cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Baseline characteristics of participants in the Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation (FAVORIT) Trial.

Background Hyperhomocysteinemia may be a modifiable risk factor for the prevention of arteriosclerotic outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Few clinical trials of homocysteine lowering have been conducted in persons with CKD before reaching end-stage renal disease. Kidney transplant recipients are considered individuals with CKD. Objectives To describe the baseline characteristics of renal transplant recipients enrolled in a clinical trial of homocysteine lowering with a standard multivitamin containing high doses of folic acid and vitamins B 6 and B 12 aimed at reducing arteriosclerotic outcomes. Factors considered were level of kidney function, total homocysteine concentration, and prevalence of diabetes and previous cardiovascular disease (CVD). Study Design Cross-sectional survey within a randomized controlled trial cohort. Setting & Participants Participants were recruited from kidney transplant clinics in the United States, Canada, and Brazil. Eligible participants had increased levels of homocysteine (≥12.0 μmol/L in men and ≥11.0 μmol/L in women) and kidney function measured by means of Cockroft-Gault estimated creatinine clearance of 30 mL/min or greater. Results Of 4,110 randomly assigned participants, 38.9% had diabetes and 19.5% had previous CVD. Mean total homocysteine concentration was 17.1 ± 6.3 (SD) μmol/L, whereas mean creatinine clearance was 66.4 ± 23.2 mL/min. Approximately 90% of the trial cohort had an estimated glomerular filtration rate consistent with stages 2 to 3 CKD (ie, 30 to 89 mL/min). Limitations Analysis is based on cross-sectional data from a randomized controlled trial, self-report of comorbid illnesses, and level of kidney function was estimated. Conclusions A large population of stable renal transplant recipients who are at high risk of the development of CVD (both de novo and recurrent) has been recruited into the Folic Acid for Vascular Outcome Reduction in Transplantation Trial and are likely to experience a sufficient number of events to address the primary hypothesis of the trial.
The histologic and biomechanical response of two commercially available small glenoid anchors for use in labral repairs.

Background This study examined histologic characteristics and biomechanical performance of 2 commercially available, small glenoid anchors. Methods Adult research dogs (n = 6) were used for histologic analysis. Anchors were inserted into the lateral rim of the glenoid using the manufacturer's protocol. The dogs were humanely euthanatized 8 weeks after anchor implantation, and the glenoids were collected for histologic analysis. Bone socket width data were compared for statistically significant ( P Results All JuggerKnot anchor sites were cyst-like cavities with a rim of dense lamellar bone. All BioComposite SutureTak anchor sites contained intact anchors with close approximation of anastomosing trabeculae of lamellar bone. At 8 weeks after implantation, mean socket width of the JuggerKnot anchor sites was 6.3 ± 2.5 mm, which was significantly ( P = .013) larger than the mean socket width of 2.7 ± 0.7 mm measured for the BioComposite SutureTak anchor sites. The JuggerKnot anchor demonstrated larger displacements during subfailure cyclic loading (2.9 ± 1.0 mm compared with 1.3 ± 0.4 mm) and load to failure tests (13.7 ± 6.6 mm compared with 3.2 ± 0.5 mm). Statistical differences ( P Conclusions Based on the biomechanical in human bone and histologic findings in canine subjects, the all-suture anchor may be at risk for clinical failure.
Electromagnetic analyses of the GEM detector magnet system for SSC

The magnet system for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Gamma, Electrons and Muons (GEM) detector consists of a single layer, superconducting, split solenoid and two iron forward field shapers (FFS). In addition, major structural components, such as the central detector and FFS support structures and the vacuum vessels, are to be built with magnetic steel. This paper presents the nonlinear, two and three-dimensional electromagnetic analyses which are performed in support of the overall design effort. A detailed axisymmetric, finite element ANSYS model is used to determine the magnetic field distribution in the region of the detector, and the electromagnetic forces acting on the coil and various magnetic steel elements. A 3-D model is developed to capture the magnetic field perturbations produced by asymmetric, magnetic structural elements. The model produces 3-D field maps of the detector volume to evaluate the effects of these asymmetries on the detector resolution. Another 3-D model is used to determine the distribution of magnetic steel plates required to shield the nearby Electronic Rack Room from the coil's fringe field. >
Implementation and application of the unconditionally stable explicit parametrically dissipative KR‐α method for real‐time hybrid simulation

Summary In real-time hybrid simulations (RTHS) that utilize explicit integration algorithms, the inherent damping in the analytical substructure is generally defined using mass and initial stiffness proportional damping. This type of damping model is known to produce inaccurate results when the structure undergoes significant inelastic deformations. To alleviate the problem, a form of a nonproportional damping model often used in numerical simulations involving implicit integration algorithms can be considered. This type of damping model, however, when used with explicit integration algorithms can require a small time step to achieve the desired accuracy in an RTHS involving a structure with a large number of degrees of freedom. Restrictions on the minimum time step exist in an RTHS that are associated with the computational demand. Integrating the equations of motion for an RTHS with too large of a time step can result in spurious high-frequency oscillations in the member forces for elements of the structural model that undergo inelastic deformations. The problem is circumvented by introducing the parametrically controllable numerical energy dissipation available in the recently developed unconditionally stable explicit KR-α method. This paper reviews the formulation of the KR-α method and presents an efficient implementation for RTHS. Using the method, RTHS of a three-story 0.6-scale prototype steel building with nonlinear elastomeric dampers are conducted with a ground motion scaled to the design basis and maximum considered earthquake hazard levels. The results show that controllable numerical energy dissipation can significantly eliminate spurious participation of higher modes and produce exceptional RTHS results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biocompatibility Evaluation of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells Directly onto Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic Materials for Microfluidic Applications

Expansion of Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic materials into microfluidic systems technology has many beneficial applications due to their ability to combine complex three dimensional structures with optical, fluidic, electrical functions. Evaluations of the biocompatibility of these Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic materials are vital for expanding into biomedical research. The few biocompatibility studies on Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramics generally show negative cellular response to thick film pastes used in generating the electronic circuitry patterns. In this study, biocompatibility of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells was examined on Heraeus's Low-Temperature Co-fired Ceramic tape and two of their conductive pastes. The biocompatibility was assessed by monitoring cellular attachment and viability up to three days. This study examines the idea of leachates being detrimental to cells due to a study that suggests the possibility of harmful leachates. Results indicate difficulty in initial attach...
Precise identification of immunotherapeutic targets for solid malignancies using clues within the tumor microenvironment—Evidence to turn on the LIGHT

Targeted immunotherapy for solid gastrointestinal malignancies is challenging due to a lack of identified tumor antigens. Therefore, a strategy that supports and expands tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in the tumor microenvironment may allow these tumor-reactive T-cells to incite an antitumor response. Gene expression analysis of colon metastases has identified specific immunotherapeutic targets for this malignancy.
Vascular Complications Associated with Transfemoral Aortic Valve Replacement.

Background Transfemoral aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a novel technique for treating aortic stenosis, yet vascular complications are yet to be delineated. Objectives This study aims to study the vascular complications of TAVR with Edwards Sapien valves (Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Irvine, CA). Methods We performed a retrospective evaluation of TAVR patients. Standard demographics, femoral vessel and sheath size, access type (femoral cut-down [FC], percutaneous access [PFA], and iliac conduit [IC]), and treatment method were recorded. Complications were defined by the Valve Academic Research Consortium Criteria. Logistic regression was used for statistical analysis. Results A total of 99 patients underwent TAVR between February 15, 2012 and July 17, 2013 with an Edwards Sapien valve. Out of which, 48 were males with a mean age of 83 ± 7 years. Overall, 33 had FC, 58 had PFA, and 6 had an IC. A total of 17 major (2 aortic and 15 iliac) and 38 minor complications (36 access and 2 emboli) occurred. Aortic complications were managed by open repair (OR, 1) or percutaneous repair (PR, 1). Overall, 12 iliac injuries were managed by PR and 3 by OR. Out of the 33 groin complications in FC patients 8 (24%) were treated by OR, whereas 30 (52%) of the 58 groin complications in PTA patients were treated by PR. There were no differences in transfusion requirements or length of stay. Conclusion Vascular complications of TAVR are common with most being minor, related to access site and causing no immediate sequelae. Iliac injury can be managed by PR or OR. Aortic injury is associated with significant mortality. These findings increase vascular surgeons' awareness of these complications and how to manage them.
Excretion of a Methemoglobin-forming Substance in Urine

SummaryA substance capable of forming methemoglobin from blood in vitro, and which can be quantitatively estimated as quinone, has been found to be excreted in certain pathological states. This urinary constituent interferes with the titration of ascorbic acid.
Sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary in a 13-year-old girl

Abstract The clinical presentation, surgical findings, and histology of sclerosing stromal tumor of the ovary in a 13-year-old girl are presented. Although rare, this benign ovarian neoplasm must be considered in the differential diagnosis of ovarian tumors in women younger than 30 years.
Industry use of virtual reality in product design and manufacturing: a survey

In 1999, Fred Brooks, virtual reality pioneer and Professor of Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published a seminal paper describing the current state of virtual reality (VR) technologies and applications (Brooks in IEEE Comput Graph Appl 19(6):16, 1999). Through his extensive survey of industry, Brooks concluded that virtual reality had finally arrived and "barely works". His report included a variety of industries which leveraged these technologies to support industry-level innovation. Virtual reality was being employed to empower decision making in design, evaluation, and training processes across multiple disciplines. Over the past two decades, both industrial and academic communities have contributed to a large knowledge base on numerous virtual reality topics. Technical advances have enabled designers and engineers to explore and interact with data in increasingly natural ways. Sixteen years have passed since Brooks original survey. Where are we now? The research presented here seeks to describe the current state of the art of virtual reality as it is used as a decision-making tool in product design, particularly in engineering-focused businesses. To this end, a survey of industry was conducted over several months spanning fall 2014 and spring 2015. Data on virtual reality applications across a variety of industries was gathered through a series of on-site visits. In total, on-site visits with 18 companies using virtual reality were conducted as well as remote conference calls with two others. The authors interviewed 62 people across numerous companies from varying disciplines and perspectives. Success stories and existing challenges were highlighted. While virtual reality hardware has made considerable strides, unique attention was given to applications and the associated decisions that they support. Results suggest that virtual reality has arrived: it works! It is mature, stable, and, most importantly, usable. VR is actively being used in a number of industries to support decision making and enable innovation. Insights from this survey can be leveraged to help guide future research directions in virtual reality technology and applications.
Collaboration Made Easier - Working with Restricted Documents within Office 2013, OneDrive, and Office 365

Lehigh University Athletics implemented restricted document editing in Microsoft (MS) Office 2013 and OneDrive for Business (ODB) to allow staff to work collaboratively on a single document for a bi-annual departmental report. This presentation will cover the steps to convert an old business process of sharing over e-mail, sometimes hundreds of times, to a single document with restricted editing housed in ODB. Restricted editing prevents staff from editing parts of the document for which they are not responsible. Storing the document in OneDrive allows for versioning and access from almost any internet-connected device. This presentation will focus on why Office 2013/ODB, in combination with Office 365, was chosen as the best solution for the needs of Athletics and how this solution is applicable across a number of business units. Included will be a demonstration from start to finish of setting up a restricted document to show just how easy it is to do. Improving existing business processes is an often overlooked function of IT, making features such as restricted editing incredibly valuable in a myriad of situations.
Reinforcement Learning as a Framework for Ethical Decision Making

Emerging AI systems will be making more and more decisions that impact the lives of humans in a significant way. It is essential, then, that these AI systems make decisions that take into account the desires, goals, and preferences of other people, while simultaneously learning about what those preferences are. In this work, we argue that the reinforcement-learning framework achieves the appropriate generality required to theorize about an idealized ethical artificial agent, and offers the proper foundations for grounding specific questions about ethical learning and decision making that can promote further scientific investigation. We define an idealized formalism for an ethical learner, and conduct experiments on two toy ethical dilemmas, demonstrating the soundness and flexibility of our approach. Lastly, we identify several critical challenges for future advancement in the area that can leverage our proposed framework.
Metatranscriptomic Evidence for Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer Between Geobacter and Methanothrix Species in Methanogenic Rice Paddy Soils

The possibility that Methanothrix (formerly Methanosaeta) and Geobacter species cooperate via direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) in terrestrial methanogenic environments was investigated in rice paddy soils. Genes with high sequence similarity to the gene for the PilA pilin monomer of the electrically conductive pili (e-pili) of Geobacter sulfurreducens accounted for over half of the PilA gene sequences in metagenomic libraries and 42% of the mRNA transcripts in RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) libraries. This abundance of e-pilin genes and transcripts is significant because e-pili can serve as conduits for DIET. Most of the e-pilin genes and transcripts were affiliated with Geobacter species, but sequences most closely related to putative e-pilin genes from genera such as Desulfobacterium, Deferribacter, Geoalkalibacter, and Desulfobacula, were also detected. Approximately 17% of all metagenomic and metatranscriptomic bacterial sequences clustered with Geobacter species, and the finding that Geobacter spp. were actively transcribing growth-related genes indicated that they were metabolically active in the soils. Genes coding for e-pilin were among the most highly transcribed Geobacter genes. In addition, homologs of genes encoding OmcS, a c-type cytochrome associated with the e-pili of G. sulfurreducens and required for DIET, were also highly expressed in the soils. Methanothrix species in the soils highly expressed genes for enzymes involved in the reduction of carbon dioxide to methane. DIET is the only electron donor known to support CO2 reduction in Methanothrix Thus, these results are consistent with a model in which Geobacter species were providing electrons to Methanothrix species for methane production through electrical connections of e-pili.IMPORTANCEMethanothrix species are some of the most important microbial contributors to global methane production, but surprisingly little is known about their physiology and ecology. The possibility that DIET is a source of electrons for Methanothrix in methanogenic rice paddy soils is important because it demonstrates that the contribution that Methanothrix makes to methane production in terrestrial environments may extend beyond the conversion of acetate to methane. Furthermore, defined coculture studies have suggested that when Methanothrix species receive some of their energy from DIET, they grow faster than when acetate is their sole energy source. Thus, Methanothrix growth and metabolism in methanogenic soils may be faster and more robust than generally considered. The results also suggest that the reason that Geobacter species are repeatedly found to be among the most metabolically active microorganisms in methanogenic soils is that they grow syntrophically in cooperation with Methanothrix spp., and possibly other methanogens, via DIET.
Exploring the experience of nurse practitioners who have committed medical errors: A phenomenological approach.

Background and purpose To explore the experience of committing medical error from the perspective of nurse practitioners (NPs). Overall, the purpose of the study is to discern NPs’ behaviors, perceptions, and coping mechanisms in response to having made a medical error. Methods Qualitative research based on two face-to-face audio-recorded semistructured interviews with 10 NPs who had made medical errors in practice. The analysis was guided by concepts in phenomenology. Conclusions During iterative analyses, four overarching themes were identified: (a) The paradox of error victimization, (b) primacy of responsibility and mindfulness, (c) yearning for forgiveness and a supportive other, and (d) coping with a new reality is context dependent. The narratives strongly suggest that NPs who err experience “second victim” phenomena. Implications for practice Reminiscing about the experience of living through an error, NPs shared meaningful insights into their need for a safe environment in which they could candidly share feelings, reflect on the experience, and ascertain the etiology of the mistake. Debriefing in a formal manner might prevent the development of permanent psychological injuries. Hence, inherent to the care of “second victims” is the notion of co-workers’ fairness, compassion, and recognition of appropriate caring responses that contribute to effective coping and healing.
Principal-Protected Equity-Linked Note

The case puts students in the shoes of a private banker who wants to price a structured note for European high net worth clients with low levels of risk tolerance. The principal-protected equity-linked note (PP-ELN) provides investors with fixed income–like principal protection together with upside exposure to the S&P 500 Index. The students are asked how the bank should allocate the client's money to buy call options and invest in zero-coupon bonds to deliver this PP-ELN and still earn a fee. By adjusting the amount of principal protection or capping the upside potential, the students can calculate whether there is an opportunity for increased upside participation. This financial engineering case can be used to teach put-call parity, option strategies, and Black-Scholes pricing. Excerpt UVA-F-1752 Mar. 10, 2016 Principal-Protected Equity-Linked Note At the end of the year, Mario Casals was flying out of Geneva for a small European country where he was the market leader for a Swiss bank. As a private banker, he provided full-service banking and investment advice to high net worth individuals. His private banking clientele consisted mostly of fairly conservative investors. Many were members of well-established families who had inherited their wealth. Others were entrepreneurs who had taken risks in their businesses but now were more interested in preserving wealth rather than taking large risks in financial markets. The bank used structured notes to cater to its clients' low levels of risk tolerance. Casals had found principal-protected equity-linked notes (PP-ELNs) to be the instrument of choice. The simplicity of the notes was their strongest selling point. These instruments provided investors with fixed income–like principal protection together with upside exposure to a reference asset of their choosing (e.g., an equity index). PP-ELNs were appropriate for investors who desired equity exposure with controlled risk. Investors had a good sense of the minimum amount of wealth they wanted to preserve, and potential returns above this minimum amount were nice to have but not necessary. Investment strategies leaving them with less than the current wealth, however, were not tolerable. Unlike typical insurance policies, PP-ELNs did not require investors to make an upfront payment for the protection they received. Instead, the protection was paid for by giving up their dividend, not receiving interest income, and giving up a portion of the upside gains in the event that equity markets rallied. Casals had reserved the short-haul flight to review again the characteristics of these notes and their pricing features. He had brought with him a short primer on PP-ELNs to refresh the basic concepts (see Exhibit 1). How attractive would these notes be to his private banking clients? . . .
Temporary Biliary Stent Placement for Benign Stricture with Laparoscopic-Assisted Endoscopic Stent Retrieval in a Patient Status Post Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A Multidisciplinary Approach to a Complex Condition

Benign biliary strictures are multifactorial in etiology and can be difficult to treat, causing significant morbidity and mortality. In patients with prior upper gastrointestinal surgery, such as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, options for intervention are limited by the inability of an endoscope to reach the biliary ductal system due to altered anatomy. In patients with an inaccessible ductal system by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), percutaneous bile duct stent placement for benign strictures has traditionally been reserved for cases of failed cholangioplasty without additional surgical options. Our case details a novel multidisciplinary management approach for the treatment of a refractory biliary stricture in a patient with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass anatomy with remnant gastrectomy. Following interventional radiology-guided retrievable biliary stent placement and subsequent remodeling, laparoscopy-assisted ERCP with stent retrieval was performed through the combined efforts of minimally invasive surgery and gastroenterology.
Balloon Dilation of an Inferior Vena Cava Filter to Implant a Leadless Pacemaker.

A 65-year-old woman required a permanent pacemaker due to tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome. Vascular access was complicated by a left arm arteriovenous graft and a prior right upper extremity fistula. Imaging revealed occlusion of a previous right subclavian vein stent, right brachiocephalic vein,
mTOR and HDAC Inhibitors Converge on the TXNIP/Thioredoxin Pathway to Cause Catastrophic Oxidative Stress and Regression of RAS-Driven Tumors

Although agents that inhibit specific oncogenic kinases have been successful in a subset of cancers, there are currently few treatment options for malignancies that lack a targetable oncogenic driver. Nevertheless, during tumor evolution cancers engage a variety of protective pathways, which may provide alternative actionable dependencies. Here, we identify a promising combination therapy that kills NF1-mutant tumors by triggering catastrophic oxidative stress. Specifically, we show that mTOR and HDAC inhibitors kill aggressive nervous system malignancies and shrink tumors in vivo by converging on the TXNIP/thioredoxin antioxidant pathway, through cooperative effects on chromatin and transcription. Accordingly, TXNIP triggers cell death by inhibiting thioredoxin and activating apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1). Moreover, this drug combination also kills NF1-mutant and KRAS-mutant non-small cell lung cancers. Together, these studies identify a promising therapeutic combination for several currently untreatable malignancies and reveal a protective nodal point of convergence between these important epigenetic and oncogenic enzymes.Significance: There are no effective therapies for NF1- or RAS-mutant cancers. We show that combined mTOR/HDAC inhibitors kill these RAS-driven tumors by causing catastrophic oxidative stress. This study identifies a promising therapeutic combination and demonstrates that selective enhancement of oxidative stress may be more broadly exploited for developing cancer therapies. Cancer Discov; 7(12); 1450-63. ©2017 AACR.This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1355.
Do Mayors Run for Higher Office? New Evidence on Progressive Ambition:

The mayor’s office potentially offers a launchpad for statewide and national political ambitions. We know relatively little, however, about how frequently mayors actually run for higher office, and...
Error of Darcy's law for serpentine flow fields: An analytical approach

Abstract Serpentine flow fields and other flow fields with partial under-land cross-flow are commonly used in various energy devices, such as proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells and redox flow batteries, due to their higher mass transfer rate to reaction sites and better product removal capability. Accurately predicting the under-land cross-flow rate and pressure drop in such flow fields is crucial in flow field design optimizations. Darcy's law is the most commonly used model in predicting the under-land cross-flow and pressure drop in such flow fields. However, since the Darcy's law neglects inertial effect, its validity in different designs and operating conditions needs to be carefully studied. In this work, mathematical models for a serpentine flow field are developed based on both the Darcy's law and a modified Darcy's law that includes the inertial effect. Both models are solved and analytical solutions are obtained. The predicted pressure drops and under-land cross-flow rates from the two models are compared with experimental data and the results show that under some conditions, both the Darcy's law and the modified Darcy's law can predict pressure drop and under-land cross-flow rate reasonably well. However, under other conditions the Darcy's law can result in significantly large errors in predicting both pressure drop and under-land cross-flow rates. Further studies provide the variations of errors from the Darcy's law with different parameters, including channel length, gas diffusion layer (GDL) thickness, land width, inlet flow rate, GDL permeability and GDL inertial coefficient.
Delayed-onset Candida parapsilosis cornea tunnel infection and endophthalmitis after cataract surgery: Histopathology and clinical course

Abstract Purpose To describe a patient with late post-operative endophthalmitis and clear cornea tunnel infection caused by Candida parapsilosis that was masquerading as chronic anterior uveitis. Observations A 62-year old woman with history of uncomplicated cataract surgery 7 months prior and chronic postoperative anterior uveitis, presented with an endothelial plaque, hypopyon, and infiltrates in the capsular bag and within the clear corneal tunnel. Anterior chamber cultures identified C. parapsilosis and pathology of the endothelial plaque showed fungus. Anterior chamber washout, scraping of the endothelial plaque, serial intracameral and intravitreal injections with amphotericin B (10 mcg) failed to control the infection. Pars plana vitrectomy, removal of the intraocular lens and capsular bag, a corneal patch graft, and administration of intravitreal antifungal agents were performed. One year later the patient remains free of recurrence and her best-corrected vision is 20/25 with a rigid gas permeable contact lens. Conclusions and Importance: Persistent intraocular and intracorneal inflammation after cataract surgery should raise suspicion of endophthalmitis caused by fungi non-responsive to topical and intravitreal antibiotics. Surgical intervention and removal of the nidus of infection, which is often the intraocular lens and capsular bag, may be necessary for a successful outcome.
Test-Taking Skills and Their Impact on Accessibility for All Students

Do you remember the first time in school that a peer or teacher advised you to use some type of strategy, which seemed to have nothing to do with the subject being tested, but would likely improve your score? This advice, which may have been to answer all of the easy questions first and then go back to the harder questions, to select false whenever the word always or the word never appeared in a true or false question, or to choose the longest answer of the options on a multiple-choice question, was ostensibly intended to help you attain a higher score on the test. Another outcome of this advice was that it increased your wisdom in the domain of taking tests, so that you would be better able to show what you knew and could do in content areas like reading and mathematics. This chapter explains the relationship between access in educational testing, test-wiseness, and validity; provides a brief history of frameworks and findings related to test-taking skills; explores the interaction between instruction of these skills and more recently embraced methods for increasing access to tests [e.g., accommodations, modifications, computer-based tests (CBTs)]; and discusses implications of this relationship for test development and instruction.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) disease in peripheral blood (PB) allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PT-Cy).

e18538Background: PT-Cy has been identified as an effective and inexpensive agent for graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis for T-cell replete haploidentical HCT (haplo-HCT) recipients. It is be...
Reinventing Rule: The Queen’s Two Bodies in Clemence of Barking’s Vie de Sainte Catherine

Clemence of Barking’s Vie de Sainte Catherine, a twelfth-century Anglo-Norman rendering of Catherine of Alexandria’s Latin vulgate passio, uses the well-known trope of the king’s two bodies to imagine a Christ-centered rule of a philosopher-martyr queen, who alludes to the murdered Archbishop Thomas Becket. I use Ernst Kantorowicz’s (1957, reprinted 2016) political theology to demonstrate that the Vie both resonates with and qualifies the concept of Christ-centered kingship and Law-centered kingship in twelfth-century England. Catherine offers a model of Christ-centered kingship based on the queen’s two bodies against a misconceived Law-centered kingship embodied in the tyrant Maxentius. Idolatry and iconoclasm serve as key tropes in the text’s exploration of sovereign violence. When the ruler’s whims replace divine justice in a Law-centered kingship, the living body of the sovereign has to depend on the dead idols for its ultimate claim of vivacity. The sovereign becomes “bare life” himself, which echoes Agamben’s (1998) symmetry of the sovereign body and homo sacer.
Enterprise Cyber Resiliency Against Lateral Movement: A Graph Theoretic Approach.

Lateral movement attacks are a serious threat to enterprise security. In these attacks, an attacker compromises a trusted user account to get a foothold into the enterprise network and uses it to attack other trusted users, increasingly gaining higher and higher privileges. Such lateral attacks are very hard to model because of the unwitting role that users play in the attack and even harder to detect and prevent because of their low and slow nature. In this paper, a theoretical framework is presented for modeling lateral movement attacks and for proposing a methodology for designing resilient cyber systems against such attacks. The enterprise is modeled as a tripartite graph capturing the interaction between users, machines, and applications, and a set of procedures is proposed to harden the network by increasing the cost of lateral movement. Strong theoretical guarantees on system resilience are established and experimentally validated for large enterprise networks.
Effecting compliance with invasive species regulations through outreach and education of live plant retailers

Movement of organisms through the horticultural trade explains the majority of nonindigenous aquatic invasive plant introductions. Prevention is the most promising approach to reducing the spread of nonindigenous species, but key vectors persist. To better understand the risk posed by trade in aquatic plants, we surveyed all known aquatic plant retail locations in Wisconsin and quantified the prevalence of nonindigenous species in retail stock. We conducted an educational program that utilized in-person educational visits and mailed informational packets to inform vendors of existing regulations, increase accuracy of species identification, and create awareness of best management practices. We compared the change in prevalence of regulated nonindigenous species in trade following education. Educational visits and mailed informational packets were both associated with a decrease in the number of nonindigenous species available for sale. However, in-person education increased vendor compliance more than a single informational mailing. We observed an initial noncompliance rate of 51 % but even after education, 27 % of stores remained noncompliant. Our results suggest that education can improve compliance with invasive species regulations, but additional steps may be necessary to further reduce the rate of noncompliance.
Measurement of Radon Concentrations and Surface Exhalation Rates using CR-39 detector in Soil Samples of Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, Iraq

Introduction: Natural radioactivity in the soil is considered a major indicator of radiological contamination. Primordial radionuclides are the main source of natural radioactivity. Natural radioactivity transfers radionuclides into the environment and poses radiation hazards to people's health. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the radon concentration and surface exhalation rate in soil samples collected from different locations of industrial, agricultural, and residential of Al-Diwaniyah governorate, southern Iraq. Material and Methods: In the present study, five different depths of 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 cm were taken from each location. The radon concentration and exhalation rate were measured using CR-39 detectors (Pershore Moulding Ltd, UK). The CR-39 detectors were left inside plastic cans with soil samples. The tracks of nuclear particles were recorded using an optical microscope. Results: Results of the present study showed that the radon concentrations in soil samples ranged from 163.58 to 689.89 Bq/m3 with a mean value of 350.64 Bq/m3, while surface exhalation rate was found to be ranged from 0.015 Bq/m2.h to 0.063 Bq/m2.h with an average value of 0.031 Bq/m2.h. The obtained results demonstrated that the radon concentration and exhalation rate decreased with increased depth of soil. Conclusion: Based on the current findings, it was found that radon concentrations in all the examined soil samples were within the acceptable value of 600 Bq/m3, according to the International Commission on Radiological Protection and International Atomic Energy Agency. However, the sample S13 from AL-Hamad village with a mean value of 642.51±22.95 Bq/m3 was an exception.
Belonging to This World: On Living Like an Animal in Michel Faber’s Under the Skin

Michel Faber’s novel Under the Skin tracks the transformation of the novel’s protagonist, Isserley, as she undergoes a crisis in her self-identity and drifts slowly but in a determined manner toward another way of life. Isserley (who belongs to a highly-intelligent alien species that refers to itself as “human”) works in the voddissin industry, which captures and transforms “vodsels” (the term the aliens use for members of Homo sapiens, who are understood by them to be “mere” animals) into consumable meat. As the novel unfolds, Isserley eventually comes to reject the meat industry and the subjugation of vodsels on which it is based. Here I suggest that Isserly’s subjective transformation is based not on a superficial recognition of logical identity between herself and vodsels, but on a deeper ethic of belonging, which enables her to affirm her shared “animal” condition with vodsels and other earthly beings.
A fast adaptive algorithm for scattering from a two dimensional radially-symmetric potential.

In the present paper we describe a simple black box algorithm for efficiently and accurately solving scattering problems related to the scattering of time-harmonic waves from radially-symmetric potentials in two dimensions. The method uses FFTs to convert the problem into a set of decoupled second-kind Fredholm integral equations for the Fourier coefficients of the scattered field. Each of these integral equations are solved using scattering matrices, which exploit certain low-rank properties of the integral operators associated with the integral equations. The performance of the algorithm is illustrated with several numerical examples including scattering from singular and discontinuous potentials. Finally, the above approach can be easily extended to time-dependent problems. After outlining the necessary modifications we show numerical experiments illustrating the performance of the algorithm in this setting.
Civilian pepper spray for self defense: Understanding user perception and impact of design on user performance

Abstract Pepper spray is widely used in the US, and is marketed as an effective self-defense device. While pepper spray can be useful in deterring an attacker, many pepper spray owners do not have any experience using it. There is a dearth of published studies that focus on civilian pepper-spray use, not to mention first time pepper-spray users. A study to analyze pepper-spray designs with first-time users, to see how the design, specifically the safety mechanism, affects response time and overall performance would be helpful. The study was conducted in 2 parts – a survey to understand user perception, and a lab experiment using a 2 × 2 randomized block design with two designs of pepper sprays (side-slide safety and flip-top safety) and the two starting locations for the pepper spray (purse or pocket) as the manipulated factors. Results revealed a significant difference in response times between the flip-top pepper-spray and the side-slide pepper-spray. There was also a significant difference in response times between using the index or thumb as the trigger finger but no significant difference in response times when the pepper-spray for location (purse or pocket). Overall, participants rated the side-slide device as the most effective self-defense device. Relevance to industry Because there is no other research in the area of first-time pepper-spray users, let alone civilian pepper-spray users, much can be learned about how well people use these devices in a real-world situation, and when there is a highly stressful situation how well does pepper-spray allow an individual to protect him or herself. This study starts the discussion on some of these topics.
Analog/RF IP Protection: Attack Models, Defense Techniques, and Challenges

The globalized and distributed semiconductor supply chain exposes the integrated circuits to security threats. These threats can target the circuit functionality, the secret data processed by the circuit, or the design’s intellectual property (IP). Multiple commercial devices include dedicated hardware root-of-trust for performing security tasks. These approaches protect digital circuits but ignore the vulnerabilities of analog circuits. Recently, researchers have proposed techniques to protect the IP of analog circuits. This brief systematizes the knowledge of analog IP protection. It gives an overview of the reported threat models, defense techniques, and attacks targeting analog/RF circuits.
Crowing About Confidence: Technological Self-Efficacy in Academic Libraries

Technological change is a constant in academic libraries and how we assess our ability to learn and use new technologies affects the services that we are able to provide. This article offers an introduction to the concept of technological self-efficacy and its potential relevance to library workers. It also provides a domain-specific measurement tool and ideas on how to build technological self-efficacy in library staff. We also talk about crows, because…the crow knows!
Abstract 131: Elevated Serum MPEG-1 Protein is Associated With Reduced Survival and Poor Neurological Recovery in Resuscitated Out-Of-Hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Background: For decades, bio-markers involved in inflammation and stress response were implicated in patients who were successfully resuscitated from out of hospital cardiac arrest (sR-OHCA). Here ...
Myosin VI is down-regulated by DNA damage in p53- and cell type-dependent manners

1745 Myosin VI is an unconventional motor protein and functions in a variety of intracellular processes such as cell migration, vesicular membrane traffic and homeostasis of the Golgi complex. The majority of Myosin VI protein exists in cytoplasmic organelles, including Golgi and endosomes. In our previous report, we found that Myosin VI can be translocated to nucleus upon DNA damage. In addition, we found that Myosin VI is up-regulated in RKO and H1299 cells by DNA damage in a p53-dependent manner and is involved in the cell survival pathway. Here, we showed that the mRNA level of Myosin VI is decreased in MCF7 and LNCap cells treated with camptothecin but increased when treated with other DNA damage agents, such as doxorubicin and hydroxyurea, or treated with an Mdm-2 inhibitor (Nutlin-3). However, the level of Myosin VI protein is decreased in these cells in a p53-dependent manner regardless of the agent used. To determine the underlying mechanism, we examine the regulation of Myosin VI by wild-type and various mutated forms of p53. We found that both wild-type p53 and N-/C-terminally truncated p53 (ΔAD1ΔBD) inhibit Myosin VI expression whereas the C-terminal truncated p53 (ΔBD) and tumor-derived mutant p53 (R249S) are inert. We also found that myosin VI protein physically interacts with p53 protein. Moreover, we showed that Myosin VI is translocated into nucleus upon DNA damage but in a p53-independent manner. Further studies are currently underway to determine the domains in p53 responsible for down-regulation of Myosin VI and whether p53 is able to regulate the Myosin VI translation or protein stability.
An Assessment of Evaluation Practices of Low- And Moderate-Income Solar Programs

Author(s): Paulos, Bentham; Forrester, Sydney; O’Shaughnessy, Eric; Dyson, Christopher; Barbose, Galen L; Wiser, Ryan H | Abstract: As concerns about social equity and clean energy rise, state and local governments, utilities, and non-profit organizations are offering at least 41 active programs in 21 states to promote solar adoption as a way to reduce energy bills for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households while meeting other policy goals such as job creation and clean energy generation. A new study from Berkeley Lab looks at how those programs are being evaluated. The report provides background on how they seek to address LMI household energy burdens and gives a brief discussion of the art and science of program evaluation, drawn from decades of experience in energy efficiency programs. It then turns to how LMI solar programs are currently being evaluated, highlighting trends among evaluation methods, metrics tracked, and best practices employed. A few programs are explored in more depth to illustrate notable practices that could be applied to other program evaluations. These LMI solar programs are mostly young, operate on tight budgets, and vary considerably in their design and stated goals. Consequently, well-designed program evaluation is critical to better understand what works, what could be improved, and how to maximize program impacts under budget constraints.
From Stigma to Dignity? Transforming Workfare with Universal Basic Income and a Federal Job Guarantee

As the COVID-19 pandemic takes a catastrophic toll on lives and livelihoods across the United States, the harshest impact of the unpredictable virus has disproportionately fallen with foreseeable accuracy on Black, immigrant, poor, and elderly people, who are most likely to live and work in close contact with others and to have less access to health care or emergency savings. The speed and severity of the viral contagion has rendered devastatingly, undeniably visible the vast, racial gap between those with reliable health care, child care, housing, nutrition, household wealth, and income and those without, but that gap was already widening well before the pandemic amid accelerating economic inequality, racial disparity, and precarity for those fortunate enough to find paid work. By the summer of 2020, pandemic isolation gave way to mass protests supporting the Movement for Black Lives with calls to end anti-Black police brutality and mass incarceration, but also seeking to end exploitation of Black essential workers and increase attention to longstanding economic devastation of divestment from communities of color. With physical health and safety linked inextricably to material deprivation came heightened public demands for racial, social, and economic justice to help marginalized communities not just survive in times of crisis, but thrive every day. This Article examines reinvigorated proposals for universal basic income (UBI) and a federal job guarantee (JG) to reduce poverty, income inequality, and the widening racial wealth gap. It examines the potential of such reforms to put more money into the hands of those most likely to use it while ending involuntary unemployment and boosting labor conditions for all, but especially Blacks and people of color with less access to generational wealth, higher education, and protection against employment discrimination. It concludes that both UBI and JG are necessary but each insufficient on its own to achieve greater economic security and mobility, with dignified work for all. Crucially, a universal minimum income untethered to any form of work requirement is essential to break the racialized and gendered stigma that frames economic need as welfare dependency; equally important is the guarantee of public employment at a living wage to those who voluntarily choose to avoid gaps in earned income and employment history but have historically been excluded from the best work-life options. Together, UBI and JG form vital pillars of social support for withstanding future crises, large or small, and for creating the future society we want.