cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
“Holy Name”: A Reading of Paradise Lost

In its celebration of the Name of God, the Zohar offers a significant way of coming to terms with the apostrophe to Light that opens Book III of Paradise Lost. The Ineffable Name, states the Zohar, “is the source and beginning of supreme mysteries indeed; it is the sphere whence emanate all the burning lights, and where the whole mystery of Faith is centred; this Name dominates all.” Similarly, Milton celebrates “holy Light,” but his “Hail” is immediately qualified by his unwillingness to penetrate too far into the mystery. Whether that “Light” is the “ofspring of Heav'n first-born,/ Or of th' Eternal Coeternal beam” (III, 1–2), Milton will not say. However his words suggest the nature of godhead in its association with the Muse, Milton's stance is clear enough. He intends to “keep off with a sacred reverence” the naming of that which might incur blame. Thus, the first two lines of the apostrophe culminate with the all-important question: “May I express thee unblam'd?” (III, 3). Representing a fitting tribute to one who dwells “in unapproached light” (III, 4), this question strikes at the heart of Milton's attitude toward the Name of God. As Milton states in Christian Doctrine (I. 2), if the Divine Name is to be pronounced at all, it had better be “with due reverence” (“modo reverenter”) (Works, XIV, 38, 39).
Competition and Collaboration in the Pc Industry: The Evolution of a Value Chain (C)

Dell clung to the top spot among PC makers in 2006, when it shipped just over 38 million computers -- only about 20,000 more than rival Hewlett-Packard (HP), which acquired Compaq in 2001. HP also reported gains in the fast-growing laptop segment, mostly at the expense of Dell. After HP and Dell, the next three largest PC makers in 2006 were all based outside the United States: Lenovo of China (which purchased IBM’s PC division in 2001), Acer of Taiwan, and Toshiba of Japan. Analysts observed that competitors had found ways to duplicate much of Dell’s operations. See also the A and B cases (UVA-BP-0518 and UVA-BP-0519).
Change in Obesity Prevalence across the United States Is Influenced by Recreational and Healthcare Contexts, Food Environments, and Hispanic Populations

Objective To examine change in county-level adult obesity prevalence between 2004 and 2009 and identify associated community characteristics.
The Psychometric Performance of the PROMIS Smoking Assessment Toolkit: Comparisons of Real-Data Computer Adaptive Tests, Short Forms, and Mode of Administration

INTRODUCTION The PROMIS Smoking Initiative has developed six item banks for assessment related to cigarette smoking among adult smokers (Nicotine Dependence, Coping Expectancies, Emotional and Sensory Expectancies, Health Expectancies, Psychosocial Expectancies, and Social Motivations). This article evaluates the psychometric performance of the banks when administered via short form (SF), computer adaptive test (CAT), and by mode of administration (computer vs. paper-and-pencil). METHODS Data are from two sources: an internet sample (N = 491) of daily and nondaily smokers who completed both SFs and CATs via the web and a community sample (N = 369) that completed either paper-and-pencil or computer administration of the SFs at two time points. First a CAT version of the PROMIS Smoking Assessment Toolkit was evaluated by comparing item administration rates and scores to the SF administration. Next, we considered the effect of computer versus paper-and-pencil administration on scoring and test-retest reliability. RESULTS Across the domains approximately 5.4 to 10.3 items were administered on average for the CAT. SF and CAT item response theory-scores were correlated from 0.82 to 0.92 across the domains. Cronbach's alpha for the four- to eight-item SFs among daily smokers ranged from .80 to .91 and .82 to .91 for paper-and-pencil and computer administrations, respectively. Test-retest reliability of the SFs ranged from 0.79 to 0.89 across mode of administration. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate that the SF and CAT and computer and paper-and-pencil administrations provide highly comparable scores for daily and nondaily smokers, but preference for SF or CAT administration may vary by smoking domain.
Euclidean Geometry Basics (EUC)

This chapter combines the axioms of neutral geometry (incidence, betweenness, plane separation, and reflection) with the strong form of the Parallel Axiom to arrive at Euclidean geometry. It explores many well-known elementary results from plane geometry involving parallel lines, perpendicularity, adjacent and complementary angles, parallelograms and rectangles.
1045 Determinants of treatment seeking behaviour following injury in Maringá, Brazil

Background Injury accounts for 6% of all disability adjusted life years lost. Current research on access to care and injury does not account for injury severity or levels of health care. Our project aims to determine what barriers to injury care arise in Brazil’s universal health care system. Methods Households were randomly selected in Maringa between May 2015 and September 2015. Demographic information was collected for the household; one individual was randomly selected to provide injury history. A chi-square analysis found the association between care-seeking and demographic variables. A preliminary significance level of α = 0.20 was used for inclusion of variables. A full multivariate logistic regression model and thirty reduced models were run. Mean squared estimate and Akaike Information Criterion were calculated to find the best predictive model. Results Of the 2678 households and individuals sampled, 30.3% of individuals reported a lifetime injury. The univariate analysis found that gender (p = 0.034), injury cause (p Conclusions Cause of injury and socioeconomic status factors are a major predictor for seeking care, as are factors related to socioeconomic status. Cause potentially masked the effects of gender on care seeking. More research needs to be done on specific causes of injuries, the role of gender, and why socioeconomic status is still a barrier to care in a universal access system.
Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: Nonoperative treatment

Various nonoperative treatments are discussed. In the authors' clinics, the Milwaukee brace is used occasionally for the patient with a thoracic scoliosis in whom the electrical stimulator could not be used, or when the parents wish to try another form of nonoperative therapy when the stimulator has failed. The Milwaukee brace is still the treatment of choice for juvenile idiopathic scoliosis.
Structural studies of Li1.2Mn0.55Ni0.15Co0.1O2 electrode material

Abstract A pristine Li-rich layered electrode material with composition Li1.2Mn0.55Ni0.15Co0.1O2 was characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning transmission electron microscopy to determine whether it is a coherent mixture of monoclinic C2/m Li2MO3 and trigonal R 3 - m LiMO2 phases or a solid solution of the monoclinic phase. Contradictory results have been previously reported which can be attributed to the complexity and structural similarity of the monoclinic and trigonal phases. We resolved this uncertainty by combining diffraction and imaging techniques that probe complimentary length scales. Our results demonstrate that the structure is primarily monoclinic, supporting the solid solution model, although near surface structural alterations were also observed.
DOES A PUBLIC SERVICE ETHIC ENCOURAGE ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR? PUBLIC SERVICE MOTIVATION, ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AND THE WILLINGNESS TO REPORT ETHICAL PROBLEMS

This article aims to advance our understanding of and confidence in the relationship between employee public service motivation (PSM) and ethical behaviour by testing the degree to which PSM predicts the ethical behaviour or behavioural intention of government employees. Building on previous research, we argue that government employees with higher PSM are not only more likely to internalize values that support public interests, they also are likely to be concerned less about the potential consequences that they may experience by reporting unethical conduct within their agencies. Using data collected through a survey from 477 employees working in a large state agency, we find that supervisors with higher PSM are more likely to be perceived by their subordinates as exhibiting ethical leadership, supervisors exhibiting higher ethical leadership are more likely to have subordinates with higher levels of PSM and that subordinates with higher PSM express a higher willingness to report unethical behaviour within their agency. We discuss implications of these findings for research on PSM.
Surgical Management of Primary Scrotal Cancer

Primary scrotal cancer is a rare urologic malignancy with various histologic subtypes. Management and outcomes are not designed optimally. Surgical excision is the recommended treatment for localized scrotal cancer, with assessment of the margins for disease. Closure of the defect can be performed with primary closure, skin grafts, flaps, or by secondary intention. Analysis of outcomes suggests that high-risk scrotal cancer may have a worse prognosis compared with penile cancer, and low-risk scrotal cancer may have a comparable prognosis. Understanding techniques for management and survival outcomes can help the urologist determine the appropriate course of treatment and improve patient care.
Evaluation of a Short Course of Antimicrobial Therapy for Complicated Intra-Abdominal Infections in Critically Ill Surgical Patients.

Abstract Background: The optimal duration of antimicrobial therapy for treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections (cIAI) in critically ill surgical patients is unknown. Recent evidence sug...
Rectal Cancer in Patients Under 50 Years of Age

General population screening for colorectal cancer starts at 50, and incidence rates of rectal cancer in patients over 50 years old are decreasing. However, incidence of rectal cancer under age 50 is increasing. This paper analyzes short-and long-term outcomes for rectal cancer patients under 50 years of age. Retrospective analyses of consecutive patient cohort, who all received surgical treatment for primary rectal adenocarcinoma at a single institute were used in the study. Outcomes were stratified based on age under or over 50 at the time of surgery. A total of 582 patients was included, of whom 125 were younger than 50. ASA-score was higher for older patients, with no other significant differences in baseline characteristics. AJCC-staging, based on surgical pathology, differed significantly due to higher stage II-rate in the older group and higher stages III- and IV-rates in the younger group. Percentages of high-grade disease, small vessel-, and perineural invasion were higher for younger patients. Stage-for-stage oncologic survival analyses did not demonstrate a significant difference between younger and older patients. Additionally, an age under/over 50 did not have a significant effect in multivariable analyses for disease free-, and disease specific survival. Patients who present with rectal cancer under the age of 50 do not seem to have more aggressive disease, while they present with more advanced disease when compared to patients older than 50. Identifying young people at risk of developing rectal cancer and start screening earlier in a selective group might improve disease stage on presentation.
Development of Transcription Factor-Based Designer Macrolide Biosensors for Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology

Macrolides are a large group of natural products that display broad and potent biological activities and are biosynthesized by type I polyketide synthases (PKSs) and associated enzymatic machinery. There is an urgent need to access macrolides and unnatural macrolide derivatives for drug discovery, drug manufacture, and probe development. Typically, efforts to engineer the biosynthesis of macrolides and macrolide analogues in various microbial hosts are hampered by the complexity of macrolide biosynthetic pathways and our limited ability to rationally reprogram type I PKSs and post-PKS machinery. High-throughput approaches based on synthetic biology and directed evolution could overcome this problem by testing the function of large libraries of variants. Yet, methods that can identify mutant enzymes, pathways, and strains that produce the desired macrolide target are not generally available. Here we show that the promiscuous macrolide sensing transcription factor MphR is a powerful platform for engineering...
Costless Signaling with Costly Signals

We study signaling environments with two features that are common in practice: first, complete-information bliss points are heterogeneous across different types of senders; second, receivers observe many choices by each sender, rather than a single decision. We prove that, ironically, a sufficiently large increase in the weight attached to signaling costs allows senders to signal their true types at arbitrarily low overall cost. As an application, it follows that, when senders take a sufficient number of observable actions, their private information is revealed almost costlessly. Instead of becoming ubiquitous, costly signaling becomes essentially irrelevant.
Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss after primary shoulder arthroplasty: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective, randomized controlled trial.

Background Tranexamic acid (TXA) is an antifibrinolytic that has been shown to decrease blood loss and transfusion rates after hip and knee arthroplasty, with only limited evidence to support its use in shoulder arthroplasty. This study was conducted to determine whether intravenous (IV) TXA is more effective than placebo in reducing blood loss after primary total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). Methods In this prospective, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial, patients undergoing primary anatomic and reverse TSA were randomized to receive 1 g of intravenous TXA or a placebo of an equivalent volume of intravenous normal saline administered 10 minutes before the incision. The primary outcome measurement was calculated postoperative blood loss. Secondary outcomes included transfusion rates, weight of hemoglobin loss, hospital length of stay, and thromboembolic events. Results The study enrolled 110 patients, 2 of whom were excluded because they did not have a postoperative hemoglobin measurement, and the remaining 108 patients (52 for TXA, 56 for placebo) were analyzed. There were no significant differences between TXA and placebo groups in preoperative characteristics. For the primary outcome, the TXA group had significantly lower postoperative blood loss of 1100.9 ± 367.4 mL compared with 1274.5 ± 460.0 mL for the placebo group ( P = .03). For secondary outcomes, TXA had lower weight of hemoglobin loss compared with placebo (152.2 ± 57.3 g vs. 178.0 ± 65.8 g; P = .03). No patients in the TXA or placebo groups required a transfusion. Conclusions Intravenous TXA reduced blood loss after primary TSA compared with placebo.
Beyond full disk encryption: protection on security-enhanced commodity processors

Modern computer systems exhibit a major weakness in that code and data are stored in the clear, unencrypted, within random access memory. As a result, numerous vulnerabilities exist at every level of the software stack. These vulnerabilities have been exploited to gather confidential information (e.g. encryption keys) and inject malicious code to overcome access controls and other protections. Full memory encryption (FME) would mitigate the vulnerabilities but the CPU-memory bottleneck presents a significant challenge to designing a usable system with acceptable overheads. Recently, security hardware, including encryption engines, has been integrated on-chip within commodity processors such as the Intel i7, AMD bulldozer, and multiple ARM variants. This paper describes on-going work to develop and measure a clean-slate operating system --- Bear --- that leverages on-chip encryption to provide confidentiality of code and data. While Bear operates on multiple platforms, memory encryption work is focused on the Freescale i.MX535 (ARM Cortex A8) using its integrated encryption engine.
Image Reconstruction in Oil Refinery

One can recover a function F (x, y) denned in a domain T from the knowledge of its integrals along all lines. In fact, parametrizing the segments σθ,t as shown in Figure 7.1, where σθ,t = T ∩ Σθ,t, the function $$\tilde f\left( {\theta ,t} \right) = \int\limits_{{\sigma _{\theta ,t}}} {f\left( {x,y} \right)ds}$$ is called the Radon transform of f and its inverse is given by an explicit formula (see, for instance I.M. Gelfand and G.E. Shilov, Generalized Functions, Vol. 1, Academic Press, New York, 1964).
Chronospectroscopy of Exchange-Coupled Cr 3 + -Ion Pairs in Ruby

A rather simple method of determining the lifetimes of the excited states of exchange-coupled ion pairs in ruby is described. The technique utilizes a chopped pump light and phasesensitive detection. It has permitted a great increase in the resolution of optical transitions, and in particular, it allows for a virtual elimination of the vibronic sidebands of the $R$ lines, in order that the true pair spectrum may stand out clearly. Furthermore, transitions originating from different excited levels may be definitely distinguished, thus aiding in the identification of particular transitions with a given pair type. The chronospectroscopic method is of potential value in the studies of energy-transfer mechanisms between single ions and pairs. It has also provided evidence for a fourth-neighbor absorption band at 6050 \AA{}.
Causal explanation and the periodic table

The periodic table represents and organizes all known chemical elements on the basis of their properties. While the importance of this table in chemistry is uncontroversial, the role that it plays in scientific reasoning remains heavily disputed. Many philosophers deny the explanatory role of the table and insist that it is “merely” classificatory (Shapere, in F. Suppe (Ed.) The structure of scientific theories, University of Illinois Press, Illinois, 1977; Scerri in Erkenntnis 47:229–243, 1997). In particular, it has been claimed that the table does not figure in causal explanation because it “does not reveal causal structure” (Woody in Science after the practice turn in the philosophy, history, and social studies of science, Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, New York, 2014). This paper provides an analysis of what it means to say that a scientific figure reveals causal structure and it argues that the modern periodic table does just this. It also clarifies why these “merely” classificatory claims have seemed so compelling–this is because these claims often focus on the earliest periodic tables, which lack the causal structure present in modern versions.
Artificial inflation of apparent photocatalytic activity induced by catalyst-mass-normalization and a method to fairly compare heterojunction systems

Despite the potential of using photocatalysts to sustainably produce fuels and chemicals, overall reaction rates remain prohibitively low, largely limited by recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. Past research on suppressing this recombination by the addition of co-catalysts or by the formation of heterojunctions has led to claims that rates show enhancement compared to the single-component, junction-free counterparts. However, comparing these systems is rendered difficult by the common practice of reporting rates on a catalyst mass basis. Using a model system of TiO2 and g-C3N4 with Pt, here we show that normalizing photocatalytic rates by mass fails to provide mechanistic insight and can also artificially inflate the apparent performance of heterojunction systems—in our case, overestimating the enhancement by 24 ± 7%. This effect is caused by the nonlinearity of light absorption with respect to the concentration of each light-absorbing component, according to Beer's law. This factor needs to be taken into account to verify if improvements in absolute activity correspond to intrinsic activity. To this end, a method is presented for approximating a system quantum yield from measured reaction rates under simulated solar or otherwise polychromatic light. A sensitivity analysis provides guidelines for reducing the artificial enhancement introduced by mass-normalization for any heterojunction system.
Agroecosystem resilience is modified by management system via plant–soil feedbacks

Abstract Designing resilient cropping systems is essential to sustain agricultural production in the face of changing environmental and social pressures. However, the extent to which changes in farm management systems could alter resistance and resilience is largely unknown, especially in response to climate change. Plant and soil microbial community interactions are a vital component of functioning and resilient agroecosystems. The aim of our study was to use winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and pea (Pisum sativum L.) plant–soil feedbacks (i.e. plant species-specific effects on soil biota and their impacts on subsequent plant growth) as a metric of system resilience and resistance to climate variability in three different farming management systems: 1) a chemical no-till system, 2) an USDA-certified organic system reliant on tillage and 3) an USDA-certified organic system that included sheep grazing with the overall goal of minimizing tillage intensity. Climate conditions soil experienced were ambient, warmer, and warmer and drier and were manipulated in the field using open-top chamber and rain-out shelters. Plant–soil feedbacks were negative for wheat and positive for pea but varied among farming management systems but were less sensitive to climate conditions. Plant–soil feedbacks were lower in magnitude in the tilled organic system indicating more resistance to the accumulation of pathogenic soil microbiota resulting from repeated cropping of wheat. However, recovery was lower when the crop was pea in the tilled organic indicating slower recovery and less resilience. Results indicate that while increases in crop diversity may promote more resilient agroecosystems, farming management will affect agroecosystem resilience.
Drug overdose among women in intimate relationships: The role of partner violence, adversity and relationship dependencies.

Background This study examines the relationship between experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV), exposure to prior childhood adversity, lifetime adverse experiences, drug-related relationship dependencies with intimate partners and overdose, hospitalization for drug use, friends and family members who overdosed and witnessing overdose. Methodology This paper included a sample of 201 women who use drugs in heterosexual relationships with criminal justice-involved men in New York City. We included measures of experiencing overdose, hospitalization for drug use, witnessing overdose, and having friends and family who overdosed. Intimate partner violence consisted of either 1) none/verbal only, 2) moderate and 3) severe abuse. Dichotomous indicators of drug-related relationship dependencies included financial support, drug procurement, splitting and pooling drugs. A scale measured cumulative exposure to childhood adversity and lifetime exposures to adverse events. This paper hypothesized that experiencing moderate and severe IPV, drug-related dependencies and exposure to prior childhood and lifetime adversity would be associated with a greater risk of experiencing overdose, hospitalization for drug use, witnessing overdose and having friends and family members who overdosed. Generalized linear modeling with robust variance estimated relative risk ratios that accounted for potential bias in confidence intervals and adjusted for race, ethnicity, education and marital status. Results We found experiencing moderate or severe IPV was associated with ever being hospitalized for drug use and having a family member who experienced overdose. Experiencing moderate IPV was associated with increased risk of witnessing overdose, Partner drug dependencies were associated with overdose, ever being hospitalized for drug use, witnessing overdose, and having a family member or friend who experienced overdose. Childhood and lifetime adversity exposures were significantly associated with increased risk of overdose, ever being hospitalized for drug use, ever witnessing overdose and having a friend and family member who overdosed. Conclusion Findings underscore the intersection of experiencing IPV and drug-related relationship dependencies, childhood adversity and lifetime adversity in shaping experiences of and witnessing overdose among women who use drugs. They highlight the urgent need to address IPV, adversity experiences and drug-related relationship dependencies in overdose prevention for women who use drugs.
Mad Men’s Mid-Century Modern Times

Mad Men’s seventh season introduces a conspicuous and ominous element of mise en scene: the mammoth IBM 360 computer. It is an obvious metaphor for change, but a deeper analysis reveals more about who and what constitutes an ‘employee’ in an evolving capitalist landscape. Much like Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) reflected anxieties about the welfare of labourers of the early twentieth century, Mad Men offers a similar kind of exploration of work in America after the midpoint of the century. This chapter offers an intermedial perspective of how these two texts from different eras are strongly in dialogue with one another. I argue both interrogate themes that offer a warning of dehumanization through techno-displacement and illuminate fears over technology as panacea.
Educational video promotes durable knowledge about actinic keratoses in patients with field cancerization: a pseudorandomized, single-blind, controlled pilot study.

Background: Diffuse actinic keratoses (AKs) have multiple treatment options. Patient understanding of treatment options may enhance patient autonomy, satisfaction, treatment adherence, and clinical...
Features and Functions of Systemic and Mucosal Humoral Immunity Among SARS-CoV-2 Convalescent Individuals

Understanding humoral immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection will play a critical role in the development of vaccines and antibody-based interventions. We report systemic and mucosal antibody responses in convalescent individuals who experienced varying disease severity. Robust antibody responses to diverse SARS-CoV-2 antigens and evidence of elevated responses to endemic CoV were observed among convalescent donors. SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA and IgG responses were often negatively correlated, particularly in mucosal samples, suggesting subject-intrinsic biases in isotype switching. Assessment of antibody-mediated effector functions revealed an inverse correlation between systemic and mucosal neutralization activity and site-dependent differences in the isotype of neutralizing antibodies. Serum neutralization correlated with systemic anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG and IgM response magnitude, while mucosal neutralization was associated with nasal SARS-CoV-2-specific IgA. These findings begin to map how diverse Ab characteristics relate to Ab functions and outcomes of infection, informing public health assessment strategies and vaccine development efforts.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Admission Temperatures of Infants 1500 g or More: The Cold Truth.

BACKGROUND Smaller preterm infants often receive extra attention with implementation of additional thermoregulation interventions in the delivery room. Yet, these bundles of interventions have largely remained understudied in larger infants. PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to evaluate initial (or admission) temperatures of infants born weighing 1500 g or more with diagnoses requiring admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS Retrospective medical record review of 388 infants weighing 1500 g or more admitted to the NICU between January 2016 and June 2017. RESULT In total, 42.5% of infants weighing 1500 g or more were admitted hypothermic (<36.5°C), 54.4% with a normothermic temperature, and 2.8% were hyperthermic. Of those infants admitted hypothermic, 30.4% had an admission temperature ranging from 36°C to 36.4°C and 12.1% had an admission temperature of less than 36°C. When compared with infants weighing less than 1500 g, who were born at the same institution and received extra thermal support interventions, there was a statistically significant difference (P < .001) between admission temperatures where infants less than 1500 g were slightly warmer (36.8°C vs 36.5°C). IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Ongoing admission temperature monitoring of all infants requiring NICU admission regardless of birth weight or admission diagnosis is important if we are going to provide the best support to decrease mortality and morbidity for this high-risk population. IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH While this study examined short-term outcomes, effects on long-term outcomes were not addressed. Findings could be used to design targeted interventions to support thermal regulation for all high-risk infants. CONCLUSION Neonates admitted to the NICU weighing 1500 g or more are at high risk for developing hypothermia, similar to smaller preterm infants.
Topological photonics in driven nonlinear systems

Topological phases have raised great interest in the photonics community. So far, most studies follow the theoretical framework established in electronic systems, and focus on linear optical systems. In this talk, I will discuss some of our recent progress in achieving topological phases in driven nonlinear optical systems and their potential applications.
Use of primary surgical drains in synchronous resection for colorectal liver metastases: a NSQIP analysis of current practice paradigm

There are no studies examining the use of subhepatic drains after simultaneous resection of synchronous colorectal liver metastases (sCRLM). This study aimed to (1) describe the current practices regarding primary drain placement, (2) evaluate drain efficacy in mitigating postoperative complications, and (3) determine impact of drain maintenance duration on patient outcomes. The ACS-NSQIP targeted data from 2014 to 2017 were analyzed. Propensity score of surgical drain versus no drain cohorts was performed. Main study outcomes were mortality, major morbidity, organ/space surgical site infection (SSI), secondary drain/aspiration procedure, and any septic events. Additional univariate/multivariate logistic analyses were performed to identify associations with drain placement and duration. Major hepatectomy was defined as formal right hepatectomy and any trisectionectomy. 584 combined liver and colorectal resection (CRR) cases were identified. Open partial hepatectomy with colectomy was the most common procedure (70%, n = 407). Nearly 40% of patients received surgical drains (n = 226). Major hepatectomy, lower serum albumin, and no intraoperative portal vein occlusion (Pringle maneuver) were significantly associated with drain placement (p < 0.05). In the matched cohort (n = 190 in each arm), patients with surgical drains experienced higher rates of major morbidity (30% vs 12%), organ/space SSI (16% vs 6%), postoperative drain/aspiration procedures (9% vs 3%), and sepsis/septic shock (12% vs 4%) (all p < 0.05). Patients with severely prolonged drain removal, defined as after postoperative day 13 (POD13), had higher risk of postoperative morbidity compared to those with earlier drain removal (p < 0.01). 30-day mortality rate was not significantly different between the two groups. Primary surgical drains were placed in a substantial percentage of patients undergoing combined resection for sCRLM. This case-matched analysis suggested that surgical drains are associated with an increase in postoperative morbidity. Postoperative drain maintenance past 13 days is associated with worse outcomes compared to earlier removal.
Oral ganciclovir and pharmacokinetics of valganciclovir in liver transplant recipients.

The pivotal trial demonstrating efficacy of oral ganciclovir in preventing cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease following organ transplantation was conducted in liver transplant recipients, in whom the rate of CMV disease was reduced from 19% to 5%. Pharmacokinetic analyses have indicated that oral ganciclovir dosing should be adjusted, based on renal function, to achieve adequate drug levels. With normal renal function, 1 g t.i.d. of oral ganciclovir is required to achieve such adequate systemic levels. Children require proportionally more drug than adults do: in the range 600-800 mg/m2 to achieve adequate dosing. The development of an oral prodrug, valganciclovir, may help to obviate some of the drug exposure issues raised with oral ganciclovir. The ester linkage of the amino acid valine to ganciclovir results in ten-fold higher bioavailability of ganciclovir: 450 mg of valganciclovir given once daily produces drug exposure similar to that achieved with 3 g of oral ganciclovir; 900 mg of valganciclovir given once daily produces drug exposures equivalent to that of 5 mg/kg of IV ganciclovir. This drug may improve prophylactic efficacy in the high-risk CMV seropositive donor/seronegative negative recipient transplant groups and may also allow treatment of established CMV disease with an oral formulation.
Pathologic and radiographic responses in a window of opportunity for durvalumab plus metformin trial for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC).

6068Background: Durvalumab is a human monoclonal IgG1 antibody directed against programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1). PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibition (ICI) shows promise in HNSCC, but durable ...
Decreases in Radiation Oncology Medicare Reimbursement Over Time: Analysis by Billing Code.

Purpose/Objective(s) Like other specialties, radiation oncology (RO) has seen declines in Medicare reimbursement (MCR). There are no recent studies analyzing how changes in MCR for specific billing codes contribute to changes over time in overall reimbursement for RO. We compared total MCR for specific Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) codes in 2019 to MCR for those codes in 2010 & 2015, corrected for inflation, to see how the same basket of RO services in 2019 would have been reimbursed in 2010 & 2015 (projected MCR). We hypothesized that the decline in MCR from 2010-2019 would be driven disproportionately by decreased reimbursement for IMRT codes. Materials/Methods The CMS Physician/Supplier Procedure Summary database was used for MCR data for 2010, 2015 & 2019. All charges were classified by HCPCS codes, mapping old codes to their current equivalents. Actual MCR for 2010, 2015 & 2019 was calculated as the inflation-adjusted sum of allowed charges. For each code, the total allowed charge was divided by the number of submitted claims to calculate the average MCR per claim in 2010, 2015 & 2019. The 2019 billing frequency for each code was then multiplied by the inflation-adjusted average MCR for those codes in 2010 & 2015 to determine what the MCR would have been in 2010 & 2015 using 2019 dollars and utilization rates. These results were compared to actual 2019 MCR to calculate the projected difference. Results Actual MCR for all RO services in 2019 was $2,006 million (M), which was a $353M (15%) & $76M (4%) cut vs MCR in 2010 & 2015 expressed in 2019 dollars. For the codes examined in this analysis, 2019 MCR was $1,822M, which was a $687M (27%) & $183M (9%) cut vs inflation and utilization corrected MCR in 2010 & 2015 for these same codes. Table 1 shows the difference in MCR by treatment codes. IMRT delivery & IMRT planning account for 50% (-$341M) & 53% (-$97M) of the total projected difference from 2010-2019 & 2015-2019. Conclusion MCR in 2019 declined compared to actual inflation corrected 2010 & 2015 MCR & declined even more precipitously when compared to MCR for 2010 & 2015 corrected for both inflation and utilization, which holds constant factors that could potentially increase MCR over time (e.g., population growth; increased use of IMRT) or decrease MCR (hypofractionation). Decline in IMRT reimbursement was the primary driver of the decline in MCR. Policymakers should consider the significant cuts to reimbursement that have already occurred when considering further cuts and the impact such cuts could have on quality and access to care.
The U.S. Women's Jury Movements and Strategic Adaptation: A More Just Verdict

1. Introduction: the women's jury movements and strategic adaptation 2. Theorizing social movement strategic adaptation 3. Broadening women's citizenship: a history of US women's rights 4. Responding to political defeats 5. Countering public opposition and indifference 6. Taking advantage of discursive and cultural opportunities 7. Turning the movement around 8. Comparing the movements: qualitative comparative analysis 9. Final thoughts on strategic adaptation and social movement strategy.
TU-EF-210-01: HIFU, Drug Delivery, and Immunotherapy

The use of therapeutic ultrasound to provide targeted therapy is an active research area that has a broad application scope. The invited talks in this session will address currently implemented strategies and protocols for both hyperthermia and ablation applications using therapeutic ultrasound. The role of both ultrasound and MRI in the monitoring and assessment of these therapies will be explored in both pre-clinical and clinical applications. Katherine Ferrara: High Intensity Focused Ultrasound, Drug Delivery, and Immunotherapy Rajiv Chopra: Translating Localized Doxorubicin Delivery to Pediatric Oncology using MRI-guided HIFU Elisa Konofagou: Real-time Ablation Monitoring and Lesion Quantification using Harmonic Motion Imaging Keyvan Farahani: AAPM Task Groups in Interventional Ultrasound Imaging and Therapy Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the role of ultrasound in localized drug delivery and the effects of immunotherapy when used in conjunction with ultrasound therapy. 2. Understand potential targeted drug delivery clinical applications including pediatric oncology. 3. Understand the technical requirements for performing targeted drug delivery. 4. Understand how radiation-force approaches can be used to both monitor and assess high intensity focused ultrasound ablation therapy. 5. Understand the role of AAPM task groups in ultrasound imaging and therapies. Chopra: Funding from Cancer Prevention and Research Initiative of Texas (CPRIT), Award R1308 Evelyn and M.R. Hudson Foundation; Research Support from Research Contract with Philips Healthcare; COI are Co-founder of FUS Instruments Inc Ferrara: Supported by NIH, UCDavis and California (CIRM and BHCE) Farahani: In-kind research support from Philips Healthcare
Software systems safety and human errors

The software systems safety discipline is discussed, along with the various areas where human errors impact the design and development of software-controlled systems. Techniques used in software systems safety, as set forth in MIL-STD-882B, are also discussed along with a recommendation for an early, integrated software systems safety and human factors analysis of the software-user interface. The article forms the basis for recommended modifications to Task 306 of MIL-STD-882B. >
The Second Death of Capital Punishment

This paper seeks to reexamine, and to reformulate, the terms of our national capital punishment dialogue by approaching death penalty jurisprudence as a problem of constitutional structure and form. As a factor contributing to the incremental demise of capital punishment in the United States, omnipotent and omniscient judicial regulation of capital sentencing has significant consequences for the political institutions responsible for controlling the people in our constitutional design. Examining the Supreme Court's recent categorical exemption cases, this paper confronts the raw moral judgments and political preferences that define the Court's immodest understanding of its own authority under the Eighth Amendment. It also examines recent capital habeas cases to demonstrate that the Court may be softening the rigorous standards for habeas relief especially for capital cases. Ultimately, these actions have weakened the death penalty and, more importantly, our political institutions. By serving as a forum for determining which criminal punishments are morally right and desirable, and by compromising the integrity of legal structures that safeguard vital state criminal law interests, the Court diminishes the essential distance that the Constitution places between the government and the governed, and between the institutions that govern. It also undermines the authority of the political branches as the primary institutional mediums for filtering out public passions and building coalitions for responsible democratic action to control the people. The paper therefore urges a greater awareness of, and endorses a constitutional law that safeguards, formal institutional arrangements.
The stability of word stress across Mixean languages

Word stress patterns have been widely discussed for individual languages and in typological work (Van der Hulst 2010), but there are very few comparative studies within language families and across dialects. This paper examines stress patterns in Mixean varieties and how they relate to the phonological distinctions among these varieties. The term ‘variety’ is applied here as in a number of cases it has yet to be determined whether a variety constitutes its own language or a dialect. Word stress does not vary in Mixean languages, always falling on the rightmost heavy root syllable, but roots often represent the only heavy syllable(s) in a word. As a result, syllable weight plays only a minimal role in stress assignment. Rather, the stress system rests upon edge-orientation and morphological conditioning. If it relied to a greater extent on the phonological structure of words, some deviation would be expected, given that variation among Mixean languages is primarily phonologically based. This paper demonstrates how weight-sensitive stress patterns can remain stable across related languages even in light of major phonological differences.
Endothelial cell derived angiocrine support of acute myeloid leukemia targeted by receptor tyrosine kinase inhibition

In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), refractory disease is a major challenge and the leukemia microenvironment may harbor refractory disease. Human AML cell lines KG-1 and HL-60 expressed receptors also found on endothelial cells (ECs) such as VEGFRs, PDGFRs, and cKit. When human AML cells were co-cultured with human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and primary bone marrow endothelial cell (BMECs), the AML cells were more resistant to cytarabine chemotherapy, even in transwell co-culture suggesting angiocrine regulation. Primary BMECs secreted significantly increased levels of VEGF-A and PDGF-AB after exposure to cytarabine. Pazopanib, a receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (RTKI) of VEGFRs, PDGFRs, and cKit, removed EC protection of AML cells and enhanced AML cell sensitivity to cytarabine. Xenograft modeling showed significant regression of AML cells and abrogation of BM hypervascularity in RTKI treated cohorts. Together, these results show direct cytotoxicity of RTKIs on AML cells and reversal of EC protection. Combining RTKIs with chemotherapy may serve as promising therapeutic strategy for patients with AML.
The ORF61 Protein Encoded by Simian Varicella Virus and Varicella-Zoster Virus Inhibits NF-κB Signaling by Interfering with IκBα Degradation

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes chickenpox upon primary infection and establishes latency in ganglia. Reactivation from latency causes herpes zoster, which may be complicated by postherpetic neuralgia. Innate immunity mediated by interferon and proinflammatory cytokines represents the first line of immune defense upon infection and reactivation. VZV is known to interfere with multiple innate immune signaling pathways, including the central transcription factor NF-κB. However, the role of these inhibitory mechanisms in vivo is unknown. Simian varicella virus (SVV) infection of rhesus macaques recapitulates key aspects of VZV pathogenesis, and this model thus permits examination of the role of immune evasion mechanisms in vivo. Here, we compare SVV and VZV with respect to interference with NF-κB activation. We demonstrate that both viruses prevent ubiquitination of the NF-κB inhibitor IκBα, whereas SVV additionally prevents IκBα phosphorylation. We show that the ORF61 proteins of VZV and SVV are sufficient to prevent IκBα ubiquitination upon ectopic expression. We further demonstrate that SVV ORF61 interacts with β-TrCP, a subunit of the SCF ubiquitin ligase complex that mediates the degradation of IκBα. This interaction seems to inactivate SCF-mediated protein degradation in general, since the unrelated β-TrCP target Snail is also stabilized by ORF61. In addition to ORF61, SVV seems to encode additional inhibitors of the NF-κB pathway, since SVV with ORF61 deleted still prevented IκBα phosphorylation and degradation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that SVV interferes with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)-induced NF-κB activation at multiple levels, which is consistent with the importance of these countermechanisms for varicella virus infection. IMPORTANCE The role of innate immunity during the establishment of primary infection, latency, and reactivation by varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is incompletely understood. Since infection of rhesus macaques by simian varicella virus (SVV) is used as an animal model of VZV infection, we characterized the molecular mechanism by which SVV interferes with innate immune activation. Specifically, we studied how SVV prevents activation of the transcription factor NF-κB, a central factor in eliciting proinflammatory responses. The identification of molecular mechanisms that counteract innate immunity might ultimately lead to better vaccines and treatments for VZV, since overcoming these mechanisms, either by small-molecule inhibition or by genetic modification of vaccine strains, is expected to reduce the pathogenic potential of VZV. Moreover, using SVV infection of rhesus macaques, it will be possible to study how increasing the vulnerability of varicella viruses to innate immunity will impact viral pathogenesis.
Development of a residential size electricity producing condensing furnace

The authors have developed a furnace that combines the fuel-saving technique of cogeneration and the fuel saving technique of a condensing furnace in a system that is fundamentally simpler than existing furnaces and has the potential of replacing virtually every existing furnace in a highly fuel-efficient and cost-effective manner. The realization of these benefits will require the solution to difficult, but solvable, problems. The system has been recommended by the National Bureau of Standards and awarded a grant by the United States Department of Energy. The authors describe their work in the design and testing of development prototypes, as well as some of the successes and remaining problems to be solved. >
Chromosome Transmission and Meiotic Stability of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) Hybrid Derivatives

Efficiency of selection in sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) breeding may be influenced by the type of chromosome transmission. Our objectives were to determine chromosome transmission and meiotic stability among and within sugarcane families derived from crosses of elite, interspecific clones with four S. spontaneum L. clones. The cytological behavior, pollen stainability, and seed yield were measured for 23 nonrecurrent clones in parental, F 1 , and BC 1 to BC 3 generations. Chromosome number was determined for 13 recurrent parents. Chromosome transmission was strictly n+n, although meiotic irregularity, aneuploidy, and chromosomal mosaicism resulted in aneuploid gametes (.)