cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Relation between Bank Credit-Risk Management Procedures and Originate-to-Distribute Mortgage Quality During the Financial Crisis

We examine the relation between bank risk-assessment procedures and sales of mortgages before and after the first quarter of 2007. Research (Purnanandam [2010]) suggests that banks employing an originate-to-distribute (OTD) strategy devoted little effort to screening thereby diminishing their ability to sell loans during the crisis. We use 10-K disclosures of credit-risk assessment procedures to measure the extent of a bank’s internal screening and risk-management procedures. We find banks with higher scores (i.e., stronger risk management) were better able to sell mortgages during the financial crisis and had fewer non-performing mortgage loans than banks with lower scores. In addition, we find higher scores attenuate the positive association between a bank’s use of more mechanical screening techniques and its involvement in the OTD market documented by Purnanandam [2010]. Thus, enhanced credit-risk management procedures seem to mitigate incentives to substitute mechanical screening models for the collection of costly information when banks more zealously employ an OTD strategy. Taken together, these results imply that mortgage purchasers were aware of cross-sectional differences and suggest that mechanisms exist for banks to credibly distinguish the quality of their loans despite incentives problems associated with the OTD business model.
HLTCOE Efforts in Entity Linking at TAC KBP 2010

This report documents the HLTCOE submission to the 2010 Text Analysis Conference Knowledge Base Population Track Entity Linking task. This year we incorporated a number of engineering changes to simplify our 2009 system, and as a results the new software runs approximately 20 times faster than the previous version. We also eschewed use of the Internet entirely. Details of the HLTCOE prototype system’s design and implementation are given with a preliminary analysis of the results.
Scaling Ansatz for Swendsen-Wang dynamics.

Using cluster and percolation concepts, we obtain a relation between relaxation times at critical points obtained from a new dynamical model introduced by Swendsen and Wang and those obtained from Glauber dynamics. This relation, which involves only static critical exponents, provides new insight into the physics underlying cluster acceleration methods such as the one introduced by Swendsen and Wang.
HLA Typing for Transplantation of Stem Cells From Unrelated Donors

Transplantation of stem cells may cure some otherwise lethal malignant or genetic diseases. Close matching of HLA histocompatibility antigens is required. The ideal donor is a sibling with an identical HLA genotype as the patient, but 65% to 70% of patients can be helped only by an unrelated donor. The extreme polymorphism of HLA genes requires large registries of unrelated volunteers. HLA typing by traditional serologic methods identifies only gross mismatches, and laboratories may differ in some specificities assigned. Newly available DNA techniques can differentiate genes that result in the difference of only a single amino acid, and laboratories rarely disagree in their interpretations. DNA techniques require less time for identification of a compatible donor and result in improved rates of transplant success.
Detection of Circulating Tumor Cells of Nonepithelial Origin: A Bench to Bedside Approach

Purpose/Objective(s): No validated biomarkers exist for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tumor DNA is continually shed into the circulation, where it can be accessed for analysis by next-generation sequencing (NGS). We aimed to design a NGS-based method for quantifying circulating tumor-derived DNA in NSCLC and other cancers. Materials/Methods: We developed CAPP-Seq (CAncer Personalized Profiling by deep Sequencing), a novel method for noninvasive and sensitive measurement of cancer burden from cfDNA. Our strategy leverages hybrid affinity capture to enrich recurrently mutated genomic regions from tumor genomic DNA and plasma cfDNA. We used mixtures of NSCLC cell line DNA in cfDNA to benchmark CAPP-Seq. We then analyzed a set of NSCLC tumor/normal genomic DNA pairs. Finally, we studied serial plasma samples collected from patients before and after treatment with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and/or surgery. Results: We show that CAPP-Seq detects multiple types of cancer-specific somatic mutations within NSCLC DNA, including single nucleotide variants, insertions/deletions, and rearrangements. Benchmarking analyses demonstrate that CAPP-Seq accurately enumerates somatic mutations within cfDNA at a fractional abundance of 0.025%. Applying CAPP-Seq to tumor/normal genomic DNA pairs from 11 NSCLC patients uncovered a median of 3 somatic mutations per patient (range, 1-16). Fifteen plasma samples from 7 patients were profiled by CAPP-Seq. The abundance of patient-specific cancer markers within plasma cfDNA was readily measured by CAPP-Seq in both earlyand late-stage NSCLC. Importantly, circulating tumor DNA responded appropriately to anti-cancer therapies, becoming undetectable in 2 patients (after surgery and chemoradiation therapy, respectively) and declining but remaining detectable in 5 patients (after chemotherapy in 4 patients and surgery in 1 patient). CAPP-Seq measurements correlated with tumor volume (R Z 0.97) and allowed for the detection of resistance mutations in patients being treated with targeted therapies. Conclusions: In this study, we described CAPP-Seq, a novel NGS-based approach to MRD testing in cancer patients. CAPP-Seq could have clinical utility for monitoring disease burden and response to therapy, early detection of relapse, distinguishing radiation pneumonitis from relapse, and risk stratification in early-stage NSCLC following surgery or stereotactic body radiation therapy. Ultimately, we envision CAPP-Seq becoming a routine clinical assay for measuring tumor burden in diverse cancers from plasma and other body fluids. Author Disclosure: S.V. Bratman: None. A.M. Newman: None. J. To: None. J.F. Wynne: None. J.W. Neal: None. H. Wakelee: None. J. Shrager: None. B.W. Loo: None. A.A. Alizadeh: None. M. Diehn: None.
Lamotrigine Therapy in Neuronal Lipofuscinosis

Lamotrigine (LTG) long-term anticonvulsant therapy was evaluated in 29 patients, aged 6-28 years (mean, 14 years), with juvenile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (JNCL), followed for 1-6 years (mean, 3 years) at the Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Probabilistic imaging of tsunamigenic seafloor deformation during the 2011 Tohoku-oki Earthquake

Diverse observations from the 2011 M_w 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake pointed to large coseismic fault slip proximal to the Japan Trench. This seismic failure prompted a reevaluation of the conventional view that the outer forearc is generally aseismic. However, the nature of near-trench fault slip during this event remains debated, without consensus on whether slip peaked at the trench or at greater depths. Here we develop a probabilistic approach to image the spatiotemporal evolution of coseismic seafloor displacement from near-field tsunami observations. In a Bayesian framework, we sample ensembles of nonlinear source models parameterized to focus on near-trench features, incorporating the uncertainty in modeling dispersive tsunami waves in addition to nominal observational errors. Our models indicate that seafloor in the region of the earthquake was broadly uplifted and tilted seaward approaching the deep-ocean trench. Over length scales of ~40 km, seafloor uplift peaks at 5 ± 0.6 m near the inner-outer forearc transition and decreases to 2 m at the trench axis over a distance of 50 km, corresponding to a seafloor tilt of 0.06 ± 0.02 m/km. Over length scales of ~20 km, peak uplift reaches 7 ± 2 m at the similar location, but uplift at the trench is less constrained. Elastic modeling that reproduces the observed tilt requires a coseismic slip deficit at the trench. Such a deficit is effectively consistent with a metastable frictional model for the shallowest megathrust. While large shallow earthquakes in the region cannot be completely ruled out, aseismic deformation is the most likely mode for satisfying the long-term slip budget.
Trajectory analysis — Linking genomic and proteomic data with disease progression

Biological networks are dynamic and modular. Identifying dynamic functional modules is key to elucidating biological insight and disease mechanism. In recent years, while most researchers have focused on detecting functional modules from static protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks where the networks are treated as static graphs derived from aggregated data across all available experiments or from a single snapshot at a particular time, temporal nature of context-specific transcriptomic and proteomic data has been recognized by researchers. Meanwhile, the analysis of dynamic networks has been a hot topic in data mining and social networks. Dynamic networks are structures with objects and links between the objects that vary in time. Temporary information in dynamic networks can be used to reveal many important phenomena such as bursts of activities in social networks and evolution of functional modules in protein interaction networks. In this talk, I will address several critical challenges to construct robust, dynamic gene interaction networks, and present our computational approaches to identify disease-relevant functional modules and to track the progression patterns of modules in dynamic biological networks. Significant modules which are correlated to phenotypes of interest can be identified, for example, those functional modules which form and progress across different stages of a cancer. Through identifying these functional modules in the progression process, we are able to detect the critical groups of proteins that are responsible for the transition of different cancer stages. Our approaches can also discover how the strength of each detected modules changes over the entire observation period. I will also demonstrate the application of our approach in a variety of biomedical applications.
The Cooke Sisters: Education, Piety and Politics in Early Modern England: Allen, Gemma, Manchester, England: Manchester University Press 304 pp., $27.95, ISBN 978-0-7190-9977-9 Publication Date: February 2016

In 1550, English lawyer and humanist Walter Haddon paid a visit to Gidea Hall, the Essex home of prominent Tudor scholar Sir Anthony Cooke. A few years later, in a public lecture at Cambridge Unive...
Cyclic Acetals and Ketals

Cyclic and acyclic carbohydrates react with aldehydes and/or ketones, in the presence of catalysts (hard or Lewis acids), to give cyclic acetals and/or ketals (1,3-dioxolanes 3 or 1,3-dioxanes 5, respectively) (Fig. 6.1 ). This reaction is routinely used in carbohydrate chemistry for the protection of hydroxyl groups in a sugar in order to prevent their interference in chemical transformation(s) of other hydroxyl group(s) of that sugar.
Herder and Modernity: From Lesser-Taught Languages to Lesser-Taught Cultures

The typical North American curriculum of a lesser-taught Slavic language implicitly relies on the legacy of Johann Gottfried von Herder’s interpretation that language in and of itself contains national (ethnic) culture. At the same time, enrolments are dwindling even in courses in the most commonly taught Slavic languages. Millennials’ understandable focus on the practicality of the courses they take make it unlikely for the lesser-taught languages to survive the slump. On the other hand, foreign culture courses are appearing to hold their ground more successfully. Slavic departments may reconsider Herder’s dictum as they try to maintain or establish programs in lesser-taught languages and cultures.
Abstract LB-243: Precision medicine: Lung biomarkers

More than half of all new lung cancer diagnoses are made in patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease, at which point therapeutic options are scarce. It is anticipated, however, that the widespread use of Low-Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) screening, will lead to a greater proportion of lung cancers being diagnosed at an early, operable, stage. Still, the overall rate of recurrence for surgically treated Stage I lung cancer patients is up to 30% within 5 years of diagnosis. Thus, the identification and clinical application of biomarkers of early stage lung cancer are a pressing medical need. The integrative analysis of "omic," clinical and epidemiological data for single patients is a core principle of precision medicine. Through rigorous bioinformatics and statistical analyses we have identified biomarkers of early-stage lung cancer based on DNA methylation, expression of mRNA and miRNA, inflammatory cytokines, and urinary metabolites. Beyond a more comprehensive understanding of the molecular taxonomy of lung cancer, these biomarkers can have very practical implications in the context of unmet clinical needs of early stage lung cancer patients: First, current guidelines for LDCT screening broadly include individuals based on age and history of heavy smoking. Tumor-derived circulating biomarkers in the blood and urine associated with lung cancer risk could narrow and prioritize individuals for LDCT screening. Second, a high number of nodules are identified by LDCT, of which fewer than 5% are finally diagnosed as lung cancer. Biomarkers may help discriminate malignant nodules from benign or indolent lesions. Third, the expected rise in the numbers of lung cancer patients diagnosed at an early stage will necessitate new treatment options. Circulating, urinary and tissue-based biomarkers that molecularly categorize Stage I patients after tumor resection can help identify high-risk patients who may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy or innovative immunotherapy regimens. References 1. Vargas, A.J. and C.C. Harris, Biomarker development in the precision medicine era: lung cancer as a case study. Nat Rev Cancer, 2016. 16(8): p. 525-37. 2. Robles, A.I. and C.C. Harris, Integration of multiple "OMIC" biomarkers: A precision medicine strategy for lung cancer. Lung Cancer, 14 June 2016: p. [Epub ahead of print]. 3. Robles, A.I., et al., An Integrated Prognostic Classifier for Stage I Lung Adenocarcinoma Based on mRNA, microRNA, and DNA Methylation Biomarkers. J Thorac Oncol, 2015. 10(7): p. 1037-48. Citation Format: Curtis C. Harris. Precision medicine: Lung biomarkers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-243. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-LB-243
The Landowner’s Ghosts: Realism and Financialization in Contemporary Latin American Fiction

Focusing on Arturo Fontaine’s Oir su voz (1992) and Horacio Castellanos Moya’s La diabla en el espejo (2000), this chapter explores how contemporary Latin American fiction engages the contemporary through longer histories linking landowning oligarchies, anti-communist counterinsurgencies, and neoliberal transitions toward privatization and finance capitalism. While landowning oligarchies were largely defeated by national development projects, including land reform and socialist revolutions in the 1960s and 1970s, they reemerge in these novels, I argue, to highlight the fundamentally restorative nature of neoliberalism as a class project in Chile and El Salvador, respectively. Reworked realist literary form, in turn, allows authors to cognitively map historical transitions in which the predatory, rent-based, and extractive tendencies of landowning oligarchies become dominant once more under current regimes of finance capitalism.
Use of high conductivity spreaders on the back of single-sided PCB to enhance heat transfer and thermal capacitance in electronics systems

It is challenging to cool electronics packages in handheld fanless devices. The cooling problem increases when the memory package is stacked on top of the System on Chip (SOC) package, as the memory package increases the thermal resistance from the top of the SOC to the thermal spreader over the SOC. This paper explores the use of high conductivity heat spreaders below a single-sided PCB to enhance heat transfer, thereby improving the transient thermal response and steady state T_J and sustained power of electronics packages in devices.
Attention orienting near the hand following performed and imagined actions.

Recent studies have documented that the hand’s ability to perform actions affects the visual processing and attention for objects near the hand, suggesting that actions may have specific effects on visual orienting. However, most research on the relation between spatial attention and action focuses on actions as responses to visual attention manipulations. The current study examines visual attention immediately following an executed or imagined action. A modified spatial cuing paradigm tested whether a brief, lateralized hand-pinch performed by a visually hidden hand near the target location, facilitated or inhibited subsequent visual target detection. Conditions in which hand-pinches were fully executed (action) were compared to ones with no hand-pinch (inaction) in Experiment 1 and imagined pinches (imagine) in Experiment 2. Results from Experiment 1 indicated that performed hand pinches facilitated rather than inhibited subsequent detection responses to targets appearing near the pinch, but target detection was not affected by inaction. In Experiment 2, both action and imagined action conditions cued attention and facilitated responses, but along differing time courses. These results highlight the ongoing nature of visual attention and demonstrate how it is deployed to locations even following actions.
Genetic and Molecular Dissection of Animal Decision-Making: A New Frontier for Genetic Analysis

In 1859, Darwin and Wallace presented extensive evidence that evolution occurs through natural selection. Twelve years later he would provide evidence that females select males and that this sexual selection changes the evolutionary paths of populations. Since then, biologists have shown that female mate choice is widespread in the animal kingdom, which strongly suggests that this may be an ancient behavior that ultimately drives the evolution of novel nervous systems and behaviors. More recently, female mate choice began to emerge as a central paradigm to probe and understand animal decision-making. The development of new genetic systems and the sequencing of genomes allow us to identify genes and mechanisms responsible for animals to make choices. Here we discuss the genetics basis of behavior and decision-making, the use of genetic models to study female mate choice, and how different disciplines and strategies may help us better understand animal decision-making.
Meta-analysis of the impact of successful chronic total occlusion percutaneous coronary intervention on left ventricular systolic function and reverse remodeling

BACKGROUND We sought to examine the impact of coronary chronic total occlusion (CTO) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on left ventricular (LV) function. METHODS We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published between January 1980 and November 2017 on the impact of successful CTO PCI on LV function. RESULTS A total of 34 observational studies including 2735 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Over a weighted mean follow-up of 7.9 months, successful CTO PCI was associated with an increase in LV ejection fraction by 3.8% (95%CI 3.0-4.7, P < 0.0001, I2 = 45%). In secondary analysis of 15 studies (1248 patients) that defined CTOs as occlusions of at least 3-month duration and reported follow-up of at least 3-months after the procedure, successful CTO PCI was associated with improvement in LV ejection fraction by 4.3% (95%CI [3.1, 5.6], P < 0.0001). In the 10 studies (502 patients) that reported LV end-systolic volume, successful CTO PCI was associated with a decrease in LV end-systolic volume by 4 mL, (95%CI -6.0 to -2.1, P < 0.0001, I2 = 0%). LV end-diastolic volume was reported in 9 studies with 403 patients and did not significantly change after successful CTO PCI (-2.3 mL, 95%CI -5.7 to 1.2 mL, P = 0.19, I2 = 0%). CONCLUSIONS Successful CTO PCI is associated with a statistically significant improvement in LV ejection fraction and decrease in LV end-systolic volume, that may reflect a beneficial effect of CTO recanalization on LV remodeling. The clinical implications of these findings warrant further investigation.
Casual Blood Pressure Methodology

The concept of measuring blood pressure (BP) has significantly evolved over the past two centuries, overcoming the challenge posed by the well-established, but clearly subjective, art of palpation of the pulse for ‘measures’ other than simply determining heart rate. In the United States, the BP cuff was introduced by Cushing in Baltimore in 1901 and in Boston in 1903 (1,2) when he returned from a trip to Italy with a version of a Riva-Rocci mercury sphygmomanometer. Recognizing the obstacles to be overcome, Cushing noted, “The belief is more or less prevalent that the powers of observation so markedly developed in our predecessors have, to a large extent, become blunted in us, owing to the employment of instrumental aids to exactness, and the art of medicine consequently has always adopted them with considerable reluctance” (2).
African-American Children at Church: Adult–Child Verbal Conflicts

In the following excerpt, 13-year-old Mamie challenges Sister Ima regarding her interpretation of the Adam and Eve story: mamie : Eve should of just picked up a stick and whooped that snake and we would still be in that garden. SI: Maybe God wanted us to know that we could have redemption. mamie : Slap him [snake] up against one of them trees! Stomp on his neck! ( While enacting .) si : God intended us not to be – God made other provisions for us. mamie : Hey, but I didn't do nothing! ( They continue to debate the meaning of the Adam and Eve story and the concept of sin .) Throughout this book, I've elaborated upon adults' growth-oriented, child-sensitive stance toward socialization and children's active participation in church. As Mamie's challenge to Sister Ima's traditional interpretation of original sin suggests, adult–child conflict is an excellent context in which to observe children's active participation in Sunday School. Children, as well as adults, had viewpoints on the particular beliefs and practices they encountered during Sunday School, and sometimes these viewpoints differed from those of their teachers. Adult–child verbal conflicts provide a unique glimpse into the rich diversity of children's perspectives. Verbal conflicts also provide a window into child-sensitive aspects of socialization practices. As we will see in this chapter, some children explicitly disagreed with teachers and elaborated their opposing views. The extent to which children were free to disagree with adults may reflect their status as active interpreters of biblical texts.
A Comparative Approach to Reconstructing the Socioecology of Extinct Primates

Some aspects of behavior can be reconstructed in the fossil record because structure and function (i.e., behavior) are directly linked. For instance, one may be able to reconstruct the diet of an extinct taxon based on a variety of morphological features that are known to have certain functions among extant species. Many chapters in this book follow this approach, which, for all its limitations (Kay and Cartmill, 1977; Kay, 1984), may produce the most reliable reconstructions of the behavior and ecology of extinct species.
Principles of racial integration vs. perceptions of non-White neighborhoods: Comparing hypothetical and real neighborhood choice

ABSTRACTUsing qualitative interview data, we examine the consistency of White residents’ responses to questions about their preferences for the racial composition of their neighborhoods when compar...
EF-03 Microbiota-associated tryptophan catabolism induces autoimmune activation in a mouse model of lupus

Background Tryptophan (Trp) is an essential amino acid that is used for the biosynthesis of key compounds such as serotonin (5HT), kynurenine (Kyn), and AhR ligands. The gut microbiome is a critical participant in Trp metabolism through which it modulates many biological pathways, including immune activation with the generation of AhR ligands. High Kyn and low 5HT levels have been found in patients with SLE. Disturbances in gut bacterial communities, defined as dysbiosis, have been found in lupus patients and lupus mice. Moreover, a recent study demonstrated that the translocation of gut pathobiont in a lupus mouse model as well as in SLE patients related with autoimmune pathogenesis. The hypothesis tested in this study is that the interplay between gut microbiota, Trp metabolism, and genetic susceptibility modulates systemic autoimmunity. Methods We used the B6.Sle1.Sle2.Sle3 (TC) lupus-prone mouse model that shares over 95% of its genome with control B6 mice. Sequencing of fecal 16S rDNA was performed by standard methods. Serum and feces Trp metabolites were quantified by mass spectroscopy. Gnotobiotic (GF) B6 mice were colonized with feces from either TC or B6 mice, their immune phenotypes analyzed 4 weeks later. The immunophenotypes of TC mice analyzed after 4 month exposure to various levels of dietary Trp. Results TC and B6 mice have a distinct gut microbiota, and transfers of TC fecal microbiota induce a transient autoimmunity in GF B6 mice. Autoimmune activation was also mitigated by horizontal microbiota transfers between co-housed TC and B6 mice. As SLE patients, TC mice present high Kyn and low 5HT levels in their serum and feces, and this metabolite imbalance was eliminated by a broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment. Furthermore, variations in dietary Trp modulated autoimmune pathogenesis: a low Trp diet prevented the development of autoimmunity while a high Trp diet accelerated disease progression, and the production of their anti-dsDNA IgG was positively correlated with their Kyn level. Finally, feces from TC mice fed with high Trp levels induced a higher autoimmune activation than feces from TC mice fed with low Trp levels in GF B6 mice. Conclusions These results demonstrate the existence of interactions between lupus susceptibility genes and gut dysbiosis, where the full disease phenotype requires the presence of both. Furthermore, our results suggest that gut dysbiosis alters Trp metabolism in genetically lupus susceptible mice by expanding Trp-catabolizing bacteria and that some of these alterations contribute to autoimmune activation. Acknowledgements Supported by R21 AI122338 to LM.
Use of national databases: interpreting treatment outcomes using real-world data

In our paper “Long-Term Results for Clinical Stage IA Lung Cancer: Comparing Lobectomy and Sublobar Resection”, we used an enhanced dataset from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) to compare 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease recurrence in propensity matched patients undergoing lobectomy or sublobar resection for clinical stage IA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (1). We found that 5-year OS was similar between cohorts. However, those undergoing sublobar resection were identified to have a 39% increased risk of cancer recurrence.
S137 Short-acting and long-acting β2-agonists upregulate asthma-relevant pro-inflammatory mediators in human airway epithelial cells while short-acting muscarinic antagonists do not

Introduction and objectives Despite their undoubted benefits, increased mortality is associated with overuse of short-acting β2-agonists (SABAs) and with using long-acting β2-agonists (LABAs) in the absence of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS). Mechanisms underlying these adverse effects are unclear. It has previously been reported that salmeterol and formoterol induce disease-relevant mediators in bronchial epithelial cells (BECs).1 We investigated whether other commercially available β2-agonists, or the short-acting muscarinic antagonist ipratropium, cause similar effects. Methods BEAS-2B BECs were stimulated with SABAs (salbutamol, fenoterol), LABAs (formoterol, indacaterol, olodaterol, vilanterol) or ipratropium at a range of concentrations or with vehicle control. Cell supernatants were harvested 24 hours post-stimulation. Additionally, BEAS-2B BECs were stimulated with salmeterol, with and without the corticosteroid fluticasone, in the presence and absence of rhinovirus-16. Cell supernatants were harvested 8, 24, 48 and 72 hours post-stimulation. Results Compared to vehicle control, there was significant induction of IL-6 by 100nM fenoterol (p=0.021), 1nM formoterol (p=0.015), 100nM indacaterol (p=0.049), 1nM vilanterol (p=0.029) and 0.1nM vilanterol (p=0.028); and significant induction of IL-11 by 10nM olodaterol (p=0.028) and 0.1nM olodaterol (p=0.012) versus vehicle-treated cells. There was no significant induction of IL-6 or IL-11 at any tested concentration of ipratropium (p>0.05). Compared to vehicle control, there was significant induction of IL-6 by salmeterol, both with and without rhinovirus-16, at 8, 24 and 48 hours (p Conclusions Clinically relevant SABAs and LABAs induce upregulation of asthma-relevant mediators in BECs. This effect is not exhibited by ipratropium. Inappropriate β2-agonist use may cause adverse effects in asthma via induction of, and augmentation of virus-induction of, the pro-inflammatory mediators IL-6 and IL-11 in BECs. ICS protect against this adverse effect. In vivo studies are required for further confirmation. Reference Ritchie AI, Singanayagam A, Wiater E, Edwards MR, Montminy M, Johnston SL. β2-agonists enhance asthma-relevant inflammatory mediators in human airway epithelial cells. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2018;58(1):128–132.
Factors affecting success of reconstruction of extremity injuries with microvascular free flaps

Objective One of the most challenging aspects of restoring form and function to an extremity affected by a traumatic event is repairing the extensive soft tissue defect. Some methods of repair are use of microvascular free flaps, pedicled perforator flaps, and skin grafting.1 The choice of reconstruction depends on many factors, including location/size, patient's comorbidities, and donor site limitations. The aim of this study was to review extremity soft tissue reconstructions that were performed by pedicled and free flap methods and to determine if any factors played a role in the outcome of treatment. Methods With institutional review board approval, a retrospective chart review was performed for cases in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery involving extremity reconstruction procedures in the years 2010–2015. A data set was created in REDCap to record patient demographic characteristics, social habits, cause/site of injury, procedures performed, postoperative/post-discharge complications, and healing outcome. Statistical analysis was performed by using SPSS, SAS, and Excel software. A comparative analysis, by using Fisher's exact test, Pearson's χ2 test, and independentt tests, was performed. Results We identified 71 patients, 20 of whom were excluded because of repetition and/or other reconstruction. Of the 51 patients identified, 38 (74.5%) were males and 13 (25.5%) were females (mean age 41 years). Accident-related injuries included motorcycle, 13 (26.5%); car, 14 (28.6%); falls, 8 (15.7%); pedestrian–automobile collision, 8 (15.7%); and other causes. Lower extremities were affected in 49 of 51 cases. Reconstructions included radial forearm free flap (17), anterior lateral thigh flap (7), latissimus dorsi free flap (3), gastrocnemius pedicled flap (9), and other rotational flaps (15). Of 51 patients, 15 required readmissions—9 for wound dehiscence and 11 for infection (6 had both). Of the patients with poor wound care, 60% developed an infection, 72% of whom required readmission. No significant correlation between patient comorbidities and the rate of flap failure/readmission was noted. Conclusions Extensive extremity injuries caused by traumatic events often lead to soft tissue defects that require tissue rearrangement/free tissue transfer for repair. In evaluating patients with free flap/rotational flap reconstruction of these defects, we determined that readmissions mainly resulted from infection, most of which were correlated with poor wound care. To further address our hypothesis, we plan to review patients from 2016 to 2019 to evaluate if any other factors (i.e., orthopedic hardware) may play a role in the rate of infections.
What We Got Wrong in the War on Drugs

The War on Drugs is effectively over. Drugs won. This essay addresses some of the mistakes we made in that futile effort. Allowing racism to motivate action and impede reform was a primary error. So was failing to understand that narcotics crime is simply different than other types of criminalized behavior in several fundamental ways. In whole, we largely addressed the narcotics trade as a moral failing rather than a market—and never got around to recognizing the size and shape of that market or to using market forces to control it. Ronald Reagan compared the War on Drugs to the Battle of Verdun, and he was right: fortunes were spent, many lives were lost, and nothing really changed.
Robotic Partial Nephrectomy for Completely Endophytic and Hilar Renal Tumors

Abstract Introduction: Robot-assisted partial nephrectomy can be challenging in patients with completely endophytic tumors because of the difficulties in observation of the tumor. Endophytic tumors...
Pattern Reconfigurable UHF RFID Reader Antenna Array

The growing research interest in passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)-based devices and sensors in a diverse group of applications calls for flexibility in reader antenna performance. We propose a low-cost, easy-to-fabricate, and pattern reconfigurable UHF (Ultra High Frequency) RFID reader antenna in the RFID ISM band (902-928 MHz in the US). The antenna offers a 54 MHz bandwidth (890 - 944 MHz) and 8.9 dBi maximum gain. The proposed reconfigurable antenna can radiate four electronically switchable radiation beams in the azimuth plane. The antenna is LHCP (Left Hand Circularly Polarized) with axial ratio (AR) in the ranging from 0.45 dB to 7 dB in the RFID ISM band. Simulation and measurements are presented, and they are in good agreement. The proposed reader array performance is compared against a commercially available reader antenna. The pattern reconfigurable UHF RFID reader antenna not only increases the coverage area for conventional RFID applications but also opens the door to on-body RFID sensor implementation and indoor localization applications.
Preparation and evaluation of catfish protein as a wood adhesive

In order to decrease the usage of formaldehyde and petroleum-derived raw materials, there has been a lot of interest in using protein-based wood adhesives as more eco-friendly and less hazardous al...
Restitution without Restoration? Exploring the Gap between the Perception and Implementation of Restitution:

Restitution as a social practice can simultaneously have a punitive effect and add to a person’s criminal justice debt load, while maintaining a reparative and therefore restorative component. We u...
Black colleges: The vanguard of black community development

The Black Lives Matter movement has arrested the national narrative focusing on the complicated history between Black Americans and law enforcement. Widespread cries for defunding local police depa...
Proof of Network Security Services: Enforcement of Security SLA through Outsourced Network Testing

Many companies outsource their network security functionality to third party service providers. To guarantee the quality of such services, a Security Service Level Agreement (SSLA) between the two parties often needs to be signed and enforced. Some mechanisms to verify the execution of the SSLA must be designed. In this paper, we propose a mechanism to allow a non-interest third party to help end customers verify the SSLA. Specifically, an end customer can carefully craft network traffic and conduct spontaneous and configurable verification of the SSLA with the help of a group of testers. While the basic idea is straightforward, multiple methods must be designed to guarantee the execution of the testing procedure. For example, we need to prevent the testing sites from being abused for network attacks. We describe our approaches in details. Our analysis and quantitative results show that our approach can effectively help end customers verify the execution of network security SLA.
Barriers and Opportunities in Implementing Patient-Reported Outcomes Assessment: A National Survey of General Pediatricians and Pediatric Subspecialties in the United States

Purpose: To characterize pediatricians’ perceived constraints and areas of confidence in assessing patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in the U.S., and to test associations of these factors with implementing PRO assessment. Methods: Using a random sample from the members of American Medical Association, we recruited general pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists to complete a survey (July 2011 to December 2013). Perceived constraints and confidence in PRO assessment were compared by age, pediatric specialty (general pediatrics, 7 subspecialties), practice settings (academic, private), and region of practice. Multivariable logistic regression tested associations of demographic, constraint, and confidence factors with implementing PRO assessment. Findings: The survey was completed by 458 participants (response rate 48.5%); of them, 40.4%, 15.9%, 15.5%, and 8.1% were general pediatricians, cardiology, hematology/oncology, and pulmonary specialists, respectively. PRO assessment was implemented by 29.0% of the pediatricians. The top five constraints for PRO assessment included limited time/manpower (79.0%), limited training (77.4%), lengthy PRO instruments (76%), lack of meaningful cut-offs on PRO scores (75.5%), and unavailable PRO instruments (75.0%). Limited knowledge about PROs (OR 3.80; 95% CI 1.65, 4.80) and unavailability of PRO instruments (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.04, 3.16) increased the odds of not implementing the assessment, whereas confidence in PRO assessments compatible with norms (OR 0.34; 95% CI 0.20, 0.58) and perceived benefit over clinical judgment alone (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.34, 0.99) decreased the odds of not implementing the assessment. Interpretation: Significant barriers to PRO assessment in pediatric settings suggest the need for providing training, resources, and practical guidance toward implementation. Funding Statement: Supported in part by the U.S. National Institutes of Health grants through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (K23 HD057146) and the National Cancer Institute (Cancer Center Support P30 CA021765), as well as the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities. Declaration of Interests: The authors disclose no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: Pediatricians were required to complete an informed consent form, as a prerequisite to complete the questionnaire. The Institutional Review Board at the University of Florida approved this study.
Development and Validation of an Interpretable Artificial Intelligence Model to Predict 10-Year Prostate Cancer Mortality

Prostate cancer treatment strategies are guided by risk-stratification. This stratification can be difficult in some patients with known comorbidities. New models are needed to guide strategies and determine which patients are at risk of prostate cancer mortality. This article presents a gradient-boosting model to predict the risk of prostate cancer mortality within 10 years after a cancer diagnosis, and to provide an interpretable prediction. This work uses prospective data from the PLCO Cancer Screening and selected patients who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. During follow-up, 8776 patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer. The dataset was randomly split into a training (n = 7021) and testing (n = 1755) dataset. Accuracy was 0.98 (±0.01), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic was 0.80 (±0.04). This model can be used to support informed decision-making in prostate cancer treatment. AI interpretability provides a novel understanding of the predictions to the users.
Intellectual Property Rights and the Right to Participate in Cultural Life

Although many contend that human rights law is a justification for intellectual property rights, precisely the opposite is true. Human rights law is far more a limit on intellectual property rights than a rationale for such regimes. In a variety of ways, human rights law requires states to take specific, concrete steps to limit the effects of intellectual property rights in order to protect international human rights. This powerful and emancipatory dimension of human rights law has unfortunately been overshadowed by those who claim human rights as a basis for granting exclusive rights.The U.N. Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights – the body created to monitor state compliance with the terms of an international treaty called the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights – is in the process of drafting a General Comment that will interpret the “right to take part in cultural life,” a right protected under Article 15(1)(a) of the treaty. This submission was designed to provide the Committee with an overview of some of the ways in which intellectual property rights can affect this right and what states may be required to do to protect the ability of individuals to participate in cultural life.
Culture and attention: evidence from brain and behavior

Research has demonstrated that our experiences, including the culture in which we are raised, shape how we attend to and perceive the world. Behavioral studies have found that individuals raised in Western cultures tend toward analytic processing and prefer tasks emphasizing independent contexts rather than tasks emphasizing interdependent contexts. The opposite is true for individuals raised in East Asian cultures, who tend toward holistic processing and prefer tasks emphasizing interdependent contexts. Recently, cognitive neuroscientists have extended these behavioral findings to examine the brain activity of individuals from different cultures during the performance of cognitive tasks. Results from these initial studies indicate that culture may shape how the brain processes even very abstract stimuli and may influence the features of the environment to which individuals attend. The present chapter reviews evidence that culture influences attention and related systems, which, in turn, impact other cognitive and social processes and their neural correlates.
Valor's Vices: Against a State Duty to Risk Forces in Armed Conflict

This paper questions the claim that armed forces have a categorical duty to risk themselves to protect civilians. Wary of air power that limits risk to an attacking state’s own forces, the great political philosopher Michael Walzer and others have criticized NATO’s Kosovo campaign in 1999 and Israel’s 2008-09 Gaza incursion. While international humanitarian law (IHL) already bars the targeting of civilians and requires proportionality between collateral harm and a military goal, champions of the duty to risk assert that more is required. Although champions of the duty to risk deploy the rhetoric of valor to justify this new obligation, that rhetoric masks questionable judgment and skewed signals. The duty to risk is a myopic approach that would discourage technological innovation and precautions such as warnings. It would also subject commanders to a withering hindsight bias, in essence imposing strict liability on states for civilian casualties. Finally, the duty to risk sends perverse signals in conflicts between states and violent non-state actors like terrorist groups, encouraging non-state groups to intermingle civilian and belligerent operations in order to hamstring state responses. This flawed signaling puts even more civilians at risk. Lowering civilian casualties calls for a structural approach that enhances deliberation about targeting decisions by military lawyers and senior officials. A state would also have to use the most precise weaponry that is practically available, and use the least amount of force required to disable dual-use targets such as power plants where civilian casualties are likely. Finally, a state would have an ethical obligation to cooperate with international investigations. These measures may not produce more heroes, but they promise to save more civilians.
Vocal Cord Immobility After Thyroid Surgery: Treatment Option with Office-Based Injection Laryngoplasty

Abstract Introduction: Vocal cord immobility after thyroidectomy is not uncommon, with an incidence ranging from 0.5% to 3%. Patients may complain of dysphonia, which can include a weak or breathy ...
Proteinase Production by a Species of Cephalosporium

An unidentified Cephalosporium species produced an extracellular proteinase when grown in a variety of fermentation media under submerged culture conditions. Maximal enzyme yields were obtained in a medium containing 2% corn meal, 1% soybean meal, and 0.5% CaCO3 in tap water. Optimal proteinase production in this medium occurred within a 72- to 96-hr growth period. High enzyme yields were also attained with media in which cottonseed meal, Fermatein, Pharmamedia, or soybean-α-protein was substituted for the soybean meal. The substitution of these ingredients for the corn meal resulted in significantly decreased proteinase yields. The addition of minerals or vitamins to the corn meal-soybean meal fermentation medium failed to enhance proteinase production. The enzyme was most active in an alkaline environment; maximal caseinolysis occurred at pH 7.5, whereas pH 8.5 was optimal for either hemoglobin or β-lactoglobulin hydrolysis. Enzymatic activity was also noted with either bovine albumin fraction V or soybean-α-protein substrates, whereas ovalbumin was not susceptible to enzymatic attack. The enzyme was stable within the pH range of 3.0 to 9.5 at 25 C for 2 hr, and at 5 C for 24 hr. The proteinase was stable upon heating for 10 min at 35 to 45 C, but it was totally inactivated at 70 C. The proteinase was unaffected by soybean inhibitor, partially inactivated by lima bean inhibitor, and completely inactivated by ovomucoid inhibitor.
Mechanisms for laser-induced functional damage to silicon charge-coupled imaging sensors.

We measured the functional degradation of silicon CCD photodetector arrays when subjected to Nd:YAG laser irradiation at 1.06 μm by 10-ns pulses. Operational tests such as dark leakage, point-spread function, and modulation transfer function were developed for testing individual pixels and applied to the testing of locally laser-damaged CCD arrays. Testing revealed that the primary failure mechanism was the spreading of the point-spread function in the direction of clocked charge motion that resulted from a decreased depth of potential wells within the laser-damaged spot. Lesser degradation was observed at pixels near the damaged spot that were served by clock lines that traversed the damage spot. This damage behavior was correlated with decreased breakdown voltage and increased leakage current between adjacent clock lines. Subsequent morphological and TEM examination of similarly constructed chips indicated that laser heating of the polysilicon clock lines led to degradation of the adjacent isolation oxide between clock lines. Functional damage occurred at locations where two clock lines were very close to each other, and the thin oxide layer separating them was subjected to high temperatures that resulted from melting of the neighboring polysilicon.