cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology and Outcomes of Regimen-Related Toxicities

Treatment-related toxicities are common among patients with cancer; they lead to poor clinical outcomes, reduced functional status, higher consumption of healthcare resources, and excess costs. The toxicity, its risk and outcomes, varies depending on the regimen received. In this chapter, we describe the epidemiology of toxicities commonly observed among patients receiving current treatment regimens.
Eating in mice with gastric bypass surgery causes exaggerated activation of brainstem anorexia circuit.

Eating in mice with gastric bypass surgery causes exaggerated activation of brainstem anorexia circuit
Fabrication of a Functionally Gradient Material of TiC-SiC System by Chemical Vapor Deposition

Oxidation-resistant coating using chemical vapor deposition on continuous fiber reinforced ceramics having lower thermal expansion coefficient (α) than the coated layer (SiC) was studied. A SiC-fiber reinforced TiC matrix composite (SiC/TiC composite, α=5.6×10-6K-1) was used as a substrate and the TiC-SiC system was chosen as a coating. The CVD was carried out in TiCl4-SiCl4-CH4-H2 system at deposition temperature of 1350°C and total gas pressure of 60 Torr. Compositionally gradient TiC-SiC layers were formed by stepwise change of the Ti/(Ti+Si) ratio in the feed gas. Peeling occurred along the edges of the coating in the case of SiC coating, but it did not occur at all in a TiC-SiC coating with an optimum gradient composition. These results agreed with the thermal stress analysis using F. E. M.
Reduced Amplitude of Low-Frequency Brain Oscillations in the Psychosis Risk Syndrome and Early Illness Schizophrenia

Low-frequency oscillations (LFOs) of the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal are gaining interest as potential biomarkers sensitive to neuropsychiatric pathology. Schizophrenia has been associated with alterations in intrinsic LFOs that covary with cognitive deficits and symptoms. However, the extent to which LFO dysfunction is present before schizophrenia illness onset remains unknown. Resting-state FMRI data were collected from clinical high-risk (CHR; n=45) youth, early illness schizophrenia (ESZ; n=74) patients, and healthy controls (HCs; n=85) aged 12–35 years. Age-adjusted voxelwise fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF; 0.01−0.08 Hz) of the BOLD signal was compared among the three groups. Main effects of Group (p<0.005 height threshold, familywise error cluster-level corrected p<0.05) were followed up via Tukey-corrected pairwise comparisons. Significant main effects of Group (p<0.05) revealed decreased fALFF in ESZ and CHR groups relative to HCs, with values in the CHR group falling between those of ESZ and HC groups. These differences were identified primarily in posterior cortex, including temporoparietal regions, extending into occipital and cerebellar lobes. Less LFO activity was related to greater symptom severity in both CHR and ESZ groups in several of these posterior cortical regions. These data support an intermediate phenotype of reduced posterior cortical LFO amplitude in CHR individuals, with resting fALFF values smaller than in HCs but higher than in ESZ patients. Findings indicate that LFO magnitude alterations relate to clinical symptoms and predate psychosis onset but are more pronounced in the early stages of schizophrenia.
129 FAMILY PHYSICIANS' KNOWLEDGE OF SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AMONG LESBIANS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE.

Purpose The knowledge base of family physicians regarding transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among lesbians is unclear. There are few publications of studies done on this topic and none in the United States. The objective of this study was to investigate the knowledge base of family physicians regarding STIs among lesbians and to discuss implications for lesbian health care and the population at large if a deficit exists. Methods A voluntary questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 170 family physicians across Washington State. Questions encompassing the epidemiology of disease, modes of STI transmission, as well as an understanding of lesbian behavior statistically according to current research were included and results were analyzed. The knowledge of physicians was quantified by a score based on percent of correct answers and linked to demographic characteristics of participants. Results Of 70 respondents, the average percent of correct answers on the knowledge-based portion of the questionnaire was 48%. The transmission routes of both chlamydia and gonorrhea were identified by less than 10% of the respondents. Only 9.5% correctly identified the higher risk of acquiring bacterial vaginosis among women who have sex with women. Seventy-five percent correctly recommended the standard frequency of Pap smear screening for lesbians. Sixty-four percent were unaware of higher HIV-related risk behaviors among women who have sex with both men and women. No significant difference in the knowledge base between genders of physicians was found; however, the difference in knowledge among physicians with varying numbers of years in practice was approaching significance according to t-tests performed, and this was correlated to whether or not physicians received health care education specific to lesbians. Only 48% of physicians reported confidence in counseling lesbians regarding STIs, yet 74% had an interest in learning more. Conclusion The results of the survey indicate that not all family physicians fully understand the special health concerns of lesbians, especially regarding their risks of acquiring and transmitting STIs. This can profoundly affect the quality of care for lesbians. Health care education specific to lesbians may lead to a stronger knowledge base among physicians; however, further studies are recommended to understand more fully how help family practice physicians counsel this population more adequately.
The older they are the harder they fall: Injury patterns and outcomes by age after ground level falls.

Abstract Background Trauma centers are seeing an increasing number of geriatric patients that are more susceptible to injuries even from relatively minor insults such as a ground level fall (GLF). As life expectancy increases, people are living in the geriatric age bracket for decades and often use anticoagulation agents for various comorbidities. We hypothesize that this patient population is not homogenous and we investigated the injury patterns and outcomes after GLF as a function of age and anticoagulation use. We also sought to identify injury patterns and patient characteristics of GLF patients. Methods A retrospective review of a Level I trauma center’s database identified all adult (age > 18) trauma patients admitted after GLFs between 1/2003 and 12/2013. Demographics, injury patterns, antiplatelet use, anticoagulation use (including warfarin, enoxaparin, and rivaroxaban) and outcomes were abstracted. Results The cohort included 5088 patients. 3990 patients were >60 years and 38.2% were male. With each decade, although the mean ISS did not considerably change (range 7.0–8.6), mortality increased (0.9% at 90 years), and the likelihood of home discharge decreased dramatically (73.7% at 90 years). Abdominal solid organ injuries were rare (0.8%). Age was associated with an increased incidence of cervical spine (p = 0.002), rib (p = 0.009) and pelvic fractures (p Conclusion GLF patients are not homogenous as certain injury patterns change with increasing age. Aspirin use was associated with an increased incidence of intracranial bleeds, whereas other antiplatelet or anticoagulation agents were not. GLF is also associated with significant morbidity and mortality that increases dramatically with age. Both aspirin and warfarin are independently associated with increased mortality. These patient differences have implications for their evaluation and management. Level of evidence Epidemiological/prognostic study level IV.
What of the Future

In closing this book I feel that I have completed a journey, with my readers as companions. The words of Ernst Mach, the great natural scientist, biophysicist (before the word was coined), and philosopher of the turn of the century are apt ones to keep before us at all times. The primary purpose of this book was to ask questions: questions I deemed important in deepening and broadening our knowledge of strabismus; questions that seem to be within our collective power as a community of basic and clinical scientists and practitioners to answer; questions that because of their factual answers, will lead to progress in the study of strabismus akin to the progress being made elsewhere in our specialty; questions, the answers to which may provide insight into both form and function of the visual nervous system, of interest to psychophysical, developmental, and neurobiological colleagues as well as ourselves.
Scope of the Problem

Skin toxicity caused by radiation treatment is common among cancer patients and can interrupt treatment and compromise local control. Acute reactions such as erythema, dry desquamation, and moist desquamation peak 1–3 weeks after radiation. Late reactions include hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation, telangiectasia, fibrosis, edema, atrophy, and ulceration. Contributing patient factors can include site, sex, body mass index, age, ethnicity, sun-reactive skin type, bra or breast size, comorbidities including collagen vascular disease and HIV, smoking, and genetic mutations. Contributing treatment factors can include the expanse of irradiated skin, beam energy, total dose and fractionation, bolus, tangential beams, intensity-modulated radiation, use of radiosensitizers, chemotherapy, and targeted agents.
Infections and ABO Blood Groups in Burn Patients.

Abstract Background: Lack of isohemmaglutinins may predispose individuals to infection. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between infections and burn patient blood groups. Methods: This was a retrospective review of burn patient data on infections and ABO blood groups between March 1999-May 2004. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U with one-way ANOVA statistical analyses were performed. Results: There were 1615 burn admissions; 794 patients were typed for blood groups; 179 patients received blood transfusions. Of the study population, African-Americans constituted 59%, Hispanics 21%, Caucasians 16%, and others 4%. Although age (mean±se: 37±2 years), % TBSA (11±2%), and inhalation injury (15%) were similar in all groups, patients with B blood group had longer BICU stays compared to the O blood group, p Conclusions: Our data shows that burn patients with B and AB blood groups did not have an increased frequency of infections compared to the patients with A and O blood groups. Burn patients were immunosuppressed as part of their injury. Those who received transfusions probably had a further perturbation of their immune system, since blood products cause immunosuppression. Other factors such as inhalation injury and %TBSA also predisposed burn patients to infection. Transfusions rather than blood groups were associated with an increased number of nosocomial UTIs in burn patients. Demographic Characteristics of the Burn Population by ABO Groups Blood Groups AB A B O Study Population # (%) 27 (3) 258 (32) 134 (17) 375 (47) Study African American (%) 4 29 21 46 Study Hispanic (%) 1 36 7 56 Study Caucasian (%) 3 37 14 46 BICU stay (days) 15±6 13±2 23±4 11±1 PRBC Transfusions (units) 7±2 9±2 13±3 8±1 UTI/Transfused # (%) 5 (100) 12 (92) 8 (89) 20 (60) UTI/Not Transfused # (%) 0 1 (8) 1 (11) 13 (40) mean ± s.e.
Operative Wound Complications Following Total Ankle Arthroplasty.

Background:Wound complications following total ankle replacement (TAR) potentially lead to devastating consequences. The aim of this study was to compare the operative and demographic differences i...
The Use of a Natural History Data Base to Compare Outcome Among Several Trials of Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Stage II Breast Cancer

Three international conferences on the adjuvant therapy of cancer have been held in Tucson since 1977. Reports on the results of adjuvant chemotherapy in operable breast cancer have been a major component of those meetings [1–3]. At the time of the second conference in 1979, a consensus among most investigators was that adjuvant chemotherapy reduced recurrence rates after surgery and probably also resulted in improved survival, although this was not consistent in all studies [2]. Because of the original reports of the NSABP and Milan trials [1–3], many second-generation adjuvant trials did not include a control group of patients who had undergone surgery alone, but instead compared different forms of adjuvant chemotherapy or chemotherapy + radiotherapy. Indeed, our own trial at the University of Arizona, initiated in 1974, looked at the question of chemotherapy alone or chemotherapy + radiotherapy as adjuvant treatments for patients with operable breast cancer [4]. Thus, by 1979, there were a large number of clinical trials which did not have an untreated control group for comparison. Many questions were raised: Does adjuvant treatment work in postmenopausal women? Are there differences in therapeutic efficacy between various treatment programs? These questions could not be answered directly because appropriate clinical trials did not exist or had just been established. Accordingly, we initiated a plan to acquire data on a large number of patients who had undergone primary surgery (± irradiation), which could be used to compare results of various adjuvant programs in matched populations of patients with known prognostic factors. This data set later became known as the “Natural History Data Base” or NHDB [5]. Moreover, modern statistical methodology would provide comparison of the results of treatment from different studies even if the initial important prognostic factors were not well balanced. The initial phase of this ambitious project was reported on in 1981 [5, 6]. Since that time, additional work has been accomplished and a considerably updated version of this was presented at the Fourth International Conference on Adjuvant Therapy of Cancer in Tucson in March 1984. This paper represents an interim report on the status of the NHDB and its comparison of various adjuvant trials.
P003 Successful kidney transplantation across positive crossmatches with strong donor-specific HLA-DP antibodies

Aim The role of anti-HLA-DP antibodies in renal transplantation is poorly defined. One of our kidney re-list candidates with 99% CPRA (+ many strong DP antibodies) received a kidney offer from a single DP1 mismatched deceased donor. The patient displayed strong DP1 antibodies (MFI = 10930) and thereby positive B cell pronase crossmatch (MCS = 125; cutoff is 120 MCS). Since the donor is highly matched and crossmatch was borderline positive, we move forward with this transplantation with anti-CD25 mAb induction and a single dose IVIG (2 g/kg) at day 1 post-tx. The graft was functioning and no rejection noticed in 6 month biopsy. The aim of the present study was to expand similar transplants for highly sensitized patients across DP donor-specific antibodies (DSA) with positive or negative B cell XM. Methods 16 candidates (4 female listed for 1st tx, 6 females and 6 males listed for re-tx) with cPRA ranging from 75 to 100% (9 candidates had cPRA 100%) were transplanted with DP DSAs of greater than 5000 MFI (9 had MFI > 100,00). Retrospective FXM were done on 15 patients. Kidney biopsy data on 12 patients were evaluated for C4d deposition and AMR. One Lambda single antigen bead (SAB) assay was used to test HLA antibodies. Results 9 of 15 retrospective B FXM were positive, and the positive B FXM had DP DSAs of >10000 MFI (pronase MCS are generally ∼200). The levels of DP DSAs were plotted at pre- and post-tx (1 week, 1 month and 6 months) sera, which show significant decreases in DP DSAs in all 16 recipients (see figure). The 6 month protocol biopsy found no AMR in 9 recipients (8 were C4d- and 1 was C4d+), and C4d- AMR+ in 3 patients. One recipient developed de novo DSA to A32 (MFI = 14,000) but was undetectable at 6 months post-tx. Conclusions The presence of HLA-DP antibodies particularly in broadly sensitized re-list candidates decrease the chance of finding a compatible donor. Results from this study show that patients can be transplanted across the HLA-DP DSAs without affecting graft survival, and therefore increasing access for broadly sensitized candidates. Download : Download high-res image (222KB) Download : Download full-size image
Spliddit: two years of making the world fairer

Spliddit.org is a not-for-profit academic endeavor with the mission to provide free access to sophisticated and provably fair methods developed in the scientific community. Spliddit has been a major driving force for novel theoretical and empirical fair division research.
Using Debate to Help Undergraduate Non-majors Connect with Silas Marner

In order to catch students “where they are” academically and intellectually and lead them beyond that point, and to help students learn factual material and develop empathy, this chapter describes teaching Victorian texts from a combination of New Historical and Feminist perspectives. Wrestling with the unfamiliar culture and language in Victorian texts improves students’ reading and interpretive skills; including short, significant Victorian works in a course give non-majors, in particular, a chance to experience success as readers and interpreters. Silas Marner, as a story about how community, marriage, family, and fatherhood are defined against a background of ongoing cultural change, works well in this context. Through debate on these topics, students come to understand on a personal level the conflicts inherent in this text, and, as a result, they raise similar questions when they read other texts, and examine the issues thoughtfully when considering their own personal and professional lives.
Marijuana as a 'concept' flavour for cigar products: availability and price near California schools.

Objectives To assess the retail availability of cigar products that refer to marijuana and the largest package size of cigarillos available for ≤$1. Methods Trained data collectors conducted marketing surveillance in a random sample of licensed tobacco retailers that sold little cigars/cigarillos (LCCs) (n=530) near a statewide sample of middle and high schools (n=132) in California. Multilevel models examined the presence of marijuana co-marketing and cigarillo pack size as a function of school/neighbourhood characteristics and adjusted for store type. Results Of stores that sold LCCs, approximately 62% contained at least one form of marijuana co-marketing: 53.2% sold cigar wraps marketed as blunt wraps, 27.2% sold cigarillos marketed as blunts and 26.0% sold at least one LCC with a marijuana-related ‘concept’ flavour. Controlling for store type, marijuana co-marketing was more prevalent in school neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of young residents (ages 5–17 years) and with lower median household income. Nearly all stores that sold LCCs (87.9%) offered the products for ≤$1. However, significantly larger packs at similarly low prices were available near schools in lower-income neighbourhoods and with a lower percentage of Hispanic students. Conclusions Understanding how the tobacco industry manipulates cigar products and marketing to capitalise on the appeal of marijuana to youth and other priority populations is important to inform regulation, particularly for flavoured tobacco products. In addition, the retail availability of five and six packs of LCCs for ≤$1 near California schools underscores policy recommendations to establish minimum prices for multipacks.
Energy ideals, visions, narratives, and rhetoric: Examining sociotechnical imaginaries theory and methodology in energy research

Abstract Sociotechnical imaginaries emerged in the last decade as a potentially fruitful approach to understanding how collective social values inflect on the production of scientific knowledge and the design of technological systems. Yet insights generated to date have focused on the categories experts use to define a society’s idealized organization, either as the direct subject of analysis by documentary analysis or through the ways such categories circumscribe the field of authorized “values” open for adjudication in public engagement events. We argue that sociotechnical imaginaries require a new methodological framework for designing research in order to examine the collective values of citizens as they live their daily lives, rather than focusing on experts and the state in order to understand the shared moral, material, and scientific goals of a society. Drawing inspiration from rhetoric, corpus linguistics, and dialectology, we present the Social Energy Atlas, a new and burgeoning research project that employs such methods for studying emergent narrative patterns and variation at the local level. Advancing the theory and practice of studying sociotechnical imaginaries is of tremendous benefit to Energy and Social Science researchers, and it is our intent this commentary encourages further careful development and use of the concept.
The Emergence of Adaptive Governance in the Klamath River Basin

The Klamath River Basin of south-central Oregon and northern California has been the locus of historic conflict over the governance of water situated at the spiritual, cultural, and economic confluence of fishing and farming livelihoods. In recent years, a series of crises have impacted communities and stakeholder groups across the basin and jeopardized the continued existence of endangered and threatened fish species as well as the dominant economic and social relations in the basin. From these crises, however, a set of human-driven processes emerged that closely resemble the seeds of adaptive environmental governance. This chapter describes social-ecological system structures and dynamics that led to this potential emergence of adaptive governance in the Klamath River Basin. The major aim of this chapter is to critically evaluate the role of law in the basin as a tool for both creating disturbances and opening windows of opportunity through which adaptive processes could emerge. The major insight from the Klamath case is that the distribution and application of political power cannot be underestimated as either a barrier or facilitator of adaptive governance. Without an explicit recognition and analysis of power dynamics, adaptive governance scholarship lacks a critical lens to interrogate the contexts of governance transitions and evaluate the potential for new arrangements to attain explicit goals such as the sustainability of ecosystem services, the fair allocation of resources, and other principles of good governance that promote social and environmental justice.
The Impact of Farming on Expansion of Human Populations

ABSTRACT In the history of humanity there must have been many critical times in which new technological advances made possible increased population growth, higher population density, or greater chances of successful migration and therefore stimulated growth and expansion of specific populations. Among them, the beginnings of domestication of plants and animals must have had paramount importance, and new important additions to the list of domesticates must have had their own influence. Other technological developments: tools, means of transportation or for waging war may also have contributed in important ways. Population growth, once started, tends to proceed by inertia and gets close to, or even above, the limits set by the carrying capacity of the land. It will then, if at all possible, stimulate migration to occupy new places near or far, depending on means of transportation. Thus in the long run important technological developments have stimulated not only growth but also migration that will continue until boundaries too difficult to surpass are reached. In a recent book with Ammerman (1984) we have shown how the economy based on plant and animal domesticates, arisen in the Middle East, was exported to a very large surrounding area by the slow migration of the neolithic people themselves, continuing over millennia, and not simply or uniquely by stimulus diffusion. The reason behind this conclusion will be illustrated. Other examples of demic diffusion worth considering that are presumably stimulated by agricultural developments are the spread of Bantu speakers to Central and South Africa, and the spread of several waves of neolithic people from China and S.E. Asia to the Pacific islands.
Zusammenfassung der wesentlichen Ergebnisse

Last man die vorstehenden Kapitel Revue passieren, so lassen sich unterschiedliche Gesichtspunkte finden, die eine systematische Gliederung der dort erorterten Rechtsscheintatbestande ermoglichen. Uberschneidungen sind dabei nicht ausgeschlossen.
A novel, dual-specific antibody conjugate targeting CD134 and CD137 costimulates T cells and elicits antitumor immunity

Checkpoint inhibiting antibodies targeting CTLA-4 and PD-1, along with costimulatory agonists, exhibit impressive anticancer efficacy and evidence of durable tumor regression in patients. Despite this success however, many patients fail to respond, likely due to multiple immunosuppressive tactics employed by cancer cells. Combination therapies designed to counteract these immunosuppressive features show promise, but strategies relying on multiple agents suffer from logistical and regulatory challenges, as well as increased risks of adverse events. We developed a novel immunotherapeutic agent by fusing two TNFR family costimulatory agonists (anti-CD134/CD137) into a single biologic encompassing the therapeutic benefits of both agents while avoiding many of the drawbacks associated with traditional combination therapies. Our preliminary data show that this dual-specific, tetravalent antibody conjugate induces potent and differential in vitro potentiation of cytokine secretion from CD3-stimulated splenocytes, compared to that observed with single agonists alone or in combination. We hypothesize that this a consequence of unique signaling and hybrid costimulatory events. Secondly, this conjugate, referred to as OrthomAb, potently delayed tumor growth and reduced tumor burden in the aggressive B16 melanoma model. In vivo antitumor efficacy exceeded that of either individual unconjugated agonist. Importantly, this work establishes a framework for fusion of immunomodulatory biologics into a single drug with the benefit of combination immunotherapy to treat cancer.
Phased Arrays Using Odd Phase Distribution of the Radiating Elements

We show generation of an asymmetric far-field radiation pattern for uniform linear and planar arrays using phase only excitations that belong to a family of odd functions of the form $\frac{{{{({2{\boldsymbol{\pi }}{{\boldsymbol{b}}_0}})}^{2{\boldsymbol{n}} + 1}}({{{\boldsymbol{x}}^{2{\boldsymbol{n}} + 1}} + {{\boldsymbol{y}}^{2{\boldsymbol{n}} + 1}}})}}{{2{\boldsymbol{n}} + 1}}$ , where ${\boldsymbol{n}} = 1,2,3, \ldots$ . The mainlobe and the dominant sidelobes are contained in one quadrant of the azimuthal plane, whereas the sidelobes in the remaining three quadrants are reduced significantly (by 9 dB at least, for the considered array size). In comparison, such an asymmetric radiation pattern is unlike the symmetric pattern produced by a conventional uniform phased array. The asymmetrical sidelobe distribution is achieved while maintaining the mainlobe intensity and beamwidth. In addition to the odd phase excitations, applying the Chebyshev amplitude modulation further enhances the sidelobe asymmetry, also increasing the array directivity. The designed phased arrays have good scan performance from $ - 45^\circ $ to $45^\circ $ in the elevation and azimuth planes with an ability to maintain constant directivity. Such asymmetrical radiation patterns could easily reject interfering signals and ground clutter, which is beneficial in many radar and communications applications.
Reconceptualizing Identity in Intersectionality: Using Identity to Dismantle Institutionalized Oppression in the Communication Discipline

The communication discipline is currently positioned at a crossroads. The debate over the relevance of diversity has divided the field. It is unfair and inaccurate to suggest that this is the first...
Making youth excited about STEM education

This paper describes a three-year effort, to increase Middle School students' attitude and interest in STEM careers by focusing on programming and thus gaming. Generally, the project shows promise for increasing students' knowledge and skills with respect to technology both over time and in relation to their peers. Over the last three years, students have shown significantly more positive attitudes toward technology, and also increased interest in pursuing science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) as career, when compared to similar, non-participating peers. In addition, participants of this study have expressed increased desire in taking more engineering and technology courses as offered in their high schools.
Offloading items from memory: Individual differences in cognitive offloading in a short-term memory task

Cognitive offloading refers to the act of reducing the mental processing requirements of a task through physical actions like writing down information or storing information on a cell phone or computer. Offloading can lead to improved performance on ongoing tasks with high cognitive demand, such as tasks where multiple pieces of information must be simultaneously maintained. However, less is known about why some individuals choose to engage in offloading and under what conditions they might choose to do so. In the present study, offloading behavior is investigated in a short-term memory task requiring memory for letters. The present study is a replication and extension of a previous study conducted by Risko and Dunn, and tests the new prediction that individuals with lower working memory capacity will be more likely to offload. Here, we find that offloading information confers a performance advantage over relying on internal memory stores, particularly at higher memory loads. However, we fail to observe that those with poorer memory abilities have a greater propensity for offloading or benefit more from it. Instead, our findings suggest that cognitive offloading may be a valid compensatory strategy to improve performance of memory-based tasks for individuals with a wide range of memory ability.
Clinical impact of routine esophagram after peroral endoscopic myotomy

Background and Aims It is unclear whether the common practice of postoperative day (POD) 1 esophagram impacts clinical care or reliably identifies significant adverse events (AEs) related to peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM). Therefore, we aimed to correlate the most clinically relevant esophagram findings with postoperative outcomes after POEM. Methods Patients were retrospectively reviewed and included if they underwent POEM at 1 of the 3 study institutions between 2014 and 2018. Patient outcomes were assessed in relation to relevant POD 1 esophagram findings such as esophageal dissection or leak. Results One hundred seventy post-POEM contrast esophagrams (139 fluoroscopy-based vs 31 CT-based) performed on POD 1 were included. Most esophagrams (n = 98) contained abnormal findings but only 5 showed esophageal leak or dissection. Confirmed postoperative AEs of leak or dissection occurred in 4 patients. In 2 patients, POD 1 esophagram appropriately identified the leak or dissection, but in the other 2 patients the initial esophagram was negative, and the AEs were not recognized before clinical deterioration. One patient had a false-positive leak and dissection noted on esophagram leading to an unremarkable endoscopy. Conclusions Despite the low AE rate after POEM, follow-up esophagram on POD 1 frequently shows expected, unremarkable postprocedural findings and occasionally fails to diagnose serious AEs. This results in pitfalls in accuracy regarding agreement between esophagram versus clinical and endoscopic findings. Relying exclusively on esophagram for post-POEM clinical decision-making can lead to unnecessary additional testing or missed AEs.
Millicharged cosmic rays and low recoil detectors

We consider the production of a ``fast flux'' of hypothetical millicharged particles (mCPs) in the interstellar medium. We consider two possible sources induced by cosmic rays: (a) $pp\ensuremath{\rightarrow}(\mathrm{meson})\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\phantom{\rule{0ex}{0ex}}(\mathrm{mCP})$, which adds to atmospheric production of mCPs, and (b) cosmic-ray upscattering on a millicharged component of dark matter. We notice that the galactic magnetic fields retain mCPs for a long time, leading to an enhancement of the fast flux by many orders of magnitude. In both scenarios, we calculate the expected signal for direct dark matter detection aimed at electron recoil. We observe that in scenario (a) neutrino detectors (ArgoNeuT and Super-Kamiokande) still provide superior sensitivity compared to dark matter detectors (XENON1T). However, in scenarios with a boosted dark matter component, the dark matter detectors perform better, given the enhancement of the upscattered flux at low velocities. Given the uncertainties, both in the flux generation model and in the actual atomic physics leading to electron recoil, it is still possible that the XENON1T-reported excess may come from a fast mCP flux, which will be decisively tested with future experiments.
On Bankers and Their Incentives Under Universal Banking

In the absence of managerial agency, scope economies in the combination of lending with other forms of financial intermediation may enable multitasking "universal bankers" to provide intermediation services more efficiently than specialist commercial and investment bankers. But the incentives of a multitasking banker are different from those of a specialist. This paper develops a multitasking principal-agent model of universal banking to study these incentive effects and identify what activities are optimally combined with lending and under what circumstances. On the one hand, multitasking may reduce the scope of moral hazard in a banker's relationship with the employing intermediary to such an extent that a universal bank not only operates at lower cost than a separate commercial and investment bank in aggregate, but even at lower cost than a commercial bank by itself. On the other hand, even where commercial and investment banking completely overlap in the physical costs of production, agency problems may make universal banking prohibitively expensive or prompt universal banks not to screen borrowers as intensively as commercial banks. These results have implications for the regulation and internal organization of financial intermediaries.
Point-Like Interactions in String Theory Induced by 2-D Topological Gravity

We consider a string theory with two types of strings with geometric interaction. We show that the theory contains strings with constant Dirichlet boundary condition and those strings are glued together by 2-d topological gravity with macroscopic boundaries. A light-cone string field theory is given and the theory has interactions to all orders. (Postscript files of the figures can be obtained by anonymous ftp uful07.phys.ufl.edu and are in the directory /het/ufift-hep-92-26.)
Abstract PO-55: Single-center experience of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma identifies association of acute toxicities with inferior disease outcomes

Chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cells are an emerging approach for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) and tisagenlecleucel were the first FDA-approved CAR-T therapies targeting CD19 for patients with relapsed/refractory (r/r) large B-cell lymphoma. Pivotal studies showed complete response (CR) rates of 58% and 40%, respectively, and we sought to investigate if the data are similar to our single-center results. We carried out a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with r/r diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), follicular lymphoma, or mantle cell lymphoma who were treated with axi-cel or tisagenlecleucel at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, FL between January 2016 and October 2019. Primary objectives were to identify clinical characteristics associated with improved overall and progression-free survival (OS and PFS). Secondary analyses included incidence of post-CAR-T toxicities, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Our analysis included 44 patients: 32 received FDA-approved commercial product and 12 received axi-cel through clinical trials. Median age at time of CAR-T therapy was 62 years, and 70% of patients were male. Median number of prior treatments was 4, and 14 patients had undergone prior hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (12 autologous, 2 allogeneic). By day-30 post-treatment PET scan, 25 patients (57%) achieved CR or partial response (PR), while 16 (36%) had progressive (PD) or stable disease (SD). The remaining 3 patients decompensated rapidly post-infusion. Overall, patients with a CR or PR at 30 days had significantly improved OS and PFS compared to patients with PD or SD (OS p = 0.009, PFS p Citation Format: Fahmin Basher, Caroline A. Coughlin, Deukwoo Kwon, Lazaros Lekakis, Jonathan Schatz. Single-center experience of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) immunotherapy in relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma identifies association of acute toxicities with inferior disease outcomes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Meeting: Advances in Malignant Lymphoma; 2020 Aug 17-19. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Blood Cancer Discov 2020;1(3_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-55.
Differentiation of Two Working Memory Tasks Normed on a Large U.S. Sample of Children 2–7 Years Old

The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, 4th ed. includes two measures of working memory normed on children 2;6-7;7. The present analyses of the typically developing children (N = 1,591, 812 female, 779 male, with an ethnic distribution approximating the United States) provide new, theoretically important information about these working memory tasks, Picture Memory and Zoo Locations. These new analyses establish developmental trends, individual-difference properties, and cognitive task properties. They show comparable developmental trends for the two tasks, but Picture Memory picks up more individual-difference variation and is more sensitive to knowledge. This analysis of normed tasks starting very young makes possible new methods for research on the early stages of childhood working memory development, about which little is currently known.
Low variability of plant protein intake in the CKiD cohort does not demonstrate changes in estimated GFR nor electrolyte balance

Vegetable or plant-based sources of protein may confer health benefits in children with progressive kidney disease. Our aims were to understand the effect of the proportion of vegetable protein intake on changes in estimated GFR and to understand the effect of the proportion of vegetable protein intake on serum levels of bicarbonate, phosphorus, and potassium. Children with baseline eGFR between 30 and 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 were recruited from 59 centers across North America as part of the chronic kidney disease in children (CKiD) study. The percentage of dietary vegetable protein (VP%) was gathered from annual Food Frequency Questionnaires. We performed longitudinal linear mixed models to determine the effect of VP% on eGFR and longitudinal logistic mixed models to determine the effect of VP% on electrolyte balance (potassium, phosphorus, bicarbonate). Two thousand visits from 631 subjects. Across all dichotomized groups of children (sex, African American race, Hispanic ethnicity, glomerular etiology of CKD, hypertension, anemia, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, acidosis, BMI 0.1). A diverse cohort of children with CKD has a narrow and homogeneous intake of vegetable protein. Due to the low variability of plant-based protein in the cohort, there were no associations between the percentage of plant protein intake and changes in eGFR nor electrolyte balance.
25 Gastric Bypass: Transgastric Circular Stapler Technique

The circular stapled method of creating the gastrojejunostomy in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass allows for construction of a very small gastric pouch. In addition, it is a safe and relatively simple method of anastomosis. To simplify the technique further, the anvil can be introduced into the gastric pouch through a transabdominal approach instead of the transoral method. This technique reduces the time, cost, and risk that may be associated with intraoperative endoscopy. When the 25-mm anvil is used, the results consistently show a lower stricture rate than with the use of the 21-mm anvil. The role of staple-line reinforcement products with the circular stapled technique is currently under investigation.
Competing Theories Structure Design

In a well designed experiment or observational study, competing theories make conflicting predictions. Several examples, some quite old, are used to illustrate. Also discussed are: the goals of replication, empirical studies of reasons for effects, and the importance of systemic knowledge in eliminating errors.
Hardware security appliances for trust

This paper looks at the trust relationships that exist within an outsourcing scenario finding that whilst some of the trust relationships are clear other implicit trust relationships need exposing. These implicit trust relationships are often a result of information supplied for the main explicit task for which an entity is being trusted. The use of hardware security appliance based services is proposed allowing trust to be dissipated over multiple parties whilst retaining efficient execution. Such an approach helps mitigate these implicit trust relationships by increasing the control and transparency given to the trustor.
Comprehensive geriatric assessment.

Comprehensive geriatric assessment is a multidimensional, often interdisciplinary diagnostic process designed to define an elderly individual’s medical, psychosocial, and functional capabilities and problems to arrive at an overall plan for therapy and long-term follow-up. While comprehensive clinical assessment methodologies have benefited nonelderly groups of patients as well, multidimensional assessment has asssumed a key role in geriatric care because the delicate complexity of the typical frail elderly patient demands multidimensional diagnosis to attain both a reasonable understanding of the patient’s problems and a prudent plan of treatment.
Including Film Analysis to Investigate History of Architecture

This paper describes a historical research on architecture and city design basedon film analysis, and suggests that cinema, as the most influential form of popular culture during the first-half of the twentieth century, provides a critical insight into the cultural impact ofboth modernism and industrialization in America and Britain. This research also illuminate show dominant discourses of spaces, rooted in old cultural traditions that condemn the metropolis and celebrate the countryside, were systematically distributed through American and British films produced in the 1930s-60s. This study also suggests that commercial films use modernist spaces to portray places of work and productivity, and modernist buildings to represent the twentieth century’s image of the poor, but rarely as houses of “healthy” families. For the contrary, American and British films represent domestic spaces as cozy houses, recalling a traditional architectural style of small villages inherited from past centuries. This apparent discrepancy between the discourse of design disseminated by design intellectuals,and the discourse promoted by films, illuminates on the one hand how popular culture contributed to the misconception of the Modern movement in architecture; and on the other hand how the notion of community was systematically associated with low-dense neighborhoods and suburbs close to the countryside, and never with metropolitan spaces, dense public spaces and multi-storied buildings.
Ultrafast TDM transmission

Numerical simulations of propagation near the zero dispersion wavelength demonstrate the value of all-optical regeneration using a local optical clock source, all-optical clock recovery, and one or more all-optical switches. Third-order dispersion (TOD) compensation further improves performance. We show the distortion due to uncompensated TOD at 100 Gb/s. We show the improvement possible using imperfect nonlinear optical loop mirror switches and all-optical regenerators every 200 km, with 50 km amplifier spacing.
Defining the American Public Opinion/ Foreign Policy Nexus

This article provides an overview of a broad range of literatures in the development of a framework that specifies the role of public opinion in U.S. foreign policy. Normally, public opinion is latent on foreign policy issues with decision makers only concerned about the potential activation of popular interest. In the absence of public activation, officials feel free to act. The framework proposes the conditions under which public opinion will become activated. To activate the public, foreign policy issues must receive major media coverage in terms that are compatible with public frames of reference. Such media coverage is usually generated by elite debate. Typically, the media present positions articulated by government officials; however, when high-credibility expert commentators dissent from the government position, policymakers seek to enlist public support. When credible elites defect, government efforts to manage public opinion become increasingly problematic.
Misconceptions in natural selection: conceptual change through time in biology classrooms

Our findings concurs with previous studies that high school biology students hold misconceptions explaining and applying key concepts in natural selection. We explored specific misconceptions prior to instruction, immediately following instruction, and five weeks later. We found qualitatively distinct categories of conceptual understanding suggesting levels in the development of conceptual understanding and tracked changes over time. We found classroom practices can impact conceptual change, with students possessing initial misconceptions often developing hybrid understandings.
Re-imagining the users' experience: An ethnographic approach to web usability and space design

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe the process and work undertaken by the library anthropologist and the Usability Task Force (UTF) for reconfiguring the library's physical and virtual spaces to meet the educational needs and expectations of users, including students, faculty, and community patrons.Design/methodology/approach – Through formal usability studies and ethnographic research, the paper describes the process and work undertaken by the library anthropologist and the UTF.Findings – Through surveys, focus groups observation data were obtained about the current study and web habits of undergraduates and faculty.Originality/value – This paper presents an ethnographic approach to policy development and implementation to re‐orient the physical and virtual library environments at a large research library. Libraries and library administrators will find value in the policies established and processes outlined for the development of user‐centered learning spaces.