cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Urban Crime and Criminal Justice: The Chicago Case

THE history of crime and criminal justice in American cities is a topic that has remained relatively unexplored by professional historians. Yet its importance is clear. Crime has had enduring ties with urban political factions, played a crucial part in the social life of ethnic groups struggling upward in the urban slums, been linked to labor and business activities, and made urban life dangerous. The police, the courts, and other criminal justice institutions have performed various functions. They have provided favors for political factions, been under pressure from some groups to eliminate pleasures enjoyed by other groups, and always had such meager resources that criminal justice has often involved regulation rather than abatement of criminal activity. Finally, campaigns of civic leaders for law and order are far from modern; and these campaigns have often revealed much about the values of reformers and the structure of urban society. An examination of the complex interrelations of crime, criminal justice, and reform in Chicago from 1900 to 1930 raises many of the important questions and problems that require historical exploration. During the period, a variety of reformers conducted intensive and often dramatic campaigns to reform the criminal justice system. To the extent that historians have examined such reform movements, they have tended to accept the reformers' views of the system's deficiencies. The reformers, however, lived largely outside the world of criminal justice and often held values and expectations that were incompatible with the expectations of persons who were a part of the system. As a result, reformers often misunderstood both the system and the impact of their reforms. Criminal justice involved a working relationship among three groups: officials, such as the police, prosecutors, judges, bailiffs, and probation officers; mediators between the legal system and criminals, such as bail bonds-
Exposure to Cytomegalovirus from the Donated Organ Is a Risk Factor for Bacteremia in Orthotopic Liver Transplant Recipients

To define predictors of bacteremia and to assess the potential role of exposure to cytomegalovirus (CMV) as a risk factor for bacteremia in liver transplant recipients, an intention-to-treat analysis of data for 146 orthotopic liver transplant recipients who participated in a multicenter, randomized, intervention trial was undertaken. Fifty-eight episodes of bacteremia occurred in 40 (27.4%) of 146 patients within 1 year after transplantation. Bacteremia was diagnosed a median of 39.5 days (range, 1-325 days) after transplantation. One-year mortality rates were higher among patients with bacteremia than among those without bacteremia (47.5% [19 of 40] vs. 18% [19 of 106], respectively; P = .001). A time-dependent multivariate analysis of variables that were significantly (P < or = .05) associated with bacteremia in the univariate analysis showed that donor CMV seropositivity (relative risk [RR], 3.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-6.6; P = .0005), age of younger than 16 years (RR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.3-5.2; P < .0059), and a major abdominal operation after transplantation excluding retransplantation (RR, 3.8; 95% CI, 1.8-8.0; P = .0004) were independently associated with bacteremia. These epidemiologic data suggest that exposure to CMV from the donated organ is an independent risk factor for bacteremia in orthotopic liver transplant recipients.
Some effects of enzymatic digestions of fixed monkey kidney tissue cultures on their staining patterns.

SummaryA large decrease in cytoplasmic pyroninophilia and thioninophilia resulted from digestion of formalin-fixed monkey kidney tissue culture with either chymotrypsin or ribonuclease. This pair of enzymes decreased cytoplasmic pyroninophilia and thioninophilia more than either enzyme alone. Digestion of similar cultures with desoxyribonuclease gave a large decrease in nuclear pyroninophilia and thioninophilia. The effects of these 3 enzymes on pyroninophilia of these cells were more clearly shown when a purified pyronin was used.
Silane Modification of Cellulose Acetate Dense Films as Materials for Acid Gas Removal

The modification of cellulose acetate (CA) films via grafting of vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) to −OH groups, with subsequent condensation of hydrolyzed methoxy groups on the silane to form a polyme...
Digital Technology Shaping Teaching Practices in Higher Education

In their quest on being effective, educators have always experimented with the art of teaching. Teaching has evolved over centuries by adopting new approaches, methods, tools, and technologies to reach a wider audience. As technologies advance, educators should carefully use, evaluate, and adopt the changes to utilize the technologies and track of their impacts. This article provides a mini review to briefly describe some of the existing technical achievements that are used in higher education along with their challenges.
High-voltage Frequency Conversion Technology in Production of Mine Ventilation

The current use of domestic coal mine elevator speed control system electrical control problems is analysed,and the more mature domestic AC-DC-AC voltage frequency control in the merits of works are introduced,proposed on elevator speed control system rehabilitation programs.
A Power Management System for Multianode Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells

Benthic microbial fuel cells (BMFCs) are important energy-harvesting devices for underwater sensors and electronic devices. However, it is a challenging problem to ensure the robustness of BMFCs in harsh ocean environment. In particular, the anode buried in sediment is subject to burrowing organisms tunneling, which breaks the anaerobic condition, and the electrons generated by the anode will be consumed locally. This eliminates the difference in electric potential between the anode and the cathode. The system then becomes short-circuited and ceases to function. This is a serious problem in the underwater environment due to the likelihood of bioturbation. Using a multianode BMFC can effectively address this problem due to the distributed structure of multiple anodes. This, however, requires a new power management system (PMS) to automatically detect and remove the effect of impaired anodes. This paper presents a new PMS for multianode BMFCs. The proposed PMS automatically disconnects the impaired anodes from the rest of the system for bioturbation resilience and better efficiency. The proposed PMS is self-starting, i.e., no need of extra power sources other than the BMFC. The PMS has been tested through a prototype BFMC. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of this design for multianode BMFCs.
WE‐E‐BRB‐03: Implementation of PBS Proton Therapy Treatment for Free Breathing Lung Cancer Patients

Strategies for treating thoracic and liver tumors using pencil beam scanning proton therapy Thoracic and liver tumors have not been treated with pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy until recently. This is because of concerns about the significant interplay effects between proton spot scanning and patient’s respiratory motion. However, not all tumors have unacceptable magnitude of motion for PBS proton therapy. Therefore it is important to analyze the motion and understand the significance of the interplay effect for each patient. The factors that affect interplay effect and its washout include magnitude of motion, spot size, spot scanning sequence and speed. Selection of beam angle, scanning direction, repainting and fractionation can all reduce the interplay effect. An overview of respiratory motion management in PBS proton therapy including assessment of tumor motion and WET evaluation will be first presented. As thoracic tumors have very different motion patterns from liver tumors, examples would be provided for both anatomic sites. As thoracic tumors are typically located within highly heterogeneous environments, dose calculation accuracy is a concern for both treatment target and surrounding organs such as spinal cord or esophagus. Strategies for mitigating the interplay effect in PBS will be presented and the pros and cons of various motion mitigation strategies will be discussed. Learning Objectives: 1. Motion analysis for individual patients with respect to interplay effect 2. Interplay effect and mitigation strategies for treating thoracic/liver tumors with PBS 3. Treatment planning margins for PBS 4. The impact of proton dose calculation engines over heterogeneous treatment target and surrounding organs I have a current research funding from Varian Medical System under the master agreement between University of Pennsylvania and Varian; L. Lin, I have a current funding from Varian Medical System under the master agreement between University of Pennsylvania and Varian.; H. Li, Na
Are TOEFL iBT® writing test scores related to keyboard type? A survey of keyboard-related practices at testing centers

Abstract The strength of a computer-based writing test, such as the TOEFL iBT ® Writing Test, lies in its capability to assess all examinees under the same conditions so that scores reflect the targeted writing abilities rather than differences in testing conditions, such as types of keyboards. The familiarity and proficiency examinees have with a specific type of keyboard could affect their efficiency in writing essays and introduce construct-irrelevant variance, although little research is available in the literature. To explore this, we surveyed 2214 TOEFL iBT testing centers in 134 countries on practices related to keyboard type and analyzed the centers’ responses and the TOEFL iBT scores of examinees from these centers. Results revealed that (a) most testing centers used the U.S. standard English keyboard (USKB) for the test, but a small proportion of centers used a country-specific keyboard (CSKB) after being converted to the USKB; (b) TOEFL iBT Writing scores appear to be significantly associated with the types of keyboard and overlay in only 10 countries, with trivial or small score differences associated with keyboard type. These findings suggest that the current practices related to keyboard type appear to have no or little practical effect on examinees’ TOEFL iBT Writing scores.
An oscillon in the SU(2) gauged Higgs model

We study classical dynamics in the spherical ansatz for the SU(2) gauge and Higgs fields of the electroweak standard model in the absence of fermions and the photon. With the Higgs boson mass equal to twice the gauge boson mass, we numerically demonstrate the existence of oscillons, extremely long-lived localized configurations that undergo regular oscillations in time. We have only seen oscillons in this reduced theory when the masses are in a two-to-one ratio. If a similar phenomenon were to persist in the full theory, it would suggest a preferred value for the Higgs mass.
Seasonal variation in the copepod gut microbiome in the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean

Characterisation of marine copepod gut microbiome composition and its variability provides information on function of marine food webs, biogeochemical cycles and copepod health. Copepod gut microbiomes were investigated quarterly over two years at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Station in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, while assessing seasonal shifts in stable and transient communities. Microbial communities were analysed using amplicon sequencing targeting the bacterial 16S rRNA V3-V4 region and the cyanobacterial ntcA gene. Persistent bacterial groups belonging to Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were present in the copepod guts throughout the year, and showed synchronous changes, suggesting a link to variability in copepod nutritional content. The gut communities were separate from those in the seawater, suggesting the copepod gut hosts long-term, specialized communities. Major temporal variations in the gut communities during the early winter and spring, specifically a high relative abundance of Synechococcus (up to 65%), were attributed to bacterioplankton shifts in the water column, and copepod grazing on these picoplanktonic cyanobacteria. The presence of obligate and facultative anaerobes, including Clostridiales year round, suggests that anaerobic bacterial processes are common in these dynamic microhabitats in the oligotrophic open ocean.
Compared Outcomes of Concurrent versus Staged Transoral Robotic Surgery with Neck Dissection

Objective Outcomes of concurrent versus staged neck dissection with transoral robotic surgery have not been studied. This study compares outcomes of concurrent versus staged transoral robotic surgery and neck dissection. Design Retrospective administrative database analysis. Setting Article 28 licensed inpatient and outpatient care facilities in New York State. Subjects/Methods Adults undergoing transoral robotic surgery with staged or concurrent neck dissection from 2008 to 2014 were identified in the New York Statewide Planning and Research Collaborative System database. We compared complications, readmissions, subsequent procedures, and length of stay for concurrent versus staged procedures with multivariable logistic regression and multiple linear regression models. Results Of the 425 patients undergoing transoral robotic surgery and neck dissection, 333 had concurrent procedures, and 92 had staged. Risk-adjusted length of stay for concurrent procedures was 42.3% less than that of staged procedures ( P < .0001). Neck dissection timing was not associated with postoperative complications ( P = .41), readmissions ( P = .67), or additional procedures, including reconstruction, tracheostomy, or gastrostomy ( P = .17, .84, .82, respectively). Bleeding (7.8%) was the most common complication, and the majority (78.8%) required reoperation. Bleeding or surgical error was not associated with either concurrent or staged surgery (concurrent vs staged: adjusted odds ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.35-1.37; P = .26). Conclusions Concurrent and staged procedures are equivalent with respect to adverse events, but length of stay is shorter for concurrent procedures. Cost and clinical benefits associated with length of stay are unknown, and it is reasonable to allow operator preference and patient factors to determine surgical logistics.
Indeterminate Dendritic Cell Tumor in Thoracic Spine: A Case Report.

Background Indeterminate dendritic cell tumor (IDCT) is an extremely rare hematologic disorder with poorly understood pathogenesis. Occasionally encountered by hematologists, unusual presentations of IDCT have not been reported in the spine literature. Methods We report a 51-year-old man who presented with a 3-month history of progressively worsening axial thoracic back pain radiating to his sides. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 3-cm enhancing mass at the T9 vertebral body with an exophytic component causing significant canal stenosis. Initial percutaneous biopsy revealed histiocytic sarcoma. Results The patient underwent exploratory thoracotomy and en bloc resection of the lesion with T8-10 fusion. Final pathology results revealed IDCT with fibrosis. IDCT immunostaining was partially positive for Langerhans cell marker (positive for S100 and CD1a, but lacked Birbeck granules and Langerin stain) and partially positive for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm. Additionally, it was positive for CD45, CD68, and CD163. Lymphadenopathy was absent in this patient. Conclusions Although first reported in the 1980s, IDCT has been omitted from most classifications owing to its rarity. Hematologists have debated the cell of origin; it is believed to comprise pre–Langerhans cells, as Birbeck granules are acquired after migration to the epidermis. IDCT remains of indeterminate origin. We report the first case of spinal IDCT. Familiarity with the histologic features is warranted to ensure accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment.
Energy, Wealth, and the American Dream

The Americas were the last major liveable continents to be settled by humans. When first Asians («Native Americans» or «Indians») and then Europeans (and those they brought from Africa and Asia as slaves or laborers) settled in the Americas, they found enormous lands empty (or empty-able) of other humans with incredibly rich resources. Having emigrated from relatively densely populated and socially and economically stratified Asia and Europe, the Americas represented enormous resources power capita and the freedom to exploit those resources and hence generate wealth. This of course is a well-known story told to most American children with a focus on the various heroic activities of our ancestors. But it is also a story about energy.
Chip-Integrated Plasmonic Flat Optics for Mid-infrared Polarization Detection

We present theoretical modeling and experimental demonstration of MIR polarization detection based on monolithically chip-integrated plasmonic metasurefaces. Our technique enables full Stokes Parameters detection for arbitrary polarized states of light in MIR wavelengths.
Shakespeare's Double Plays: Dramatic Economy on the Early Modern Stage

In the first comprehensive study of how Shakespeare designed his plays to suit his playing company, Brett Gamboa demonstrates how Shakespeare turned his limitations to creative advantage, and how doubling roles suited his unique sense of the dramatic. By attending closely to their dramaturgical structures, Gamboa analyses casting requirements for the plays Shakespeare wrote for the company between 1594 and 1610, and describes how using the embedded casting patterns can enhance their thematic and theatrical potential. Drawing on historical records, dramatic theory, and contemporary performance this innovative work questions received ideas about early modern staging and provides scholars and contemporary theatre practitioners with a valuable guide to understanding how casting can help facilitate audience engagement. Supported by an appendix of speculative doubling charts for plays, illustrations, and online resources, this is a major contribution to the understanding of Shakespeare's dramatic craft.
The Strange Conversation of Plato’s Minos

In the Minos or On Law Socrates asks a nameless companion out of the blue, “What is law for us?” knowing full well, it seems, that the companion himself will not be able to give a satisfactory answer. Why on earth, then, would Socrates bother to ask the question of the companion—a man clearly more ignorant than himself? The mystery only deepens when the companion mishears and misunderstands Socrates’ decisive contribution to the conversation and Socrates doesn’t even bother to set him straight. Rather, he uses the definition of law the companion mistakenly thinks he heard to lead him, via the companion’s own opinions, to a position that Socrates does not himself hold. In this chapter, Goldberg hopes to uncover the deep philosophical reasons for Socrates’ procedure in conducting so strange a conversation.
Other Conditions of Clinical Interest

Rathus (1973) developed this 30-item self-report measure of assertiveness to measure changes produced by assertiveness training, which is now a common part of psychological interventions for chronic mental illness (Benton & Schroeder, 1990), as well as a type of training provided to individuals who have no psychological disorder. Rathus based the items on assertiveness items from multitrait scales, on assertion situations described by Wolpe and Lazarus, and on behaviors described in assertion diaries of college students.
A Physician’s Personal Experiences as a Cancer-of-the-Neck Patient: Communication of Medical Errors to Cancer Patients and Their Families

This chapter presents my personal experiences as a physician who underwent laryngectomy for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. I describe the numerous medical and surgical errors that occurred during my hospitalizations at three medical institutions. They were made by physicians, nurses, and other medical providers. Medical errors should be prevented as much as humanly possible. Ignoring them can only lead to their repetition. Disclosure practice can be improved by strengthening policy and supporting healthcare professionals in disclosing adverse events. Increased openness and honesty following adverse events can improve provider–patient relationships. There are important preventive steps that can be implemented by each institution and medical offices. Educating the patient and their caregivers about the patient condition and planned treatment is of outmost importance. These individuals can safeguard and prevent mistakes when they see deviations from the planned therapy.
Clinical Utility of Routine Chest X-Rays During the Initial Stabilization of Trauma Patients.

Objectives The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) course encourages the use of chest x-ray (CXR) to identify injuries that may change clinical management during the initial stage of trauma resuscitations. Several studies have failed to show benefit for the routine use of CXR without a clinical indication, however. We sought to validate these findings by determining the incidence of clinically significant findings discovered on a portable single-view CXR during the initial stabilization of trauma patients at a Level 1 trauma center. Methods Using our electronic medical record system, we searched for all of the patients who were brought in as a trauma activation that had a portable single-view CXR performed in the emergency department. We used a selected sampling of available subjects for inclusion into the study. We reviewed the staff radiologist reports for positive findings and reviewed the physician and nursing flow sheets for procedural interventions occurring after the CXR was performed but before leaving the resuscitation area. Subjects who were transferred from another facility, had a thoracic procedure performed before CXR or underwent computed tomography before CXRs were excluded. Results From 2011 through 2012, we found 2101 subjects who had a portable CXR performed in the emergency department. We reviewed the first 400 subjects' records, with 33 (8.3%) subjects having positive findings on CXR. Of those 33, 8 met inclusion criteria and the remainder met exclusion criteria. The most common findings were pneumothorax (n = 4), clavicle fracture (n = 3), and rib fracture (n = 2). No subjects received a procedural intervention before leaving the resuscitation bay to be transported to the operating room or the computed tomography suite. Conclusions We observed a low incidence of abnormal findings on portable CXR during the initial stabilization of trauma patients, none of whom received an immediate procedural intervention. This dataset supports previously published reports that suggest that a more targeted approach to CXR use may reduce resource utilization.
Racial and socioeconomic disparities associated with 90-day mortality among patients with head and neck cancer in the United States.

Abstract Objectives To quantify head and neck cancer (HNC) mortality rates and identify racial and socioeconomic factors associated with 90-day mortality. Methods The National Cancer Database (2004–2014) was queried for eligible HNC cases (n = 260,011) among adults treated with curative intent. Outcome of interest was any-cause 90-day mortality. Kaplan-Meier curves (Log-rank tests) estimated crude survival differences. A Cox proportional hazards model with further adjustments using the Sidak multiple comparison method adjusted for racial, socioeconomic and clinical factors. Results There were 9771 deaths (90-day mortality rate = 3.8%). There were crude differences in sex, race/ethnicity, comorbidity, distance, income, and insurance (Log-rank p-value 250 miles = 0.70; 95% CI 50, 0.99)]. Conclusions There are significant race and socioeconomic disparities among patients with HNC, and these disparities impact mortality within 90 days of treatment.
How Arthroscope Orientation Affects Performance: Arthroscopy in the Perspective of the Viewer and Arthroscopy Opposite of the Viewer.

BACKGROUND Elements of competency-based training are being incorporated into surgical training. The primary objective of this study was to determine how the orientation of the arthroscope and the instruments relative to the standing position of the surgeon affects basic arthroscopic performance. The secondary objective was to determine how arthroscopic level of training affects performance. METHODS Participants from a single academic institution were recruited and divided by level of training into 2 groups: novice and advanced. The Fundamentals of Arthroscopic Surgery Training (FAST) Workstation (Sawbones) was used in this study. Performance on the ring transfer module was evaluated based on the total number of ring transfers that were completed and the errors that were made in timed sessions. All participants performed the task with the arthroscope facing away from (position A) and facing toward (position B) their standing position. Two trials were completed for each position, followed by a survey. RESULTS Fifty-seven subjects participated in this study. Overall, position A showed 2.7 times the amount of transfers compared with position B (p < 0.001). The advanced group had 1.6 times more transfers in position A than the novice group (p = 0.007), and there was no significant difference in transfers between training level in position B. The advanced group had 3.6 times more transfers in position A compared with position B (p < 0.001), while the novice group had 2.0 times more transfers in position A than in position B (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Performing an arthroscopic simulator task with the arthroscope directed toward the operator was found to be more difficult. An understanding of how the orientation of the operator, the arthroscope, and the instruments can strongly influence performance may be important for the primary surgeon, trainees, or assistants who may be standing opposite the arthroscope, and to optimize training to overcome this discrepancy.
The Big 5 Personality Traits and Willingness to Justify Unethical Behavior—A Cross-National Examination

In this paper, we examine the relationships between three of the Big 5 personality traits (conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness) and willingness to justify unethical behavior. We also consider the moderating relationship of four of the GLOBE cultural dimensions (institutional collectivism, humane orientation, performance orientation, and assertiveness) on the above relationship. We tested our propositions on a sample of 38,655 individuals from 23 different countries obtained from the latest data available from the World Values Survey Group’s survey (WVS 2014). We found that conscientiousness and agreeableness were both negatively associated with willingness to justify unethical behavior. We also conducted Hierarchical Linear Modeling and found significant interaction effects of selected GLOBE cultural dimensions (humane orientation, assertiveness, institutional collectivism, and performance orientation) on the relationships between personality traits and willingness to justify unethical behavior. We provide managerial implications of our findings, as well as suggestions for future research.
Cycles of historical inquiry: evaluating the historical paradigm of nomadism in Iron Age north central Eurasia

ABSTRACTAncient historians, such as Herodotus and Sima Qian, believed the mobile peoples of Iron Age (c.1000–100 BCE) north central Eurasia (i.e. Scythian, Saka, Xiongnu) were nomadic, warlike barb...
Pharmacokinetics of ambrisentan in a patient with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and a total gastrectomy.

Abstract Significant advances have been made in the treatment of arterial pulmonary hypertension (PAH). However, no studies to date have assessed the impact of altered gastrointestinal (GI) anatomy or absorption on the efficacy and bioavailability of oral medications in the treatment of PAH. Here, we describe the treatment of a patient with PAH initially treated with epoprostenol . Subsequently, an intractable upper GI bleed required a total gastrectomy . With epoprostenol, there was near normalization of hemodynamics and she wished to attempt transition to an oral regimen. However, since it was not clear whether oral agents (specifically ambrisentan) would be absorbed and, if so, what the appropriate dose would be, we performed pharmacologic evaluation of ambrisentan absorption in this patient. These investigations identified an effective dose which led to successful transition from epoprostenol.
Circadian period 2: a missing beneficial factor in sickle cell disease by lowering pulmonary inflammation, iron overload, and mortality.

The circadian clock is important for cellular and organ function. However, its function in sickle cell disease (SCD), a life-threatening hemolytic disorder, remains unknown. Here, we performed an unbiased microarray screen, which revealed significantly altered expression of circadian rhythmic genes, inflammatory response genes, and iron metabolic genes in SCD Berkeley transgenic mouse lungs compared with controls. Given the vital role of period 2 (Per2) in the core clock and the unrecognized role of Per2 in SCD, we transplanted the bone marrow (BM) of SCD mice to Per2Luciferase mice, which revealed that Per2 expression was up-regulated in SCD mouse lung. Next, we transplanted the BM of SCD mice to period 1 (Per1)/Per2 double deficient [Per1/Per2 double knockout (dKO)] and wild-type mice, respectively. We discovered that Per1/Per2 dKO mice transplanted with SCD BM (SCD → Per1/Per2 dKO) displayed severe irradiation sensitivity and were more susceptible to an early death. Although we observed an increase of peripheral inflammatory cells, we did not detect differences in erythrocyte sickling. However, there was further lung damage due to elevated pulmonary congestion, inflammatory cell infiltration, iron overload, and secretion of IL-6 in lavage fluid. Overall, we demonstrate that Per1/Per2 is beneficial to counteract elevated systemic inflammation, lung tissue inflammation, and iron overload in SCD.-Adebiyi, M. G., Zhao, Z., Ye, Y., Manalo, J., Hong, Y., Lee, C. C., Xian, W., McKeon, F., Culp-Hill, R., D' Alessandro, A., Kellems, R. E., Yoo, S.-H., Han, L., Xia, Y. Circadian period 2: a missing beneficial factor in sickle cell disease by lowering pulmonary inflammation, iron overload, and mortality.
Climate Change Meets the Commerce Clause: Obstacles and Alternatives for State and Local Responses to Climate Change

Climate change is a global problem resulting from our aggregate emissions. The United States has failed to take significant action on a federal level to address our country’s contributions. There a...
Complete genome sequence analysis of a genetic variant of grapevine virus L from the grapevine cultivar Blanc du Bois.

The complete genome sequences of two grapevine virus L (GVL) isolates collected from the wine grape cultivar Blanc du Bois (Vitis spp.: ‘Florida D 6-148’×‘Cardinal’) in Texas were determined. The two genome sequences (excluding the polyA tail) were each 7594 nucleotide long and 99.7% identical to each other, but they shared only ~74% identity with those of previously published GVL isolates. Further analysis showed that the two Texas GVL isolates also diverged significantly from previously published isolates of the virus in each of the five ORFs at both the nucleotide and amino acid level, indicating that they represent a new phylogroup of this virus.
Localization of breakpoints by polymerase chain reactions in burkitt's lymphoma with 8;14 translocations

Translocations involving chromosomes 8 and 14 in Burkitt9s lymphoma (BL) often involve the switch mu (Smu) region on chromosome 14, which contains multiple repeats. This has enabled us to use the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect breakpoints that involve this region on chromosome 14 and the c-myc gene on chromosome 8. Using pairs of flanking primers, each pair including one annealing to repeat sequences within the switch region and one of three primers from the c-myc region (first intron, 3′, or 5′ flanking sequence of the first exon of c-myc), we have been able to amplify DNA fragments containing the corresponding breakpoint regions from chromosome 14 in both cell lines and biopsied tumor samples. The definitive demonstration of sequences from both chromosomes in these fragments permitted the confirmation of the presence of a translocation. Because of the sensitivity of PCR, we were able to localize breakpoints in samples containing as few as 1 neoplastic cell in 10(8) cells. PCR provides a valuable tool for the detection of 8;14 chromosomal translocations, which should prove to be of value in diagnosis and molecular epidemiologic studies, as well as providing a means of detecting minimal disease.
An Analysis of the Academic Environment in Business and Professional Communication

While previous research in business communication has surveyed business and professional communication instructors regarding their courses, it has not yet asked instructors about additional factors...
20-Year trend of high prevalence of zero coronary artery calcium in beach cities of Southern California: A blue zone?

Author(s): Lakshmanan, Suvasini; Kinninger, April; Golub, Ilana; Dahal, Suraj; Birudaraju, Divya; Ahmad, Khadije; Ghanem, Ahmad K; Rezvanizadeh, Vahid; Roy, Sion K; Budoff, Matthew J | Abstract: BackgroundBlue zones are longevity hotspots around the world characterized by highest concentrations of healthy centenarians. Certified blue zone communities are designed by implementation of environmental and policy changes that promote healthy behaviors.ObjectiveTo examine the trends of prevalence of zero CAC, a marker of ideal cardiovascular and overall health status and burden of cardiovascular risk factors in Beach Cities/certified blue zones of Southern California and rest of California.MethodsThis is a population-based cohort study of persons aged 50 years or older in California, who underwent CAC screening between 2000 and 2019. A total of 3864 participants from Beach Cities of Southern California were identified by Zip Codes and compared with 35,537 participants from rest of California. We compared trends of prevalence of zero CAC and cardiovascular risk factors between the two groups, in 5-year intervals.ResultsAmong 39,401 participants (mean age, 58.1 years; 36% women), 13,374 (34%) had zero CAC. The prevalence of CACn​=n​0 was significantly higher in Beach Cities compared to the rest of California (pn​ln​0.001). Across the study period, the prevalence of cardiac risk factors including obesity, smoking, diabetes and hypertension remain significantly lower in Beach Cities. (pn​ln​0.001).ConclusionsThis study, shows for the first time, that higher prevalence of zero CAC in Beach Cities of California, adds validity to excellent prognosis and longevity in these areas. The impact of policy implementation and environmental changes on lifestyle patterns, cardiovascular health and healthy ageing needs to be evaluated.
Utilizing Distributed Acoustic Sensing and Ocean Bottom Fiber Optic Cables for Submarine Structural Characterization

The sparsity of permanent seismic instrumentation in marine environments often limits the availability of subsea information on geohazards, including active fault systems, in both time and space. One sensing resource that provides observational access to the seafloor environment are existing networks of ocean bottom fiber optic cables; these cables, coupled to modern distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) systems, can provide dense arrays of broadband seismic observations capable of recording both seismic events and the ambient noise wavefield. Here, we report a marine DAS application which demonstrates the strength and limitation of this new technique on submarine structural characterization. Based on ambient noise DAS records on a 20 km section of a fiber optic cable offshore of Moss Landing, CA, in Monterey Bay, we extract Scholte waves from DAS ambient noise records using interferometry techniques and invert the resulting multimodal dispersion curves to recover a high resolution 2D shear-wave velocity image of the near seafloor sediments. We show for the first time that the migration of coherently scattered Scholte waves observed on DAS records can provide an approach for resolving sharp lateral contrasts in subsurface properties, particularly shallow faults and depositional features near the seafloor. Our results provide improved constraints on shallow submarine features in Monterey Bay, including fault zones and paleo-channel deposits, thus highlighting one of many possible geophysical uses of the marine cable network.
Abstract 13617: Newborn Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screening Fails to Detect Target Lesions or Reduce Mortality

Introduction: Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects over one million children in the United States. Studies show mixed outcomes regarding a survival benefit from newborn cardiac screening (NCS). C...
Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Kidney Organoids with Improved Collecting Duct Maturation and Injury Modeling.

Maximizing the potential of human kidney organoids for drug testing and regenerative medicine and to model development and disease requires addressing cell immaturity, the lack of a mature collecting system, and off-target cell types. By independently generating two kidney progenitor cell populations-metanephric mesenchyme and ureteric bud (UB)-like cells-we could generate kidney organoids with a collecting system. We also identify the hormones aldosterone and arginine vasopressin (AVP) as critical to promote differentiation of collecting duct cell types including both principal cells (PCs) and intercalated cells (ICs). The resulting PCs express aquaporin-2 (AQP2) protein, which undergoes translocation to the apical membrane after vasopressin or forskolin stimulation. By single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), we demonstrate improved proximal tubule maturation and reduced off-target cell populations. We also show appropriate downregulation of progenitor cell types, improved modeling of tubular injury, the presence of urothelium (Uro), and the ability of Notch pathway modulation to regulate PC:IC ratios during organoid development.
Short chain fatty acids outpace ketone oxidation in the failing heart

Background: The failing heart is energy starved with impaired oxidation of long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) at the level of reduced CPT1 (carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1) activity at the outer mitoc...
A population balance cavitation model

Abstract We propose a novel polydisperse cavitation model based on population balances, which seeks to provide the bubble size distribution in addition to the void fraction, enabling natural prediction of transitions from large bubbles to small cavities in regions of massive condensation, or from small bubble to large cavities in regions of strong evaporation. The mass transfer rate is modeled from the asymptotic solution of the Rayleigh-Plesset equation with modifications for the polydisperse approach. Existing breakup and coalescence models, which do not include effects of mass change, are adapted and new models are developed to account for evaporation and condensation. In addition, homogenous and heterogeneous nucleation models are incorporated to treat the activation and size distribution of nuclei. The model is evaluated against data for the Delft twisted foil, showing satisfactory results for the pressure distribution, forces, and shedding frequency. Though no experimental data for the bubble size distribution is available, bubble sizes in different regions of the flow predicted by the model indicate the right trends observed in videos and photographs of the experiments. Refinements to the model based on experiments are necessary, especially to evaluate the ability to properly predict void fraction and bubble size distribution.
Adaptive Load-Allocation for Prognosis-Based Risk Management

It is an inescapable truth that no matter how well a system is designed it will degrade, and if degrading parts are not repaired or replaced the system will fail. Avoiding the expense and safety risks associated with system failures is certainly a top priority in many systems; however, there is also a strong motivation not to be overly cautious in the design and maintenance of systems, due to the expense of maintenance and the undesirable sacrifices in performance and cost effectiveness incurred when systems are over designed for safety. This paper describes an analytical process that starts with the derivation of an expression to evaluate the desirability of future control outcomes, and eventually produces control routines that use uncertain prognostic information to optimize derived risk metrics. A case study on the design of fault-adaptive control for a skid-steered robot will illustrate some of the fundamental challenges of prognostics-based control design.
The development of temporal-spatial meaning in personal recounts of beginning L2 writers of German

Abstract Personal recounts represent a core narrative genre that novice L2 learners typically encounter when learning about everyday experiences in the target culture. Expressing a “journey of significance” (Rothery & Stenglin, 1997, p. 248) through a succession of well-defined events, recounts are ideal textual environments for beginning learners to practice verb forms and cohesive devices (e.g., Abdel-Malek, 2019). A key feature of recounts are temporal-spatial circumstantial meanings, often realized lexico-grammatically through adverbial and prepositional phrases that guide movement through a sequence of habitual actions and reported happenings. While circumstances enhance (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004) recounts by providing additional details to situate events, L2 learners sometimes avoid producing these meanings (Gleason, 2014). Adopting an Integrated Performance Assessment (Adair-Hauck, Glisan, & Troyan, 2013) and genre-based approach (Martin, 2009; Martin & Rose, 2008), this study explores how collegiate beginning L2 learners of German develop their ability to write stories of travel experiences. Data come from two second-semester German classes in fall 2019 (n = 10). Pre- and post-tests of learners’ written recounts of their own vacation experiences provide information about learners’ developing facility with the genre, including the ability to produce temporal-spatial meaning discursively. Implications for supporting and evaluating beginning L2 learners’ narrative writing within Integrated Performance Assessments are offered.
Review of Sulphur Interaction based GaAs Surface Passivation and Its Potential Application in Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) based Molecular Spintronics Devices (MTJMSD)

GaAs surface is characterized by a high density of surface states, which preclude the utilization of this semiconducting material for the realization of several advanced devices. Sulfur-based passivation has been found significantly useful in reducing the effect of dangling bonds. In this article first, the problem associated with GaAs surface has been discussed in a tutorial form. Secondly, a brief introduction of a wide variety of surface passivation methods was introduced. Sulfur passivation, the most effective surface state quenching method, has been elaborated. Thirdly, current trends in the field of surface passivation of GaAs surface have been discussed. Our discussion also focusses on utilizing GaAs and alloys for the molecular electronics and molecular spintronics and based on our insights in the GaAs (P. Tyagi, MRS Advances 2 (51), 2915-2920 2017) and molecular spintronics field ((P. Tyagi, D. F. Li, S. M. Holmes and B. J. Hinds, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129 (16), 4929, 2007) and P. Tyagi, C. Riso, U. Amir, C. Rojas-Dotti and J. Martinez-Lillo, RSC Advances 10 (22), 13006, 2020) ).
Origins of nonsense mutations in human tumor suppressor genes

Understanding the origins of mutations in tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes associated with cancers in different tissues is critical to the development of potential prevention strategies. Analysis of >10,000 nonsense mutations in 63 tumor suppressor genes based on the ratio of the number of nonsense mutations per codon type is reported for each gene. The ratio for C•G→T•A nonsense mutations at Arg CGA codons to the number of CGA codons in all cancers is 23 (3088 total nonsense mutations for 134 CGA codons in the 63 suppressor genes). The ratio for this codon, which is attributed to hydrolytic deamination of 5-methylcytosine at CpG sites based on the sequence context, is 6-fold higher than the next highest ratio that involves a C•G→T•A transition at Trp TGG codons. C•G→A•T transversions at Glu, Ser, Tyr, Gly and Cys codons account for 25 % of the total nonsense mutations but the mutation per codon ratio for these codons is 1.0. Analysis of the bases 5' of the mutated CGA codons in the 63 tumor suppressor genes in all cancers shows a preference of 5'-G > C ∼ T ∼ A, which is not indicative of a role for enzymatic deamination by deaminases. Overall C•G→T•A mutations account for 61 % of all of the nonsense mutations in the collection of tumor suppressor genes. It is demonstrated that the ratio of C•G→T•A deamination-associated nonsense mutations at CGA codons (hydrolytic deamination) to the number of frame shift insertion/deletion mutations (i.e., replication based) for 5 major tumor suppressors genes are very similar in 3 different tissues that undergo a wide range of stem cell divisions. Therefore, the frequency of deamination mutations parallels the number of stem cell replications. This may reflect the generation of more solvent accessible single-stranded DNA regions during polymerization that are kinetically more prone to deamination.
Rapid Response: Developing a Suite of Copyright Support Services and Resources at the University of Central Florida during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Like many academic libraries, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Libraries has faced the difficult challenge of ensuring access to information and supporting the research, scholarship, and teaching needs of faculty, staff, and students during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Copyright and licensing matters have played a key role as the UCF Libraries has helped faculty and students navigate the rapid transition from face-to-face courses to online and conducting academic work in a wholly online environment. This article provides a case study of how the UCF Libraries developed an expanded suite of copyright support services and resources in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will explore how each of these services or resources provided specific support to faculty and students in teaching and learning. Services and resources developed in consultation with the Office of General Counsel include a detailed research guide with information about remote access to resources, including temporary access to licensed content from publishers; a series of professional development online workshops on topics such as copyright, fair use, and emergency circumstances and library support for course materials; and additional opportunities for individual consultation support through virtual office hours and other modes of communication, such as chat, email, and phone. The aim of this article is to provide academic libraries with examples of copyright services from a large metropolitan library during COVID-19 so that they can be used as a model when implementing copyright support at their respective institutions during these exigent circumstances and beyond.