cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MOCCA - towards a distributed CCA framework for metacomputing

We describe the design and implementation of MOCCA, a distributed CCA framework implemented using the H2O metacomputing system. Motivated by the quest for appropriate metasystem programming models for large scale scientific applications, MOCCA combines the advantages of component orientation with the flexible and reconfigurable H2O middleware. By exploiting unique capabilities in H2O, including client-provider separation, security, and negotiable transport protocols, enhancements to both functionality and performance could be attained. The design and implementation of MOCCA highlights the natural match between CCA components and H2O pluglets, both in structure and invocation methodology. An outline of how native CCA modules can be supported in the MOCCA framework describes the potential for future deployment of legacy codes on metacomputing systems. We also report on preliminary experiences with test applications and sample performance measurements that favorably compare MOCCA to alternative component frameworks for tightly- and loosely-coupled metacomputing systems.
Prostate Cancer for the Internist

In the United States, approximately 240,000 men are diagnosed annually with prostate cancer. Although effective treatment options are available for clinically localized cancer, the potential burdensome co-morbidities and attendant healthcare costs from over diagnosis and over treatment have escalated the discussion and controversy regarding appropriate screening, diagnosis, and optimal management of prostate cancer. Although the lifetime risk of developing prostate cancer is approximately 1 in 6 (~16%), the risk of dying from the disease is only ~2%. The discrepancy between the cancer incidence and lethality has led to widespread scrutiny of prostate cancer patient management, particularly for low-grade, low-stage (indolent) disease. The vast majority of men diagnosed with clinically localized prostate cancer are treated with interventional therapies despite studies demonstrating that even without treatment, prostate cancer-specific mortality is low. A MedLine/PubMed search was performed using PICO format (Patient, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome) identifying all relevant articles. No restrictions were used for publication dates. The terms “Prostate Cancer”, “Screening”, “Mortality”, “Morbidity” yielded 307 results. “Diagnosis”, “Prognosis” and “Survival” yielded 1504 results. Further filters were applied to narrow down the results using keywords “Prostate cancer screening guidelines 2014”, “Beyond PSA”, “NCCN Guidelines prostate”, “MRI guided Prostate biopsy” yielding 72, 274, 54 and 568 results respectively. Of these, approximately 137 articles were found relevant and were reviewed. References from the reviewed articles were included in the final article.
On the generation of double layers from ion- and electron-acoustic instabilities

A plasma double layer (DL) is a nonlinear electrostatic structure that carries a uni-polar electric field parallel to the background magnetic field due to local charge separation. Past studies showed that DLs observed in space plasmas are mostly associated with the ion acoustic instability. Recent Van Allen Probes observations of parallel electric field structures traveling much faster than the ion acoustic speed have motivated a computational study to test the hypothesis that a new type of DLs—electron acoustic DLs—generated from the electron acoustic instability are responsible for these electric fields. Nonlinear particle-in-cell simulations yield negative results, i.e., the hypothetical electron acoustic DLs cannot be formed in a way similar to ion acoustic DLs. Linear theory analysis and the simulations show that the frequencies of electron acoustic waves are too high for ions to respond and maintain charge separation required by DLs. However, our results do show that local density perturbations in a...
Curation by code: Infomediaries and the data mining of taste:

Automated recommendation systems now occupy a central position in the circulation of media and cultural products. Using music as a test case, this article examines the use of algorithms and data mining techniques for the presentation and representation of culture, and how these tools reconfigure the process of cultural intermediation. Expanding Bourdieu’s notion of cultural intermediaries to include technologies like algorithms, I argue that an emerging layer of companies – call them infomediaries – are increasingly responsible for shaping how audiences encounter and experience cultural content. Through a critical analysis of The Echo Nest, a music infomediary whose databases underpin many digital music services, I trace the shift from intermediation to infomediation and explore what is at stake at the intersection of data mining, taste making and audience manufacture. The new infomediary logics at work are computational forms of power that shape popular culture and highlight the social implications of curation by code.
Quantification of cell apoptosis for in-vitro colorectal cancer cell cultures based on morphological features

Spatial properties of cell assays obtained by monitoring morphological characteristics of incubated cancer cells are studied as cell apoptosis indicators. Human colon carcinoma cells were cultured in 3d in-vitro microenvironment with FOLFOX treatment to experimentally evaluate cell viability for multiple days. With a 3D cell tracking algorithm guiding an inverted microscope in combination with a digital camera, bright field and fluorescent images of colorectal cells are captured at pre-determined time points. Time course of their spatial randomness properties based on the poisson point process and Voronoi features of cell apoptosis are computed from the fluorescent images. The results show that the heterogeneity among dead cells and the deviation among Voronoi polygon areas for cell apoptoses locations decrease as cell viability decreases. This relationship may be used as a biometric in drug efficacy measurements in in-vitro experiments.
5f-electron localization in the actinide metals: thorides, actinides and the Mott transition

AbstractFor the light actinides Ac–Cm, the numbers of localized and itinerant 5f-electrons are determined by comparing various estimates of the f-electron counts. At least one itinerant f-electron is found for each element, Pa–Cm. These results resolve certain disagreements among electron counts determined by different methods and are consistent with the Mott transition model and with the picture of the 5f-electrons’ dual nature.
Institution and Debt Crisis: An International Comparative Analysis Framework

The radical reason that causes debt crisis is the institution. This paper deeply compares and analyzes the systematic foundation of governmental debt accumulation of China and America and builds the theoretical framework of "institution,governmental behaviors and debt accumulation"by learning from Buchanan's Public Selection Theory of "voting by hands"and "voting by feet"and North's thesis of "institution determines economic performance". The research finds that because of the Chinese political system of vertical concentration and the fiscal federalism with Chinese characteristics,the local government itself not only have the huge incentives to promote the development of local economy,but also "competitive championship"exists among the local governments,which makes high debt risk of the local governments. Because of American separation of powers system and fiscal federalism,the governmental officials are responsible to the electorate and the finance of the local governments is self-disciplined. As a result,the risks of American central government are significant. Therefore,when we defuse the risks of Chinese local debts,we should pay more attention to standardizing the behaviors of governmental officials by institutions and regulations,formulate good fiscal regulations and disciplines,build advanced debt market and give play to the decisive role of market.
Empiric Antibiotic Therapy of Abdominal Sepsis and Serious Perioperative Infections

This article discusses empiric therapy for several serious infections in surgical patients. The accepted antibiotic treatment for purulent peritonitis, the empiric treatment of postsurgical wound infection, and the empiric treatment of postsurgical pneumonia are discussed. The cost of the various regimens is listed. Recommendation of the various regimens is based on the seriousness of the infection, peculiarities of the hospital flora, effectiveness of the regimens, and cost.
Clinical Problems Associated with the Use of Peripheral Venous Approaches: Infections

In addition to thrombosis, the most relevant complications of PICCs are bloodstream infections. The rate of PICC-related bloodstream infections has been drastically reduced after the introduction of ultrasound guidance that allows the insertion of PICCs in the so-called green zone (at the middle arm), an area with low bacterial colonization, where a good and lasting dressing is feasible and with a low-risk of infection. Moreover, the introduction and spread of insertion and care bundles for prevention of infections allowed to reach also with PICCs very low rate of bloodstream infections, similarly to short-term non-tunneled central venous catheters.
Protection and sensitization of normal and tumor cells to proton radiation by cerium oxide nanoparticles

Cerium oxide nanoparticles are investigated as radioprotectors and radiosensitizers for normal (healthy) and tumor cells for charged particle radiation. Results are presented for cell survival and DNA damage for in-vitro irradiation of normal breast epithelial cells and prostate tumor cells by 1.5 - 3.0 MeV protons.
Aspartame and Absence Seizures

The effect of aspartame on epilepsy was studied in 10 children with previously untreated generalized absence seizures using a double blind challenge of 40 mg/kg aspartame as a single dose at the Children’s Hospital, Halifax, Canada.
The Impact of Neighborhood Conditions and Psychological Distress on Preterm Birth in African-American Women

Objective Prior research suggests that adverse neighborhood conditions are related to preterm birth. One potential pathway by which neighborhood conditions increase the risk for preterm birth is by increasing women's psychological distress. Our objective was to examine whether psychological distress mediated the relationship between neighborhood conditions and preterm birth. Design and Sample One hundred and one pregnant African-American women receiving prenatal care at a medical center in Chicago participated in this cross-sectional design study. Measures Women completed the self-report instruments about their perceived neighborhood conditions and psychological distress between 15–26 weeks gestation. Objective measures of the neighborhood were derived using geographic information systems (GIS). Birth data were collected from medical records. Results Perceived adverse neighborhood conditions were related to psychological distress: perceived physical disorder (r = .26, p = .01), perceived social disorder (r = .21, p = .03), and perceived crime (r = .30, p = .01). Objective neighborhood conditions were not related to psychological distress. Psychological distress mediated the effects of perceived neighborhood conditions on preterm birth. Conclusions Psychological distress in the second trimester mediated the effects of perceived, but not objective, neighborhood conditions on preterm birth. If these results are replicable in studies with larger sample sizes, intervention strategies could be implemented at the individual level to reduce psychological distress and improve women's ability to cope with adverse neighborhood conditions.
The tortoise and the hare: reducing resource availability shifts competitive balance between plant species

Summary Determining how changes in abiotic conditions influence community interactions is a fundamental challenge in ecology. Meeting this challenge is increasingly imperative in the Anthropocene where climate change and exotic species introductions alter abiotic context and biotic composition to reshuffle natural systems. We created plant assemblages consisting of monocultures or equal abundance of the native community dominant bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata) and the exotic spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe), a co-occurring invasive forb that has overtaken grasslands across the western United States. We subjected these composition treatments to drought (20% of average precipitation vs. average) and herbivory on C. stoebe by its biocontrol agent Cyphocleonus achates to explore how reduced precipitation might influence the effects of competition and biocontrol herbivory on C. stoebe's abundance. At the end of 7 years, C. stoebe dominated mixed-species plots under normal precipitation conditions, with biomass 50% greater than that of the native P. spicata. However, under drought stress, P. spicata's biomass was >200% greater than C. stoebe's. Interestingly, both species were impervious to drought in monoculture, indicating the importance of the drought by competition interaction. The biocontrol herbivore reduced C. stoebe abundance and indirectly increased P. spicata biomass in mixed-species drought plots, but these effects were only marginally significant and relatively weak. Overall, C. stoebe abundance was primarily driven by the drought by competition interaction, with negatively additive but weak effects of the drought by herbivory interaction. The response of the exotic to the treatments was driven by rapid changes in population density linked to its fast life-history strategy, while the native's response was driven by changes in per capita plant biomass linked to its slower life-history strategy. Individual plant performance metrics did not predict overall population responses for the invader, indicating the importance of longer term population measures. Synthesis. These results demonstrate that reduced precipitation inputs linked to climate change can dramatically shift the balance of plant competition, even toggling the advantage from exotic to native dominance. They also illustrate the importance of biotic interactions in predicting species responses to abiotic change.
The Prefigurative Is Political: On Politics Beyond ‘The State’

In order to make sense of contemporary prefigurative movements and their transformative potential, we need a more expansive notion of politics and a more nuanced understanding of ‘the state’ than that found in most North American social movement theory. In this chapter, Brissette traces critics’ failure to register the political nature of prefigurative politics to an underlying conceptual framework that defines politics in relation to existing state structures and reifies the state as a bounded entity distinct from society. Drawing on Marx’s theorization of the state as abstraction to contest this reification, Brissette locates the political nature of prefigurative movements in the process of constituting collective life as a community-in-freedom beyond the state.
HIV Nurse Navigation: Charting the Course to Improve Engagement in Care and HIV Virologic Suppression.

This study represents one of the few exploring the effectiveness of an integrated HIV nurse navigation program on engagement and virologic outcomes. A navigator provided individualized care managem...
Combined Haploidentical and Umbilical Cord Blood Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for High-Risk Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract Limited studies have reported on outcomes for lymphoid malignancy patients receiving alternative donor allogeneic stem cell transplants. We have previously described combining CD34-selected haploidentical grafts with umbilical cord blood (haplo-cord) to accelerate neutrophil and platelet engraftment. Here, we examine the outcome of patients with lymphoid malignancies undergoing haplo-cord transplantation at the University of Chicago and Weill Cornell Medical College. We analyzed 42 lymphoma and chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL) patients who underwent haplo-cord allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Patients underwent transplant for Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 9, 21%), CLL (n = 5, 12%) and non-Hodgkin lymphomas (n = 28, 67%), including 13 T cell lymphomas. Twenty-four patients (52%) had 3 or more lines of therapies. Six (14%) and 1 (2%) patients had prior autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplant, respectively. At the time of transplant 12 patients (29%) were in complete remission, 18 had chemotherapy-sensitive disease, and 12 patients had chemotherapy-resistant disease. Seven (17%), 11 (26%), and 24 (57%) patients had low, intermediate, and high disease risk index before transplant. Comorbidity index was evenly distributed among 3 groups, with 13 (31%), 14 (33%), and 15 (36%) patients scoring 0, 1 to 2, and ≥3. Median age for the cohort was 49 years (range, 23 to 71). All patients received fludarabine/melphalan/antithymocyte globulin conditioning regimen and post-transplant graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. The median time to neutrophil engraftment was 11 days (range, 9 to 60) and to platelet engraftment 19.5 days (range, 11 to 88). Cumulative incidence of nonrelapse mortality was 11.6% at 100 days and 19 % at one year. Cumulative incidence of relapse was 9.3% at 100 days and 19% at one year. With a median follow-up of survivors of 42 months, the 3-year rates of GVHD relapse free survival, progression-free survival, and overall survival were 53%, 62%, and 65%, respectively, for these patients. Only 8% of the survivors had chronic GVHD. In conclusion, haplo-cord transplantation offers a transplant alternative for patients with recurrent or refractory lymphoid malignancies who lack matching donors. Both neutrophil and platelet count recovery is rapid, nonrelapse mortality is limited, excellent disease control can be achieved, and the incidence of chronic GVHD is limited. Thus, haplo-cord achieves high rates of engraftment and encouraging results.
Chikungunya Virus: Pathophysiology, Mechanism, and Modeling

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus, is recurring in epidemic waves. In the past decade and a half, the disease has resurged in several countries around the globe, with outbreaks becoming increasingly severe. Though CHIKV was first isolated in 1952, there remain significant gaps in knowledge of CHIKV biology, pathogenesis, transmission, and mechanism. Diagnosis is largely simplified and based on symptoms, while treatment is supportive rather than curative. Here we present an overview of the disease, the challenges that lie ahead for future research, and what directions current studies are headed towards, with emphasis on improvement of current animal models and potential use of 3D models.
Erotismo y deseo en la formación de la identidad de los personajes de María (1867) de Jorge Isaacs

Maria se ha considerado el modelo de novela romantica en la literatura latinoamericana pues comparte los elementos caracteristicos de las novelas que se escribieron en el siglo XIX durante el romanticismo. Asi, la historia de amor entre Maria y Efrain se ha retratado desde el sentimentalismo, el decoro y la moralidad. Sin embargo, el analisis critico literario que se desarrolla en este ensayo trata de demostrar que, aunque el amor entre los personajes de Maria se presenta como una historia puramente romantica e idealizada, hay un erotismo implicito que conlleva a una caracterizacion mucho mas realista de estos. En primer lugar, lo erotico se puede ver reflejado en los diferentes personajes pues, si bien Jorge Isaacs les concede la libertad de sentirse atraidos el uno por el otro y les da la oportunidad de que se les despierte el deseo y la excitacion, su comportamiento esta sujeto a los roles impuestos por la sociedad. En segundo lugar, lo erotico tambien puede interpretarse en relacion al lenguaje de los personajes utilizan para expresar dicho erotismo. Maria y Efrain requieren de un lenguaje figurado e implicito a traves de la retorica del decoro para poder expresar la pasion y el deseo de manera licita. Asimismo, la exuberante naturaleza tambien ilustra el erotismo y la sexualidad pues se convierte en refugio para Maria y Efrain, y funciona como vinculo entre sus cuerpos y el ambiente. Por ultimo, el deseo y la sexualidad tambien serviran como reflejo de la estructura social colombiana decimononica.
The state of grating-based x-ray phase contrast imaging (Conference Presentation)

X-ray phase contrast imaging (XPCI) reveals structure and detail of low density materials with a sensitivity not accessible to conventional absorption based x-ray imaging or other non-destructive inspection techniques. The wide use of low density materials in defense and security applications has driven development outside the medical domain. In the laboratory environment (instantiations that do not employ a synchrotron), XPCI has moved beyond nascent demonstrations. Advances have been made in grating fabrication, source development, and specialized detectors. As the application space grows, new algorithms for acquisition, reconstruction, and corrections are being developed. I will review the state of the art in laboratory grating-based XPCI with emphasis on the growing interest in materials science applications. Hurdles remain for XPCI to move beyond laboratory demonstrations and become a widely used non-destructive inspection technique. The most common three-grating system has limitations defined by grating fabrication limits, which determine attainable energy levels, and relevant samples. The system geometry, signal levels, and speed of acquisition must be realistic for real world applications. This talk will provide a perspective on the global state of XPCI and development trends that seek to expand the operational space.
Health system strategies to increase HIV screening among pregnant women in Mesoamerica.

To propose health system strategies to meeting the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on HIV screening through antenatal care (ANC) services, we assessed predictors of HIV screening, and simulated the impact of changes in these predictors on the probability of HIV screening in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (State of Chiapas), Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador. We interviewed a representative sample of women of reproductive age from the poorest Mesoamerican areas on ANC services, including HIV screening. We used a multivariate logistic regression model to examine correlates of HIV screening. First differences in expected probabilities of HIV screening were simulated for health system correlates that were associated with HIV screening. Overall, 40.7% of women were screened for HIV during their last pregnancy through ANC. This rate was highest in El Salvador and lowest in Guatemala. The probability of HIV screening increased with education, household expenditure, the number of ANC visits, and the type of health care attendant of ANC visits. If all women were to be attended by a nurse, or a physician, and were to receive at least four ANC visits, the probability of HIV screening would increase by 12.5% to reach 45.8%. To meet WHO’s recommendations for HIV screening, special attention should be given to the poorest and least educated women to ensure health equity and progress toward an HIV-free generation. In parallel, health systems should be strengthened in terms of testing and human resources to ensure that every pregnant woman gets screened for HIV. A 12.5% increase in HIV screening would require a minimum of four ANC visits and an appropriate professional attendance of these visits.
Managing the Supply-Side Risks in Supply Chains: Taxonomies, Processes, and Examples of Decision-Making Modeling

Today's supply chains are becoming not only more efficient with the aid of advanced information technologies, but also riskier due to the tight interconnectedness of numerous chain links that are prone to breakdowns, disruptions or disasters. Although many studies focusing on business risks in various contexts have been presented in the literature over the years, research effort devoted to understanding the risks associated with suppliers and the supply market has been limited, especially from a quantitative point of view. In this chapter, we first, through extensive literature view, present a taxonomy of supply-side risks, a four-step supply risk management process, and a list of techniques that help accomplish each step. Then we propose two optimization-based decision tree models that effectively formulate two decision-making situations in which the questions of how many suppliers should be used and whether to use standby suppliers are addressed. Future research directions are also suggested.
Preparing a Range of Carrier Materials and Producing Inoculants

After rhizobia have been cultured in broth, they are usually incorporated into carrier material where they remain until use. Although peat is generally the most suitable carrier, other materials are used if peat is not available. In any case, the suitability of the carrier needs to be confirmed. In this exercise, carriers for rhizobia are prepared from various materials such as peat, charcoal, and lignite. These carriers are used for the production of granular and powdered inoculants. The quality of these inoculants is tested and compared.
Performance Evaluation of Speech Translation Systems.

One of the most challenging tasks for uniformed service personnel serving in foreign countries is effective verbal communication with the local population. To remedy this problem, several companies and academic institutions have been funded to develop machine translation systems as part of the DARPA TRANSTAC (Spoken Language Communication and Translation System for Tactical Use) program. The goal of this program is to demonstrate capabilities to rapidly develop and field free-form, two-way translation systems that would enable speakers of different languages to communicate with one another in real-world tactical situations. DARPA has mandated that each TRANSTAC technology be evaluated numerous times throughout the life of the program and has tasked the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to lead this effort. This paper describes the experimental design methodology and test procedures from the most recent evaluation, conducted in July 2007, which focused on English to/from Iraqi Arabic.
Tiled Silicon-Photonic Phased Arrays for Large-Area Apertures

We present the first demonstration of a tiling scheme to scale silicon photonic optical phased arrays to large-area beam steering apertures. We experimentally demonstrate two co-steering tiles - the first step towards a practical scheme to reach large area apertures. © 2019 The Author(s)
Transverse expansion and high pT azimuthal asymmetry at RHIC

Abstract Rapid (3+1)D transverse plus Bjorken collective expansion in A + A collisions at ultra-relativistic energies is shown to reduce substantially the azimuthal asymmetry resulting from jet quenching. While the azimuthal asymmetry in non-central collisions, v 2 ( p T >2 GeV/ c )∼0.15 reported by STAR at RHIC, can be accounted for by spatially anisotropic jet energy loss through a (1+1)D expanding gluon plasma with dN g / dy ∼1000, we show that if rapid transverse collective expansion of the plasma is assumed, then the asymmetry due to jet quenching may be reduced below the observed level. Possible implications of this effect are discussed.
Deep Network Anatomy Segmentation with Limited Annotations using Auxiliary Labels

Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown impressive performance in anatomy segmentation that are close to the state of the art atlas-based segmentation method. On one hand CNNs have 20x faster predictions than atlas-based segmentation. However, one of the main holdbacks of CNN’s advancement is that it’s training requires large amount of annotated data. This is a costly hurdle as annotation is time consuming and requires expensive medical expertise. The goal of this work is to reach state of the art segmentation performance using the minimum amount of expensive manual annotations. Recent studies show that auxiliary segmentations can be used together with manual annotations to improve CNN learning. To make this learning scheme more effective, we propose an image selection algorithm that wisely chooses images for manual annotation for producing more accurate auxiliary segmentations and a quality control algorithm that excludes poor quality auxiliary segmentations from CNN training. We perform extensive experiments over chest CT dataset by varying the number of manual annotations used for atlas-based methods and by varying the number of auxiliary segmentations to train the CNN. Our results show that CNN trained with auxiliary segmentations achieve higher dice of 0.76 vs 0.58 when trained with few accurate manual segmentations. Moreover, training with 100 or more auxiliary segmentations, the CNN always outperforms atlas-based method. Finally, when carefully selecting single atlas for producing auxiliary segmentations and controlling the quality of auxiliary segmentations, the trained CNN archives high average dice of 0.72 vs 0.62 when using a randomly selected image for manual annotation with all auxiliary segmentations.
Design and validation of an intraoperative autofluorescence lifetime imaging device

As we know, fluorescence lifetime imaging has demonstrated the ability to accurately detect materials and tissue constituents1–3. Current fluorescence lifetime systems rely on accurate temporal sampling to capture the tails of the decaying emission. These data are often fit to an exponential decay model3,4. Although these methodologies are powerful tools but they are often implemented as point measurement systems and require significant postprocessing to compute decay times or coefficients5–8. In some applications these factors can hinder clinical translation. Based on these observations, our group has developed algorithms and built simple, fast, and wide field imaging system9,10. This method uses a gated charge-coupled device (CCD) and a liquid light cable guided LED to compare the decay-time image intensity vs excited state image intensity, thus generating a spatially resolved maps of relative differences in autofluorescence decay of tissue constituents. This approach ensures very fast updating speed (< 2 sec per frame), big field of view (20 mm x 20 mm), excellent depth of field (up to 6 mm) for surface curvature of interested target at reasonable working distance (~50 mm). This innovative imaging system has a temporal resolution of 0.16 nanosecond, spatial resolution of 70 μm and has proved the capability to differentiate visibly similar tissue types, which has been validated with both fluorescent dyes and ex vivo human tissue samples in comparison to commercially available FLIM microscope. This work establishes a foundation to confirm the utility of our upgraded DOCI system for intraoperative tissue differentiating/imaging. Validation with a larger number of samples is currently ongoing.
Maltose Effects on Barley Malt β-Amylase Activity and Thermostability at Low Isothermal Mashing Temperatures

Maltose increases the activity and thermostability of barley β-amylase at high mashing temperatures. Here we examined the effects of maltose on malt β-amylase activity and thermostability at reduce...
Gastric neuroendocrine tumours from long-term proton pump inhibitor users are indolent tumours with good prognosis.

Aims Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely used medications in the United States. Most PPI users have persistent hypergastrinaemia during treatment. However, gastric neuroendocrine tumours diagnosed in long-term PPI users are rarely reported. Their clinicopathological features and prognosis are not characterised. It remains unclear whether or not they can be classified as Type III sporadic tumours. Methods and results We retrospectively characterised 66 gastric neuroendocrine tumours from patients without atrophic gastritis and gastrinoma from two tertiary care medical centres, including 38 tumours in patients who had used PPIs for at least 1 year and 28 tumours from patients without long-term PPI use (control group, Type III tumours). Compared to controls, tumours from long-term PPI users tended to be in the pT1-2 category (98% versus 79%, P = 0.09) and less often invaded the serosa (3% versus 18%, P = 0.08) or lymphovascular spaces (11% versus 32%, P = 0.06). Using Kaplan-Meier analysis, long-term PPI users had significantly longer overall survival than controls (P = 0.035). While three control patients developed distant metastasis and seven died, long-term PPI users were without distant metastasis (P = 0.06) or death (P = 0.002) during follow-up. However, five long-term PPI users developed additional gastric neuroendocrine tumour(s), while none of the controls did (P = 0.07). Conclusions Our results show that gastric neuroendocrine tumours of long-term PPI users are probably less aggressive compared to Type III sporadic tumours and have an indolent disease course. Our findings support the classification of gastric neuroendocrine tumours in long-term PPI users as a separate subtype.
Sexual Orientation, Social Determinants of Health, and Unmet Substance Use Treatment Need: Findings from a National Survey.

Background: In 2018, an estimated 89% of individuals who needed treatment for substance use did not have their need met. Compared to heterosexuals, the disparity between needing and receiving treat...
Launching a Statewide COVID-19 Primary Care Hotline and Telemedicine Service.

To respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and recover from its aftermath, primary care teams will face waves of overwhelming demand for information and the need to significantly transform care delivery. Innovation: Oregon Health & Science University’s primary care team envisioned and implemented the COVID-19 Connected Care Center, a statewide telephone “hotline” service. Results: The hotline has taken more than 5825 calls from patients in 33 of Oregon’s 36 counties in less than 3 months. In preliminary survey data, 86% of patients said their questions were answered during the call, 90% would recommend this service, and 70% reported a reduction in stress levels about coronavirus. In qualitative interviews, patients reported their questions answered, short wait times, nurses spent time as needed, and appropriate follow-up was arranged. Conclusion: Academic health centers may have the capacity to leverage their extensive resources to rapidly launch a multiphased pandemic response that meets peoples’ need for information and access to primary care, while minimizing risk of infection and emergency department use and rapidly supporting primary care teams to make the necessary operational changes to do the same in their communities. Such efforts require external funding in a fee-for-service payment model.
Building Out the Basics with Hoplets

Maintaining a performant Internet service is simplified when operators are able to develop an understanding of the path between the service and its end users. A key piece of operational knowledge comes from understanding when i) segments of a path contribute to a significant portion of the path’s delay ii) when these segments occur across end users. We propose hoplets, an abstraction for describing delay increases between an end-user and a content provider built on traceroutes. We present a mechanism for measuring and comparing hoplets to determine when they describe the same underlying network features. Using this mechanism, we construct a methodology to enable wide scale measurement that requires only limited contextual data.
Against libertarianism

The so-called Mind argument aims at the conclusion that agents act freely only if determinism is true. The soundness of this argument entails the falsity of libertarianism, the two-part thesis that agents act freely, and free action and determinism are incompatible. In this paper, I offer a new formulation of the Mind argument. I argue that it is true by definition that if an agent acts freely, either (i) nothing nomologically grounds an agent’s acting freely, or (ii) the consequence argument for incompatibilism is unsound. I define the notion of nomological grounding, and argue that unless an agent’s acting freely is nomologically grounded, unacceptable consequences follow. I then argue that if agents act freely and the consequence argument is sound, a vicious regress ensues. I conclude by considering the libertarian’s dialectical options.
Assessing Financial Education: Evidence from Boot Camp

This study estimates the effects of Personal Financial Management Course attendance and enrollment assistance using a natural experiment in the U.S. Army. Course attendance reduces the probability of select credit account balances, average account balances, delinquencies, and adverse legal actions in the first year after the course, but it has no effects on accounts in the second year or credit scores in either year. The course and its bundled enrollment assistance increase retirement savings rates from 12% to 24%, with effects that persist through at least two years. The course has no significant effects on military labor market outcomes.
Understanding Global Health

The phrase “global health” is frequently thrown around in political and medical debates. But what exactly is global health? The text Understanding Global Health answers this question eloquently in its comprehensive discussion of health, health care, and health systems from a universal perspective. Although this book is written with the medical student or public health student in mind, it can definitely be utilized by anyone who is interested in learning more about the subject. The book offers the reader a strong foundation in worldwide health care issues via initial chapters on the history of global health as well as disease burden and biostatistics. Subsequent chapters discuss specific subjects such as women and children’s health, environmental impact, nutrition, primary care, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, effects of war and catastrophes, injury prevention, aging and chronic disease, and antimicrobial resistance. The final chapters address social, political, and educational aspects of global health. Specifically, communications and technology, economics, health care in low- and middle- income countries, and ethics are discussed. The book is especially helpful for those considering a career in the field in that one chapter literally outlines different employment options and discusses how a future doctor or interested student can begin their career. The book offers a full view of global health. It is well organized and formatted so that each chapter can stand alone as an educational tool for the classroom with outlined objectives, useful graphics, and study questions. This text is set apart from others of its kind by the extensive reference section at the end of each chapter that includes not only a reference list but also contact organizations and websites, thereby allowing the student to go beyond the text for continued self-education. Additionally, each of the chapters contains anecdotes and real-world case scenarios that make it easy to relate to the issues under discussion while providing grounds for further debate and thought. Overall, Understanding Global Health is a readable, captivating, and complete text that provides an excellent starting point for learning about global health. It can be appreciated by those with little knowledge of the field as well as those who are experts due to its simple thoroughness.
Renal Metabolism: Integrated Responses

The sections in this article are: 1 Methodological Considerations 2 Coupling of Metabolism to Transport 2.1 Oxidative vs. Glycolytic Metabolism in the Mammalian Kidney 2.2 Stoichiometry of Transepithelial Na+ Transport to QO2 2.3 Transport as the Pacemaker of Respiration 2.4 Control of Transport by Metabolism 3 Metabolic Substrate Utilization by the Kidney 3.1 Metabolic Heterogeneity of the Kidney 3.2 Metabolism of Glucose 3.3 Lactate Metabolism 3.4 Pyruvate Metabolism 3.5 Renal Lipid Metabolism 3.6 Amino Acid Metabolism 3.7 Citrate Metabolism 3.8 Ketone Metabolism 4 Synthetic Functions of the Kidney 4.1 Gluconeogenesis 4.2 Alanine 4.3 Serine 5 Renal Phospholipid Metabolism 5.1 Phospholipid Composition of Kidney 5.2 Metabolism of Specific Renal Phospholipids 6 Metabolism of Membrane Proteins in Kidney 6.1 Phosphorylation of Membrane Proteins 6.2 ADP-Ribosylation
The rhetoric of remix

The affordances of digital technologies increase the available semiotic resources through which one may speak. In this context, video remix becomes a rich avenue for communication and expression in ways that have heretofore been the province of big media. Yet recent attempts to categorize remix are limiting, mainly as a result of their reliance on the visual arts and cinema theory as the gauge by which remix is measured. A more valuable view of remix is as a digital argument that works across the registers of sound, text, and image to make claims and provides evidence to support those claims. After exploring the roots of contemporary notions of orality, literacy, narrative and rhetoric, I turn to examples of marginalized, disparate artifacts that are already in danger of neglect in the burgeoning history of remix. In examining these pieces in terms of remix theory to date, a more expansive view is warranted. An approach based on digital argument is capable of accounting for the rhetorical strategies of the formal elements of remixes while still attending to the specificity of the discourse communities from which they arise. This effort intervenes in current conversations and sparks enhancement of its concepts to shape the mediascape.
Replacing the Scandal-Plagued Corporate Income Tax with a Cash-Flow Tax

Americans have been inundated with financial scandals at large corporations during the past two years. In many cases, unethical behavior and poor oversight of corporate management are to blame. But a deeper look reveals that the flawed structure of the corporate income tax has been a key driver of corporate waste and inefficiency. The tax code distorts financial and investment decisions and spurs executives to hunt for tax shelters.Three fundamental flaws in the corporate income tax are behind the distortions and tax shelters. The first flaw is that the corporate income tax rate is very high. Currently, the U.S. statutory corporate rate is the second highest among the 30 major industrial countries. That high rate reduces investment, encourages firms to move profits abroad, and provides incentives to push the legal margins of the tax code.The second flaw is that the corporate tax base of net income or profits is inherently complex because it relies on concepts such as capital gains and capitalization of long-lived assets that are difficult to consistently account for in a tax system. Costs of capitalized assets are deducted through depreciation, amortization, and other rules. The tax rules for capitalized assets and capital gains are repeatedly exploited in corporate tax shelters. These rules also cause economic distortions as they interfere with capital investment, business reorganizations, and other decisions. Capital gains taxation and capitalization would be eliminated under a replacement “cash-flow” tax system.The third flaw is the gratuitous inconsistency of the tax code. Examples include the different tax treatment given to debt and equity and the different rules imposed on corporations and the half dozen other types of businesses. Such inconsistencies played a key role in the tax shelters exploited by Enron and other firms. Worse, they have created large costs to the economy by distorting capital markets and channeling investment into less productive uses. A cash-flow tax would eliminate these distortions and put all businesses and investments on an equal footing.This study discusses the most serious corporate tax distortions and examines fundamental reforms to fix them. One option examined is a full repeal of the corporate tax. Another option is replacing the corporate income tax with a cash-flow tax. The study concludes that implementing a cash-flow business tax would build on President Bush’s tax cuts, help prevent future Enron-style scandals, and permanently boost the economy.
Baker Dekanter Review: Inappropriate Conclusions of The Efficacy of Bilingual Education

On September 25, 1981, a final draft report was completed by staff members in the Office of Planning, Budget, and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Education. This report is referred to as a review of the efficacy of bilingual education. The report concludes “the case for the effectiveness of transitional bilingual education is so weak that exclusive reliance on this instructional method is clearly not justified, (abstract, p. 1).” Given the significant effects of the dissemination of the Baker/deKanter Review, there is a need for a scholarly inquiry into the specific studies cited by Baker and deKanter as “methodologically applicable.” Utilizing the same catories and procedures as Baker and deKanter, the original sources for the “twenty- eight” references cited by Baker and deKanter were obtained and reviewed. However, this inquiry produced significant questions concerning the Baker/deKanter data, and found serious methodological problems in at least nine significant areas, with multiple examples of d...
On the Empirical Implications of Bargaining Under Observation

This paper challenges the conventional assumption that states with relatively peaceful relations with the rest of the system will act no differently than states involved in vicious rivalries, and examines how the likelihood of being observed affects a state's conflict behavior. The analysis examines the ways in which likelihood of observation affects conflict escalation and duration, as well as length of peace. To analyze escalation, this paper introduces international relations scholars to a non-parametric estimator for binary data, the local logit, which liberates estimation from restrictive functional form assumptions. The evidence shows that outside observation can change states' behaviors, and that observers tend to modify their own actions based on what they learn. This indicates that the typical assumption that war occurs in a vacuum neglects some key factors in state decision making.
Ancient Whole Grain Gluten-Free Egg-Free Teff, Buckwheat, Quinoa and Amaranth Pasta

This report demonstrates innovative ancient whole grain, gluten-free, egg-free pasta (no chemicals added) made using a kitchen counter-top appliance. Whole grain, fusilli pasta was prepared with te...
Protein-protein Interaction Between HTLV-1 Tax Protein and the Components of the Cellular Secretory Pathway

Tax protein has been shown to play an integral role in HTLV-1-induced diseases including adult T cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Extracellular Tax has been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid of HAM/TSP patients, suggesting that cell-free Tax may be physiologically involved in the progression of neurologic disease. We have previously demonstrated the secretion of full-length Tax and its co-localization with the cytoplasmic organelles relevant to secretion. The present study elucidates the mechanism of Tax secretion. To identify Tax interacting proteins within cell, we have used an antibody array spotted with antibodies directed against cellular secretory pathway proteins. Upon reaction with protein extracts from Tax-treated cells, antibody array analyses have suggested the interaction of Tax with SCAMP1, SCAMP2, SNAP23, and COPII; proteins that facilitate transport between nucleus and cytoplasm, and between endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex, and plasma membrane. Subsequently, these specific protein-protein interactions have been confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation and GST pull-down assays. Collectively, these studies have demonstrated the interaction of Tax with multiple proteins in the secretory pathway and that Tax may be secreted and act as an extracellular effector molecule.