cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DRINKING AND MORTALITY: THE FRAMINGHAM STUDY

Drinking and subsequent mortality were examined in a cohort of 5209 men and women from Framingham Massachusetts. Alcohol histories were obtained at the second biennial examination (1950-1954) from 2106 men and 2641 women. Of this group 646 men and 521 women died in the next 22 years. Unlike what is reported from most other prospective studies men who drank had lower mortality than men who did not the lowest mortality being for light drinkers. Even men drinking 60 ounces of alcohol per month or more had no greater mortality than nondrinkers. Drinking by women was unrelated to subsequent mortality. (EXCERPT)
Who Uses Alternative Financial Services? A Latent Class Analysis of Consumer Financial Knowledge and Behavior

ABSTRACTWe examine the heterogeneity of alternative financial services (AFS) use by constructing an empirically rigorous typology of financial knowledge and behaviors. Using the 2012 National Financial Capability Study, we conducted latent class analysis of financial knowledge and behaviors to identify latent classes of AFS users (N = 25,509). The proportion of the distal outcome of AFS was investigated among latent classes. The latent classes in the best fitting model were regressed on demographic variables and selected covariates using multinomial logistic regression. Results indicate that five meaningful subgroups were found. Over half of the U.S. population struggles to establish and maintain savings and position themselves for future financial security and mobility (i.e., financially precarious (25.9%), financially striving (20.5%), and financially at-risk (18.4%) classes). The financially thriving class (27.7%) has the healthiest financial behaviors and the least probability of using AFS. The financ...
Evaluation of Symptomatic Versus Asymptomatic Recurrences in Patients With Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM)

support the previously unvalidated estimates as safe guidelines, which may in fact underestimate the tolerance of the optic structures, particularly in patients without prior radiation. Further investigation will refine the estimated normal tissue complication probability for SRS near the optic apparatus. Author Disclosure: S.M. Hiniker: None. L.A. Modlin: None. M.S. Binkley: None. J.P. Harris: None. K. Seiger: None. J.R. Adler: None. I.C. Gibbs: None. S.D. Chang: None. G.R. Harsh: None. G. Li: None. S.L. Hancock: None. S.G. Soltys: None.
The Clinical Significance of High Sensitive C Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) in Childhood Leukemia Neutropenia Febrile after Chemotherapy

Objective: To assess the clinical significance of the Serum level of high sensitive C reactive protein (hs-CRP)in children with leukemia,neutropenia,febrile after chemotherapy. Methods: To analyze the Serum level of hs-CRP in children with leukemia after chemotherapy,neutropenia(A group),neutropenia and febrile(B group),neutropenia,febrile and septicemia(C group). Results: The Serum level of hs-CRP in A group is(5.37±4.65)mg/L; compare to B group (74.05±48.35)mg/L and C group (122.00±66.32)mg/L were significant deviation (P0.01). Conclusion: The Serum level of hs-CRP is the importment parameter of bacterial infections in children with leukemia neutropenia ,febrile after chemotherapy,and it also guide the early clinical therapy of children with leukemia neutropenia ,febrile and septicemia.
Steady-state analysis of modular multilevel converter (MMC) under unbalanced grid conditions

This paper presents a steady-state analysis of the modular multilevel converter (MMC) for the second order voltage and current ripple prediction under unbalanced conditions, taking the impact of negative sequence current control into account. Using the circular relationship among current and voltage quantities, the magnitudes and initial phase angles of different circulating current components can be evaluated theoretically. With negative sequence phase current control, the positive, negative and zero sequence circulating currents are generated by more voltage sources and are no longer decoupled. Based on the generic inner relationship among current and voltage quantities, this steady state analysis is applicable to the MMC under both rectifier and inverter operating modes. Experimental results from a scaled down three-phase MMC system are provided to support the theoretical analysis and derived model.
Fixed patterns of bradycardia during late embryonic development in domestic fowl with C locus mutations

A predictable late embryonic bradycardia (relative to normal White Leghorn chickens) has been documented in chicken strains with C locus mutations. The basis of the bradycardia remains unknown but clearly is related to a mutation at the C locus, which contains the structural gene for tyrosinase. When compared with the heart rate of normal White Leghorns (approximately 295–305 beats/min from day 8 to day 20 of incubation), ca/ca and other C locus mutants showed a 10–12% reduction in heart rate during the last 4 days of incubation. Embryonic mortality occurred in both mutant and normal strains at an equivalent rate (approximately 23%); a significant bradycardia (when compared with surviving embryos of the same strain) developed on the day before death in White Leghorn but not mutant strains. The bradycardia did not affect embryonic oxygen consumption (approximately 0.2 ml O2.egg-1.min-1 at day 14 and 0.4 ml O2.egg-1.min-1 at day 20), which showed only minor differences between strains that can be attributed...
Improving residents' knowledge of cancer prevention: are physicians prepared for prevention?

Abstract Background. Primary care physicians recognize the goal of integrating cancer‐prevention strategies into clinical practice. However, there is little formal training in cancer prevention and early detection. This study describes the effectiveness of a cancer‐prevention curriculum called “Recommendations for Cancer Prevention (ReCaP) for Residents” for primary care residency programs. Methods. The ReCaP for Residents curriculum was organized into eight instructional modules by organ site‐specific areas for which there are established primary and secondary cancer‐prevention recommendations. The modules include content outlines, learning objectives, slides, and case studies. In‐house faculty and 21 residents of two family practice programs participated in an intervention comprising seven one‐hour modular presentations during their regular summer teaching program. An established cancer‐prevention knowledge test with 100 test items was used to test the residents’ knowledge before and after the intervent...
Chip Design, Protection, and Fabrication

Practical insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) devices have a finite size with a well-defined active area where the current flow occurs, an edge termination region surrounding the active area, and pads for locating the wires to carry current into and out of the chip. The design of the active area is related to the on-state current density. Various edge termination designs are discussed to achieve high blocking voltage capability. The integration of over-current, over-voltage, and over-temperature sensors is described for protection of the device. The typical process steps used to manufacture planar and trench-gate IGBTs are provided. The control of minority carrier lifetime is described to control the switching speed of IGBTs.
Fracking Oligarchies: Environmental and Social Disasters Caused by Hydraulic Fracturing Explained by the Rule of the Few

This paper will propose that the extraction of gas by hydraulic fracturing, and the social and environmental disasters that shadow it, can be best explained by the influence exerted by a select few extremely wealthy people in order to secure their private interests: to protect and further embed their wealth and power. Oligarchs in the United States form an exceptionally small proportion of the total population, but control a vast amount of the financial resources. These financial resources allow the oligarchs access to high-ranking government officials, but those same resources can also be used to influence political decision-making through 'think tanks', contributions to political campaigns or by employing the services of professional lobby agents. This paper will first, though briefly, examine the contemporary energy crisis caused by the depletion of finite natural resources. Then it will look into the history and process of hydraulic fracturing, before turning to the environmental impacts, with a particular focus on the local communities and the social impacts.
The View from Above: Applications of Satellite Data in Economics

Abstract The past decade or so has seen a dramatic change in the way that economists can learn by watching our planet from above. A revolution has taken place in remote sensing and allied fields such as computer science, engineering, and geography. Petabytes of satellite imagery have become publicly accessible at increasing resolution, many algorithms for extracting meaningful social science information from these images are now routine, and modern cloud-based processing power allows these algorithms to be run at global scale. This paper seeks to introduce economists to the science of remotely sensed data, and to give a flavor of how this new source of data has been used by economists so far and what might be done in the future.
Effects of HD-tDCS on memory and metamemory for general knowledge questions that vary by difficulty

Abstract Background The ability to monitor one's own memory is an important feature of normal memory and is an aspect of ‘metamemory’. Lesion studies have shown dissociations between memory and metamemory, but only single dissociations have been shown using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). One potential reason that only single dissociations have been shown is that tDCS effects may be moderated by task difficulty. Objective/Hypothesis We used high definition (HD) tDCS to test for dissociable roles of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior temporal lobe (ATL) in semantic long-term memory and metamemory tasks. We also tested whether general knowledge question difficulty moderated the effects of HD-tDCS. Methods Across 3 sessions, participants received active HD-tDCS over the left DLPFC or left ATL, or sham HD-tDCS during general knowledge recall and recognition tests, and a ‘feeling-of-knowing’ metamemory task. General knowledge questions were blocked by difficulty. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to examine the effects of HD-tDCS on memory and metamemory tasks by memory question difficulty. Results HD-tDCS over the ATL led to improved recall compared to DLPFC and sham HD-tDCS, and this occurred only for medium difficulty questions. In contrast, for non-recalled questions, HD-tDCS over the DLPFC led to improved recognition accuracy and improved feeling-of-knowing accuracy compared to ATL and sham HD-tDCS, and this was not moderated by memory question difficulty. Conclusion (s) HD-tDCS can be used to dissociate the roles of the ATL and DLPFC in different memory and ‘metamemory’ tasks. The effects of HD-tDCS on task may be moderated by task difficulty, depending on the nature of the task and site of stimulation.
Understanding and reducing deleterious defects in the metastable alloy GaAsBi

Technological applications of novel metastable materials are frequently inhibited by abundant defects residing in these materials. Using first-principles methods, we investigate the defect thermodynamics and phase segregation in the technologically important metastable alloy GaAsBi. Our calculations predict defect energy levels in good agreement with those from numerous previous experiments and clarify the defect structures giving rise to these levels. We find that vacancies in some charge states become metastable or unstable with respect to antisite formation, and this instability is a general characteristic of zincblende semiconductors with small ionicity. The dominant point defects that degrade the electronic and optical performances are predicted to be AsGa, BiGa, AsGa+BiAs, BiGa+BiAs, VGa and VGa+BiAs, of which the first four and last two defects are minority-electron and minority-hole traps, respectively. VGa is also observed to have a critical role in controlling metastable Bi supersaturation by mediating Bi diffusion and clustering. To reduce the influences of these deleterious defects, we suggest shifting the growth away from an As-rich condition and/or using hydrogen passivation to reduce the minority-carrier traps. We expect this work to aid in the applications of GaAsBi for novel electronic and optoelectronic devices and to illuminate the control of deleterious defects in other metastable materials. Crystal defects can stop metastable alloys from working in novel devices, but a new study predicts ways to minimize such faults. When alloyed with bismuth atoms, gallium arsenide semiconductors could endow devices with unprecedented properties, such as high efficiency for high-power infrared laser diodes and temperature-insensitive performance for electronic devices. To reduce the defects caused by bismuth alloying including unwanted bismuth clusters that arise in typical fabrications, Guangfu Luo and Dane Morgan from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the USA studied various possible alloy defects in the bismuth-containing gallium arsenide using density functional theory calculations. Their investigations revealed the dominant defect trap states and helped the team propose new ideas, including hydrogen passivation and new growth conditions, to reduce the populations of deleterious defects. Ab initio calculations reveal that defects AsGa, BiGa, AsGa+BiAs and BiGa+BiAs are the dominant minority-electron traps and defects VGa and VGa+BiAs are the dominant minority-hole traps in the metastable alloy GaAsBi grown under As-rich condition. Changing the growth away from the As-rich condition and/or using hydrogen passivation are suggested to reduce the deleterious effects of these defects.
Parenting Matters: Parent–Child Interactions in Down Syndrome and Recommendations for Future Research

Abstract Parent–child interactions are rooted in daily activities and, as such, have been a focus of research given the plethora of opportunities they provide to facilitate child development. These exchanges may become more significant when considering the development of a child with a neurogenetically based intellectual disability, such as Down syndrome, which is associated with a specific behavioral phenotype. In this review, we synthesized the extant work characterizing parent–child interactions in young children with Down syndrome with a focus on identifying associations between interactions and child outcomes and examining the effectiveness of parent training. Finally, we review methodological considerations related to this body of inquiry and make recommendations for future research.
Some Benefit or Some Benefit

ABSTRACTThe Policy–Advocacy–Leadership column is developed to initiate and facilitate important dialogue about health care and educational policy, and develop and share the knowledge, tools, and resources that enable occupational therapy practitioners to be effective advocates for our clients and our practice and leaders in our practice settings and profession. In this column, we discuss the historic ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District case and the impact the ruling may have on determining the educational benefit of children with disabilities.
Abstract TP14: Predictors of Good Outcome after Endovascular Therapy for Acute Posterior Circulation Stroke

Background and Purpose: Endovascular therapy (ET) is increasingly utilized in acute ischemic stroke treatment and is now considered the gold standard approach for select patient populations. Prior studies have demonstrated that eventual patient outcome depend on both patient specific factors as well as procedural considerations. However, these factors remain unclear for acute basilar artery occlusion stroke. We sought to determine prognostic factors of good outcome after ET for acute posterior circulation stroke Methods: We reviewed our prospectively collected endovascular databases at two tertiary care academic institutions for patients with acute posterior circulation strokes from September 2005 to September 2015. Baseline characteristics, procedural data and outcomes were evaluated. A good outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 0 to 2 at 3 months. The association between clinical and procedural parameters and functional outcome was assessed. Results: A total of 214 qualified for the study. Smoking status, creatinine levels, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score (NIHSS), anesthesia modality (conscious sedation vs general anesthesia), procedural length and reperfusion status were significantly associated with outcomes in the univariate analysis Multivariate logistic regression indicated that only smoking (odds ratio, 2.49; 95% confidence interval 1.16-5.36; P=0.019), low NIHSS (odds ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval 0.88-0.96; P Conclusion: Our study suggests that baseline NIHSS, smoking and reperfusion status are independent predictors of good outcomes after ET for acute posterior circulation stroke.
Modernization of the Hales Bar Plant

The Hales Bar Hydroelectric Plant on the Tennessee River was built between 1905 and 1914. In 1941 a comprehensive program of improvements and additions was begun which was intended to improve the s...
The two echelon open location routing problem: Mathematical model and hybrid heuristic

Abstract Multi echelon distribution systems have become more common in recent years. This paper addresses the two echelon open location routing problem (2E-OLRP) which is a variant of the two echelon location routing problem (2E-LRP). This problem seeks to find a minimum-cost set of vehicle routes that do not return to the depot in the first echelon and do not return to satellites in the second echelon due to the presence of individual contractors and third party logistics (3PL) providers. In spite of the large amount of research on LRPs, the 2E-OLRP has received very little attention. Three flow-based mixed-integer linear programs and a hybrid heuristic algorithm are proposed to deal with this problem. Extensive experiments evaluate the effectiveness of these methods.
Combining Physical, Virtual, and Mental Actions and Objects

The grounding of cognition in embodied actions has resulted in both theoretical formulations of encoding of information and instructional applications of these encodings. Actions on objects typically occur within matched formats: physical actions on physical objects, virtual actions on virtual objects, or mental actions on mental objects. Instead, I explore the theoretical and instructional implications of a 3 × 3 taxonomy that creates nine combinations of physical, virtual, and mental actions with physical, virtual, and mental objects. Following a description of each combination, I discuss the implications of the taxonomy for generic characteristics of instruction that apply across representational formats and taxonomic differences in which format matters. I then compare the proposed taxonomy to three other recent taxonomies including a taxonomic analysis of encoding that defines encoding as a relation between two entities (an iconic, motoric, phonetic, or semantic code) in which information in the first entity is used by the second entity. A comprehensive theory of manipulatives will require specifying the interconnections among theories that range from a small grain size in which the representation of actions differs from the representation of objects to a large grain size represented in embedded/embodied theories of cognition.
The Roles of Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability in Antipsychotic Effectiveness: Practical Implications of the CATIE Schizophrenia Trial

The Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) series of studies has set a standard for trials in schizophrenia. Included in the 3-phase National Institute of Mental Health-sponsored series were 1460 patients drawn from 57 sites in 24 states. This was designed as a "real-world" practical clinical trial, including a broad array of patients and asking straightforward, clinically relevant questions. The primary aim was to compare the available atypical agents olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone-to each other and to the typical agent perphenazine-with regard to drug effectiveness and tolerability. In general, the various agents studied were similar, with olanzapine being relatively the most effective, as measured by treatment discontinuation. This might be due in part to the more optimal dosing of olanzapine compared with the other antipsychotics. In the study arm that included clozapine, that agent was shown to be more effective than olanzapine, quetiapine, or risperidone. Perphenazine tended to perform as well as the atypical agents. Except for clozapine, olanzapine clearly had the greatest metabolic side effect burden, and ziprasidone, the least. Perphenazine had the most motor side effects, although the rate was modest.
Abstract WP103: Exogenous Growth Differentiation Factor 11 Reduces Atrophy and Decreases Gliosis After Stroke in Aged Mice

Introduction: Drugs and mechanical devices for retrieving blood clot are effective; however, they must be used within few hours of stroke onset. No pharmacological therapy has been shown to be effe...
Chemical-mediated counter defense: attraction of two parasitoid species to the defensive secretion of host larvae

Carnivorous animals put selection pressure on their herbivorous preys, leading to the development of defensive traits in prey species and counter defensive traits in carnivores—an evolutionary arms race for survival. For instance, larvae of the moth Heliothis virescens use defensive oral secretions to deter attacking parasitic wasps (parasitoids). However, it is not clear whether parasitoids also use the same secretion for host location. If carnivores follow the herbivore model, evolution should favor specialist over generalist parasitoid species in their ability to manipulate host defensive chemicals. To test this prediction, Microplitis croceipes and Cotesia marginiventris, both larval endoparasitoids of H. virescens, were used as a study system. Microplitis croceipes is relatively specialized on Heliothis/Helicoverpa species while C. marginiventris is a generalist parasitoid on several noctuid host species. Innate behavioral responses of parasitoids to host defensive secretion were tested in Petri dish arena and Y-tube olfactometer bioassays. Heliothis virescens defensive secretion was manually applied to a spot in a sector (secretion zone) of the arena. Tracking data suggests that both parasitoid species are likely to locate the secretion spot once they enter the secretion zone. Comparing the two species, however, M. croceipes (specialist) spent significantly more time in the secretion zone and spot than C. marginiventris (generalist). In Y-tube olfactometer bioassays, the secretion elicited a strong attraction in M. croceipes but not in C. marginiventris, supporting our prediction. We discussed chemical-mediated counter defense in natural enemies of pest insects and the significance of the results to parasitoid-host coevolution.
Impact of parenteral opioid shortage on opioid prescriptions among patients seen by the palliative care team of a comprehensive cancer center.

201Background: Recent parenteral opioid shortage (POS) has the potential to impact cancer pain management in hospitalized patients. This study aims to compare changes in the opioid prescriptions by...
Becoming Educated: A Journey of Alienation or Integration?*:

Today's journey of becoming educated is one of the alienation of mind from body, thought from action, reason from feeling and emotion, and self from other. Education does not have to be alienating....
Perceived prevalence of peer marijuana use: changes among college students before and after Oregon recreational marijuana legalization.

Background: Oregon students’ rates of marijuana use have increased following recreational marijuana legalization (RML), but the relation between RML and students’ perceived peer use of marijuana – ...
Investigating the connection between physics and music in an introductory acoustics course

Sound and music is an introductory acoustics course offered at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. The target audience is primarily non-science majors fulfilling their math and science requirements. Over the span of its 25 + year history it has regularly attracted students interested in majoring in music technology and acoustics. Emphasis of the course is placed on the physics of music and music theory with attention paid to the interconnection between atomic physics and music. Fourier’s Theorem is used in making this connection. Sound editing programs such as Amadeus allow students to visualize recorded or synthesized sounds, and then analyze their spectra using Fourier analysis. Most course activities have been developed in accordance with Physics Education Research techniques and are designed using a discovery-based approach. Several activities from Sound & Music were recently highlighted in an article published online by Physics Today titled Composing Atom Music. Although Rossing, Moore & Wheeler’s The Science of Sound is the primary text, course materials are drawn from numerous sources. This presentation will focus on the course design, how the text book is used and will discuss the design and implementation of sample class activities.Sound and music is an introductory acoustics course offered at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. The target audience is primarily non-science majors fulfilling their math and science requirements. Over the span of its 25 + year history it has regularly attracted students interested in majoring in music technology and acoustics. Emphasis of the course is placed on the physics of music and music theory with attention paid to the interconnection between atomic physics and music. Fourier’s Theorem is used in making this connection. Sound editing programs such as Amadeus allow students to visualize recorded or synthesized sounds, and then analyze their spectra using Fourier analysis. Most course activities have been developed in accordance with Physics Education Research techniques and are designed using a discovery-based approach. Several activities from Sound & Music were recently highlighted in an article published online by Physics Today titled Composing Atom Music. Although Rossing, Moore & Wheele...
Correlation diagram for rigid and nonrigid three-body systems

Abstract We consider the relation between energy level patterns of rigid structures and those of systems in which the particle motions are uncorrelated. Defining an ideal model system of the non-rigid limit for N identical particles, we exhibit the correlation diagram connecting this limit to an ideal rigid system for N = 3. States of the two limits are related in a simple manner. Vibration-rotation levels for three identical spin-0 and spin-1/2 particles are classified explicitly, according to their quantum numbers in both limits.
Relation Between Operator and Hospital Volumes and Long-Term Outcomes for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in New York.

Little is known about whether there is an inverse relation between provider volume and long-term adverse outcomes for percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). For patients who underwent PCI procedures from December 2013 through November 2014 in New York, we examined a continuous relation and different annual PCI volume cut points at hospital and operator levels to investigate the relation between volume and 1-year adverse outcomes (mortality and mortality/acute myocardial infarction). There were 34,498 patients who underwent PCI procedures from 60 hospitals and 408 operators. We detected a significant continuous inverse association between 1-year mortality and annual hospital PCI volume. However, we did not find that there was a hospital volume and 1-year mortality relation for the 2013 ACCF/AHA/SCAI's hospital annual PCI volume cutoff value of 200 or a significant inverse operator volume-outcome relation using the operator annual PCI volume cutoff value of 50, or for any other practical volume cutoffs. Similar findings were obtained when we used the 1-year mortality/acute myocardial infarction outcome. We did find that providers in the highest volume quartile were associated with lower adverse outcome rates than providers in the lowest volume quartile. In conclusion, no significant volume-outcome relations were found between annual hospital or operator PCI volume and risk-adjusted 1-year outcomes for any practical volume cutoff values including 2013 Guidelines’ recommended hospital/operator minimal annual PCI volumes. Providers in the highest annual volume quartile, however, were associated with lower adverse outcome rates than providers in the lowest volume quartile.
Signaling Parenthood: Managing the Motherhood Penalty and Fatherhood Premium in the U.S. Service Sector:

An extensive body of research documents that women experience a motherhood penalty at work whereas men experience a fatherhood premium. Yet much of this work presupposes that employers are aware of...
Identifying endemic areas and estimating the prevalence of hyperlipidemia in Taiwan's townships

Background/Purpose This study aimed to evaluate geographic variations and differences in the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia between Taiwan's townships. Methods The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia was evaluated according to the geographic characteristics of the people in the Adult Preventive Service Program from 2009 to 2010. The prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia in 2009 and 2010 was used and divided into three groups. Then, all townships were classed as having a significantly high prevalence, low prevalence, or an undetermined prevalence. Results The mean prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia and hypercholesterolemia was 29.26% and 43.96%, respectively. Geographic variations were observed: 125 townships had a high prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia, 122 townships had a low prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia, 142 townships had a high prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, and 159 townships had a low prevalence. A higher prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia was noted in the aboriginal areas. Conclusion Geographic variations exist in the prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia, and hypercholesterolemia. Our findings indicate that the prevention and treatment services in these high prevalence areas should be a priority.
Genetic counseling following direct-to consumer genetic testing: Consumer perspectives

As the use and scope of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC GT), also becoming known as consumer-driven genetic testing, increases, consumers may seek genetic counseling to understand their results and determine healthcare implications. In this study, we interviewed individuals who sought genetic counseling after receiving DTC GT results to explore their motivations, expectations, and experiences. Participants were recruited from the Impact of Personal Genomics (PGen) Study, a longitudinal cohort study of DTC GT customers. We interviewed 15 participants (9 females, mean age = 38 years) by telephone and analyzed the double-coded transcripts using qualitative methods. Motivations for genetic counseling included family and personal health histories, concern and confusion about results, and information-seeking; of note, one-third of our interview participants had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome Type III (hypermobility type). Expectations of genetic counseling sessions were high. Participants generally saw DTC GT results as valid and potentially impactful for their healthcare, wanted more thorough explanations in "layman's terms," a pooling of their results with their family and personal health history and a "game plan." Several participants had already accessed online resources, including resources typically used by genetics clinicians. Our results point to several elements of a successful DTC GT genetic counseling session: 1) effective contracting when starting the clinic visit, especially determining motivations for genetic counseling, results that are concerning/confusing and resources already accessed; 2) ascertainment and management of expectations and clearly communicating if and why all results may not be reviewed; 3) explaining how DTC GT differs from clinical genetic testing and why additional testing may not be indicated and 4) listening to (not dismissing) patient concerns about their results. For those patients who seek genetic counseling about DTC GT results, the findings from our study can help inform case preparation and provision of genetic counseling.
Abstract A14: Exploiting DNA damage repair defects to enhance PD-L1 expression in Ewing sarcoma

Objective: The purpose of this work is to determine whether PD-L1 expression can be upregulated by PARP inhibitor treatment in Ewing tumor cells harboring DNA damage repair defects. Further, we aimed to determine whether enhanced PD-L1 expression renders Ewing cells more susceptible to T-cell mediated apoptosis following PD-1 inhibition. Experimental Procedures: Patient-derived tumor organoids and monolayers (named PSaRC-318) were established from a viably cryofrozen metastatic lung lesion from a patient with Ewing sarcoma and a paternally inherited germline BARD1 mutation. A673, CHLA9, and CHLA10 Ewing tumor cell lines were also employed. Sensitivity of PSaRC-318 to the PARP inhibitors olaparib and talazoparib was established by performing IncuCyte apoptosis assays. PD-L1 expression was examined using RT-PCR, Western blot, and flow cytometry. BARD1, BRCA, and RAD51D siRNA were also utilized to test the role of specific DNA damage repair proteins on this effect. T-cell/tumor cell cocultures and tumor-primed T-cells were established. T cell-induced tumor cell apoptosis was monitored in real-time using IncuCyte caspase and annexin assays. Results: PSaRC-318 organoids demonstrate exquisite sensitivity to PARP inhibitors, with an IC50 for talazoparib of 3.54nM. Treatment of PARP inhibitor-resistant Ewing cell lines, such as CHLA10, with BARD1 siRNA rendered cells sensitive to PARP inhibition. Ewing tumor cells were found to upregulate tumor cell surface expression of the checkpoint protein PD-L1 in response to treatment with PARP inhibitors. The impact of BARD1, BRCA1, and RAD51D on PD-L1 expression in Ewing tumor cells was also determined. Next, Ewing tumor cells were pretreated with PARP inhibitors and then cocultured with tumor-primed T-cells. T cell-mediated tumor cell apoptosis was monitored in real time using caspase IncuCyte assays. PD-1 blocking antibody added to T-cell/tumor cell cocultures resulted in an increase in early tumor cell death compared to IgG controls. Conclusion: Single-agent PARP inhibitors have not demonstrated significant clinical benefit in relapsed Ewing sarcoma to date, suggesting that combinatorial therapy with PARP inhibitors may be a more effective approach. Here, we have shown that Ewing tumor cells with germline mutations in DNA-damage repair proteins, such as BARD1, can upregulate PD-L1 expression following treatment with PARP inhibitors. Thus, PARP inhibitor/anti-PD-1 therapy may be a logical combination for the treatment of relapsed Ewing sarcoma. Ongoing preclinical studies are continuing to examine this combination. Citation Format: Lisa M. Maurer, Rose M. Venier, Claire Julian, Kelly M. Bailey. Exploiting DNA damage repair defects to enhance PD-L1 expression in Ewing sarcoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on the Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research; 2019 Sep 17-20; Montreal, QC, Canada. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(14 Suppl):Abstract nr A14.
Role of Hepatitis E Virus Infection in North American Patients With Severe Acute Liver Injury.

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to determine the role of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection in a large cohort of prospectively enrolled patients with severe acute liver injury (ALI). METHODS Serum samples from 594 consecutive adults enrolled between 2008 and 2018 in the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group ALI registry were tested for anti-HEV IgM and anti-HEV IgG levels. Those with detectable anti-HEV IgM underwent further testing for HEV RNA using real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS The median age of patients was 38 years; 41% were men and 72% Caucasian. Etiologies of ALI included acetaminophen hepatotoxicity (50%), autoimmune hepatitis (8.9%), hepatitis B virus (8.9%), and idiosyncratic drug-induced liver injury (7.9%). Overall, 62 patients (10.4%) were negative for anti-HEV IgM but positive for IgG, whereas only 3 men (0.5%) were positive for both anti-HEV IgM and IgG. These 3 cases were initially diagnosed as having indeterminate, HEV, and hepatitis B virus-related ALI. One of these patients had detectable HEV RNA genotype 3, and another anti-HEV IgM+ patient had detectable HEV antigens by immunohistochemistry on liver biopsy. On multivariate modeling, older (odds ratio: 1.99) and non-Caucasian subjects (odds ratio: 2.92) were significantly more likely to have detectable anti-HEV IgG (P < 0.0001). DISCUSSION Acute HEV infection is an infrequent cause of ALI in hospitalized North American adults. The anti-HEV IgG+ patients were significantly older and more likely to be non-Caucasian. These data are consistent with other population-based studies that indicate exposure to HEV in the general US population is declining over time and might reflect a cohort effect.
The Crisis of Loss and Moral Injury - Lasting Effects of COVID-19 on Teenagers and Healthcare Workers

For many people around the world, Coronavirus (COVID-19) may have lasting effects that reshape human behavior and interaction both locally and collectively. While there are immediate changes to how...
Case of Gastric Intramural Hematoma; Rare Complication of Acute Pancreatitis

INTRODUCTION Complications of acute pancreatitis occur due to enzymatic degradation or compression by necrotic tissue, pseudocysts, or peripancreatic fluid collections on nearby structures. Of them, intramural hematoma formation is infrequently reported, but when present, is usually found in the esophagus or duodenum. Gastric intramural hematomas (GIH) have rarely been reported as a complication of pancreatitis, as they are more commonly due to trauma, specifically non-accidental trauma. CASE DESCRIPTION A 3-year-old African American female initially presenting with diffuse abdominal pain for two days with non-bloody, non-bilious emesis. She was found to have intussusception which was successfully reduced in the emergency department by …
Cooling off the heated controversy of a safer cigarette: heat-not-burn no better than traditional combustion cigarettes

In response to overwhelming evidence of harmful effects of cigarette smoking, the tobacco industry launched heat-not-burn cigarettes (HNBC), a hybrid between traditional combustion cigarettes (TCCs) and electronic vaping devices. They marketed HNBC as a less harmful alternative to TCC due to absence of specific toxicants released by burning the tobacco. However, similar to TCC smoke, aerosols released by heating the tobacco (up to 350°C) in HNBC contain nicotine and harmful elements generated by incomplete combustion (pyrolysis) and thermogenic degradation of tobacco. The claims that these by-products are present in amounts too small to be harmful suggest that a threshold concentration for the toxic effects of heated tobacco by-products exists. This assertion requires further elucidation, due to a …
The Association between Maternal Body Mass Index and the Risk of Perinatal Depression.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the risk of perinatal depression is associated with body mass index (BMI) category. Study Design We performed a retrospective cohort study of women who completed an Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire during the antepartum period at an integrated health system from January 2003 to May 2018. Risk of perinatal depression was defined as a score of ≥10 on the EPDS or an affirmative response to thoughts of self-harm. Risk of perinatal depression was compared by first trimester BMI category, defined as underweight (BMI: Results Our analysis included 3,420 obese women, 3,839 overweight women, 5,949 normal weight women, and 1,203 underweight women. The overall median gestational age at EPDS administration was 27 weeks (interquartile range: 23–29). Overweight and obese women were more likely to be non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, multiparous, to have public insurance, prepregnancy diabetes, and chronic hypertension as compared with normal or underweight women (p Conclusion Obesity is associated with an increased risk of perinatal depression as compared with women of normal weight. Key Points
Developing an aluminum honeycomb barrier to represent a striking SUV in a side impact crash test.

OBJECTIVE The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) introduced its side impact ratings test in 2003. Despite manufacturers' improvements to airbags and vehicle structures, 45% of 2018 side crash fatalities on U.S. roadways were in good-rated vehicles, suggesting that more crashworthiness improvements are necessary. Crash trends indicate that the most promising avenue to address the remaining real-world injuries is a higher severity vehicle-to-vehicle test using a barrier to represent a striking sport-utility vehicle (SUV). Laboratory tests comparing striking SUVs with the current IIHS moving deformable barrier (MDB) showed discrepancies in damage patterns and injury measures. The current study outlines the characteristics of a multi-stiffness aluminum honeycomb barrier to represent a modern SUV-striking vehicle in side impact crash tests. METHODS Barrier size and shape were determined from a series of measurements taken from 21 modern SUVs. Barrier honeycomb stiffness characteristics were derived by comparing the damage profile of six different barrier prototypes against a baseline profile obtained from a high-severity SUV crash into a midsize car. Tests were conducted at 60 km/h with a 1,900 kg MDB. The best honeycomb design was tested against four additional vehicles to ensure it was representative of striking SUVs of different sizes and types. RESULTS The final barrier has a 1,700-mm width by 600-mm height and 500-mm depth multi-stiffness design, with less stiffness on the top and more stiffness in the lower outside sections compared with the original IIHS barrier. For three struck vehicles, the redesigned barrier matched all performance criteria set by the striking-SUV tests. For two additional struck vehicles, there were some differences in intrusion patterns but overall, these matched the test trends of the striking SUVs. The new barrier in a higher severity test mode resulted in a range of performance for these good-rated vehicles. CONCLUSION A multi-stiffness aluminum honeycomb barrier was developed to represent the characteristics of striking SUVs in 60 km/h perpendicular side impact crash tests focusing on the occupant compartment. The redesigned barrier differentiates between currently good-rated vehicles, which will promote structural and restraint system improvements to the fleet relevant to the remaining real-world injuries.
Law and Morality

This chapter addresses the nature of ethics and its relation to law. It argues that there are facts about justice independent of the law, that individuals have moral rights independent of law, and that these things can be known through ethical intuition.
Score Tests in Overdispersed GLM’s

Score tests offer several advantages for inference on both means and variances in generalized linear models that have structural parameters in the variance function. Two versions of the tests on means are considered, one that assumes the specified mean-variance relation to be correct and another that has a more general asymptotic justification. Applications are made to log-linear models for overdispersed Poisson data with negative binomial variance function.
Assessing multizone airflow software

Multizone models form the basis of most computer simulations of airflow and pollutant transport in buildings. In order to promote computational efficiency, some multizone simulation programs, such as COMIS and CONTAM, restrict the form that their flow models may take. While these tools allow scientists and engineers to explore a wide range of building airflow problems, increasingly their use has led to new questions not answerable by the current generation of programs. This paper, directed at software developers working on the next generation of building airflow models, identifies structural aspects of COMIS and related programs that prevent them from easily incorporating desirable new airflow models. The paper also suggests criteria for evaluating alternate simulation environments for future modeling efforts.
Chapter 23 Cyanobactin Ribosomally Synthesized Peptides-A Case of Deep Metagenome Mining

Deep metagenome mining is a new method for engineering natural product pathways, focusing on examining symbiotic organisms. The method has been applied to a family of compounds known as cyanobactins, which are ribosomally synthesized peptides produced by cyanobacteria. Often, these cyanobacteria live symbiotically with marine animals, leading to production of natural products in whole animal samples. Here, we focus on methods to identify, clone, and study cyanobactin natural product genes from axenic organisms and metagenomic environments. The application to deep metagenome mining is described, along with other potential targets of this methodology.
Do the Tropics Rule? Assessing the State of Tropical Climate Science

Author(s): Seager, R; Chiang, JCH; Shaman, J | Abstract: A symposium honoring Mark Cane and his role in the advancement of climate science was held at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in October 2014. Over 150 climate scientists from the United States and abroad participated in the program. First day of the symposium began with a retrospective session on the development of tropical ocean?atmosphere interactions, equatorial wave dynamics, and a theory for ENSO. Steve Zebiak, David Halpern and Ed Sarachik, each provided historical context on the advances during the 1960s to 1980s that led to ENSO prediction. The first session of the second day was devoted to outstanding issues in paleoclimate dynamics. David Battisti. He revisited the question of why the ocean overturning circulation was situated in the Atlantic and not the Pacific, reviewing various hypotheses for why the Atlantic is the saltier ocean. The final session of the symposium highlighted the perspectives of climate dynamics from some key contributors to the field. Tim Palmer discussed nonlinear dynamics and regime shifts as a paradigm for understanding climate changes.
Initiating home-style issues in a postreform Congress

This analysis examines initiatorsof specific issues within one large and encompassingpolicy domain in Congress, agriculture. The data arefrom an extensive survey of congressional members andstaff from stratified random samples of 113 individualoffices. One purpose is to determine differences betweenmembers with an agenda of new issues and those whobehave as maintainers of existing policy. The analysisalso finds that the circumstances of a postreformCongress enhance the importance of district effects onissue selection. These effects create substantiallymore congressional players within the domain thanwould be expected in much of the literature. Moreover,the behavior of these issue initiators seems largelydetermined by identifiable characteristics of theirhome-district populations. Those and other findings,especially the high rate of initiator success, callinto serious question many existing assumptions aboutexclusivity and specialization in committeedeliberations. It suggests instead that home-stylebehavior comes to Washington politics in ways thatexpand significantly the range of policy players.