cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The 1737 Calcutta earthquake and cyclone evaluated

Catalogs of historically devastating earthquakes (e.g., Dunbar et al. , 1992) contain an entry for an earthquake in Calcutta in 1737 that is held responsible for the loss of 300,000 lives, thus rendering it one of the three most disastrous earthquakes in history. Yet, evidence for a severe earthquake is weak, consisting of anonymous reports conveyed to Europe 6 months later by merchant ships returning from Bengal. Official accounts of the disaster submitted to the East India Company headquarters in London list 3000 fatalities and omit mention of an earthquake. If the 11 October 1737 Calcutta earthquake is to remain on lists of catastrophic earthquakes, the following issues need to be resolved: the discrepancy between the 1737 urban population of Calcutta (<20,000) and the number of claimed fatalities, the difficulty in distinguishing between damage from shaking and hurricane force winds and flooding that occurred during the same night, and the contradiction between the number of nocturnal deaths and the apparent earthquake resistance of hatched roof dwellings typical of eighteenth century rural Bengal. It is possible that earthquake damage may have been minimal or nonexistent.
Late sciatic-nerve palsy following posterior fracture-dislocation of the hip. A case report.

An unusual case of late sciatic-nerve palsy complicating posterior fracture-dislocation of the hip is reported. This was due to compression in an extending mass of ectopic bone. Early decompression led to sensory but not motor recovery.
Uptake of C14-1-Palmitic Acid-P32-Phospholipid Labeled Chylomicrons By Perfused Liver and Liver Slices.∗

SummaryLiver slices from post absorptive dogs and fed rats were incubated for up to 3 hours with chylomicrons containing C14-palmitate and P32-phospholipid suspended in phosphate buffer. The ratio of P32/C14 in the liver slices was in most instances higher than that of the substrate chylomicrons. Re-incubation of the dog liver slices with buffer or nonlabeled chylomicrons showed some release of C14 and P32. Cyanide failed to inhibit lipid uptake by dog liver tissue, but lowered temperatures reduced the uptake. Dog liver slices deactivated by heating took up chylomicron P32 but the C14 uptake was greatly diminished from normal. Separation of chylomicrons into different size classes by centrifugation in sucrose gradients showed that the smaller particles are relatively richer in P32 than the larger chylomicrons. Evidence indicates, however, that the high P32/C14 ratios in the liver slice are probably not caused by preferential uptake of small chylomicron particles. The perfused rat liver took up the two lab...
ASSOCIATION OF REQUIREMENT FOR TRANSFUSION TO COST OF CARE, LENGTH OF STAY AND INCIDENCE OF ADVERSE EVENTS IN PERCUTANEOUS LEFT ATRIAL APPENDAGE CLOSURE

There is an increase in use of percutaneous left atrial appendage closure (PLAAC) for prevention of stroke in atrial fibrillation. This study compares the in-hospital outcomes of PLAAC in patients requiring transfusion of whole blood/blood products versus those who do not require transfusion. The
Parallels and Convergence of Social Engagement by Social Workers and the African American Church

As the United States redefines its policies and priorities as a welfare state, current efforts presents many opportunities for organizations and professional associations that have roots in social movements from a historical perspective to once again, turn their focus to those similar causes of confronted at the inception of their origins. This article reviews and parallels historical contexts that has been identified as germane to the origins of the social work profession as advocates for change in social policies, social work and spirituality and the essence of how these struggles for equality coincide with social reforms sought by congregates of African American Churches.
QUALPUF: A Novel Quasi-Adiabatic Logic based Physical Unclonable Function

In the recent years, silicon based Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) has evolved as one of the popular hardware security primitives. PUFs are a class of circuits that use the inherent variations in the Integrated Circuit (IC) manufacturing process to create unique and unclonable IDs. There are various security related applications of PUFs such as IC counterfeiting, piracy detection, secure key management etc. In this paper, we are presenting a novel QUasi-Adiabatic Logic based PUF (QUALPUF) which is designed using energy recovery technique. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work on the hardware design of PUF using adiabatic logic. The proposed design is energy efficient compared to recent designs of hardware PUFs proposed in the literature. Further, we are proposing a novel bit extraction method for our proposed PUF which improves the space set of challenge-response pairs. QUALPUF is evaluated in security metrics including reliability, uniqueness, uniformity and bit-aliasing. Power and area of QUALPUF is also presented. SPICE simulations show that QUALPUF consumes 0.39μ Watt of power to generate a response bit.
Endogenous and costly institutional deterrence in a public good experiment

Abstract Modern societies rely on formal, central authority institutions that regulate the behavior of all members of society. This paper investigates the formation of a central authority regime within a linear public good experiment. The institution is funded by a fixed cost that increases with the level of deterrence, which is specified as the number of group members who are likely to be monitored. The level of deterrence is both exogenously and endogenously determined, allowing investigation of the effect of endogenous selection. The results indicate no significant positive endogenous selection effect. Indeed, in contrast to the existing literature, when a non-deterrent central authority is endogenously determined contributions tend to decrease.
NEW WAY OF THINKING TORESEARCH AND EVALUATE THE BENEFICIAL RESULT OF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT IN ENTERPRISES

The definition and calculation method of added-value are given and a target system is establised in this article. And in the methdology field of research on production management in enterprises,a new added-value analytical method is put forward.The applied value of this method is expounded according to the situation of industrial production in Shenyang city.
Abstract 2935: A novel HSP70 inhibitor demonstrates potent anti-myeloma activity

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematological cancer characterized by clonal proliferation of malignant plasma cells that produce monoclonal immunoglobulin. Because they secrete excess amounts of immunoglobulins, MM cells are typically under proteotoxic stress and utilize multiple mechanisms including molecular chaperones to maintain protein homeostasis. The chaperone HSP70 (heat shock protein 70) is overexpressed in MM. Therefore, we sought to evaluate whether targeting HSP70 with a novel HSP70 inhibitor would have a therapeutic benefit in MM. Toward this end, a panel of human MM cells lines including H929, RPMI-8226, MY-5, U266 and MM1s were tested for the IC50 to PET-16, an HSP70 inhibitor. Treatment with PET-16 resulted in a significant decrease in the viability of all MM cells tested with an IC50 value range from 3.5-7.2uM as was determined by the Alamar Blue assay. Decreased MM cell viability after treatment with PET-16 was due to induction of cellular apoptosis as was determined by Annexin V binding assay using flow cytometry. Because MM cells typically exist under hypoxic conditions, and hypoxia is known to decrease the efficacy of some chemotherapeutic agents, we analyzed the efficacy of PET-16 under hypoxia (1% oxygen). There was no difference in anti-MM effect of PET-16 in cells cultured under hypoxia as compared to those cultured in normoxic conditions. Taken together, our data suggest that targeting HSP70 with the novel HSP70 inhibitor PET-16 could be a viable potential strategy for treatment of MM. Citation Format: Charvann K. Bailey, Anna Budina, Maureen Murphy, Yulia Nefedova. A novel HSP70 inhibitor demonstrates potent anti-myeloma activity. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2935. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2935
Covalently Crosslinked and Physically Stable Polymer Coatings with Chemically Labile and Dynamic Surface Features Fabricated by Treatment of Azlactone-Containing Multilayers with Alcohol-, Thiol-, and Hydrazine-Based Nucleophiles

We report approaches to the design of covalently crosslinked and physically stable surface coatings with chemically labile and dynamic surface features based on the functionalization of azlactone-containing materials with alcohol-, thiol-, and hydrazine-based nucleophiles. Past studies demonstrate that residual azlactone groups in polymer multilayers fabricated by the reactive layer-by-layer assembly of poly(2-vinyl-4,4-dimethylazlactone) and branched poly(ethylenimine) can react with amine-based nucleophiles to impart new surface and bulk properties through the creation of chemically stable amide/amide-type bonds. Here, we demonstrate that the azlactone groups in these covalently crosslinked materials can also be functionalized using less nucleophilic alcohol- or thiol-containing compounds, using an organic catalyst, or converted to reactive acylhydrazine groups by direct treatment with hydrazine. These methods (i) broaden the pool of molecules that can be used for post-fabrication functionalization to i...
Glycosylation Alters Dimerization Properties of a Cell-surface Signaling Protein, Carcinoembryonic Antigen-related Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (CEACAM1)

Human carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 1 (C?/Au: EACAM1) is a cell-surface signaling molecule involved in cell adhesion, proliferation, and immune response. It is also implicated in cancer angiogenesis, progression, and metastasis. This diverse set of effects likely arises as a result of the numerous homophilic and heterophilic interactions that CEACAM1 can have with itself and other molecules. Its N-terminal Ig variable (IgV) domain has been suggested to be a principal player in these interactions. Previous crystal structures of the β-sandwich-like IgV domain have been produced using Escherichia coli-expressed material, which lacks native glycosylation. These have led to distinctly different proposals for dimer interfaces, one involving interactions of ABED β-strands and the other involving GFCC′C″ β-strands, with the former burying one prominent glycosylation site. These structures raise questions as to which form may exist in solution and what the effect of glycosylation may have on this form. Here, we use NMR cross-correlation measurements to examine the effect of glycosylation on CEACAM1-IgV dimerization and use residual dipolar coupling (RDC) measurements to characterize the solution structure of the non-glycosylated form. Our findings demonstrate that even addition of a single N-linked GlcNAc at potential glycosylation sites inhibits dimer formation. Surprisingly, RDC data collected on E. coli expressed material in solution indicate that a dimer using the non-glycosylated GFCC′C″ interface is preferred even in the absence of glycosylation. The results open new questions about what other factors may facilitate dimerization of CEACAM1 in vivo, and what roles glycosylation may play in heterophylic interactions.
Why Did the Dog Walk Into the MRI

Because he was trained to. The domestic dog’s accessibility, social intelligence, and evolutionary history with humans have led to increasing interest in canine cognition. Despite a growing body of data on canine behavior and cognitive skills, relatively few advances have been made in understanding canine brain function. Practical and ethical concerns had limited the use of the invasive brain-imaging techniques typically used with primate and rodent models. However, the demonstration that dogs can be trained to cooperatively participate in fMRI studies has opened up a wealth of new data about canine brain function. Many of these studies have investigated the dog’s preternatural social intelligence, focusing on neural pathways associated with different types of reward, including social reward, and face and vocal processing. These studies have implications for our understanding of canine brain function, and potentially, because of dogs’ close relations with humans, for models of human development and pathology.
Phylogenetic Relationships of Weaverbirds (Aves: Ploceidae): A First Robust Phylogeny Based on Mitochondrial and Nuclear Markers

Weaverbirds are a diverse passerine group with species diversity concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. No comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis regarding relationships of weaverbirds has been produced, however, so we developed a first extensive phylogeny for the family Ploceidae, based on a multilocus dataset of three mitochondrial loci and four nuclear markers. Analysis of these data offered strong support for monophyly of the family and revealed seven distinct clades within Ploceidae. A major feature of our results is broad polyphyly of Ploceus: Asian Ploceus species should retain the generic name, whereas African Ploceus, together with Anaplectes, should be placed in Malimbus. In light of deep divergence, we assign the Malagasy Ploceus species to their own genus, Nelicurvius. Divergence time analysis based on DNA substitution rates suggests a mid-Miocene origin of the family. This study lays a foundation for an array of future studies of character evolution, biogeography, and evolutionary history of the family.
Email Category Prediction

According to recent estimates, about 90% of consumer received emails are machine-generated. Such messages include shopping receipts, promotional campaigns, newsletters, booking confirmations, etc. Most such messages are created by populating a fixed template with a small amount of personalized information, such as name, salutation, reservation numbers, dates, etc. Web mail providers (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo) are leveraging the structured nature of such emails to extract salient information and use it to improve the user experience: e.g. by automatically entering reservation data into a user calendar, or by sending alerts about upcoming shipments. To facilitate these extraction tasks it is helpful to classify templates according to their category, e.g. restaurant reservations or bill reminders, since each category triggers a particular user experience. Recent research has focused on discovering the causal thread of templates, e.g. inferring that a shopping order is usually followed by a shipping confirmation, an airline booking is followed by a confirmation and then by a "ready to check in" message, etc. Gamzu et al. took this idea one step further by implementing a method to predict the template category of future emails for a given user based on previously received templates. The motivation is that predicting future emails has a wide range of potential applications, including better user experiences (e.g. warning users of items ordered but not shipped), targeted advertising (e.g. users that recently made a flight reservation may be interested in hotel reservations), and spam classification (a message that is part of a legitimate causal thread is unlikely to be spam). The gist of the Gamzu et al. approach is modeling the problem as a Markov chain, where the nodes are templates or temporal events (e.g. the first day of the month). This paper expands on their work by investigating the use of neural networks for predicting the category of emails that will arrive during a fixed-sized time window in the future. We consider two types of neural networks: multi-layer perceptrons (MLP), a type of feedforward neural network; and long short-term memory (LSTM), a type of recurrent neural network. For each type of neural network, we explore the effects of varying their configuration (e.g. number of layers or number of neurons) and hyper-parameters (e.g. drop-out ratio). We find that the prediction accuracy of neural networks vastly outperforms the Markov chain approach, and that LSTMs perform slightly better than MLPs. We offer some qualitative interpretation of our findings and identify some promising future directions.
Detecting and tracking motion of myxococcus xanthus bacteria in swarms

Automatically detecting and tracking the motion of Myxococcus xanthus bacteria provide essential information for studying bacterial cell motility mechanisms and collective behaviors. However, this problem is difficult due to the low contrast of microscopy images, cell clustering and colliding behaviors, etc. To overcome these difficulties, our approach starts with a level set based pre-segmentation of cell clusters, followed by an enhancement of the rod-like cell features and detection of individual bacterium within each cluster. A novel method based on "spikes" of the outer medial axis is applied to divide touching (colliding) cells. The tracking of cell motion is accomplished by a non-crossing bipartite graph matching scheme that matches not only individual cells but also the neighboring structures around each cell. Our approach was evaluated on image sequences of moving M. xanthus bacteria close to the edge of their swarms, achieving high accuracy on the test data sets.
Experimental and numerical study of underwater beam propagation in a Rayleigh-Bénard turbulence tank.

The propagation of a laser beam through Rayleigh-Benard (RB) turbulence is investigated experimentally and by way of numerical simulation. For the experimental part, a focused laser beam transversed a 5 m×0.5 m×0.5 m water filled tank lengthwise. The tank is heated from the bottom and cooled from the top to produce convective RB turbulence. The effect of the turbulence on the beam is recorded on the exit of the beam from the tank. From the centroid motion of the beam, the index of refraction structure constant Cn2 is determined. For the numerical efforts RB turbulence is simulated for a tank of the same geometry. The simulated temperature fields are converted to the index of refraction distributions, and Cn2 is extracted from the index of refraction structure functions, as well as from the simulated beam wander. To model the effect on beam propagation, the simulated index of refraction fields are converted to discrete index of refraction phase screens. These phase screens are then used in a split-step beam propagation method to investigate the effect of the turbulence on a laser beam. The beam wander as well as the index of refraction structure parameter Cn2 determined from the experiment and simulation are compared and found to be in good agreement.
Style, autonomy, and ideology: Making room for late modernism in the American scene

While the growing field of late modernist studies has established coherent geographic and temporal boundaries for its period in Britain, it has struggled to do the same for the United States. This essay proposes that ongoing critical efforts to establish an American late modernism have been organized and constrained less by national history than by a pair of aesthetic categories: style and autonomy. Scholars have deployed these categories in two competing ways: first, by defining late modernist style as a heroic escape from the reactionary autonomous art of “high” modernists like Ezra Pound and T.S. Eliot; second, by defining late modernism as an ideology of autonomous art established in the United States by critics like Cleanth Brooks and Clement Greenberg. Through a methodological critique of these two accounts, this essay argues for an American late modernism grounded upon a more dialectical understanding of the relationship between style and autonomy in modernist studies, one attuned to the political and cultural changes in the United States from the 1930s to the 1960s.
The professional responsibility model and patient requests for nonindicated early delivery.

A patient's request for a treatment does not establish that treatment as medically reasonable according to evidence-based deliberative clinical judgment.
Scattering of 3He and 4He from polarized 3He between 4 and 10 MeV

Abstract The polarization analyzing power of 3He-3He and 3He4He elastic scattering is reported for bombarding energies from 4.33 to 9.83 MeV. A phase-shift analysis of existing 3He4He elastic scattering data is presented with attention to the errors assigned to the phase shifts. In contrast to earlier work at low energies, the p-wave phase shifts may be parameterized by single-level formulas to give reasonable values of the nuclear reaction radius and of the ratio of the reduced width to the Wigner limit. The analyzing power of 3He-3He elastic scattering is consistent with zero at θc.m. = 60°.
Distributed simulation using DDS and cloud computing

NASA Langley Research Center identified a need for a distributed simulation architecture that enables collaboration of live, virtual, and constructive nodes across its local area network with extensibility to other NASA Centers and external partners. One architecture that was prototyped and evaluated employed Data Distribution Service (DDS) middleware and the GovCloud cloud computing service. The nodes used DDS to exchange data. GovCloud was added as a potential solution to enable other Centers and external partners to join the distributed simulation through an existing trusted network, removing the need to establish case-by-case interconnection security agreements. The prototype architecture was applied to an airspace simulation of manned and unmanned vehicles exchanging Auto-Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) messages. Various configurations of nodes were run and evaluated to assess the architecture with respect to upfront investment to augment a node for the architecture, integration and interoperability of nodes, performance, and connectivity and security.
XBRL Adoption and Systematic Information Acquisition via EDGAR

ABSTRACT We investigate how XBRL adoption relates to the systematic file requests from EDGAR. We define systematic requests as requests for EDGAR filings using automated scripts and computer progra...
Blood Oxygen Level Dependent Magnetization Transfer (BOLDMT) Effect

A few studies have reported that magnetization transfer (MT) ­preparation interacts with blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast used for functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the mechanism is still not well established. This study shows that blood oxygenation level itself affects MT contrast. MT ratio (MTR) decreases with increased blood oxygenation, which is demonstrated by ex vivo and in vivo experiments. Oxygenated blood shows less MTR contrast compared to deoxygenated blood sample; and higher levels of oxygen inhalation decrease tissue MTR in vivo especially in brain tumor region. The percentage reduction of MTR due to hyperoxia inhalation, referred to as the blood oxygen dependent magnetization transfer (BOLDMT) effect, correlates well with tissue oxygen extraction, which is highest in well-vascularized tumor rim, followed by inner tumor, gray matter (GM), and white matter (WM) normal tissue. Simulations and experiments demonstrate that BOLDMT effect induced with hyperoxia inhalation may be generated by decreased tissue T1 due to increased O2 dissolution and increased tissue T2 due to reduced deoxyhemoglobin (dHb) concentration. Compared to regular T2* weighted BOLD contrast, BOLDMT has higher insensitivity to B0 inhomogeneities. BOLDMT may potentially serve as a reliable and novel biomarker for tumor oxygen extraction.
Roads, tribes, and identity in Northeast India

Along with military expeditions and social and anthropological surveys, road-building projects were prominent strategies of the British in India when it came to dealing with tribes and territoriali...
Oxide-bonded molecular-beam epitaxial backside passivation process for large-format CCDs

We describe recent advances in backside passivation of large-format charge-coupled devices (CCDs) fabricated on 200- mm diameter wafers. These CCDs utilize direct oxide bonding and molecular-beam epitaxial (MBE) growth to enable high quantum efficiency in the ultraviolet (UV) and soft X-ray bands. In particular, the development of low-temperature MBE growth techniques and oxide bonding processes, which can withstand MBE processing, are described. Several highperformance large-format CCD designs were successfully back-illuminated using the presented process and excellent quantum efficiency (QE) and dark current are measured on these devices. Reflection-limited QE is measured from 200 nm to 800 nm, and dark current of less than 1e- /pixel/sec is measured at 40°C for a 9.5 μm pixel.
“Second-personal morality” and morality

“Second-personal morality” features as an important initial stage in Michael Tomasello’s natural history of morality. In order to play the role that Tomasello assigns it, however, it must contain w...
Desert leaf litter decay: Coupling of microbial respiration, water‐soluble fractions and photodegradation

The mechanisms of plant litter decay in drylands are poorly understood, limiting the accuracy of nutrient-cycling models for these systems. We monitored the decay of 12 leaf litter types on the soil surface of the Sonoran Desert for 34 months and assessed what traits predicted mass loss and how exposure to different wavebands of sunlight influenced mass loss. Mass loss varied considerably among litter types, ranging from 42%-96% after 34 months in full sunlight. Traditional indices of litter quality (e.g., initial C:N or lignin:N ratios) failed to predict differences in mass loss among litter types. The strongest predictor of mass loss was the microbial respiration rate of initial litter, which explained 45%-54% of the variation in loss among litter types. Microbial respiration rates were not correlated with traditional indices of litter quality, but were positively correlated with the water-soluble fraction in litter and concentrations of dissolved organic C in this fraction. Traditional indices of litter quality failed to predict decay likely because they did a poor job of predicting microbial degradability of litter, not because microbial degradation was a minor driver of decay. In all radiation-exposure treatments, water-soluble fractions and respiration rates increased through decay and were several times higher after 34 months than initially. Hence, labile pools and microbial degradability of litter increased through decay in contrast to traditional views that labile pools decline and constrain microbes. Litter exposed to UV or UV through blue radiation wavelengths, lost on average 1.3 times or 1.5 times more mass, respectively, than litter not exposed to these wavebands. The magnitude of this photodegradation was greater in litter types that had higher initial concentrations of hemicellulose and cellulose per unit surface area. Litter exposed to full sun had higher water-soluble fractions and usually had higher respiration rates, illustrating that sunlight accelerated microbial degradation by increasing labile pools. The processes driving litter decay appeared to differ appreciably from mesic systems and involved strong couplings between abiotic and biotic drivers.
Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection in Testicular Tumor

The treatment of stage I non-seminomatous germ cell (NSGCT) tumor includes retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) for patients with high-risk tumor characteristics and for those patients with residual masses after primary chemotherapy. Laparoscopic RPLND (L-RPLND) was initially performed to reduce the morbidity associated with open RPLND (O-RPLND) and at the same time maintain the staging and therapeutic benefits of lymph node removal. However, L-RPLND is a challenging procedure and requires extensive experience with laparoscopic techniques including laparoscopic control of bleeding. Robotic RPLND (R-RPLND) provides enhanced endoscopic visibility, improved dexterity, and superior control of bleeding over L-RPLND. The robotic platform has allowed for a full bilateral RPLND to be performed in one setting without the need to reposition the patient. The bilateral approach as well as improved vascular control has permitted R-RPLND to be expanded to patients with post chemotherapy masses.
Impacts of Emerging Fundamental Science on Health, Behavior, and Their Interaction

Medicine and public health have evolved over the past 150 years as the result of scientific breakthroughs. Initial epidemiological studies of disease led to early breakthroughs in public health that extended life at the end of the nineteenth century, while basic discovery in the life sciences led to mass production of new treatment modalities in the twentieth century. Now a convergence of scientific advances across disciplines is leading to a reorientation of medicine in the twenty-first century. The new medicine will utilize highly refined data models and technological breakthroughs to be predictive, preemptive, personalized, and participative. Moreover, other predictable trends from the twenty-first-century science and technology are broadening the horizon through which specialists in behavioral medicine can wield a positive influence on peoples’ lives. The implications of six such megatrends for the future practice of behavioral medicine are described. They include (a) an escalation of combinatorial innovations in health information technologies, (b) an emergence of health data marketplaces, (c) a persistence in ongoing efforts to reengineer healthcare, (d) a shift to a neurocentric view of health, (e) a spreading diffusion of personal health forecasts, and (f) a rise of the therapeutic city.
Convective Drying Kinetics of Polymer Strip Films Loaded with a BCS Class II Drug

Polymer strip film is a promising dosage form for oral delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs. Drying is an important step in the production of polymer strip films with significant effects on critical quality attributes (CQAs). In this study, a custom-made batch drying setup was used to study convective drying kinetics of wet polymer strip films loaded with dry-coated micronized griseofulvin (GF) at various drying conditions. A rate-based semi-empirical model was formulated and parameters were estimated by integral method of analysis using a coupled optimizer-ordinary differential equation solver. Despite its simplicity with three parameters, the model could fit the experimental data very well for all drying conditions, which enabled us to examine the effects of air velocity, temperature, and initial wet film thickness on drying kinetics quantitatively. The modeling results clearly delineate a drying mechanism with constant-rate and falling-rate periods. One set of kinetic parameter estimates reasonably predicted the drying kinetics for two different wet film thicknesses in the selected process conditions, which demonstrates the predictive capability of the model. After reporting the limitations of the semi-empirical model, upon future modification and refinement, its potential use in drying process development and process control was highlighted.
Traumatic chorioretinitis sclopetaria: Risk factors, management, and prognosis.

Abstract Purpose To describe new cases of sclopetaria and evaluate the risk factors, management, and visual prognosis of all reported cases in the literature. Observations We performed a retrospective, observational case series. This study included six cases (median age 23, interquartile range 33) of sclopetaria. Additionally, literature searches were conducted in the PubMed and Cochrane Library databases to uncover risk factors associated with all published cases of sclopetaria. Main outcome measure was best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) worse than 20/20. Sixty-seven cases (71 eyes) of sclopetaria have been reported, of which 59 cases (61 eyes) met inclusion criteria in this study. Most were young (median age 19.5 years) men (51/59, 88.1%). Thirty-seven eyes were observed while 24 underwent immediate surgery including six pars plana vitrectomies and three scleral buckles. Compared to initial presentation, BCVA improved in 31/48 (64.6%) eyes, remained stable in 12/48 eyes (25.0%), and worsened in 5/48 eyes (10.4%). Ten patients (16.4%) achieved a final BCVA of 20/20 with median follow up time of seven months. In a multivariate model, location of sclopetaria in the macula, temporal retina, or immediate orbital foreign body removal predicted poor final BCVA with an area under receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.767. Conclusions and importance Traumatic chorioretinitis sclopetaria is rare, but reports have increased dramatically over the past two decades. While pars plana vitrectomy may be required for the management of retinal detachments and non-clearing vitreous hemorrhage, close observation is appropriate in most cases. Visual prognosis is poor with most patients attaining 20/200 vision or worse.
Development of a Concomitant Treg Expansion and Stem Cell Mobilization Protocol Which Enables Peripheral Blood Transplant Amelioration of Gvhd Following Pre-Clinical aHSCT

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains the major immunological complication preventing more widespread application of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (aHSCTs). Mobilized hematopoietic stem / progenitor cells (HSPC) is the predominant choice for adult HSCT (CIBMTR, 2017), but unfortunately still frequently results in the development of GVHD. Our lab and others have been exploring the potential application of CD4+FoxP3+ T cells (Tregs) to ameliorate GVHD. A useful advance in the field would be the ability to concomitantly mobilize stem cell donors and efficiently expand the peripheral Treg compartment. We have utilized a two-pathway Treg expansion strategy previously reported from our lab (Wolf, 2017; Copsel 2018) to amplify suppressor activity in the donor inoculum to diminish GVHD. The present studies developed a protocol to concurrently induce mobilization of mouse progenitor cells and expansion of Tregs for use in pre-clinical aHSCT. Donor mice were treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) for 4 days (2ug/mouse) followed by plerixafor (5mg/kg) on D-1 and D0 (day of transplant). Peripheral blood was then assessed and significant elevations in granulocytes ( Figure 1 A) as well as multiple progenitor populations including c-Kit+ stem cells, CLP's and Lin-Sca-1ckit+ cells was observed ( Figure 1 B). We then employed a strategy beginning on D-6 through D-1 of transplant administering a fusion protein (TL1A-Ig) targeting TNFRSF25 and low dose IL-2 (two-pathway expansion). Peripheral blood was then assessed for Treg levels in donors on the day of transplant. We identified a marked increase in the frequency of CD4+FoxP3+ Treg cells ranging from (26-31%) within the CD4 compartment during the mobilization process ( Fig. 2 A). Peripheral blood was pooled from donors from both mobilized and Treg unexpanded (“TrUM”) or mobilized and Treg expanded (“TrEM”) donors and transplanted into lethally irradiated, complete MHC-mismatched BALB/c recipients. Recipients of TrUM lost weight and developed clinical signs of GVHD ( Fig. 2 B). In contrast, recipients of TrEM donors exhibited significantly reduced weight loss and clinical GVHD scores ( Figure 2 B). Transplants were also performed utilizing donors similarly prepared and transplanted into MHC-matched mice. The recipients of TrEM peripheral blood exhibited reduced GVHD compared to recipients of TrUM. Notably, mobilized donor HSPC were found to be functional as donor derived progeny (ex. CD19) were identified >1 month post-HSCT. In total, these findings support the notion that during the donor stem / progenitor cell mobilization process, manipulation of Treg cells using our two-pathway strategy can be successfully accomplished in peripheral blood resulting in an effective and translational approach to ameliorate GVHD following allo-HSCT.
Review: John Yeon: Modern Architecture and Conservation in the Pacific Northwest, by Marc Treib

Marc Treib John Yeon: Modern Architecture and Conservation in the Pacific Northwest San Francisco: ORO Editions, 2016, 282 pp., 68 color and 152 b/w illus. $40 (cloth), ISBN 9781935935278 While John Yeon's overall creative output was relatively small, his life and career present an expansive and complex topic for any author to tackle. In John Yeon: Modern Architecture and Conservation in the Pacific Northwest , Marc Treib has undertaken this task in a manner as distinguished and thorough as his subject. Yeon was a self-taught architect, landscape architect, conservationist, preservationist, and art collector, whose architecture was widely celebrated during the later 1930s and early 1950s but ultimately faded from standard studies of the field. Born in 1910 to Elizabeth Mock and John Baptiste Yeon II, a self-made businessman who accrued a fortune in lumber and real estate, Yeon was raised in Portland, Oregon. Following matriculation from the Culver Military Academy in Indiana and a short stay at Stanford University, he spent time in New York working for the architectural firm of Young, Moskowitz, and Rosenberg and attending extension courses in architecture at Columbia University, but he never registered as an architect. Following travel in Europe, Yeon returned home in 1930, where he initiated his lifelong passion for conservation when he purchased property along the Oregon coast, preserving it from development. Several years later he became involved with the movement to preserve the integrity of the Columbia River Gorge, in which he played a pivotal role. During this same period Yeon produced studies for several architectural projects (nonrealized) and designed a garden for his mother. In 1936, at age twenty-six, he developed plans for the Portland home of Aubrey Watzek and his mother. Watzek turned to Yeon after rejecting plans by Pietro Belluschi, a friend of Yeon then working in the Portland office of A. E. Doyle; Watzek and Yeon had met in 1931 when both were serving on the Oregon State Parks Commission. Lacking the professional …
“Passing” and the Politics of Deception: Transgender Bodies, Cisgender Aesthetics, and the Policing of Inconspicuous Marginal Identities

This chapter raises important questions about the nature of deception and status of deceiver, analyzing media discourses surrounding instances of transgender “passing.” These discourses position transgender people as deceivers who live out their genders to seduce heterosexuals, scrutinizing their appearances for signs of their “true gender.” Contradictorily, successful “passing” as cisgender legitimates a transgender person’s gender identity, but also renders them more malicious in their deception. As such, media discourses surrounding transgender people who “pass” justify punishment for their deception through physical violence. In this chapter, Billard explores these tensions, challenging the application of the label “deception” by the social majority to those of marginal identities, particularly inconspicuous ones, as it serves to delegitimate authentic identities and police the boundaries of social hierarchies.
The Presidio Trust legislation: preservation or privatization?

This analysis of the Presidio Trust legislation places the recent developments on the Presidio in the context of a century and a half of environmental planning. By first exploring the Presidio's history, and then tracing the more recent legislative background to the Presidio Trust, the author establishes a clear frame through which to explore the current challenges that face the Presidio Trust. This paper argues that history, legislative intent, and specific legal precedent will protect the Presidio from being "sold off," despite growing local concerns that the Presidio Trust's mandate to become financially self-sufficient within 15 years may drive the public's interests from the park.
Management of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Uncertain Significance

Monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS) is a clonal plasma cell disorder that can progress to multiple myeloma (MM), Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis, or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. This teaching script focuses on the diagnostic criteria of MGUS and provides a framework for identifying patients in need of referral for a bone marrow biopsy. The appropriate management of patients with MGUS relies on interpretation of laboratory and imaging criteria that indicate high risk of progression to a malignant state.
Notch activity characterizes a common hepatocellular carcinoma subtype with unique molecular and clinicopathologic features

Background & Aims The hepatocyte Notch pathway is a pathogenic factor in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-associated fibrosis, but its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is less well defined. Herein, we aimed to characterize the molecular and clinical features of Notch-active human HCC, and to investigate the mechanisms by which Notch affects NASH-driven HCC. Methods Using a 14-gene Notch score, we stratified human HCCs from multiple comprehensively profiled datasets. We performed gene set enrichment analyses to compare Notch-active HCCs with published HCC subtype signatures. Next, we sorted Notch-active hepatocytes from Notch reporter mice for RNA sequencing and characterized Notch-active tumors in an HCC model combining a carcinogen and a NASH-inducing diet. We used genetic mouse models to manipulate hepatocyte Notch to investigate the sufficiency and necessity of Notch in NASH-driven tumorigenesis. Results Notch-active signatures were found in ~30% of human HCCs that transcriptionally resemble cholangiocarcinoma-like HCC, exhibiting a lack of activating CTNNB1 (β-catenin) mutations and a generally poor prognosis. Endogenous Notch activation in hepatocytes is associated with repressed β-catenin signaling and hepatic metabolic functions, in lieu of increased interactions with the extracellular matrix in NASH. Constitutive hepatocyte Notch activation is sufficient to induce β-catenin-inactive HCC in mice with NASH. Notch and β-catenin show a pattern of mutual exclusivity in carcinogen-induced HCC; in this mouse model, chronic blockade of Notch led to β-catenin-dependent tumor development. Conclusions Notch activity characterizes a distinct HCC molecular subtype with unique histology and prognosis. Sustained Notch signaling in chronic liver diseases can drive tumor formation without acquiring specific genomic driver mutations. Lay summary The Notch signaling pathway is known to be involved in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis. However, its role in liver cancer has not been well defined. Herein, we show that Notch activity is increased in a subset of liver cancers and is associated with poor outcomes. We also used a mouse model to show that aberrant Notch activity can drive cancer progression in obese mice.
Applying the Performance Pyramid Model in STEM Education

While many studies have demonstrated the efficacy of programs designed to increase underrepresented minority participation, this article establishes a guiding theoretical model which examines why and how such programs are working. Theoretical analysis supports curricular innovation by specifying a set of guidelines for how best to design new programs intended to broaden participation in STEM. To connect mathematics concepts with biology, reduce studentsâ€™ math anxiety, and increase student self-efficacy, intrusive Peer Partnership Learning (PPL) communities for College Algebra and General Biology I were created, involving weekly sessions led by trained Peer Partnership Learning leaders to reinforce course content and work on mathematics projects related to biology. Grounded in the theoretical model of the Performance Pyramid, a psychometrically sound instrument was developed through a pilot study to measure constructs directly related to the Performance Pyramid and used together with other instruments to assess the efficacy of the proposed intervention, PPL communities, based in the Performance Pyramid. The Performance Pyramid has been successfully used as a framework or process to identify, analyze and address barriers to optimal performance in a variety of workplace settings and incorporates other educational theories by proposing seven â€œsupport systems.â€ These studies combine this model with quasi-experimental research designs to investigate the individual (e.g. cognitive and behavioral) and institutional (e.g., organizational and systematic) processes which affect participation and retention of African American students in STEM disciplines. The overall goal of this project is to increase academic performance, to prepare and motivate students to pursue education and careers in STEM disciplines, and to develop an assessment and STEM educational intervention that could be implemented at the national level.
An Extensible Evaluation Platform for FPGA Bitstream Obfuscation Security

FPGAs are programmable logic devices that provide reconfigurable hardware resources for diverse application areas. Configuration data for the FPGA is entirely encapsulated by the bitstream; thus, protecting intellectual property (IP) stored in the bitstream is a serious concern. Bitstream obfuscation has been proposed to supplement encryption used for protecting IP encoded in the bitstream; however, the potential for side-channel information leakage due to the obfuscation has received less attention. In this paper, we introduce an FPGA-based EM-SCA framework designed to streamline the process of quantifying relative information leakage due to the application of different key-based obfuscation techniques. We describe the system architecture and the automated toolflow, and demonstrate its usage with a case study.
Modeling SARS-CoV-2 transmission at a winter destination resort region with high outside visitation

Travel destinations, particularly large resorts in otherwise small communities, risk infectious disease outbreaks from an influx of visitors who may import infections during peak seasons. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this risk in the context of global travel and has raised questions about appropriate interventions to curb the potential spread of infectious disease at tourist destinations. In Colorado, the initial outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 in the state occurred in ski communities, leading to large economic losses from closures and visitor restrictions. In this study, we modeled SARS-CoV-2 transmission during the 2020-21 season in a ski region of Colorado to determine optimal combinations of intervention strategies that would keep the region below a predetermined threshold of SARS-CoV-2 infection density. This analysis used an age-stratified, deterministic SEIR compartmental model of disease transmission, calibrated to cellphone-based mobility data, to simulate infection trajectories during the winter ski season. Under three national infection levels corresponding to high, medium, and low viral importation risk, we estimated the potential impact of interventions including policy and behavior changes, visitor restriction strategies, and case investigation/contact tracing, in order to quantify the relative and absolute impacts of these interventions in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that, in the context of low viral importation risk, case investigation/contact tracing and policy and behavior changes may be sufficient to stay below predetermined infection thresholds without visitor restrictions. However, if viral importation risk is high, visitor restrictions and/or screening for infected visitors would be needed to avoid lockdown-like control scenarios and large outbreaks in tourist communities. These findings provide important guidance to tourist destinations for balancing policy impact in future infectious disease outbreaks.