cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 3464: Incidence of Cerebral Ischemia After Discontinuation Of Clopidogrel (Plavix) In Patients With Cerebral Aneurysms Treated Using Stent-Assisted Technique

Background: The optimal antiplatelet medication protocol for prevention of thrombotic complications after stent-assisted coil embolization of cerebral aneurysms is unknown. Premature cessation of antiplatelet medication has been associated with increased risk of thrombosis. The current analysis is undertaken to assess the incidence of stroke or transient ischemic attack after discontinuation of 6 weeks of prescribed clopidogrel (Plavix) in patients with cerebral aneurysms treated by stent-assisted technique. Method: 275 patients with cerebral aneurysms treated at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics by a single surgeon (DH) during a period of 24 months were retrospectively analyzed for aneurysms treated by stent-assisted coiling or stent-in-stent flow diversion and who also received follow-up at our center. Our antiplatelet protocol was aspirin 81 mg PO and plavix 75 mg PO daily for 6 weeks, followed by aspirin 325 mg PO daily indefinitely. Patients were assessed for incidence of stroke or transient ischemic attack as diagnosed by a neurologist or neurosurgeon by reviewing their medical record during the period of three months following discontinuation of plavix. Results: 154/275 (56%) patients underwent stent-assisted coil embolization during this interval. Documentation of neurologic follow-up after discontinuation of six-weeks of palvix treatment was available in 121/154 (78.6%) patients. Seven patients suffered an ischemic event after cessation of plavix (5.7%) with stroke in 6 patients (5.0%) and transient ischemic attack in 1 patient (0.8%). These events developed over a wide range of intervals from time of plavix discontinuation (1-12 weeks), with only one event within 2 weeks. Conclusion: The three-month incidence of cerebral ischemic events in patients treated with stent-assisted technique is low following cessation of six-week treatment of plavix. Events within two weeks of discontinuation were rare, suggesting etiologies other than stent thrombosis may have been operative in our patients.
Segmental proximal femoral bone loss and revision total hip replacement in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip: The role of allograft prosthesis composite

The treatment of substantial proximal femoral bone loss in young patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is challenging. We retrospectively analysed the outcome of 28 patients (30 hips) with DDH who underwent revision total hip replacement (THR) in the presence of a deficient proximal femur, which was reconstructed with an allograft prosthetic composite. The mean follow-up was 15 years (8.5 to 25.5). The mean number of previous THRs was three (1 to 8). The mean age at primary THR and at the index reconstruction was 41 years (18 to 61) and 58.1 years (32 to 72), respectively. The indication for revision included mechanical loosening in 24 hips, infection in three and peri-prosthetic fracture in three. Six patients required removal and replacement of the allograft prosthetic composite, five for mechanical loosening and one for infection. The survivorship at ten, 15 and 20 years was 93% (95% confidence interval (CI) 91 to 100), 75.5% (95% CI 60 to 95) and 75.5% (95% CI 60 to 95), respectively, with 25, eight, and four patients at risk, respectively. Additionally, two junctional nonunions between the allograft and host femur required bone grafting and plating. An allograft prosthetic composite affords a good long-term outcome in the management of proximal femoral bone loss in revision THR in patients with DDH, while preserving distal host bone.
Abstract 6: Resting-state Functional Connectivity Changes After Stroke Rehabilitation Using Closed Loop Neurofeedback

Introduction: Brain-computer interface (BCI)-EEG is a promising intervention for improving motor function after stroke. However, brain changes following intervention on a BCI-EEG system are not yet fully understood. We examined changes in resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) MRI in the motor network defined by 6 key regions in the left and right primary motor cortex (M1), left and right supplementary motor area (SMA), and left and right premotor cortex (PMC). Additionally, we investigated brain-behavior correlation between rsFC and a battery of outcome measures including the Barthel Index (BI), the Stroke Impact Scale(SIS), and the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT). Methods: Fifteen stroke patients with persistent mild to severe upper extremity impairment following ischemic stroke received intervention using BCI-EEG and were tested before (T1) and at 2-3 weeks (T2) mid intervention. 11 of these patients were also tested a third time at 4-6 weeks at the end of intervention (T3). Eyes closed, 10 minute resting fMRI and anatomical scans were acquired on a GE 3T MRI scanner. Right hemisphere stroke patients’ scans were flipped so that as a group the lesion was in the left (L) hemisphere and the impaired limb right (R). Seed region based connectivity analyses were performed to examine changes in RSFC over time and in inter-hemispheric and intra-hemispheric connectivity, and correlations between brain changes and behavioral changes were investigated. Results: BCI-EEG intervention led to significant increase in intra-hemispheric connectivity (p = .03) from T1 to T3. Inter-hemispheric connectivity increased from T1 to T3, trending towards significance (p = .06). Significant positive correlations were observed between changes in RSFC (L.M1 and L.PMC, L.M1 and R.PMC, L.SMA and R.PMC, and R.PMC and R.SMA) and change in upper extremity BI score (p ranging from .01 to .001); changes in RSFC between L.PMC and R.PMC correlated with hand strength on the SIS (p = .03). A trend was observed between increase in RSFC (L.M1 and R.PMC) and increase in total ARAT score but this was not significant. Conclusions: Results suggest that BCI-EEG intervention facilitate changes in RSFC in the motor network in stroke patients and these changes are associated with improved outcomes.
Role of FDG-PET/CT in the management of multiple myeloma and plasma cell dyscrasia

1338 Learning Objectives 1. To review the epidemiology, pathology and patho-physiology of multiple myeloma. 2. To understand current staging classification and the roles of FDG-PET/CT in initial staging and therapy evaluation of multiple myeloma. 3. To understand the FDG-PET/CT evaluation of bone marrow background activity, focal bony lesions, extramedullary disease, infections, osteolytic lesions on CT scan and other pertinent findings for multiple myeloma patients with Bone Density, CT, MR, lab and pathological correlation. 4. To understand quantitative FDG-PET/CT parameters in relation of overall survival on patients with multiple myeloma. 5. To review FDG-PET/CT vs. NaF-PET/CT in the detection of myeloma-related bone lesions. Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematological malignancy after Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and the most common primary bone marrow malignancy. Until recently, conventional radiographic methods, and to some extent MRI have been employed as the mainstay of diagnosis, but whole-body FDG-PET/CT is rapidly emerging as the modality of choice for assessment of overall disease activity (skeletal and extramedullary), for treatment planning (both initially, and for subsequent response assessment), for follow up, and for differentiating among different plasma cell dyscrasia subtypes. In addition, PET provides prognostic information that is not achievable from structural modalities.
Evaluation of Selected Parameters as Quality Control Criteria for Mass Producing a Tobacco Budworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Numerous parameters of a hybrid strain of mass-produced tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens (Fabr.), were measured, and the parameters were evaluated for their ability to accurately indicate the effects of several of the production processes on the quality and quantity of tobacco budworm hybrids produced. Egg hatch (%) measurements showed that the surface sterilization of eggs promoted uniformity and predictability of egg hatch. Pupal weight measurements showed that mechanical harvesting and surface sterilization of pupae reduced pupal weight. Nevertheless, these two processes apparently had no adverse effect on the final quality or quantity of insects produced. Abdominal rotation of pupae in the temperature/RH-controlled environment for pupal development correlated significantly with both mortality and incidence of wing/body deformities in emerged adults. Similarly, pupal cephalothoracic width (size), but not weight, tended to correlate with incidence of deformities in emerged adults. Preliminary tests with male and female moths of different ages paired for different durations indicated that the production process of pairing newly-emerged male and female moths for 10 days was optimum or near optimum.
Northern Separatism During the Mexican Revolution: An Inquiry into the Role of Drug Trafficking, 1910-1920 *

Regional separatism in Mexico, especially in the north, has been one of the most persistent and difficult to explain problems in the historiography of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920. It is well known that men of the north ( nortenos ) made the Revolution, in large part, and finally succeeded in winning political power. But nortenos, even those who followed Francisco I. Madero and after his fall, continued the struggle under the Constitutionalist banner, failed to agree among themselves either on their aims or their leaders. Leaving aside the questions of motive and ultimate objectives of the major separatists—Pascual Orozco and Francisco “Pancho” Villa in Chihuahua, Esteban Cantu Jimenez in Baja California Norte, and the triumvirate of Alvaro Obregon, Plutarco Elias Calles and Adolfo de la Huerta in Sonora—the question of how they financed their independent courses during and after the Constitutionalist victory remains. The following pages represent a preliminary inquiry into the role of illicit drug trafficking between Mexico and the United States in the era of the Mexican Revolution and its contribution to regional autonomy. Patterns and practice of medical and personal usage, as well as supply and demand in both countries are considered for opium, its derivatives, cocaine and alcoholic beverages, along with the gambling and prostitution associated with this trade. The interaction of all these activities and the governmental revenue derived from them, are treated in detail for Baja California Norte. The combined evidence clearly shows the potential governmental income from this clandestine traffic and strongly suggests the hypothesis that illicit trafficking provided a financial base for regional autonomy and separatism during the Revolution.
Low Temperature Dielectric Properties of SrTiO3 Glass-Ceramics

The low temperature dielectric properties of a particular SrTiO3-containing glass-ceramic have been investigated. This glass-ceramic exhibited a dispersive dielectric constant peak over the temperature range of 85 to 100 K and relaxation type loss peaks at temperatures near 50 and 100 K. Arrhenius plots of dielectric loss data gave activation energies of 0.054 and 0.17 eV for the lower (50 K) and higher (100 K) temperature loss mechanisms. The higher temperature loss mechanism was further analyzed by the Cole-Cole method, and a relaxation strength (Ks-K∞) of 41 was calculated. The dielectric constant peak was related to the higher temperature loss mechanism, and it was proposed that ferroic phenomena were responsible.
The biracial Asian population in California: an examination of health profiles and chronic conditions.

Objectives : To examine health outcomes and chronic conditions for the biracial Asian population in California. We hypothesized that the biracial population will display intermediate (or an average of) outcomes in comparison to their monoracial counterparts. Design: The study was cross-sectional. After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, multivariable regression models predicted health outcomes (ie, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, disability status, BMI, and general health) and compared health outcomes among various (mono- and bi-) racial and ethnic groups. Participants: Data were collected from 238,897 adult (aged > 18 years) respondents after merging iterations of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) administered in 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2009. Results: Multivariate results revealed that Whites reported better health overall than biracial Asians and other monoracial groups. Biracial Asians displayed BMI ranges that were intermediate between their monoracial constituents. Conclusions: BMI is a more proximal health outcome and is more sensitive to lifestyles and behaviors. As a result, BMI may be a better indicator than chronic diseases in showing that biracial Asians have adopted health behaviors and practices that fall between their monoracial counterparts. Future epidemiological research should examine the prevalence of more proximal health outcomes among biracial Asians and assess how it differs by developmental age. ( Ethn Dis. 2014;24[4]: 481–487)
Treatment of submucous cleft palate with selective use of the Furlow Z-palatoplasty.

Purpose Submucous cleft is an uncommon entity that can be complicated by functional abnormalities, specifically velopharyngeal incompetence (VPI), secondary to abnormal palatal muscular insertion. This study aims to characterize our experience using the Furlow Z-palatoplasty for the treatment of VPI in patients with submucous clefts. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted looking at 24 patients diagnosed with symptomatic submucous clefts between 2000 and 2007 at Children's Hospital of New Orleans. Demographics such as age, gender, diagnosis, need for surgical correction, type of operation, complications, presence of genetic syndromes, need for secondary surgery, and need for myringotomy tubes were examined. Results The average age at initial surgery for the entire study population was 6.2 years. The success rate of our Furlow procedure was 66.7%, with 33.3% requiring secondary pharyngeal flaps. The genetic syndromic patient population had an average age at initial surgery of four years and experienced a lower primary success rate of 50%. The non-syndromic patient population had an average age at initial surgery of 7.3 years, with an 85.7% primary success rate. Conclusions Our data supports the notion that Furlow Z-palatoplasty is an effective procedure in the treatment of submucous cleft palate with VPI, frequently without the need for secondary surgical procedures in the majority of patients, particularly those patients without syndromes.
Surgical treatment for total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage:report of 18 cases

Objective:To summarize the experience in treatment of total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage(TAPVD).Methods:Eighteen cases received surgical correction of TAPVD under hypothermia and cardiopulmonary bypass.Eight supracardiac patients were operated on through the top approach of left atrium.Results:Fiteen patients survived.Early mortality occurred in 3 cases(16.7%),delayed wound closure after surgery in 2 cases and arrhythmia in 4 cases.All of them recovered uneventfully.The cardiac function returned to normal in all the 15 cases during the follow-up term of 4 to 48 months.Conclusions:The key to successful operation lies on enough anastomotic orifice and avoidance of anastomotic stenosis.
Hematocolpos With Urinary Tract Obstruction in an Adult

AbstractHematocolpos in an adult is an unusual cause of urinary tract obstruction. A case is presented in which ureteral and urethral obstruction was caused by a large pelvic mass
Melatonin Entrains PER2::LUC Bioluminescence Circadian Rhythm in the Mouse Cornea

Purpose Previous studies have reported the presence of a circadian rhythm in PERIOD2::LUCIFERASE (PER2::LUC) bioluminescence in mouse photoreceptors, retina, RPE, and cornea. Melatonin (MLT) modulates many physiological functions in the eye and it is believed to be one of the key circadian signals within the eye. The aim of the present study was to investigate the regulation of the PER2::LUC circadian rhythm in mouse cornea and to determine the role played by MLT.
Competition and position-dependent targeting in the development of the Drosophila R7 visual projections

The R7 photoreceptor neuron projections form a retinotopic map in the medulla of the Drosophila optic lobe. The more inner photoreceptors mutation, an allele of gap1, results in the differentiation of excess R7s in the eye, whose axons invade the brain and establish functional connections. We have used this hyperinnervation phenotype to explore the roles of photoreceptor-target regulation, competitive interactions, and chemoaffinity in map formation. We show that the extra axons are supported in a wild-type brain, with all R7s from a single ommatidium sharing a single termination site, and thus there is no evidence that the target regulates the size of the presynaptic population. In mosaic eyes, in which ommatidia containing extra R7s are surrounded by ommatidia lacking all R7 cells, R7 axons still target to appropriate retinotopic locations in a largely empty R7 terminal field. Axons at the edges of the projection, however, send collaterals into vacant areas of the field, suggesting they are normally restrained to share single termination sites by competitive interactions. In contrast, no sprouts are seen when the vacant sites are juxtaposed with singly innervated sites. In the third instar, R7 and R8 axons transiently display halos of filopodia that overlap adjacent terminals and provide a means to assess occupancy at adjacent sites. Finally, in sine oculis larvae in which only a small number of ommatidia develop, the R7/R8 axons target to predicted dorsoventral portions of the medulla despite the absence of their neighbors, suggesting that position in the eye field determines their connectivity in the brain. We suggest that the mechanisms used to set up this insect map are formally similar to strategies used by vertebrates. The availability of a genetic model for these events should facilitate studies aimed at understanding the molecular bases of retinotopic map development.
Adaptive Output Feedback Control System Design for Low-Cost Electronic Knee Prosthesis

Electronic knees provide a wide range of mobility for the amputees. These can often cover K2 and K3 grades of mobility. To achieve a wider mobility, these electronic knees depend upon feedback sensors which provide real-time data to a microcontroller. Various methods are used to calculate the joint motion and knee angle which include magnetic encoder, electro goniometer, and inertial measurement units. The goal of this paper is to develop a sensor to measure angular change of the “stump” socket using accelerometer and ultimately that of the thigh movement, and to use it as feedback signal to the microcontroller in the electronic knee. Sensing the thigh position directly can help in achieving a more natural gait. This feedback system can be used instead of the passive feedback systems currently used in the electronic knees. Results show the potential of low-cost sensing method as a reliable feedback system which can reduce complexity of the hardware as well as the algorithms currently used in the development of modern electronic knee, and hence the overall cost of the electronic knee.
Mycologic and Mycotoxic Examination of Cycads

Cycads are palm-like plants that have shown very little evolutionary change during the period of their existence since the Mesozoic age. There are several genera in existence today in tropical and subtropical climatic regions of the world. Where plants belonging to these genera are indigenous, starch prepared from the seed, rhizome, or stem is used for human consumption. In addition, dried husks from the seed of Cycas circinalis are chewed by natives where this cycad is indigenous. In other areas, young sprouts and leaves of members of the genus Zamia are ingested by animals. In the Orient, seeds of C. revoluta are processed into fermented food.
Evolving Cancer Classification in the Era of Personalized Medicine: A Primer for Radiologists

Traditionally tumors were classified based on anatomic location but now specific genetic mutations in cancers are leading to treatment of tumors with molecular targeted therapies. This has led to a paradigm shift in the classification and treatment of cancer. Tumors treated with molecular targeted therapies often show morphological changes rather than change in size and are associated with class specific and drug specific toxicities, different from those encountered with conventional chemotherapeutic agents. It is important for the radiologists to be familiar with the new cancer classification and the various treatment strategies employed, in order to effectively communicate and participate in the multi-disciplinary care. In this paper we will focus on lung cancer as a prototype of the new molecular classification.
A Homozygous Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase T Motif Variant Resulting in Markedly Reduced Telomerase Repeat Addition Processivity in Siblings with Hoyeraal Hreidarsson Syndrome

Abstract 1272 Hoyeraal Hreidarsson syndrome (HHS) is a severe form of dyskeratosis congenita (DC) characterized by bone marrow failure, intrauterine growth retardation, developmental delay, microcephaly, cerebellar hypoplasia, immunodeficiency, and extremely short telomeres. As with DC, mutations in genes that encode factors required for telomere maintenance, such as the telomerase reverse transcriptase ( TERT ), have been found in patients with HHS. We describe two sibling cases of HHS caused by a homozygous mutation (p.T567M) within the TERT T motif, which is a highly conserved motif specific to the telomerase-class of reverse transcriptases. This mutation resulted in a marked reduction in the capacity of telomerase to processively synthesize telomeric repeats, indicating for the first time a role for the T motif in this unique aspect of telomerase function. The consanguineous parents, heterozygous for this mutation, exhibited telomere lengths around the first percentile and no evidence of a DC phenotype. Although heterozygous processivity defects have been associated with familial adult-onset pulmonary fibrosis, these cases demonstrate the severe clinical and functional impact of biallelic processivity mutations. Thus, despite retaining the capacity to catalyze the addition of short stretches of telomeric repeats onto the shortest telomeres, the sole expression of telomerase repeat addition processivity mutants leads to a profound failure of telomere maintenance and early onset disease. In the course of our investigation of this mutant, several commonly used algorithms predicted no effect of TERT p.567M upon protein function. To examine this further, we compiled missense changes that are associated with a clinical phenotype and correlated each with its reported telomerase activity and presence of the phenotype in more than one family member. We then summarized the predicted functional impact for each of these mutations based upon four commonly used algorithms. Our results demonstrate these algorithms to be limited in their capacity for predicting the effect of missense changes upon telomerase function, emphasizing the importance of in vitro functional analyses including processivity assays for TERT variants of unknown significance. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Management of Acute Skin Trauma.

Objective: To present recommendations for the cleansing, debridement, dressing, and monitoring of acute skin trauma in patients. Background: Acute skin trauma is common during participation in at...
Indifference Pricing of a GLWB Option in Variable Annuities

We investigate the valuation problem of variable annuities with guaranteed lifelong/lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) options, which give the policyholder the right to withdraw a specified amount as long as he or she lives, regardless of the performance of the investment. We assume the static approach that the policyholder’s withdrawal rate is a constant throughout the life of the contract. We apply the principle of equivalent utility to find the indifference price for a variable annuity with a GLWB contract with an equity-indexed death benefit. Using an exponential utility function, Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) type partial differential equations (PDEs) are derived for the pricing functions. We first assume the mortality is deterministic, and the pricing PDE is solved numerically using a finite difference method. The effects of various parameters are investigated, including the age at inception of the policyholder, withdrawal rate, risk-free rate, and volatility of the underlying asset. We also conside...
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Turkish Embassy Letters: A Survey of Contemporary Criticism

Since the publication of Robert Halsband's biography of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in 1956 and his later edited collection of her letters, modern scholars have been fascinated with the network of critical discourses in Montagu's writing in the Turkish Embassy Letters. Analyzing her work on multiple axes – religious, political, scientific, and gendered – contemporary critics have made this classic text accessible to new generations of readers and thinkers. Yet as scholarship on these letters continues to flourish, certain trends persist, often at the expense of new avenues of inquiry. This article proposes that several recent threads in the scholarly conversation surrounding the Turkish Embassy Letters have the potential to be expanded in three promising new directions to more fully explore Montagu's religious identity and its relationship to her discussions of religious belief and practice; her unique role as a mother while traveling; and her place in the smallpox variolation controversy and its relationship to disability.
A comparison of cytokinetically based versus intensive chemotherapy for childhood acute myelogenous leukemia.

In 1976 we designed a treatment protocol for children with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) that featured a cytokinetically based induction regimen and 30 months of maintenance chemotherapy employing vincristine-doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide, cytarabine, and 6-mercaptopurine [1]. The intent was to determine if relatively nontoxic chemotherapy would cure a significant number of patients, with the benefit of fewer adverse side effects. About one-third of the patients were randomized to a splenectomy group in an effort to determine if the spleen is a clinically important sanctuary for leukemic cells. In 1980 we drastically changed our therapeutic strategy to an intensive induction followed by either sequential intensive chemotherapy or bone marrow transplantation [2].
Crossing the Age Divide: Cross-Age Collaboration Between Programs Serving Transition-Age Youth.

Programs that serve transition-age youth with serious mental health conditions typically reside in either the child or the adult system. Good service provision calls for interactions among these programs. The objective of this research was to discover programmatic characteristics that facilitate or impede collaboration with programs serving dissimilar age groups, among programs that serve transition-age youth. To examine this “cross-age collaboration,” this research used social network analysis methods to generate homophily and heterophily scores in three communities that had received federal grants to improve services for this population. Heterophily scores (i.e., a measure of cross-age collaboration) in programs serving only transition-age youth were significantly higher than the heterophily scores of programs that served only adults or only children. Few other program markers or malleable program factors predicted heterophily. Programs that specialize in serving transition-age youth are a good resource for gaining knowledge of how to bridge adult and child programs.
Pneumocytic adenomyoepithelioma: A case providing support for the benignity of this extremely rare pulmonary neoplasm

Abstract Pneumocytic adenomyoepithelioma is an extremely rare and poorly understood pulmonary neoplasm, so experience with this tumor is limited. Since the initial case series where the lesion was first proposed as a distinctive entity, only one additional report has been described. We present a case of pneumocytic adenomyoepithelioma with clinical and radiologic data that provide the first long-term evidence of the benignity of this extremely rare pulmonary neoplasm. We also review the available literature surrounding pneumocytic adenomyoepitheliomas. Our case provides important new data on the behavior of this lesion, as imaging studies showed essentially stable or very slowly progressive disease over the course of approximately 9 years. Collectively, this rare and poorly described lesion appears to behave in an indolent or benign fashion, a notion that our case further supports.
Fossil Record of the Origin of Baupläne and Its Implications

Animal Bauplane and Unterbauplane appear abruptly in the fossil record, mostly developing early in Phanerozoic time; metazoan radiations near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary may have produced scores of phylum-level taxa, and during Cambrian and Ordovician time, hundreds of class-level taxa. Ancestors and intermediates are unknown or are conjectural as fossils. About one in ten invertebrate species is a known fossil, and sampling of the Cambrian and Ordovician faunas appears at least average for the Phanerozoic, so that many species representing ancestral and intermediate lineages should have been discovered if they could be fossilized as easily as the average species which is found. Transformations between Bauplane most likely occurred in small localized populations which evolved rapidly, perhaps the restructuring of a partitioned genome via regulatory changes, commonly creating heterochronies, can account for the large-scale but rapid morphological changes required. Virtual restriction of Bauplan origin to the early Phanerozoic may be owing to the open adaptive space and to simpler metazoan genomes at that time.
Neutron star pulse profiles in scalar-tensor theories of gravity

The observation of the x-ray pulse profile emitted by hot spots on the surface of neutron stars offers a unique tool to measure the bulk properties of these objects, including their masses and radii. The x-ray emission takes place at the star's surface, where the gravitational field is strong, making these observations an incise probe to examine the curvature of spacetime generated by these stars. Motivated by this and the upcoming data releases by x-ray missions, such as NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), we present a complete toolkit to model pulse profiles of rotating neutron stars in scalar-tensor gravity. We find that, in this class of theories, the presence of the scalar field affects the pulse profile's overall shape, producing strong deviations from the general relativity expectation. This finding opens the possibility of potentially using x-ray pulse profile data to obtain new constraints on scalar-tensor gravity if the pulse profile is found to be in agreement with general relativity.
Modulating thermal conduction via phonon spectral coupling

We report an approach to modulate thermal conduction that utilizes phonon coupling in layered nanostructures. While phonon coupling has been used previously to enhance thermal transport of an embedded layer in a tri-layer structure, the impact of coupling on cladding layers has remained unclear. Here, we develop a methodology to quantitatively evaluate the impact of phonon coupling on each layer in a tri-layer structure. We uncover that the underlying phonon-injection mechanism behind thermal conductivity enhancement can also be leveraged to reduce the thermal conductivity of an embedded silicon thin-film below its free-standing value. We evaluate the dependence of resultant thermal conductivity modulations on structural parameters and find that they are critically dependent on layer spacings and interface properties. We also extend the tri-layer transport analysis to bi-layer structures and report how phonon coupling leads to analogous thermal conductivity modulations. The results of this work open new avenues within the rational thermal design by elucidating a new method that can be used to both increase and reduce thermal conductivities and advance the basic understanding of nanoscale thermal transport by incorporating the role of phonon spectral coupling. The prospects of being able to modulate the thermal conductivity can radically change how we control heat flow in electronic, optoelectronic, and thermoelectric materials.
Cost-efficient 3D Integration to Hinder Reverse Engineering During and After Manufacturing

Reverse engineering (RE) attacks pose a serious threat to the semiconductor supply chain. In this paper, we address this problem by proposing a design flow that leverages the unique capabilities of 3D integration to synergistically combine split fabrication and circuit camouflaging. First, 3D heterogeneous multi-chip integration is utilized to support efficient dielevel split fabrication to protect against RE during manufacturing. Second, to prevent RE after manufacturing, a subset of the trusted foundry’s die is obscured to significantly increase decamouflaging difficulty. A security-based cutsize-optimized partition algorithm is proposed to maximize the number of securely camouflaged gates on the trusted die while reducing the cutsize. Third, cost modeling is applied to demonstrate the cost effectiveness of the proposed 3D split fabrication flow compared with existing solutions. Across six widely used benchmarks, evaluations on 3D split fabrication designs between 15nm to 90nm processes show that the proposed design can effectively hinder practical RE attacks during manufacturing (Hamming Distance=30%) and after manufacturing (Complexity-to-Decamouflage=145), with minimum overheads to cutsize, foot-print, and cost.
Abstract # 3083 The role of gut-brain axis in chemotherapy-induced behavioral comorbidities

Recent evidence indicates that the gut microbiome can influence brain and behavior, including cognition. Approximately one-third of cancer survivors report cognitive impairments after receiving chemotherapy. Many of these cancer patients also experience adverse effects on their gut, including diarrhea and vomiting, along with a shift in community structure of their natural gut microbiota. However, very little is known about the potential role of the gut microbiome in the enduring and prevalent consequences of chemotherapy on the brain and cognitive function. The present hypothesis is that chemotherapy shifts composition in the gut microbiota, leading to neuroinflammation and cognitive impairments. Here, half of the adult Balb/c female mice received 6 doses of paclitaxel chemotherapy (30 mg/kg; i.p.; every other day); the others received vehicle (n = 5–10/group). Immediately or 2 weeks after chemotherapy, cognition was assessed by fear conditioning and tissues were collected to assess neuroinflammation and 16S fecal microbial profiles. These preliminary data suggest that chemotherapy treatment impaired cued conditioning and decreased diversity of fecal microbial taxa (marked by increased abundance of Turicibacter species), which was correlated with brain inflammatory markers. Paclitaxel also increased gut and spleen masses, while altering transcript expression of genes necessary for paclitaxel excretion in both the brain and the colon. These results suggest that the gut microbiota may exert indirect effects of chemotherapy on the brain, thereby potentiating behavioral comorbidities.
Loss of premature stop codon in the Wall-Associated Kinase 91 (OsWAK91) gene confers sheath blight disease resistance in rice

Abstract The genetic arms race between pathogen and host plant is a tug of war that has been ongoing for millennia. The “battles” are those of disruption, restoration of signaling and information transmission on a subcellular level. One such battle occurs between rice an important crop that feeds 50% of the world population and the sheath blight disease (SB) caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani. It results in 10□30% global yield loss annually and can reach 50% under severe outbreak. Many Receptor□like kinases (RLKs) are recruited as soldiers in these battles. Wall Associated Receptor Kinases (WAKs) a subfamily of receptor-like kinases have been shown to play a role in fungal defense. Here we show that rice gene OsWAK91, present in the major SB resistance QTL region on Chromosome□9 is a key component in defense against rice sheath blight. An SNP mutation C/T separates susceptible variety, Cocodrie (CCDR) from the resistant line MCR010277 (MCR). The resistant allele C results in the stop codon loss that results in 68 amino acids longer C□terminus carrying longer protein kinase domain and phosphorylation sites. Our genotype and phenotype analysis of the top 20 individuals of the double haploid SB population shows a strong correlation with the SNP. The susceptible allele appears as a recent introduction found in the japonica subspecies reference genome and a majority of the tropical and temperate japonica lines sequenced by the 3000 rice genome project. Multiple US commercial varieties with japonica background carry the susceptible allele and are known for SB susceptibility. This discovery opens the possibility of introducing resistance alleles into high yielding commercial varieties to reduce yield losses incurred by the disease.
Implementing Computational Reproducibility in the Whole Tale Environment

We present and define a structured digital object, called a "Tale," for the dissemination and publication of computational scientific findings in the scholarly record. The Tale emerges from the NSF funded Whole Tale project (wholetale.org) which is developing a computational environment designed to capture the entire computational pipeline associated with a scientific experiment and thereby enable computational reproducibility. A Tale allows researchers to create and package code, data and information about the workflow and computational environment necessary to support, review, and recreate the computational results reported in published research. The Tale then captures the artifacts and information needed to facilitate understanding, transparency, and execution of the Tale for review and reproducibility at the time of publication.
Thinking Globally About the Public Service Work Experience

While a century of scholarship in public administration has probed policy process and analysis, implementation and management, institutions, principals and agents, and human, financial, and information resources, readers are left to fill in the blank for what public service feels like and what the everyday experience is. The preference for cognition over emotion has produced a tranche of research into tangible, measurable components, to the exclusion of those elements that contribute rapport between citizen and state, job satisfaction, meaningfulness, and the sparkle that reinforces public service motivation. Descarte’s error becomes obvious: The heart and the head are not separate; they strive to be in harmony. Valuing both the emotive and the cognitive is at the vanguard of research into effective public service and citizen engagement. Citizens must feel good about government just as public servants must care. Thus, the emotive component is coming into focus. This chapter explains why it is important, why it matters in today’s environment, and what remains to be learned.
AN ANALYSIS OF THE 2 DEGREE AND 10 DEGREE FIELD COLOR-MATCHING FUNCTIONS.

The 2o and 10o field color-matching functions are independent: one specification is not a linear transformation of the other, even after correcting for macular pigment effects. Therefore, the “true” color-matching functions which directly describe the linear responses of the eye must be different for the two field sizes. This means that a given stimulus will, in general, have a different chromaticity depending upon the field size, regardless of the choice of any one colorimetric co-ordinate system for all field sizes. However, in spite of these chromaticity differences, a large uniform field usually appears nearly uniform. Such color uniformity implies that even though chromatic differences occur as a function of retinal position or field size, these differences are small. If this is the case, then the underling “true” color-matching functions determining the observed color-matching functions must be nearly, but not quite, identical. These differences vanish as identity between the sets of color-matching functions is approached. This property suggests a method of calculating the “true” color-matching functions. The “true” color-matching functions must approximate those obtained by minimizing the chromaticity differences between two independent sets of data. This can be done by assuming that the coefficients of transformation should be adjusted so as to produce as nearly identical chromaticities for spectrum stimuli as possible. In this paper, it is also assumed that the “true” color-matching functions have no negative values, as if they were based on actual absorption spectra. This article describes the calculation of the “true” 2o and 10o field color-matching functions satisfying these two conditions. For both field sizes, the maxima of the three functions are near 435, 540, and 585 mμ, after correcting for the filtering effects of the ocular media and macular pigment.
Causal intersectionality for fair ranking

In this paper we propose a causal modeling approach to intersectional fairness, and a flexible, task-specific method for computing intersectionally fair rankings. Rankings are used in many contexts, ranging from Web search results to college admissions, but causal inference for fair rankings has received limited attention. Additionally, the growing literature on causal fairness has directed little attention to intersectionality. By bringing these issues together in a formal causal framework we make the application of intersectionality in fair machine learning explicit, connected to important real world effects and domain knowledge, and transparent about technical limitations. We experimentally evaluate our approach on real and synthetic datasets, exploring its behaviour under different structural assumptions.
Implicit Weight Bias and Heart Attack Mortality: A Regression Analysis

Objectives - This study explores the relationship between implicit bias against overweight people and heart attack mortality. Methods - An ordinary least-squares regression of implicit weight bias and heart attack mortality, including explicit weight bias as a covariate. Implicit weight bias is operationalized as US county Implicit Association Test scores, collected by Project Implicit. Heart attack mortality rates for each US county are drawn from the Center of Disease Control. Results - Both implicit and explicit weight bias are found to be associated with lower rates of heart attack mortality. Conclusion - This counter-intuitive relationship might be explained by the intergroup contact theory, holding that prolonged exposed to a stigmatized group reduces the majority group’s bias toward that group. Caution should be used when trying to use these findings to support Callahan’s theory that bias and social pressure would nudge obese people towards healthier habits and better health.
The Spectral Zeta Function for Laplace Operators on Warped Product Manifolds of the type I × f N

In this work we study the spectral zeta function associated with the Laplace operator acting on scalar functions defined on a warped product of manifolds of the type I ×f N, where I is an interval of the real line and N is a compact, d-dimensional Riemannian manifold either with or without boundary. Starting from an integral representation of the spectral zeta function, we find its analytic continuation by exploiting the WKB asymptotic expansion of the eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator on M for which a detailed analysis is presented. We apply the obtained results to the explicit computation of the zeta regularized functional determinant and the coefficients of the heat kernel asymptotic expansion.
Impact of law against domestic violence (DV) on the reproductive health of abuse victims in India.

Objectives: Assess the effect of law against DV on the prevalence of abuse and reproductive health. Methods: I analyzed DV data from National Family Health Surveys (NFHS 3&4- 2005-06 and 2015-16) of India. The analytical sample was 69,438 NFHS3; n=66,013 NFHS4 of ever-married women aged 15-49 years. The main outcomes were unwanted pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, contraceptive use, age of first birth, and sexually transmitted infections in abuse victims and DV was the main independent variable. Covariates choice was guided by the socioecological model. I used the difference-in-difference model to compare the prevalence between the two surveys. Results: The prevalence of DV was 39.8% in 2005-06 and 33.3% in 2015-16. In 2005 38.5% of victims were sterilized versus 1% having partner sterilized. In 2015 41% of victims were sterilized and only 0.29% had partners sterilized. There was no difference in the prevalence of victims experiencing STI between NFHS3 (16.5%) and NFHS4 (16.2%). About 29% did not want a pregnancy in 2005 versus 16.5% in 2015; 12.7% had terminated pregnancy in 2005 versus 13.7% in 2015; 66.4% had first birth before 20 years in 2005 versus 49% in 2015. The difference in female sterilization, male sterilization, unwanted pregnancy, and termination of pregnancy between two surveys was not significant. The probability of adolescent pregnancy increased by 3.8% points (p<0.001) and STIs decreased by 1% points (p<0.01) in 2015. Conclusion: There was a mixed effect on reproductive health outcomes related to DV post-law. There is a need for stringent measures against DV to improve the sexual and reproductive health of women in India.