cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk Factors of Proximal Junctional Kyphosis in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis-The Pelvis and Other Considerations.

Abstract Study Design Prospective multicenter database study. Objectives To assess the incidence of proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) in operative adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) using contemporary surgical techniques and to identify risk factors for PJK. Summary of Background Data The incidence of PJK has been reported as high as 46% in AIS. Factors associated with PJK have been incompletely explored. Methods Prospectively enrolled 851 AIS patients (2000–2011, 78.5% female, average 14.4 years) were evaluated 2 years postoperatively. Radiographic and sagittal spinopelvic parameters and rod contour angle (RCA), a new measure that reflects the proximal contouring of the rod, were independently evaluated for association with PJK based on Lenke type. Multivariate logistic regression with backward elimination was performed to identify risk factors for PJK. Results Overall PJK incidence was 7.05% and varies based on Lenke type (Lenke 1, 6.35%; Lenke 2 and 4, 4.39%; Lenke 3 and 6, 11.64%; and Lenke 5, 8.49%; p=.06). Among patients with Lenke 1 curves, risk factors for PJK were loss of kyphosis after surgery, and stopping caudal to the upper end vertebra (UEV). The risk of developing PJK increases by 7.1% with each lost degree of kyphosis compared with preoperation that occurs after the instrumentation is placed. For Lenke 2 and 4 curves, loss of kyphosis and more lordotic (negative) RCA were risk factors for PJK. For Lenke 3 and 6 curves, larger preoperative T5–T12 kyphosis was the only significant risk factor for PJK. Upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) at or cephalad to the UEV was associated with increased risk of PJK in Lenke 5 curves, which was contrary to the finding for Lenke 1 curves. No significant correlation was found between sagittal pelvic parameters and developing PJK. Conclusion The incidence of PJK in patients after surgery for AIS is 7.05% and varies based on Lenke type. Loss of kyphosis, larger preoperative kyphosis, UIV caudal to the proximal UEV (Lenke 1), UIV at or cephalad to the UEV (Lenke 5), and decreased RCA were the major risk factors for PJK in AIS. Level of Evidence Level II.
Assessment of the Sullivan Principles As a Role Model for Developing International Codes of Conduct

The promulgation of the Sullivan Principles was a watershed event in a drive that had been gathering momentum—primarily in the United States, but also in many other industrialized countries of the world—for enhancing the responsibility of multinational corporations.1 This drive was a reflection of the worldwide operations of such corporations, coupled with a concern for the worldwide consequences of how those operations were conducted. In its most basic form, the notion of enhanced responsibility has three components: MNCs must deal with all of their stakeholders, and not merely stockholders, in a fair and equitable manner. This concern has special relevance when the operations of MNCs involve developing countries or poor people (anywhere); that is, involve those who lack the necessary economic and political power to bargain with MNCs on more equitable terms. MNCs must act as positive and proactive agents of change through the use of their enormous economic power—even, when necessary, against the express wishes or prevailing customs of host countries. The goal is to protect and foster basic human rights and democratic values that are the foundation both of MNCs economic strength and of their prosperity in their home countries. MNCs must not consider enhanced responsibility and the actions thereby required either as discretionary or as a necessary inconvenience (for example, simply as a cost of doing business). Instead, the standards of enhanced responsibility must be treated as de minimus standards of behavior, compliance with which must be mandatory, transparent, and subject to external validation.
Heuristic Evaluation for Virtual Reality Systems

The advent of Virtual Reality (VR) has created new user-interaction paradigms that VR designers need to attend to in order to avoid usability issues. Currently, there are few formal methods for eva...
Structured light to reveal nanoscale magnetism and chirality

We explore possibilities to enhance magnetic-magnetic and magnetic-electric interactions between light and matter at nanoscale. We conceive magnetic nanoantennas to enhance magnetic local fields and hence enable the possibility to directly interact with magnetic dipolar transitions in matter. We also take advantage of certain structured beams because of their strong longitudinal magnetic field at their beam axes. This leads to the conception of a new microscopy technique based on photo-induced force related to magnetism and also to chirality of particles at nanoscale. Photo-induced magnetism and chirality at nanoscale are phenomena that are notoriously hard if not impossible to detect at nanoscale without the advent of nanoantennas and metamaterials.
Sold as Heroin: Perceptions and Use of an Evolving Drug in Baltimore, MD

Since 2001, heroin-related overdose deaths in the United States have risen six-fold, a rise unaccounted for by the expanding user population. Has heroin become a more dangerous drug? Reports of fentanyl and its analogs, often concealed in or sold as heroin, have also increased sharply. This article investigates heroin injectors' perceptions and experiences of changes in the heroin supply in the East Coast city of Baltimore, Maryland, currently facing an epidemic in heroin- and fentanyl-related overdose deaths. Unusually, Baltimore's heroin market is divided between two types: "Raw," believed to be Colombian in origin and relatively pure, and the more adulterated "Scramble" (raw heroin traditionally blended with quinine and lactose). Users reported that Scramble heroin, while gaining market share, has become a highly unstable product, varying dramatically in appearance, intensity of onset, duration of action, and effect. Some considered that Scramble was no longer "heroin," but was heavily adulterated or even replaced, mentioning fentanyl, benzodiazepines, and crushed opioid pills as additives. There was intense awareness of overdose as a present danger in users' lives, which they linked to the recent adulteration of the heroin supply. Responses to this perceived adulteration varied, including information gathering, attraction, avoidance, taking precautions, and acceptance.
Tools and Principles for Effective Online Library Instruction: Andragogy and Undergraduates

The library literature evaluating the efficacy of online tutorial methods and delivery tools is a valuable resource for librarians looking for information to inform their choices for developing asy...
Institutions Affecting the Urban Water Environment

The complexity of the legal framework discussed in Chapter 9 is mirrored by an equally intricate mosaic of legal and political institutions that govern, manage, and otherwise affect the urban water environment. Those include legislative bodies that pass the statutes, ordinances, and other enactments that affect urban water use and management; courts that interpret and enforce those legal rules and obligations; administrative agencies that implement and often further interpret applicable legislation; and governmental, quasi-governmental, and private entities that provide water and related services to end users of water and other beneficiaries of aquatic resources. As is true for the relevant sources of law, institutions affecting urban water resources operate at the local, state, regional, federal, and sometimes international levels. Water institutions can also consist of collaborative mixtures of organizations of various kinds and at various levels of government, working together to address problems of mutual interest, as well as a wide range of private entities not specifically discussed in this chapter. Although it is not possible to identify every kind of legal and political institution affecting the urban water environment in a single chapter, this chapter will survey the most common and most significant institutions within each of the above categories. It also comments on the manner in which the sheer number and fragmentation of those institutions, and their frequently overlapping or even inconsistent jurisdictions and principles and methods of governance, can impede efforts to promote more sustainable and efficient uses of water in urban areas. As was true for the legal regime, discussion of the wide array of institutions affecting urban water could be organized in several ways. For some purposes, it is useful to distinguish between institutions that serve largely regulatory functions and those that provide more direct customer services, such as water supply and sewerage. Institutions serving largely regulatory functions operate at all levels of government (local, state, regional, national, and international). Institutions with
Mobile Commerce Website Success: Antecedents of Consumer Satisfaction and Purchase Intention

With the rapid development of apparel mobile commerce in the United States, more companies view mobile commerce as a new source of competitive advantage. Despite the importance of apparel mobile we...
Exploration of a F(ab')2 Fragment as the Targeting Agent of α-Radiation Therapy: A Comparison of the Therapeutic Benefit of Intraperitoneal and Intravenous Administered Radioimmunotherapy.

Abstract Refinement of treatment regimens enlisting targeted α-radiation therapy (TAT) is an ongoing effort. Among the variables to consider are the target molecule, radionuclide, dosage, and admin...
Learning Style Responses to an Online Soil Erosion Lesson.

Our objective was to evaluate responses from students with different learning styles to the use of computer technology as a supplemental tool in teaching soil erosion concepts. The online lesson utilized photographs, illustrations, animations, and an interactive model that allowed students to manipulate factors influencing soil erosion. Students ( n = 52) were given 10 objective pre-test questions before the lesson and 10 objective post-test questions after lesson completion. Students completed the Student Assessment of Learning Gains (SALG) and Kolb Learning Style Inventory (KLSI) within a week of concluding the lesson. The SALG instrument is an assessment tool used by faculty to ask students a variety of questions related to their gains in learning and KLSI is used to assess a student’s preference in acquiring new knowledge and/or skills. Performance on the pre- and post-tests and SALG responses were compared among students. Among the online lesson participants who completed the KLSI, 22, 29, 24, and 25% were divergers, accommodators, convergers, or assimilators, respectively. Pre-test and post-test scores ranged from 6.1 to 7.4 and 6.6 to 7.3, respectively. Accommodators had the lowest pre-test scores among the learning styles; however, there were no differences in post-test scores among learning styles. Responses to the 43 SALG questions which encompassed the areas of lesson design, skill gains, learning gains, and understanding were similar among the learning styles. This study suggests that with proper instructional design, online lessons can be used to broaden the range of available teaching tools and increase learning among students of all learning styles.
Environmental Effects of Fusion Power Plants. Part I: Effluents Other Than Tritium

Radioactive and nonradioactive effluents are released routinely during normal operation of near-term commercial fusion power reactors. Nonradioactive effluents are essentially the same as those released at conventional steam-electric power plants. Radioactive effluents consist of activated corrosion products and tritium. Most radioactive releases originate from liquid-waste processing systems and from ventilation systems of various buildings where radioactivity may become airborne. These effluents have some potential for environmental impact; however, the significance of the impact depends in part on the concentration and release rate of the effluent. The type of reactor design (e.g., tokamak, mirror, etc.) has minimal influence on activation product releases. Activation products released are influenced primarily by the materials chosen for structural components, and the quantities released are influenced primarily by the coolant choice.
Perception of voiceless nasals in Mizo and Angami

This study is a perceptual analysis of place of articulation of voiceless nasals and their voiced counterparts in Mizo and Angami, two Tibeto-Burman languages spoken in North-East India. The voiceless nasals in Mizo and Angami differ in terms of their characteristics of voicing. In Mizo, there is a portion of voiced nasal murmur before the vowel starts, which has been compared to the voiceless nasals in Burmese (Bhaskararao & Ladefoged,1991). However, in Angami, the nasal murmur remains voiceless throughout (Bhaskararao & Ladefoged,1991; Blankenship et al.,1993). A previously performed acoustic analysis of cues for place of articulation in both the languages shows that the cues were more robust in the transition portion of the vowel following the voiceless nasal (Gogoi, 2018). The perception of voiceless nasals by native speakers have not yet been studied. However, existing literature on Burmese voiceless nasals have shown that there are sufficient acoustic cues in the voiced murmur portion of the voiceless nasals for discrimination of the place of articulation (Dantsuji,1986). This study investigates whether the perception results correspond to the acoustic analysis previously observed.
Prevention: Tamper-Resistant Pin-Constrained Digital Microfluidic Biochips

The well-worn maxim that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure certainly applies to the design of secure systems; security breaches are difficult to contain due to the speed, scale, and low-cost of information dissemination on the internet. When security breaches result in physical damage, the lost assets may be difficult or impossible to replace, e.g., DNA samples from a crime scene. This chapter develops techniques for the prevention of actuation tampering attacks on a cyberphysical microfluidic biochip by leveraging the inherent loss of control freedom from pin-constrained digital microfluidic biochips.
Abstract 851: MicroRNA-124 modulated collagen-prolyl hydroxylase P4HA1 expression regulates colon cancer progression

In the US, colon adenocarcinoma is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. Since various genetic and epigenetic alterations contribute to progression of this disease, it is necessary to evaluate these molecular events as markers of progression and as potential druggable targets to develop therapeutics. Analysis of publicly available TCGA transcriptome sequencing data using UALCAN, a bioinformatics web portal (http://ualcan.path.uab.edu/), identified in colon adenocarcinoma, overexpression of collagen prolyl-4-hydroxylase α subunit 1 (P4HA1), an enzyme involved in collagen metabolism. P4HA1 changes the composition of the extra cellular matrix by hydroxylating proline residues in collagen. We validated this in silico finding by measuring P4HA1 RNA expression levels in paired normal (n=105) and tumor (n=105) frozen samples by qRT-PCR. Our investigations showed overexpression of P4HA1 in colon cancers compared to their paired normal colonic epithelial tissues. Expression of P4HA1 was independent of pathologic stage; tumor histologic type; and the race/ethnicity, age, and gender of patients. Furthermore, Western blotting and immunohistochemical analyses showed elevated expression of P4HA1 protein in colon tumor tissues as compared to normal colonic epithelial specimens. To assess the functional role of P4HA1 in colon cancer cells, we performed in vitro and in vivo analyses using RNA interference. The results showed that depletion of P4HA1 led to reduced cell growth and cell invasion, and to less tumor growth in xenograft models. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that microRNA miR-124, a tumor suppressor, could be targeting P4HA1. Forced overexpression of miR-124 in colon cancer cells reduced P4HA1 expression and diminished the malignant phenotypes of colon cancer cells, confirming that, in these cells, miR-124 targeted P4HA1. Further, treatment of the cells with diethyl-pythiDC (100 uM), a small molecule inhibitor of P4HA1, reduced their malignant phenotypes. In sum, the present investigations show that overexpression of P4HA1 is involved in progression of colon adenocarcinomas and that it is a potential therapeutic target that is amenable to small molecule inhibition. This work was partially supported by a NIH grant (3U54CA118948) and by the ELKUS foundation grant to Dr. Manne. Citation Format: Sumit Agarwal, Balabhadrapatruni V. Chakravarthi, Michael Behring, Hyung-Gyoon Kim, Kevin Hale, Abduljalil M. Alsubaie, Sameer Al Diffalha, Shajan P. Sugandha, Sooryanarayana Varambally, Upender Manne. MicroRNA-124 modulated collagen-prolyl hydroxylase P4HA1 expression regulates colon cancer progression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 851.
A Quick Knapsack Heuristic Solution for Pharmaceutical R&D Pipeline Management Problems

Abstract The paper presents a novel knapsack decomposition algorithm for solving multistage stochastic programs (MSSPs) with endogenous uncertainty, specifically focusing on pharmaceutical R&D pipeline management problem. The algorithm decomposes the MSSP into a series of knapsack problems, which are created and solved at key decision points on a rolling horizon fashion. Based on the results of the five case studies, the algorithm generates implementable solutions with several orders of magnitude decrease in the CPU times required to solve the rigorous MSSP.
Social Feedback Valence Differentially Modulates the Reward Positivity, P300, and Late Positive Potential

Abnormal social or reward processing is associated with several mental disorders. Although most studies examining reward processing have focused on monetary rewards, recent research also has tested neural reactivity to social rewards (e.g., positive social feedback). However, the majority of these studies only include two feedback valences (e.g., acceptance, rejection). Yet, social evaluation is rarely binary (positive vs. negative) and people often give 'on the fence' or neutral evaluations of others. Processing of this type of social feedback may be ambiguous and impacted by factors such as psychopathology, self-esteem, and prior experiences of rejection. Thus, the present study probed the reward positivity (RewP), P300, and late positive potential (LPP) following acceptance, rejection, and "one the fence" [between acceptance and rejection] feedback in undergraduate students (n = 45). Results indicated that the RewP showed more positive amplitudes following acceptance compared to both rejection and "on the fence" feedback, and the RewP was larger (i.e., more positive) following rejection relative to "on the fence" feedback. In contrast, the P300 did not differ between rejection and "on the fence" feedback, and both were reduced compared to acceptance. The LPP was blunted in response to rejection relative to acceptance and "on the fence" feedback (which did not differ from each other). Exploratory analyses demonstrated that greater self-reported rejection sensitivity was associated with a reduced LPP to acceptance. Taken together, these findings suggest that the neural systems underlying the RewP, P300, and LPP may evaluate "on the fence" social feedback differently, and that individuals high on rejection sensitivity may exhibit reduced attention toward and elaborative processing of social acceptance.
Circulating Endocannabinoids and Mortality in Hemodialysis Patients.

Background Mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) remains exceptionally high. While traditional risk factors such as obesity are paradoxically associated with better survival, nontraditional risk factors including cachexia increase the likelihood of poor outcomes. There is accumulating evidence that the endocannabinoid (ECB) system plays a major role in energy preservation and storage, factors which can prevent the deleterious effects of cachexia. Hence, in this study, we evaluated the association of circulating ECB levels with mortality in MHD patients. Methods Serum concentrations of anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycerol (2-AG), major ECB ligands, were measured in MHD patients. Their correlation with various clinical/laboratory indices and association with 12-month all-cause mortality were examined. Results Serum 2-AG levels positively correlated with body mass index, serum triglycerides and body anthropometric measures. Meanwhile, serum AEA levels correlated positively with serum interleukin-6, and negatively with serum very low-density lipoprotein levels. While increased serum 2-AG levels were associated with reduced risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.28-0.98), there was no clear association between serum AEA levels and mortality (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.48-1.72). Conclusions In MHD patients, the circulating levels of ECB ligand, 2-AG, may play an important role in determining body mass and risk of mortality. These observations were unique to 2-AG as similar findings were not obtained with serum AEA. Future studies need to investigate the mechanisms responsible for these associations and examine the modulation of the ECB system as a potential target for therapy in ESRD.
Access to preventive care services and stage at diagnosis in head and neck cancer

Background Decreased access to preventive care services has been proposed as a mechanism for the association between low socioeconomic status (SES) and advanced stage at diagnosis in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Methods Retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with HNSCC in North Carolina between 2002 and 2006. Results A total of 1108 patients with HNSCC were included in the study. In the multivariable analysis, use of annual routine dental services (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9) and colonoscopy in the past 10 years (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5-0.9) were associated with lower odds of advanced T stage at diagnosis. Having no insurance (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1-2.9), an income 10 pack-years tobacco use (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.04-2.2) were associated with advanced T stage at diagnosis. Conclusion Use of preventive care services and SES independently predict stage at diagnosis in HNSCC.
Improving the predictable accuracy of fluid Galerkin reduced-order models using two POD bases

A fundamental limitation of fluid flow reduced-order models (ROMs) which utilize the proper orthogonal decomposition is that there is little capability to determine one’s confidence in the fidelity of the ROM a priori. One reason why fluid ROMs are plagued by this issue is that nonlinear fluid flows are fundamentally multi-scale, often chaotic dynamical systems and a single linear spatial basis, however carefully selected, is incapable of ensuring that these characteristics are captured. In this paper, the velocity and the velocity gradient were decomposed using differently optimized linear bases. This enabled an optimization for several dynamically significant flow characteristics within the modal bases. This was accomplished while still ensuring the resulting model is accurate and without iterative methods for constructing the modal bases.
Association between baseline hyperplastic polyps and metachronous serrated lesions.

Background and Aims Some data suggest that individuals with numerous, Methods Colonoscopy and pathology reports from patients with ≥2 colonoscopies between 2004 and 2014 were reviewed. Exclusions included inpatients; age 75 years; and family or personal history of colorectal cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, previous colorectal surgery, or a previous colonoscopy with any adenoma, sessile serrated lesion (SSL), or HP ≥10 mm. The risk of metachronous neoplasia, including adenomas and SSLs, was compared in individuals with a normal index colonoscopy and those with Results After exclusion, 1795 patients were included. At index colonoscopy, 82% (n = 1469) had a normal examination, 12% (219) had only 1, and 6% (107) had between 2 and 9 HPs Conclusions Patients with small proximal and distal HPs are at increased risk of metachronous SSLs. These preliminary findings warrant consideration during surveillance recommendations and future studies in larger cohorts.
The Jewishness of Cold War Liberalism

The Cold War Liberals were a generation of Jewish intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic that included Raymond Aron, Isaiah Berlin, Manes Sperber, Daniel Bell, and Sydney Hook. Engaged in the struggles against Nazism and Stalinism, they advocated a ‘Liberalism of Fears’: antiutopian, anticommunist, supportive of liberal democracy and the welfare state. All were active in the Congress of Cultural Freedom and its trans-Atlantic network. Decidedly secular, they rarely spoke of their own Jewishness, and tried to reconcile their growing support for Israel with their cosmopolitanism. In the aftermath of 1968, they rediscovered their Jewishness and religion. Hacohen highlights the Jewish making of Cold War liberalism and proposes that authentic engagement with religious tradition may provide a more convincing response to the conundrum of liberal modernity.
Is Software Eating Economic Growth

Difficulties in measuring the production of software might result in significant underestimation of economic growth. The magnitude of this underestimation is likely to increase over time, if software development continues its current trajectory of making up an increasingly large share of economic activity. In 1985, Windows 1.01 sold for $99. It was 541 kilobytes, which equates to a price per unit of $5.46 per KB or $5,464,646 per gigabyte (GB) of code, where one GB equals one million KB. The most recent version of the same software, Windows 10, was released in 2015 and is $119. It is 30 GB installed with updates. That is $3.97 per GB of code or a 37.5% annual price decline, yet the price index for prepackaged software are officially listed as falling 1.29% (99.519 to 98.232) in aggregate from 1997 to 2014. It's important to note that Windows just now dropped below 90% market share in the operating systems (OS) market in April 2016 and that OSs are often the largest component of software in dollar terms on most computers. Using this estimate of price declines for 2015 would imply an understatement of real gdp growth of 1.2%. Furthermore, some engineering estimates put the quantity of embedded code in modern manufactured goods as comparable in size to pre-packaged software suggesting additional unmeasured sources of real growth.
Online Fraud Victimization in China: A Case Study of Baidu Tieba

When it comes to online populations and markets, China has some of the largest in the world. As a result, Chinese cybercriminals have more opportunities to target and access victims. While extant r...
Comparison of Outcomes for Open Popliteal Artery Aneurysm Repair Using Vein and Prosthetic Conduits

Background Autologous vein is considered the preferred conduit for lower extremity bypass. There is, however, limited literature regarding conduit choice for open popliteal artery aneurysm (PAA) repair. We sought to compare outcomes of PAA repair using vein versus prosthetic conduits. Methods The Vascular Quality Initiative database (2003–2019) was queried for patients with PAAs undergoing elective conventional revascularization originating from the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. Conduits were categorized as vein or prosthetic. Primary outcomes were primary graft patency, freedom from major adverse limb event (MALE) and MALE-free survival at 2-years. Kaplan-Meier method with log-rank tests was used for estimation and comparison of patency. Results A total of 1,146 limbs in 1,065 patients underwent elective open revascularization for PAA. Vein was used in 921 limbs (80%), and prosthetic in 225 (20%). Patients in the prosthetic cohort had a shorter procedure time, were older, and had a higher prevalence of COPD. Postoperatively, prosthetic patients were more likely to be started and maintained on anticoagulation without increased incidence of hematoma. There was no significant difference in the rate of surgical site infection (2% vs. 2%; P = 0.946). There was an increased tendency toward more symptomatic patients in the vein cohort although not statistically significant (49% vein vs. 41% prosthetic; P = 0.096). On a mean follow-up of 13 ± 5 months, the incidence of MALE and MALE-free survival were comparable between the two groups. The 2-year primary and secondary patency rates were similar, 87% and 96% in the vein, and 91% and 95% in the prosthetic groups, respectively. At multivariable analysis, outflow bypass targets to the infrapopliteal arteries (HR 2.05; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.16–3.65; P = 0.014) and symptomatic aneurysm (HR 1.81; 95% CI, 1.04–3.15; P = 0.037) were independently associated with loss of primary patency. Conduit type did not make a difference in MALE-free survival, or primary graft patency at 2-years. Conclusion Our study demonstrates that conventional open PAA repair with prosthetic conduit yields results comparable to those with vein conduit with regard to primary and secondary patency and MALEs at 2-years for targets to the popliteal artery. However, when the distal target was infrapopliteal, worse outcomes were observed with prosthetic conduit. Our results suggest that vein conduit should be preferentially used for infrapopliteal targets, while prosthetic conduit confers comparable outcomes in a subset of patients who do not have suitable autologous vein conduits.
Adolescent ethanol exposure decreases cholinergic markers, blunts behaviorally-evoked acetylcholine and increases in apical dendritic branching within the orbital frontal cortex

During adolescence, heavy binge-like ethanol consumption can lead to frontocortical structural and functional impairments. These impairments are likely driven by adolescence being a critical time point for maturation of brain regions associated with higher-order cognitive functioning. Rodent models of heavy binge-like ethanol exposure show consistent disruptions to the typical development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). All deep cortical layers receive cholinergic projections that originate from the Nucleus basalis of Meynert (NbM) complex. These cholinergic projections are highly involved in learning, memory, and attention. Adolescent intermittent ethanol exposure (AIE) induces cholinergic dysfunction as a result of an epigenetic suppression of the genes that drive the cholinergic phenotype. The current study used a model of AIE to assess structural and functional changes to the frontal cortex and NbM following binge-like ethanol exposure in adolescence. Western blot analysis revealed long-term disruptions of the cholinergic circuit following AIE: choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) was suppressed in the NbM and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) was suppressed in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In vivo microdialysis for acetylcholine efflux during a spatial memory task determined changes in cholinergic modulation within the PFC following AIE. However, AIE spared performance on the spatial memory task and on an operant reversal task. In a second study, Golgi-Cox staining determined that AIE increased apical dendritic complexity in the OFC, with sex influencing whether the increase in branching occurred near or away from the soma. Spine density or maturity was not affected, likely compensating for a disruption in neurotransmitter function following AIE.
The COVID-19 Inventory: Measuring anxiety related to illness pandemic across college males and females.

BACKGROUND: Due to close proximity in dormitories, classes, and social activities, college students have been identified as a vulnerable population throughout the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. OBJECTIVES: This study tested properties of a new COVID-19 Inventory (C-19-I). It was expected that the measure would show acceptable validity and reliability, females would report greater COVID-19 anxiety than males, and the addition of gender would improve a regression model of COVID-19 anxiety. METHOD: Participants were 201 college undergraduates who completed multiple self-report measures and two snack selection tasks. RESULTS: The C-19-I showed a multifactor solution and acceptable psychometric properties. Females scored higher than males and were more likely than males to select a healthy snack after responding to questions about illness and contamination. CONCLUSIONS: This study validates a new measure of COVID-19 anxiety and contributes to a deeper understanding of how college adults respond to pandemic illness.
A MEMS Pressure Sensor Using Electrostatic Levitation

Applying electrostatic levitation force to the initially-closed gap-closing electrodes of our micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) creates multi actuation mechanisms, and opens a new world to the MEMS applications. Electrostatic levitation allows us to measure physical quantities, such as air pressure, by exploiting pull-in instability and releasing. The beam starts from a pulled-in position by applying a voltage difference between two gap-closing electrodes. When enough voltage is applied to the side electrodes, the cantilever beam is released. At the release instant, electrostatic forces, restoring force, and surface force are applied to the cantilever. According to the experimental results of this work, the surface interaction force varies as the pressure changes. This work shows that at the release instant, we can correlate the pressure and the interaction force. This idea is exhibited by two mechanisms in this work: a pressure sensor and a pressure switch. Having side electrodes has enabled measuring interaction forces, which was not possible with conventional gap-closing electrodes. The interaction forces are estimated using the experimental data at different pressures. The results show that the interaction force is mostly repulsive and is increased as the pressure is increased. In addition, we found that the potential voltage between the gap-closing electrodes in pulled-in position immensely influences the surface interactions.
Public Participation: Planning's Conundrum

This paper discusses the role of the public in planning and land use decision making. While publicly cheered, planners and decision makers tend to minimize the importance of this participation; thus, the conundrum. The paper traces the theories, literature and legal requirements of public participation and injects a note of skepticism in the composition of those who participate -- usually older, whiter and better-off homeowners. Finally, the Oregon system of participation, which has been used for nearly fifty years, is explored.
Proximity-dependent biotinylation detects associations between SARS coronavirus nonstructural protein 1 and stress granule-associated proteins.

The nonstructural protein 1 (nsp1) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronaviruses (SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2) is a critical viral protein that suppresses host gene expression by blocking the assembly of the ribosome on host messenger RNAs (mRNAs). To understand the mechanism of inhibition of host gene expression, we sought to identify cellular proteins that interact with nsp1. Using proximity-dependent biotinylation followed by proteomic analyses of biotinylated proteins, here we captured multiple dynamic interactions of nsp1 with host cell proteins. In addition to ribosomal proteins, we identified several pre-mRNA processing proteins that interact with nsp1, including splicing factors and transcription termination proteins, as well as exosome, and stress granule (SG)-associated proteins. We found that the interactions with transcription termination factors are primarily governed by the C-terminal region of nsp1 and are disrupted by the mutation of amino acids K164 and H165 that are essential for its host shutoff function. We further show that nsp1 interacts with Ras-GTPase-activating protein SH3-domain-binding protein 1 (G3BP1) and colocalizes with G3BP1 in SGs under sodium arsenite-induced stress. Finally, we observe that the presence of nsp1 disrupts the maturation of SGs over a long period. Isolation of SG core at different times shows a gradual loss of G3BP1 in the presence of nsp1.
Economics of Cloud Security

One of the key concerns with cloud computing is security. Cloud security is a shared responsibility between the provider and users. The extent to which the cloud provider’s effort and users’ efforts influence the cloud security depends on the type of cloud service provided. The cloud provider would have less control over the security level, while users would have more control over the security level in an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) type than in a Software as a Service (SaaS) type. Our analysis focuses on the interplay between the parameters representing cloud type, security cost and loss from a breach. Our analysis shows that depending on the interactions, the cloud provider’s effort and users’ efforts may complement or substitute each other. Furthermore, users do not necessarily exert more effort under IaaS than under SaaS, and, users may decrease their own efforts even when their security costs decrease.
Abstract 4271: The cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics as a clinical decision support tool

As sequencing of tumor samples is entering clinical practice, there is an urgent need for new tools that facilitate the interpretation of sequence data so that they can effectively inform treatment decisions. To this end, we are evolving the cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics into a clinical decision support tool. The cBioPortal is a web-based visualization and analysis engine that makes complex cancer genomics data accessible to a wide range of cancer researchers and clinicians. To transition the cBioPortal towards use in clinical practice, we have recently developed the following new functions: 1. Filtering of oncogenic mutations: By using information about the known or likely oncogenic effects of specific mutations, the portal can now filter out passenger events and highlight known and potentially druggable drivers. 2. Clinical timelines: Compact and interactive visualization of a patient9s clinical and treatment history 3. Image support: Interactive visualization of histology images 4. Support for multiple tumor samples from a single patient: The portal can display genomic differences and similarities of different samples (e.g. multiple sites of the same tumor, recurrence, metastasis, post-treatment) in the context of a patient9s treatment history. 5. Tumor clonality: Assessment of a tumor9s purity and clonality / heterogeneity 6. Targeted treatment suggestions: The portal matches drugs to drug targets that are altered in the patient9s tumor. 7. Clinical trial matching: Based on a patient9s clinical history and the genomic alterations found in the tumor, the cBioPortal will identify relevant clinical trials. By making complex genomic data easily interpretable and linking it to information about drugs and clinical trials, the system has the potential to facilitate the proper use of genomic data in clinical decision making. We are constantly improving the software and will initially focus most strongly on the matching of patients to clinical trials. We are sharing the software with other hospitals, where it can be used by oncologists and tumor boards. Citation Format: JianJiong Gao, B. Arman Aksoy, Benjamin Gross, Gideon Dresdner, Yichao Sun, S. Onur Sumer, Chris Sander, Nikolaus Schultz. The cBioPortal for Cancer Genomics as a clinical decision support tool. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4271. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4271
Numerical techniques for multidimensional modeling of shock-generated turbulence

We discuss shock-generated turbulence as related to the dynamics of hot gaseous channels produced by laser pulses and electric discharges in gaseous atmospheres. Accurate models of channel development must account for compressible flows, which are associated with shocks that are present at early times, as well as the incompressible residual motion which is responsible for channel cooling. We present an efficient numerical technique which uses the flux-corrected transport algorithm and permits automatic adjustment of the time step size to account for both types of behavior. Comparisons of two-dimensional calculations to theory and to experimental data on laser channels show good agreement. Our numerical results reveal a mechanism by which the distribution of turbulent scale lengths is generated during energy deposition.
Exploiting punctuation semantics in data streams

Applications that process data streams are becoming common. These applications are often queries over streams, so it seems natural to use a database management system instead of a custom application. However, some traditional relational operators are not conducive to stream processing. We propose embedding punctuations into data streams. A punctuation is a predicate that describes a subset of tuples. It informs a stream processor that no tuples exist after that punctuation that satisfy its predicate.
Corporal Punishment Verses in the Qur'an are to be Reinterpreted to Counter Violent Extremist Practices from Within the Islamic Juristic Tradition

Corporal punishments in the Qur'an, also grouped under the Arabic term Ḥudūd, have been understood as a set of preordained harsh punishments due whenever their conditions are met. They not only served mainly as a deterrent, but also as a penal code in traditional religious Islamic law books. This essay argues that those Ḥudūd-Qur'anic corporal punishments can be reinterpreted to only represent an upper limit never to be exceeded, favoring more lenient noncorporal punishments, or even no punishment at all by the state. For the Qur'an recommends forgiveness for murder, theft, brigandage, slander, and adultery. If this powerful Qur'anic paradigm is to be well understood and popularized, it would contribute to eroding the ideological basis of the extremists’ propaganda machine. It would also help Muslims connect to their Islamic tradition in a modern pluralistic society without undue tension. An historic overview of the penal culture at the time of the Qur'anic revelation, and then through its modern evolution in various geographic locations, including Muslim majority societies is used to contextualize the discussion. Two possible counter arguments based on Muslim tradition are addressed, namely the concept of abrogation in the Qur'an, and the Hadith (Prophetic traditions) undermining this reading of the Qur'an.
Storage estimation for multidimensional aggregates in OLAP

On-line analytical processing (OLAP) is an important technique for analyzing data in decision support systems. Most analytical queries require aggregation of the interesting data. Pre-aggregation is one of the most important techniques used to speed up the query response time. However, precomputing every aggregate takes a large amount of time and space. The decision of which aggregates should be precomputed and how much space is required is thus important. By estimating the storage space required for each aggregate view, we can allocate the space for aggregates efficienlty and decide which aggregates to precompute. We investigate four existing strategies for this problem: two based on mathematical approximations, one based on sampling, and one hybrid approach based on mathematical approximation and sampling. We propose a new hybrid strategy that is based on mathematical approximation and sampling and is easy to compute. We evaluate the accuracy of these algorithms in estimating the storage explosion due to aggregation for different data distributions and data densities. The result indicate that our proposed strategy approximates the explosion more accurately then other strategies.
Peptide–Membrane Interactions by Spin-Labeling EPR

Site-directed spin labeling (SDSL) in combination with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy is a well-established method that has recently grown in popularity as an experimental technique, with multiple applications in protein and peptide science. The growth is driven by development of labeling strategies, as well as by considerable technical advances in the field, that are paralleled by an increased availability of EPR instrumentation. While the method requires an introduction of a paramagnetic probe at a well-defined position in a peptide sequence, it has been shown to be minimally destructive to the peptide structure and energetics of the peptide-membrane interactions. In this chapter, we describe basic approaches for using SDSL EPR spectroscopy to study interactions between small peptides and biological membranes or membrane mimetic systems. We focus on experimental approaches to quantify peptide-membrane binding, topology of bound peptides, and characterize peptide aggregation. Sample preparation protocols including spin-labeling methods and preparation of membrane mimetic systems are also described.
Actinomycin D for Reinduction of Remission in Dogs With Resistant Lymphoma

Twenty-five dogs with malignant lymphoma refractory to chemotherapy were treated with actinomycin D at a median dose of 0.7 mg/m2 (range, 0.5 to 0.9 mg/m2) every 3 weeks. The dogs treated had received between 2 and 8 chemotherapeutic agents (median 7), for a median of 266 days before being treated with actinomycin D. For 23 of the 25 dogs, previous chemotherapy included doxorubicin. No dog responded to actinomycin D chemotherapy.
Fast specification test of TDMA power amplifiers using transient current measurements

A novel test methodology for fast and accurate testing of RF power amplifiers used in wireless communication that employ time division multiplexing is presented. The steep cost of high frequency testers can be largely complemented by the proposed method due to its ease of implementation on low cost testers. TDMA power amplifiers usually have a control voltage to operate the device in various modes of operation. At each of the control voltage values, all the specifications of the power amplifier are measured to ensure the performance of each tested device. A new method is proposed to test all the specifications of these devices at different control voltage values by capturing the transient current response of their bias circuits to a time-varying control voltage stimulus. This results in shorter test times compared to conventional test methods. The test specification values are measured to an accuracy of less than 5% for all the specifications, and test time reduction of a factor more than 3 was achieved. The proposed test approach can specifically benefit production test of quad-band amplifiers (GSM850, GSM900, PCS/DCS), as a single transient current measurement can be used to compute all the specifications of the device in each of the modes of operation.
The Integrative Stage Model approach to the case of Katrina

The Integrative Stage Model (ISM) is applied to Katrina, a trauma survivor suffering primarily from chronic post-traumatic stress disorder and associated long-standing interpersonal and affect regulation difficulties, which often result in self-injurious behavior, The ISM is a long-term, integrative, feminist-oriented stage approach focused on self-care/safety, interpersonal functioning, and trauma processing. An interpersonal/process-oriented approach is used to facilitate the development of trust and to work on the patient's interpersonal difficulties. Directive approaches are utilized within this context to preserve the patient's safety, to challenge her nonadaptive cognitive distortions, to increase the patient's coping skills, to educate her about her disorders and treatment, to process traumas, and to translate insights and understanding in therapy to action outside of session.