. This modal component brings up the speaker's beliefs in a way that entails the opposite of what the assertion expresses. Thus, a clash is generated between the speaker's beliefs and the assertion, and this triggers a sense of surprise.   Second, the past tense morphology is analyzed as being a real past tense, following recent proposals for counterfactual conditionals. In the case of miratives, the past tense keeps its normal semantics, but is interpreted in the CP domain as the time argument of the modal base, rather than in TP. The beliefs that are contrasted with the assertion are therefore past beliefs up to the discovery time (which usually coincides with the speech time), in which the actual state of affairs is encountered by the speaker.   Third, a syntactic Agree relationship is established between the interpretable past tense feature in C and the uninterpretable past tense feature in T. This Agree relationship must meet locality requirements, such that there must not be intervenors between C and T. I claim that the participle movement observed in Albanian miratives happens in order to overcome intervention, so that Agree can take place.    The dissertation also accounts for the role of aspect in deriving differences in the nature of the surprise, at least in Spanish, and for the aspectual requirement that miratives seem to have cross linguistically. Finally, I show that miratives cannot be analyzed in the same way as apparently similar constructions, in terms of usage, such as exclamations and exclamatives. On the contrary, the analysis presented in this dissertation calls for a closer relationship between miratives and counterfactual conditionals, which I also explore.
Regulating menthol cigarettes: Understanding how restrictions affect retailers and smokers
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Since the 1960s, the tobacco industry has targeted African Americans with the heavy marketing of menthol cigarettes. The retail environment is the dominant channel for the tobacco industry to market menthol cigarettes. Research shows that more tobacco retailers exist in African American neighborhoods, which contributes to greater menthol cigarette marketing exposure. In September 2019, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously voted to adopt an ordinance to restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes. Tobacco retailers in the unincorporated communities of Los Angeles (e.g., Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Willowbrook) must clear their shelves of these products by April 1, 2020 and apply for updated licenses. The proposed study is one of the first academic-community collaborations to examine knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and intentions of retailers and African American menthol smokers regarding menthol cigarette sales restrictions in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. We have created research questions from the following tobacco policy areas: 1. Tobacco product flavor bans and restrictions, 2. Restricting tobacco product availability in retail locations. Thus, in response to the Rapid Response Research to Accelerate Policy Award which contains objectives for research building “partnerships in order to plan and conduct meaningful research intended to reduce community-level tobacco use,“ we will achieve the following policy research objectives: Aim 1. Examine knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of small independent retailers regarding restrictions on menthol cigarette sales, compliance, and perceptions about the impact on reducing smoking behavior among African Americans. Aim 2. Explore African American menthol smokers’ attitudes toward restrictions on menthol cigarette sales and reducing smoking behavior.

 Our proposed study is an academic-community partnership between the University of Southern California and the California Black Women’s Health Project. We will disseminate findings broadly in both academic and community-based settings to provide an evidence-based guidance for localities. We also plan to leverage our findings to apply for an intervention development grant on tobacco cessation for African American menthol smokers.
Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid to improve outcomes in breast cancer patients with CNS metastases
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) can develop spread of cancer to the brain or to the lining around the brain, which is called leptomeningeal disease (LMD). The prognosis after these diagnoses is poor: ranging from 4-20 months for patients with brain metastases and 2-4 months for patients with LMD. Brain metastases and LMD can also cause progressive headaches, confusion, and other neurologic symptoms that severely impact quality of life. The number of clinical trials specifically for patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases represent less than 3% of all trials globally in cancer research. More research is desperately needed to improve outcomes for these patients.

 Because brain metastases are difficult to access and are infrequently biopsied, understanding the biology of CNS disease is challenging. Sampling the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that surrounds the brain provides an opportunity to study CNS disease. In the proposed study, we will enroll MBC patients with brain metastases and/or LMD and collect CSF to characterize this fluid. Many patients will undergo CSF sampling through a lumbar puncture (LP) as part of their clinical care. We will consent these patients to collect a small amount of extra CSF for research. Alternatively, a research-only LP can be performed, and the data collected may still be informative to guide therapy choices and prognosis. We will explore the characteristics of the CSF and paired blood samples, evaluating for the presence and genetic changes of tumor cell DNA fragments, called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Then, we will evaluate the immune cells (e.g., T and B cells) in the CSF and paired blood samples. In a subset of patients, we will collect multiple samples over time if repeat CSF sampling is indicated for their clinical care. We will follow patients over time, review their routine scans and symptoms, assess how they respond to therapy, and correlate with CSF findings. These studies will allow us to better understand the characteristics of the CSF which may contribute to the development and progression of disease in the brain and leptomeninges. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to generate new ideas about how to better diagnose and treat patients with MBC and CNS disease, including how to develop and test more effective targeted treatments to improve quality of life and survival.
Chaetorellia succinea
Creators: name: El-Hawagry, Magdi S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tephritidae
Chaetorellia
Chaetorellia succinea

description: Chaetorellia succinea (Costa, 1844)
Trypeta succinea Costa, 1844: 93. Unspecified type. Italy (Apulia: Foggia) (IZUSN?). Published simultaneously with Trypeta mellea in separate papers, has priority by Norrbom et al. (1999) catalogue.
Trypeta mellea Costa, 1844: 118. Unspecified type. Italy (“L. d. S. Giusta prope Ecanam) (IZUSN?).
Terellia jaceae: Efflatoun, 1924a: 82. Misidentification.
Distribution. NE: introduced USA (Oregon & California). PA: Caucasus & Kazakstan, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Italy, Turkey.
Egyptian localities. Coastal Strip: Alexandria, Mariout, Nuzha. Eastern Desert: Geneifa, Ismailiya, Wadi Hoff, Wadi Rishrash. Lower Nile Valley and Delta: Abu Rawash, Barrage, Cairo and its neighborhoods, Ezbet El-Nakhl, Faraskour, Helwan, Kafr Hakim, Kerdassa, Mansouria, Mazghouna, Wardan. Sinai: Central Sinai. Western Desert: Sakkara.
Host plants. Flower heads of starthistles (Centaurea spp.). Sources: Efflatoun (1924a); Freidberg & Kugler (1989).
Dates of collection. February to September.
description: Published as part of El-Hawagry, Magdi S., 2017, Catalogue of Egyptian Tephritoidea (Diptera: Schizophora: Acalyptratae), pp. 151-190 in Zootaxa 4299 (2) on pages 176-177, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4299.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/843233
Uncovering a novel pathway in triple negative breast cancer stem cells regulated by GULP1
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Advances in targeted treatment options for patients with ER+ and HER2+ breast cancer have contributed to improved outcomes. However, the outcomes for patients diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) remain dismal. TNBC kills one in three women, disproportionately affects younger women and women with African American ancestry. Unfortunately, several targeted treatment options for TNBC have either failed or have limited benefit and patients eventually succumb to the disease. This is because we still do not have a complete understanding of the molecular pathways that are active in TNBC cells.
 Our goal in this proposal is to uncover a novel pathway that is active in TNBC cells. In the past, when we studied breast cancer, we were only able to measure changes in the tumor as a whole compared to normal tissue. With today’s advanced technologies, we now know that not all tumor cells are equally lethal. Some tumor cells called cancer stem cells (CSCs) are more resistant to therapies and are associated with disease relapse and distant metastasis. We have been able to identify these cell populations in TNBC. With new technologies we can precisely measure differences within tumor cells and predict which ones are CSCs. We conducted single cell examination of RNA breast cancer samples that were donated by women who underwent breast surgery. We then used a “big data” computational tool that we had developed, to predict CSCs and found that CSCs express a protein called GULP1. Interestingly, we also found that the expression of GULP1 was significantly higher in tumors from TNBC patients. GULP1 has never been investigated in TNBC.
 We hypothesize that GULP1 is critical for maintaining the CSC population in TNBC and removing GULP1 from TNBC cells makes them less aggressive. Our preliminary data suggests that GULP1 is required for the growth of TNBC cells, regulates proteins important in recycling cellular components and that this pathway can be leveraged to develop new effective therapies for TNBC. We propose to understand the mechanism of GULP1 in maintaining CSCs and promoting metastasis specifically in TNBC.
 At the successful completion of this project, we will have uncovered a new pathway in TNBC CSCs and in the future be able to develop therapeutics that target it, significantly impacting the life for patients diagnosed with TNBC.
The influence of complexity on the detection of contours
Creators: name: Wilder, John
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2013

description: Detecting objects in visual scenes is an important function of the visual system.  Studies of contour detection and contour integration have answered many questions about the human visual system, but the role of contour geometry is not well understood. This thesis considers the problem of contour detection as a Bayesian decision problem. I begin by describing a generative model for natural contours. Bayesian arguments predict that simple contours (high probability under the generative model) should be easier to detect than more complex (lower probability) ones. In the case of open contours (Experiments 1 and 2), a complexity measure follows from a well-established contour-generating model. For closed contours, which have been far less studied, complexity measures require a more novel model that involves the shape of the region enclosed by the contour. The results of closed contours (Experiments 3 and 4) show that the complexity of the contour and the complexity of the shape of the bounded region jointly affect the ability of human observers to detect the contour in a noise field.    In summary, contour integration has been treated mainly as a local grouping problem, but these results suggest that there is an important role for global factors in detection. Additionally, while the mathematical framework for measuring complexity was used here to study contour detection, it is also general enough to be useful in all areas of pattern detection where an explicit generative model is defined.
Pequannock Township master plan revision study : final report
Creators: name: No Name Supplied
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 1960

description: It is the purpose of this report to present in summary form the results of studies leading to the preparaiion of the Master Plan Revision as well as the recommendations of this Plan. During the developntent of the Revised Plan, the 1950 Master Plan and Planning Board studies since that time were carefully reviewed and were used as guidelines in the preparation of the 1960 Plan. New planning studies necessary to reflect changing conditions and current trends in the Township were undertaken and the results of these appear in Part 11 of this report.This final report has been divided into five parts. Part I defines a Master Plan and describes its purpose in guiding the future growth of a community. State Legislation enabling preparation of Master Plans has also been included in this section. Part II reviews results of the studiest made during the loter part of 1958 and the beginning of 1959, of existing conditions, physical features, and present trends in the Township. It is entitled "The Township Today". Part Ill explains the recommendations for revision of the Master Plan, and Part IV describes the capital improvements program by which the municipal facility improvements recommended In the revised Plan may be realized. PartY describes briefly the tools and processes by which the Master Plan Revision may be effectuated.
Food Allergy
Creators: name: Jones, Stacie M
name: Burks, A Wesley
Publisher: name: Massachusetts Medical Society
Year: 2017

description:
An 18-year-old basketball player with a known peanut allergy and moderate, persistent, controlled asthma has just played in a collegiate game. Cough, shortness of breath, and sneezing develop 10 minutes after he ingests a homemade sugar cookie at a party after the game. He immediately takes 50 mg of diphenhydramine, but hoarseness, throat tightness, worsening shortness of breath, rhinorrhea with copious clear mucus, and repetitive emesis continue to progress. He then administers 0.30 mg of epinephrine with the use of an autoinjector into his upper lateral thigh and four actuations of an albuterol inhaler (at a dose of 90 μg per actuation). The use of these agents results in immediate relief of the throat tightness and full resolution of the other symptoms within 15 minutes. What would you advise at this point? Could his symptoms have been prevented?
Microlepidogaster dimorpha Martins & Langeani 2011
Creators: name: Langeani, Francisco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Siluriformes
Loricariidae
Microlepidogaster
Microlepidogaster dimorpha

description: Microlepidogaster dimorpha Martins & Langeani (2011).
Holotype: DZSJRP 10543, 37.6 mm SL, riacho Grotão at Fazenda Nossa Senhora da Abadia, unpaved road at BR-262, rio Grande drainage, upper rio Paraná basin, Uberaba, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 19°41’31”S, 47°42’57”W, cols. L.G.G. Silveira & F. Langeani, 12 May 2007 (Fig. 11).
Paratypes: 3 lots, 46 specimens; DZSJRP 5564, 10, 11 in the original description, 25.8–35.1 mm SL, rio Uberaba, road Uberaba-Almeida Campos and Nova Ponte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 19°39’40”S, 47°49’23”W, cols. J.P. Serra, F. Langeani, F.R. Carvalho & D.O. Tavares, 21 May 2003; DZSJRP 8750, 19 (2 c&s), 19.8–37.7 mm SL, same locality as holotype, cols. F. Langeani, F.R. Carvalho, C.P. Ferreira, H.F. Chaves & F.O. Martin, 8 September 2006; and DZSJRP 12332, 17 (2 c&s), 20.3–34.1 mm SL, collected with the holotype.
Remarks: The discrepancy between the number of specimens (paratypes) herein listed and those mentioned in the original description may be due to a counting error in the original description, since no loans, donations and/or loss of specimens have been recorded.
description: Published as part of Langeani, Francisco, 2017, Annotated catalog of the type specimens deposited at the fish collection of the " Universidade Estadual Paulista, Câmpus de São José do Rio Preto ", São Paulo, Brazil (DZSJRP), pp. 435-460 in Zootaxa 4319 (3) on pages 449-450, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/890303
A revised master plan for the Borough of West Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey
Creators: name: No Name Supplied
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 1963

description: This report is a revised master plan for the Borough of West Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey. The first part of this report considers each of the basic background elements as well as a projection of the population upon which future needs can be based. Following this analysis of the existing conditions in the Borough, part two of this report outlines proposals for the next 2 0 to 2 5 years. The proposed plan contains three basic parts; the Land Use Plan, the Street Plan and the Community Facilities Plan.A third and final consideration and perhaps one of the most important aspects of the planning process is that of providing a means of implementing the Master Plan. This implementation has a three fold approach; first I a Capital Improvements Program establishing the long range measures for financing the improvements called for in the Master Plan. The second aspect is a review of the various regulatory measures that relate to land use such as the Zoning Ordinance and the Subdivision Ordinance. The third point includes recommendations for a continuing planning program.
Terellia Robineau-Desvoidy 1830
Creators: name: El-Hawagry, Magdi S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Tephritidae
Terellia

description: Genus TERELLIA Robineau-Desvoidy
Terellia Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830: 758. Type species: Terellia palpata Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830 (= Musca serratulae Linnaeus, 1758), by subsequent designation (Cogan & Munro 1980: 552).
Squamensina Hering, 1938b: 405. Type species: Squamensina oasis Hering, 1938, original designation. Galada Hering, 1961: 324. Type species: Galada vilis Hering, 1961, original designation. Whitterellia Bassov & Nartshuk, 1996: 220 (proposed as a subgenus). Type species: Trypeta virens Loew, 1846, original
designation.
description: Published as part of El-Hawagry, Magdi S., 2017, Catalogue of Egyptian Tephritoidea (Diptera: Schizophora: Acalyptratae), pp. 151-190 in Zootaxa 4299 (2) on page 177, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4299.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/843233
Risk factors for second breast cancer in racial/ethnic minority populations
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: It is well known that women with a first breast cancer have a high risk of developing a second breast cancer. Analyzing cancer registry data we have shown that that this risk is not equal among all women, but is higher among African-American and Hispanic women and among younger women at first diagnosis. Our central question is: what are the factors that explain why African-American and Hispanic women have a higher risk of developing a second breast cancer compared to non-Hispanic white women. The proposed IDEA study will be the first to investigate a comprehensive set of risk factors for second breast cancer in a very diverse cohort of over 9600 African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic and non-Hispanic women diagnosed with a first breast cancer in California between 1993 and 2009. These women participated in 6 studies, and extensive data have already been combined for a previous CBCRP study, including information on clinical factors (tumor characteristics and treatment) of the first breast cancer; epidemiologic factors (sociodemographic, reproductive, lifestyle, and other factors) collected by questionnaires; and characteristics of the residential neighborhood and hospital when they were first diagnosed with breast cancer. By linking this cohort with the California Cancer Registry, we expect to identify an estimated 810 women who had a second breast cancer diagnosis. In Aim 1, we will conduct statistical analyses to assess associations of second breast cancer with clinical, epidemiologic, neighborhood, and hospital factors, and determine whether these associations differ by race/ethnicity. In Aim 2, we will estimate to what extent racial/ethnic differences in clinical, epidemiologic, neighborhood, and hospital factors explain differences in the risk of developing a second breast cancer between different racial/ethnic groups. This IDEA study is innovative in that it is the first study to investigate risk factors for second breast cancer in a highly diverse cohort (67% of women are African-American, Asian-American or Hispanic) and to examine neighborhood and hospital characteristics in addition to individual risk factors. A deeper understanding of the risk factors for second breast cancer is critical for the development of preventive strategies aimed at reducing or eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in second breast cancer.
Microlepidogaster discus Martins, Rosa & Langeani 2014
Creators: name: Langeani, Francisco
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Siluriformes
Loricariidae
Microlepidogaster
Microlepidogaster discus

description: Microlepidogaster discus Martins, Rosa & Langeani (2014).
Holotype: DZSJRP 19101, 46.4 mm SL, unnamed stream on dirt road between Itacambira and Botumirim, tributary to rio Itacambiruçu, rio Jequitinhonha basin, Botumirim, Minas Gerais, Brazil, el. 946 m, 16°47’40”S, 43°3’39”W, cols. F. Langeani, F.R. Carvalho, B.N. Andrade & A.C. Rosa, 23 September 2013 (Fig. 12).
Paratypes: 2 lots, 36 specimens; DZSJRP 19112, 13, 11.4–39.7 mm SL, Josenópolis, unnamed stream downstream city, on dirt road from Grão Mogol to Josenópolis, tributary to rio Itacambiruçu, rio Jequitinhonha basin, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 16°32’45”S, 42°31’41”W, cols. F. Langeani, F.R. Carvalho, B.N. Andrade & A.C. Rosa, 24 September 2013; and DZSJRP 19493, 23 (2 c&s, tissue samples of 3 specimens), 31.9–45.4 mm SL, collected with the holotype.
description: Published as part of Langeani, Francisco, 2017, Annotated catalog of the type specimens deposited at the fish collection of the " Universidade Estadual Paulista, Câmpus de São José do Rio Preto ", São Paulo, Brazil (DZSJRP), pp. 435-460 in Zootaxa 4319 (3) on page 450, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4319.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/890303
An activated stem cell signature as a biomarker to predict malignant progression of DCIS
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the most commonly diagnosed pre-malignant lesion in the breast. Only about half of these cases will progress to invasive breast cancer, yet many women with DCIS needlessly undergo aggressive treatment. This over-treatment of DCIS represents one of the most important problems in breast cancer, highlighting a great need for better ways of identifying and treating DCIS lesions likely to progress. We now offer a unique perspective on this problem based on our prior discovery that mammary stem cells must become activated in order to mediate epithelial remodeling, and our identification of a signaling pathway responsible for this activated stem cell state. More recently, we identified a novel stem-like tumor cell population present in some breast cancers that bears striking similarity to activated stem cells, and predicts poor outcome. Our preliminary findings now suggest that a similar pathway may cause malignant progression to breast cancer and act as a vulnerability we could target to eliminate stem-like tumor cells. This proposal will test the overall hypothesis that an activated stem cell signature will identify DCIS lesions that are likely to progress to invasive breast cancer. These pioneering studies will unlock the potential of our stem cell activation pathway as a biomarker of malignant progression and a target for new breast cancer therapies. If successful, our work will have the transformative potential to detect DCIS lesions in the early stages of progression, thereby reducing over-treatment.
Influence of comorbidities on survival disparities in women with metastatic breast cancer
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Currently 150,000 women are living with metastatic breast cancer (mBC) in the U.S. As a result of treatment advances, breast cancer mortality rates have been declining over time. However, the improvements in mortality rates have not been equivalent across racial/ethnic groups. African American/Black women are more likely to be diagnosed with de novo metastatic disease and have worse survival when compared with white women. Many factors contribute to disparities in breast cancer mortality, including social determinants of health; access to screening and healthcare; tumor biology; implicit providers’ bias; differences in disease management and care delivery; comorbidity status; lifestyle/behaviors; and environmental exposures.

 The prevalence of comorbidities among women with mBC remains poorly characterized. The influence of common comorbidities on breast cancer mortality and whether these comorbidities contribute to racial/ethnic disparities in survival in this population also remains unknown. No studies have yet considered the influence of comorbidities, or their management, in explaining disparities in mortality among women with mBC. Given the higher prevalence of comorbidities amongst women of color, it is vitally important to assess if these conditions are partially contributing to poorer survival in those with mBC.

 Our goal is to evaluate the influence of comorbidities on mortality risks, and assess if racial/ethnic disparities in mortality can be mitigated by better management of comorbidities, accounting for social determinants and clinical factors. We propose to conduct a longitudinal study of a diverse cohort of 4,510 women with mBC in southern California diagnosed between 2013-2022 and followed through 2023. We will leverage the electronic health records of a large non-profit health plan, Kaiser Permanente. This cohort is uniquely diverse, with 34% women of color (N=1,530). This study will establish, for the first time, the burden of common comorbidities in women with mBC, and assess whether better comorbidity management improves survival, particularly for women of color. Indirectly, this study is also beneficial for other healthcare settings because it will help define the value of team-based care for breast cancer survivors to help manage their other complex illnesses in efforts to extend their lives and improve their quality of life.
Optimality Theory and Sound Change
Creators: name: Jacobs, Haike
Publisher: name: GLSA (Graduate Linguistic Student Association), Dept. of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts
Year: 1995

description: Since Kiparsky (1968) it has been standard practice in generative phonology to account for sound change by means of rule addition, rule simplification, rule reordering and rule loss. Given that the phonological rule as such no longer exists in recently proposed constraint-based theories of phonology, such as Optimality Theory (cf. Prince and Smolensky (1993), McCarthy and Prince (1993a and b), the question arises how sound change must be accounted for in these theories.In this paper we will address this issue. It will be claimed that in Optimality Theory, sound change can straightforwardly be accounted for by constraint reranking. This will be illustrated by two examples of sound change in the historical phonology of French. The first example involves a change in the syllable structure conditions that occurred between Gallo-Romance (5th-9th century) and Old French (11th/12th century), the second example involves the loss of the possibility to phonologically encliticize an unstressed object pronoun to a preceding stressed element (phonological enclisis). The formal account of both cases relies on a reordering of Alignment constraints.This paper purports to show not only that sound change can be analyzed as constraint-reranking (an expected result), but also that the analyses proposed are not thwarted by the same drawbacks of previous derivational nonlinear accounts. Finally, we will raise the issue of how to account for markedness and unmarkedness in sound change.