cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 Genome Revisited: Sequence Update and Re-Annotation

Bacillus pumilus strain SAFR-032 is a non-pathogenic spore-forming bacterium exhibiting an anomalously high persistence in bactericidal environments. In its dormant state, it is capable of withstanding doses of ultraviolet (UV) radiation or hydrogen peroxide, which are lethal for the vast majority of microorganisms. This unusual resistance profile has made SAFR-032 a reference strain for studies of bacterial spore resistance. The complete genome sequence of B. pumilus SAFR-032 was published in 2007 early in the genomics era. Since then, the SAFR-032 strain has frequently been used as a source of genetic/genomic information that was regarded as representative of the entire B. pumilus species group. Recently, our ongoing studies of conservation of gene distribution patterns in the complete genomes of various B. pumilus strains revealed indications of misassembly in the B. pumilus SAFR-032 genome. Synteny-driven local genome resequencing confirmed that the original SAFR-032 sequence contained assembly errors associated with long sequence repeats. The genome sequence was corrected according to the new findings. In addition, a significantly improved annotation is now available. Gene orders were compared and portions of the genome arrangement were found to be similar in a wide spectrum of Bacillus strains.
The Nice Niece

This case discusses the pharmacokinetic interaction between digoxin and St. John’s wort. Digoxin is a cytochrome P450 3A4 substrate and St. John’s wort is a 3A4 inducer and also a P-glycoprotein inducer.
Convective diffusion of nanoparticles to regional lymph nodes from the epithelial barrier

Abstract As HIV viruses are captured by dendritic cells, are ferried towards lymph nodes (LNs), replicate inside CD4-T cells, and finally penetrate blood together with lymph flow, transport of therapeutical nanoparticles (NPs) towards LN from intravaginal cream (IC) with concomitant drug release inside it and achieving concentration of released drug above minimum inhibition concentration has attracted attention for development of preventive anti-HIV therapy (PAHT). Our discovery of natural nanohole within the epithelial barrier, channels between them and initial lymph capillary (ILC), and their expansion during inflammation show that the PAHT strategy may be realistic if NPs arrive at LNs earlier than viruses. The theory for interstitial flow from IC towards ILC is developed, a new approximate method for description of convective diffusion is proposed, and an analytical equation for time of NP transport and for critical distance y 0cr between EB and ILC is derived. PAHT strategy may be realistic, if real y 0 y 0cr .
The Role of the Choroid Plexus in the Pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis

The negative effects of immune cells and their subsequent inflammatory responses in the brain have been known for many years. However, recent studies show that the presence of these cells is necessary for the proper function of the brain. Infiltration of these cells was previously believed to occur only through the blood–brain barrier, but current studies have concluded that the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier, which is mediated by the choroid plexus, serves as a hot spot for infiltration. Here we discuss why the choroid plexus serves as an ideal location of immune cell entry into the neural parenchyma and focus on how neurodegenerative diseases, like multiple sclerosis, exploit the intrinsic machinery of the choroid plexus to propagate pathogenesis. Moreover, a novel mechanism based on a study of another autoimmune disorder (Sjogren’s syndrome) provides a possible explanation of the initial injury in the onset of multiple sclerosis. We conclude by presenting a possible immunotherapy approach to treating multiple sclerosis by utilizing genetic engineering and coculturing of patient-derived leukocytes and oligodendrocytes.
Stochastic higher spin six vertex model and Macdonald measures

We prove an identity that relates the q-Laplace transform of the height function of a (higher spin inhomogeneous) stochastic six vertex model in a quadrant on one side and a multiplicative functional of a Macdonald measure on the other. The identity is used to prove the GUE Tracy-Widom asymptotics for two instances of the stochastic six vertex model via asymptotic analysis of the corresponding Schur measures.
Numerical Analysis of a Vapor Bubble Oscillating in a Capillary Channel

The oscillating heat pipe can significantly enhance the heat transport capability and achieve an extra high effective thermal conductivity. Obviously, the oscillating motion in the oscillating heat pipe plays a key role, and most of the heat is transported by the sensible heat or forced convection of the liquid plugs. In this paper, an effort is made to model the two-phase Taylor flow using the volume of fluid method within ANSYS Fluent commercial computational-fluid-dynamics software to address the effect of oscillating motion of liquid plug on fluid flow and pave the way for heat transfer to be added in future investigations. The results show that the mesh requirements for oscillating flow are more severe than that for steady-state, unidirectional flow. Simulations show that the bubble elongates at higher frequencies. And it shows that significant recirculation zones are developed, which can potentially enhance heat transfer in oscillating Taylor flow as typically found in an oscillating heat pipe. It w...
Treatment of depression in nursing home residents without significant cognitive impairment: a systematic review.

Background Depression in nursing facilities is widespread and has been historically under-recognized and inadequately treated. Many interventions have targeted depression among residents with dementia in these settings. Less is known about depression treatment in residents without dementia who may be more likely to return to community living. Our study aimed to systematically evaluate randomized control trials (RCTs) in nursing facilities that targeted depression within samples largely comprised of residents without dementia. Methods The following databases were evaluated with searches covering January 1991 to December 2015 (PubMed, PsycINFO) and March 2016 (CINAHL). We also examined national and international clinical trial registries including ClinicalTrials.gov. RCTs were included if they were published in English, evaluated depression or depressive symptoms as primary or secondary outcomes, and included a sample with a mean age of 65 years and over for which most had no or only mild cognitive impairment. Results A total of 32 RCTs met our criteria including those testing psychotherapeutic interventions (n=13), psychosocial and recreation interventions (n=9), and pharmacologic or other biologic interventions (n=10). Seven psychotherapeutic, six psychosocial and recreation, and four pharmacologic or other biologic interventions demonstrated a treatment benefit. Conclusions Many studies had small samples, were of poor methodological quality, and did not select for depressed residents. There is limited evidence suggesting that cognitive behavioral therapies, reminiscence, interventions to reduce social isolation, and exercise-based interventions have some promise for decreasing depression in cognitively intact nursing home residents; little can be concluded from the pharmacologic or other biologic RCTs.
Two Approaches for Increasing Student Learning and Professional Development

In this article, we explore two teaching methods as well as the field placement process in human services programs. First, we examine synchronous and asynchronous instruction to accommodate three learning styles: auditory, visual, or tactile. Second, we explore the field placement process in terms of student preparation, site selection, proper form completion, agency approval and clearance, monitoring student progress, and field supervisor and student interaction. Third, we provide theoretical examples that demonstrate the use of teaching methods and the field placement process to enhance the student learning experience and professional development. Further, we discuss the responsibility to the profession and Saint Leo University’s values of excellence, respect, and personal development. Instructors who employ these approaches increase opportunities for student growth, learning, and professional development.
What’s scale got to do with it? Models for urban tree canopy

The uneven provisioning of ecosystem services has important policy implications; yet the spatial heterogeneity of tree canopy remains understudied. Private residential lands are important to the future of Philadelphia’s urban forest because a majority of the existing and possible tree canopy is located on residential land uses. This article examines the spatial distribution of tree canopy in Philadelphia, PA and its social correlates. How are existing tree canopy and opportunities for additional tree canopy distributed across the city of Philadelphia and with respect to three explanations: (i) population density, (ii) the social stratification luxury effect, and 3) lifestyle characteristics of residents? This study used spatial autoregressive regression (SAR), geographically weighted regression (GWR) and multilevel modeling (MLM) to evaluate population density, social stratification luxury effect, and lifestyle characteristics as explanations of the spatial distribution of existing and possible tree canopy, and simultaneously evaluate the efficacy of different statistical analysis techniques. To control for spatial autocorrelation, SAR models were estimated, GWR models were fit to examine potential spatial non-stationarity and realism of the SAR analyses. The MLMs both controlled for spatial autocorrelation (like SAR) but also allow local variation and spatial non-stationarity (like GWR). The multimodel inferential approach showed the statistical models that included lifestyle characteristics outperformed the social stratification and population density models. Our results cast doubt on findings from previous studies using areal units such as block groups. More sophisticated statistical analyses suggest opportunities for enhancing theory and the need to reconsider frequently used methods.
Calcium Microdomains and Modulation in Mechanosensory Hair Cells

Hair cells from the cochlea and vestibular system contain highly ordered rows of actin-based stereocilia that translate nanoscale physical force from sound, head movement or gravity, into an electrical neural code, through mechanoelectrical transduction (MET). Here we report on calcium signaling in hair cells and neurons of the inner ear using a transgenic mouse line Gad2-Cre::GCaMP5G-tdTomato. Swept field confocal microscopy was used to image [Ca2+] modulation in the inner ear of transgenic mice, in response to physiological hair bundle deflection from either micromechanical movement or chemical stimuli. Images were collected through the intact membranous labyrinth or, in some cases, through a fenestration in the membrane. In semicircular canals, spatially localized [Ca2+]i transients were observed and quantified at the extreme tips of stereocilia, the apex of hair cells, in microdomains at the base of hair cells, and in postsynaptic terminals. Hair bundles were either stimulated with a fluid jet directly attached to a picospritzer or by piezoelectric micromechanical indentation applied to mimic physiological head rotation. Fluorescence were imaged using a custom upright Scientifica microscope configured with Olympus optics and a fast swept field confocal imaging system. In the semicircular canals, ∼1µm deflection of the intact cupula revealed punctate increases in GCaMP5G fluorescence (ΔF/F) at the tips of stereocilia. [Ca2+]i transients were restricted to the tips of stereocilia where MET channels are located and were not present in kinocilia. Cupula deflection also evoked large [Ca2+]i transients just below the cuticular plate, putatively colocalizing with the striated organelle. Depolarization with application of KCl revealed [Ca2+] transients in microdomains at the base of hair cells, likely reflecting voltage gated calcium channels modulating synaptic release. Preliminary results using adult vestibular organs of Gad2-Cre::GCaMP5G-tdTomato transgenic mice reveal highly localized time-resolved [Ca2+] modulation at the tips of stereocilia, in microdomains of hair cells, and at synaptic terminals.
A Personality Theory of Sophisticated Investor Decision-Making (In the 2008 Financial Crisis), with Some Policy Implications

This paper argues that a nuanced view of sophisticated investors, as well as sellers and structurers of financial instruments, articulated within a rationality paradigm, has implications for financial regulation. The paper distinguishes between conformist investors, who tend to herd, and confident investors, of which contrarians are a notable subgroup, who very much do not herd; sellers who are more aggressive, acting in accordance with strong form caveat emptor, sellers who are more empathetic, and those somewhere in the middle; and finally, focused structurers, who figure out how to achieve a particular objective, and holistic structurers, who also consider whether the objective (perhaps, an end-run around regulation) should be achieved. Regulation will work best if the different types of actors and their interactions are taken into account.
Interpretation of the Phonon Frequency Shifts in ZnO Quantum Dots

Nanostructures made of zinc oxide (ZnO), a wide-bandgap semiconductor, have recently attracted attention due to their proposed applications in low-voltage and short-wavelength (368 nm) electro-optical devices, transparent ultraviolet (UV) protection films, gas sensors, and varistors. Raman spectroscopy presents a powerful tool for identifying specific materials in complex structures and for extracting useful information on properties of nanoscale objects. At the same time the origin of Raman peak deviation from the bulk values is not always well understood for new material systems. There are three main mechanisms that can induce phonon shifts in the free-standing undoped ZnO nanostructures: (i) phonon confinement by the quantum dot boundaries; (ii) phonon localization on defects and (iii) the laser-induced heating in nanostructure ensembles. Here, we report results of the combined non-resonant and resonant Raman scattering studies of an ensemble of ZnO quantum dots with diameter 20 nm. Based on our experimental data, we have been able to identify the origin of the observed phonon frequency shifts. It has been found that the ultraviolet laser heating of the ensemble induces a large red shift of the phonon frequencies. It is calculated that the observed red shift of 14 cm -1 corresponds to the local temperature of the quantum dot ensemble of about 700°C.
Local investor attention and post-earnings announcement drift

We show that local investor attention, as a proxy for the arrival rate of informed trading, has an impact on post-earnings announcement drift. Measured by monthly abnormal Google search volume before the earnings announcement, high (low) local investor attention is associated with weak (strong) delayed market reaction to the earnings announcement and strong (weak) abnormal trading volume in the pre-earnings announcement period. The evidence documented in this paper supports both “rational structural uncertainty” and attention allocation theories that argue that information distribution among investors plays an important role in explaining market anomalies.
Conclusion—Implications for Management Approaches

Nonprofit and corporate employee attitudes and behaviors are shaped by their organizational cultures. It is the culture that determines value orientations of managers (Deal and Kennedy, 1982; Ott, 1989; Trice and Beyer, 1993). It is the culture that creates the profile of the employee within each sector of the economy: his gender, race, age, and compensation. It is the difference in cultures that produces the difference in value orientations among employees. Differing value orientations distinguish the identities of employees within sectors of the economy. Occupational identities are laden with the values of the occupation (e.g., reward system, personal, and professional networks). Since employees are rewarded for investing time in their occupational identities and the core values that support them, they may not find it necessary to build alternative occupational networks (Blau, 1964; Trice and Beyer, 1993).
Three-dimensional shock wave reconstruction using multiple high-speed digital cameras and background-oriented schlieren imaging

A methodology to perform three-dimensional reconstruction of an explosively driven shock wave’s position and shape as a function of time is developed here. A series of explosive tests are performed where the explosive process is imaged by multiple high-speed digital cameras spread over a wide area. The high-speed images are processed using the background-oriented schlieren method to visualize the shock wave. The data from the multiple camera views are then merged into a single three-dimensional point cloud representing the locations on the shock wave. The propagation of the shock wave is measured and fit to the Dewey equation. Analysis of the shock wave position and propagation allows identification of asymmetries on the shock front due to an asymmetrical explosion process. The techniques developed here are shown to be useful tools that can be implemented to augment the traditional point-wise instrumentation of current explosives research testing and provide an enhanced characterization of an explosion over traditional arena test methods.
Sandia National Laboratories, California pollution prevention annual program report for calendar year 2005.

The annual program report provides detailed information about all aspects of the SNL/CA Pollution Prevention Program for a given calendar year. It functions as supporting documentation to the ''SNL/CA Environmental Management System Program Manual''. The 2005 program report describes the activities undertaken during the past year, and activities planned in future years to implement the Pollution Prevention Program, one of six programs that supports environmental management at SNL/CA.
Correction: Implicit-solvent coarse-grained modeling for polymer solutions via Mori-Zwanzig formalism.

Correction for ‘Implicit-solvent coarse-grained modeling for polymer solutions via Mori–Zwanzig formalism’ by Shu Wang et al., Soft Matter, 2019, DOI: 10.1039/c9sm01211g.
Multisphere Method for Flexible Conducting Space Objects: Modeling and Experiments

In the last two decades, concepts have been developed to harness electrostatic forces and torques to enable novel missions, including coulomb formation flying, inflating membrane structures, and de...
Mental Health and Tobacco Use Are Correlated With Physical Function Outcomes in Patients With Knee Pain and Injury

Purpose To examine the relation between the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) domains of Pain Interference (PROMIS-PI), Depression (PROMIS-D), and Physical Function (PROMIS-PF) for nonoperative patients presenting to our ambulatory sports orthopaedic clinic with knee complaints and to determine whether patient demographic characteristics influence PROMIS scores, particularly tobacco use. Methods All patients treated nonoperatively for a primary complaint of knee pain were recruited for participation. Patients were included if they completed all 3 PROMIS questionnaires prior to their clinical evaluation. Patients were excluded if their treatment plan determined that surgical intervention was warranted. Survey results were compiled, and statistical correlations were run between PROMIS domains and patient demographic characteristics. Results A total of 527 PROMIS questionnaire sets were included. PROMIS-PF had a strong negative correlation with PROMIS-PI (R = –0.75, P Conclusions Our study showed an inverse correlation between PROMIS-PI and PROMIS-PF, as well as between PROMIS-D and PROMIS-PI, in patients seen in the ambulatory setting for knee complaints treated nonoperatively. A positive correlation was found between PROMIS-PI and PROMIS-D. Tobacco use was a patient demographic factor found to significantly impact PROMIS scores leading to minimal clinically important differences across all 3 PROMIS domains. The findings of this study may be used to identify patients at high risk of poor outcomes. Level of Evidence Level III, observational study.
The Impact of an Introductory Radiation Oncology Curriculum (IROC) for Radiation Oncology Trainees Across the United States and Canada.

Purpose Despite interest from both radiation oncology residents and program directors, many residency training programs lack a formalized introductory curriculum to orient incoming radiation oncology residents to the specialty. Methods and Materials Using the 6-step model for medical education curriculum development, a structured introductory radiation oncology curriculum (IROC) was created for incoming post-graduate year 2 (PGY-2) radiation oncology residents to address foundational concepts including patient simulation, contouring, and plan evaluation. The curriculum was distributed to 55 training programs across the United States and Canada at the start of the 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 academic years. Feasibility of curriculum dissemination was assessed via a survey of participating program directors. Curriculum effectiveness was assessed using an anonymous survey of participating residents administered pre- and postcurriculum and consisting of both subjective and objective knowledge-based questions. Results A total of 236 residents participated in IROC at the start of the 2018 to 2019 and 2019 to 2020 academic years. Of those, 228 of 236 (97%) completed both the pre- and postcurriculum surveys. Of participating residents, the median residency program size was 10 (range, 2-28), and the median number of residents in each program per year was 3 (range, 1-7). At baseline, most PGY-2s (142 of 228, 62%) reported being “not at all” or “slightly” prepared to function in the radiation oncology clinic, and after IROC most (188 of 228, 82%) felt “moderately,” “quite,” or “extremely” prepared. Objective knowledge improved pre- to postcurriculum on a multiple-choice test from 70% to 81% (P Conclusions The implementation of an international introductory curriculum for PGY-2 radiation oncology residents is both feasible and effective. Similar strategies should be employed to enhance and standardize radiation oncology educational initiatives across training programs.
Doping, Debunking, and Drawing the Line

The current ban on certain performance enhancing substances in sport such as erythropoietin (EPO) faces a line-drawing problem: what is the moral difference between taking an EPO injection to incre...
Effects of inter-crystalline space on the adsorption of ethane and CO2 in silicalite: implications for enhanced adsorption

Adsorption of fluids in nanoporous materials is important for a variety of industries including catalysis and is a promising strategy for hydrogen storage and CO2 sequestration. It has therefore been studied extensively. In a typical adsorption experiment, the sorbent sample is usually in powder form which consists of several crystallites separated by an inter-crystalline space. This inter-crystalline space may compete with the nanopores in engineered as well as natural materials for fluid adsorption. While in computer simulations that are used to complement experiments, much attention is focused on the choice of force-field parameters, the effect of inter-crystalline spaces on the properties of adsorbed fluids remains largely ignored. We attempt to study the effects of inter-crystalline space on the simulated adsorption of ethane and CO2 modelled in TraPPE formalism in a silicalite model composed of crystallites separated by different inter-crystalline spaces. The effect of inter-crystalline space is found to be profound and differs for the two sorbates. Presence of quadrupole moment makes CO2 adsorption in the inter-crystalline space more favorable and suggests that increasing surface area of a catalytic substrate for enhanced adsorption might be a relatively more effective strategy for adsorption of a quadrupolar molecule as compared to an apolar molecule. Also, the results imply that in experiments investigating molecules confined in porous media using powder samples, apolar molecules are less likely to give undesired bulk-like contribution from inter-crystalline spaces to the experimental data. CO2 molecules adsorbed on the crystallite surfaces are found to exhibit a high degree of orientational ordering and exhibit a preferred orientation favorable for higher amounts of adsorption. While larger inter-crystalline spacings lead to higher adsorption, the effect of using a larger crystallite is to reduce the amount of adsorption. The mutual negation of these two effects explains the apparent agreement of the experimental data obtained on a powder sample and the simulation data obtained using a perfect crystal model. This work has implications for both simulations of adsorption isotherms in nanoporous materials and the interpretation of experimental data obtained for these systems.
Surgical approach, complications, and reoperation rates of combined rectal and pelvic organ prolapse surgery

Our primary objective was to determine rectal prolapse (RP) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) reoperation rates and postoperative < 30-day complications after combined RP and POP surgery at a single institution. This was an IRB-approved retrospective cohort study of all female patients who received combined RP and POP surgery at a single tertiary care center from 2008 to 2019. Recurrence was defined as the need for subsequent repeat RP or POP surgery at any point after the index surgery. Surgical complications were separated into Clavien-Dindo classes. Sixty-three patients were identified, and 18.3% (12/63) had < 30-day complications (55% Clavien-Dindo grade 1; 27% Clavien-Dindo grade 2; 18% Clavien-Dindo grade 4). Of patients undergoing combined abdominal RP and POP repair, no postoperative < 30-day complications were noted in the MIS group compared to 37.5% of those patients in the laparotomy group (p < 0.01). Overall, in those patients who underwent combined RP and POP surgery, the need for subsequent RP surgery for recurrent RP was 14% and the need for subsequent POP surgery for recurrent POP was 4.8% (p = 0.25). In this cohort of women undergoing combined RP and POP surgery, a higher proportion required subsequent RP surgery compared to those requiring subsequent POP surgery, although this was not statistically significant. Almost one-fifth of patients undergoing combined RP and POP surgery experienced a < 30-day surgical complication, regardless of whether the approach was perineal or abdominal. For those patients undergoing abdominal repair, < 30-day complications were more likely in those patients who had a laparotomy compared to those who had a minimally invasive surgery.
Acute Invasive Fungal Sinusitis: A 30-Year Review of Pathology Practice and Possible Utility of the DiffQuik® Stain.

Acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFRS) is a fulminant disease with a high mortality rate. Here, we review the clinical and pathologic features of AIFRS over a 30-year period at a tertiary-care academic center focusing on diagnostic practice, especially the use of intra-operative consultation (IOC). A 1-year trial of intraoperative staining with DiffQuik® (DQ) was also assessed. There were 202 cases from 104 patients with AIFRS. The incidence of AIFRS increased over time (6.8 per year in the past decade versus 1.9 before 2009) as did the number of IOCs per case (2.4 per case in the past decade versus 0.6 before 2009). Disagreement between final diagnosis and IOC was seen in 8.3 % of patients, and the block-by-block error rate was 14.9 %. Fusarium was the most common fungus identified. An attempt to categorize the fungal organism based on histopathology was performed in 85.6 % of patients, with 91 % agreement with microbial cultures or PCR. Fungal hyphae were subjectively easier to identify on DQ stained cryostat sections compared to on routine hematoxylin and eosin stained sections and hyphae were identified in all 5 blocks in which organisms were present. The increasing incidence of AIFRS and expanding use of IOC indicate a need to improve and standardize the diagnostic protocol. The use of DQ as visual aid in IOC for AIFRS may be useful.
The evolving role of endovascular therapy in the management of arterial thoracic outlet syndrome.

Abstract Objective Over the past two decades, vascular surgeons have successfully incorporated endovascular techniques to the routine care of patients with arterial thoracic outlet syndrome (ATOS). However, no reports have documented the impact of endovascular therapy. This study describes the trends in management of ATOS by vascular surgeons and outcomes after both endovascular and open repair of the subclavian artery. Methods We queried a single-institution, prospectively maintained thoracic outlet syndrome database for ATOS cases managed by vascular surgeons. For comparison, cases were divided into two equal time periods, January 1986 to August 2003 (P-1) vs September 2003 to March 2021 (P-2), and by treatment modality, open vs endovascular. Clinical presentation, outcomes, and the involvement of vascular surgeons in endovascular therapy were compared between groups. Results Of 2200 thoracic outlet syndrome cases, 51 were ATOS (27 P-1, 24 P-2) and underwent 50 transaxillary decompressive operations. Forty-eight cases (92%) presented with ischemic symptoms. Thrombolysis was done in 15 (29%). During P-1, vascular surgeons performed none of the catheter-based interventions. During P-2, vascular surgeons performed 60% of the angiograms, 50% of thrombolysis, and 100% of stent grafting. Subclavian artery pathology included 16 aneurysms (31%), 15 stenoses (29%), and 19 occlusions (37%). Compared with open aneurysmal repair, endovascular stent graft repairs took less time (241 vs 330 minutes; P = .09), incurred lower estimated blood loss (103 vs 150 mL; P = .36), and had a shorter length of stay (2.4 vs 5.0 days; P = .10). Yet the endovascular group had decreased primary (63% vs 77%; P = .481), primary assisted (75% vs 85%; P = .590), and secondary patency rates (88% vs 92%; P = .719), at a mean follow-up time of 3.0 years for the endovascular group and 6.9 years for the open group (P = .324). These differences did not achieve statistical significance. Functionally, 84% of patients were able to resume work or school. A majority of patients (88%) had a good to excellent functional outcome based on their Derkash score. Somatic pain scores and QuickDASH (disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand) scores decreased postoperatively, 2.9 vs 0.8 (P = .015) and 42.6 vs 12.6 (P = .004), respectively. Conclusions This study describes the evolving role of endovascular management of ATOS over the past two decades and documents the expanded role of vascular surgeons in the endovascular management of ATOS at a single institution. Compared with open repair, stent graft repair of the subclavian artery may be associated with shorter operative times, less blood loss, but decreased patency, without changes in long-term functional outcomes.
A Simple Measure to Study Multinational Income Inequality

Using the Big Mac Index, we offer a simple measure to study the real income inequality. We provide a multidimensional real income inequality analysis by exploring the Coefficient of Variation and the Big Mac Affordability of households across all income deciles of 28 countries for the years 2000 to 2013. We look more into a few of the most interesting countries in our analysis in order to have explanations for the wide range of income inequality we observe. We compare Denmark and Mexico as representatives of the “more equal” and “less equal” countries in our analysis, and we find a visible difference in the share of each decile to the top decile of income between the two countries. However, we observe that, although a more equal country, Denmark has been exp eriencing a rise in income inequality while a less equal country (Mexico) has been experiencing a reduction in income inequality. We also focus on the United States and study how it compares to Russia, a country that shows a different direction of income inequality compared to the U.S.A. We find that while the wage income inequality in Russia has been correlated inversely with its growth, in the U.S.A., the overall growth and wage income inequality have been positively correlated.
Strickland v. Medlen: New Century, Same Rule

This article discusses the Texas Supreme Court's decision in Strickland v. Medlen, which held that emotion-based damages, such as sentimental or intrinsic value, are unavailable as property damages for death of a dog.
A Cryogenic Receiver for 1 Mm Wavelength

A cryogenic receiver covering the 200-350 GHz range is described. Two Schottkydiode mixers cover this range, with the mixers and FET IF amplifier cooled to 20 K. LO power is provided by a frequency doubler/tripler, with a Martin-Puplett interferometer used as the LO-signal diplexer. The best system temperature is 710 K SSB at 225 GHz, rising to 2000 K at 348 GHz.
Intravesical Salvage Therapy After BCG/Regular Chemo

High-risk, nonmuscle-invasive bladder remains one of the most expensive, recurrent, and frustrating diseases for the urologist in practice. BCG therapy is the mainstay of frontline therapy; however, recurrence will still occur for 40–80% of patients over a 10-year period. Radical cystectomy with urinary diversion remains the standard of care for many of these patients; however, recent evidence suggests that this is underutilized as many patients are either unfit for or unwilling to undergo such major extirpative therapy. Fortunately, there is a 6–24-month window of time after BCG to consider intravesical salvage therapy while not adversely affecting progression to muscle-invasive disease. In this chapter, practical guidance for the administration of several regimens including the expected side effects and cancer-specific outcomes is reviewed.
Multiscale Effects Masked the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Electricity Demand in the United States

Abstract Shelter-in-place orders and business closures related to COVID-19 changed the hourly profile of electricity demand and created an unprecedented source of uncertainty for the grid. The potential for continued shifts in electricity profiles has implications for electricity sector investment and operating decisions that maintain reserve margins and provide grid reliability. This study reveals that understanding this uncertainty requires an understanding of the underlying drivers at the customer-class scale. This paper utilizes three datasets to compare the impacts of COVID-19 on electricity consumption across a range of spatiotemporal and customer scales. At the utility/customer-class scale, COVID-19-induced shutdowns in the spring of 2020 shifted weekday residential load profiles to resemble weekend profiles from previous years. Total commercial loads declined, but the commercial diurnal load profile was unchanged. With only total loads available at the balancing authority scale, the apparent impact of COVID-19 was smaller during the summer due in part to phased re-opening and spatial variability in re-opening, but there were still clear variations once total loads were broken down zonally. Monthly data at the state scale showed an increase in state-level residential electricity sales, a decrease in commercial sales, and a small net decrease in total sales in most states from April-August 2020. Analyses that focus on total load or a single scale may miss important changes that become apparent when the load is broken down regionally or by customer class.
How Americans View Their Lives : An Annual Survey

With this issue, we introduce a new annual survey of Americans' attitudes toward their own lives and the state of the nation. Undertaken by two Harvard researchers and based on both their own surveys and the surveys of others, the analysis finds that Americans' optimism about their individual lives remains intact. What they are more concerned about is the state of the nation, along with their own future finances and ability to pay for health care. A majority now believe the nation is on the wrong track.
An Efficient and Scalable Coscheduling Technique for Large Symmetric Multiprocessor Clusters

Coscheduling is essential for obtaining good performance in a time-shared symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) cluster environment. The most common technique, gang scheduling, has limitations such as poor scalability and vulnerability to faults mainly due to explicit synchronization between its components. A decentralized approach called dynamic coscheduling (DCS) has been shown to be effective for network of workstations (NOW), but this technique may not be suitable for the workloads on a very large SMP-cluster with thousands of processors. Furthermore, its implementation can be prohibitively expensive for such a large-scale machine. In this paper, we propose a novel coscheduling technique which can achieve coscheduling on very large SMP-clusters in a scalable, efficient, and cost-effective way. In the proposed technique, each local scheduler achieves coscheduling based upon message traffic between the components of parallel jobs. Message trapping is carried out at the user-level, eliminating the need for unsupported hardware or device-level programming. A sending process attaches its status to outgoing messages so local schedulers on remote nodes can make more intelligent scheduling decisions. Once scheduled, processes are guaranteed some minimum period of time to execute. This provides an opportunity to synchronize the parallel job's components across all nodes and achieve good program performance. The results from a performance study reveal that the proposed technique is a promising approach that can reduce response time significantly over uncoordinated time-sharing and batch scheduling.
Remixing Composition: A History of Multimodal Writing Pedagogy, Jason Palmeri

In recent years multimodal and multimedia have become buzzwords with substantial cache in composition circles. As Clair Lauer outlines in “Contending with Terms: ‘Multimodal’ and ‘Multimedia’ in th...
Psychometric Properties of the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index: Part I

This article presents psychometric characteristics of the UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM IV (PTSD-RI) derived from a large sample of children and adolescents (N = 6,291) evaluated at National Child Traumatic Stress Network centers. Overall mean total PTSD-RI score for girls was significantly higher as compared with boys. Age-related differences were found in that overall mean total PTSD-RI scores and within sex groups were higher among those aged 7-9 years and 16-18 years. There were no significant differences in mean total PTSD-RI scores across racial/ethnic groups. The PTSD-RI total scale displayed good to excellent internal consistency reliability across age ranges, sex, and racial/ethnic groups (α = .88-.91). Correlations of PTSD-RI scores with PTS subscale scores on the TSCC-A for the entire sample and within sex, age, and ethnic/racial groups provided evidence of convergent validity, although not discriminant validity. In contradistinction to previously reported 4-factor models, an exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 factors that mostly reflected the underlying dimensions of PTSD in DSM IV. PTSD-RI scores were associated with increased odds ratios for functional/behavior problems (odds ratio [OR] = 1-1.80). These findings are striking in light of the wide range of trauma exposures, age, and race/ethnicity among subjects.
Stringent Control of Intracellular Proteolysis in Escherichia coli

Regulation of intracellular proteolysis has been compared during amino acid deficiencies in seven double auxotrophs of Escherichia coli 9723f with a common phenylalanine requirement. Individual deficiencies were either more effective than, less effective, or equal to phenylalanine deficiency in stimulating intracellular proteolysis. For each amino acid, the same relationship prevailed in inhibiting uracil incorporation into nucleic acids, a reaction series regulated by the rel gene for stringent control. The three amino acids least abundant in the cellular protein were the least effective regulators. These findings are interpreted as supportive evidence for stringent control of intracellular proteolysis by the rel gene.
Rumen Bacterial and Protozoal Responses to Insecticide Substrates

Insecticides containing organophosphate, chlorinated hydrocarbon, and carbamate were tested with bovine ruminal ingesta fractions. Rumen bacteria exposed to insecticide levels of 0 to 500 ppm in rumen fluid for 4 hr were inoculated into rumen fluid-starch feed extract medium. No apparent significant bacterial count inhibitions were noted. Also, when insecticides were used as carbon sources at concentrations of 500 ppm in carbohydrate-limited media, no increases in bacterial counts were indicated. Warburg manometric data showed that paraffin oil-Triton X-155 preparations of dimethoate, Diazinon, lindane, Thiodan and Sevin stimulated gas production in holotrich protozoa. Entodinium simplex, an oligotrich, produced less gas with insecticide substrates per unit of dry weight than did an Isotricha sp. Rumen bacteria and plant debris fractions from ruminal ingesta provided with insecticides did not give increased manometric responses over the endogenous control vessels. Washed suspensions of I. intestinalis produced volatile fatty acids in excess of the endogenous suspensions when provided insecticide substrates. Thiodan dissimilation by I. intestinalis was followed colorimetrically with 15% loss in substrate in 1 hr of incubation at 39 C. Diazinon-C14 substrate uptake was demonstrated with suspensions of E. simplex and I. intestinalis. Rumen ciliates are suggested as a possible means for screening out useful insecticides susceptible to microbial dissimilation for use on forage and other cattle-feed crops.
Core—Periphery Relationships of Resource-Based Communities

Core—periphery theory explains processes by which decision making in rural resource-based communities becomes dominated by urban centers. Urban cores have the advantages of centrality, synergism, and recombination. Data from Oregon communities and counties for the period 1949 to 1989 show dramatic change in the relative incomes between urban centers and rural resource-based communities at the periphery. Coping strategies for resource-based communities include forming cartels, becoming self-sufficient, promoting community sustainability, establishing a harmony of interest with urban cores, and changing community identity. Altering the structural advantages of urban cores is, however, very difficult.
Investigation of impact dynamics of roof bolting with passive friction control

Abstract In this paper, the impact dynamics of rock bolt with passive friction control is modeled. Numerical investigations are performed for the bolts with frictional energy absorber under various dynamic loads. The results are compared with those from fully grouted rigid bolts. The studies indicate that without the frictional energy absorber, the bolts are highly susceptible to failure under dynamic impact loads, while the bolts with the fictional energy absorber significantly reduce this risk. The studies also reveal that the bolt sliding may occur at the combined effect of vibration frequency and velocity magnitude. Sliding will only initiate above certain threshold value defined by vibration frequency and velocity magnitude. Furthermore, the simulation results show that under certain impact forces when rock mass subject to only elastic deformation, bolt sliding may occur causing the detachment of bolt head and rock face, which may incapacitate the rock bolt in supporting the rock excavation. The investigation signifies that further development and appropriate design of the rock bolt system with a frictional energy absorber are critical in maintaining stability under dynamic loading.
Agent-based modeling and simulation: introductory tutorial

Agent-based simulation (ABS) is an approach to modeling systems comprised of individual, autonomous, interacting "agents." Agent-based modeling offers ways to more easily model individual behaviors and how behaviors affect others in ways that have not been available before. There is much interest in developing agent-based models for many application problem domains. Applications range from modeling agent behavior in supply chains and the stock market, to predicting the success of marketing campaigns and the spread of epidemics, to projecting the future needs of the healthcare system. Progress in the area suggests that ABS promises to have far-reaching effects on the way that businesses use computers to support decision-making and researchers use agent-based models as electronic laboratories to aid in discovery. This brief tutorial introduces agent-based modeling and simulation by describing the basic ideas of ABS, discussing some applications, and addressing methods for developing agent-based models.
Shape of a fluid drop at a liquid-liquid interface☆

Abstract The equilibrium shape of a drop at a liquid-liquid interface has been computed as a function of drop size, interfacial tension, and density difference between the phases. The differential equation describing the shape of the bulk meniscus has been integrated numerically with the aid of an electronic computer. Numerical solutions of the differential equation describing the shape of the “free” drop interface are already available in the literature (the Bashforth and Adams tables). The results make a definite choice possible between formerly published models for very small drops. The drainage process in the liquid film separating the drop and bulk interfaces, before equilibrium is reached, is discussed.
Preventing STDs and unplanned pregnancies: a cognitive-behavioral intervention for young women entering the U.S. military.

Conclusions: The high prevalence of sexual risk behaviors and STDs in this national non-clinical sample of young women suggest the need for ongoing STD prevention programs for young women post high school. Moreover the findings of this randomized controlled trial indicate that multi-session cognitive-behavioral interventions are feasible and effective strategies for preventing STDs in at risk women. Finally this study represents the first and largest successful intervention of its kind. (excerpt)
Auto-oxidized cholesterol sulfates are antagonistic ligands of liver X receptors: implications for the development and treatment of atherosclerosis.

Abstract Liver X receptors (LXRs) are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily that are involved in regulation of cholesterol transport and metabolism. Expression of cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, cholesteryl ester transfer protein and certain ATP-binding cassette transporters that are responsible for cholesterol efflux from cells is regulated by LXR and its ligands. In this report we show that 5α, 6α-epoxycholesterol-3-sulfate (ECHS) and 7-ketocholesterol-3-sulfate inhibit transactivation of a reporter gene by LXR. Non-sulfated forms of these compounds, as well as many other steroid sulfates, had no antagonistic activity. Using chimeric receptors, the antagonistic activity of ECHS was dependent on its interaction with the ligand-binding domain of LXR. ECHS disrupts recruitment of the co-activator Grip 1 into a complex with agonist-bound LXR and this may be responsible for the observed antagonistic properties of these compounds. In various cultured cells, these LXR antagonists also promote de novo cholesterol synthesis and apoptosis. 7-Ketocholesterol and 5α, 6α-epoxycholesterol are present in blood and have been found in atherosclerotic plaques. If sulfated forms of these oxidized sterols are also present, they may have an important role in foam cell formation by inhibiting LXR function. Since LXR agonists can counteract the activity of these antagonists, they may have therapeutic potential against atherosclerosis.