cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of used fuel disposition in clay-bearing rock

Radioactive waste disposal in shale/argillite rock formations has been widely considered given its desirable isolation properties (low permeability), geochemically reduced conditions, anomalous groundwater pressures, and widespread geologic occurrence. Clay/shale rock formations are characterized by their high content of clay minerals such as smectites and illites where diffusive transport and chemisorption phenomena predominate. These, in addition to low permeability, are key attributes of shale to impede radionuclide mobility. Shale host-media has been comprehensively studied in international nuclear waste repository programs as part of underground research laboratories (URLs) programs in Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Japan. These investigations, in some cases a decade or more long, have produced a large but fundamental body of information spanning from site characterization data (geological, hydrogeological, geochemical, geomechanical) to controlled experiments on the engineered barrier system (EBS) (barrier clay and seals materials). Evaluation of nuclear waste disposal in shale formations in the USA was conducted in the late 70’s and mid 80’s. Most of these studies evaluated the potential for shale to host a nuclear waste repository but not at the programmatic level of URLs in international repository programs. This report covers various RD Investigation of Reactive Transport and Coupled THM Processes in EBS: FY14; Update on Experimental Activities on Buffer/Backfill Interactions at elevated Pressure and Temperature; and Thermodynamic Database Development: Evaluation Strategy, Modeling Tools, First-Principles Modeling of Clay, and Sorption Database Assessment;ANL Mixed Potential Model For Used Fuel Degradation: Application to Argillite and Crystalline Rock Environments.« less
Epidermal growth factor receptor and related anti-EGFR medicine

Epidermal growth factor receptor relates development of many tumors.Researches on EGFR and development of related medicines are focus topics.From different aspects to analyze the refined data,such as mechanical research and/or medicine development,could be helpful to understand EGFR.In this paper,the research work on EGFR and its related anti-tumor medicines were introduced,which can provide data for further anti-tumor medicines research.
Adversity and Pitfalls of Twice-Exceptional Urban Learners

Current research provides unique insights into the experiences and context of twice-exceptional students in K-12 schools. However, within this literature, a critical gap exists concerning the voices of twice-exceptional African American students and their families. The current qualitative study examined the perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of eight African American artistically gifted students with disabilities and three parents in a large, urban school district in the Midwest. Three major themes emerged from qualitative interviews: (a) the significance of labels, (b) social and personal experiences of exceptionality, and (c) challenges and strategies in the school environment. To this end, findings indicate that students experience their special education identity much differently from their gifted identity.
Centering in Two-Level Nested Designs

As noted above we present the results pertaining to centering in the context of examples. More formal presentation of these results can be found in Kreft, de Leeuw, and Aiken (1995) and Snijders and Berkhof (2008). Other expositions on centering can be found in Enders and Tofighi (2007); Hox (2002); Misangi, LePine, Algina, and Goeddeke (2006); Raudenbush and Bryk (2002); and Snijders and Bosker (1999).
Principles of Supervised Learning

The medical literature has many examples of predictive models based on multiple regression and logistic regression, collectively referred to as supervised machine learning. Both methods actually have fairly stringent “assumptions,” which are often not met. The advent of high-power computing has allowed the development of newer analytical methods for regression and classification which variably compensate for failed assumptions. Some of these methods “shrink” the input variables while others create new, independent variables and then apply more traditional methods. Support vector machines utilize a novel approach that is nonparametric and not model based, avoiding many of the limiting assumptions of traditional methods and also allowing nonlinearity. Quantitative measures of error, when applying these models to a validation dataset, such as mean square error, Akaike Information Criteria, and others, allow numerous models to be constructed and compared, picking the model that “works best.”
Mechanisms of Exercise Effects on Bone

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the effects of mechanical loading on bones. Considerable evidence indicates that elite athletes and chronic exercisers have higher bone mineral density (BMD) than age-matched, nonexercising subjects. Athletes whose activity involves loads at relatively high impact may gain particular skeletal benefit. The BMD values of collegiate gymnasts significantly exceeded those of equivalently trained runners or of age-based normative predictions, even though the former showed a high prevalence of oligo- and amenorrhea, conditions known to result in bone loss. The curvilinear nature of skeletal response shows that addition of even modest activity to an immobilized subject will increase BMD largely than will a substantial increase in training for a highly active person. Therefore, one might best consider physical activity for most people to be a hedge against bone loss, rather than a means of achieving major increases in bone mass. The fact that mechanical loads are transduced into electrical and chemical signals in bone, suggests that specific pharmacologic or bioelectrical interventions might obviate the need for the initial mechanical stimulus. Such interventions might produce changes in bone mass that exceed what can be accomplished through exercise itself, and might also offer effective strategies for frail individuals for whom rigorous exercise constitutes an unacceptable risk.
Pathway-specific gene expression profiling of breast cancer cell lines of African American and Caucasian American origin

B98 Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality affecting women in the United States. While the incidence rate of breast cancer is 12% lower among African American than Caucasian American women, the mortality rate is 36% higher in African American breast cancer patients. The reasons for such a disparity are subjects of intense investigations. Several biological and non-biological factors have been proposed to contribute to this disparity. The direct contribution of racial and ethnic background in the disparity of breast cancer incidence and mortality has not been clearly established. Very recent studies that compared breast cancer in African American versus Caucasian American women suggest that biological differences may contribute to the early onset and aggressive phenotype of breast cancer in African American women. Accordingly, the role of two breast cancer genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, in the observed disparity are under investigation. Additionally, other studies have shown that breast cancers triple negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and HER2/neu are aggressive and metastatic, a characteristic phenotype of breast cancer in African American women. We undertook a pathway-focused microarray analysis of cell lines derived from African Americans and Caucasian Americans, to examine (1) if the cells have differentially expressed pathway-specific genes, (2) if certain pathways are predominantly active in the cells, and (3) to what extent we can use cell lines to study molecular basis of disparity in breast cancer. We selected the pathways that other previous studies had suggested to contribute towards aggressive cancer phenotype. We discuss our preliminary results from two cell lines of African American origin and two cell lines of Caucasian American origin with regard to their expression profiles of major genes in Apoptosis signaling, NF-kB signaling, and Estrogen Receptor (ER) signaling pathways. Further studies are planned to verify the preliminary results and to perform similar analysis of primary tumor tissues.
Outcomes of treatment with direct-acting antivirals for infection with hepatitis C virus genotypes 1–4 in an ambulatory care setting

Purpose Outcomes with direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1–4 were determined. Methods A total of 360 patients at 36 clinical sites in Massachusetts with HCV genotypes 1–4 and a prescription for at least one DAA medication between May 2011 and October 2015 were included. The primary investigator completed a retrospective and concurrent chart review, and data were collected through April 2016. Results A total of 446 patients were assessed for eligibility into the study, with 86 patients excluded. The majority of patients were white males with genotype 1 infection. About half of the patients were treatment naive (TN), and 40% of patients had documented cirrhosis. TN patients without cirrhosis had the highest overall sustained virologic response (SVR) rate at 107 of 109 (98.2%), followed by treatment-experienced (TE) patients without cirrhosis at 59 of 63 (93.7%), TN patients with cirrhosis at 40 of 46 (87.0%), and TE patients with cirrhosis at 64 of 79 (81.0%) when boceprevir- and telaprevir-containing regimens were excluded. A total of 7 of 360 (1.9%) patients reported missing at least one dose of medication. Adverse drug reactions reported in the electronic medical record (EMR) were collected for analysis and included patients who received at least one dose of medication and had adequate EMR documentation. Conclusion In patients treated with DAAs for infection with HCV genotypes 1–4, variables favoring achievement of SVR included an age of <45 years, a body mass index of <25 kg/m2, absence of cirrhosis, a fibrosis score of 0–2, and being TN.
Aprepitant limits in vivo neuroinflammatory responses in a rhesus model of Lyme neuroborreliosis

Substance P (SP) is produced at high levels in the central nervous system (CNS), and its target receptor, neurokinin 1 receptor (NK-1R), is expressed by glia and leukocytes. This tachykinin functions to exacerbate inflammatory responses at peripheral sites. Moreover, SP/NK-1R interactions have recently been associated with severe neuroinflammation and neuronal damage. We have previously demonstrated that NK-1R antagonists can limit neuroinflammatory damage in a mouse model of bacterial meningitis. Furthermore, we have since shown that these agents can attenuate Borrelia burgdorferi-induced neuronal and glial inflammatory mediator production in non-human primate brain explants and isolated neuronal cells. In the present study, we have assessed the role played by endogenous SP/NK-1R interactions in damaging CNS inflammation in an established rhesus macaque model that faithfully reproduces the key clinical features of Lyme neuroborreliosis, using the specific NK-1R antagonist, aprepitant. We have utilized multiplex ELISA to quantify immune mediator levels in cerebrospinal fluid, and RT-PCR and immunoblot analyses to quantify cytokine and NK-1R expression, respectively, in brain cortex, dorsal root ganglia, and spinal cord tissues. In addition, we have assessed astrocyte number/activation status in brain cortical tissue by immunofluorescence staining and confocal microscopy. We demonstrate that aprepitant treatment attenuates B. burgdorferi-induced elevations in CCL2, CXCL13, IL-17A, and IL-6 gene expression in dorsal root ganglia, spinal cord, and/or cerebrospinal fluid of rhesus macaques at 2 to 4 weeks following intrathecal infection. In addition, we demonstrate that this selective NK-1R antagonist also prevents increases in total cortical brain NK-1R expression and decreases in the expression of the astrocyte marker, glial fibrillary acidic protein, associated with B. burgdorferi infection. The ability of a centrally acting NK-1R inhibitor to attenuate B. burgdorferi-associated neuroinflammatory responses and sequelae raises the intriguing possibility that such FDA-approved agents could be repurposed for use as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of bacterial CNS infections.
Abstract 189: Activation of Voltage-Dependent Anion Channel 2 Suppresses Ca2+-Induced Cardiac Arrhythmia

Abnormal Ca2+ handling in cardiac muscle cells is associated with a wide range of human cardiac diseases, including heart failure and cardiac arrhythmias. Zebrafish tremblor (tre) mutant embryos manifest unsynchronized cardiac contractions due to a Ca2+ extrusion defect in cardiomyocytes and thus are used as an animal model for aberrant Ca2+ homeostasis-induced cardiac arrhythmia. To further dissect molecular mechanisms regulating cardiac Ca2+ homeostasis, we conducted a chemical suppressor screen on tre and found that efsevin, a synthetic compound, potently suppresses cardiac fibrillation and restores rhythmic cardiac contractions in tre embryos. In addition, the treatment with efsevin blocks the propagation of arrhythmogenic Ca2+ waves and accelerates the decay phase of Ca2+ sparks in adult murine cardiomyocytes under Ca2+ overload conditions, demonstrating that efsevin modulates Ca2+ handling in both embryonic and adult cardiac tissues. Through a biochemical pulldown assay, we identified a direct interaction between efsevin and VDAC2, a mitochondrial outer membrane voltage dependent anion channel. Overexpression of VDAC2 restores synchronized cardiac contraction in tre and knocking down VDAC2 activity abolishes the rescue effect of efsevin on tre, suggesting that efsevin modulates cardiac Ca2+ homeostasis by potentiating VDAC2 activity. We further showed that enhancing mitochondria Ca2+ uptake by overexpressing MICU or MCU suppresses cardiac fibrillation in tre just like VDAC2 does. Interestingly, this suppressive effect is absent in tre/vdac2 double deficient embryos and co-expression of VDAC2 and MICU or MCU results in synergistic rescue effect on tre, indicating a critical role for mitochondria in regulating cardiac Ca2+ handling and rhythmicity and suggesting that VDAC2 functions as a gate for transporting Ca2+ across the outer membrane. Taken together, our findings identify efsevin as a potent pharmacological tool to modulate cardiac Ca2+ handling, suggest a critical role of mitochondria in the control of cardiac rhythmicity and establish VDAC2 as a modulator of cardiac Ca2+ handling and a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of arrhythmias.
Culturally-Informed Interventions for Substance Abuse Among Indigenous Youth in the United States: A Review.

Purpose: Given the disproportionately high levels of alcohol and other drug abuse among Indigenous youth in the United States, the purpose of this systematic review was to explicate the current sta...
A 73GHz PA for 5G phased arrays in 14nm FinFET CMOS

This paper presents the design of an E-band PA in Intel 14nm FinFET/trigate CMOS process. Device layout optimizations are used to maximize device performance at mm-wave frequencies and overcome the impact of scaling on RF performance. Neutralization and low-k transformer-based matching networks are employed to improve gain and bandwidth. The PA achieves a peak gain of 11.9dB/16.7 dB at 71GHz with a bandwidth of 8.5GHz/7.4 GHz in low-gain/high-gain mode. At 71GHz, the measured Psat, OP 1dB and peak PAE are 7.3dBm, 1.6dBm, and 8.3%, respectively.
Aerial-underwater systems, a new paradigm in unmanned vehicles

Singularity-free modeling and control of Unmanned Aerial-Underwater Vehicles (UAUVs) are covered in this work. UAUVs are a new kind of unmanned vehicles capable of performing equally well in different mediums, and seamlessly transitioning between them. In particular, this work covers the modeling and attitude control of a special class of air-underwater vehicles with full torque actuation and a single thrust force. A quaternion based representation is used to avoid singularities. A nonlinear quaternion feedback and a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) with compensation of the restoring forces are used to control the quaternion and altitude errors, respectively, while gain scheduling handles the abrupt change in the medium density. The use of quaternions allows for the vehicle to follow any desired angular reference, which is critical when underwater in order to efficiently overcome the vehicle's buoyancy and drag. Numerical simulations are presented to validate the proposed control scheme.
Bilateral salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy for ovarian cancer risk reduction: A pilot study in women with BRCA1/2 mutations.

Abstract Objective Risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy (RRSO) reduces ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, but the adverse effects of the associated early-onset surgical menopause are problematic. Despite suggestive evidence, no data demonstrate whether bilateral salpingectomy alone lowers the risk of developing ovarian cancer in BRCA mutation carriers. We conducted a pilot study of bilateral salpingectomy with delayed oophorectomy (BS/DO) in BRCA mutation carriers to determine the safety and acceptability of the procedure. Methods In this prospective, multicenter, non-randomized pilot study, pre-menopausal BRCA1/2 mutation carriers aged 30 to 47 years chose screening, RRSO, or BS/DO. For those undergoing BS/DO, the delayed oophorectomy was recommended at age 40 years for BRCA1 and age 45 years for BRCA2 patients. We compared surgical and psychosocial outcomes between time points and between arms. Results Of the 43 patients enrolled, 19 (44%) chose BS/DO, 12 (28%) chose RRSO, and 12 (28%) chose screening. The cohort was 37% BRCA1 carriers and 63% BRCA2 carriers. One serous tubal intraepithelial carcinoma (STIC) was found in an RRSO patient, and no cases of occult ovarian cancers were found. There were no surgical complications. Twelve months after surgery, responses on the Cancer Worry Scale indicated decreased worry in the BS/DO (P Conclusions In this pilot study, BRCA mutation carriers who underwent bilateral salpingectomy had no intraoperative complications, were satisfied with their procedure choice, and had decreased cancer worry and anxiety after the procedure.
Differentiation Patterns of Uterine Carcinomas and Precursor Lesions Induced by Neonatal Estrogen Exposure in Mice.

Developmental exposure to estrogenic chemicals is an established risk factor for cancer of the female reproductive tract. This increase in risk has been associated with disruption of normal patterns of cellular differentiation during critical stages of morphogenesis. The goal of this study was to document uterine epithelial phenotypes over time following neonatal treatment with the synthetic estrogen diethylstilbestrol (DES) or the soy phytoestrogen genistein (GEN) in female CD-1 mice. Both DES and GEN induced three distinct populations of abnormal endometrial epithelial cells: luminal (SIX1+/P63−/CK14−/CK18+), basal (SIX1+/P63+/CK14+/CK18−), and mixed/bipotential (SIX1+/P63−/CK14+/CK18+), which were all established by early adulthood. In older animals, DES and GEN resulted in uterine carcinomas with mixed glandular, basal, and squamous cell elements. All carcinomas were composed largely of the three abnormal cell types. These findings identify novel epithelial differentiation patterns in the uterus and s...
The Auspicious Heart: Influence, Productivity, and Coherence

This chapter presents a cultural model of wellbeing framed in terms of indigenous meanings that have salience in the temple town. The three measures that constitute wellbeing are the following: having control over one’s own activities and influence over others, being centrally involved in the household’s productive and distributive activities, and possessing psychological and moral coherence. The model implies that access to wellbeing is centrally linked to family role occupied; therefore, the experience of wellbeing shifts across the life course, being low in young adulthood, peaking in mature adulthood, and declining in old age. This connection between family role and access to wellbeing is best exemplified by the lack of wellbeing experienced by widows and married daughters who have returned permanently to their father’s homes—women who are cultural anomalies because they are not associated with any particular family role. The chapter also acknowledges that lived experience does not necessarily match the cultural model: even within a sample of just 37 women, there is intra-cultural variability with young adult women claiming to enjoy substantial wellbeing, while mature adult women claim not to.
Neutropenic fever and sepsis: evaluation and management.

Neutropenia remains the predominant predisposing factor for infection in most cancer patients. Bacterial and fungal infections are common in this setting. Not all neutropenic patients have the same risk of developing severe infection or serious medical complications. Although all patients with neutropenia and fever should receive prompt, empiric antibiotic therapy, low-risk patients can be effectively managed without hospitalization—often with the administration of oral antibiotics. Other patients need hospital-based therapy. The emergence of resistant microorganisms has become a significant problem in neutropenic patients. Frequent epidemiologic surveys to detect the emergence of resistant organisms are recommended. Antibiotic stewardship and Infection Control Programs are important tools in combating resistant organisms.
A prototype forensic toolkit for industrial-control-systems incident response

Industrial control systems (ICSs) are an important part of critical infrastructure in cyberspace. They are especially vulnerable to cyber-attacks because of their legacy hardware and software and the difficulty of changing it. We first survey the history of intrusions into ICSs, the more serious of which involved a continuing adversary presence on an ICS network. We discuss some common vulnerabilities and the categories of possible attacks, noting the frequent use of software written a long time ago. We propose a framework for designing ICS incident response under the constraints that no new software must be required and that interventions cannot impede the continuous processing that is the norm for such systems. We then discuss a prototype toolkit we built using the Windows Management Instrumentation Command-Line tool for host-based analysis and the Bro intrusion-detection software for network-based analysis. Particularly useful techniques we used were learning the historical range of parameters of numeric quantities so as to recognize anomalies, learning the usual addresses of connections to a node, observing Internet addresses (usually rare), observing anomalous network protocols such as unencrypted data transfers, observing unusual scheduled tasks, and comparing key files through registry entries and hash values to find malicious modifications. We tested our methods on actual data from ICSs including publicly-available data, voluntarily-submitted data, and researcher-provided “advanced persistent threat” data. We found instances of interesting behavior in our experiments. Intrusions were generally easy to see because of the repetitive nature of most processing on ICSs, but operators need to be motivated to look.
Transitioning a Survey to Self-Administration using Adaptive, Responsive, and Tailored (ART) Design Principles and Data Visualization

This article discusses the critical and complex design decisions associated with transitioning an interviewer-administered survey to a self-administered, postal, web/paper survey. Our approach embeds adaptive, responsive, and tailored (ART) design principles and data visualization during a multi-phased data collection operation to project the outcomes of each phase in preparation for subsequent phases. This requires rapid decision making based upon experimental results using a data visualization system to monitor critical-to-quality (CTQ) metrics and facilitate projections of outcomes from the current phase of data collection to inform the design of the subsequent phase. We describe the objectives of the overall design, the features designed to address these objectives, components of the visual adaptive total design (ATD) system for monitoring quality components and relative costs in real time, and examples of the visualization elements and functionalities that were used in one case study. We also discuss subsequent initiatives to develop an interactive version of the monitoring tool and applications for other studies, including those employing adaptive, responsive, and tailored (ART) designs. Our case study is a series of pilot studies conducted for the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), sponsored by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Removing mercury from aqueous solution using sulfurized biochar and associated mechanisms.

Abstract Biochar has been used to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions. In this study, a sulfurized wood biochar (SWB) by direct impregnation with elemental sulfur was produced and evaluated along with pristine wood biochar (WB) for adsorption characteristics and mechanism of mercury. Mercury adsorption by WB and SWB was well described by Langmuir model and pseudo second order model and the maximum adsorption capacities of WB and SWB were 57.8 and 107.5 mg g−1, respectively. Intraparticle diffusion model showed that mercury adsorption was fast due to boundary layer and slow adsorption due to diffusion into biochar pores. Although, mercury adsorption by both WB and SWB was predominantly influenced by the pH, temperature, salt concentration, and biochar dosage, the SWB showed a relatively stable mercury adsorption compared to WB under different conditions, suggesting the strong affinity of SWB for mercury. The XPS analysis showed different adsorption mechanisms of mercury between WB and SWB. In particular, mercury adsorption in WB was due to Hg-Cπ bond formation and interaction with carboxyl and hydroxyl groups, whereas in SWB it is primarily due to mercury interaction with C-SOx-C and thiophenic groups in addition to Hg-Cπ bond formation and interaction with carboxyl groups. The SEM-EDS mapping also demonstrated that mercury in SWB was related to carbon, oxygen and sulfur. Overall, the sulfurized biochar was effective for removing mercury from aqueous solution, and its direct production through pyrolysis with elemental sulfur impregnation of wood chips could make it an economic option as absorbent for treating mercury-rich wastewater.
Sympathetic and Self-Reported Threat Reactivity in Social Anxiety: Modulation by Threat Certainty and Avoidance Behavior

Social anxiety is characterized by maladaptive anticipation, avoidance, and post-avoidance processes in response to perceived threats. Exaggerated sympathetic activation to threats is proposed to play a key role in social anxiety, but has received inconsistent empirical support. To clarify this issue, we characterized social anxiety-related differences in the time course of sympathetic activation as a function of threat certainty and threat avoidance. While skin conductance was measured, adults (18–30 years old) reporting clinically elevated (n = 34) or low (n = 33) social anxiety symptoms completed a behavioral paradigm involving threat anticipation and the opportunity to avoid conditioned threat and non-threats. During threat anticipation, both groups exhibited increasing conditioned sympathetic activation when threat was certain; however, the high social anxiety group exhibited less conditioned sympathetic activation to threats vs. non-threats compared to the low social anxiety group, irrespective of threat certainty. Following threat anticipation, the high social anxiety group exhibited greater avoidance of both threats and non-threats. Following threat avoidance, the high social anxiety group exhibited comparatively smaller and slower sympathetic recovery. Taken together, our results suggest that social anxiety is characterized by indiscriminate sympathetic activation to both threat and safety cues, which facilitates maladaptive avoidance behaviors and impairs sympathetic recovery.
Classification of Operators in Atomic Spectroscopy by Lie Groups

The use of Lie groups in atomic spectroscopy dates from the 1949 article of Racah.1 It was shown there that the Coulomb interaction between f electrons could be described as a linear combination of four operators ei (i = 0, 1, 2, 3) whose descriptions in terms of the irreps W and U of SO(7) and G2 are (000)(00) for i = 0 and 1, (400)(40) for i = 2, and (220)(22) for i = 3. Highest weights are used to define W and U, and we should also note that Racah used an acute-angled pair of axes for the two numbers (ulu2) defining U, rather than the obtuse-angled scheme sometimes preferred today.2 For the atomic d shell, only three operators of the type ei are required to represent the Coulomb interaction: two of them correspond to the SO(5) scalar irrep (00), the third to the irrep (22) of that group. At the time of Racah’s article on the f shell, all d-electron matrix elements of the Coulomb interaction had already been expressed as linear combinations of the Slater integrals Fk involving the radial parts of the eigenfunctions, so there was little incentive to rework the calculation for the d shell. Shortly after the appearance of Racah’s article, the effects of configuration interaction on the configurations dN and dNs began to be studied, but they were analyzed by traditional methods. The effects of two-electron excitations were shown by Trees3 and Racah4 to be reproducible by changes in the Fk together with just two new effective operators, L2 and Q, in the limit where second-order perturbation theory is adequate. The eigenvalues of L2 are L(L + 1); those of Q are zero for all terms 2S+1L of d2 except for 1S. It is not difficult to show that L2 transforms like a mixture of the irreps (00) and (22) of SO(5), while Q belongs to (00) alone.
Potential Role of Strigeid Parasite Infection in the Maintenance of Alternate Reproductive Morphotypes in Bluegill Sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus)

Bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) have two male morphotypes, α- and β-males, each differing in appearance and mating strategy. Alpha-males use nest-building tactics, whereas β-males use sneaker or satellite tactics. Lepomis macrochirus are important members of the aquatic community, and are often involved in parasitic life cycles. Among the most common parasites infecting L. macrochirus are strigeids, which include white grub (Posthodiplostomum minimum), black grub (Uvulifer ambloplitis), and yellow grub (Clinostomum marginatum). Previous studies found a higher abundance of strigeid parasites in α-males, even though β-males spend increased time in the littoral zone. One hypothesis is that α-males recruit the parasites during the spawn because of their nest-guarding behavior, which potentially increases their interactions with snail intermediate hosts. To test this hypothesis, L. macrochirus were collected between February and July in consecutive years from 2015 to 2017 from 13 lakes and ponds in northwestern Virginia. The fish were necropsied and all of the endo- and ectoparasites infecting the fish were identified and enumerated. The results supported the hypothesis and showed that α-males had greater infections postspawn, whereas β-males and females had no increase in infection from pre- to postspawn. Additionally, α-males recruited strigeid parasites at a greater rate than β-males, which negatively affected their body condition. The body condition of both α-males and females were negatively affected by P. minimum and U. ambloplitis, but β-males were not affected by either parasite. This shows that the differences in mating strategies between male morphotypes may result in greater strigeid infection in α-males compared with β-males. This may affect the fitness and reproductive output of α-males and be a contributing factor to the maintenance of β-males in the ecologically stable system, despite decreased reproductive success.
Breakdown of Native Oxide Enables Multifunctional, Free-Form Carbon Nanotube–Metal Hierarchical Architectures

Passive oxide layers on metal substrates impose remarkable interfacial resistance for electron and phonon transport. Here, a scalable surface activation process is presented for the breakdown of the passive oxide layer and the formation of nanowire/nanopyramid structured surfaces on metal substrates, which enables high-efficiency catalysis of high-crystallinity carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and the direct integration of the CNT–metal hierarchical architectures with flexible free-form configurations. The CNT–metal hierarchical architecture facilitates a dielectric free-energy-carrier transport pathway and blocks the reformation of passive oxide layer, and thus demonstrates a 5-fold decrease in interfacial electrical resistance with 66% increase in specific surface area compared with those without surface activation. Moreover, the CNT–metal hierarchical architectures demonstrate omnidirectional blackbody photoabsorption with the reflectance of 1 × 10–5 over the range from ultraviolet to terahertz region, which is...
Research data in hospitals and health systems

Abstract Nurses generate and use research data to guide healthcare practices and delivery models. While there are many similarities between research and quality improvement, there are important distinctions when considering best practices. Understanding the various types of research data and applicability to specific practice settings is essential for safe and cost-effective care. This chapter highlights the differences between research and quality data, strategies for interpretation of research data, frameworks for evidence-based practice, and impact of research data on benchmarking.
Building a Clinical Practice at Other Sites: Community-Affiliated Sites of Practice

With new obstacles facing surgeons every day, establishing a practice has never been more challenging. Reasons are multifactorial, but major barriers to starting a new practice include: increased competition with other specialties treating overlapping conditions, decreased reimbursement across all insurance providers, and the growing number of non-clinical administrators and their control of hospitals and health systems. Despite appearing drastically different: private, hospital-owned and academic community practices have much in common.
Utilizing broad-based partnerships to design a precision approach to implementing evidence-based home visiting.

The aim of this paper is to describe a participatory process for adapting an implementation strategy, using a precision approach, for an evidence-based home visiting program, Family Spirit. Family Spirit serves Native American and low-income communities nationwide. To redesign Family Spirit's implementation strategy, we used workshops (n = 5) with key stakeholders and conducted an online survey with implementers (n = 81) to identify hypothesized active ingredients and "pivot points" to guide when to tailor the program and for whom. Active ingredients identified included the relationship between the home visitor and clients, lessons ensuring child safety and healthy development, parent-child communication, and goal setting. Pivot points included whether the client is a first-time mother who has substance abuse history, has a baby at risk for childhood obesity, and/or has sexual or reproductive health concerns. These results are informing the adaptation of Family Spirit' implementation strategy making it more responsive to diverse families while balancing fidelity to the previously proven standard model.
165-P: NEW PCR AND SEQUENCING REAGENTS FOR SEQUENCE BASED TYPING OF HLA-DRB1 EXON 2 AND EXON 3

Aim Design PCR and sequencing primers for subsequent use in the development of an assay prototype that enables the full length sequencing of HLA-DRB1 Exons 2 and 3. Methods AlleleSEQR® HLA-DRB1 reagents currently include primers for amplifying and sequencing Exon 2. For the present HLA-DRB1 reagents, the 5’ PCR primers are located in intron 1 and the 3’ PCR primers span the Exon 2 and intron 2 boundary. We have designed and developed a new set of HLA-DRB1 Exon 2 PCR and sequencing primers where the 5’ and the 3’ PCR primers are located in intron 1 and intron 2 respectively to amplify the entire Exon 2 followed by sequencing for complete Exon 2 coverage. We follow a similar approach where the PCR and sequencing primers are placed in the intronic regions (introns 2 and 3) to amplify and sequence the entire Exon 3. Sequencing reactions were standardized for the 3100 and the 3500xL (Life Technologies, CA) genetic analyzers. We tested 500 HLA typed DNA samples from UCLA and IHWG registries and compared the HLA typing results with our newly designed set of reagents for Exon 2 and Exon 3 to the results generated with the existing current AlleleSEQR® HLA-DRB1 set of reagents. Results All DNA amplified and sequenced for Exon 2 and Exon 3. All sequences were 100% concordant with the published HLA-DRB1 typing results for the 500 DNA samples obtained from UCLA and IHWG registries. Conclusions Some HLA-DRB1 alleles can only be identified by specific nucleotide base calls that are located in the last few bases of Exon 2. Sequencing the entire Exon 2 could potentially resolve such ambiguities and in addition some alleles are further confirmed based on the ambiguities typed in these last few bases. The ability to sequence through Exon 3 allows the typing of additional alleles that have identical base sequences in Exon 2. Sequencing additional HLA-DRB1 gene regions upfront may avoid the need to use alternative HLA typing test methods and ambiguity resolution primers thus conserving sample DNA, reagents and labor. Wadia: Celera / Quest Diagnostics: Employee; Stockholder. Drews: Celera / Quest Diagnostics: Employee. Sigua: Celera / Quest Diagnostics: Employee. Jiang: Celera / Quest Diagnostics: Employee. Bost: Celera / Quest Diagnostics: Employee.
Fast and Accurate Frequency Response Estimation for Large Power System Disturbances Using Second Derivative of Frequency Data

Accurate Frequency Response Estimation (FRE) is critical to reliability risk management of large power system disturbances. This letter proposes a measurement-driven approach for FRE by calculating the second derivative of frequency from synchrophasor data. Compared with conventional methods, the proposed method has major advantages of low computational burden and high accuracy, which makes it appropriate for real-time FRE in bulk power systems. The effectiveness of this method is validated with actual synchrophasor data on 96 confirmed historical power system disturbances in the U.S. eastern interconnection.
Mini-Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Technique of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy with Thulium Fiber Laser

Abstract Introduction: Although percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) is usually safe and well tolerated, it is still associated with a notable set of complications. The complications rates for PCNL ...
Renal comorbidities in collapsing variant focal segmental glomerulosclerosis: more than a coincidence?

BACKGROUND Collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) has various underlying etiologies and often leads to renal failure. The impact of biopsy-proven renal comorbidities in promoting collapsing glomerulopathy (CG) has not been systematically evaluated in large comparative studies. Those data are reported here. METHODS Biopsies with the initial diagnosis of CG in native (n = 321) or transplant kidneys (n = 30) were identified in the University of North Carolina nephropathology database (1 January 2011 to 1 January 2016). Two cohorts were defined: 'sole' CG without and 'accompanied' CG with significant morphologic renal comorbidities. Tip-variant FSGS (T-FSGS) and time-matched biopsies served as control cohorts for comparative analyses. RESULTS CG was significantly more common in native (4.4%) and transplant biopsies (4.1%) compared with T-FSGS (0.7 and <0.1%, respectively, difference versus CG P < 0.01). 'Associated' disease was significantly more common in CG (native: 151/321; 47.0%, transplant: 21/30; 70%, P < 0.05) versus T-FSGS (native: 14/51; 27.5%, transplant: exceptional; all differences versus CG P < 0.05). In native biopsies with 'accompanied' CG but not in control groups, stenosing vasculopathies including thrombotic microangiopathies were significantly more prevalent (P < 0.01). In transplants, the high incidence of 'accompanied' CG was linked to de novo diseases, mainly rejection and vascular injury. In native kidneys, membranous glomerulopathies were prevalent in 'accompanied' T-FSGS (36%) and CG (14%) (difference versus time-matched controls P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively); they were uncommon in transplants. CONCLUSIONS CG but not T-FSGS shows a high rate of comorbidities, with prominent vasculopathies presumably driving 'ischemic' CG-specific glomerular injury and also the disease course. These findings facilitate future studies into therapy, prognosis and reversibility of 'accompanied' CG.
Daimler and Bristol-Meyers: What’s Next for Personal Judicial Jurisdiction in the United States?

In this article, “Daimler and Bristol-Myers: What’s Next for Personal Judicial Jurisdiction in the United States?”, (which was published in “US Litigation Today: Still a Threat for European Businesses of Just a Paper Tiger?” (Schulthess 2018) (eds. Bonomi/Schefer)), Professor Silberman details the new challenges arising from the Supreme Court’s most recent jurisdiction decisions. She explains the dramatic change in U.S. general jurisdiction resulting from the Supreme Court’s 2014 decision in Daimler AG v. Bauman and its impact on obtaining jurisdiction over foreign country defendants, in particular foreign banks. She explains how the use of specific jurisdiction might mitigate the effect of Daimler and provides recent examples where specific jurisdiction has been invoked to obtain jurisdiction when general jurisdiction has failed. She then discusses the Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in Bristol-Myers Squibb v. Superior Court, where the Supreme Court addressed the parameters of specific jurisdiction and emphasized the necessity of maintaining a sharp divide between general and specific jurisdiction, potentially restricting specific jurisdiction in some of those cases. Professor Silberman also highlights how the two Supreme Court cases together affect cases involving multiple parties and she highlights the impact of Bristol-Myers in federal nationwide class action litigation. With particular attention to issues in transnational litigation, Professor Silberman also discusses recent developments where the lower courts have applied the Daimler rule to the issue recognition and enforcement of foreign country judgments in the U.S. and to attempts to obtain discovery against foreign defendants in both merits and enforcement proceedings.
Punishment Theory, Mass Incarceration, and the Overdetermination of Racialized Justice

In recent years, scholars have documented the racial disparities of mass incarceration. In this paper we argue that, although retributivism and deterrence theory appear to be race-neutral, in the contemporary U.S. context these seemingly contrary theories function jointly to rationalize racial inequities in the criminal justice system. When people of color are culturally associated with criminality, they are perceived as both irresponsible and hyperresponsible, a paradox that reflects their status as what Charles Mills calls subpersons. Following from this paradox, criminality is understood as an atemporal characteristic of people of color, such that they are conceived as pre-criminals, criminals, or post-criminals. In Frantz Fanon’s account, overdetermination expresses this exclusion of people of color from full agency by capturing them within a rigid, immutable essence, which then controls the social meaning of their actions. The backward-looking quality of retribution and the forward-looking quality of deterrence then treat people of color as more deserving of punishment (and more severe punishment) and as threats to the social order who have to be restrained. We should read the racialization of mass incarceration as a symptom of how precariously people of color participate in the social contract and as reflections of how theories of punishment have been racially deployed.
Critical Values For The Chi-Square Distribution

This table contains critical values χ α,v 2 for the Chi-Square distribution defined by P(χ2 ≥ χ α,v 2 ) = α.
Close-range blast exposure is associated with altered functional connectivity in Veterans independent of concussion symptoms at time of exposure

Although there is emerging data on the effects of blast-related concussion (or mTBI) on cognition, the effects of blast exposure itself on the brain have only recently been explored. Toward this end, we examine functional connectivity to the posterior cingulate cortex, a primary region within the default mode network (DMN), in a cohort of 134 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans characterized for a range of common military-associated comorbidities. Exposure to a blast at close range ( Language: en
Ena/VASP proteins contribute to Listeria monocytogenes pathogenesis by controlling temporal and spatial persistence of bacterial actin-based motility

The Listeria monocytogenes surface protein ActA mediates actin-based motility by interacting with a number of host cytoskeletal components, including Ena/VASP family proteins, which in turn interact with actin and the actin-binding protein profilin. We employed a bidirectional genetic approach to study Ena/VASP's contribution to L. monocytogenes movement and pathogenesis. We generated an ActA allelic series within the defined Ena/VASP-binding sites and introduced the resulting mutant L. monocytogenes into cell lines expressing different Ena/VASP derivatives. Our findings indicate that Ena/VASP proteins contribute to the persistence of both speed and directionality of L. monocytogenes movement. In the absence of the Ena/VASP proline-rich central domain, speed consistency decreased by sixfold. In addition, the Ena/VASP F-actin-binding region increased directionality of bacterial movement by fourfold. We further show that both regions of Ena/VASP enhanced L. monocytogenes cell-to-cell spread to a similar degree, although the Ena/VASP F-actin-binding region did so in an ActA-independent manner. Surprisingly, our ActA allelic series enabled us to uncouple L. monocytogenes speed from directionality although both were controlled by Ena/VASP proteins. Lastly, we showed the pathogenic relevance of these findings by the observation that L. monocytogenes lacking ActA Ena/VASP-binding sites were up to 400-fold less virulent during an adaptive immune response.