cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role Of Soil Behavior On The Initial Kinematics Of Tsunamigenic Slides

Recent investigations on tsunami generation from submarine mass failures show that one of the most important factors influencing the source characteristics of the wave is the initial acceleration of the failure itself. In a number of these studies, a translational slide is modeled as a rigid body sliding down an inclined plane and basal resistance is neglected. In this paper, a similar rigid body model is proposed that incorporates basal resistance, which is related to the shear strength of the soil. Initial slide kinematics were investigated under two triggering mechanisms including overpressures at depth and rapid sedimentation. The model results show that soil behavior significantly influences the acceleration time history as well as the magnitude of the peak acceleration. The slide kinematics depend largely on the initial stress state and on the undrained residual shear strength of the soil along a potential failure surface, which highlights the importance of performing detailed geotechnical site investigations when assessing these geohazards. More research is needed to determine the influence of using more realistic basal friction models on the initial wave heights generated by submarine mass failures.
Startup management

The causes and consequences of disrupted startups of new product and production processes are examined in relation to examples drawn from several, diverse industries. It is demonstrated that inappropriate management actions can often precipitate significant deviations from expected patterns of productivity increases during startups, resulting in important short- and long-run productivity losses. Based upon the discussion, several guidelines for effective startup management are suggested.
Study on the effect of Silicon surface cleaning processes on Gate Oxide Integrity

The effect of different silicon wafer surface preparation in modulating gate oxide quality performance has been studied through an experimental design which examines key phases of wafer cleaning and polishing processes. An interpretation of the root causes of GOI degradation has been proposed and discussed.
Smoking and the First Amendment.

On November 7, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a preliminary injunction blocking some key provisions of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act as unconstitutional restrictions on commercial speech. The battle may end up in the Supreme Court.
Decision support for long-range, community-based planning to mitigate against and recover from potential multiple disasters

This paper discusses a new mathematical model for community-driven disaster planning that is intended to help decision makers exploit the synergies resulting from simultaneously considering actions focusing on mitigation and efforts geared toward long-term recovery. The model is keyed on enabling long-term community resilience in the face of potential disasters of varying types, frequencies, and severities, and the approach's highly iterative nature is facilitated by the model's implementation in the context of a decision support system. Three examples from Mombasa, Kenya, East Africa, are discussed and compared in order to demonstrate the advantages of the new mathematical model over the current ad hoc mitigation and long-term recovery planning approaches that are typically used. Our DSS math model plans for risks from multiple, perhaps concurrent, hazard sources.The DSS model examines dependencies arising under a multi-hazard planning model.Unlike any other models, we include both long-term mitigation and recovery strategies.We compare our model with two previous approaches to show benefits of our method.
Comprehensive Fussy Assessment of Bridge Life-Cycle Carbon Intensity Index

To estimate the carbon footprint of bridge whole life cycle,a quantitative model was proposed in this paper.The life cycle was divided into five phases as programming,raw material production,construction,operation,maintenance and disuse.The carbon footprint of different source,such as material,transportation,equipment etc,was accounted according to the criterion of mass and cost.The carbon intensity index was developed on basis of the feature of bridge engineering and economic cost.A multi-level assessment method was established based on modified analytic hierarchy process and comprehensive fussy analysis.As a case study,the southern Taizi Lake Bridge in Wuhan was analyzed and the assessment results indicated that the carbon intensity of this bridge was between medium and comparatively large,and the carbon footprint was mainly concentrated in the phases of raw material production and construction.The carbon footprint model and carbon intensity index assessment method which combine environmental impact together with economic cost,were of high applicability in real bridge project,and could be used as a reference for bridge manager to assess the life cycle environmental impact.
Cytogenetic Evidence for the Clonal Nature of Richter's Syndrome

Sequential chromosome studies were done on a patient who developed diffuse histiocytic lymphoma (DHL) after a long history of untreated chronic T-cell leukemia. During the indolent phase of her disease, a pseudodiploid lymphocyte population with 3q+ and 14q+ chromosome markers gradually replaced the originally diploid tumor cells. The karyotype of the lymphoma was hypertriploid (70--74 chromosomes) with the same 3q+ and 14q+ markers. The findings indicate that DHL in this patient evolved from the leukemic T-cell clone.
Tumorvakzinierung durch Einsatz monoklonaler Antikörper

Neben ihren vielfaltigen Anwendungen in der Diagnostik und der passiven Immuntherapie maligner Erkrankungen konnen monoklonale Antikorper unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen auch eine aktive Immunantwort gegen Tumoren bewirken. Fur diese Art der Immunisierung werden Antikorper eingesetzt, die an ihrer Antigenbindungsstelle ein “internes Abbild” eines tumorassoziierten Antigens tragen. Abbilder eines Antigens konnen entstehen, wenn bei Immunantworten gegen antigenerkennende Antikorper sog. Anti-Idiotyp-Antikorper induziert werden. Geeignete Anti-Idiotyp-Antikorper konnen dann ihrerseits anstelle des ursprunglichen Antigens als Vakzine eingesetzt werden. Dieser Artikel fasst die Erfahrungen mit Anti-Idiotyp-Vakzinierungen gegen verschiedene Tumorantigene aus Tiermodellen und klinischen Phase-I- und -II-Studien zusammen. Eine spezielle Indikation fur eine aktive Immunisierung von Tumorpatienten mit monoklonalen Antikorpern existiert bei malignen Lymphomen. Lymphomzellen exprimieren in der Regel ein monoklonales Immunglobulin auf der Zelloberflache, das seinerseits ein echtes tumorspezifisches Antigen darstellt. Das Immunglobulin der Lymphomzellen lasst sich daher als individuelle Tumorvakzine verwenden. Obwohl die Herstellung einer individuellen Vakzine fur den klinischen Alltag derzeit noch aufwendig ist, liegen bereits vielversprechende Erfahrungen mit diesem Ansatz vor.
The Effect of Repeated Mating at Short Intervals on Reproductive Performance of Gilts

Three trials involving 87 gilts were completed to investigate the role of additional sexual stimulation on various reproductive parameters. Forty-five gilts were mated twice at 12-h intervals at second pubertal estrus with intact boars beginning 12 h after detection of sexual receptivity (control group). Forty-two gilts were exposed to a vasectomized boar 15 min following each fertile mating to provide additional copulatory stimulus (treatment group). This additional exposure improved (P less than .01) conception rate (100 vs 84%). No statistical differences were observed in number of corpora lutea (CL), number of viable embryos (VE) or number of total embryos (TE) at d 30. These results suggest that additional mating stimuli may have a beneficial effect on conception rate. While the use of additional males resulted in more pregnant females, it likely did not have an effect on litter size.
Using Breaking Bad to Teach About Defense Mechanisms

Defense mechanisms represent an important component of medical education that should be taught to all medical students, psychiatry residents, and other mental health trainees. Teaching about defense mechanisms can become more engaging by analyzing popular media. Using Breaking Bad, a well-known television show, we recommend specific scenes and episodes that can be used in teaching about defense mechanisms.
Improving Democratic Practice: Practical Social Science and Normative Ideals

Democracy can be examined in a variety of ways in the social sciences. First, it can be examined objectively, so that the social scientist seeks to explain the operation and impact of various features of democracy, such as the different ways in which political life can be organized, the effects of political parties on legislation, the voting behavior of various groups, and so on. One outcome of such inquiry may be various generalizations about democracy, concerning parliamentary systems, voting schemes, or the tendencies of a democracy to go to war or to prevent famines. Social scientists can also take a practical orientation and seek not just to explain or interpret what democracy is, but to change it. In his essay “Ideal Understanding,” Martin Hollis, a social scientific defender of the Enlightenment, links this sort of social science to the analysis of the agency of knowledgeable social actors. “Actors,[“ he remarks, “have natural, social and rational powers” (Hollis 1977, p. 180). Hollis goes on linking reason and freedom to specifically social and normative powers and capabilities that make it possible for an actor to become an agent who shapes the social world. This idea of freedom and powers might also be the basis of a kind of social science that aims at understanding the conditions for the proper exercise of freedom and agency. Understood in this way, the social sciences are indeed “moral sciences” in the Millian sense, and pragmatism and Critical Theory offer some of the most developed philosophical justifications and analyses of such a practical approach.
Caudal analgesia and cardiothoracic surgery: a look at postoperative pain scores in a pediatric population.

Aim Caudal epidural anesthesia has been shown to reduce stress response and shorten the time to extubation in children after cardiac surgery. Combined with general anesthesia, regional anesthesia has been proven to be safe and efficacious in the pediatric population. It is not known, however, whether the use of caudal anesthesia actually reduces postoperative pain scores and decreases postoperative opioid use. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the charts of 199 children who underwent repair for atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD), and Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) at a major academic children's hospital between 2010 and 2013. Results Eighty-six patients underwent preoperative placement of caudal anesthesia (bupivacaine 0.25% 1 ml·kg-1 up to 20 ml + clonidine 2mcg·kg-1 + Duramorph 40 mcg·kg-1 up to 2.5 mg) and 113 patients did not have a caudal block. Postoperative cardiac intensive care pain scores were analyzed according to standard nurse-recorded patient-appropriate pain scales ranging from 0 to 10 (CRIES for neonates and FLACC for 2 months-7 years). There was no statistical difference between caudal and noncaudal groups with respect to postoperative pain scores or with postoperative opioid requirements. There was a statistical significance with regard to intraoperative opioid use as noncaudal patients invariably received more opioid during the procedure. Conclusion Although regional anesthesia reduced intraoperative opioid usage, there was no difference in postoperative opioid usage or pain scores.
The lens regenerative competency of limbal vs. central regions of mature Xenopus cornea epithelium.

Abstract The frog, Xenopus laevis , is capable of completely regenerating a lens from the cornea epithelium. Because this ability appears to be limited to the larval stages of Xenopus , virtually all the work to understand the mechanisms regulating this process has been limited to pre-metamorphic tadpoles. It has been reported that the post-metamorphic cornea is competent to regenerate under experimental conditions, despite the fact that the in vivo capacity to regenerate is lost; however, that work didn't examine the regenerative potential of different regions of the cornea. A new model suggests that cornea-lens regeneration in Xenopus may be driven by oligopotent stem cells, and not by transdifferentiation of mature cornea cells. We investigated the regenerative potential of the limbal region in post-metamorphic cornea, where the stem cells of the cornea are thought to reside. Using EdU (5-Ethynyl-2’-deoxyuridine), we identified long-term label retaining cells in the basal cells of peripheral post-metamorphic Xenopus cornea, consistent with slow-cycling stem cells of the limbus that have been described in other vertebrates. Using this data to identify putative stem cells of the limbal region in Xenopus , we tested the regenerative competency of limbal regions and central cornea. These regions showed a similarly high ability for the cells of the basal epithelium to express lens proteins when cultured in proximity to larval retina. Thus, the regenerative competency in the post-metamorphic cornea is not restricted to stem cells of the limbal region, but also occurs in the transit amplifying cells throughout the basal layer of the cornea epithelium.
Propagation of negative electrical discharges through 2-dimensional packed bed reactors

Plasma-based pollutant remediation and value-added gas production have recently gained increased attention as possible alternatives to the currently-deployed chemical reactor systems. Electrical discharges in packed bed reactors (PBRs) are of interest, due to their ability to synergistically combine catalytic and plasma chemical processes. In principle, these systems could be tuned to produce specific products, based on their application by combinations of power formats, materials, geometries and working gases. Negative voltage, atmospheric-pressure plasma discharges sustained in humid air in a PBR-like geometry were experimentally characterized using ICCD imaging and simulated in 2-dimensions (2D) to provide insights into possible routes to this tunability. Surface ionization waves (SIWs) and positive restrikes through the lattice of dielectric rods were shown to be the principal means of producing reactive species. The number and intensity of SIWs and restrikes are sensitive functions of the alignment of the lattice of dielectric beads (or rods in 2D) with respect to the applied electric field. Decreased spacing between the dielectric elements leads to an increased electric field enhancement in the gas, and therefore locally higher plasma densities, but does not necessarily impact the types of discharges that occur through the lattice.
Exercise and Male Hypogonadism: Testosterone, the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Testicular Axis, and Exercise Training

The large improvement in sporting performances in recent decades is partly due to the volume of training that athletes are undertaking. In response to exercise training, testosterone will acutely increase, decrease or have no change in concentration, depending on many factors including exercise modality, intensity, and duration. Exercise training places a tremendous amount of stress on the body, and if excessive or not managed appropriately, it can compromise an athlete’s health and performance. As a result, the endocrine system can become disrupted, Male athletes with chronic training overload may develop the exercise-hypogonadal male condition with a corresponding reduction in resting testosterone levels, possibly due to both central and peripheral regulatory compromises. In addition to low testosterone, these males also exhibit a lack of corresponding luteinizing hormone secretion. Moreover and regrettably, athletes at all levels of competition have been recorded as using exogenous anabolic-androgenic steroids, leading to a pseudo-hypogonadism state. Although rare, some athletes are candidates for testosterone replacement therapy for medical conditions, however physicians should be aware of the sanctioned and permitted use of exogenous hormones by athletes as dictated by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Methods for Congestion Pricing in Dynamic Traffic Networks

Abstract In this paper, dynamic congestion pricing methods are proposed. based on a bilevel programming formulation. The pricing methods take users' reaction into account to compute the prices and adopt a second-best link-based approach that sets upper bounds on the link prices. A gradient expression, for the change in total travel time as a function of the change in prices. is derived and utilized in a descent gradient-based solution algorithm, which aims at determining a solution with lower total travel time from one iteration to another. The pricing methods have been applied to a small network example. It is shown that pricing leads to savings in total travel time compared to the no-toll situation.
Supplement: Variational Principles for Dissipative Media

An interesting variant of the G-closure problem appears in the study of linear processes in dissipative media. Examples of such materials are an electromagnetic conducting medium possessing resistivity, inductance, and capacity and an optical transparent medium (Landau and Lifshitz, 1984), viscoelasticity, etc. Time-periodic fields in such media are described by linear differential equations for complex-valued potentials. The properties of the media are characterized by complex-valued tensors, for example, by complex permeability or complex elasticity tensors.
Palliative Care in Neurology

Palliative medicine is a specialty that focuses on improving the quality of life for patients with serious or advanced medical conditions, and it is appropriate at any stage of disease, including at the time of diagnosis. Neurologic conditions tend to have high symptom burdens, variable disease courses, and poor prognoses that affect not only patients but also their families and caregivers. Patients with a variety of neurologic conditions such as Parkinson disease, dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, brain tumors, stroke, and acute neurologic illnesses have substantial unmet needs that can be addressed through a combination of primary and specialty palliative care. The complex needs of these patients are ideally managed with a comprehensive approach to care that addresses the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects of care in an effort to reduce suffering. Early discussions about prognosis, goals of care, and advance care planning are critical as they can provide guidance for treatment decisions and allow patients to retain a sense of autonomy despite progressive cognitive or functional decline. With the rapid growth in palliative care across the United States, there are opportunities to improve the palliative care knowledge of neurology trainees, the delivery of palliative care to patients with neurologic disease by both neurologists and nonneurologists, and the research agenda for neuropalliative care.
Concluding Thoughts: Launching Successful Process-Integration Initiatives and Applications

This chapter discusses key items associated with the successful initiation, development, and implementation of successful process integration (PI) applications. Many successful PI applications around the world attest to the power, uniqueness, and effectiveness of PI. A processing facility is a complex system of technologies, chemistries, units, and streams. Without an integrated approach to optimizing these systems, it becomes extremely difficult to understand the global insights and interactions of the process, identify broad opportunities, and develop sitewide implementation. In the commercial implementation of PI, there are some serious pitfalls that must be avoided such as improper data extraction, improper simulation, inappropriate accounting for uncertainties and dynamic changes, lack of appropriate in-depth knowledge, and insufficient consideration of constraints and objectives. Tools, procedures, and insights are very important in applying PI but are not sufficient in starting and sustaining PI initiatives and projects. In this context, personal initiatives, human resources, work processes, and working cultures are all necessary. Finally, the gap between the status quo and the true potential of the process is typically large, and there are tremendous opportunities for continuous process improvement on the road to sustainability. A combination of the right framework, tools, approach, work process, human resources, mind-set, and attitude is a recipe for success.
Primary ductal adenocarcinoma of the lacrimal gland with changing genetic analysis mutations

Primary ductal adenocarcinoma of the lacrimal gland is a rare but highly aggressive epithelial malignancy with a poor prognosis. Early diagnosis, along with genetic testing of these tumors, is imperative for proper management. We present a case of a 54-year-old man with decreasing vision over the past three years and increasing proptosis in his right eye over the past three months, secondary to a lacrimal gland mass diagnosed as primary ductal adenocarcinoma. The diagnosis was made using histological and immunohistochemical profiles (positivity for cytokeratin AE1/3, CAM5.2, androgen receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, and gross cystic disease fluid protein 15) seen in previous cases, alongside a tumor genetic profile that showed actionable mutations. Uniquely in this case, after failing traditional chemotherapy, repeat biopsy revealed a change in genetics with the malignancy no longer showing actionable mutations. These findings show that these immunohistochemical findings can act as diagnostic biomarkers, while genetic testing can reveal actionable mutations for targeted therapy.
Novel wireless sensing platform for experimental mapping and validation of ship air wake

Abstract This paper presents the mechatronic design and analysis of a wireless sensing platform developed for the experimental mapping and validation of the air wakes generated by cruising naval vessels. The presented sensing system uses an RC helicopter as its carrier platform and uses the helicopter's dynamics for spatial 3D mapping of wind turbulence. In this paper, the proposed telemetry system models the dynamic response of the helicopter to pilot inputs under artificially generated wind conditions and then uses neural network based models to estimate the air wake distribution. The telemetry system uses a wireless sensor network comprising of sensors such as an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), optical trackers, and GPS to measure the dynamics of a flying RC helicopter. The system was trained and calibrated in a climate controlled indoor environment with artificially generated wind conditions. This paper focuses on both hardware and software aspects of the latest iteration of the telemetry system (version 3.0). The presented telemetry system is also tested with a modified YP676 naval training vessel in the Chesapeake Bay area, under a wide range of wind conditions and the results were compared against CFD simulations.
The Psychological Impact of Adult Traumatic Brachial Plexus Injury

Purpose There is a high incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicide risk, and psychological distress after orthopedic trauma and hand and upper-extremity injury. Although patients with traumatic adult brachial plexus injury are particularly vulnerable to psychologic distress, minimal clinical data exist about this cohort of patients. In this study, we sought to discover the prevalence of depression, PTSD, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse. Methods Between February, 2013 and July, 2014, during scheduled preoperative and/or postoperative appointments, the social worker at a metropolitan brachial plexus center conducted psychosocial assessments and questionnaire assessments of 21 patients evaluating for PTSD, depression, and substance use using 3 validated scales: PTSD Checklist-Specific, Patient Health Questionnaire-8, and National Institute on Drug Abuse Quick Screen. Results Brachial plexus injury strongly affected self-reported psychological well-being; 7 of 21 (33.3%) divulged suicidal ideation. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , Fifth Edition (DSM-V) diagnosis was supported by PTSD Checklist-Specific and Patient Health Questionnaire-8 results: 4 of 21 (19.0%) met criteria for PTSD and 4 of 21 (19.0%) exhibited clinical depression. Patients reported no changes in social alcohol and tobacco use or substance abuse. Conclusions Brachial plexus injury significantly influences psychological well-being and daily functioning. As a result, patients experience a high prevalence of PTSD, depression, and suicidal ideation. Patients with brachial plexus injury have a high prevalence of psychological concerns and challenges that require continued attention throughout treatment. Type of study/level of evidence Prognostic IV.
Awareness of Vision Zero among United States' road safety professionals.

Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate all fatalities and serious injuries from road traffic crashes, while increasing safe and equitable mobility for all. In 2015, the United States’ Department of Transportation announced the official target of the federal government transportation safety policy was zero deaths. In 2017, we assessed the dissemination of Vision Zero in the United States. We conducted a web-based survey in 2017 among road safety professionals. Email invitations were sent using relevant membership directories and conference lists. We surveyed 192 road safety professionals, including planning/engineering (57.8%), public health (16.7%), and law enforcement/emergency medical services (EMS) (8.9%). Awareness of Vision Zero was higher among planning/engineering fields (97.3%) compared to law enforcement/EMS (76.5%) and public health (75.0%). Awareness was similar by number of years working in the field. Awareness was higher in the South (95.9%) and Northeast (95.0%) regions, followed by the West (90.8%) and Midwest (85.2%) Census regions. Among those that heard of Vision Zero (n = 174), 41.8% worked at a municipality with a Vision Zero campaign, while 41.2% did not. Among those working at a municipality with a Vision Zero campaign (n = 71), about half participated in the campaign (54.9%) while the other half did not (45.1%). With widespread dissemination of the Vision Zero strategy to road safety professionals, next steps include evaluating how Vision Zero is being adopted, implemented, and maintained in communities, as well as the awareness and acceptability by community members, and to identify the most promising policies and practices.
Direct Measurement of Photoinduced Force for Nanoscale Infrared Spectroscopy and Chemical-Sensitive Imaging

Measurement of photoinduced mechanical responses by atomic force microscopy (AFM) because of sample infrared resonances enables chemical-sensitive microscopy with spatial resolution orders of magnitude better than the optical diffraction limit. However, the origin of noncontact photoinduced force between the AFM tip and the samples of infrared resonances is still under debate. To investigate its origin, we implemented synchronized infrared pulse excitation and mechanical detection with a stationary cantilever of AFM in the peak force tapping mode. An attractive photoinduced force at nanonewton level between the AFM tip and the sample is observed. A spectral profile of the force corresponds to the infrared absorption of the sample. To interpret these findings, we modified the expected intermolecular force profile by adding the photothermal expansion as a contributing factor. The direct measurement of photoinduced force enables a new analytical method of nanoscale infrared spectroscopy and imaging with 10 n...
Academic Intrinsic Motivation: Theory, Assessment, and Longitudinal Research

Abstract Academic intrinsic motivation (AIM) is enjoyment of school learning, and performance of activities for their own sake, in which pleasure is inherent in the activity itself. It is characterized by an orientation toward mastery; curiosity; persistence; task-endogeny; and the learning of challenging, difficult, and novel tasks. Based on the definition, three scales were developed to assess AIM across young children through adolescents. The first scale developed was the Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (CAIMI) for elementary through junior high school children which was differentiated by subject areas (Reading, Math, Social Studies, and Science) as well as containing a scale for School in General. A downward extension was then developed for primary grade children (grades 1 through 3), called the Young Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (YCAIMI), a simplified version of the CAIMI. A version for high school students was also developed called the CAIMI-HS. Across these scales, and integrating across studies, AIM proved to be positively related to children's school competence including achievement and school grades. Longitudinal research in the Fullerton Longitudinal Study (FLS) allowed for investigation of continuity, developmental decline, long-term trajectories, relations of AIM with parenting and home environment, gifted and at-risk motivation, and AIM and leadership. Research showed consistency of findings as AIM played a significant role in long-term relations with outcome variables.
Search for the chiral magnetic effect and vorticity-induced polarization effects in nuclear collisions

Abstract In relativistic heavy ion collisions, the chiral magnetic effect, known as the “CME”, has been extensively searched for over a decade in order to gain insights into the chiral symmetry restoration in the Quark-Gluon-Plasma, the possible local strong parity violation, and the extremely strong magnetic field. Based on the magnetic field direction and its correlation with the reaction plane, the CME has been mostly measured via a charge-dependent azimuthal correlator with respect to the second-order event plane, where experimental results are not yet conclusive due to their dominant background contaminations. Recent experimental efforts from STAR, ALICE, and CMS Collaboration will be discussed in this paper. Moreover, the total angular momentum from a noncentral collision can induce many important effects via its coupling to the particles' spin, e.g., Λ polarization, which provides essential information about properties of this strongly-interacting fluid-like medium. Besides the discovery of this exotic phenomenon, recent preliminary results from the STAR and ALICE experiment will be reviewed.
Global Awareness Dialogue Project: Exploring Potential for Faculty Transformation Through a Professional Development Series:

This article examines a faculty professional development program aimed at engaging faculty in an ongoing discussion about global awareness and the practices surrounding teaching and learning in a l...
Suppression of chronic myelogenous leukemia colony growth by interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor antagonist and soluble IL-1 receptors: a novel application for inhibitors of IL-1 activity

In this study, we investigated the role of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) in the malignant evolution of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and the functional activity of IL-1 inhibitors. Bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) low-density cells from 38 CML patients were studied in the colony-forming unit-granulocyte, erythrocyte, monocyte, megakaryocyte colony culture assay. Samples from patients with early stage, interferon-alpha (IFN)-sensitive disease formed hematopoietic colonies in the presence of fetal calf serum (FCS), erythropoietin (Epo), and one of the following: granulocyte-macrophage colony- stimulating factor (10 ng/mL), IL-3 (15 ng/mL), both, or phytohemagglutinin-conditioned medium. The addition of IL-1 beta augmented IFN-sensitive CML colony growth in a dose-dependent manner at concentrations of 10 to 100 U/mL. In sharp contrast, addition of the above growth factors did not augment the colony growth-promoting effect of FCS and Epo in samples from IFN-resistant patients; further, adherent cell fractionation or T-lymphocyte depletion attenuated the “autonomous” colony growth. Lysates of 2.5 x 10(7) low-density cells from each of six IFN-resistant and six IFN-sensitive CML patients and three normal volunteers were tested for intrinsic IL-1 beta content in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and yielded a mean of 610 pg, 54.6 pg, and 49.4 pg of IL-1 beta, respectively (P less than .045). Interestingly, both soluble IL-1 receptors (sIL-1R) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) at concentrations of 5 to 100 ng/mL (sIL-1R) and 10 to 500 ng/mL (IL-1RA) inhibited CML colony growth in a dose-dependent fashion, with maximal inhibition of 64% and 65%, respectively. A similar effect was noted with the use of anti-IL-1 beta neutralizing antibodies. These data implicate IL-1 beta in CML disease progression and suggest that the inhibitory effects of molecules such as sIL-1R and IL-1RA could conceivably be the basis of a novel therapeutic strategy against this disorder.
Genetic analysis of tropisms of Arabidopsis thaliana

It has been evident for many years that genetic tools would greatly assist in obtaining a deeper understanding of tropistic responses. An intensive effort has been devoted to the development of these tools in two organisms, the fungus, Phycomyces blakesleeanus, and the higher plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. In both cases, mutants have been identified and characterized which have alterations in specific tropistic responses. These mutants have then been used to test and dissect the physiology of tropisms. Efforts with Phycomyces have been concentrated on blue light responses including phototropism (Galland and Lipson, 1987; Galland, 1990). The emphasis with Arabidopsis has been somewhat different; mutants have been described with alterations in phototropism and gravitropism. The purpose of this article is to describe some of the genetic tools that are now available in Arabidopsis and some of the progress which has been made using these tools.
Factors affecting survival of patients with Masaoka stage IV thymic epithelial tumors (TET).

7107 Background: Thymoma and thymic carcinoma (TC) are rare tumors, but represent the most common neoplasms of the anterior mediastinum. The vast majority of TET present in early stages with little...
In Nāki’s Wake

In 1832, a woman named Caṅkari Nāki died in Ceylon, and her descendants have been haunted by a curse ever since. One of the first converts of the American Ceylon Mission, Nāki was part of an enslaved caste community unique to the island, and one of the few oppressed-caste members of the mission. The circumstances of her death are unclear; the missionary archive is silent on an event that one can presume would have affected the small Christian community, while the family narrative passed through generations is that Nāki was murdered by members of the locally dominant Vellalar caste after marrying one of their own. In response to this archival erasure, this essay draws on historical methods developed by Saidiya Hartman and Gaiutra Bahadur to be accountable to enslaved and indentured lives and, in Hartman’s words, to “make visible the production of disposable lives.” These methods actively question what we can know from the archives of an oppressor, and for this essay, enable a reading of Nāki’s life at the center of a mission struggling over how to approach caste. Nāki’s story, I argue, helps reveal an underexplored aspect of the interrelationship between caste and slavery in South Asia, and underlines the value of considering South Asian slave narratives as source material into historiographically- and archivally-obscured aspects of dominant caste identity.
Using Link Prediction Methods to Examine Networks of Co-occurring MeSH Terms in Zika and CRISPR Research

This research applied the Literature-based Discovery approach and supervised link prediction methods to predict previously unknown research links between medical subject headings (MeSH) terms in Zika and CRISPR research. Both Zika and CRISPR research was extracted from the PubMed dataset and analyzed respectively. For Zika research, the timeframe for the data extraction was between 1952 and 2017, containing 1,939 research articles and 2,546 distinct MeSH terms. For CRISPR research, the data were collected from 2002 to 2016, including 4,572 research articles and 4,203 distinct MeSH terms. The link prediction measures, Common Neighbor, Jaccard’s Coefficient, Adamic/Adr, Preferential Attachment, and Resource Allocation Index, were generated as input variables to predict whether a non-linkage between two MeSH terms is formed in the future. This research applied the Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, and Random Forests algorithms to build classification models. Because the outcome variables are highly unbalanced, the stratified sampling and under/over-sampling methods were used to generate representative training and testing sets. The results indicate that the Logistic Regression has better performance for predicting a MeSH link in Zika research. In contrast, the Naive Bayes has better performance for predicting a MeSH link in CRISPR research. Thus, the methods proposed by this research can be used to discover possible research areas of MeSH terms and new research directions. For biomedical policymakers, the results can be considered as an evidence-based source for the decisions of public fund allocation.
Designing Beveled Edge Termination in GaN Vertical p-i-n Diode-Bevel Angle, Doping, and Passivation

A series of electric field profile simulations in gallium nitride (GaN) p-i-n vertical diodes with negative bevel termination is carried out to optimize the bevel design. The bevel angles are varied from 90° to 0.1° with reasonably small increments to study the impact of the bevel angle on the electric field profile. The doping densities are also varied to study a more generalized trend; a new parameter defined as transition angle $\theta _{{\text {t}}}$ is proposed to characterize the effectivity of a beveled edge termination. Considering the potential dry etch damage on the bevel side-wall during device fabrication, the fixed surface charge from the dangling bonds and commonly used dielectric passivation are also added separately to investigate their influence. This article presents a comprehensive simulation study of GaN p-i-n diode with negative beveled edge termination, making it a useful guide for designing a simple and effective beveled edge termination, which eventually helps to enable the routine avalanche in GaN p-i-n diodes.
Biomarkers in diabetic kidney disease

Abstract Diabetes mellitus is one of the largest direct causes of chronic kidney disease worldwide. By the time conventional screening has identified patients potentially afflicted with diabetic kidney disease, irreversible damage has already occurred. This chapter reviews the conventional biomarkers (plasma creatinine, urine protein, including albumin) and biomarkers that may have some future clinical utility (cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, clusterin, transforming growth factor β1, bone morphogenic protein-7, immunoglobulin G, Smad1, adiponectin, fibroblast growth factor 23, retinol binding protein, vascular endothelial growth factor, nephrin, glycosaminoglycans, tumor necrosis factor-α, podocalyxin, Wilm's tumor 1, and micro-RNAs).
Introduction: The 2019–2020 Term at the Supreme Court

This chapter summarizes the major decisions of the year, which focused on LGBT discrimination, abortion regulation, subpoenas of the Trump administration, the Electoral College, immigration, Native rights, the rights of noncitizens, the Second Amendment, church and state, presidential power over executive agencies, and criminal justice concerns about unanimous juries, the insanity defense, and public fraud. Doctrinal questions focused on statutory interpretation, the power of precedent and reliance interests, social facts, citizenship, and separation of powers. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the unexpected ideological balance of the year’s rulings.
Click It, Binge It, Get Hooked: Netflix and the Growing U.S. Audience for Foreign Content

Analysis of survey results from U.S. residents ( N = 288) watching foreign content on Netflix found that respondents watch foreign content more than they did before starting to access it through the platform and hold favorable attitudes toward foreign countries and subtitles. The data also support a theorized synergistic relationship between viewing frequency and use of the recommendation system for foreign content discovery. Results are discussed in terms of accessibility and cultural affinity as video on demand (VOD) platform affordances that may affect global media flows from the reception side. Implications for passive soft power accumulation are also considered.
Disparities in colorectal cancer screening among breast and prostate cancer survivors.

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is recommended as an integral part of cancer survivorship care. We compared the rates of CRC screening among breast and prostate cancer survivors by primary cancer type, patient, and geographic characteristics in a community-based health-care system with a mix of large and small metro urban areas. Materials and methods Data for this retrospective study were abstracted from medical records of a multi-specialty practice serving about 250,000 individuals in southern Maryland. Breast (N = 1056) and prostate (N = 891) cancer patients diagnosed prior to 2015 were followed up till June 2018. Screening colonoscopy within the last 10 years was considered to be guideline concordant. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine the prevalence odds ratios of being concordant on CRC screening by age, gender, race, metro area type, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension. Results Overall 51% of survivors had undergone a screening colonoscopy. However, there was a difference in CRC screening rate between prostate (54%) and breast (44%) cancer survivors. Older age (≥65 years), being a breast cancer survivor compared to prostate cancer, and living in a large compared to small metropolitan area were associated with a lower probability of receiving CRC screening. Having hypertension was associated with higher likelihood of being current on colonoscopy screening guidelines among survivors; but diabetes and obesity were not associated with CRC screening. Conclusions Low levels of CRC screening utilization were found among breast and prostate cancer survivors in a single center in Southern Maryland. Gender, comorbidities, and residential factors were associated with receipt of CRC screening.
Six-month effects of modified Atkins diet implementation on indices of cardiovascular disease risk in adults with epilepsy.

Ketogenic diet therapies (KDTs) offer a needed therapeutic option for patients with drug-resistant epilepsy. The current study investigated biochemical and anthropometric indices of cardiovascular ...
Changes in cognitive and behavioral control after lamotrigine and intensive dialectical behavioral therapy for severe, multi-impulsive bulimia nervosa: an fMRI case study.

Adults with bulimia nervosa (BN) and co-occurring emotional dysregulation and multiple impulsive behaviors are less responsive to existing interventions. Initial data suggest that the combination of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and a mood stabilizer, lamotrigine, significantly reduces symptoms of affective and behavioral dysregulation in these patients. Identifying candidate neurobiological mechanisms of change for this novel treatment combination may help guide future randomized controlled trials and inform new and targeted treatment development. Here, we examined neurocognitive and symptom changes in a female patient with BN and severe affective and behavioral dysregulation who received DBT and lamotrigine. Go/no-go task performance data and resting-state functional MRI scans were acquired before the initiation of lamotrigine (after 6 weeks in an intensive DBT program), and again after reaching and maintaining a stable dose of lamotrigine. The patient completed a battery of symptom measures biweekly for 18 weeks over the course of treatment. After lamotrigine initiation, the patient made fewer errors on a response inhibition task and showed increased and new connectivity within frontoparietal and frontolimbic networks involved in behavioral and affective control. Accompanying this symptom improvement, the patient reported marked reductions in bulimic symptoms, behavioral dysregulation, and reactivity to negative affect, along with increases in DBT skills use. Improved response inhibition and cognitive control network connectivity should be further investigated as neurocognitive mechanisms of change with combined DBT and lamotrigine for eating disorders. Longitudinal, controlled trials integrating neuroimaging and symptom measures are needed to fully evaluate the effects of this treatment. IV: Evidence obtained from multiple time series with or without the intervention, such as case studies.
Cellular Nanosponges for Biological Neutralization.

Biological neutralization represents a general strategy that deploys therapeutic agents to bind with harmful molecules or infectious pathogens, block their bioactivity, and thus prevent them from causing the diseases. This article provides a comprehensive review of using cell membrane-coated nanoparticles, namely 'cellular nanosponges', as host decoys for a wide range of biological neutralization applications. Compared to traditional neutralization strategies, the cellular nanosponges stand out by mimicking susceptible host cells rather than accommodating the structures of the causative agents for the design of therapeutics. As all pathological agents must interact with host cells for bioactivity, nanosponges bypass the diversity of these agents and create function-driven and broad-spectrum neutralization solutions. The review focuses on the recent progress of using this new nanomedicine platform for neutralization against five primary pathological agents, including bacterial toxins, chemical toxicants, inflammatory cytokines, pathological antibodies, and viruses. Existing studies have established cellular nanosponges as versatile tools for biological neutralization. A thorough review of the cellular nanosponge technology is expected to inspire more refined cellular nanosponge designs and unique neutralization applications to address unsolved medical problems. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.