cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved Mechanical Property in Fiber Reinforced Plastic Composites Using Spray Coated CNTs

Carbon nanotubes have been employed as prominent nanofillers in composite matrix systems to improve the mechanical properties as well as thermal and electrical properties. A spray coating method is being developed as an effective way to deposit carbon nanotubes onto carbon fiber fabrics with good control of network formation. Compared to conventional approaches, such as chemical vapor deposition and solvent based dispersion approach, the proposed method is simple and versatile with the potential for industrial scale-up. In this paper carbon nanotubes are dispersed in solvent with optimized fabrication experimental processing procedures and sprayed on carbon fiber fabrics. Once all the solvent has been evaporated, the coated carbon fiber fabrics are examined using scanning electron microscopy system. We fabricate carbon fiber reinforced composites using an optimized wet layer approach. Both the prepared carbon nanotube coated carbon fiber fabrics and pristine carbon fiber fabrics were used with the conventional epoxy for the composite fabrication. The enhanced mechanical properties of the composites are experimentally characterized, especially focusing on the Mode-I toughness and strength. The experimental results showed that the spray coated CNTs can significantly improve the mechanical properties of composite, especially under the Mode-I fracture load conditions.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Abstract TP395: Transition Coaching for Stroke (TRACS): Assessing Health Literacy and Readmissions

Objective: There is a critical need for tailoring transition care for stroke survivors, especially those that address health literacy. The objective of this pilot program is to provide individualized coaching for stroke risk factors at discharge, and to assess the role of health literacy on readmissions. Methods: We enrolled patients discharged home with ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, or TIA from 9/2011 to 7/2012. Transition coaching was performed one-on-one in the hospital using a take-home packet that included review of a check list of their risk factors, medication information, instructions for stroke awareness, action with new symptoms, and post-hospital follow-up care. Materials were in large font for a 7th to 8th grade reading level, with a one-page summary for ease of reading. Data collection forms were programmed for online data entry of baseline variables (education, prior hospitalizations, health literacy) using REDcap. All cause readmissions within 30 days or longer were obtained from medical records and hospital reports. Results: 90 patients with NIHSS information were enrolled. Mean age was 63.3 yrs (std 14.3), 53% female, 69% white, 30% Black, 68% ischemic stroke, 10% hemorrhagic stroke, 20% TIA, and median NIHSS 2.0 (range 0-27). 16% were not confident filling out medical forms by themselves, 15% needed help with doctor/pharmacy materials, and 5% were not happy with the way they read. 37% preferred to learn new things by reading brochures, 14% preferred someone going over materials with them, 13% watching videos, and 12% by having someone tell them. 41% preferred alternative learning methods outside the choices provided. 22 patients were readmitted, 9 of which were within 30 days of discharge. 33% of those readmitted were not very confident or not confident at all with filling out medical forms vs 11% of those not readmitted (p= 0.026). Although attenuated after adjustment for education, low confidence with medical forms was independently associated with readmission (OR 3.235; 95% CI: 0.819-12.785; p=0.094). Conclusions: Accounting for health literacy and patient preferences for learning should be a key component in transition programs to provide appropriately tailored coaching to reduce adverse outcomes, such as readmissions.
Inhaled nitric oxide in persistent pulmonary hypertension of newborn

Objective To study the theraputic effects of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) of the newborn infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) Methods Six neonates were mechanically ventilated with FiO 2 of 0 93±0 1 and mean airway pressure (MAP) of 12 7±2 7 cmH 2O Pulmonary hypertension was diagnosed by using Doppler echocardiography Nitric oxide inhalation was given to the patients after conventional ventilation therapy failed Systemic oxygenation, a/A ratio, oxygenation index (OI), mean pulmonary blood flow velocity (MPBFV), cardiac output, blood pressure and heart rate were measured at baseline, 30～60 min and 12～24h after NO therapy Results Significant increase in SaO 2, a/A ratio and decrease in OI were found following 30 min inhalation of 20×10 -6 NO, whereas cardiac output, heart rate, and systemic blood pressure did not change Sustained improvements in oxygenation were noticed at 12～24 h of NO therapy Four neonates survived and 2 died from complications which were not related to NO inhalation Conclusion This preliminary clinical experience suggests that NO may be a selective pulmonary vasodilator and a promising therapy for PPHN. Maintenance of adequate ventilation and cardiac function is important
Presence of an Alcohol Use Disorder is Associated with Greater Pneumonia Severity in Hospitalized HIV-Infected Patients.

Pneumonia is common and more severe in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. Alcohol consumption in pneumonia patients without HIV is associated with excess mortality and morbidity. However, studies are lacking on the impact of alcohol on pneumonia and HIV. Our goal was to determine if alcohol use was an independent risk factor for pneumonia severity in HIV-infected patients. Secondary analysis of prospective cohort study data evaluating early bronchoscopy for pneumonia diagnosis in HIV patients between 2007 and 2011 was conducted. We defined AUDs using an alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT) score as follows: ≥8 indicates hazardous drinking and ≥14 indicates dependence. We quantified pneumonia severity using the pneumonia severity index (PSI). Multivariable linear regression was used to investigate the independent association between alcohol and pneumonia severity. A total of 196 HIV+ individuals comprised our cohort. Most cohort subjects were middle-aged African American men. Most subjects (70 %) reported not taking antiretroviral therapy. The overall prevalence of hazardous drinking was 24 % in our cohort (48/196) with 10 % (19/196) meeting the criteria for alcohol dependence. Alcohol consumption was significantly associated with pneumonia severity (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Hazardous drinking (β-coefficient 10.12, 95 % CI 2.95–17.29, p = 0.006) and alcohol dependence (β-coefficient 12.89, 95 % CI 2.59–23.18, p = 0.014) were independent risk factors for pneumonia severity. Reported homelessness and men who have sex with men (MSM) status remained independent risk factors for more severe pneumonia after adjustment for the effects of alcohol. In a cohort of HIV patients with pneumonia, presence of an AUD was an independent risk factor for pneumonia severity. Homelessness and MSM status were associated with greater pneumonia severity in AUD patients.
Providing Cultural Context for ‘Sacrifice of the Social Outcasts’

In ‘Sacrifice of the Social Outcasts’, C.L. Kieffer proposes that the disabled formed a socially marginal group that might have been preferentially targeted for human sacrifice in ancient Maya society. Extensive ethnohistoric and iconographic evidence exists that the disabled and deformed held high status in pre-contact Mesoamerica precisely because of their physical disabilities and played well-defined social roles. Several incidences of the sacrifice of these individuals are produced, but they are associated with extraordinary events. The actual cultural context suggests that the sacrifice of a disabled individual may have larger social implications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bayesian human intention inference through multiple model filtering with gaze-based priors

An algorithm called gaze-based multiple model intention estimator (G-MMIE) is presented for early prediction of the goal location (intention) of human reaching actions. To capture the complexity of human arm reaching motion, a neural network (NN) is used to represent the arm motion dynamics. The trajectories of the arm motion for reaching tasks are modeled by using a dynamical system with contracting behavior towards the goal location. The contraction behavior ensures that the model trajectories will converge to the goal location. The NN training is subjected to contraction analysis constraints. In order to use the motion model learned from a few demonstrations with new scenarios and multiple objects, an interacting multiple model (IMM) framework is used. The multiple models are obtained by translating the origin of the contracting system to different known object locations. Each model corresponds to the reaching motion that ends at a certain object location. Since humans tend to look in the direction of the object they are reaching for, the prior probabilities of the models are calculated based on the human eye gaze. The posterior probabilities of the models are calculated through interacting model matched filtering carried out using extended Kalman filters (EKFs). The model or the object location with the highest posterior probability is chosen to be the estimate of the goal location. Experimental results suggest that the G-MMIE algorithm is able to adapt to arbitrary sequences of reaching motions and the gaze-based prior outperforms the uniform prior in terms of intention inference accuracy and average time of inference.
Image reconstruction considerations in molecular breast imaging tomosynthesis

Molecular breast imaging tomosynthesis (MBIT) provides 3D functional images of the breast. However, due to the asymmetrical and undersampled nature of the image acquisition process, artifacts may arise in the plane of the slices as well as in the orthogonal direction. In this paper, we explore image reconstruction parameters for MBIT using parallel-hole collimation and maximum likelihood expectation maximization in term of artifact reduction and resolution recovery. Phantom studies were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of different reconstruction schemes using clinically realistic acquisition parameters
Other Advances in Ocular Drug Delivery

Ocular drug delivery has many challenges due to the physiology of the eye and the many natural barriers that most drugs need to encounter to permeate the intended tissues. Although traditional eye drops are invasive and convenient, they are inefficient for several ocular diseases due to their low ocular bioavailability and difficulty in delivering a drug to the posterior segment of the eye. Procedures such as implants or frequent intravitreal injections are invasive and challenging; however, this challenges present unique opportunities for innovative drug delivery approaches. New approaches to ocular drug delivery are aimed at: overcoming the disadvantages of existing therapies, overcoming short ocular contact time, increasing low bioavailability drugs to permeate tissues better, limiting dosing frequency, and reducing the invasiveness of some methodologies. This chapter discusses other significant advances in ophthalmic drug delivery such as gene therapy, iontophoresis, sonophoresis, and use of microneedle, hydrogels, and punctual plug delivery systems. A method for restoring light sensing in using retinal prosthetics, optogenetics, and chemical photoswitches are also discussed.
Updated generalized natural gas reciprocating engine part-load performance curves for cogeneration applications

The efficiency of combined heat and power systems, which most commonly utilize natural gas reciprocating engines, is strongly influenced by the performance of generation sets at part-load conditions. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive data on the part-load performance of generation sets, which can lead to model inaccuracies when evaluating combined heat and power systems early in the design phase. The current work reviews recent manufacturer reports and several industry publications to summarize the part-load thermal and electric performance of 67 natural gas spark ignition reciprocating engines from a wide variety of manufacturers and nominal capacity ranges that are commonly used in combined heat and power applications. Comparisons between linear and nonlinear performance curves for part-load heat-to-power ratios and electric heat rates demonstrated that, for most cases, nonlinear Power Law functions more accurately characterize performance above 50% part-load. The data were also used t...
Clinical Benefit of Ablating Localized Sources for Human Atrial Fibrillation: The Indiana University FIRM Registry

Abstract Background Mounting evidence shows that localized sources maintain atrial fibrillation (AF). However, it is unclear in unselected “real-world” patients if sources drive persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF), long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (LPeAF), or paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF); if right atrial sites are important; and what the long-term success of source ablation is. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze the role of rotors and focal sources in a large academic registry of consecutive patients undergoing source mapping for AF. Methods One hundred seventy consecutive patients (mean age 59 ± 12 years, 79% men) with PAF (37%), PeAF (31%), or LPeAF (32%). Of these, 73 (43%) had undergone at least 1 prior ablation attempt (mean 1.9 ± 0.8; range: 1 to 4). Focal impulse and rotor modulation (FIRM) with an endocardial basket catheter was used in all cases. Results FIRM analysis revealed sources in the right atrium in 85% of patients (1.8 ± 1.3) and in the left atrium in 90% of patients (2.0 ± 1.3). FIRM ablation terminated AF to sinus rhythm or atrial flutter or tachycardia in 59% (PAF), 37% (PeAF), and 19% (LPeAF) of patients, with 15 of 67 terminations due to right atrial ablation. On follow-up, freedom from AF after a single FIRM procedure for the entire series was 95% (PAF), 83% (PeAF), and 82% (LPeAF) at 1 year and freedom from all atrial arrhythmias was 77% (PAF), 75% (PeAF), and 57% (LPeAF). Conclusions In the Indiana University FIRM registry, FIRM-guided ablation produced high single-procedure success, mostly in patients with nonparoxysmal AF. Data from mapping, acute terminations, and outcomes strongly support the mechanistic role of biatrial rotors and focal sources in maintaining AF in diverse populations. Randomized trials of FIRM-guided ablation and mechanistic studies to determine how rotors form, progress, and regress are needed.
Abstract 2294: Atypical nevi and risk of incident skin cancer in US men: a prospective study

Background and Aims: Atypical nevi (AN) are a strong risk factor as well as a precursor of melanoma. However, most previous studies on the associations between atypical nevi (AN) and the risk of melanoma have been conducted in retrospective case-control settings and the few available prospective studies have been based on small sample sizes. Further, few studies have examined the associations between AN and risk of keratinocyte carcinomas (formerly called non-melanoma skin cancer). We prospectively examined the risk of incident melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) associated with AN. Methods: In the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, information on AN was collected by self-report. Only those confirmed cases of AN by a supplementary questionnaire, the Atypical Nevus Screening Questionnaire (ANQ), were included in the analyses. Diagnosis of skin cancers was reported biennially and information on melanoma and SCC was pathologically confirmed. A total of 50193 men were included in our study, with 1239 confirmed cases of AN with information on diagnosis year. Cases of AN that were not confirmed or did not respond to the ANQ were excluded from the analyses. Time-dependent Cox-regression analyses were conducted for the associations between AN and risk of incident melanoma, SCC, and BCC respectively. Results: We identified 545 melanoma cases, 1721 SCC cases, and 13498 BCC cases during the follow-up (1986-2012). A history of AN was significantly associated with increased risk of incident melanoma (hazard ratio [HR]=3.50, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.13-5.76) overall and at different body sites (head and neck, trunk, or limbs). The risk of melanoma was particularly augmented with the increasing number of AN that were surgically removed (HR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.16-1.37 per AN) and for cases of AN with tissue re-excision from the nevus removal sites (HR=4.59, 95% CI: 1.70-12.41). A history of AN was also significantly associated with increased risk of BCC (HR=1.84, 95% CI: 1.60-2.10) and was only associated with risk of SCC at the trunk sites (HR=3.09, 95% CI: 1.24-7.72). Conclusions: A history of AN significantly increased the risk of subsequent melanoma in a prospective study of men. A history of AN may also be associated with increased risk of BCC overall and trunk SCC, which requires further studies to replicate. Citation Format: WEN-QING LI, Eunyoung Cho, Alisa Goldstein, Yen-Tsung Huang, Martin Weinstock, Abrar Qureshi. Atypical nevi and risk of incident skin cancer in US men: a prospective study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2294. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2294
Abstract 1414: Chromatin remodeling histone chaperone FACT complex modulates AP site damage repair in chromatin and sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs

Recognition and repair of DNA lesions in the genome are critical for maintaining genomic stability and reducing the generation of mutations that lead to cancer development. The most frequently formed DNA lesion in the genome is the apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site which is mutagenic and blocks transcription and replication. The primary enzyme to repair AP sites in mammalian cells is the AP endonuclease (APE1), which often overexpresses in diverse cancer types and its overexpression is associated with patients’ resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. The repair of AP sites by APE1 through the Base Excision Repair (BER) pathway is extensively investigated in vitro. However, how AP site is recognized by APE1 in the context of highly complex nucleosome structure in chromatin is unknown. Because DNA is packaged tightly in nucleosome, the ability of repair proteins to access sites of DNA damage and facilitates repair of the damage requires chromatin remodeling activities. Here, we show that APE1 interacts with chromatin remodeling histone chaperone complex, FACT (facilitates of chromatin transcription) via its N-terminal domain in cells. By immunoprecipitation of endogenous APE1 from chromatin fraction and separation of protein bands in SDS-PAGE followed by MALDI-TOF-TOF analysis, we have identified both subunits (SPT16 & SSRP1) of FACT as the prominent APE1 interacting partners. Subsequently, we confirmed the interaction of APE1 with FACT complex by Co-IP and immunofluorescence analysis and found that both SPT16 and SSRP1 interact with APE1 in the nucleus and in chromatin. Interestingly, we found rapid eviction of histones with concomitant degradation of FACT complex upon induction of DNA damages. Downregulation of FACT complex abrogates the nucleosome eviction, the recruitment of repair protein APE1 in chromatin and the repair of AP sites, demonstrating the functional importance of nucleosomes disruption in BER pathway and identifying chromatin remodeling protein required for the process. Notably, knock-down of FACT showed increased sensitivity of cancer cells to many chemotherapeutic drugs. We also found that FACT down-regulated cells have much higher accumulation of AP site damages in the genome compared to control cells. Our study revealed a key role of nucleosome remodeling complex FACT in DNA damage repair in BER pathway. This study also suggests that histone chaperone complex could be a potential target for enhancing sensitivity of tumor cells to chemotherapy. Citation Format: Heyu Song, Shrabasti Roychoudhury, Dan Feng, Kishor Bhakat. Chromatin remodeling histone chaperone FACT complex modulates AP site damage repair in chromatin and sensitizes cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drugs [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1414. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1414
The Court of Justice of the European Union Creates an EU Law of Liability for Facilitation of Copyright Infringement: Observations on Brein v. Filmspeler [C-527/15] (2017) and Brein v. Ziggo [C-610/15] (2017)

After a series of decisions in which the Court of Justice of the European Union appeared to be cutting back on the application of the right of communication to the public with respect to the provision of hyperlinks, the Court’s most recent decisions in Brein v. Filmspeler (C-527/15) and Brein v. Ziggo (C-610/15) concerning, respectively, sale of a device pre-loaded with hyperlinks to illegal streaming sites, and The Pirate Bay BitTorrent platform, indicate instead that the Court’s prior caselaw was in fact gradually advancing toward a European harmonization of the law on derivative liability (i.e., liability in the second degree) for violation of the right of communication to the public. These two most recent decisions have now achieved that harmonization. Moreover, harmonization was necessary given both the lack of uniformity regarding secondary liability across the national laws of the member states, and the growing economic importance of furnishing the means to access infringing sources (without serving as the initial source of the infringing communication). This article will first briefly review of the facts of the cases. It then will examine how the Court’s reasoning results in a European law of communication to the public that reaches actors who do not originate illicit communications, but who knowingly facilitate them (I). Next, the analysis will show that the harmonized law of derivative liability can be considered the flip side of the law of non-liability for “the storage of information provided by a recipient of the service,... for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service” already harmonized by art. 14 of the eCommerce directive 2000/31 (II). The article concludes with a brief postscript evoking some comparisons with U.S. copyright law.
EEG seizure detection by integrating slantlet transform with sparse coding

EEG signals, recording both normal and abnormal activities of neurons in the brain, are widely used in epilepsy detection. In this paper, an EEG signal classification method based on Slantlet Transform and sparse coding is proposed to greatly reduce number of false alarms and improve speed of detection. With Slantlet Transform, salient information of EEG signals is mapped into a sparse space. In order to ensure good detection rates from the EEG signals, a Sparse Representation Classifier is adopted. Experimental results demonstrate that the in terms of detection rate, the proposed method, which integrates Slantlet Transform with sparse coding, outperforms the current state-of-the-art EEG seizure detection methods.
Interhemispheric alpha-band hypoconnectivity in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Abstract • Diverse genetic and environmental etiologies converge onto circuit level brain dysfunction in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), manifesting at a macroscopic level as aberrant neural connectivity. Previous studies have described atypical patterns of decreased short range and increased long range connectivity in ASD [ 1 ]. However, it remains unclear whether group level features of circuit dysfunction are consistently present across the range of cognitive function seen in the autism spectrum. • The dynamics of neural oscillations in the alpha range (6–12 Hz) are exquisitely sensitive to healthy development of functional and structural connectivity. Alpha-band coherence, measured with high temporal-precision electroencephalography (EEG) therefore represents an ideal tool for studying neural connectivity in developmental populations. • Here we examined spontaneous alpha phase coherence in a heterogeneous sample of 59 children with ASD and 39 age matched typically developing children. Using a data driven approach, we conducted an unbiased examination of all possible atypical connectivity patterns across all cortical regions. • Long-range hypoconnectivity was present in children with ASD compared to typically developing children, with temporal interhemispheric connectivity showing the largest difference between the two groups. • Decreased long range alpha coherence distinguishes a heterogeneous group of ASD children from typically developing children. Interhemispheric temporal hypoconnectivity represents a fundamental functional difference in children with ASD across a wide cognitive and age range that may reflect white matter disturbances or increased signal variability at temporal sites in ASD.
Cultural Stress, Emotional well-being, and Health Risk Behaviors among Recent Immigrant Latinx families: The Moderating Role of Perceived Neighborhood Characteristics.

Latinx families can experience cultural stressors, which can negatively influence their emotional and behavioral health. Few studies have examined if perceived neighborhood characteristics buffer against or exacerbate the negative effects of cultural stress on adolescent and parent health outcomes. To address this gap in the literature, this study investigated how parent (social cohesion, informal social control, extent of problems) and adolescent (support) perceived neighborhood factors moderated the associations of parent and adolescent cultural stress with parent and adolescent emotional and behavioral well-being. Data came from waves 1 and 3 of a six-wave longitudinal survey with 302 recent immigrant Latinx adolescents (47% female, Mage = 14.51 years) and their parents (74% mothers, Mage = 41.09 years). Results indicated that when parents reported low levels of neighborhood problems, adolescent cultural stress did not predict adolescent health risk behaviors. However, adolescent and parent cultural stress predicted higher levels of adolescents’ sense of hope when parents perceived low levels of neighborhood problems. Furthermore, adolescent and parent cultural stress predicted higher youth depressive symptoms and health risk behaviors when positive neighborhood factors (informal social control, social cohesion) were high. Similarly, adolescent and parent cultural stress predicted lower adolescents’ sense of hope and self-esteem when positive neighborhood factors were high. These findings indicate that efforts to reduce the negative effects of cultural stress on youth emotional and behavioral health may benefit from combating neighborhood problems. Results further indicate that research is needed to clarify unexpected findings. Directions for future research are discussed.
Some globally conserved currents from generalized Killing vectors and scalar test fields

In this article, I discuss the construction of some globally conserved currents that one can construct in the absence of a Killing vector. One is based on the Komar current, which is constructed from an arbitrary vector field and has an identically vanishing divergence. I obtain some expressions for Komar currents constructed from some generalizations of Killing vectors which may in principle be constructed in a generic spacetime. I then present an explicit example for an outgoing Vaidya spacetime which demonstrates that the resulting Komar currents can yield conserved quantities that behave in a manner expected for the energy contained in the outgoing radiation. Finally, I describe a method for constructing another class of (non-Komar) globally conserved currents using a scalar test field that satisfies an inhomogeneous wave equation, and discuss two examples; the first example may provide a useful framework for examining the arrow of time and its relationship to energy conditions, and the second yields (with appropriate initial conditions) a globally conserved energy- and momentumlike quantity that measures the degree to which a given spacetime deviates from symmetry.
Intercommunal Youth Institute

This chapter highlights the accomplishments and historical significance of the Black Panther Party, which operated schools to revitalize the teaching of urban children across the country. The chapter also offers a critical analysis of the role the Black Panther Party had in contributing to the growth and development of education in the African American community, especially as it relates to civil rights in America.
Congenital and Perinatal Infections

An understanding of congenital infections is vital for those caring for newborns as these infections cause significant life-long morbidity. The term “TORCH,” once a preferred mnemonic for the common causes of congenital infections, was meant as a memory aid to recall the list of usual etiologic suspects. T was for congenital toxoplasmosis; O was for others and included varicella, syphilis, and parvovirus B19; R was for rubella; C was for cytomegalovirus (CMV); and H was for herpes simplex virus (HSV). The reason that the use of “TORCH” has fallen from favor to describe all congenital infections is twofold. First, not all of the “TORCH” infections were truly congenital. The vast majority of neonatal HSV infections (the H in TORCH) are perinatal, not congenital meaning that the exposure to HSV happens perinatally during the birth process, not in utero. Second, there are now many other infections that have been recognized as potential congenital and perinatal pathogens that would need to be added to the O (for other). Some examples include Zika virus, West Nile virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, adenovirus, enteroviruses, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, human immunodeficiency virus, and human T-lymphotropic viruses I and II. This chapter outlines the incidence, modes of transmission, clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, treatment options, and long-term sequelae of the most common and most classic of these congenital and perinatal infections.
Active site-blocked factor Xa prevents thrombus formation in the coronary vasculature in parallel with inhibition of extravascular coagulation in a canine thrombosis model

Factor Xa is a central procoagulant enzyme, linking the intrinsic and extrinsic activation mechanisms to the final common pathway of coagulation. To assess its contribution to pathologic thrombosis, studies were performed in a canine coronary thrombosis model. Thrombus formation was initiated by the application of electric current via a needle electrode placed in the lumen of the left circumflex coronary artery. When 50% occlusion of the vessel developed, the current was stopped and animals received an intravenous bolus of either saline, bovine glutamyl-glycinyl-arginyl-factor Xa (Xai), a competitive inhibitor of factor Xa assembly into the prothrombinase complex, Factor X, or heparin. Animals infused with saline or factor X (300 micrograms/kg) developed total occlusion of the vessel due to a fibrin/platelet thrombus in 70 +/- 11 minutes (36 of 36 animals) and 74 +/- 13 minutes (8 of 8 animals), respectively. In contrast, infusion of Xai prevented thrombus formation completely at a dose of 300 micrograms/kg (8 of 8 animals). As the dose of Xai was decreased, its antithrombotic effect was diminished, with a patency rate of only 2 of 6 animals at a dose of 90 micrograms/kg. Xai at 300 micrograms/kg prevented the accumulation of 125I-fibrinogen/fibrin at the site of the coronary thrombus by approximately 63% and decreased deposition of 111In-labeled platelets by approximately 57%. Hemostatic parameters of animals infused with Xai demonstrated prolongation of the PT and dose- dependent increased extravascular bleeding tendency. These data indicate that factor Xa has a comparably important role in thrombus formation and extravascular hemostasis, and contrast with previous results in this same animal model in which IXai selectively prevented clotting in the coronary vasculature.
A General TR-FRET Assay Platform for High-Throughput Screening and Characterizing Inhibitors of Methyl-Lysine Reader Proteins:

Chromatin regulatory complexes localize to specific sites via recognition of posttranslational modifications (PTMs) on N-terminal tails of histone proteins (e.g., methylation, acetylation, and phosphorylation). Molecular recognition of modified histones is mediated by "reader" protein subunits. The recruited complexes govern processes such as gene transcription, DNA replication, and chromatin remodeling. Dysregulation of histone modifications and consequent downstream effects have been associated with a variety of disease states, leading to an interest in developing small-molecule inhibitors of reader proteins. Herein, we describe a generalized time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (TR-FRET) assay for a panel of methyl-lysine (Kme) reader proteins. These assays are facile, robust, and reproducible. Importantly, this plug-and-play assay can be used for high-throughput screening (HTS) campaigns, generation of structure-activity relationships (SARs), and evaluation of inhibitor selectivity. Successful demonstration of this assay format for compound screening is highlighted with a pilot screen of a focused compound set with CBX2. This assay platform enables the discovery and characterization of chemical probes that can potently and selectively inhibit Kme reader proteins to ultimately accelerate studies of chromatin reader proteins in normal biology and disease states.
Moving beyond the STEM/non-STEM dichotomy: wage benefits to increasing the STEM-intensities of college coursework and occupational requirements

Using a sample of college graduates from the NLSY97, we introduce a new approach to assessing wage benefits of STEM training, STEM jobs, and the match between the two: rather than classify individu...
Safe Opioid Use, Storage, and Disposal Strategies in Cancer Pain Management

Opioids are required by a majority of patients with advanced cancer. Oncologists and palliative care clinicians are faced with the challenge of safely prescribing opioids in the current environment of an opioid crisis. Many patients with cancer use opioids unsafely, store them in unsecure locations, and do not dispose of unused opioids, leading to increased availability of these opioids for others to misuse. More than 50% of people who misuse opioids obtain the drugs from a friend or relative with or without their consent. Patient and provider education has been shown to improve safe opioid use, promote secure storage, and also increase disposal of unused opioids safely in drug take-back programs that are now widely available. This article highlights the importance of patient education and cautious opioid prescribing in patients with cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The current opioid crisis makes it challenging to effectively manage cancer pain. Providers play a prominent role in minimizing opioid misuse. Cautious prescribing with limits enforced on the quantity of opioids prescribed, close follow-up, and consistent and frequent provision of opioid education are a must. Evidence points to the impact of patient education in promoting safety around opioid use. Most people who misuse prescription opioids obtain them from family or friends. Storing opioids in the open or not disposing of unused opioids increases the availability of these opioids for misuse by others. The importance of not sharing, always locking up, and disposing of unused and expired opioids must be highlighted as part of the opioid education that must be delivered every time that opioids are prescribed. Information about local drug take-back programs may also help increase disposal of unused opioids.
Increasing Burden of Heart Failure in Black Adults in the US: 1999-2016

Background Given increasing rates of heart failure (HF) risk factors (e.g. obesity, diabetes) that disproportionally affect black adults, we sought to describe contemporary trends in HF prevalence and examine differences between blacks and whites. Hypothesis Racial disparities in HF exist and are widening. Methods Non-pregnant adults aged ≥35 years who identified as non-Hispanic black or white from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 1999 and 2016 were included. Age-adjusted HF prevalence was calculated by two-year cycles and weighted linear regression was used to examine trends over time. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of HF in blacks vs. whites were calculated by pooling cycles into six-year periods with adjustment for age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors (CV RF), renal function, and proxies of socioeconomic status (SES: education level and health insurance status). Given a significant interaction between race and age group, analyses were stratified by age groups: 35-64 and 65+ years. Results Of 20,290 participants with mean age 55.3±0.2 years, 52% were women and 12% black. Age-adjusted prevalence of HF per 100,000 increased linearly among blacks from 3921 (2663, 5178) in 1999-2000 to 6568 (4557, 8580) in 2015-2016 (p-trend 0.05). Age and sex-adjusted odds of HF in blacks compared to whites (TABLE) was higher between 2005-10 (period 2) and 2011-16 (period 3). After adjustment for RF and SES, odds of HF remained higher in blacks in periods 2 and 3 by 1.51 (1.11, 2.04) and 1.55 (1.16, 2.06), respectively. This appeared to be primarily driven by differences in HF prevalence between younger blacks and whites (age 35-64 years). Conclusions The prevalence of HF in blacks is increasing and the odds of HF was significantly higher in blacks compared to whites. While the increased odds of HF was attenuated after adjusting for RF and SES, disparities persisted and have widened over time. Research and resources aimed at identifying social determinants of HF, alongside aggressive management of risk factors, are needed to prevent HF and reduce disparities.
Genes, Environment, and the Heart: Putting the Pieces Together

The study of the interaction between genes and environment dates back through the work of R.A. Fisher and Lancelot Hogben in the early 20th century, to that of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in the mid-19th. Darwin and Wallace’s focus was, of course, evolution by natural selection rather than human disease. However, their fundamental insight was that different members of the same species, faced with a change in environment, respond in different ways and that these differences in response are heritable. In the context of human disease, we think of gene–environment interactions in terms of people with different genotypes at a particular locus responding to an environmental stimulus, such as exposure to tobacco smoke, in different ways. See Article by Rao et al More broadly, there is abundant evidence that practically all human disease can be seen as being due to the effect of multiple genetic variants, and in the interaction of those genetic variants with each other, and with the environment. For example, although we think of injuries as purely environmental in nature, in fact trauma is also strongly genetically determined. The Y chromosome is a major genetic risk factor for trauma at all ages after 12 months, and beyond that, genetic variants contributing to personality traits, such as impulsivity, also serve as risk factors.1 Similarly, infectious disease represents an interaction between environmental exposure (contact with a pathogen) and genetic predisposition. Host genetic factors are important determinants of whether exposure to a pathogen passes unnoticed by the individual or causes severe morbidity or even mortality.2 Conversely, it has become clear that apparently single gene disorders are nothing of the sort. Readers of Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics …
Diverging Disparities: Race, Parental Income, and Children’s Math Scores, 1960 to 2009:

In recent decades, the black–white test score disparity has decreased, and the test score disparity between children of high- versus low-income parents has increased. This study focuses on a compar...
Prioritizing refactorings for security-critical code

It is vitally important to fix quality issues in security-critical code as they may be sources of vulnerabilities in the future. These quality issues may increase the attack surface if they are not quickly refactored. In this paper, we use the history of vulnerabilities and security bug reports along with a set of keywords to automatically identify a project’s security-critical files based on its source code, bug reports, pull-request descriptions and commit messages. After identifying these security-related files, we estimate their risks using static analysis to check their coupling with other project components. Then, our approach recommends refactorings to prioritize fixing quality issues in these security-critical files to improve quality attributes and remove identified code smells. To find a trade-off between the quality issues and security-critical files, we adopted a multi-objective search strategy. We evaluated our approach on six open source projects and one industrial system to check the correctness and relevance of the refactorings targeting security critical code. The results of our survey with practitioners supports our hypothesis that quality and security need to be considered together to provide relevant refactoring recommendations.
Gastric Carcinoma

Gastric cancer continues to be a major global health problem. In the American College of Surgeons Patient Care study on gastric cancer, 5-year disease-specific survival was 26%, with an overall survival of 14%. Improvements in survival will require both earlier diagnosis and new therapeutic strategies. The ability of surgical oncologists to understand the natural history of the disease, accurately define its extent, and provide the most effective treatment places them in a key position to see that improvements in outcome are brought about expeditiously.
Research on Optimization of Replacement Cycle of Gas Turbine Multi-stage Inlet Filter

As a barrier to intercepting contaminated particles in the air, the air inlet filtration system is of great importance to the safety and economy of gas turbine. With the increase of running time, the inlet pressure loss gradually increases, and it is of great practical significance to study the replacement cycle of the inlet filtration system from aspect of economy. This paper discusses the main factors that need to be considered for the replacement cost of the multi-stage filtration system and its calculation method, and the corresponding optimization model is proposed with the goal of minimizing the cost of filter replacement. The coarse filter and fine filter replacement cycle of a gas turbine inlet filtration system are optimized. The results show that the optimal replacement cycle of coarse filter and fine filter is 852.5h and 6000h respectively. Compared with before, the filter replacement cost was reduced by 1.2%. In addition, the influence of natural gas price and initial filter cost on the optimal replacement cycle of multi-stage filtration system and filter replacement cost is discussed. The calculation results have guiding significance for the decision making of the replacement cycle of multi-stage inlet filtration system.
Environmental exposure as a risk-modifying factor in liver diseases: Knowns and unknowns

Abstract Liver diseases are considered to predominantly possess an inherited or xenobiotic etiology. However, inheritance drives the ability to appropriately adapt to environmental stressors, and disease is the culmination of a maladaptive response. Thus “pure” genetic and “pure” xenobiotic liver diseases are modified by each other and other factors, identified or unknown. The purpose of this review is to highlight the knowledgebase of environmental exposure as a potential risk modifying agent for the development of liver disease by other causes. This exercise is not to argue that all liver diseases have an environmental component, but to challenge the assumption that the current state of our knowledge is sufficient in all cases to conclusively dismiss this as a possibility. This review also discusses key new tools and approaches that will likely be critical to address this question in the future. Taken together, identifying the key gaps in our understanding is critical for the field to move forward, or at the very least to “know what we don’t know.”
Book review: Nietzsche’s Culture War: The Unity of the Untimely Meditations

Shilo Brooks’ study on Nietzsche’s Untimely Meditations (UM) (1873-76) is one of the few scholarly works that examines all four of these early essays in combination. Even taken separately, there are fewer independent studies of the UM compared with The Birth of Tragedy (BT) (1872) and the middle works (1878-82), except for “The Use and Disadvantage of History for Life” (HL) (1874), which has garnered the most critical attention. Brooks suggests a compelling reason to investigate all four works together. His organizing principle is reflected in his title: the four essays were individual constituents of a large-scale “culture war”—a philosophical Kulturkampf (p. 12)—that the young Nietzsche waged against Bismarck and the political, social, and cultural conditions in his newly established Reich. Brooks’ decision to treat all four pieces in a single monograph makes eminent sense, and the fact that Nietzsche assembled the essays under the title UM suggests he saw them as part of a common endeavor—or at least as reflective of a certain prevailing mindset at the time: “[W]hen viewed from the perspective of his later works, the critique of German culture featured in the Untimely Meditations and the plan Nietzsche sketches to revitalize it provide a holistic if early blueprint for his later attempt at a revaluation of values” (p. 15).
Evolutionary Computation: Where we are and where we're headed

Although more than 30 years old, the field of evolutionary computation has experienced a significant growth of interest and activity in the past few years. This has resulted in fresh perspectives and a flurry of new results in both theory and applications. This paper will attempt to summarize the current state of the field and suggest promising new directions.
Search for a Permanent Electric Dipole Moment on Atoms

A number of new experiments searching for a permanent electric dipole moment on atoms and molecules have begun in recent years. We discuss two of these experiments, and present recent results setting upper limits to the dipole moments on Hg and Rb atoms. We also discuss the implications of these results for various theories of T violation, some of which attempt to account for the known CP violation in K o decay. We also present some results from the Hg experiment that establish the most exacting test yet of spatial isotropy.
Lasing in disordered media

Summary form only given. We developed a theoretical model for random lasers based on the eigenmodes of a random medium. Lasing with non-resonant feedback corresponds to lasing in a set of coupled eigenmodes, while lasing with resonant feedback corresponds to lasing in individual eigenmodes. We derived the dependence of the lasing threshold pump intensity on the transport mean free path, the pump area, and the sample size. The theoretical predictions agrees with the experimental results.