cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P207 Health effects associated with oil exposures from the deepwater horizon response among u.s. coast guard responders

Purpose The Deepwater Horizon (DWH) disaster in 2010 was the largest marine oil spill in history. We have established a prospective cohort study of U.S. Coast Guard DWH responders. Here, we describe the cohort and present results from a cross-sectional analysis of self-reported exposure and health effects. Methods Coast Guard DWH responders and non-responders were identified via Coast Guard administrative data. Responders who completed an exit survey were included in a cross-sectional analysis to investigate the association of oil exposures with a range of respiratory, neurological, and dermal effects. Oil exposure was based on oil/oily water inhalation, ingestion, dermal contact, and submersion of a body part. To investigate cross-sectional exposure-outcome associations, we calculated prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals using log binomial regressions, adjusting for age. Results The Coast Guard DWH cohort (N = 55,587) is comprised of both responders (N = 9,030) and non-responders (N = 46,557). Among responders, 5,567 (62%) completed an exit survey. Those reporting ever having oil/oily water exposure (N = 2,977; 53%) had, statistically significant increased PRs for wheezing (3.73), shortness of breath (3.36), coughing (2.41), light headedness (3.23), numbness or tingling (2.57), headaches (1.88), and rash (4.22). Responders reporting inhalation of oil/oily water most or all of the time were 6.80 times more likely to report shortness of breath and 6.27 times more likely to report tremors, compared with those not exposed via inhalation. Those reporting oil/oily water skin contact most or all of the time were 6.74 times more likely to report skin rash or itching, compared with those not exposed via skin contact. Conclusions Responders reporting oil exposures during the DWH response had elevated rates of reported respiratory, neurological, and dermal health effects during their deployment(s), based on cross sectional analyses. We are evaluating these findings further using prospective analyses of health encounter data available through 2011.
Performance Modeling for Weapons Mox Fuel in Light Water Reactors

The thermal, mechanical and chemical performance of mixed uranium-plutonium oxide fuel manufactured from excess weapons plutonium is of prime importance to the implementation of this disposition option. This paper assesses some of the technical questions associated with fuel performance and the modeling of these phenomena.
An e-DSS for strategic planning of e-commerce website development

In this new millennium, entirely new markets, products, and services are emerging from digital technologies such as Internet based businesses or e-commerce. Strategic planning of e-commerce website development is one of the critical activities of an organization within the context of its e-commerce investment and success. The unstructured nature of this problem-solving activity makes it an appropriate candidate for decision support systems (DSS) based solution design. In this paper, we propose the development of such a DSS, which we call an e-DSS, since it is Internet based. The purpose of this research is to analyze the requirements for creating the e-DSS. The research findings are organized and presented as detailed requirements and content assessment of each of the e-DSS components, which include the user interface, model base and database. In particular, these findings will immensely help the information technology managers and professionals who are considering construction of such a DSS for their organization.
The Cognitive and Social Motivational Affordances of Gamification in E-Learning Environment

This paper explores the cognitive and social motivational affordances of gamification in e-learning environment. The cognitive motivational affordances are factors that enhance the cognitive engagement with the learning task. The social motivational affordances are factors that promote social interactions among students. The paper review some of the empirical studies that are conducted in an educational setting to test the effectiveness of specific game design elements on certain psychological outcomes such as motivation, attitude and enjoyment or behavioral outcomes. Results indicated that different game elements can promote different cognitive and/or social motivational affordances depending on the aim of using the element and the context where it has been used. Understanding cognitive and social motivational affordances of gamification can help educators and instructional designers to design effective gamified online courses that can invoke both cognitive and social outcomes.
Infrared absorption in MacEtch fabricated silicon quantum walls

We report on the fabrication of silicon nanostructures using a metal-assisted chemical etching process. These vertically standing structures (we call quantum walls) could feature absorption in the infrared regime beyond the band edge of bulk silicon for potential application in infrared sensors.
Solving large batches of traveling salesman problems with parallel and distributed computing

Gives a practical and effective method for computationally solving numerous TSP instances.Can use different TSP solvers we test an exact method and a heuristic.Can handle TSPs of differing sizes efficiently with a simple processing rule.This problem arises in design of transportation networks, distribution networks and warehouse facilities. In this paper, we describe and compare serial, parallel, and distributed solver implementations for large batches of Traveling Salesman Problems using the LinKernighan Heuristic (LKH) and the Concorde exact TSP Solver. Parallel and distributed solver implementations are useful when many medium to large size TSP instances must be solved simultaneously. These implementations are found to be straightforward and highly efficient compared to serial implementations. Our results indicate that parallel computing using hyper-threading for solving 150- and 200-city TSPs can increase the overall utilization of computer resources up to 25% compared to single thread computing. The resulting speed-up/physical core ratios are as much as ten times better than a parallel and concurrent version of the LKH heuristic using SPC3 in the literature. For variable TSP sizes, a longest processing time first heuristic performs better than an equal distribution rule. We illustrate our approach with an application in the design of order picking warehouses.
Electrostatic Potential of Free Molecules Derived from Electron Diffraction Results

With the extension of the wave theory to electrons, studies of structures at atomic and molecular dimensions became possible. Not only have electron microscopes proven to be powerful tools in biology and medicine, but individual heavy atoms can be followed in their thermal motion on a single crystal surface,1 and the arrangement of atoms in crystals can be photographed directly.2,3 The wave nature of electrons has been established many different times, but Moellenstedt et al. gave the most direct demonstration in their biprism interference experiment.4 All these experiments have one thing in common: they utilize high-energy electrons (greater than 30 keV), as at this energy the de Broglie wavelength is smaller than the atomic dimensions to be studied. In spite of the theoretically high resolving power of an electron microscope, the structure of a free molecule cannot be projected on the observation screen. This failure is due to the aberrations with which all optical devices are universally afflicted.5 Hence the most precise information on the nature of the charge distribution in molecules is of the indirect type obtainable by means of diffraction experiments.
Dietary Restriction and Aging in Drosophila Melanogaster

Dietary restriction (DR), the reduction of nutrient intake without causing malnutrition, is one environmental intervention that has been shown to extend the life span of a variety of organisms. Drosophila melanogaster is ideally suited for experiments into the biological effects of DR and aging due to its short life span and thorough characterization at the molecular and genetic level. Furthermore, the simple sugar/yeast diet (corresponding to carbohydrate and protein sources respectively) for Drosophila can be easily manipulated and is therefore amenable to experiments designed to determine the relative importance of the different food components (or caloric content) to life span. Although which aspect of nutrition is most important to fly longevity has not yet been determined, DR experiments have shown that many behaviors and functions, including cognition, olfaction and female fecundity, are influenced by the fly’s nutritional status. Genetic studies have identified numerous signaling pathways, including the insulin-like signaling, target of rapamycin and sirtuin pathways, as potential mediators between DR and life span. Most of these pathways are evolutionarily conserved. Therefore, results from DR studies in Drosophila should help with the development of therapeutic interventions to slow the aging process in higher organisms, including humans.
Factors associated with fatigue in prostate cancer (PC) patients undergoing external beam radiation therapy (EBRT).

Abstract Purpose Fatigue is a common adverse effect among cancer patients undergoing external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), yet the underlying disease- and treatment-related factors influencing its development are poorly understood. We hypothesized that clinical, demographic, and treatment-related factors differentially affect fatigue and aimed to better characterize variables related to fatigue development in prostate cancer (PC) patients during EBRT. Methods and materials We identified a cohort of 681 patients with nonmetastatic PC undergoing a 6- to 9-week EBRT course. Patient fatigue scores (range, 0-3) were prospectively recorded by providers during treatment visits using standardized criteria. Clinical and demographic factors including age, race, EBRT details, disease staging, smoking status, comorbidities, urinary symptoms, employment status, weight, and concurrent medication use were assessed for their relationship to fatigue levels. Significant differences in fatigue severity by each variable at the beginning and end of EBRT were assessed by nonparametric means testing, and differences in the level of fatigue increase over the treatment course were assessed using an ordered logistic regression model. Results Significant increases in reported fatigue severity were seen in patients with age P = .006), depressive symptoms ( P P = .04). In addition, the prescription of antiemetics before radiation start was associated with reduced fatigue severity ( P = .03). Conclusions We identify factors associated with increased (young age, depressive symptoms, androgen deprivation therapy) and decreased (antiemetic prescription) fatigue in a large cohort of PC patients receiving EBRT. Continued investigation is needed to further elucidate clinical drivers and biological underpinnings of increased fatigue to guide potential interventions.
Distance and Density Based Approaches

In Chap. 3, we discussed distance based approaches for anomaly detection; however there the focus was to illustrate how distances can be measured and minor perturbation in proposed distance can change the outcome; illustrated by simple examples. In this chapter we consider anomaly detection techniques that depend on the distances and densities. The densities can be global or local to the point of concern.
Registration parameter optimization for 3D tissue modeling from resected tumors cut into serial H and E slides

Patients diagnosed with early stage (Stage I/II) Oral Cavity Cancer (OCC) are typically treated with surgery alone. Unfortunately, 25-37% of early stage OCC patients experience loco-regional tumor recurrence after receiving surgery. Currently, pathologists use the Histologic Risk Model (HRM), a clinically validated risk assessment tool to determine patient prognosis. In this study, we perform image registration on two cases of serially sectioned blocks of Hematoxylin and Eosin (H and E) stained OCC tissue sections. The goal of this work is to create an optimized registration procedure to reconstruct 3D tissue models, which can provide a pathologist with a realistic representation of the tissue architecture before surgical resection. Our project aims to extend the HRM to enhance prediction performance for patients at high risk of disease progression using computational pathology tools. In previous literature, others have explored image registration of histological slides and reconstructing 3D models with similar processes used. Our work is unique in that we are investigating in-depth the parameter space of an image registration algorithm to establish a registration procedure for any serial histological section. Each parameter set was sequentially perturbed to determine the best parameter set for registration, as evaluated through mutual information.
Measuring channel balance in multi-channel radar receivers

Radar receivers with multiple receive channels generally strive to make the receive channels as ideal as possible, and as alike as possible. This is done via prudent hardware design, and system calibration. Towards that end, we require a quality metric for ascertaining the goodness of a radar channel, and its match to sibling channels. We propose a relevant and useable metric to do just that.
Purpose-in-action education: Introduction and implications

Life purpose is a long-term aim to make one’s life count. Education—especially moral education—might be considered a key cultural mechanism for young people to ‘thread’ their lives into the culture...
The Art of Caring in the Treatment of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

Those who diagnose and treat patients with thoracic outlet syndrome, especially those patientswith neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome, have a practice, which needs to include many modalities todiagnose, treat, and intervene to improve their quality of life for the present and for the future.[...]
In-Koo Cho on Hugo F. Sonnenschein

While struggling as a third year graduate student to begin my thesis work in the spring of 1984, Hugo advised me to look into the possibility of refining sequential equilibrium by exploiting the implicit communication between the sender and the receiver. After working for a few additional months, I was able to produce an example in early July. I used it to explain to Hugo that the implicit communication can refine sequential equilibrium farther than David Kreps had proposed. At the end of the discussion, Hugo said “In-Koo, you have come a long way.” He asked me to polish the example so that he could send it to David.
Elastic wavefield inversion and the adjoint operation for the elastic wave equation

Seismic data is nonlinearly related to the elastic parameters, elastic moduli and density so the analytic solution to the inverse problem of finding the earth parameters corresponding to seismic data is very difficult. In principle, the solution may be located numerically using some kind of Monte Carlo technique but this is infeasible on todays computers due to the nontrivial computer time required to solve the elastic forward problem. Therefore, a more restrictive but cheaper method such as the nonlinear least squares must be used. Crucial to any nonlinear inversion scheme based on least squares iterations is the adjoint operator. This is used to define the gradient direction on the least squares functional surface which is in turn used to evaluate the perturbations in the elastic parameters at each iteration. Tarantola (1984) has used perturbation methods to derive the adjoint operator (in terms of the elastic moduli and density) for the elastic wave equation. Mora (1986a) has rederived these equations and extended them to different model parameters including the P- and S-wave velocities and density. He also made a comparison of the inversion scheme with prestack depth migration and made some numerical computations using synthetic data to demonstrate these formulae (Mora (1986a) and Mora (1986b)). The interpretation of these equations is important because it indicates how the adjoint operation may be evaluated in terms of the forward operator. Not only does this interpretation make the computations easier but it clarifies the concepts behind the formulae.
Inorganic photosensitive materials

Photochromism is a specific example of photosensitivity in which the absorption spectrum of a material is altered by exposure to electromagnetic irradiation and in which the sample reverts to its original condition after cessation of the irradiation. This phenomenon has been observed in a variety of glasses and crystals. In addition to photochromism, photosensitivity is exemplified by permanent changes in absorption, refractive index, chemical durability or in other properties. Photosensitive materials provide a convenient means of producing spatial modulation of properties.
Genetic Control of Immune Responsiveness: Summary of Contributions by Discussants

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a summary of contributions by discussants on the subject of genetic control of immune responsiveness. Dr. Stuart Schlossman presented evidence that the PLL responder animal immunized with DNP-oligolysines of defined size, in complete Freund's adjuvant with large amounts of tubercle bacilli, produced antibody with a detectably different specificity than that produced by the PLL nonresponder animal. When the nonresponder animal was immunized with α-DNP-Lys 14 in complete Freund's adjuvant, it produced an antibody population that had the same association constant for α-DNP-Lys 8 as for α-DNP-Lys 14 . The PLL responder guinea pig, on the other hand, produced antibody that had a higher association constant for the immunizing antigen (α-DNP-Lys 14 ) than for other α-DNP-oligolysines of larger or smaller size. These results are clearcut and reproducible and suggest that although the responder animal can be induced to produce anti-DNP-PLL antibody when immunized with the antigen on a foreign carrier or in Freund's adjuvant with a large amount of tubercle bacilli, the specificity of the antibody produced is not precisely the same.
Building HIV Workforce Capacity Through a Residency Pathway: Outcomes and Challenges

To help address the impending HIV physician shortage, we launched an HIV Medicine Pathway within our Internal Medicine Residency in 2008. Between 2015 and 2017, surveys showed a decrease in the number of graduates providing primary care for people living with HIV. We suggest evaluation of long-term outcomes from similar training programs and stronger support for HIV primary care career development.
A Life in Two Worlds: The Silenced and the Unsilenced:

This autoethnographic poetic inquiry presents childhood and adulthood experiences of a silenced life that navigated the journey through silence into the world of speech. Using poetry to retell and ...
Comparison of 3 Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests and a Rapid Antigen Test with Culture for the Detection of Group A Streptococci from Throat Swabs.

Background: Recently, the US Food and Drug Administration cleared 3 nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) assays for detection of Streptococcus pyogenes [group A Streptococcus (GAS)] in pharyngeal specimens. However, there are limited studies evaluating the performance of these NAAT assays. Methods: We compared the results of 3 NAATs (cobas Liat, Luminex Aries, and Cepheid Xpert Xpress) and a rapid antigen assay (Quidel QuickVue in-line strep A) with the accepted gold standard method, bacterial culture. Results: Sixty-eight throat swab specimens collected between August and October 2017 were tested. Compared to bacterial culture, the sensitivities, specificities, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for detecting GAS were as follows: cobas Liat: 100%, 97.4%, 96.7%, and 100%; Cepheid Xpert: 100%, 97.4%, 96.7%, and 100%; Luminex Aries: 95.2%, 100%, 100%, and 95.5%. The Quidel QuickVue in-line strep A assay showed poor sensitivity, detecting only 5.2% of culture-positive specimens. Conclusion: The 3 NAATs have high sensitivity when compared with bacterial culture for detection of GAS. With rapid turnaround time and ease of use, these tests can be considered as reliable point-of-care tests for the diagnosis of GAS, replacing the need for back-up culture.
Physiology and Molecular Biology of Ion Channels Underlying Ventricular Repolarization of the Mammalian Heart

The physiology of the heart is controlled by an indigenous electrical system that regulates heart rhythm and contractile activity. The timing of cardiac electrical events is critical to proper heart function, and key to this activity is duration of the excitation of tissues in ventricular chambers. The duration of these events must be critically controlled: depolarization that is too brief presents vulnerability of the heart to premature excitation and a congenital disorder – the short QT syndrome. Prolonged depolarization underlies both congenital and drug-induced long QT syndrome that can lead to arrhythmias and sudden death. The critical electrical event in determining the duration of ventricular depolarization is the timing of repolarization of ventricular muscle cells. The timing is due to a critical balance of ion channel and electrogenic exchange currents such that a balance that tips in favor of the outward flow of positive ions begins the repolarization process. The molecular determinants of these currents are ions passing through a network of ion channels. In this chapter we review the key ion channels that underlie cardiac repolarization and focus on critical potassium ion channels. Multiple potassium channels contribute to this electrical activity, and together they underlie repolarization reserve of the heart. When this reserve is compromised by drug- or mutation-induced decreases in individual ion channels, risk of arrhythmia is increased. Here we focus on cardiac ionic currents, their molecular determinants, and the roles they play in cardiac repolarization.
The Universal as Substance: 1038b8–1039a3—Solutions to the Problems

There is an interpretation that best solves 1038b8–1039a3’s problems. Its target argues that—as with substantial forms and individual composites—universals at the level of genera are the essences of substantial forms and make them basic constituents and similarly for higher level universals. This implies that higher level universals are essences of lower objects in virtue of being the essences of intermediate objects. 1038b8–15 argues that this violates its idion assumption, which denies there are such intermediate objects. 1038b15–16 argues that no universal is a basic constituent, implying individual composites basic constituents. Aristotle’s interlocutor thinks his view satisfies Z.13’s idion assumption because its universals are essences only of objects immediately below them. Aristotle argues that this is mistaken, and adds two arguments that parallel 1038b8–15 and 1038b15–16.
Preliminary Characterization of Parent-Child Interaction in Preschoolers With Prader-Willi Syndrome: The Relationship Between Engagement and Parental Stress.

Abstract Early parent-child interactions (PCI) impact social cognitive development. Relatedly, children with various developmental disorders exhibit abnormal parental attachment relationships. Pare...
Efficient Built-In Test and Calibration of High Speed Serial I/O Systems Using Monobit Signal Acquisition

This paper proposes a new high-speed self-calibrating digital transmitter with the ability to deliver high quality signals at low hardware cost. The proposed self-calibrating system performs on-line monitoring of the channel by performing measurements on the time-domain reflected (TDR) waveform. Unlike complex TDR instrumentation, the proposed system has the capability to reconstruct the reflected waveform using a single bit (monobit) sampler. Using very little hardware, a specific feature of the reflected waveform (area over time or integral) is extracted and used to drive a signal pre-emphasis scheme that maximizes the opening of the signal eye diagram without any communication with the receiver. The absence of such physical loopback significantly reduces the time and complexity of feedback based transmitter calibration techniques, especially where multiple transmission channels are concerned. Further, the proposed scheme is useful in the presence of single or multiple transmission line imperfections or defects. The proposed technique is implemented via a printed circuit board (PCB) prototype and measurement results demonstrate that it is capable of detecting defects in the digital I/O channel and adapting the channel to improve the received signal eye-diagram without direct feedback from the receiver.
Characterization of complex fluvial architecture through outcrop studies – dealing with intrinsic data bias at multiple scales in the pursuit of a representative geomodel

Abstract The practice of building analog models and training images from outcrop exposures is an important tool in better predicting subsurface facies distribution in the petroleum industry. As with subsurface data, however, incomplete information and data bias can lead to inaccurate characterization of outcrop geology at multiple scales. Cretaceous fluvial strata of Wyoming offers excellent exposure of two systems — the sand-rich and highly amalgamated Trail Member of the Ericson Sandstone and the sand-poor, isolated channels of the Dry Hollow Member of the Frontier Formation. For each system, multiple outcrops were characterized through the traditional means of stratigraphic column measurement, as well as through photogrammetric survey acquisition and interpretation. We saw in both studies that, despite an effort to measure sections that were representative of the entire outcrop, measured sections consistently overestimated the reservoir proportions. Ten measured sections within the Trail Member show a Net-to-Gross (NTG) ranging from 50–80% sandstone, with an average of 72%. A more complete spatial characterization of the entire outcrop through photogrammetric interpretation suggests a much lower NTG of 53%. Similarly, for the Dry Hollow Member fluvial strata, measured sections show NTG ranges of 8–50% with an average of 37% sandstone, while the photogrammetric model shows a NTG of only 16%. These differences are significant and lead to very different reservoir models. Further, the assumption is commonly made that the outcrop, if well characterized, is representative of the formation at a larger scale. Models of the Dry Hollow Member at Cumberland Gap show that this is a tenuous assumption and can lead to models that are not representative of the system. Outcrops of the Dry Hollow are sparse and often discontinuous, and extrapolation of calculated facies proportions between two well-exposed outcrops at Cumberland Gap led to significant placement of sands between the outcrops, where the lack of exposure leads to a lack of control data in the model. This resulted in increased reservoir connectivity that is not representative of the system, and shows that even on a sub-kilometer scale, the extrapolation of detailed, quantitative facies proportions can be inappropriate, and if done blindly can lead to an inaccurate characterization of the system. Through detailed characterization of the Trail and Dry Hollow fluvial systems, it is shown that building quantitative geomodels from outcrop exposures, even using modern techniques such as photogrammetric analysis, can be subject to significant bias and mischaracterization at multiple scales and for multiple reasons if care is not taken.
Adoption of autonomous mining system in Pakistan – Policy, skillset, awareness and preparedness of stakeholders

Abstract Autonomous mining systems comprise of the latest, innovative, and automated technology designed to improve mine productivity, efficiency, and workplace safety. These automated systems have already been adopted in developed countries like Australia and the United States. In recent years research has emerged to address the awareness and preparedness of stakeholders towards the adaption of Autonomous Mining Systems dedicated towards African countries. The present study is a novel effort in evaluating the current scale of knowledge and skills of mining engineers working in Pakistan's mining industry, government sector, and academia. The study focuses on exploring the awareness about the understanding of the autonomous mining systems, and the level of preparedness of all the stakeholders towards the adoption of this modern technology, along with the resulting social impacts, in a developing country like Pakistan. This paper employed closed and open-ended questionnaires, distributed in electronic formats, to achieve the aforementioned objective. The results were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis and quantitatively using results synthesis employing statistical analysis in Python. Substantial evidence has been provided indicating a huge knowledge gap and severe lack of planning and policy enforcement towards the adoption of autonomous mining systems in Pakistan. More than 74% of the respondents, with the majority of them belonging to industry and academia, appeared willing to accept the adoption of autonomous mining systems in Pakistan, due to the resulting improvements in safety and productivity. However, government agencies had varied opinions, with the knowledge gap and the fear of increased unemployment being the major reasons for their resistance to technology adoption. The majority of the graduate mining engineers (60.35%) mentioned the inadequacy of the undergraduate and graduate coursework for providing skills needed to work with autonomous systems. Therefore, it is recommended that the mining curriculum be revised to contain more courses that are relevant to gaining skills in autonomous mining. A government-industry-academia collaboration is also recommended to fund and develop facilities that can help bridge this existing knowledge gap, thus facilitating an early adoption of modern technology in Pakistan's mining sector.
airMorphologies: A Wearable Device for Social Interaction in Air Polluted Environments

A facial mask, as part of the daily outfit for people living in an air polluted environment, has become a barrier for social interaction and self-expression. airMorphologies, a pneumatic wearable device, shapes our body language and the manner of social interaction. Controlled by users' voices, airMorpholgies allows two users to interact and express when they wear the shape-changing devices. By changing their appearance, users gain a novel way to communicate and socialize with their new body language and expressions.
Examination of the Effect of Rare Variants in TREM2, ABI3, and PLCG2 in LOAD Through Multiple Phenotypes.

Background Rare variants in PLCG2 (p.P522R), ABI3 (p.S209F), and TREM2 (p.R47H, p.R62H) have been associated with late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) risk in Caucasians. After the initial report, several studies have found positive results in cohorts of different ethnic background and with different phenotype. Objective In this study, we aim to evaluate the association of rare coding variants in PLCG2, ABI3, and TREM2 with LOAD risk and their effect at different time points of the disease. Methods We used a European American cohort to assess the association of the variants prior onset (using CSF Aβ42, tau, and pTau levels, and amyloid imaging as endophenotypes) and after onset (measured as rate of memory decline). Results We confirm the association with LOAD risk of TREM2 p.R47H, p.R62H and ABI3 p.S209F variants, and the protective effect of PLCG2 p.P522R. In addition, ABI3 and TREM2 gene-sets showed significant association with LOAD risk. TREM2 p.R47H and PLCG2 p.P522R variants were also statistically associated with increase of amyloid imaging and AD progression, respectively. We did not observe any association of ABI3 p.S209F with any of the other AD endophenotypes. Conclusion The results of this study highlight the importance of including biomarkers and alternative phenotypes to better understand the role of novel candidate genes with the disease.
Effects of Evolocumab on Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, Non-High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, Apolipoprotein B, and Lipoprotein(a) by Race and Ethnicity: A Meta-Analysis of Individual Participant Data From Double-Blind and Open-Label Extension Studies.

Background Prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors and rates of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease outcomes vary across racial/ethnic groups. This analysis examined the effects of evolocumab on LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) levels and LDL-C goals achievement by race/ethnicity. Methods and Results Data from 15 phase 2 and 3 studies of treatment with evolocumab versus placebo or ezetimibe were pooled (n=7669). Results were analyzed by participant clinical characteristics and by self-identified race/ethnicity. Key outcomes included percent change from baseline in LDL-C, achievement of LDL-C <70 mg/dL, and LDL-C reduction of ≥50% at 12 weeks and at 1 to 5 years. Across 12-week studies, mean percent change in LDL-C from baseline in evolocumab-treated participants was -52% to -59% for White and -46% to -67% for non-White participants, across clinical characteristics groups. LDL-C <70 mg/dL was achieved in 43% to 84% and 62% to 94% and LDL-C reduction of ≥50% in 63% to 78% and 58% to 86%, respectively. In 1- to 5-year studies, mean percent change in LDL-C was -46% to -52% for White and -49% to -55% for non-White participants. LDL-C <70 mg/dL was achieved in 53% to 84% and 66% to 77%, and LDL-C reduction of ≥50% in 53% to 67% and 58% to 68%, respectively. The treatment effect on mean percent change in LDL-C differed only in participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus, with a larger reduction in Asian participants. The qualitative interaction P values were nonsignificant, indicating consistent directionality of effect. Conclusions Similar reduction in LDL-C levels with evolocumab was observed across racial/ethnic groups in 12-week and 1- to 5-year studies. Among those with diabetes mellitus, Asian participants had greater LDL-C reduction.
Lawyering Close to Home

This essay incorporates ethnographic insights and narrative technique, rooted in part in Critical Race Theory and critical geography studies, to ground conversations about transformative pedagogy and praxis in the lived experiences of our students. Many of our students fight for radical social change and enter law school hoping to gain new tools for that mission. Increasingly, students are uniquely situated and motivated to engage in rebellious law practice, yet, fault lines in legal education create heightened challenges for some students with negative formative experiences with the state. Drawing from the work of Lani Guinier and Gerald Torres, this essay introduces the idea of authoritative interpretive communities in the law school classroom while addressing the unique world of legal practice for students working in areas in which they have personal experience. This essay specifically calls for disruptive innovations in lawyering in the family regulation system. Finally, it advances ideas for transforming legal education to better address the realities of race-class marginalized students so that they may participate—on their own terms—in today’s struggles for radical social change.
Lambda<0 Quantum Gravity in 2+1 Dimensions II: Black Hole Creation by Point Particles

Using the recently proposed formalism for Lambda<0 quantum gravity in 2+1 dimensions we study the process of black hole production in a collision of two point particles. The creation probability for a BH with a simplest topology inside the horizon is given by the Liouville theory 4-point function projected on an intermediate state. We analyze in detail the semi-classical limit of small AdS curvatures, in which the probability is dominated by the exponential of the classical Liouville action. The probability is found to be exponentially small. We then argue that the total probability of creating a horizon given by the sum of probabilities of all possible internal topologies is of order unity, so that there is no exponential suppression of the total production rate.
The Problem is Not Monsters: The FRANKENCON Panel on Science and Ethics

In November of 2019, the University of California Santa Cruz hosted a 3-day interdisciplinary conference to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley. A panel of senior researchers convened to discuss the impact of the novel on modern discussions of scientific ethics. The panel featured Nandini Bhattacharya, George Blumenthal, Michael M. Chemers, David Haussler, and Jenny Reardon. In the process, the panelists acted as the Institutional Review Board for a proposal from Victor Frankenstein himself.
Mycobacterial Fatty Acid Esters of Sugars and Sulfosugars

The chemistry, immunochemistry, and immunology of the mycobacterial fatty acid esters of sugars and of sulfated sugars have found their principal focus in the simple nonreducing disaccharide α,α-trehalose, i.e., α-D-glucopyranosyl-α-D-glucopyranoside (1).
The Psychological Wealth of Nations: Do Happy People Make a Happy Society?

Part 1: The Definition and Measurement of Psychological Wealth. Chapter 1: Definition. Chapter 2: Measurement. Part 2: The Psychological Wealth of Individuals. Chapter 3: Material Wealth. Chapter 4: Relational Wealth. Chapter 5: Personality. Chapter 6: Interventions. Chapter 7: Benefits of Psychological Wealth. Chapter 8: Optimal levels of Psychological Wealth. Part 3: The Psychological Wealth of Society. Chapter 9: What is a Good Society? Chapter 10: Material Wealth and Psychological Wealth of Nations Chapter 11: Psychological Wealth of Nations: Beyond Material Wealth. Chapter 12: Happy People, Happy Society? Part 4: Summary and Conclusions. Chapter 13: Summary and Conclusion.
What is Football

(1967). What is Football? Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 38, No. 7, pp. 30-31.
Trade Liberalization and Culture

This paper addresses the effect of international trade on cultural outcomes from both economic and anthropological perspectives. Definitions of culture are informed by anthropology and then incorpo...
Storage and Turnover of Organic Matter in Soil

Historically, attention on soil organic matter (SOM) has focused on the central role that it plays in ecosystem fertility and soil properties, but in the past two decades the role of soil organic carbon in moderating atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentrations has emerged as a critical research area. This chapter will focus on the storage and turnover of natural organic matter in soil (SOM), in the context of the global carbon cycle. Organic matter in soils is the largest carbon reservoir in rapid exchange with atmospheric CO{sub 2}, and is thus important as a potential source and sink of greenhouse gases over time scales of human concern (Fischlin and Gyalistras 1997). SOM is also an important human resource under active management in agricultural and range lands worldwide. Questions driving present research on the soil C cycle include: Are soils now acting as a net source or sink of carbon to the atmosphere? What role will soils play as a natural modulator or amplifier of climatic warming? How is C stabilized and sequestered, and what are effective management techniques to foster these processes? Answering these questions will require a mechanistic understanding of how and where C is stored in soils. The quantitymore » and composition of organic matter in soil reflect the long-term balance between plant carbon inputs and microbial decomposition, as well as other loss processes such as fire, erosion, and leaching. The processes driving soil carbon storage and turnover are complex and involve influences at molecular to global scales. Moreover, the relative importance of these processes varies according to the temporal and spatial scales being considered; a process that is important at the regional scale may not be critical at the pedon scale. At the regional scale, SOM cycling is influenced by factors such as climate and parent material, which affect plant productivity and soil development. More locally, factors such as plant tissue quality and soil mineralogy affect decomposition pathways and stabilization. These factors influence the stability of SOM in part by shaping its molecular characteristics, which play a fundamental role in nearly all processes governing SOM stability but are not the focus of this chapter. We review here the most important controls on the distribution and dynamics of SOM at plot to global scales, and methods used to study them. We also explore the concepts of controls, processes, and mechanisms, and how they operate across scales. The concept of SOM turnover, or mean residence time, is central to this chapter and so it is described in some detail. The Appendix details the use of radiocarbon ({sup 14}C), a powerful isotopic tool for studying SOM dynamics. Much of the material here was originally presented at a NATO Advanced Study Institute on 'Soils and Global Change: Carbon Cycle, Trace Gas Exchange and Hydrology', held June 16-27, 1997, at the Chateau de Bonas, France.« less
Reflections of a Latino in the Social Work Profession

This is a first-person account of seminal events that have helped shape the rich history and cultural heritage of the social work profession. In examining these events, the author has provided some personal history as a Mexican American growing up in South Texas that provides a historical and value context for his participation in these events. He also discusses his leadership experiences in serving on the national staff of NASW and volunteer leadership experiences in a number of professional organizations during critical times for the profession.
Low-temperature deposition of highly [100] -oriented MgO films using charged liquid cluster beam

Abstract Charged liquid cluster beam (CLCB) of a precursor solution has been employed to deposit highly [100]-oriented MgO films with full oxygen content on Si (111) and glass in air at a very low temperature (≤400°C). Flow-limited field-injection electrostatic spraying was invoked to produce charged nanometer-size drops (liquid clusters) of the precursor solution. This solution was prepared by sol–gel processing of magnesium acetate in ethanol. The morphology, surface atomic ratio of Mg and O, and carbon impurity concentration of the films were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Rutherford backscattering (RBS). The MgO films started to crystallize in the [100] direction below 300°C and became more highly oriented with increasing temperature. Addition of triethyleneglycol to the precursor solution reduced the surface roughness of the films at high substrate temperatures. This technique is applicable to large-area coating.
Advanced flight management system human interface

Abstract Alternative Flight Management System (FMS) human interface concepts are becoming increasingly important to investigate as the complexities of understanding and operating this equipment continue to burden and confuse an already inundated pilot. Rockwell Collins, Inc. has designed an advanced FMS display/interface that will significantly reduce and/or eliminate human interface problems between users and the FMS. Results from human factors investigations for a limited set of FMS functions reveal statistically significant findings at the 95th level of confidence favoring the Advanced FMS Interface display format. The Advanced FMS Interface display format produced quicker reaction times and lower levels of mental workload than the a conventional Control Display Unit (CDU) type FMS. Furthermore, statistically significant findings at the 98th level of confidence for three subjective measures, Usability, Learnability, and Overall Attitude lean in favor of this type of FMS display format. These statistically significant findings lead us to believe that this Advanced FMS Interface display format has great potential for significantly reducing and/or eliminating human interface problems between users and the FMS while at the same time reducing pilot mental workload.
Distortion of the Lattice around an Interstitial, a Crowdion, and a Vacancy in Copper

A general method for calculating lattice distortions around point defects is proposed. Atoms in a sufficiently large region I around the defect and in a "boundary" region II around region I are treated as discrete particles. A set of proper elastic solutions is joined to the displacements of the atoms in region II. The equilibrium state of the lattice is determined by successive solution of sets of linear algebraic equations. Actual calculations have been done with the help of the Illiac digital computer for an interstitial, a crowdion, and a vacancy in copper. The changes in volume of the crystal arising from these defects are found to be 1.7, 1.1, -0.53 and 2.0, 1.3, -0.45 atomic volumes respectively for the two Born-Mayer repulsive potentials we have used. [See Eqs. (7).] In addition to the distortion of the lattice around an isolated defect, we treat the distortion around an interstitial-vacancy pair. The electronic contributions to the formation energies of the defects considered are estimated in a way similar to that used by Fumi in the case of a vacancy. However, the change in the effective charge of the defect with lattice dilation is also taken into account. The formation energy of a crowdion is found to be about 0.6 ev higher than that of an interstitial. The calculated values of the change in volume are discussed in connection with recent experimental results on radiation damage in copper.
Fluctuation in self-perceived stress and increased risk of flare in patients with lupus nephritis carrying the serotonin receptor 1A -1019 G allele.

Objective Stress is believed to be a risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) flare. Two serotonin-related gene polymorphisms, the serotonin receptor 1A (5-HT1A) polymorphism at –1019C>G and the serotonin transporter LS polymorphism, have been reported to affect stress-related behaviors. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between self-perceived stress (SPS), variability in SPS, and the 2 serotonin-related gene polymorphisms as risk factors for SLE flare. Methods Seventy-seven SLE patients (50 with lupus nephritis) were evaluated every 2 months (mean ± SD total followup 18.5 ± 8.5 months), and patients recorded their daily SPS levels (0–10 scale). Values for mean SPS and coefficient of variation (CV) for SPS were calculated from the 60-day block of daily measurements between study visits. Serotonin-related gene polymorphism genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction–based methods. Results Of the 77 patients, 53 experienced 80 flares of SLE (32 renal flares) based on prespecified criteria. Multivariate analysis revealed that whereas neither the serotonin-related gene polymorphisms nor the mean SPS was predictive of an SLE flare, an increased CV for SPS was predictive (P = 0.0031). Interaction between the CV for SPS and the 5-HT1A –1019C>G polymorphism was also found to be a predictor of SLE flare (P = 0.0039). Subset analysis revealed that only in lupus nephritis patients were increasing CVs for SPS (P = 0.0002) and the interaction between CVs for SPS and 5-HT1A (P < 0.0001) predictive of a flare. Odds ratio curves demonstrated that the predictive effect of increasing CVs for SPS required the presence of the 5-HT1A –1019 G allele, but appeared to be independent of the G allele number. Conclusion Fluctuation in the level of SPS is a risk factor for the onset of flare in SLE patients with major renal manifestations when it occurs on the background of a stress-related susceptibility gene (the 5-HT1A –1019 G allele).