cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Review of 'Artificial Legal Intelligence'

Artificial Legal Intelligence, by Pamela Gray, presents a thought-provoking approach to both computational models of legal reasoning and the use of evolutionary thinking about the law. Drawing on a prodigious amount of research, the book looks beyond the rather technical approach common in the field and attempts to place artificial legal intelligence within the broad structure of legal history. This paper first summarizes the book's vision of a computerized artificial legal intelligence, a vision of developments in both technology and legal history. The paper discusses how this fits with trends in both artificial intelligence and legal theory. The paper further discusses how the book, by freeing itself from present technological constraints, provides a wider vision than many more technical discussions of artificial intelligence. In particular, its view of the evolution of law brings in social and cultural factors often ignored by discussions of legal reasoning. The last part of this paper considers, more broadly, how evolutionary analysis can provide a fruitful method for analyzing legal reasoning.
277 CESAREAN DELIVERY ASSOCIATED WITH SURVIVAL ADVANTAGE IN PRETERM SMALL FOR GESTATIONAL AGE INFANTS, USA, 1999-2000.: TABLE

Purpose The benefit that breech preterm infants receive from cesarean delivery (CD) has not been as well established for vertex infants. Preterm intrauterine growth restricted fetuses, with placental insufficiency and less tolerance for labor, may benefit from CD. We compared gestational age (GA) specific neonatal mortality between vaginal and CDs for vertex small for GA (SGA) preterm infants in a national cohort. Methods We analyzed the National Center for Health Statistics US Linked Birth/Death records, years 1999-2000, looking at 7,694 live vertex singletons without lethal congenital anomaly born at 26 to 32 weeks GA to mothers without previous cesarean, with weight Results 63% of preterm vertex SGA infants were delivered by cesarean. CD was associated with a significant survival advantage for GA 26-31 weeks and a trend toward benefit of cesarean at 32 weeks that was not statistically significant. The multivariable logistic regression model included sociodemographic factors as well as medical factors associated with mortality. Adjusting for these factors, the odds ratio of death associated with cesarean was 0.46 (95% CI 0.39, 0.54). Conclusions Mortality at 28 days was reduced in preterm SGA vertex infants delivered by cesarean compared to vaginal delivery. This survival advantage persisted, with 54% reduction in mortality, after adjusting for social and other medical factors.
Development of quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR assays for measuring gene expression

Real-time, quantitative reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR is a very useful and powerful technology for analysis of gene expression. At a first pass, real-time PCR appears to be a simple extension of regular PCR, and it should therefore be easy for an experienced PCR user to convert to quantitative assays. In practice, however, our experience would indicate that this is not usually the case, and most novice real-time PCR users run into problems even though they are very capable at regular PCR. One problem is that, unlike Northern blots, which are technically difficult but typically either work or do not, real-time PCR assays, even poorly designed ones, usually give data. Unfortunately, these data, or their interpretation, may be erroneous, since there are many potential pitfalls that need to be avoided when designing and using real-time PCR for measurement of gene expression. The purpose of this chapter is not to try to discuss the complexities of real-time PCR in detail (which would require a whole book), but, instead, to provide a simple outline for the development of real-time PCR assays. If followed, these guidelines should allow the reader to develop real-time PCR assays that avoid the most common pitfalls and that are capable of producing reliable and accurate gene expression data.
Chapter 5 Stabilization of Faulting by Cumulative Slip

Repeated earthquake ruptures along seismogenic faults generate significant amounts of wear materials, resulting in thickening of the gouge zone and possibly stabilization of faulting with the accumulation of slip. To investigate the stabilization process, the frictional sliding behavior was monitored as a function of cumulative slip when a simulated gouge layer of ultrafine quartz was sheared in a conventional triaxial setup. In a typical experiment at a confining pressure between 50 and 110 MPa, the sliding behavior evolved from dynamic instability to stable sliding through several sequential stages. Supercritical oscillations marked the onset of dynamic instability. Tens and sometimes hundreds of repeated stick-slip events ensued, and the stress drop amplitude decreased monotonically with cumulated slip. As slip accumulated, a period doubling stage was observed, with the stress drop amplitude showing complex bifurcations. This was followed by self-sustained, periodic oscillations which ultimately led to stable sliding. The period of the self-sustained oscillations was observed to be inversely proportional to the load-point velocity. Using a rate- and state-dependent friction law, we infer from the self-sustained oscillation data that the characteristic slip L is on the order of 1 μm. Our data also imply that the friction parameter [A(B - A)]1/2 is between 0.2 and 0.4 MPa. The slip displacement Xc over which repeated stick-slip instabilities occurred decreased with increasing normal stress. Experiments on three different country rocks (Westerly granite, Frederick diabase, and Blair dolomite) showed that Xc also increases with increasing rock hardness. Our data can be interpreted with a simple wear model. Comparison with seismologic data suggests that stabilization by cumulative slip in our experiments is more efficient than that induced by geologic offset. The apparent difference may be due to the structural complexity of tectonic faults and the possibility that healing processes operative in the interseismic period are different from the evolution effect observed in room-temperature friction experiments.
Activation pH and Gating Dynamics of Influenza A M2 Proton Channel Revealed by Single-Molecule Spectroscopy.

Because of its importance in viral replication, the M2 proton channel of the influenza A virus has been the focus of many studies. Although we now know a great deal about the structural architecture underlying its proton conduction function, we know little about its conformational dynamics, especially those controlling the rate of this action. Herein, we employ a single-molecule fluorescence method to assess the dynamics of the inter-helical channel motion of both full-length M2 and the transmembrane domain of M2. The rate of this motion depends not only on the identity of the channel and membrane composition but also on the pH in a sigmoidal manner. For the full-length M2 channel, the rate is increased from approximately 190 μs−1 at high pH to approximately 80 μs−1 at low pH, with a transition midpoint at pH 6.1. Because the latter value is within the range reported for the conducting pKa value of the His37 tetrad, we believe that this inter-helical motion accompanies proton conduction.
Roots that Clutch

In the United States, there are approximately 1 million children who were adopted1 currently living in adoptive families, 4% of families with a child who was adopted, and 5 million individuals of all ages who were adopted. About 150,000 children of all races and nationalities are adopted each year.2 At any one time, about 500,000 people are seeking to adopt with 3.3 adoption seekers for every actual adoption. As of 1998, the number of children in foster care needing adoptive families also reached approximately 150,000 in number. All of these numbers have increased and are expected to increase even more in the future. Both federal and state legislators have recently launched adoption initiatives to increase, in a timely fashion, the number of foster children who find permanent homes. The Benchmark Adoption Survey (Donaldson Adoption Institute, 1997)—the first in-depth look at American public attitudes toward adoption based on a probability sample of 1554 adults—indicated that: (1) 6 of 10 Americans have personal experience with adoption (i.e. either a family member, close friend, or they themselves were adopted, adopted a child, or placed a child for adoption); and (2) one third have considered adopting a child at least somewhat seriously.
Effects of MEA Fabrication and Ionomer Composition on Fuel Cell Performance of PGM-Free ORR Catalyst

Carbon-based platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have received increasing attention as potential candidates for low-cost fuel cell cathode catalysts. Mass-transport within the very thick catalyst layer (CL) presents a major challenge to further improve the fuel cell performance of PGM-free catalysts, which may be realized through the optimization of CL structure. Herein, we demonstrate that membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with not hot-pressed PGM-free cathode showed improved H2-air fuel cell performance in mass transport region when compared to MEAs prepared via hot-pressing technique. Further, the effects of the ionomer content and equivalent weight (EW) on fuel cell performance were systematically explored. We observed that an increase in ionomer content resulted in performance improvement in the kinetic region, while negatively affecting the performance in the mass transport region. The overall optimum fuel cell performance was achieved with an ionomer EW of 830 g mol−1.
Can Vaccines Cause Chronic Diseases

Adverse events after vaccination causing chronic diseases are a rare occurrence although there are some clear associations between vaccines and illness, such as oral polio vaccine and vaccine-associated paralytic polio and MMR vaccine and thrombocytopenia. When chronic illnesses have unclear etiologies or are caused by many factors, vaccines that are commonly given are often the scapegoat for the illness. This chapter addresses and refutes the association between various vaccines and neurologic conditions such as encephalitis and encephalopathy, Guillain–Barre Syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.
Variability in Minimally Invasive Surgery for Sagittal Craniosynostosis.

Minimally invasive approaches to the surgical correction of sagittal craniosynostosis are gaining favor as an alternative to open cranial vault remodeling. In this systematic review, the reviewers evaluate the variability in described surgical techniques for minimally invasive correction of sagittal craniosynostosis. Articles were selected based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria from an online literature search through PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane library. Extracted data included the incisions, method of dissection, osteotomies performed, and type of force therapy utilized.A total of 28 articles from 15 author groups were included in the final analysis. Of the 28 articles, 17 distinct techniques were identified. Significant variation existed in both the technique and the terminology used to describe it. Access to the cranium varied between a standard bicoronal incision (n = 2), a "lazy S" incision (n = 2), and multiple short incisions along the fused sagittal suture (n = 13). Additional variations were found in the size and design of the osteotomy, the usage (and duration, if applicable) of force therapy, and the age of the patient at the time of surgical intervention.This systematic review demonstrates that minimally invasive approaches to sagittal craniosynostosis vary widely in technique with respect to the incisions, osteotomies, and force therapy used. Additionally, the terminology employed in describing minimally invasive approaches is inconsistent across centers. This discrepancy between technique and terminology presents challenges for reporting and interpreting the increasing body of literature on this subject. We recommend standard terminology be used for future publications on minimally invasive techniques.
Brief Announcement: Federated Code Auditing and Delivery for MPC

Secure multi-party computation (MPC) is a cryptographic primitive that enables several parties to compute jointly over their collective private data sets. MPC’s objective is to federate trust over several computing entities such that a large threshold (e.g., a majority) must collude before sensitive or private input data can be breached. Over the past decade, several general and special-purpose software frameworks have been developed that provide data contributors with control over deciding whom to trust to perform the calculation and (separately) to receive the output. However, one crucial component remains centralized within all existing MPC frameworks: the distribution of the MPC software application itself. For desktop applications, trust in the code must be determined once at download time. For web-based JavaScript applications subject to trust on every use, all data contributors across several invocations of MPC must maintain centralized trust in a single code delivery service. In this work, we design and implement a federated code delivery mechanism for web-based MPC such that data contributors only execute code that has been accredited by several trusted auditors (the contributor aborts if consensus is not reached). Our client-side Chrome browser extension is independent of any MPC scheme and has a trusted computing base of fewer than 100 lines of code.
Effects of refrigeration and alcohol on the load of Aeromonas hydrophila in oysters.

Members of the bacterial genus Aeromonas are widely distributed throughout the environment and are readily cultured from a variety of foods. One member of this genus, Aeromonas hydrophila, has been reputed to be a significant cause of gastrointestinal disease. In this study, we examined the effects of refrigeration and alcohol on the level of A. hydrophila in oysters. Specifically, vodka was examined because it is used by the food service industry in preparation of Oysters Romanoff. One set of oysters was shucked on receipt, whereas others were refrigerated intact for 7 days at 5°C. The oysters were blended and the numbers of A. hydrophila present determined using starch ampicillin agar. Oysters were also shucked and placed on the half shell with 5 ml of vodka for 10 min. The oysters were then washed and presumptive A. hydrophila levels determined in both the washate and homogenate. On the day of purchase, the average number of presumptive A. hydrophila found was 7.6 X 10 4 CFU/g of oyster meat. After 7 days of refrigeration, the average number had increased to 3.2 × 10 5 CFU/g of oyster meat. In the oysters treated with vodka, the average number of A. hydrophila present internally was 9.9 × 10 4 with high numbers (10 3 to 10 4 ) isolated from the oyster surface. From these data, it is clear that refrigeration and alcohol treatment are not sufficient to reduce loads of A. hydrophila in or on oysters. La presence de Aeromonas hydrophila dans un aliment peut etre une cause de gastroenterite. Cette etude examine les effets de la refrigeration et la presence d'alcool sur les taux de A. hydrophila dans les huitres. La vodka est etudiee car elle est utilisee dans la preparation d'huitres Romanoff. Les resultats montrent que la refrigeration et l'alcool sont insuffisantes pour reduire la charge bacterienne en Aeromonas hydrophila dans les huitres.
Industrial Ecosystems and Food Webs: An Ecological-Based Mass Flow Analysis to Model the Progress of Steel Manufacturing in China

Abstract Materials and energy are transferred between natural and industrial systems, providing a standard that can be used to deduce the interactions between these systems. An examination of these flows is an essential part of the conversation on how industry impacts the environment. We propose that biological systems, which embody sustainability, provide methods and principles that can lead to more useful ways to organize industrial activity. Transposing these biological methods to steel manufacturing is manifested through an efficient use of available materials, waste reduction, and decreased energy demand with currently available technology. In this paper, we use ecological metrics to examine the change in structure and flows of materials in the Chinese steel industry over time by means of a systems-based mass flow analysis. Utilizing available data, the results of our analysis indicate that the Chinese steel manufacturing industry has increased its efficiency and sustainable use of resources over time at the unit process level. However, the appropriate organization of the steel production ecosystem remains a work in progress. Our results suggest that through the intelligent placement of cooperative industries, which can utilize the waste generated from steel manufacturing, the future of the Chinese steel industry can better reflect ecosystem maturity and health while minimizing waste.
Creeping Bentgrass Responses to a Tryptophan-Containing Organic Byproduct

Tryptophan is one of the 22 essential amino acids and serves as a building block for protein synthesis. Tryptophan also is a known precursor for auxin in plants. Previous research has shown that applying fertilizers amended with auxin coming from tryptophan may enhance plant defense chemical responses during limited soil moisture conditions. This occurs through increases in root production, as well as changes in endogenous hormone levels, resulting in plant growth regulating activity. Tryptophan is produced industrially through fermentation, and following that process, a byproduct remains. Tryptophan byproduct (TRP-B) is currently considered a waste product. However, the trace amounts of tryptophan and nitrogen containing compounds remaining in the byproduct following fermentation make it an intriguing subject for use as a growth promoter for turfgrasses. The objective of this research was to determine whether applications of TRP-B improve Penn A-4 creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) performance more than applications of pure tryptophan and/or urea.
ejωt and the time domain in Introductory Engineering Acoustics

Introductory classes in engineering acoustics traditionally focus on frequency domain solutions rather than those in the time domain. While this is somewhat historical in nature, it is also true that extensive coverage of analytic techniques for solving space-time partial differential equations is challenging in one semester. This is not a desirable situation because qualitative and quantitative understanding of the link between the frequency and time domains is often elusive to the new learner of acoustics. Such a deficit stands as a barrier to their deep understanding of the material as well as a knowledge gap of ubiquitous and important techniques. Naturally, computational tools to perform these manipulations are available along with high fidelity digital to analog conversion on students’ personal computers. Students now have the capability to play back their simulations to their own ears to compare to experiment. I will present one approach to teaching these concepts to students with no assumed signal processing background using Fourier transforms. I will show how to weave a relatively complicated frequency domain simulation throughout the class and how this model problem can be demonstrated. This same problem also serves to introduce the effects of nonlinear distortion and clipping in transducers.Introductory classes in engineering acoustics traditionally focus on frequency domain solutions rather than those in the time domain. While this is somewhat historical in nature, it is also true that extensive coverage of analytic techniques for solving space-time partial differential equations is challenging in one semester. This is not a desirable situation because qualitative and quantitative understanding of the link between the frequency and time domains is often elusive to the new learner of acoustics. Such a deficit stands as a barrier to their deep understanding of the material as well as a knowledge gap of ubiquitous and important techniques. Naturally, computational tools to perform these manipulations are available along with high fidelity digital to analog conversion on students’ personal computers. Students now have the capability to play back their simulations to their own ears to compare to experiment. I will present one approach to teaching these concepts to students with no assumed signal...
Design Guidelines for Mobile Augmented Reality: User Experience

In designing for mobile augmented reality applications it is very important to understand the context in which the information has to be presented. Past research on information presentation on small form factor computing has highlighted the importance of presenting the right information in the right way to effectively engage the user. This chapter provides an overview of the design challenges in developing persuasive usage model interactions for a great user experience on mobile devices. When designing for a mobile augmented reality application it is important to understand the usage scenario, the interaction modalities and the device form factor.
The Landscape of Van Winkle´s Mill: Identity, Myth, and Modernity in the Ozark Upland South

Archaeological investigations at Van Winkle’s Mill (3BE413), a mid-to-late-19th century sawmill in the Arkansas Ozarks, were conducted between October 1997 and October 2003. These investigations yielded information that may help clarify the changing social relations and race constructions associated with the end of the antebellum era as expressed via landscape usage. Additionally, the excavations have much to say regarding our stereotypes of both slavery (and by extension the whole African Diaspora) and the inhabitants of the American upland South.
Deformation-Induced Crack Initiation by Indentation of Silicate Materials

The micromechanics of radial crack initiation produced in indentation of soda-lime glass, fused silica and quartz are discussed in terms of a two-step, nucleation and growth model. Particular attention is focussed on the strong rate effects in the presence of environmental water, as manifested by a tendency to delayed crack pop in with decreasing contact duration. Microscopic examination of the indentations indicates that deformation “shear faults”, which accommodate the intense strains associated with the penetrating indenter, control the kinetics of the initiation process. The geometrical constraints which determine the stress concentrations for crack nucleation from these faults are structure-sensitive.
Evaluation of the child with headache

The chief complaint of headache in a child or adolescent can be daunting for the busy primary care provider. Having a practical and rational approach to the evaluation of headache in children can make the experience more efficient and effective.
Nonlinear Dynamics Analysis through Molecular Dynamics Simulations

A general goal in multiscale modeling is to analyze macroscale (system-level) phenomena using information on the system at the microscale. In this pedagogical note we revisit the time-stepper approach to performing nonlinear dynamics analysis through the use of a microscopic simulator, molecular dynamics in this case. Using simple illustrative examples we suggest that there are better ways of using a molecular simulator than observing temporal evolution of the system in a hands-off manner alone. Continuum numerical analysis algorithms can be transformed into alternative computational protocols for microscopic solvers: macroscopic nonlinear dynamics information, such as stationary solutions, stability boundaries or similarity exponents, can be obtained through the design and execution of appropriately initialized short bursts of direct microscopic simulation.
Approaching the singularity

What happens at the black hole event horizon, where time stands still and intuition breaks down? In the opening chapter of his new book, Einstein9s Monsters , astronomer and popular science writer Chris Impey puts the problem succinctly: "It made no sense for a physical object to have zero size and infinite mass density. Einstein9s theory had created something monstrous." Despite a few shortcomings, the book will be sure to capture the imagination of most who pick it up, simultaneously convincing the reader that these monsters should be loved and not feared.
Franchisees and Loan Default on Third-Party Guarantee Loans: Evidence From the United States:

We test the inefficient risk-bearing hypothesis—that third-party loan guarantors bear a higher risk on loans to franchisees than on loans to independent businesses—by assessing whether franchisees ...
Analysis of high-dose methotrexate with rituximab versus other treatment regimens for primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma.

2090 Background: The most effective and least toxic treatment regimen for primary CNS lymphoma is a matter of debate. Most current regimens utilize various doses of high-dose methotrexate combined ...
Erratum for Hullahalli et al., "An Attenuated CRISPR-Cas System in Enterococcus faecalis Permits DNA Acquisition".

Volume 9, issue 3, e00414-18, 2018, [https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00414-18][1]. Plasmid maps show some components in the incorrect location and orientation. This does not affect any of the results of the study, and the plasmid sequence uploaded to GenBank (pGR-ermB; accession number [MF948287][2])
Assessing relatives’ readiness for hereditary cancer cascade genetic testing

To explore the readiness of living, untested first-degree relatives (FDRs) to have cascade genetic testing (CGT) for a hereditary predisposition to cancer. Adults with a hereditary predisposition to cancer completed an anonymous, online survey about their genetic testing and their FDRs’ vital status, awareness of the variant, uptake of CGT, and readiness for CGT among living, untested FDRs using transtheoretical model stages of change. One hundred fifty participants completed the survey and reported 825 FDRs. Overall, 70.3% of FDRs were reportedly aware of the variant and 30.5% had completed CGT. Siblings had higher rates of awareness and CGT than parents or children (p < 0.001). Relatives’ sex was associated with awareness and CGT; mothers were aware and had CGT at higher rates than fathers (p = 0.049 and p < 0.001), sisters were aware and had CGT at higher rates than brothers (p = 0.041 and p = 0.002), and daughters had higher rates of awareness than sons (p = 0.038). Of 340 living, untested FDRs, 79.4% were in the precontemplation stage of change, with no difference by relatives’ sex or relationship to the participant. Most living, untested FDRs were in precontemplation stage, indicating they are not ready or planning to have CGT within the next six months.
Where Is the Narrow Passage

Bundle branch reentrant ventricular tachycardia (BBR-VT) is an easily curable form of ventricular tachycardia. High degree of suspicion is needed in patients who have VT and left ventricular assist device. We present a case of recurrent VT due to BBR-VT who was successfully ablated.
A Protocol to Engineer Bacteriophages for Live-Cell Imaging of Bacterial Prophage Induction Inside Mammalian Cells.

Summary The gut microbiome is dominated by lysogens, bacteria that carry bacterial viruses (phages). Uncovering the function of phages in the microbiome and observing interactions between phages, bacteria, and mammalian cells in real time in specific cell types are limited by the difficulty of engineering fluorescent markers into large, lysogenic phage genomes. Here, we present a method to multiplex the engineering of life-cycle reporters into lysogenic phages and how to infect macrophages with engineered lysogens to study these interactions at the single-cell level. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Bodner et al. (2020) .
Age-related similarities and differences in the components of semantic fluency: analyzing the originality and organization of retrieval from long-term memory.

The present study investigated age-related differences in retrieval from long-term memory using a semantic fluency task in which participants recalled animals during a 5-minute retrieval period. We...
Solar geoengineering may not prevent strong warming from direct effects of CO2 on stratocumulus cloud cover

Discussions of countering global warming with solar geoengineering assume that warming owing to rising greenhouse-gas concentrations can be compensated by artificially reducing the amount of sunlight Earth absorbs. However, solar geoengineering may not be fail-safe to prevent global warming because CO2 can directly affect cloud cover: It reduces cloud cover by modulating the longwave radiative cooling within the atmosphere. This effect is not mitigated by solar geoengineering. Here, we use idealized high-resolution simulations of clouds to show that, even under a sustained solar geoengineering scenario with initially only modest warming, subtropical stratocumulus clouds gradually thin and may eventually break up into scattered cumulus clouds, at concentrations exceeding 1,700 parts per million (ppm). Because stratocumulus clouds cover large swaths of subtropical oceans and cool Earth by reflecting incident sunlight, their loss would trigger strong (about 5 K) global warming. Thus, the results highlight that, at least in this extreme and idealized scenario, solar geoengineering may not suffice to counter greenhouse-gas-driven global warming.
Multiframe Evolving Dynamic Functional Connectivity (EVOdFNC): A Method for Constructing and Investigating Functional Brain Motifs

The study of brain network connectivity as a time-varying property began relatively recently and to date has remained primarily concerned with capturing a handful of discrete static states that characterize connectivity as measured on a timescale shorter than that of the full scan. Capturing group-level representations of temporally evolving patterns of connectivity is a challenging and important next step in fully leveraging the information available in large resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies. We introduce a flexible, extensible data-driven framework for the stable identification of group-level multiframe (movie-style) dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) states. Our approach employs uniform manifold approximation and embedding (UMAP) to produce a continuity-preserving planar embedding of high-dimensional time-varying measurements of whole-brain functional network connectivity. Planar linear exemplars summarizing dominant dynamic trends across the population are computed from local linear approximations to the 2D embedded trajectories. A high-dimensional representation of each 2D exemplar segment is obtained by averaging the dFNC observations corresponding to the n planar nearest neighbors of {tau} evenly spaced points along the 2D line segment representation (where n is the UMAP number-of-neighbors parameter and {tau} is the temporal duration of trajectory segments being approximated). Each of the 2D exemplars thus 'lifts' to a multiframe high-dimensional dFNC trajectory of length {tau}. The collection of high-dimensional temporally evolving dFNC representations (EVOdFNCs) derived in this manner are employed as dynamic basis objects with which to characterize observed high-dimensional dFNC trajectories, which are then expressed as weighted combination of these basis objects. Our approach yields new insights into anomalous patterns of fluidly varying whole brain connectivity that are significantly associated with schizophrenia as a broad diagnosis as well as with certain symptoms of this serious disorder. Importantly, we show that relative to conventional hidden Markov modeling with single-frame unvarying dFNC summary states, EVOdFNCs are more sensitive to positive symptoms of schizophrenia including hallucinations and delusions, suggesting a more dynamic characterization is needed to help illuminate such a complex brain disorder.
Preclinical PET imaging with the novel human antibody 89Zr-DFO-REGN3504 sensitively detects PD-L1 expression in tumors and normal tissues.

Background Programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) blocking antibodies including cemiplimab have generated profound clinical activity across diverse cancer types. Tumorous PD-L1 expression, as assessed by immunohistochemistry (IHC), is an accepted predictive marker of response to therapy in some cancers. However, expression is often dynamic and heterogeneous, and therefore not reliably captured by IHC from tumor biopsies or archival samples. Thus, there is significant need for accurate whole-body quantification of PD-L1 levels. Methods We radiolabeled the novel human anti-PD-L1 antibody REGN3504 with zirconium-89 (89Zr) using the chelator p-SCN-Bn-Deferoxamine to enable non-invasive immuno-positron emission tomography (immuno-PET) of PD-L1 expression. PET imaging assessed the localization of 89Zr-REGN3504 to multiple human tumor xenografts. Mice genetically humanized for PD-1 and PD-L1 were used to assess the biodistribution of 89Zr-REGN3504 to normal tissues and the estimated human radiation dosimetry of 89Zr-REGN3504 was also determined. Pharmacokinetics of REGN3504 was assessed in monkeys. Results Clear localization of 89Zr-REGN3504 to human tumor xenografts was observed via PET imaging and ex vivo biodistribution studies demonstrated high (fourfold to sixfold) tumor:blood ratios. 89Zr-REGN3504 specifically localized to spleen and lymph nodes in the PD-1/PD-L1 humanized mice. 89Zr-REGN3504 immuno-PET accurately detected a significant reduction in splenic PD-L1 positive cells following systemic treatment with clodronate liposomes. Radiation dosimetry suggested absorbed doses would be within guidelines for other 89Zr radiolabeled, clinically used antibodies. Pharmacokinetics of REGN3504 was linear. Conclusion This work supports the clinical translation of 89Zr-REGN3504 immuno-PET for the assessment of PD-L1 expression. Future clinical studies will aim to investigate the utility of 89Zr-REGN3504 immuno-PET for predicting and monitoring response to anti-PD-1 therapy.
Pseudo-random number generation based on digit isolation referenced to entropy buffers:

Unpredictable pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) are presented based on dissociated components with only coincidental interaction. The first components involve pointers taken from series of fl...
A Novel Four-port LLC Converter for Dual PV and Battery Integration

A novel four-port LLC converter for renewable energy application is proposed in this paper. The converter interfaces two Photovoltaic (PV) panels and one battery on the primary side whereas load on the secondary side. This topology allows three energy ports to share a single resonant tank through a hybrid full-bridge structure. The battery port of this converter is bidirectional to balance the load demand and energy generation from the PVs. Two PVs and battery ports are regulated via phase-shift modulation (PSM) to harvest maximum power from the PVs and control the battery operation, whereas the load is regulated by the Switching Frequency Modulation (SFM) technique. All operating scenarios with their steady-state waveforms, analysis, and control scheme are discussed. Finally, a simulation study is carried out to validate the operation of the proposed topology.
Multi-divergent-hole cardiac SPECT

412 Objectives A challenging issue in a stationary SPECT system is to provide sufficient number of view-angles of the object. Thus a stationary imaging system must form reduced images of the object to fit many images into a given detection area. This paper claims that the multi-divergent-hole (MDH) collimators can give better performance than the multipinhole (MPH) collimators in stationary human cardiac SPECT. Methods Currently the stationary cardiac SPECT system uses MPH technology, because when the object is far enough from the pinholes, the images are smaller than the objects so that many images can be obtained at different view-angles in the limited detection area of a stationary system. A drawback of the MPH collimator is that the view-angles from one collimator are clustered together, and system may not be able to provide enough angular spread for tomography. The MDH collimators can also give reduced images. The MDH collimation has two advantages over MPH : 1) In image reduction mode, the MDH system has better detection sensitivity than MPH with the same resolution; 2) The MDH system has a wider angular spread than MPH. Results The pinhole and divergent-hole resolution and sensitivity are compared. Numerical simulations show that the divergent-hole system has approximately twice the sensitivity as pinhole with the same resolution. The angular spread of an MDH system is about twice as large as that of an MPH system with the same image reduction factor and the same collimator-to-object distance. An MDH system with 3 detector-heads can cover a range of view-angle of 180°C, which is enough to provide a satisfactory image. Conclusions A stationary cardiac SPECT can be built by using MDH collimators, instead of MPH collimators; the MDH system provides better angular sampling, superior sensitivity/resolution trade-off, and no multiplexing.
Survival of patients with metastatic breast carcinoma: importance of prognostic markers of the primary tumor.

BACKGROUND Women with metastatic breast carcinoma have a highly variable clinical course and outcome. Intrinsic genetic heterogeneity of the primary breast tumor may play a role in this variability and may explain it in part. Therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that the characteristics of primary breast tumors are important determinants of prognosis and survival in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma. METHODS The prognostic significance of the biology of the primary tumor for outcome in patients with metastatic breast disease was assessed in 346 patients with lymph node positive breast carcinoma who developed distant, recurrent disease. Traditional prognostic indicators (age, tumor size, number of involved lymph nodes, sites of recurrence, disease free interval [DFI], adjuvant treatments, estrogen receptor [ER] expression, progesterone receptor [PgR] expression, S-phase fraction [SPF], and DNA ploidy), together with three newer biologic markers (c-erbB-2, p53, and bcl-2) were assessed. Sites of recurrence were defined as nonvisceral (bone and locoregional lymph nodes) or visceral (lung, liver, brain, and other organs). RESULTS The median duration of survival was 17.8 months (95% confidence interval, 15.2–21.5 months). Univariate analysis showed that age > 50 years, visceral disease, and shorter DFI were associated significantly with poor outcome (P < 0.05). In addition, the molecular phenotype of the primary breast tumor was significant, with primary tumors that showed ER negativity and PgR negativity, high SPF, aneuploidy, accumulation of p53 protein, and lower bcl-2 expression, together with c-erbB-2 overexpression, all associated with a poorer clinical outcome (P < 0.05). In a multivariate analysis, older age, visceral disease, shorter DFI, PgR negativity, high SPF, and lower bcl-2 expression were significant predictors of worse survival (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS In addition to traditional risk factors, bcl-2 negativity was associated significantly with a worse clinical outcome. Biologic features of primary tumors were correlated independently with outcome after first recurrence in patients with metastatic breast carcinoma and may be used as indicators of prognosis in the metastatic setting. Cancer 2003;97:545–53. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11083
Understanding social advocacy

Purpose – This paper aims to examine characteristics that contribute to leaders' emergence and development as social advocates in their organizations and communities.Design/methodology/approach – Building on theories of social problems, influence, and impression management, this paper examines how advocacy is affected by needs and situational conditions. Advocacy is the act of supporting an idea, need, person, or group. Advocates use cognitive, emotional, and behavioral strategies to influence attitudes, behaviors, and/or decisions for the benefit of individuals or to promote organizational change and/or social welfare. Social advocacy occurs within organizations in the form of corporate social responsibility, and it occurs within communities in the form of social entrepreneurship.Findings – This theoretical paper argues that motivation of leaders of social ventures is a function of their conviction, self‐confidence, and extroversion. Advocates' beliefs about people are likely to shape their advocacy stra...
Chemokine Function in Periodontal Disease and Oral Cavity Cancer

The chemotactic cytokines, or chemokines, comprise a superfamily of polypeptides with a wide range of activities that include recruitment of immune cells to sites of infection and inflammation, as well as stimulation of cell proliferation. As such, they function as antimicrobial molecules and play a central role in host defenses against pathogen challenge. However, their ability to recruit leukocytes and potentiate or prolong the inflammatory response may have profound implications for the progression of oral diseases such as chronic periodontitis, where tissue destruction may be widespread. Moreover, it is increasingly recognized that chronic inflammation is a key component of tumor progression. Interaction between cancer cells and their microenvironment is mediated in large part by secreted factors such as chemokines, and serves to enhance the malignant phenotype in oral and other cancers. In this article, we will outline the biological and biochemical mechanisms of chemokine action in host-microbiome interactions in periodontal disease and in oral cancer, and how these may overlap and contribute to pathogenesis.
FRET Response of a Modified Ribose Receptor Expressed in the Diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

The ability to insert complex proteins into silica has many applications including biosensing. Previous research has demonstrated how to direct proteins to the biosilica of diatoms [1]. Here, we show that a complex fusion protein that includes an enzyme, a bacterial ribose periplasmic binding protein, flanked by fluorescent proteins constituting a FRET pair can remain functional in the frustules of living diatoms. A Sil3 tag is attached to the N-terminal end to localize the fusion protein to frustules of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana. When ribose was applied, a larger decrease in FRET response was seen in transformed cells than in untransformed cells. Multiple forms of the expression vector were tested to find the optimal system; specifically, a one-vector system was compared to a two-vector system and the gDNA version of the Sil3 localization tag was compared to the cDNA version. The optimal system was found to be a one-vector system with the genomic version of the Sil3 tag to direct the protein to the frustules. Localization of the enzyme to the frustules was further confirmed through cell fluorescence imaging.
Economic well‐being of low‐income single‐mother families following welfare reform in the USA

This study explored changes in net disposable income for low-income single-mother families before and after the 1996 welfare reform in the USA. Although many studies on welfare reform have focused on employment or total family income as a way to measure low-income single-mother families’ economic well-being, little is known about their net income after expenses related to entering the workforce. This study analyzed net disposable income after tax deductions and childcare costs to provide a more accurate understanding of income changes using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation conducted by the US Census Bureau. The results revealed that while low-income single mothers were working more after welfare reform, their net disposable income decreased during this time because their earnings were low and offset by an increase in childcare costs and a decline in means-tested benefits, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits. Key Practitioner Message: ● To understand effects of the 1996 welfare reform on low-income families’ economic well-being; ● To understand comprehensive income sources and work related expenses of low-income families; ● To provide policy suggestions for comprehensive childcare subsidies to support low-income single mothers’ employment.
Conversion of Esters to Amides with Dimethylaluminum Amides: N,N‐Dimethylcyclohexanecarboxamide

Conversion of esters to amides with dimethylaluminum amides: N,N-dimethylcyclohexanecarboxamide reactant: 7.10 g. (0.0500 mole) of methyl cyclohexanecarboxylate product: N,N-dimethylcyclohexanecarboxamide Keywords: benzene; methyl cyclohexanecarboxylate, preparation of
Serial analysis of gene expression in circulating γδ T cell subsets defines distinct immunoregulatory phenotypes and unexpected gene expression profiles

Gene expression profiles were compared in circulating bovine GD3.5+ (CD8-) and GD3.5- (predominantly CD8+) gammadelta T cells using serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE). Approximately 20,000 SAGE tags were generated from each library. A comparison of the two libraries demonstrated 297 and 173 tags representing genes with 5-fold differential expression in GD3.5+ and GD3.5- gammadelta T cells, respectively. Consistent with their localization into sites of inflammation, GD3.5+ gammadelta T cells appeared transcriptionally and translationally more active than GD3.5- gammadelta cells. GD3.5- gammadelta T cells demonstrated higher expression of the cell proliferation inhibitor BAP 37, which was associated with their less activated gene expression phenotype. The immune regulatory and apoptosis-inducing molecule, galectin-1, was identified as a highly abundant molecule and was higher in GD3.5+gammadelta T cells. Surface molecules attributed to myeloid cells, such as CD14, CD68, and scavenger receptor-1, were identified in both populations. Furthermore, expression of B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein, a master regulator of B cell and myeloid cell differentiation, was identified by SAGE analysis and was confirmed at the RNA level to be selectively expressed in gammadelta T cells vs alphabeta T cells. These results provide new insights into the inherent differences between circulating gammadelta T cell subsets.
Restricted likelihood representation for multivariate heterogeneous random effects models

Abstract In the random effects model of meta-analysis for heterogeneous multidimensional data a canonical representation of the restricted likelihood function is obtained. This representation is related to a linear data transform which is based on the algebraic characteristics of error covariance matrices which are supposed to commute. The relationship between the heterogeneity covariance matrix estimators and the mean effect estimators is explored. It is noted that the sample mean exhibits the Stein-type phenomenon being an inadmissible estimator of the effect size under the quadratic loss when the number of studies exceeds three.
Anterior vaginal wall hammock with fascia lata for the correction of stage 2 or greater anterior vaginal compartment relaxation.

ABSTRACTPurpose: We determined the efficacy of the anterior vaginal wall hammock (AVWH) using fascia lata for the correction of anterior vaginal compartment relaxation.Materials and Methods: A total of 58 patients with stage 2 or greater anterior vaginal compartment relaxation underwent an AVWH procedure with autologous or allograft fascia lata from June 1998 to March 2001. Patients were evaluated preoperatively with a history and pelvic organ prolapse quantitative examination. Postoperatively patients were evaluated at 6 weeks, 6 months and yearly thereafter with pelvic organ prolapse quantitative staging of the anterior, middle and posterior compartments. Objective cure was defined as stage 0 or 1 relaxation. Subjective cure was defined as no symptoms of pelvic pressure or a vaginal bulge.Results: Of the 69 (89%) patients who underwent surgery 58 were available for followup. Median age of the population was 61.9 years and median followup was 24.7 months (range 12 to 57). There were 11 objective failures...