cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The status of cacao (Theobroma cacao, Sterculiaceae) in the western hemisphere.

There are, at the present time, effectively no long-range, ongoing programs in any tropical country of the western hemisphere dedicated to the improvement of cacao (Theobroma cacao, Sterculiaceae). While some effort is currently made to obtain new acquisitions of cacao cultivars exhibiting desirable characteristics and to maintain genepools of these trees, there are few data from field trials to prove and substantiate these qualities. In addition, there is a growing concern regarding the disparities between predicted yields of cacao trees through the use of “hybrid” seed and from actual production under field conditions. This has stimulated an awareness of the current inadequate understanding of the genetics of cacao and the lack of comprehension as to which cultivars, under distinct ecological conditions, are precocious, resistant to disease, or heavy bearing, or indeed demonstrate those traits vital to the success of farming programs adapted to today’s market conditions. This paper examines the events that have led to the current status of selection, development, and breeding of cacao. Alternative approaches are suggested.
Characteristics of a-Si Pixel Arrays for Radiation Imaging

Two-dimensional a-Si photodiode arrays with the a-Si TFT readout scheme were fabricated. Some performance characteristics were investigated for detecting visible light, X-ray and γ ray. Arrays of 64×40 1mm2-pixels have good uniformity with ± 1 % in linearity variation, ± 10 % dark current variation and ± 5 % sensitivity variation. The cross-talk between adjacent pixels was found to be negligible so that the intrinsic spatial resolution was determined entirely by the pixel size. Due to the high resistivity of a-Si photodiodes and TFTs, charges generated by pulsed light illumination were retained in photodiodes for a long period of time. This enables the accumulation-mode operation for detecting low-intensity light, where only one image is obtained over a long integration time. An encapsulated Co-57 source (3 μ.Ci) was successfully imaged with 5 sec integration. Alternatively, the array can be operated by the cine-mode for detecting high-intensity light, where a number of images are obtained successively.
Learning User Preferences for Wireless Services Provisioning

The problem of interest is how to dynamically allocate wireless access services in a competitive market which implements a take-it-or-leave-it allocation mechanism. In this paper we focus on the subproblem of preference elicitation, given a mechanism. The user, due to a number of cognitive and technical reasons, is assumed to be initially uninformed over their preferences in the wireless domain. The solution we have developed is a closed-loop user-agent system that assists the user in application, task and context dependent service provisioning by adaptively and interactively learning to select the best wireless data service. The agent learns an incrementally revealed user preference model given explicit or implicit feedback on its decisions by the user. We model this closed-loop system as a Markov Decision Process, where the agent actions are rewarded by the user, and show how a reinforcement learning algorithm can be used to learn a model of the userýs preferences on-line in the given allocation mechanism. We evaluate the performance and value of the agent in a series of preliminary empirical user studies.
Implantable Minipump With MEMS Electrothemal Valve for Bolus Injection in Mice

An implantable, single-use miniature infusion pump (MIP) was designed to allow radiotracer injection and functional neuroimaging in freely moving mice. The pump comprises a pressurized reservoir, and a parylene electrothermal valve, which opens to inject tracer through an intravenous catheter into the circulation. A 3-layer 300 μl elastomeric reservoir was built by molding silicone in two-part metal casts. The valve was powered by inductive power transfer from an external 20 cm diameter primary coil to an implanted miniature 8-turn, 1.6 cm diameter Litz-wire secondary coil capable of generating 150 mW at the frequency of 2 MHz.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
DARP-MP: Dynamically Adaptable Resilient Pipeline Design in Multicore Processors

In this article, we demonstrate that the sensitized path delays in various microprocessor pipe stages exhibit intriguing temporal and spatial variations during the execution of real-world applications. To effectively exploit these delay variations, we propose dynamically adaptable resilient pipeline (DARP)—a series of runtime techniques to boost power-performance efficiency and fault tolerance in a pipelined microprocessor. DARP employs early error prediction to avoid a major portion of the timing errors. We combine DARP with the state-of-art topologically homogeneous and power-performance heterogeneous (THPH) architecture to build up a new frontier for the energy efficiency of multicore processors (DARP-MP). Using a rigorous circuit-architectural infrastructure, we demonstrate that DARP substantially improves the multicore processor performance (9.4--20p) and energy efficiency (10--28.6p) compared to state-of-the-art techniques. The energy-efficiency improvements of DARP-MP are 42p and 49.9p compared against the original THPH and another state-of-art multicore power management scheme, respectively.
On modeling of adversary behavior and defense for survivability of military MANET applications

In this paper we develop a methodology and report preliminary results for modeling attack/defense behaviors for achieving high survivability of military mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). Our methodology consists of 3 steps. The first step is to model adversary behavior of capture attackers and inside attackers which can dynamically and adaptively trigger the best attack strategies while avoiding detection and eviction. The second step is to model defense behavior of defenders utilizing intrusion detection and tolerance strategies to reactively and proactively counter dynamic adversary behavior. We leverage game theory to model attack/defense dynamics with the players being the attackers/defenders, the actions being the attack/defense strategies identified, and the payoff for each outcome being related to system survivability. The 3rd and final step is to identify and apply proper solution techniques that can effectively and efficiently analyze attack/defense dynamics as modeled by game theory for guiding the creation of effective defense strategies for assuring high survivability in military MANETs. The end product is a tool that is capable of analyzing a myriad of attacker behaviors and seeing the effectiveness of countering adaptive defense strategies which incorporate attack/defense dynamics.
Growth factor-eluting technologies for bone tissue engineering

Growth factors are essential orchestrators of the normal bone fracture healing response. For non-union defects, delivery of exogenous growth factors to the injured site significantly improves healing outcomes. However, current clinical methods for scaffold-based growth factor delivery are fairly rudimentary, and there is a need for greater spatial and temporal regulation to increase their in vivo efficacy. Various approaches used to provide spatiotemporal control of growth factor delivery from bone tissue engineering scaffolds include physical entrapment, chemical binding, surface modifications, biomineralization, micro- and nanoparticle encapsulation, and genetically engineered cells. Here, we provide a brief review of these technologies, describing the fundamental mechanisms used to regulate release kinetics. Examples of their use in pre-clinical studies are discussed, and their capacities to provide tunable, growth factor delivery are compared. These advanced scaffold systems have the potential to provide safer, more effective therapies for bone regeneration than the systems currently employed in the clinic.
Erratum for Gui et al., Electron Tomography Imaging of Surface Glycoproteins on Human Parainfluenza Virus 3: Association of Receptor Binding and Fusion Proteins before Receptor Engagement

Volume 6, no. 1, doi: 10.1128/mBio.02393-14, 2015. In Materials and Methods, in the paragraph headed “Negative-stain and cryo-electron tomography,” the fourth sentence should read as follows (the corrected text …
Experimental infections of wild birds with the viruses of eastern equine encephalitis, Newcastle disease and vesicular stomatitis.

Received for publication April 7, 1959. * On leave from the Central Institute of Hygiene, Zagreb, Yugoslavia. Paper NS 270 from the Department of Veterinary Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison, published with the approval of the director of the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station_ sin. The crows, hawks and owl were captured in southern Wisconsin by personnel of the Wisconsin Conservation Department. All birds appeared healthy at the beginning of the experiments. The eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV) used was originally isolated in 1956 from the brain of a horse which died during an encephalitis epizootic in southeastern Georgia. Allantoic fluids from the thirteenth and twenty-third serial passages in chicken embryos were used in these experiments. The vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) used was the Wisconsin strain (New Jersey serotype) isolated from a cow in 1949 and transmitted serially in chicken embryos. The Newcastle disease virus (NDV) was Texas GB strain isolated from an outbreak of severe nervous-respiratory disease in chickens in 1948 and maintained by serial passage in chicken embryos. The routes of viral exposure used in the experiments were oral, subcutaneous, intracardial and intracerebral. Dosage varied according to the route of exposure employed and the estimated susceptibility of the individual bird. Birds were visually examined at least once daily after viral exposure to record clinical signs of illness. Body temperatures were not measured, since it was felt that the excitement produced by handling would greatly influence thermometer readings. Blood was drawn on alternate days after infection and examined for evidence of viremia. Fecal samples obtained by cloacal washing were collected daily from crows exposed to the viruses by ingestion of infected chicken embryos. Immune response was judged on the basis of virus neutralization (VN) tests on paired pre-exposure and convalescent serums. Convalescent serums were usually collected on the fourteenth day post exposure. Neutralization indices of 50 or higher in convalescent serums were considered indicative of infection and in birds which possessed no antibody before experimental exposure, this was recorded as a positive immune response. Most of the birds which did not die as a result of the infections were killed by bleeding on the fourteenth day post exposure and tissues, usually brain, lung, liver and spleen, were examined for histopathology and viral content. Tissues were prepared for histopathological examination by
Ecology of Thysanoptera within Cabbage Fields

The occurrence and species composition of thrips within cabbage fields were studied during 1981 and 1982. Temporal differences in abundance and species composition depended on the spatial relationship of cabbage fields to cereal and forage crops. Sticky traps within cabbage fields recorded peak flights of thrips during maturation and senescence of adjacent wheat or oat fields and cutting of adjacent alfalfa and red clover fields. These data indicate several important findings regarding the ecology of thrips in general and the possible management of Thrips tabaci Lindeman in particular. First, although there are large numbers of thrips in cabbage fields during certain time periods (e.g., maturation or harvesting of crops), most will not be T. tabaci and need not be of concern to cabbage growers. Second, there are significant differences in thrips phenology and species composition in cabbage fields, and these differences appear to be dependent on phenology and management of adjacent field and forage crops. Third, although many other species are present, T. tabaci appears to be present in adequate numbers to infest cabbage at the critical period of head formation. This critical period occurs at different times depending on area, planting date, variety, and weather.
THE INVERSE-SIMILARITY PROBLEM FOR REAL ORTHOGONAL MATRICES

(1997). The Inverse-Similarity Problem for Real Orthogonal Matrices. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 104, No. 3, pp. 223-230.
Abstract B18: Pain, depression, and fatigue symptom cluster as a predictor of physical quality of life in advanced and recurrent cancer

Abstracts: Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research 2008 B18 Pain, depression, and fatigue are common symptoms affecting quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients and survivors. Recent research has suggested the existence of a pain, depression, and fatigue (PDF) symptom cluster. The present study examined whether the PDF symptom cluster predicts physical QoL in cancer patients with advanced disease, an underrepresented group in this area of research. Method: Patients (N=121) with newly diagnosed advanced breast cancer (i.e. metastatic or recurrent disease) were accrued. Women were consecutive cases at a university-affiliated National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center or self- and physician-referred cases from the community. The Brief Pain Questionnaire (BPQ), Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and Fatigue Symptom Inventory (FSI) were used to measure pain, depression, and fatigue, respectively. The Karnofsky Performance Status Scale (KPS) assessed functional status, which was used as a proxy for QoL. Patients were assessed at baseline, and 4, 8, and 12 month follow-ups. A composite score for pain, depression, and fatigue was calculated for each participant by adding the individual scores from each symptom scale. Hierarchical linear regressions were conducted to examine whether PDF predicted physical functioning over time, controlling for relevant disease and demographic variables. Results: Correlation analyses revealed strong positive intercorrelations between pain, depression, and fatigue at all time points. Analyses revealed that a lower PDF composite score at 4 months predicted greater physical functioning both at 8 months and 12 months (p<0.05). Discussion: Results suggest that there may be a longitudinal effect of PDF symptom clustering on quality of life in these patients. Symptom management interventions may need to treat all three symptoms to be maximally effective. Future research could investigate mechanisms for the relationships among symptoms, or generate effective treatment strategies. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2008;1(7 Suppl):B18.
An Analysis of the Relationship Between Phonological and Nonphonological Language and Early Reading Development

This study explores the relationship between preschool phonological and nonphonological language performance and first-grade reading performance. Data were gathered from the files of 149 students who had completed a universal kindergarten screening program in the spring prior to enrollment. Bivariate correlation analyses, Steiger’s Z comparisons, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were completed to determine the associations between phonological and nonphonological language skills and subsequent first-grade spring word analysis and reading composite performance. Phonological and nonphonological tasks were moderately useful in predicting students’ subsequent first-grade word analysis and reading composite performance. No significant difference in association was found between the phonological and nonphonological composites. A combined phonological and nonphonological model provided the strongest predictive utility. This study supports a significant and equivalent association between preschool ph...
Application of geodesic active contours based on total variation denoising

Although the classical geodesic active contour can deform an initial curve towards the boundary of the object to be detected,but the Gaussian regularization that has the property of the isotropic diffusion may simultaneously blur the edge or boundry of the objects and make the curve propagating unstable which can lead to a time-consuming propagation.This paper introduced a geodesic active contour model based on total variation denoising to solve the problem mentioned above.Total variation model can smooth out the noises in image,but it may simultaneously preserve and sharp the edge of the objects.Experimental results of applying the proposed method in noising images show that it yields good effect and saves time.
Promoting Professionalism and Professional Accountability

Dedicated leadership, effective planning and teamwork, and reliable implementation are essential elements of successful healthcare initiatives, clinical outcomes and research endeavors. Lapses in professional conduct at any level may undermine the teamwork necessary to achieve goals in safety and outcomes. Therefore, Academic Medical Center (AMC) leaders need means for identifying lapses and addressing unnecessary variation in professional performance. This chapter discusses application of self- and group-regulation—hallmarks of professionalism—to a hypothetical AMC faculty member, “Dr. A,” recruited to create a Coordinated Clinical Care Center, an important programmatic need for the department. Despite his department Chair’s expectations that Dr. A will implement a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, evidence accumulates that Dr. A’s performance is undermining attainment of the Center’s goals. The chapter describes an evidence-based plan and process by which AMCs may promote professionalism and restore full and effective functioning (“redeem”) physicians—both leaders like Dr. A and non-leader colleagues—who model conduct inconsistent with AMC values and a culture of safety.
U.S. East-West Trade Policy

Since 1917, U.S.-Soviet commercial policy has followed a cyclical pattern of high peaks of interchange alternating with deep troughs of mutual economic isolation. The variations in policy on each side have turned on the perceived need to balance the benefits of trade against the political costs — that is, the potential loss of security and diplomatic leverage. Although the United States and the Soviet Union have never been major trading partners, trade has become important to key sectors, particularly agriculture. Following a substantial upturn in commercial relations during the period of detente (1971–1974), U.S.-Soviet economic relations over the next decade shifted steadily from cooperation to confrontation. In particular, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the imposition of martial law in Poland in 1981 triggered economic reprisals from the United States, including the 1980 grain embargo, restrictive foreign policy controls on exports, and reductions in credit and bilateral exchange programs.
Molecular Pathways in Alzheimer’s Disease and Cognitive Function: New Insights into Pathobiology of Tau

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is associated with brain pathology characteristic of amyloid-beta-containing amyloid plaques and tau-containing neurofibrillary tangles, which leads to neuronal loss and cognitive decline. Here we focus on the pathobiology of tau and discuss the molecular mechanisms and pathways of tau-mediated neurodegeneration underlying AD and other forms of tauopathies. Tau is a microtubule-binding protein that normally stabilizes microtubules. Loss-of-function of tau leads to microtubule destabilization and axonal transport deficits in neurons. However, toxicity caused by tau gain-of-function is believed to be responsible for cognitive decline and neurodegeneration. Pathogenic tau species are hyperphosphorylated, form aggregates, and are missorted into somatodendritic compartment of neurons. Many molecular pathways are involved in these processes, such as protein degradation systems, posttranslational modifications, and interactions with cytoskeletons. Numerous animal models have been generated to understand these molecular mechanisms, which enables us to identify potential targets and strategies for treating tau-mediated neurodegenerative diseases, including AD.
The role of multimedia source codecs in green cellular networks

Recent years have seen an increased concern for the power consumption in cellular networks and the consequent environmental impact. This paper studies the role that source (especially video) coding efficiency plays in reducing the power consumption of cellular networks, making its operation more environmentally sustainable. Specifically, this paper presents a formulation that describes the power savings at base stations when multimedia traffic relies on more efficient source codecs. In addition, this paper examines the impact that the recent introduction of the highly efficient H.265 video coding standard could have in green cellular networks. Results based on realistic settings show power consumption reduction by as much as 27% when video traffic is based on H.265 coding instead of H.264. When aiming at powering the base station from renewable energy, it is shown that the probability of having insufficient renewable energy is reduced by half when video traffic is based on H.265. Also, it is shown how increased video coding efficiency results in a significant reduction in the required physical footprint of renewable electric power generators and a notable increase in the lifetime of the battery banks that are needed to operate powered from renewable energy.
More on Linear Programming Methods for Optimum Design

A derivation of the Simplex method for linear programming (LP) problems is presented. The idea of a canonical form is explained, and determination of the pivot element for the Gauss-Jordan elimination method is described. The pivot step that interchanges the roles of basic and nonbasic variables is explained. An alternate Simplex method, called the big-M method, is described and illustrated in an example. The topic of duality in linear programming is presented, and determination of the dual solution from the primal solution is discussed. Each constraint has its own dual variable that is shown to be the Lagrange multiplier for the corresponding constraint. The optimality conditions for the LP problem are derived, and it is shown that the Simplex method basically solves these optimality conditions in a systematic way. It is shown that the Simplex method can be adapted to solve quadratic programming problems.
The People as a Natural Disaster: Redemptive Violence in Jacobin Political Thought

The trial and execution of Louis XVI served as a founding act of French republican democracy. It was also a scene of irregular justice: no legal warrants or procedural precedents existed for bringing a king to justice before the law. This essay describes how Jacobins crafted a new language of popular agency to overcome that obstacle—the language of redemptive violence. Although redemptive violence had roots in prerevolutionary notions of penal justice and social cohesion, its philosophical ambitions were revolutionary and modern. Analyzing that language illuminates how republican democracy weaponized a distinctive ideology of extralegal violence at its origins. It also helps explain redemptive violence's enduring appeal during and after the French Revolution.
Evaluation of GCMs historical simulations of monthly and seasonal climatology over Bolivia

Bolivia is a low-latitude, developing country at grave risk to the deleterious effects of human-induced climate changes. Due to the complexity of the topography in Bolivia, it is difficult to capture future impacts of the climate change on the regional scale with the coarse resolution of current GCMs. A robust strategy has been developed to dynamically downscale the GCM outputs to a more appropriate temporal and spatial resolution for impact studies. Prior to downscaling, however, evaluation of the GCMs used to provide large-scale forcing is a necessary step to ensure physically meaningful results from regional climate models. This study represents the first part of a broader project on evaluating climate change impacts over Bolivia. We examined precipitation, temperature, wind patterns and moisture transport to evaluate the performance of eight CMIP5 GCMs in simulating the continental and regional climate patterns. Phenomena including the seasonal and monthly positions of the intertropical convergence zone, South Atlantic convergence zone, Bolivian high, Chaco low and South American low-level jet, were analyzed. Our results confirm that, in general, all the GCMs do reasonably well in simulating the basic patterns of the variables with some discrepancies in magnitude across models, especially in the regional scale. Some models outperform the others for the variables and the region of our interest. Finally, the results of this research will help improve quantifying the uncertainty range of further regional downscaling outputs.
Plato, Mary Baker Eddy, and Kenneth Burke:Can We Talk About Substance?

Kenneth Burke confessed that Permanence and Change was a secularization of the writing of Mary Baker Eddy that he learned in his Christian Science childhood. Eddy’s Platonic treatment of substance as “truth” engages with the tension between the symbolic and the nonsymbolic, foreshadowing Burke’s treatment of substance in relation to symbol, nonsymbol, and identification. The ways in which substance and identification interact in the works of Plato, Eddy, and Burke follow a line of discursive development that can illuminate critical review of how different forms of public discourse argue for “truth.”
Endosymbiotic adaptations in three new bacterial species associated with Dictyostelium discoideum: Burkholderia agricolaris sp. nov., Burkholderia hayleyella sp. nov., and Burkholderia bonniea sp. nov.

Here we name three species of Burkholderia that can defeat the mechanisms by which bacteria are normally excluded from the spores of a soil dwelling eukaryote, Dictyostelium discoideum that is predatory on bacteria. They are B. agricolaris sp. nov., B. hayleyella sp. nov., and B. bonniea sp. nov. These new species are widespread across the eastern USA and were isolated as internal symbionts of wild collected D. discoideum . Evidence that they are each a distinct new species comes from their phylogenetic position, carbon usage, reduced length, cooler optimal growth temperature, and ability to invade D. discoideum amoebae and remain there for generations.
Singularity and stability in a periodic system of particle accelerators

We study the single-particle dynamics in a general and parametrized alternating-gradient cell with zero chromaticity using the Lie algebra method. To our surprise, the first-order perturbation of the sextupoles largely determines the dynamics away from the major resonances. The dynamic aperture can be estimated from the topology and geometry of the phase space. In the linearly normalized phase space, it is scaled according to $\overline{A}\ensuremath{\propto}\ensuremath{\phi}\sqrt{L}$, where $\ensuremath{\phi}$ is the bending angle and $L$ the length of the cell. For the 2 degrees of freedom with equal betatron tunes, the analytical perturbation theory leads us to the invariant or quasi-invariant tori, which play an important role in determining the stable volume in the four-dimensional phase space.
Nonuniform composition profile in In0.5Ga0.5As alloy quantum dots

We use cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy to examine the shape and composition distribution of ${\mathrm{In}}_{0.5}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.5}\mathrm{As}$ quantum dots (QDs) formed by capping heteroepitaxial islands. The QDs have a truncated pyramid shape. The composition appears highly nonuniform, with an In-rich core having an inverted-triangle shape. Thus the electronic properties will be drastically altered, relative to the uniform composition generally assumed in device modeling. Theoretical analysis of the QD growth suggests a simple explanation for the unexpected shape of the In-rich core.
Cellular Protein hnRNP-A1 Interacts with the 3’-end and the Intergenic Sequence of Mouse Hepatitis Virus Negative-Strand RNA to Form a Ribonucleoprotein Complex

We previously showed that several cellular proteins specifically bind to the 3’-end and the intergenic sequences of the negative-strand RNA of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), and proposed that these distant RNA sequences can be brought together by cellular and vi-ral proteins (Furuya and Lai, 1993; Zhang et al., 1994; Zhang and Lai, 1995). The cellular protein p35 has been identified as a heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) Al. We have now expressed hnRNP-Al as a glutathione-S-transferase (GST) fusion protein and demonstrated that the amino terminal two-thirds of hnRNP-Al interacted with the two MHV regulatory RNA sequences (3’-end and intergenic sequences) through protein-RNA interaction while its carboxy-terminal glycine-rich domain mediated homomeric (protein-protein) interactions. In a partially reconstituted reaction, in which the two MHV RNA fragments and the purified GST-hnRNP-Al fusion protein were mixed, an RNP complex was formed. Depletion of either hnRNP-Al or one of the RNA components abolished the complex formation. These results indicate that hnRNP-Al can mediate the formation of an MHV RNP complex, which includes both the negative-strand leader and intergenic se-quences. Site-directed mutagenesis revealed that mutations in the MHV intergenic se-quences, which inhibiterd MHV RNA transcription, also inhibited the RNP complex forma-tion. Deletion analysis showed that the amino terminal RNA-binding domains of hnRNP-A1 is essential for the RNP complex formation while the carboxy-terminal protein-binding domain enhanced the complex formation by 90-fold. These findings provide direct evidence demonstrating that the negative-strand leader RNA and intergenic sequences can form an RNP complex mediated by cellular protein hnRNP-A1.
Late-Stage Melanoma: Be Sure to Screen Uninsured, Unmarried Men.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess for any associations between individual and social factors and late-stage melanoma in Kentucky from 1995 to 2013. METHODS The study combines three datasets: individual-level data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry, census tract-level data from the US Census, and county-level physician licensure data from the Kentucky Department for Public Health. The study population is described by all cases, early stage, and late stage. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the unadjusted associations between each covariate and early-stage and late-stage disease groups. All of the significant variables were assessed for interaction effect, and the significant interaction terms were used in the final model. Multiple logistic regression provided the final model of late-stage disease. RESULTS In this study population, a dramatic increase in melanoma incidence is seen from 1995 to 2013 with a threefold increase in the number of cases per year. Of the 10,109 cases reported, 13.6% have late-stage disease, with a mean age for all cases at 56.9 years and the majority being men. Late-stage cases are more commonly uninsured or insured with Medicaid or Medicare compared with cases with early-stage lesions. Having a spouse or partner is clearly protective from being diagnosed as having late-stage melanoma, whereas being uninsured or having Medicaid increases the odds of late-stage melanoma. CONCLUSIONS The incidence of melanoma is increasing dramatically. With no screening recommendation for the general population from the US Preventive Task Force, clinicians should focus on those at increased risk of late-stage melanoma: unmarried men who are uninsured or receiving Medicaid.
Barium impaction causing bowel obstruction in a neonate

Abstract Oral administration of barium sulfate can result in barium-induced intestinal obstruction. A term female newborn initially presented with a partial bowel obstruction. After completing an upper gastrointestinal (UGI) series with barium contrast to evaluate the etiology of her intestinal obstruction, she subsequently developed a complete bowel obstruction. At exploratory laparotomy, she was discovered to have a partial obstruction of the distal ileum by a congenital band that was rendered complete by an impacted barium plug. To our knowledge, this is the first report in a neonate with complete bowel obstruction secondary to barium impaction and the implications of this complication and appropriate management are discussed.
Robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy may offer improved oncologic outcomes over open surgery: a propensity-matched single-institution study.

The robotic platform in pancreatic disease has gained popularity in the hepatobiliary community due to significant advantages it technically offers over conventional open and laparoscopic techniques. Despite promising initial studies, there remains scant literature on operative and oncologic outcomes of robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy (RPD) for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. A retrospective review evaluated all RPD performed for pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 2008 to 2019 in a single tertiary institution. RPD cases were matched to open cases (OPD) by demographic and oncologic characteristics and outcomes compared using Mann–Whitney U test, log rank tests, and Kaplan–Meier methods. Thirty-eight RPD cases were matched to 38 OPD. RPD had significantly higher lymph node (LN) yield (21.5 vs 13.5; p = 0.0036) and no difference in operative time or estimated blood loss (EBL). RPD had significantly lower rate of delayed gastric emptying (DGE) (3% vs 32%; p = 0.0009) but no difference in leaks, infections, hemorrhage, urinary retention ,or ileus. RPD had significantly shorter length of stay (LOS) (7.5 vs. 9; p = 0.0209). There were no differences in 30- or 90-day readmissions or 90-day mortality. There was an equivalent R0 resection rate and LN positivity ratio. There was a trend towards improved median overall survival in RPD (30.4 vs. 23.0 months; p = 0.1105) and longer time to recurrence (402 vs. 284 days; p = 0.7471). OPD had two times the local recurrent rate (16% vs. 8%) but no difference in distant recurrence. While the feasibility and safety of RPD has been demonstrated, the impact on oncologic outcomes had yet to be investigated. We demonstrate that RPD not only offers similar if not superior immediate post-operative benefit by decreasing DGE but more importantly may offer improved oncologic outcomes. The significantly higher LN yield and decreased inflammatory response demonstrated in robotic surgery may improve overall survival.
Towards inclusive scholarly publishing: developments in the university press community

This article provides an overview of the ways in which the members of the Association of University Presses are working towards more inclusive practices in scholarly publishing. The authors consider the Mellon University Press Diversity Fellowship Program (now in its fourth year), the work of the Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, the Gender, Equity and Cultures of Respect Task Force and the new Equity, Justice and Inclusion Committee. They also look at press-based working groups and several ‘Toolkits for Equity’ that are currently in development. The volunteers engaged in these and other efforts are working to document how bias has shaped universities and university presses, to propose actions to disrupt this powerful force and to share what they have learned with their colleagues as well as with the larger scholarly publishing and academic communities.
12 – Schema Transformations

Publisher Summary This chapter examines various ways in which schemas may be transformed to provide alternatives and then presents guidelines for choosing optimally. An example illustrates how the ideas can also be used to reengineer existing applications that have proved unsatisfactory. It discusses some theorems that can help decide whether or not two schemas are equivalent. These theorems can also help transform one schema into an alternative schema that is either equivalent, or at least acceptably close to being equivalent. The act of reshaping a schema is said to be a conceptual schema transformation. The knowledge of schema transformations helps us see what different design choices are possible. Moreover, if two independently developed schemas are to be either fully or partly integrated, one often needs to resolve the differences in the ways that each schema models the common UoD features. Another use of conceptual schema transformations is to reshape the original conceptual schema into one that maps directly to a more efficient implementation. This process is known as conceptual schema optimization.
Effects of Statewide Coronavirus Public Health Measures and State Gun Laws on American Gun Violence

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic dramatically shifted American public life, and with it patterns of gun violence. In this paper, we show that states’ efforts to contain COVID-19 infections through statewide emergency declarations, Stay at Home orders, and phased reopening have significantly altered prevailing patterns of firearm injuries and deaths. We provide a systematic analysis of how state policy responses to COVID-19 affected overall levels of gun violence and specific kinds of shootings, including multiple victim and mass shootings. While emergency declarations and Stay at Home orders had a dampening effect on many forms of gun violence, we find that the number of people injured or killed by a firearm per day increased more than 15% following state reopening, on average. Over the first 30 days of reopening, we estimate that the average state had an additional 5 mass shootings than would be predicted absent the epidemic in the first 30 days of reopening. Additionally, we examine how COVID-related public health measures affect the composition of gun violence. We find that gun violence has followed workers and children home; even though workplaces and schools have closed, gun violence has likely reappeared in Americans’ lives as domestic violence related shootings and child involved shootings during Stay at Home and school closure periods. Finally, we show that state gun laws worked together with COVID-related emergency declarations and Stay at Home orders to further decrease gun violence in some states. Conversely, in states with decreased criminal liability for firearm use, as in states with Stand Your Ground laws, we observe an exacerbating effect on firearm injuries and deaths during the emergency declaration and Stay at Home order periods. Only one policy, waiting periods for handgun purchases, significantly dampened reopening surges in gun violence. These findings suggest that state policy environments can substantially reduce the impacts of exogenous shocks like COVID-19 on American gun violence and provides guidance on which policies can be helpful and which can be harmful.
Socio-economic status and the double burden of malnutrition in Cambodia between 2000 and 2014: overweight mothers and stunted children.

Objective: The Cambodian population has experienced an increase in the proportion of stunted children who have overweight mothers during a period of rapid social and economic growth. We aimed to identify socio-economic factors associated with this household-level double burden over time. Design: We used data from four Cambodia Demographic and Health Surveys from 2000 to 2014 to study the impact of socio-economic status (SES) on the link between child stunting and overweight mothers in two periods 2000–2005 v. 2010–2014. We hypothesised that SES would be a primary factor associated with this phenomenon. Participants: We included 14 988 children under the age of 5 years, among non-pregnant mothers aged 15–49 years of age and conducted analysis on a subsample of 1572 children with overweight mothers. Setting: Nationally representative household survey across all regions. Results: SES factors, specifically household wealth and maternal employment in service or manual occupations (in 2010–2014), are the main drivers of stunting among children of overweight mothers. Children with overweight mothers in the poorest households are more than twice as likely to be stunted than in the richest in both periods (2000–2005: adjusted OR (aOR) = 2·53, 95 % CI: 1·25, 5·13; 2010–2014: aOR = 2·61, 95 % CI: 1·43, 4·77), adjusting for other SES factors, indicating that despite decreasing income inequality, the poorest continue to bear excess risk of a double burden of malnutrition. Maternal short stature also doubled the likelihood of child stunting in both periods, which suggests intergenerational transmission of adversity and physical underdevelopment. Conclusions: Socio-economic inequalities should be addressed to reduce disparities in the household-level double burden of malnutrition.
Tweeting about Black Lives: Estimating Racial Affinity of #Blacklivesmatter Users

Much attention has been paid to the use of Twitter as a form of political expression. Use of the Black Lives Matter hashtag has generated discussion about the treatment of Black people in the United States and sentiment about the Black Lives Matter organization itself. While analysis of the tweets themselves are an important step in understanding online political expression, what is also important to understand is who is doing the tweeting as discussion may differ based on race. In this paper, I focus on tweets using the Black Lives Matter hashtag to understand how tweeting patterns and sentiment toward Black Lives Matter differs by racial group. More specifically, I estimate race (racial affinity) using pictures of twitter users and text. I expect to find that Black twitter users utilize the Black Lives Matter hashtag in distinct and more positive ways than their white counterparts.
Sulindac, a Nonselective NSAID, Reduces Breast Density in Postmenopausal Women with Breast Cancer Treated with Aromatase Inhibitors.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of sulindac, a nonselective anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), for activity to reduce breast density (BD), a risk factor for breast cancer. Experimental Design: An open-label phase II study was conducted to test the effect of 12 months9 daily sulindac at 150 mg twice daily on change in percent BD in postmenopausal hormone receptor–positive breast cancer patients on aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy. Change in percent BD in the contralateral, unaffected breast was measured by noncontrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and reported as change in MRI percent BD (MRPD). A nonrandomized patient population on AI therapy (observation group) with comparable baseline BD was also followed for 12 months. Changes in tissue collagen after 6 months of sulindac treatment were explored using second-harmonic generated microscopy in a subset of women in the sulindac group who agreed to repeat breast biopsy. Results: In 43 women who completed 1 year of sulindac (86% of those accrued), relative MRPD significantly decreased by 9.8% [95% confidence interval (CI), −14.6 to −4.7] at 12 months, an absolute decrease of −1.4% (95% CI, −2.5 to −0.3). A significant decrease in mean breast tissue collagen fiber straightness (P = 0.032), an investigational biomarker of tissue inflammation, was also observed. MRPD (relative or absolute) did not change in the AI-only observation group (N = 40). Conclusions: This is the first study to indicate that the NSAID sulindac may reduce BD. Additional studies are needed to verify these findings and determine if prostaglandin E2 inhibition by NSAIDs is important for BD or collagen modulation.
The Size of Suspended Particulate Matter in Air Size distributions of ambient aerosols must be studied in order to determine their effects on the environment

By means of the NASN cascade impactor the particle sizes of ambient aerosols can be measured by fractionating the particles according to their aerodynamic dimensions, and the fractions can be quantified gravimetrically. Data obtained with this instrument show that particulate matter suspended in urban air in the United States and Great Britain is remarkably uniform in distribution and that the particles are predominantly less than 1 µm in diameter. In Ankara, Turkey, the high proportion of particles larger than 1 µm in diameter are associated with the incomplete combustion of lignite; particulate concentrations in Ankara, however, are considerably higher than those measured elsewhere. The growth of particles in air during temperature inversions occurs in Cincinnati; the greater proportion of large particles found there during inversion periods can account for the reduction in visibility. Aerosols in the vicinity of highways are composed of particles larger than those found some distance away because of the reentrainment of debris by the traffic-induced turbulence. On the other hand, highway configuration and traffic volume have little effect on the size distribution of aerosols in samples collected away from the turbulence area of the roadway. Aerosols measured inside buildings are predominantly smaller in size and exhibit a narrower range of sizes than aerosols outside buildings.
Polynomial Solutions for Simultaneous Stabilization

Abstract In this paper, a new necessary and sufficient condition and new sufficient conditions for simultaneous stabilization are derived from a polynomial approach. The additional requirements for the controller to be stable or a Unit in H are also given. The new sufficient conditions reduce in special cases to several published papers.
Aggression and anxiety in adolescent aas-treated hamsters: a role for 5HT3 receptors

Previously, we have shown that anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) exposure throughout adolescence stimulates offensive aggression while also reducing anxious behaviors during the exposure period. Interestingly, AAS exposure through development correlates with alterations to the serotonin system in regions known to contain 5HT3 receptors that influence the control of both aggression and anxiety. Despite these effects, little is known about whether these separate developmental AAS-induced behavioral alterations occur as a function of a common neuroanatomical locus. To begin to address this question, we localized 5HT3 receptors in regions that have been implicated in aggression and anxiety. To examine the impact these receptors may have on AAS alterations to behavior, we microinjected the 5HT3 agonist mCPBG directly into a region know for its influence over aggressive behavior, the lateral division of the anterior hypothalamus, and recorded alterations to anxious behaviors using the elevated plus maze. AAS exposure primarily reduced the presence of 5HT3 receptors in aggression/anxiety regions. Accordingly, mCPBG blocked the anxiolytic effects of adolescent AAS exposure. These data suggest that the 5HT3 receptor plays a critical role in the circuit modulating developmental AAS-induced changes to both aggressive and anxious behaviors, and further implicates the lateral division of the anterior hypothalamus as an important center for the negative behavioral effects of developmental AAS-exposure.
Learning Cities, Systems Change, and Community Engagement Scholarship

Learning cities/regions, as education systems, require the practice framework of community engagement scholarship that anchors systems change for data-driven decision making.
Predictive Performance of a Vancomycin Population Pharmacokinetic Model in Neonates

Introduction The pharmacokinetics of vancomycin are highly variable among neonates, which makes dosing challenging in this population. However, adequate drug exposure is critical, especially when treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Utilization of population pharmacokinetic models and Bayesian methods offers the potential for developing individualized therapeutic approaches. To meet this need, a neonatal vancomycin population pharmacokinetic model was recently published. The current study sought to externally evaluate the predictive performance and generalizability of this model.