cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immune Checkpoint Inhibition and the Prevalence of Autoimmune Disorders Among Patients With Lung and Renal Cancer.

Purpose: Immune checkpoint inhibition reactivates the immune response against cancer cells in multiple tissue types and has been shown to induce durable responses. However, for patients with autoimmune disorders, their conditions can worsen with this reactivation. We sought to identify, among patients with lung and renal cancer, how many harbor a comorbid autoimmune condition and may be at risk of worsening their condition while on immune checkpoint inhibitors such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab. Methods: An administrative health care claims database, Truven MarketScan, was used to identify patients diagnosed with lung and renal cancer from 2010 to 2013. We assessed patients for diagnosis of autoimmune diseases 1 year prior to or after diagnosis of cancer using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for 41 autoimmune diseases. Baseline characteristics and other comorbid conditions were recorded. Results: More than 25% of patients with both lung and renal cancer had a comorbid autoimmune condition between 2010 and 2013 and were more likely to be women, older, and have more baseline comorbidities. Conclusions: This population presents a dilemma to physicians when deciding to treat with immune checkpoint inhibitors and risk immune-related adverse events. Future evaluation of real-world use of immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer with autoimmune diseases will be needed.
Successful use of palliative inotrope therapy in end-stage cardiac ATTR amyloidosis

Patients with heart failure (HF) due to senile (wild type, wt) transthyretin amyloidosis have an overall poor prognosis and are not usually candidates for advanced therapies including heart transpl...
Structural and molecular polarity in retinal photoreceptor neurons: roles for the cytoskeleton.

The differentiation of neuronal cells involves the synthesis of cell-specific macromolecules, as well as the assembly of the latter into supramolecular entities responsible for complex patterns of cell organization. For example, axons are distinguished from dendrites by the presence or absence of ribosomes and by the specific distribution of molecules such as cytoskeletal proteins, a-bungarotoxin receptors and GAP-43, among others (Banker and Waxman, 1988; Goslin et al., 1988). Asymmetries in molecular distribution also occur within individual neuronal processes, as illustrated by the concentration of voltage-sensitive sodium channels at the nodes of Ranvier (Ritchie, 1977; Angelides, et al., 1988). Although all neurons seem to share a similar polarized pattern of organization, different types of neurons can be distinguished by unique variations of this common pattern. Cell-specific morphology and branching patterns of axons and dendrites provide clear examples of this type of diversity (i.e., Wuerker and Kirkpatrick, 1972; Peters et al., 1976; Bartlett and Banker, 1984).
Air-Stable α-Diimine Nickel Precatalysts for the Hydrogenation of Hindered, Unactivated Alkenes

Treatment of a mixture of air-stable nickel(II) bis(octanoate), Ni(O2CC7H15)2, and α-diimine ligand, iPrDI or CyADI (iPrDI = [2,6-iPr2–C6H3N═C(CH3)]2, CyADI = [C6H11N═C(CH3)]2) with pinacolborane (HBPin) generated a highly active catalyst for the hydrogenation of hindered, essentially unfunctionalized alkenes. A range of tri- and tetrasubstituted alkenes was hydrogenated and a benchtop procedure for the hydrogenation of 1-phenyl-1-cyclohexene on a multigram scale was demonstrated and represents an advance in catalyst activity and scope for the nickel-catalyzed hydrogenation of this challenging class of alkenes. Deuteration of 1,2-dimethylindene with the in situ-generated nickel catalyst with iPrDI exclusively furnished the 1,2-syn-d2-dimethylindane. With cyclic trisubstituted alkenes, such as 1-methyl-indene and methylcyclohexene, deuteration with the in situ generated nickel catalyst under 4 atm of D2 produced multiple deuterated isotopologues of the alkanes, signaling chain running processes that are co...
Penile Plication Using the 16-Dot Technique

Peyronie’s disease, characterized by the formation of a fibrous plaque within the tunica albuginea of the corpora cavernosa, has long caused sexual dysfunction. Plication surgery has allowed a simple technique to correct the penile curvature caused by Peyronie’ s disease. The 16-dot plication technique corrects the penile curvature with a high level of patient satisfaction and yet can be performed under local anesthesia. Slight adjustments can be made during the procedure, which allows greater precision toward penile strengthening. The 16-dot penile plication procedure has an 85% long-term success rate for achieving a straight erection by patient reporting. Minimal complications are reported, with penile shortening (0.5–1.5 cm) reported at 41%. With a mean operative time of 45 min and the ability to perform the procedure under local anesthesia, the 16-dot plication procedure is an important tool for the urologist for treatment of Peyronie’s disease.
Challenges for Pain Management in the Twenty-First Century

Pain occurs in 20 % of the population, 50 % of patients who present with cancer have pain and 70 % of patients with advanced cancer will have acute and chronic pain. Opioids are the standard treatment of choice, but half of patients experience side effects which can reduce quality of life. Chronic pain is the result of central neuroplasticity and hypersensitivity. Within disease entities, there are different pain phenotypes which are generated by distinct mechanisms, and each phenotype in turn has different responses to analgesics. Analgesics such as opioids selectively bias signalling from mu, kappa, and delta receptors. Receptor responses are modulated by homotropic and heterotropic tolerance mechanisms. Combinations of opioids may modulate responses through single receptors or dimers and reestablish nociception in animal models. This is particularly seen with methadone and morphine. Bivalent opioids are reported to reduce psychologic dependence (as measured by reduced conditioned place preference in animal models), improve analgesia, and reduce side effects presumably through interactions on opioid dimers. Multivalent opioid/non-opioid receptor drugs and opioid-monoamine transporter inhibitor bivalent analgesics are available and have advantages compared to opioid monomers, as demonstrated in certain animal models and clinical situations. The key to analgesic development is to target pain phenotypes with selective analgesics initially in animal models then validate results through enrichment designed trials.
Habeas and the Accumulation of Judicial Power

This article situates Chapter 3 of Nasser Hussain’s The Jurisprudence of Emergency within the broader reassessment in recent years of the history of habeas corpus in England during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. As it demonstrates, not only was Hussain ahead of his time in highlighting the means by which habeas became a tool not for the promotion of individual rights, but for the accumulation of judicial power and the concomitant normalization of emergencies; one can also see clear reflections of his analysis in the jurisprudence of U.S. courts arising out of the detention of non-citizens at Guantanamo.
Aspiration biopsy of testis: another method for histologic examination *

The most important method for evaluating the pathogenesis of male infertility is open testicular biopsy. Herein we describe a method of aspiration biopsy of testis for histologic examination. Sexually mature dogs and rats treated with chemotherapeutic agents and ionizing radiation were followed with periodic testicular aspiration biopsy during and after treatment. The histologic findings from the aspiration biopsy compare with the results of routine histologic examinations in assessing spermatogenetic activity and delineating pathologic changes. The puncture in the experimental animals was performed under general anesthesia. In human patients testicular biopsy could be done under local anesthesia in an outpatient clinic. The procedure would be less painful, minimally invasive, and more cost-effective.
Purification of Yeast Membranes and Organelles by Sucrose Density Gradient Centrifugation

Many experiments require isolation and purification of membranes and organelles from a cell-free lysate. A combination of differential and sucrose density gradient centrifugation provides adequate separation of most yeast organelles in a single experiment. Yeast cells are converted to spheroplasts and gently lysed under conditions that preserve the integrity of organelles. The total lysate is subjected to differential centrifugation and the resulting membrane pellets are fractionated on density gradients. The method is based on the fact that different membranes contain different ratios of lipid to protein, and thus exhibit different density, allowing them to migrate through the gradient until they reach isopycnic position. The fractionated gradients are analyzed by Western blotting with antibodies that recognize marker proteins specific for individual organelles.
Pathology of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Induced Disease

Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) is the general name given a large family of African nonhuman primate lentiviruses which are the closest known relatives to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; Chakrabarti etal. 1987; Franchini et al. 1987; Hirsch et al. 1989). In their natural hosts, which include sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys; Fultz et al. 1986; Lowenstine et al. 1986), African green monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops; Daniel et al. 1988; Kanki et al. 1985), mandrills (Papio sphinx; Tsujimoto et al. 1988), white-crowned mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus lunulatus; Tomonaga et al. 1993), Sykes’ monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis albogularis; Hirsch et al. 1993), tantalus monkeys (Cercopithecus tantalus; M.C. Muller et al. 1993, and possibly other monkeys of African origin, the virus apparently exists as an exogenous, nonpathogenic infection (Desrosiers 1990). Remarkably, when SIV is introduced from one of the African nonhuman primates into an Asian macaque species, as appears to have occurred in several primate centers in the United States, an AIDS-like disease results (for review see Gardner et al. 1988).
Evolving Rationale for Minimally-interrupted Chest Compressions during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

This past year marked the 50th anniversary of the first scientific presentation describing the technique and resulting survival benefit of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as we know it today [1]. When first described, the directives for the chest compression component were to “push hard, deep and fast”. A half century later, the latest international guidelines for CPR have not only emphasized the timing, rate and quality of those chest compressions, but also the key notion of sustaining uninterrupted compressions whenever possible [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Today, those early caveats of hard, fast and deep are now further supported by an accumulating body of compelling scientific data, including those that indicate that chest compressions can even be “too fast” or too uneven with insufficient chest wall recoil [6]. Moreover, recent research efforts also have encouraged a strategy of early and sustained provision of minimally-interrupted chest compressions [7, 8, 9, 10, 11]. In many cases, resuscitation specialists have de-emphasized rescue ventilation altogether [7, 12, 13, 14, 15]. Similarly, some investigators have recommended that the more invasive advanced life support (ALS) interventions (e.g., endotracheal intubation) should be deferred so that basic CPR (compressions) can be prioritized [7, 8, 9, 10]. Furthermore, in view of this new emphasis on chest compressions, there has arisen a renewed focus on the quality of CPR using feedback loops for prospective rescuers, both in follow-up and real-time remediation [4, 5, 6]. In the following discussion, we will review the data that support this evolving emphasis on minimally-interrupted chest compressions and also provide a perspective on why ‘compressions-only’ CPR is a very feasible strategy for the majority of persons likely to survive a cardiac arrest.
Impact of Simulated Drought Stress on Protein Body Cycle in Radicles of Developing and Germinating Cotton Seeds

Changes in global climate, particularly reduced rain fall and elevated temperatures within the U.S.A., impact adversely on crop production. Because conditions of severe drought accompanied by elevated temperatures often result in production of low quality seed, research efforts to determine the effects of drought on seed filling are needed. Very little is known about the effects of drought stress on cellular and molecular regulation of organelle biogenesis related to storage of food reserves in ripening seeds. With this knowledge improvements in crop production can be tested either by employment of specific strategies involving use of limited water supplies during critical periods of seed development or by implementation of biotechnological methods to introduce drought and high temperature resistance into the genome of designated crop plants.
Preview: Data Warehousing/Mining

For many who are interested in the topics related to data mining, a common question is “What exactly is data mining?” In the community of statistics, data mining can be perceived as investigating and applying statistical techniques for EDA — Exploratory Data Analysis [Tukey 1977]. In the community of machine learning or artificial intelligence, data mining can be about algorithms that are computationally practical for “learning patterns” from large data sets [Weiss 1991]. In the community of scientific visualization, data mining could be about clustering and compressing high dimensional data, and transforming the data into a visual form for conveying “useful” information in data [Santos 2002]. In the community of database technology, it could be about OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) [Harinarayan 1996], warehouse model, data mart, and decision support.
Linking Suppression Expenditure Modeling with Large Wildfire Simulation Modeling

Land management agencies face uncertain tradeoffs regarding investments in preparedness and pre-fire management versus future suppression expenditures and impacts to valued resources and assets. This chapter illustrates one potential method for linking suppression expenditure models with fire simulation models in order to estimate suppression expenditures and evaluate alternative risk mitigation strategies. A case study application in the Deschutes National Forest illustrates how fire simulation outputs can be linked with geospatial information from other databases to calibrate a model of wildfire suppression expenditures. The resulting output can describe the expenditure consequences of different spatial and temporal arrangements of fuel treatments. In the case study example, fuel treatments that reduce median fire sizes on the landscape by 5.25 % yield suppression expenditure savings of 5.03 % over a ten-year time span. Within the treated areas only, effects of fuel treatments on fire size and expenditures are larger as more fires interact with the treated portions of the landscape. The approach illustrated in the case study allows analysts to address a variety of salient wildfire management and policy questions, including comparative assessments of alternative wildfire management strategies and comparisons of expected suppression expenditures across landscapes and geographic areas.
System biology approach intersecting diet and cell metabolism with pathogenesis of brain disorders

Abstract The surge in meals high in calories has prompted an epidemic of metabolic disorders around the world such that the elevated incidence of obese and diabetic individuals is alarming. New research indicates that metabolic disorders pose a risk for neurological and psychiatric conditions including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and depression, all of which have a metabolic component. These relationships are rooted to a dysfunctional interaction between molecular processes that regulate energy metabolism and synaptic plasticity. The strong adaptive force of dietary factors on shaping the brain during evolution can be manipulated to transform the interaction between cell bioenergetics and epigenome with the aptitude to promote long-lasting brain healthiness. A thorough understanding of the association between the broad action of nutrients and brain fitness requires high level data processing empowered with the capacity to integrate information from a multitude of molecular entities and pathways. Nutritional systems biology is emerging as a viable approach to elucidate the multiple molecular layers involved in information processing in cells, tissues, and organ systems in response to diet. Information about the wide range of cellular and molecular interactions elicited by foods on the brain and cognitive plasticity is crucial for the design of public health initiatives for curtailing the epidemic of metabolic and brain disorders.
Updates in Lung Cancer Cytopathology

Lung cancer diagnosis and ancillary testing are increasingly relying on cytology and small biopsy specimens obtained via minimally invasive means. Paired with traditional immunohistochemical characterization of tumors, biomarker testing and comprehensive genomic profiling are becoming essential steps in the workup of lung cancer to identify targetable alterations and guide optimal therapy selection. Recent advances in immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy have led to an increasingly complex and unresolved landscape for tumor PD-L1 testing. The prevalence and importance of lung cancer cytology specimens are growing, with more required by the cytopathologist in directing the care of patients with lung cancer.
Computed Tomography Evidence of Psoas Muscle Atrophy Without Concomitant Tendon Wasting in Early Sepsis.

Abstract Background Morphomic studies have demonstrated a correlation between sarcopenia and clinical outcomes in septic patients. However, tendon morphomics has not yet been studied in this context. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate tendon morphology in septic patients through analytic morphomics. We hypothesized that morphomic analyses would reveal concomitant muscle and tendon wasting in sepsis patients. The results of this study may help to implement different rehabilitation modalities for critically ill patients. Materials and methods The volume and fat content of bilateral psoas muscles and tendons were measured on abdominal computed tomography scans of 25 ICU septic and 25 control trauma patients admitted to the University of Michigan between 2011 and 2012. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationship between psoas muscle and tendon morphometric data, and the association with clinical variables such as smoking and comorbidities. Results Average psoas muscle volume was 12.21 ± 5.6 cm3 for control patients and 9.318 ± 3.3 cm3 in septic patients (P = 0.0023). The average psoas muscle/fat ratio for septic patients was 0.0288 ± 0.071 cm3, compared with 0.0107 ± 0.008 cm3 in the control group (P = 0.075). Average tendon volume in the septic population (0.508 ± 0.191 cm3) was not different than the control cohort (0.493 ± 0.182 cm3) (P = 0.692). Conclusions Our results demonstrate significantly smaller psoas muscle volume in septic patients than in age-, gender-, and BMI-matched trauma patients but no demonstrable change in tendon morphology between patient groups. These findings begin to define the boundaries of clinical application within the field of morphomics.
Concurrency verification with maximal path causality

We present a technique that systematically explores the state spaces of concurrent programs across both the schedule space and the input space. The cornerstone is a new model called Maximal Path Causality (MPC), which captures all combinations of thread schedules and program inputs that reach the same path as one equivalency class, and generates a unique schedule+input combination to explore each path. Moreover, the exploration for different paths can be easily parallelized. Our extensive evaluation on both popular concurrency benchmarks and real-world C/C++ applications shows that MPC significantly improves the performance of existing techniques.
Am I (hyper)aroused or anxious? Clinical significance of pre-sleep somatic arousal in young adults.

Self-reported somatic arousal remains a challenging clinical construct, particularly because only a subset of patients report symptoms such as racing heart, palpitations or increased body temperature interfering with their sleep. It is unclear whether self-reported somatic arousal is a marker of hyperarousal or co-morbid clinical anxiety in individuals with insomnia. Participants included 196 young adults aged 20.2 ± 1.0 years old who were predominantly females (75%). About 39% of the sample reported subthreshold insomnia, and about 8% reported clinically significant insomnia, based on their Insomnia Severity Index. Participants completed the Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Arousal Predisposition Scale, and Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test. Multivariable stepwise regression assessed which factors were independently associated with pre-sleep cognitive (Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale-Cognitive) and somatic (Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale-Somatic) arousal. Receiver-operating characteristic analysis assessed the predictive value to identify clinically significant anxiety (Beck Anxiety Inventory ≥ 20), insomnia (Insomnia Severity Index ≥ 15) and arousability (Arousal Predisposition Scale ≥ 32). Beck Anxiety Inventory (β = 0.42) was the best single correlate of Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale-Somatic, while Insomnia Severity Index (β = 0.33) was of Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale-Cognitive. A Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale-Somatic score of 12 or more identified those with clinically significant anxiety with 65% specificity and 65% sensitivity, while a cut-off score of 14 increased its sensitivity (86%). Self-reported pre-sleep somatic arousal may be an index of co-morbid clinical anxiety in individuals with insomnia. These findings aid clinicians with assessment and treatment, particularly in the absence of clinical guidelines indicating when somatically focused relaxation techniques should be included as part of multicomponent cognitive behavioural treatment of insomnia.
In Defense of Physicalist Christology

Physicalist Christology (PC) is the view that God the Son (GS), in the Incarnation, became identical with the body of Jesus. The goal of this paper is to defend PC from two recent objections. One is that if GS is a physical object, then he cannot have properties had by God (e.g., necessary existence). Then, by Leibniz’s law, the incarnate GS cannot be identical with the second Person of the Trinity. The other objection is that PC implies that the incarnate GS did not exist in the interim period between his death and resurrection. PC then leads to the theologically absurd consequence that one of the three Persons of the Trinity did not exist during this period. I argue that the first objection fails because the very same argumentative strategy applies to the Incarnation on any view. As for the second objection, I endorse an animalist theory of death and argue that the incarnate GS continues to exist as a dead person from his death to resurrection. This shows that there is still continuing Trinity of GS during this period.
Dislocation-Grain Boundary Interactions in Tungsten Bicrystals

ABSTRACT Experiments were performed to examine the effects of twist boundaries on the deformation behavior of bicrystals of tungsten. Compression tests were performed on oriented bicrystal specimens such that the grain boundary normal was oriented parallel to the stress axis. The elastic isotropy of tungsten allowed investigation of the effects of plastic incompatibility on dislocation-grain boundary interactions. Optical and electron microscopy data were obtained in conjunction with conventional mechanical testing. The experiments disclosed the operation of three mechanisms by which compatibility stresses are relieved: (1) initiation of secondary slip systems in the vicinity of the grain boundary; (2) transmission of primary slip from one grain to another involving dislocation transformation reactions at the boundary; (3) in-plane glide of grain boundary dislocations.
Memory for remote events in chronic alcoholics and alcoholic Korsakoff patients.

In 1971, Ryback postulated a continuum of cognitive impainient related to alcohol abuse that encompassed heavy social drinkers, long-term alcoholics, and alcoholics with Korsakoff’s syndrome. Since the publication of this paper, several investigations have demonstrated that some of the cognitive and memory deficits characteristic of alcoholic Korsakoff patients are also apparent in detoxified chronic alcoholics. Like Korsakoff patients, chronic alcoholics are impaired on digit-symbol substitution tasks (Glosser, Butters and Kaplan, 1977; Kapur and Butters, 1977; Butters, Cermak, Adinolfi and Montgomery, 1977), the identification of embedded figures (Glosser et al., 1977; Kapur and Butters, 1977), and on concept formation tasks (Tarter and Parsons, 1971; Oscar-Berman, 1973). In the previous chapter of this book, Ryan, Butters and their associates have shown that detoxified alcoholics have short-term memory and learning problems that parallel those of the Korsakoff patients. Missing from all of these comparisons, however, has been the assessment of the patients’ retrograde amnesia. It is well known that alcoholic Korsakoffs have great difficulty recalling events prior to the onset of their illness, but the processes underlying this loss of remote memories and its prevalence among non-Korsakoff alcoholics are unknown.
From multicultural to intercultural to global: A review of Globalizing Music Education: A Framework: by A. Kertz-Welzel. (2019). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Despite widespread acknowledgement that music education systems will need to change (or at least evolve) in order to meet the needs of students who are growing up in an increasingly diverse, interc...
Chapter 1 – Functional Roles of Lipids in Membranes

Biological membranes define the outer limits of cells and organelles and are composed of phospholipids, glycolipids, sphingolipids, sterols and proteins. Each lipid class is composed of numerous variants within their respective polar and apolar domains. The apolar and polar nature of these amphipathic lipids is the basis for forming biological membranes with which membrane proteins associate either as integral proteins that span the membrane bilayer or as peripheral proteins that associate with the membrane surface. Individual lipids, once thought mainly to provide cell barrier function and a solvent for membrane proteins, are now recognised as critical components that directly influence an array of cellular functions. Physical and chemical properties of lipids that determine the properties of biological membranes, genetic approaches used to alter cellular lipid composition and examples of how lipid–protein interactions define specific roles for lipids in cell function are discussed.
An Update on the Use of Orthobiologics: Use of Biologics for Osteoarthritis

Abstract Osteoarthritis is a highly prevalent joint disorder affecting over 30 million adults in the United States. This debilitating disorder is associated with pain and decreased physical function. Though total joint arthroplasty is generally successful, this procedure has associated risk and many patients still have residual pain. Non-operative treatments have been investigated to provide patients with durable pain relief while not exposing them to increased risk. Orthobiologics, such as platelet-rich plasma, bone marrow aspirate concentrate, and amniotic products, contain cytokines and/or mesenchymal progenitor cells that have been demonstrated to modulate the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis in animal and basic science models and may provide clinical improvement in the clinical setting. This chapter will cover recent clinical trials involving orthobiologic injections in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis.
Mechanisms of Pelvic Floor Trauma During Vaginal Delivery

We review the biomechanics of the second stage of labor and the mechanics of non-superficial injuries that occur during labor. Primiparas are those at greatest risk for injury, but because of the intrusive nature of direct measurements, we have instead used a range of computer models to determine which pelvic floor muscles and nerves are stretched the most and when this occurs during the second stage of labor. The results show that it is the pubovisceral (also known as the pubococcygeal) muscle that is stretched the most, reaching a value exceeding three times its original length near the end of the second stage. Postnatal magnetic resonance imaging confirms the mechanism of injury as being stretch-induced muscle tearing, not muscle compression or denervation, by showing immediate muscle disruption after a difficult labor. Our findings also suggest 75% of women can give birth to any fetal head size without risk of injury, ~5% will need an instrumented delivery, but the remaining 20% will need care to prevent injury. Viscoelastic modeling of distal birth canal dilation behavior under a given force in 28 healthy women shows a remarkable 20-fold variation above and below the mean value in the longer of the two time constants due to as yet unknown hormonal ripening mechanisms. Our current models, are currently better able to predict undesirably long second-stage durations than the risk of muscle injury in any specific patient, indicating a worthwhile topic for future research.
Facemasking Behaviors, Preferences, and Attitudes Among Emerging Adults in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Study

Facemasks have become requisite amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore facemasking behaviors, preferences, and attitudes among emerging adults, a “distinct period demographically” within the lifesp...
Physics of Hot Carrier Degradation Under Saturation Mode Operation in SiGe HBTs

We report, for the first time, base current degradation in SiGe HBTs when high base current stress is applied under saturation mode operation. In contrast to high collector current density stress, which has a known positive temperature dependence, the high base current stress in saturation investigated in the present work shows a negative temperature dependence. Measurements and simulations suggest that the physics of degradation under saturation mode is driven by Auger hot carrier generation. This new degradation mechanism only poses reliability challenges for circuits when base current density exceeds the bias required for peak fT operation by a factor of at least 60X. Saturation mode operation finds small duty cycle use in limited applications like switched power circuits.
Dynamic in-chip current distribution simulation technology for power device layout design

This paper reports an in-chip current distribution verification technology for power devices that takes into account the effect of layout parasitics. The proposed method enables verification of dynamic current distribution in a chip considering the influence of layout parasitics from the initial stage of device development by brushing up each element technology of TCAD, Spice model, and layout parasitic extraction technology for power devices and linking them seamlessly. We report that this method was applied to the layout optimization of our 8th generation IGBTs, and the in-chip current variation could be reduced by about 50% compared to the conventional layout structure.
CONCURRENT METASTATIC DISEASE AND MEDICATION RELATED OSTEONECROSIS OF THE JAWS

BACKGROUND Antiresorptive medications are often used in the management of cancer and cancer-related conditions including primary and metastatic disease. A rare but well-established complication of antiresorptives is osteonecrosis of the jaws (ONJ). ONJ can manifest with radiographic features similar to those of metastatic diseases, which makes differentiating between these diseases a diagnostic challenge. CASE REPORT We present the pertinent radiologic features from 11 patients with concurrent metastatic diseases and ONJ. The radiologic appearances of the metastatic lesions varied from well-defined radiolucencies to radiopacities with periosteal bone deposition. The areas affected by ONJ shared a common spectrum of osseous changes, demonstrating lytic defects, sequestration of bone, diffuse sclerosis, and periosteal bone formation. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS Metastatic disease and ONJ possess similar radiographic features, with patchy lytic and sclerotic changes in the affected region of bone. Likewise, both entities evoke periosteal reactions, although the pattern may vary. Although exposed bone in the oral cavity for 8 weeks or longer was once considered the hallmark for diagnosis of MRONJ, the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons modified the definition in 2014 to include a Stage 0, where radiographic changes are apparent without any bone exposure. Similarly, the absence of specific radiologic appearances complicates the differentiation between these 2 entities in the establishment of MRONJ.
Education and Cardiovascular Health as Effect Modifiers of APOE ε4 on Dementia: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.

BACKGROUND Both education and cardiovascular risk factors are strongly associated with dementia risk. However, it is not clear whether these associations persist or vary among individuals with high genetic risk for Alzheimer's Disease. We examined the interactive relationship between lifestyle and genetic dementia risk factors in a prospective cohort study. METHODS Our data came from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study participants (n=13,715; baseline age 45-64; 25% Black; 55% female), who were followed for incident dementia from 1987 through 2017. We used Cox proportional hazard models to estimate the risk of dementia (ascertained through in-person examination, telephone cognitive screeners, and/or hospital and death records) associated with baseline education and cardiovascular risk factors (measured using the American Heart Association's "Life Simple 7") among e4 carriers and non-carriers separately. We also examined differences by race and sex. RESULTS 2,226 incident dementia cases occurred over a median 25 years of follow-up. Lower educational attainment and poorer cardiovascular health were associated with greater risk of incident dementia. There was an education by APOE status interaction (p=0.005) whereby the association of education and dementia was weaker for e4 carriers (HR college graduates vs. less than high school: 0.71 (0.59-0.84) than non-carriers (0.54 (0.47-0.63)). There was no interaction between APOE status and cardiovascular health on dementia risk. These relationships did not vary significantly by race or sex. CONCLUSIONS Education and cardiovascular health were associated with lower dementia risk regardless of APOE genotype, though the protective effects of education were somewhat diminished among e4 carriers.
Caring in the Context of Discipline Reform: A Framework for Researchers and Policymakers:

Concern about harsh and inequitable discipline over the past two decades has galvanized a host of discipline reforms. These reforms have gained renewed attention in recent months as both the COVID-...
Natural Killer Cell Response against Viruses

During viral infection, cells of the innate immune system such as monocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), natural killer (NK) cells, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes serve several functions: alerting the host to invading pathogens, providing early containment of pathogens, mediating antimicrobial effects against pathogens, directing the nature of the immune response, and participating in wound healing and tissue repair. During viral infection, antigen-presenting cells (APCs) sense viral nucleic acids via members of the Toll-like receptor family (TLR3, 7, 8, and 9) and intracellular sensors such as the RNA helicases RIG-I, mda5, and LGP2. Ablating the pleiotropic activity of type I interferons (IFNs) during viral infection in mice containing a genetic deletion of the type I interferon receptor resulted in higher virus replication and severe pathology or death. The potent antiviral responses of NK cells that directly clear certain viral infections to promote host survival unmistakably demonstrate how crucial these cytotoxic cells are; at the same time, the importance of NK cell activity is equally demonstrated by the discovery of the many strategies different viruses employ to specifically evade detection by NK cells. Although viruses evolve because of the pressures exerted by cells of the immune system, there is evidence that the mammalian immune system also adapts in response to viral evasion mechanisms. As more viral ligands of activating NK cell receptors are uncovered, we will have a greater appreciation of the evolution of mammalian receptors on NK cells at the population level driven by viruses.
Clinical Presentations and Coronary Plaque Characteristics

Despite a marked decline in cardiovascular mortality over the last several decades, ischemic coronary artery disease (CAD) still remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States. This has prompted efforts to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of CAD using in vivo imaging modalities. Due to its high resolution (10–15 μm), optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables an “optical biopsy” of the coronary artery wall, in vivo and in real time, and represents the modality of choice for the assessment of thin-cap fibroatheroma and other important microstructures such as neovascularization, macrophage density, microcalcifications, and cholesterol crystals. The present chapter focuses on the utility of intracoronary OCT, both as a diagnostic modality and as a research tool, in the detailed characterization of coronary atherosclerosis, in relation to the different clinical presentations (i.e., stable angina vs. acute coronary syndromes), and to the traditional cardiovascular risk factors (i.e., diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, smoking, hypertension) and other predisposing conditions (i.e., metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease).
The Association between Temporary Brittle Bone Disease and Decreased Fetal Movement

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TEMPORARY BRITTLE BONE DISEASE [TBBD] AND INTRAUTERINE CONFINEMENT [IUC]. 481
Other Persons, Other Things

In the philosophical dialogue between East and West which is proceeding nowadays with unparalleled vigor, it is proper to admit to a stubborn Western perplexity having to do with the opposition between persons and things. In much of Western thought this opposition is intensified to a greater degree than is the case in Buddhist phenomenalism, Vedānta monism or Confucianism. The perplexity is a reflective one which seems, in the practical course of life, artificial and finely drawn. Yet it is pressed upon us in one guise or another by the intellectual situation of heightened duality in which the Western world finds itself and has found itself especially since the scientific revolution and the time of Descartes.
Microbial Inhibition by an Isolate of Pediococcus from Cucumber Brines

We reported earlier that Pediococcus cerevisiae FBB-61 inhibited Lactobacillus plantarum FBB-67 in mixed species inoculation used for the fermentation of brined cucumbers. Herein, 16 isolates of the Pediococcus genus from various sources were tested for inhibitory activity against L. plantarum and other microorganisms by a seeded-agar screening technique. Only two of the 16 isolates gave consistent and distinctive zones of inhibition, and both were isolated from fermenting cucumber brines on separate occasions. These two isolates did not inhibit each other but did inhibit the other 14 Pediococcus isolates in addition to L. plantarum. They also inhibited several other gram-positive bacteria, but not four species each of gram-negative bacteria and yeasts tested. Inoculation of cucumber juice broth with P. cerevisiae FBB-61 and L. plantarum WSO resulted in a drastic reduction in the plate count of L. plantarum WSO during day 1, but counts increased rapidly thereafter. Consequently, acid production by L. plantarum WSO was delayed. Noninhibitory isolates of Pediococcus had no appreciable effect on growth and acid production by L. plantarum WSO.
The delay time in sickle cell disease after 40 years: A paradigm assessed

Sickle hemoglobin polymerization commences with a striking latency period, called a “delay time” followed by abrupt polymer formation. The delay time is exceedingly concentration dependent. This discovery (40 years ago) led to the “kinetic hypothesis,” that is, that the pathophysiology was related to the relationship between the delay time and the capillary transit. The delay time is well described by a double-nucleation mechanism of polymer formation. In macroscopic volumes, the delay time is highly reproducible, but in small volumes such as erythrocytes, under certain conditions, the intrinsic delay time can be augmented by a stochastic delay owing to random waiting times for the first nucleus to form. This lengthens the average delay and adds further protection from vaso-occlusion. When oxygen removal is not sudden, the growth of polymers after the delay time is limited by the rate of oxygen removal, further lengthening the time before occlusion may occur. This is important if some polymers have remained in the cell after pulmonary transit as their presence otherwise would obliterate any delay. The difficulty of deforming a cell once polymerized rationalizes the “two-step” model of vaso-occlusion in which a postcapillary adhesion event is followed by a sickling logjam. The delay time that is required is therefore generalized to be the delay time for an erythrocyte to move beyond regions in the venuoles where adherent cells have reduced the available lumen. The measurements of delay times correlate well with the severity of sickling syndromes. They also correlate with the improvements owing to the administration of hydroxyurea. Am. J. Hematol. 00:000–000, 2015. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Shock pressures in igneous processes: Implications for K/T events

The seismicity initiating the May 18, 1980 catastrophic eruption at Mt. St. Helens indicates an explosion occurred at depth generating an average pressure of about 500 kbar. Such pressures fall off with distance from the magma chamber although jointing, fractures, etc. may act as stress concentrators to extend the radius of formation of shocked minerals as far as a kilometer. Shocked minerals are not to be expected from the magma itself as high temperatures would anneal such features but temperatures fall away rapidly enough from the chamber wall to allow retention even of such possible exotics as stishovite. The subsequent kinetics of the failure of the north slope support these pressures as do thermodynamic considerations and nucleation kinetics of CO2 exsolution from magmatic melt. Confining pressures (e.g., overburden head) are not a limiting factor. Unconfined detonations in open air yield pressures to several megabars although some recent arguments asserted to be volcanological would indicate open air bursts greater than one bar to be impossible. Further, it has been indicated that pressure estimates from ballistic considerations have been too high and large phenocryst content in the discharge material argues against high pressure explosions. In the first instance, sonic choking and volatile diffusion time constraints make these assessments implausible and in the second instance, both theoretical and geological considerations provide for the phenocryst distributions under explosive situations. These results and recent discoveries of high levels of iridium in volcanic ash in the Antarctic blue ice have implication for K/T boundary events, mass extinctions and endoexplosions. The geographical breadth of volcanic activity attending the K-T transition (e.g., Antarctic volcanism as well as the Deccan Traps) indicates a global mechanism and suggests a large portion of the mantle experienced convective surge as occurs at high Rayleigh number flow. Scaling to mantle conditions yields episodicities of the same order as the 30 my intervals.
PC based Eddy Current non-destructive testing (NDT) system

A cost effective PC based Eddy Current Testing System is designed and developed to detect surface cracks in non-magnetic metals. The developed system is composed of Constant Current AC Source for excitation of the probe; and demodulation circuitry for acquisition of the signal from the crack. Eddy Current Testing Probe is also designed using the Analytical Approach. Surface cracks were successfully detected through developed system. The flaw signal is also plotted in real time on PC. Data logging feature and position sensing is also incorporated.
Analytical application of the absorption spectra of the halide complexes of heavy metals

Abstract A survey of the absorption spectra of the ions of several heavy metals in hydro-chloric acid has been made. Characteristic absorption spectra were obtained for trace amounts of V(V), Cr(III), Fe(III), Cu(II), Hg(II), Sn(IV), Pb(II), and Bi(III) in 6.7 M hydrochloric acid. As an example of the possible analytical applications of these spectra, the determination of trace amounts of iron was thoroughly investigated.
Assessing Community Preferences for Development Projects: Are Willingness-to-Pay Studies Robust to Mode Effects?

Abstract The “demand-driven” approaches to development planning currently promoted by development agencies assume that it is possible to obtain accurate information about community preferences for project outputs. Whereas dozens of techniques are used to assess community preferences, limited research has been conducted on the potential effects of data collection mode on findings. In this research, four different modes (a household, “intercept” and telephone survey, and a series of focus group discussions) were all employed to assess residents' willingness-to-pay for improved water supply services in Odessa, Ukraine. Findings from these exercises suggest that data elicitation mode effects such as social desirability and time pressures can bias the results obtained in demand-assessment research and lead to substantively different conclusions and policy recommendations.
Provision of child care: Cost functions for profit-making and not-for-profit day care centers

In this paper, we explore and compare the operation of profit making (PMOs) and not-for-profit (NPOs) day care centers using data from a random sample of Massachusetts day care centers. We find many differences in the characteristics of PMOs and NPOs. Most interestingly, NPOs pay significantly higher wages than PMOs although the staff of NPOs has aproximately the same education and less experience than the staff of PMOs. NPOs also have significantly more staff per child than PMOs. We estimate separate cost functions for PMOs and NPOs and find the parameters of these functions to be insignificant different imiplying that the higher observed costs for NPOs result from different input (e.g., paying higher wages) and output (e.g., more interaction and larger size) choices and not from differences in methods of operation. Finally, we find that current monetary and inkind subsidies have no significant effect on the costs of day care centers.