cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Provisional Theory of Ceramic Abrasion

This article calls attention to ceramic abrasion as a class of traces that can be employed by the archeologist in a variety of behavioral studies. Basic principles of ceramic abrasion are set forth, built upon the engineering literature and on experiments undertaken in the Laboratory of Traditional Technology. Abrasion mechanisms are discussed, but the limitations of current knowledge are underscored. The major factors pertaining to ceramic, abrader, and contact situations that influence the rate and nature of abrasion are identified. A MAJOR TREND IN ARCHEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS during the past several decades has been the recognition and exploitation of new lines of evidence for inferring past human behavior and environmental conditions. Experimentation often plays a crucial role in validating new lines of evidence; recall, for example, the many hundreds of experiments required to establish the relationships between lithic polish types and worked materials (Keeley 1980; Vaughan 1985). This article calls attention to ceramic abrasion, a family of common traces that so far has been little studied. In order to lay a foundation for the use of these traces in inference, we have been investigating ceramic abrasion experimentally. Building upon our experimental results and recent studies in engineering, this article proposes a provisional theory of ceramic abrasion. Knowledge of the factors influencing abrasion rates and the formation of abrasion traces can contribute to three areas of archeological inquiry. First, an understanding of the technical choices that influence abrasion resistance, such as firing temperature and surface treatment, can help investigators to determine if-and how-pots in specific technological traditions were designed for good abrasion resistance. Second, abrasions or scratches comprise an abundant type of wear; thus, an appreciation for the conditions that cause abrasive wear and the factors that lead to differences in abrasion patterns can enhance ceramic use-wear analysis (cf. Bray 1982; Griffiths 1978; Hally 1983; Schiffer 1989). Third, because a host of processes from trampling to fluvial transport abrade ceramics, an experimentally grounded theory of abrasion can contribute to fine-grained identification of formation processes (cf. Schiffer 1987).
Hardware trojan attacks in FPGA devices: threat analysis and effective counter measures

Reconfigurable hardware including Field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) are being used in a wide range of embedded applications including signal processing, multimedia, and security. FPGA device production is often outsourced to off-shore facilities for economic reasons. This opens up the opportunities for insertion of malicious design alterations in the foundry, referred to as hardware Trojan attacks, to cause logical and physical malfunction. The vulnerability of these devices to hardware attacks raises security concerns regarding hardware and design assurance. In this paper, we analyze hardware Trojan attacks in FPGA considering diverse activation and payload characteristics and derive a taxonomy of Trojan attacks in FPGA. To our knowledge, this is the first effort to analyze Trojan threats in FPGA hardware. Next, we propose a novel redundancy-based protection approach based on Trojan tolerance that modifies the application mapping process to provide high-level of protection against Trojans of varying forms and sizes. We show that the proposed approach incurs significantly higher security at lower overhead than conventional fault-tolerance schemes by exploiting the nature of Trojans and reconfiguration of FPGA resources.
Effects of Weeds on Selected Arthropod Herbivore and Natural Enemy Populations, and on Cotton Growth and Yield

Abstract Vegetative diversification with weeds can enhance natural enemy populations and suppress pest-related damage in various crops. Weedy and weed-free cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) plots were used to study the effects of weediness on selected herbivorous arthropod groups, including the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman), and natural enemies, boll weevil-induced injury to cotton squares, and cotton plant growth and yield in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, during 2000 and 2001. The presence of weeds was associated with greater populations of 9 of the 11 prey arthropod groups, and 9 of the 13 natural enemy arthropod groups counted in this study. These trends were mostly evident late in the season when weed biomass was greatest. Weed-free cotton harbored more cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii Glover), early in the season and silverleaf whiteflies (Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring) later in the season than weedy cotton on some of the sampling dates. Diversity (Shannon’s index) wit...
Chest Pain in Children and Adolescents

1. Surendranath R. Veeram Reddy, MD* 2. Harinder R. Singh, MD* 1. *Division of Cardiology, The Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Mich After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Enumerate the most common causes of chest pain in pediatric patients. 2. Differentiate cardiac chest pain from that of noncardiac cause. 3. Describe the detailed evaluation of a pediatric patient who has chest pain. 4. Screen and identify patients who require a referral to a pediatric cardiologist or other specialist. 5. Explain the management of the common causes of pediatric chest pain. ### Case 1 During an annual physical examination, a 12-year-old girl complains of intermittent chest pain for the past 5 days that localizes to the left upper sternal border. The pain is sharp and stabbing, is 5/10 in intensity, increases with deep breathing, and lasts for less than 1 minute. The patient has no history of fever, cough, exercise intolerance, palpitations, dizziness, or syncope. On physical examination, the young girl is in no pain or distress and has normal vital signs for her age. Examination of her chest reveals no signs of inflammation over the sternum or rib cage. Palpation elicits mild-to-moderate tenderness over the left second and third costochondral junctions. The patient reports that the pain during the physical examination is similar to the chest pain she has experienced for the past 5 days. A detailed cardiovascular and other organ system examination yields normal results. What is the most likely cause of this patient's chest pain? What will you recommend for this patient? Does she need to see a pediatric cardiologist? ### Case 2 A 17-year-old boy is playing soccer on a Saturday afternoon and has a syncopal event on the field. He regains consciousness within a few seconds, does not require resuscitation, and is taken to the emergency department. The patient informs the physician that he developed sudden midsternal chest pain and lightheadedness prior to passing out. His vital signs are normal for age, and he is …
Diarrheal Illness in the Pediatric Population: A Review of Neonatal Enteropathies and Childhood Idiopathic Inflammatory Bowel Disease

In the clinical context of pediatric diarrheal illness, the interpretation of endoscopic mucosal biopsies varies significantly from that in adults. This review outlines these differences by first describing a host of diarrheal illnesses that are nearly exclusive to the pediatric age group. The final portion of this article describes salient pathologic differences between adult and pediatric idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. The goal of this review is to provide a brief description of each disease process and focus on practical aspects of diagnosis that are applicable for pathologists working in general practice settings.
Parkinson's disease: early diagnosis and management.

Abstract Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder affecting approximately 1% of the population over the age of 50 years. There is no known cure for Parkinson's disease, but research gains over the last two decades have been substantial, resulting in improved medications and therapeutic strategies for managing early symptoms and delaying the onset of serious disability. Particularly promising is current research suggesting the possibility of neuroprotective therapies that may ultimately be capable of slowing disease progression. Early and accurate diagnosis is especially important to optimize the benefits of new therapies.
Assessment of low-frequency hearing with narrow-band chirp-evoked 40-Hz sinusoidal auditory steady-state response.

AbstractObjective To determine the clinical utility of narrow-band chirp-evoked 40-Hz sinusoidal auditory steady state responses (s-ASSR) in the assessment of low-frequency hearing in noisy participants. Design Tone bursts and narrow-band chirps were used to respectively evoke auditory brainstem responses (tb-ABR) and 40-Hz s-ASSR thresholds with the Kalman-weighted filtering technique and were compared to behavioral thresholds at 500, 2000, and 4000 Hz. A repeated measure ANOVA and post-hoc t-tests, and simple regression analyses were performed for each of the three stimulus frequencies. Study sample Thirty young adults aged 18–25 with normal hearing participated in this study. Results When 4000 equivalent response averages were used, the range of mean s-ASSR thresholds from 500, 2000, and 4000 Hz were 17–22 dB lower (better) than when 2000 averages were used. The range of mean tb-ABR thresholds were lower by 11–15 dB for 2000 and 4000 Hz when twice as many equivalent response averages were used, while m...
Response to “From histology to neurocognition: the influence of tumor grade in glioma of the left temporal lobe on neurocognitive function”

The authors appreciate Dr Kane's commentary on our efforts to delineate relationships between histologic tumor grade and neurocognitive functioning (NCF) in patients with glioma of the left temporal lobe.1 In addition to lending support to our work, his letter offers us an opportunity to elaborate upon possibilities for further investigation. As Dr Kane noted, we demonstrated that patients with glioblastoma exhibited more frequent and severe NCF impairment than those with lower-grade tumors. Importantly, this finding was independent of lesion size, suggesting that differences in NCF across tumor grades relate to variation in growth characteristics, which we refer to as “lesion momentum.” More specifically, we proposed that the more aggressive nature of glioblastoma limits neuroplastic reorganization of brain networks underlying NCF to a greater extent than slower growing tumors of lower grades.
Abstract TP392: Temporal Trends in Practice Patterns for Acute Ischemic Stroke Workup: A Population-Based Study

Background: Approximately 5%-18% of patients with ischemic strokes will have recurrent stroke within 90 days of the initial event. Establishing stroke etiology is essential to identify treatable co...
Sedimentary Facies and Depositional Environment of the Middle Devonian Geneseo Formation of New York, U.S.A.

Abstract Detailed facies characterization of the Middle Devonian Geneseo Formation in the Northern Appalachian Basin (NAB) shows a rich assembly of sedimentary features and textures that suggest shelfal mud deposition in a storm-dominated, shallow epeiric sea. At the time of deposition, Acadian uplift supplied fine-grained detritus from the east and stimulated delta growth. As sediment was shed from the hinterland, distribution of mudstone facies was controlled by a combination of autogenic processes and a general rise in sea level. The vertical and lateral distribution of nine mudstone facies observed in this succession indicates an overall shallowing-upwards trend (westward progradation of Catskill delta) with multiple modes of sediment transport and deposition. The water column became more oxygenated upsection as indicated by an increase in benthic fauna diversity (e.g., Leiorhynchus and Orbiculoidea), increasing bioturbation diversity (e.g., Chondrites, Palaeophycus, Planolites, Teichichnus, Thalassinoides, and Zoophycos), and a decline of organic-carbon content (via oxidation and consumption). Physical and biological attributes of this mudstone-dominated succession are used to reconstruct sedimentary processes and depositional conditions. Although a stratified-basin model has previously been proposed for the Geneseo Formation, observations made in this study do not support that interpretation. Collectively, our observations indicate shelfal mud deposition above storm-wave base, in a relatively energetic environment with persistent lateral transport and advection by oscillatory flow, wave-induced currents, river-flood, and storm-wave generated offshore-directed underflows, as well as storm setup-relaxation flows.
A Comparison Between Dry Etching with an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Source and Reactive Ion Etching for GaAs and InP

Etching with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source provides several advantages over conventional reactive ion etching (RIE). In this work, the results of GaAs and InP etching using a multipolar ECR source are presented and compared to RIE. The effects of microwave and rf power, gas composition, pressure, and source to sample distance on the etch characteristics of GaAs and InP were evaluated. Three different etch gases were used including CC12F2, BC13, and C12. The influence of microwave power on etch characteristics is compared to conventional parallel plate system using rf power alone.
Bilateral Renal Hypoplasia with Oligomeganephronia: Quantitative and Electron Microscopic Study

The case of a 12-year-old boy with oligomeganephronic renal hypoplasia is reported. On light microscopy the histologic findings were typical, although the clinical course had been mild. Quantitative study with camera lucida suggested that the observed increase of mesangial nuclei was not due to glomerulonephritis. A striking decrease in epithelial cells was noted in the second biopsy. Abnormalities in the basement membrane and widespread foot process fusion despite only mild proteinuria were demonstrated by electron microscopy.
QCD and the Space-Time Evolution of High-Energy e+e−, \(p\bar p\), and Heavy Ion Collisions

With QCD the generally uncontested theory of the strong interactions, it is natural that descriptions of high energy collisions nowadays tend to use the QCD language of quarks and gluons. Nevertheless, we usually don’t observe the quarks and gluons--we see hadrons. This creates problems--problems that lead directly to the outstanding issue facing QCD, that of quark and gluon confinement. Some processes, such as e+e− annihilation into \(q\bar q\) or \(q\bar qg\) appear to permit a relatively easy description in terms of the quark and gluon language. Take the man in the street to a typical PEP or PETRA experiment and show him the on-line displays of two- and three-jet events, and he may well get the idea. He needn’t be a theorist or even experimentalist to be able to see the quarks and gluons. In fact, he would do almost as well as the professionals in deciding which of the three jets is the gluon.
The Preservation of Specialization by Dispersed Steer Thyroidal Cells in Long-Term Culture

Serially propagated cells derived from the steer thyroid gland preserve several specialized characteristics, some demonstrable for as long as 8 months (over 15 passes). For about 5 passes (3 months), follicular-like arrays of cells develop. Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) or thyrotropin (1 and 10 mu./ml) induces the formation of supernumerary nucleoli, and promotes at the ultrastructural level the prompt (within 10 min) appearance of microvilli, pseudopodia, and intracytoplasmic droplets. These cells have a mean plating efficiency (PE) of 16.5 ± 4.5% (standard deviation) and with 3x104 cells as the standard inoculum, a mean doubling time (Td) of 43.7 ± 1.2 h. The linear variation of Td with the number of cells seeded probably signifies strong cell-cell interactions. TSH (1-5o mu./ml) influences both PE and Td, with 1 mu./ml producing the maximum stimulation. TSH (0.001-100 mu./ml) also induces the discharge of incorporated radio-iodide from the cultured thyroid cells, achieving a peak by 2-4 h, titres of 0.1-1 mu./ml being most potent. Long-acting thyroid stimulator (LATS) (0.2 u./ml) likewise effects release of 131I into growth medium (1 experiment), but over a more protracted period. After labelling with [3H]leucine, radioautographs demonstrate that the synthesis of proteins is stimulated by exposure to TSH (1 mu./ml). Precipitation with trichloroacetic acid indicates that these cells persist in synthesizing 131I-tagged iodoproteins, an activity optimally stimulated by 1 mu./ml TSH and marked by 3 h. Hence, such thyroidal cell lines afford a useful model for studying differentiation and hormonal effects.
Living Neural Networks: Dynamic Network Analysis of Developing Neural Progenitor Cells

The architecture of the mammalian brain has been characterized through decades of innovation in the field of network neuroscience. However, the assembly of the brain from progenitor cells is an immensely complex process, and a quantitative understanding of how neural progenitor cells (NPCs) form neural networks has proven elusive. Here, we introduce a method that integrates graph-theory with long-term imaging of differentiating human NPCs to characterize the evolution of spatial and functional network features in NPCs during the formation of neuronal networks in vitro. We find that the rise and fall in spatial network efficiency is a characteristic feature of the transition from immature NPC networks to mature neuronal networks. Furthermore, networks at intermediate stages of differentiation that display high spatial network efficiency also show high levels of network-wide spontaneous electrical activity. These results support the view that network-wide signaling in immature progenitor cells gives way to a hierarchical form of communication in mature neural networks. The Living Neural Networks method bridges the gap between developmental neurobiology and network neuroscience, and offers insight into the relationship between developing and mature neuronal networks.
Age-Specific Reference Ranges for PSA in the Detection of Prostate Cancer

An association between age and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been documented: As men age, their serum PSA value increases. Currently, a single demarcation between normal and elevated PSA values, 4.0 ng/mL, is used as an indication for biopsy among men of all ages. The use of age-specific reference ranges might address several shortcomings of the PSA test. First, age-specific reference ranges could improve the sensitivity of PSA by detecting curable, organ-confined tumors in younger men when the threshold of 4.0 ng/mL is lowered. Second, age-specific reference ranges could improve the specificity of the PSA test by raising the PSA threshold for normal among older men. This would modulate PSA interpretation by taking into account the increasing prevalence of both benign prostatic growth and incidental, non-life-threatening cancers among successively older cohorts of men. Furthermore, many unnecessary (false-positive) biopsies would be avoided. However, the association between PSA values and age is not entirely clear, and whether age-specific reference ranges represent the best interpretive index for PSA remains problematic. (ONCOLOGY 11(4):475-485, 1997)
Pruritic Plaques After Laparoscopic Surgery.

A woman presented with a mildly pruritic eruption that began one week after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and gradually worsened.
Non-Metabolic Role of PKM2 in Regulation of the HIV-1 LTR.

Identification of cellular proteins, in addition to already known transcription factors such as NF-κB, Sp1, C-EBPβ, NFAT, ATF/CREB, and LEF-1, which interact with the HIV-1 LTR, is critical in understanding the mechanism of HIV-1 replication in monocytes/macrophages. Our studies demonstrate upregulation of pyruvate kinase isoform M2 (PKM2) expression during HIV-1SF162 infection of monocyte/macrophages and reactivation of HIV-1 in U1 cells, a macrophage model of latency. We observed that HIV-1SF162 infection of monocyte/macrophages and reactivation of HIV-1 in U1 cells by PMA resulted in increased levels of nuclear PKM2 compared to PMA-induced U937 cells. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the nuclear dimeric form of PKM2 in the PMA-induced U1 cells in comparison to PMA-induced U937 cells. We focused on understanding the potential role of PKM2 in HIV-1 LTR transactivation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analysis in PMA-activated U1 and TZM-bl cells demonstrated the interaction of PKM2 with the HIV-1 LTR. Our studies show that overexpression of PKM2 results in transactivation of HIV-1 LTR-luciferase reporter in U937, U-87 MG, and TZM-bl cells. Using various truncated constructs of the HIV-1 LTR, we mapped the region spanning -120 bp to -80 bp to be essential for PKM2-mediated transactivation. This region contains the NF-κB binding site and deletion of this site attenuated PKM2-mediated activation of HIV-1 LTR. Immunoprecipitation experiments using U1 cell lysates demonstrated a physical interaction between PKM2 and the p65 subunit of NF-κB. These observations demonstrate for the first time that PKM2 is a transcriptional co-activator of HIV-1 LTR. J. Cell. Physiol. 232: 517-525, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Anomaly Detection Techniques for Database Protection Against Insider Threats (Invited Paper)

In this paper, we propose techniques for detecting anomalies in user accesses by learning profiles of normal access patterns of users based on both the syntactic and semantic features of past users queries stored in database logs. New accesses are checked upon these profiles and deviations are considered anomalous accesses which may be indications of potential insider attacks. We consider two scenarios. The first scenario is when the monitored database employs role-based access control (RBAC). In this scenario, we build profiles of roles rather than individual users, this makes our approach usable for databases which have a large user population. In this case, we use the naive Bayesian classification to detect anomalies. We also employ multilabeling classification to account for the case when roles have common access patterns. The second scenario is when RBAC is not used. In this case, we detect anomalies using the COBWEB clustering algorithm. We provide extensive evaluation for our techniques. Results show that our techniques are effective.
Efficient object detection and classification on low power embedded systems

Identifying real world 3D objects such as pedestrians, vehicles and traffic signs using 2D images is a challenging task. There are multiple approaches to tackle this problem with varying degree of detection accuracy and implementation complexity. Some approaches use “hand coded” object features such as Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), Haar, Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) along with a linear classifier such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), Adaptive Boosting (AdaBoost) to detect objects. Recent developments have shown that a deep multi-layered Convolution Neural Network (CNN) classifier can learn the object features on its own and also classify at an accuracy surpassing human vision. In this paper we combine both the approaches; “object detection” is done using HOG features and AdaBoost cascade classifier and “object classification” is done using CNN to classify the type of objects being detected. The proposed method is implemented on TI's low power TDA3x SoC.
Do High School Gifted Programs Lead to Later-in-Life Success?

This paper investigates the effects of participation in gifted education programs, and offers several contributions to existing research. First, this paper studies the effects of high school programs, as opposed to the more commonly-studied elementary and middle school versions. Second, this paper considers impacts of gifted programs on later-in-life socioeconomic success, including college graduation and eventual employment, as opposed to short-run standardized test outcomes. Third, this paper uses sibling fixed effects, coupled with a recently-proposed decomposition method, as an identification approach. The main conclusion is that gifted programs tend to include students who possess traits that already correlate with later-in-life success. After controlling for those traits, gifted programs, per se, show little statistical relationship to later-in-life outcomes.
miR-4728-3p Functions as a Tumor Suppressor in Ulcerative Colitis-associated Colorectal Neoplasia Through Regulation of Focal Adhesion Signaling.

BACKGROUND As mechanisms of neoplasia in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) remain poorly understood, we sought to identify pathways of carcinogenesis in this high-risk population. METHODS MicroRNA (miRNA) and mRNA expression was examined in nondysplastic rectosigmoid mucosa from UC patients with (n = 19) or without remote colon neoplasia (n = 23). We developed a method to identify miRNA-regulated pathways based on differentially expressed miRNAs and their putative mRNAs targets in the same samples. One key pathway identified in the analysis, miR-4728-3p regulation of focal adhesion signaling was further evaluated in vitro and through examination of expression in UC-cancers. RESULTS There were 101 significantly up-regulated and 98 down-regulated miRNAs (adjusted P < 0.05) in the rectal mucosa of UC patients harboring proximal neoplasia. Bioinformatic analysis identified miR-4728-3p as a regulator of 3 proteins involved in focal adhesion signaling, CAV1, THBS2, and COL1A2. Real-time PCR validated down-regulation of miR-4728-3p in nondysplastic tissue remote from UC-neoplasia and in UC-associated colon cancers. miR-4728-3p transfection into colon cancer cells down-regulated expression levels and decreased luciferase activities in cells expressing a wild type 3' untranslated region compared with a mutant 3' untranslated region for all 3 genes. Exogenous transfected miR-4728-3p also delayed wound healing and decreased formation of focal adhesion complexes. CONCLUSIONS Patients with long-standing UC who harbor neoplasia can be identified based on miRNA and mRNA profiles in nondysplastic tissue. Using a method to analyze miRNA and mRNA expression from the same tissues, we identified that miR-4728-3p is likely an important tumor suppressor in UC-associated colon carcinogenesis.
How noise and coupling influence leading indicators of population extinction in a spatially extended ecological system

ABSTRACTAnticipating critical transitions in spatially extended systems is a key topic of interest to ecologists. Gradually declining metapopulations are an important example of a spatially extended biological system that may exhibit a critical transition. Theory for spatially extended systems approaching extinction that accounts for environmental stochasticity and coupling is currently lacking. Here, we develop spatially implicit two-patch models with additive and multiplicative forms of environmental stochasticity that are slowly forced through population collapse, through changing environmental conditions. We derive patch-specific expressions for candidate indicators of extinction and test their performance via a simulation study. Coupling and spatial heterogeneities decrease the magnitude of the proposed indicators in coupled populations relative to isolated populations, and the noise regime and the degree of coupling together determine trends in summary statistics. This theory may be readily applied ...
Regulation of Cellular Immune Networks

Abstract Regulation of cellular immune networks is a complex phenomenon that is not well understood, even though many of the elements involved have been identified. Some experiments have shown that idiotype-specific suppressor Iymphocytes modulate the immune response to foreign antigens, but the functional significance of this type of regulation has been difficult to demonstrate by experiment alone. The role of specific suppressor Iymphocytes in the immune response to foreign antigens has been determined by performing controlled mathematical experiments (Irvine and Savageau, 1985a, 1985b). This paper reviews the biological models and methods applied in these analyses along with the results obtained.
Learning to Classify

A classifier is a procedure that accepts a set of features and produces a class label for them. Classifiers are immensely useful, and find wide application, because many problems are naturally classification problems. For example, if you wish to determine whether to place an advert on a webpage or not, you would use a classifier (i.e., look at the page, and say yes or no according to some rule). As another example, if you have a program that you found for free on the web, you would use a classifier to decide whether it was safe to run it (i.e., look at the program, and say yes or no according to some rule). As yet another example, credit card companies must decide whether a transaction is good or fraudulent.
The Intersection Between Colonization Resistance, Antimicrobial Stewardship, and Clostridium difficile.

Colonization resistance refers to the innate defense provided by the indigenous microbiota against colonization by pathogenic organisms. We aim to describe how this line of defense is deployed against Clostridium difficile and what the implications are for interventions directed by Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs. The indigenous microbiota provides colonization resistance through depletion of nutrients, prevention of access to adherence sites within the gut mucosa, production of inhibitory substances, and stimulation of the host’s immune system. The ability to quantify colonization resistance could provide information regarding periods of maximal vulnerability to colonization with pathogens and also allow the identification of mechanisms of restoration of colonization resistance. Methods utilized to determine the composition of the gut microbiota include sequencing technologies and measurement of concentration of specific bacterial metabolites. Use of innovations in the quantification of colonization resistance can expand the role of Antimicrobial Stewardship from prevention of disruption of the indigenous microbiota to restoration of colonization resistance.
Parents' needs, family structure, and regular intergenerational financial exchange in Chinese cities

Financial transfers between parents and their non-coresident adult children are studied with survey data from nine Chinese cities in 1987. The predominant flow is from children to parents, and money from children accounts for nearly a third of these parents' incomes. Parents' receipt of assistance is directly associated with parents' needs, is more likely directed to widowed mothers, and less likely to widowed fathers. Parents with more nonresident children are more likely to receive than to give help. Living with a child does not alter the odds of giving or receiving, but it reduces the amount given or received.
Time-critical scheduling in stochastic domains

In this work we look at extending the work of (Dean et al. 1993) to handle more complicated scheduling problems in which the sources of complexity stem not only from large state spaces but from large action spaces as well. In these problems it is no longer tractable to compute optimal policies for restricted state spaces via policy iteration. We, instead, borrow from operations research in applying bottleneck-centered scheduling heuristics (Adams et al. 1988). Additionally, our techniques draw from the work of (Drummond and Bresina 1990).
Pathology of the Kidney in Profiling Acute Renal Failure (Acute Uremia)

Acute renal failure (ARF) is an altered physiological state resulting from rapid but generally reversible decline of the regulatory functions of both kidneys or of a solitary kidney. Acute uremia is a clinical syndrome manifested by sudden onset of oliguria or anuria (24-hr urine output of less than 400 or 100 ml, respectively) for more than four successive days coupled with elevated values of serum urea nitrogen and serum creatinine.
Identity on Social Networks as a Cue: Identity, Retweets, and Credibility

The current study investigates how social media affordances influence individuals’ source credibility perceptions in the presence of risk information, specifically examining how bandwagon heuristic...
Addressing agricultural nitrogen losses in a changing climate

Losses of nitrogen from agriculture are a major threat to environmental and human health at local, regional and global scales. Emerging evidence shows that climate change and intensive agricultural management will interact to increase the harmful effects and undermine current mitigation efforts. Identifying effective mitigation strategies and supporting policies requires an integrated understanding of the processes underlying potential agricultural nitrogen responses to climate change. In this Review, we describe these processes, propose a set of multi-scale principles to guide research and policy for decreasing nitrogen losses in the future, and describe the economic factors that could constrain or enable their implementation. Climate change and intensive agricultural management will interact to increase nitrogen (N) losses from agriculture. This Review analyses the processes underlying potential agricultural N responses to climate change, proposes a set of principles to help decrease N losses in the future and describes the economic factors that could affect their implementation.
A Legal and Exploratory Empirical Analysis of Changes to Innocent Spouse Law

ABSTRACT This paper studies recent changes to innocent spouse law instituted by Rev. Proc. 2013-34. This rule change explicitly addresses issues with innocent spouse rulings, while also making inno...
Application of molecular imaging technology in neurotoxicology research

Molecular imaging has been widely applied in preclinical research. Among these new molecular imaging modalities, microPET imaging can be utilized as a very powerful tool that can obtain the measurements of multiple biological processes in various organs repeatedly in a same subject. This review discusses how this new approach provides noninvasive biomarker for neurotoxicology research and summarizes microPET findings with multiple radiotracers on the variety of neurotoxicity induced by toxic agents in both the rodent and the nonhuman primate brain.
Constitutively Higher Level of GSTT2 in Esophageal Tissues From African Americans Protects Cells Against DNA Damage.

Background & Aims African American and European American individuals have a similar prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), yet esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) disproportionately affects European American individuals. We investigated whether the esophageal squamous mucosa of African American individuals has features that protect against GERD-induced damage, compared with European American individuals. Methods We performed transcriptional profile analysis of esophageal squamous mucosa tissues from 20 African American and 20 European American individuals (24 with no disease and 16 with Barrett's esophagus and/or EAC). We confirmed our findings in a cohort of 56 patients and analyzed DNA samples from patients to identify associated variants. Observations were validated using matched genomic sequence and expression data from lymphoblasts from the 1000 Genomes Project. A panel of esophageal samples from African American and European American subjects was used to confirm allele-related differences in protein levels. The esophageal squamous-derived cell line Het-1A and a rat esophagogastroduodenal anastomosis model for reflux-generated esophageal damage were used to investigate the effects of the DNA-damaging agent cumene-hydroperoxide (cum-OOH) and a chemopreventive cranberry proanthocyanidin (C-PAC) extract, respectively, on levels of protein and messenger RNA (mRNA). Results We found significantly higher levels of glutathione S-transferase theta 2 (GSTT2) mRNA in squamous mucosa from African American compared with European American individuals and associated these with variants within the GSTT2 locus in African American individuals. We confirmed that 2 previously identified genomic variants at the GSTT2 locus, a 37-kb deletion and a 17-bp promoter duplication, reduce expression of GSTT2 in tissues from European American individuals. The nonduplicated 17-bp promoter was more common in tissue samples from populations of African descendant. GSTT2 protected Het-1A esophageal squamous cells from cum-OOH–induced DNA damage. Addition of C-PAC increased GSTT2 expression in Het-1A cells incubated with cum-OOH and in rats with reflux-induced esophageal damage. C-PAC also reduced levels of DNA damage in reflux-exposed rat esophagi, as observed by reduced levels of phospho-H2A histone family member X. Conclusions We found GSTT2 to protect esophageal squamous cells against DNA damage from genotoxic stress and that GSTT2 expression can be induced by C-PAC. Increased levels of GSTT2 in esophageal tissues of African American individuals might protect them from GERD-induced damage and contribute to the low incidence of EAC in this population.
Anti-CD8 monoclonal antibody-mediated depletion alters the phenotype and behavior of surviving CD8+ T cells.

It is common practice for researchers to use antibodies to remove a specific cell type to infer its function. However, it is difficult to completely eliminate a cell type and there is often limited or no information as to how the cells which survive depletion are affected. This is particularly important for CD8+ T cells for two reasons. First, they are more resistant to mAb-mediated depletion than other lymphocytes. Second, targeting either the CD8α or CD8β chain could induce differential effects. We show here that two commonly used mAbs, against either the CD8α or CD8β subunit, can differentially affect cellular metabolism. Further, in vivo treatment leaves behind a population of CD8+ T cells with different phenotypic and functional attributes relative to each other or control CD8+ T cells. The impact of anti-CD8 antibodies on CD8+ T cell phenotype and function indicates the need to carefully consider the use of these, and possibly other “depleting” antibodies, as they could significantly complicate the interpretation of results or change the outcome of an experiment. These observations could impact how immunotherapy and modulation of CD8+ T cell activation is pursued.
What does it mean to have “no personality” or “a lot of personality”? Natural language descriptions and big five correlates

Abstract The current study aimed to discover the meaning behind the common person descriptions “no personality” and “a lot of personality.” Participants provided narrative descriptions of both terms and rated the personalities of two fictional characters, one with “no personality” and one with “a lot of personality,” how much they liked each character, how central each character was in their story, and confidence in their ratings. Qualitative analysis found that four domains described “no personality” and eight described “a lot of personality.” Characters with a lot of personality were more liked, higher in extraversion, agreeableness, and openness, and less likely to be incidental characters. Finally, participants were less confident in their ratings for extraversion, openness, and agreeableness for “no personality.”
Access to office-based buprenorphine treatment in areas with high rates of opioid-related mortality: an audit study.

Background Improving access to treatment for opioid use disorder is a national priority, but little is known about the barriers encountered by patients seeking buprenorphine-naloxone ("buprenorphine") treatment. Objective To assess real-world access to buprenorphine treatment for uninsured or Medicaid-covered patients reporting current heroin use. Design Audit survey ("secret shopper" study). Setting 6 U.S. jurisdictions with a high burden of opioid-related mortality (Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Ohio, and the District of Columbia). Participants From July to November 2018, callers contacted 546 publicly listed buprenorphine prescribers twice, posing as uninsured or Medicaid-covered patients seeking buprenorphine treatment. Measurements Rates of new appointments offered, whether buprenorphine prescription was possible at the first visit, and wait times. Results Among 1092 contacts with 546 clinicians, schedulers were reached for 849 calls (78% response rate). Clinicians offered new appointments to 54% of Medicaid contacts and 62% of uninsured-self-pay contacts, whereas 27% of Medicaid and 41% of uninsured-self-pay contacts were offered an appointment with the possibility of buprenorphine prescription at the first visit. The median wait time to the first appointment was 6 days (interquartile range [IQR], 2 to 10 days) for Medicaid contacts and 5 days (IQR, 1 to 9 days) for uninsured-self-pay contacts. These wait times were similar regardless of clinician type or payer status. The median wait time from first contact to possible buprenorphine induction was 8 days (IQR, 4 to 15 days) for Medicaid and 7 days (IQR, 3 to 14 days) for uninsured-self-pay contacts. Limitation The survey sample included only publicly listed buprenorphine prescribers. Conclusion Many buprenorphine prescribers did not offer new appointments or rapid buprenorphine access to callers reporting active heroin use, particularly those with Medicaid coverage. Nevertheless, wait times were not long, implying that opportunities may exist to increase access by using the existing prescriber workforce. Primary funding source National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Reduced oxygen extraction efficiency in sickle cell anemia patients with evidence of cerebral capillary shunting.

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) utilizes arterial blood water as an endogenous contrast agent to provide a quantitative measure of cerebral blood flow (CBF). Recently,...
Lymphatic flow modulation as adjunct therapy for septic shock

The lymphatic system is an important component of human health and is critical in maintaining microcirculatory flow and immune system homeostasis. During septic shock, increased capillary permeability results in excess filtration of intravascular fluid and solutes producing interstitial edema with subsequent hydrostatic and oncotic gradient breakdown. The accumulation of interstitial fluid results in impaired solute exchange, leukocyte signaling, and aberrancy in capillary flow. Modulation of lymphatic flow during times of interstitial volume overload such as septic shock may decrease interstitial volume resulting in improved perfusion, decreased end-organ damage, and contribute to disease resolution. Multiple studies in both humans and animals have shown nitric oxide to be a potent modulator of lymphatic function. The present study suggests a hypothetical adjunct therapy for patients with septic shock through the use of phosphodiesterase inhibitors, which may improve microcirculatory flow by decreasing interstitial fluid volume via increased lymphatic fluid drainage.
In Reply: Parkinson disease (January 2012)

Readers comment on previous articles about glucocorticoid-induced diabetes and adrenal failure (November 2011), essential tremor (December 2011), and Parkinson disease (January 2012).
CSR Case Study: Mitigating Ethics with Companies Investing in Higher Education Relationships

The ethical perspectives of behaviors of corporations and higher education are explored from the findings of a case study dissertation to illuminate: What ethical concerns arise in the engaged relationships between corporations and a higher education institution? Three key themes include: (1) generally no ethical concerns, (2) general ethical discussion grouped in five categories, and (3) five disparate ethical dilemmas (Clevenger, An Organizational Analysis of the Inter-Organizational Relationships Between a Public American Higher Education University and Six United State Corporate Supporters: An Instrumental, Ethnographic Case Study Using Cone’s Corporate Citizenship Spectrum, 2014; Clevenger, Corporate Citizenship and Higher Education: Behavior, Engagement, and Ethics, 2019).
Association of Chemotherapy with Survival in Elderly Patients with Multiple Comorbidities and Estrogen Receptor-Positive, Node-Positive Breast Cancer

Importance Breast cancer risk and comorbidities increase with age. Data are lacking on the association of adjuvant chemotherapy with survival in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and node-positive breast cancer. Objective To examine the association of chemotherapy with survival in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities and estrogen receptor–positive, node-positive breast cancer. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study included patients in the US National Cancer Database who were 70 years or older; had a Charlson/Deyo comorbidity score of 2 or 3; had estrogen receptor–positive,ERBB2(formerlyHER2orHER2/neu)–negative breast cancer; and underwent surgery for pathologic node–positive breast cancer from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014. Propensity scores were used to match patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy with those not receiving adjuvant chemotherapy based on age, comorbidity score, facility type, facility location, pathologic T and N stage, and receipt of adjuvant endocrine and radiation therapy. Data analysis was performed from December 13, 2018, to April 28, 2020. Exposures Chemotherapy. Main Outcomes and Measures The association of adjuvant chemotherapy with overall survival was estimated using a double robust Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results Of a total of 2 445 870 patients in the data set, 1592 patients (mean [SD] age, 77.5 [5.5] years; 1543 [96.9%] female) met the inclusion criteria and were included in the initial nonmatched analysis. Of these patients, 350 (22.0%) received chemotherapy and 1242 (78.0%) did not. Compared with patients who did not receive chemotherapy, patients who received chemotherapy were younger (mean age, 74 vs 78 years;P Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study found that in node-positive, estrogen receptor–positive elderly patients with breast cancer and multiple comorbidities, receipt of chemotherapy was associated with improved overall survival. Despite attempts to adjust for selection bias, these findings suggest that physicians carefully selected patients likely to derive treatment benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy based on certain unmeasured variables. A standardized, multidisciplinary approach to care may be associated with long-term treatment outcomes in this subset of the population.
Input-output linkages in Pigouvian industrial fluctuations

Abstract Input-output linkages facilitate expectations-driven fluctuations. Signals about yet-to-be-realized aggregate (macro) and idiosyncratic (micro) fundamentals in the future affect current equilibrium outcome through chains of input needs when inputs require time to build. Depending on their importance on these chains, firms respond differently to common signals. The network structure, together with input time to build, determines the magnitude of signal-induced aggregate fluctuations. Macro signals need large input shares on average to produce sizable aggregate volatility, whereas micro signals require cross-sectional variations of input importance. Changing input time to build and altering the network structure have similar effects on equilibrium outcomes.
Symptomatic amyloid-related imaging abnormalities in an APOE ε4/ε4 patient treated with aducanumab.

Introduction Amyloid‐related imaging abnormalities (ARIA) are a common, dose‐dependent effect of amyloid‐targeting antibodies, strongly associated with the apolipoprotein E (APOE) e4 allele.