cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Emergency contraception: do we have the political will to increase access?

Will the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ever fully approve emergency contraception for over-the-counter access? And if so will this approval have practical implications for our nation’s health? The answer to these questions is “yes” only if our nation’s political will is available and engaged. On December 16 2003 the FDA’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory and Nonprescription Drugs Panel supported (by a 27–4 vote) making Plan B (a type of emergency contraception) available over-the-counter —a major success for public health and reproductive rights advocates in the United States. However on May 6 2004 the FDA struck down the recommendation from its own committee and scientific advisors. Despite empirical evidence that supports the safe use of emergency contraception among women the FDA’s rejection was based on its conclusion that there is not enough research to support the safe use of Plan B by women under 16 years of age without provider supervision. And whereas the FDA rejected the over-the-counter recommendation it left the door open for future work towards the approval of an over-the-counter application. Because women younger than 18 years old have the highest percentage (82–83%) of unintended pregnancy in the United States and because the United States has a higher teen pregnancy rate than other industrialized nations it is imperative that this population has access to safe contraception options and that it is not excluded from future emergency contraception over-the-counter policies. (excerpt)
Linking Riparian Dynamics and Groundwater: An Ecohydrologic Approach to Modeling Groundwater and Riparian Vegetation

The growing use of global freshwater supplies is increasing the need for improved modeling of the linkage between groundwater and riparian vegetation. Traditional groundwater models such as MODFLOW have been used to predict changes in regional groundwater levels, and thus riparian vegetation potential attributable to anthropogenic water use. This article describes an approach that improves on these modeling techniques through several innovations. First, evapotranspiration from riparian/wetland systems is modeled in a manner that more realistically reflects plant ecophysiology and vegetation complexity. In the authors’ model programs (RIP-ET and PRE-RIP-ET), the single, monotonically increasing evapotranspiration flux curve in traditional groundwater models is replaced with a set of ecophysiologically based curves, one for each plant functional group present. For each group, the curve simulates transpiration declines that occur both as water levels decline below rooting depths and as waters rise to levels that produce anoxic soil conditions. Accuracy is further improved by more effective spatial handling of vegetation distribution, which allows modeling of surface elevation and depth to water for multiple vegetation types within each large model cell. The use of RIP-ET in groundwater models can improve the accuracy of basin scale estimates of riparian evapotranspiration rates, riparian vegetation water requirements, and water budgets. Two case studies are used to demonstrate that RIP-ET produces significantly different evapotranspiration estimates than the traditional method. When combined with vegetation mapping and a supporting program (RIP-GIS), RIP-ET also enables predictions of riparian vegetation response to water use and development scenarios. The RIP-GIS program links the head distribution from MODFLOW with surface digital elevation models, producing moderate- to high-resolution depth-to-groundwater maps. Together with information on plant rooting depths, these can be used to predict vegetation response to water allocation decisions. The different evapotranspiration outcomes produced by traditional and RIP-ET approaches affect resulting interpretations of hydro-vegetation dynamics, including the effects of groundwater pumping stress on existing habitats, and thus affect subsequent policy decisions.
On the genesis and nature of judicial power

p a l a b r a s c l a v e Poder judicial, Locke, Hobbes, Montesquieu, Clarendon, poder legislativo, ley. a b s t r a c t The essential nature of legislative power is to make the laws; that of executive power is to execute those law. The difference between the two is both substantial and significant; it is the difference between the rule of arbitrary power and the rule of law. This paper will seek to trace the genesis of an independent judicial power, in both theory and practice, through an examination of sections of The Constitutions of Clarendon, The Assize of Clarendon, Hobbes’ Leviathan, Locke’s Second Treatise, Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws, as well as The Federalist Papers. Moreover, it will seek to establish its executive nature and to explain why it is so often (at least presently) misunderstood to be akin to the legislative power. k e y w o r d s
Brief On the strong stabilization and stable H∞-controller design problems for MIMO systems

A state-space-based design method is developed to construct strongly stabilizing controllers for a class of MIMO plants. The problem is reduced to solving an algebraic Riccati equation (ARE) which appears in the solution of a two-block H^~ problem. Strongly stabilizing controllers designed here are of the same order as the plant. Two sets of finite-dimensional strongly stabilizing controllers are parameterized in terms of linear fractional transformations. Further optimization guidelines are given to find stable H^~ controllers from these parameterizations. Stability robustness margins, with respect to coprime factor uncertainties, are determined for the controllers designed from the proposed method.
Optimal Tests for Initialization Bias in Simulation Output

We present a family of tests for detecting initialization bias in the mean of a simulation output series using a hypothesis testing framework. The null hypothesis is that the output mean does not change throughout the simulation run. The alternative hypothesis specifies a general transient mean function. The tests are asymptotically optimal based on cumulative sums of deviations about the sample mean. A particular test in this family is applied to a variety of simulation models. The test requires very modest computation and appears to be both robust and powerful.
The Effects of Rumination on the Timing of Maternal and Child Negative Affect

The current study examined whether rumination serves as a moderator of the temporal association between maternal and child negative affect. Participants included 88 mothers with a history of major depressive episodes and their 123 children. During an initial assessment, mothers and their children completed measures assessing negative affect and children completed a measure assessing the tendency to ruminate in response to such symptoms. Every 6 weeks for the subsequent year, mothers and their children completed measures assessing negative affect. Consistent with hypotheses, children with a ruminative response style were more likely than other children to report elevations in negative affect when their mothers' level of negative affect increased over time. Neither child gender nor mothers' current clinical depression status moderated the association between child rumination and maternal negative affect.
Voltage-sensor movements describe slow inactivation of voltage-gated sodium channels I: wild-type skeletal muscle Na(V)1.4.

The number of voltage-gated sodium (NaV) channels available to generate action potentials in muscles and nerves is adjusted over seconds to minutes by prior electrical activity, a process called slow inactivation (SI). The basis for SI is uncertain. NaV channels have four domains (DI–DIV), each with a voltage sensor that moves in response to depolarizing stimulation over milliseconds to activate the channels. Here, SI of the skeletal muscle channel NaV1.4 is induced by repetitive stimulation and is studied by recording of sodium currents, gating currents, and changes in the fluorescence of probes on each voltage sensor to assess their movements. The magnitude, voltage dependence, and time course of the onset and recovery of SI are observed to correlate with voltage-sensor movements 10,000-fold slower than those associated with activation. The behavior of each voltage sensor is unique. Development of SI over 1–160 s correlates best with slow immobilization of the sensors in DI and DII; DIII tracks the onset of SI with less fidelity. Showing linkage to the sodium conduction pathway, pore block by tetrodotoxin affects both SI and immobilization of all the sensors, with DI and DII significantly suppressed. Recovery from SI correlates best with slow restoration of mobility of the sensor in DIII. The findings suggest that voltage-sensor movements determine SI and thereby mediate NaV channel availability.
Morphologic Alteration of Cultured Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells by Cyclic Stretching

Cyclic stretching of smooth muscle cells in culture resulted in a two- to fivefold increase in protein and collagen synthesis. The same in vitro system was utilized to relate changes in smooth muscle cell morphology to mechanical stress. Smooth muscle cells, grown in culture from rabbit aorta explants, were transferred to purified elastic membranes derived from bovine aorta. The membranes were either subjected to stretching and relaxation 52 times per minute or stretched and held stationary for 8, 48, or 56 hr. Profiles of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) were counted and myofilament content estimated from electron micrographs of 100 cells for each experiment. Cells from cyclically stretched preparations were compared with stationary cells derived from the same subculture. Myofilaments were largely replaced by RER in cyclically stretched cells and there was a reciprocal relationship between RER and myofilament content in individual cells. In cells from stationary preparations, myofilament content also diminished with time but RER profiles were few. At 56 hr, RER profiles numbered 16.7 ± 1.7 in stretched cells compared with 3.6 ± 1.3 in stationary cells (P < 0.05). Cyclically stretched cells formed numerous intercellular contacts and showed little evidence of cytoplasmic degradation while stationary cells showed few contacts and contained numerous cytosomes and lamellar bodies. The results suggest that cyclic stretching resulted in the formation of RER or the preservation of myofilaments and that immobility resulted in the disappearance of myofilaments and cytoplasmic degradation. We conclude that cyclic stretching of arterial cells in culture under a variety of mechanical and metabolic conditions may reveal relationships among excessive mechanical stress, hormonal status, and metabolic environment in the modification of cell structure and matrix elaboration. Such studies could help to identify factors involved in the formation of arterial dysplasias.
Numerical simulation of optical diffraction radiation from A 7-GeV beam

Experimental study and numerical modeling have been performed on the optical diffraction radiation (ODR) of the 7-GeV beam of the Advanced Photon Source (APS) booster-to-storage ring (BTS) transport line. This report describes the simulation method, the results, and the comparison with experiment results.
Progress on the Management, Curation, and Preservation of Geospatial Data

The theme of “geospatial data management, curation, and preservation” is broad, significant, and timely enough, and is actively a part of the concerns of many organizations—as evidenced by the larg...
Gendering a Warbot

AbstractRecently, the United States Defense Advanced Project Agency (DARPA) hosted its “Robotics Challenge.” The explicit goal of this challenge is to develop robots capable of “executing complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human engineered environments.” However, the competitors’ choice to build humanoid robots tells a different narrative. In particular, through the physical design choices, the giving of names and the tasking of roles, the competing teams perpetuated a gendered narrative. This narrative in turn reifies gendered norms of warfighting, and ultimately leads to an accretion of gendered practices in militaries, politics and society, despite contemporary attempts at minimizing these practices through policies of inclusion. I argue that though much work on gender and technology exists, the autonomous humanoid robot – the one currently sought by DARPA – is something entirely new, and must be addressed on its own terms. In particular, this machine exceeds even Haraway's conception of the post-hu...
Clinical presentations, risk factors, treatment and outcomes in patients with splanchnic vein thrombosis: a single-center experience

Splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) is an uncommon form of venous thrombosis. Management can be challenging due to underlying conditions, increased bleeding risk, and lack of evidence from clinical trials. We sought to characterize the presentation and management of patients with SVT at a large tertiary hospital. A total of 43 patients' electronic medical records were reviewed. Median age at diagnosis was 43 (18-71). Sixteen patients had isolated portal vein thrombosis (37.2 %), and 16 (37.2 %) had thrombosis involving multiple splanchnic veins. Abdominal pain was the most common clinical presentation (67.4 %). Thrombophilia was present in 18 patients (41.9 %), nine had underlying liver disease (20.9 %) and seven had inflammatory bowel disease (16.3 %). Thirty-nine (90.7 %) patients were treated with anticoagulation, and 11(25.6 %) of these patients underwent interventional procedures. Thirty (69.8 %) patients remained on indefinite anticoagulation. Results of follow-up imaging at least 1 month after diagnosis were available for 29 patients; imaging showed chronic, stable thrombosis in 14 patients (48.3 %), resolution of thrombosis in 13 patients (44.8 %) and asymptomatic progression in two patients (6.9 %). Recurrent thrombosis occurred in four patients (9.3 %). Major bleeding occurred in eight patients who received anticoagulation (18.6 %), including fatal subdural hematoma in one patient. In this cohort of patients managed by hematologists and gastroenterologists, the majority of patients were treated with anticoagulation. Interventional procedures were higher than in previously reported series. Our study strongly supports the interdisciplinary management of splanchnic venous thrombosis.
AM-8553: a novel MDM2 inhibitor with a promising outlook for potential clinical development.

was determined to be 2.42 μMin a competitive MDM2 binding assay. Changing thestereochemistry of one aryl and the C3 acetic acid substituentin 1 and resolution of the active enantiomer yielded compound2, whose aﬃnity to MDM2 is 50- to 70-fold better than 1.Assisted by computer modeling, the N-alkyl substituent in 2was optimized for its interaction with the Phe19 pocket inMDM2. Substitution at C3 with a methyl group led tostabilization of the desired gauche conformation of thedesigned molecules. These modiﬁcations resulted in thediscovery of 25, which has an IC
Healthcare reform 101.

1. Rick Panning, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM[⇑][1] 1. Chair, ASCLS Government Affairs Committee , Director of Business Development for Shared Clinical Services, Fairview Health Services, Minneapolis, MN 1. Address for Correspondence: Rick Panning, MBA, MLS(ASCP)CM , 4894 Meadow Lane, Shoreview, MN 55126, 651-280-5909, panning4{at}comcast.net. 1. List the intended goals of healthcare reform as it relates to improving patient care. 2. Identify three inadequacies in the current healthcare system that the Accountable Care Act is intended to address. 3. Describe three ways in which the ACA will address the goal of payment reform. Introduction Although hotly debated in this country for many years, reform of the healthcare system has been long-anticipated and needed, and many would argue is still a long way from being effectively achieved. On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law. This was slightly more than one year after beginning his first term in office. PPACA is also referred to by the terms Affordable Care Act (ACA), Obamacare or, simply, health care reform. This legislation, with its lofty goals, effective reforms and significant flaws, represents the most significant overhaul of this country's healthcare system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965 under President Lyndon Johnson. A quality-focused and outcomes-based model is believed to be the only way to achieve real, sustainable savings. It is believed that we need to move from episodic care to coordinated care management and therefore, the ACA's overarching goal was to improve patient access, improve patient experience and quality outcomes and decrease cost. The need for the reforming of our healthcare system can be represented by the following symptoms. Our current system is evidenced by fragmentation in care delivery, which can result in a poor quality patient experience, inefficient operations, suboptimal clinical outcomes and increased cost. There is significant waste in the system resulting from duplication of efforts, poorly defined processes and loss of information. While the United States may have the best-trained medical personnel and the highest level of technology, the cold reality… ABBREVIATIONS : ACA – Accountable Care Act; CBO – Congressional Budget Office; CHIP – Children's Health Insurance Program; FDA – Food and Drug Administration; PPACA – Patient Protection and Accountable Care Act. 1. List the intended goals of healthcare reform as it relates to improving patient care. 2. Identify three inadequacies in the current healthcare system that the Accountable Care Act is intended to address. 3. Describe three ways in which the ACA will address the goal of payment reform. [1]: #corresp-1
Team-based model for non-operating room airway management: validation using a simulation-based study.

Abstract Background Non-operating room (non-OR) airway management has previously been identified as an area of concern because it carries a significant risk for complications. One reason for this could be attributed to the independent practice of residents in these situations. The aim of the present study was to ascertain whether differences in performance exist between residents working alone vs with a resident partner when encountering simulated non-OR airway management scenarios. Methods Thirty-six anaesthesia residents were randomized into two groups. Each group experienced three separate scenarios (two scenarios initially and then a third 6 weeks later). The scenarios consisted of one control scenario and two critical event scenarios [i.e. asystole during laryngoscopy and pulseless electrical activity (PEA) upon post-intubation institution of positive pressure ventilation]. One group experienced the simulated non-OR scenarios alone (Solo group). The other group consisted of resident pairs, participating in the same three scenarios (Team group). Results Although the time to intubation did not differ between the Solo and Team groups, there were several differences in performance. The Team group received better overall performance ratings for the asystole (8.5 vs 5.5 out of 10; P Conclusions Residents who performed a simulated intubation with a second trained provider had better overall performance than those who practised independently. The residents who practised in a group were also faster to diagnose serious complications, including peri-intubation asystole and PEA. Given these data, it is reasonable that training programmes consider performing all non-OR airway management with a team-based method.
Small areostationary telecommunications orbiter concepts for Mars in the 2020s

Current Mars science orbiters carry UHF proximity payloads to provide limited access and data services to landers and rovers on Mars surface. In the era of human spaceflight to Mars, very high rate and reliable relay services will be needed to serve a large number of supporting vehicles, habitats, and orbiters, as well as astronaut EVAs. These will likely be provided by a robust network of orbiting assets in very high orbits, such as areostationary orbits. In the decade leading to that era, telecommunications orbiters can be operated at areostationary orbit that can support a significant population of robotic precursor missions and build the network capabilities needed for the human spaceflight era. Telecommunications orbiters of modest size and cost, delivered by Solar Electric Propulsion to areostationary orbit, can provide continuous access at very high data rates to users on the surface and in Mars orbit.
MocaBit 1.0

To define the movement, both quantitative and qualitative measurements are used. Sensors that provide such accurate data prove efficient in monitoring physical location. In this paper, we approach the study of kinesiology through vision-based technology and gamification. We conclude with an introduction to MocaBit, a new gamified mo-cap system to track physical movement in a spatially localized environment.
Pathways of Prion Spread during Early Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer

Among prion infections, two scenarios of prion spread are generally observed: (i) early lymphoid tissue replication or (ii) direct neuroinvasion without substantial antecedent lymphoid amplification. In nature, cervids are infected with chronic wasting disease (CWD) prions by oral and nasal mucosal exposure, and studies of early CWD pathogenesis have implicated pharyngeal lymphoid tissue as the earliest sites of prion accumulation. However, knowledge of chronological events in prion spread during early infection remains incomplete. To investigate this knowledge gap in early CWD pathogenesis, we exposed white-tailed deer to CWD prions by mucosal routes and performed serial necropsies to assess PrPCWD tissue distribution by real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) and tyramide signal amplification immunohistochemistry (TSA-IHC). Although PrPCWD was not detected by either method in the initial days (1 and 3) postexposure, we observed PrPCWD seeding activity and follicular immunoreactivity in oropharyngeal lymphoid tissues at 1 and 2 months postexposure (MPE). At 3 MPE, PrPCWD replication had expanded to all systemic lymphoid tissues. By 4 MPE, the PrPCWD burden in all lymphoid tissues had increased and approached levels observed in terminal disease, yet there was no evidence of nervous system invasion. These results indicate the first site of CWD prion entry is in the oropharynx, and the initial phase of prion amplification occurs in the oropharyngeal lymphoid tissues followed by rapid dissemination to systemic lymphoid tissues. This lymphoid replication phase appears to precede neuroinvasion.IMPORTANCE Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a universally fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting cervids, and natural infection occurs through oral and nasal mucosal exposure to infectious prions. Terminal disease is characterized by PrPCWD accumulation in the brain and lymphoid tissues of affected animals. However, the initial sites of prion accumulation and pathways of prion spread during early CWD infection remain unknown. To investigate the chronological events of early prion pathogenesis, we exposed deer to CWD prions and monitored the tissue distribution of PrPCWD over the first 4 months of infection. We show CWD uptake occurs in the oropharynx with initial prion replication in the draining oropharyngeal lymphoid tissues, rapidly followed by dissemination to systemic lymphoid tissues without evidence of neuroinvasion. These data highlight the two phases of CWD infection: a robust prion amplification in systemic lymphoid tissues prior to neuroinvasion and establishment of a carrier state.
Dynamics of Complex Boolean Networks: Canalization, Stability, and Criticality

Boolean networks play an important role in modern biology as popular alternatives to traditional continuous models. After a brief introduction, we will analyze two main features that influence the dynamics: network topology and the Boolean functions. Of particular interest are the canalizing functions, which model a biological robustness concept proposed by geneticist C.H. Waddington in 1942. After an in-depth look at canalizing functions, we will conclude with an analysis of the stability of Boolean network dynamics. Loosely speaking, Boolean networks fall into one of two dynamical regimes, ordered and critical, which are characterized by whether small perturbations tend to die out or propagate through the network. These regimes are separated by the narrow critical threshold, where many real-world networks are believed to lie. Critical networks optimize the trade-off of being robust enough to withstand external perturbations yet flexible enough to exhibit complex dynamics and evolve.
A reevaluation of erythroid predominance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia using the updated WHO 2016 Criteria

The 2016 WHO update changed the diagnostic criteria for myeloid neoplasms with erythroid predominance, limiting the diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia to cases with ≥20% blasts in the bone marrow or peripheral blood. Although acute myeloid leukemia with ≥50% erythroid cells has historically been presumed to represent acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes, this hypothesis has never been systematically examined. We sought to investigate the clinicopathologic, cytogenetic, and molecular features of acute myeloid leukemia with erythroid predominance to subclassify cases as defined by the 2016 WHO. We retrospectively identified patients with ≥50% erythroid precursors and either ≥20% bone marrow blasts or ≥20% peripheral blood blasts at the time of initial diagnosis at seven major academic centers. Laboratory and clinical data were obtained. Patients were then reclassified according to 2016 WHO guidelines. A matched control group was also obtained. We identified 146 patients with acute myeloid leukemia with erythroid predominance (62% M, average age: 62 y, range: 5-93 y). Of these, 91 were acute myeloid leukemia with myelodysplasia-related changes, 20 (14%) were therapy-related myeloid neoplasm, 23 (16%) acute myeloid leukemia, not otherwise specified, and ten acute myeloid leukemia with recurrent cytogenetic/molecular abnormalities. The bone marrow blast count ranged from 9-41%. There was no difference in survival for patients with erythroid predominance compared to patients with acute myeloid leukemia without erythroid proliferations. In a multivariable analysis, cytogenetic risk was the only significant predictor of survival. We find a significantly lower rate of FLT3 and RAS pathway alterations in acute myeloid leukemia with erythroid predominance compared to controls. Our study is one of the first to apply the 2016 WHO guidelines for classification of acute myeloid leukemia. We find acute myeloid leukemia with erythroid predominance is a heterogeneous group and that erythroid richness has no impact on overall survival.
Eastern European Mesolithic

The Eastern European Mesolithic tradition spanned the Preboreal, Boreal, and Atlantic periods. The Preboreal stage was a transitional stage between the Late Pleistocene Ice Age and the Holocene Boreal Period. A warming period, the Polovetsian warming, occurred between 10,300 and 10,000 b.p. A partial return to glacial vegetation, the Pereslav’ cooling, followed from 10,000-9,500 b.p. The Boreal Period (9000-8000 b.p.) climate in Northern Russia was warmer than today in the winter (-12°—8° C in January), and cooler than at present in the summer (6°-18° C in July). Eastern and Central Russia and Ukraine experienced colder winters than now (-18°—10° C in January), and warmer summers (18°-24° in July) than today. In the Atlantic Period (8,000-5,000 b.p.) the climate warmed and the humidity increased.
“We Are Not So Easily to Be Overcome”: Fraternities on the American College Campus

Syrett traces the history of traditionally white college fraternities—their ideals, commitments, and behaviors—through the antebellum era, the late nineteenth century, the 1920s, and the post–World War II era. This chapter examines nearly 200 years of these fraternities from their founding in 1825 to the early twenty-first century, when they have found themselves in the news for violations of college and state laws surrounding hazing, drinking, and sexual assault. Syrett argues that fraternities have created a brotherhood that emphasizes exclusivity and defiance of university administrators, making membership decisions based on narrow standards of masculinity that have changed over time. With some exceptions, fraternal masculinity has become increasingly destructive, athletic, anti-intellectual, and heterosexually aggressive over the course of the organizations’ existence.
Clinical Protocol to Promote Standardization of Basic Tinnitus Services by Audiologists

Purpose Clinical services for tinnitus are needed by millions of people annually. These services have not been standardized, and patients are vulnerable to receiving services that may appear legiti...
Prognostic significance of baseline FLT3-ITD mutant allele level in acute myeloid leukemia treated with intensive chemotherapy with/without sorafenib.

Internal tandem duplication (ITD) of the fms-related tyrosine kinase-3 gene (FLT3) confer a poor prognosis in adult AML. Studies have reported that a higher mutant allelic burden is associated with a worse prognosis. Adult patients with FLT3-ITD mutated AML treated at our institution were identified. Patients were assigned into 2 groups; patients who received idarubicin and cytarabine (IA, group one) containing induction, and who received sorafenib in addition to IA containing regimens at induction (group two). The optimal FLT3-ITD mutant allele cut-off was defined as the cut-off to divide the whole cohort with the highest statistical significance. A total of 183 patients including 104 (57%) in group one and 79 (43%) in group two were identified. The complete remission (CR)/CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) for group one and group two were 85% and 99%, respectively (P = .004). The median relapse free survival (RFS) for group one and two were 12 and 45 months, respectively (P = .02). The median overall survival (mOS) was 17 months in group one, and has not been reached in group two (P = .008). The optimal FLT3-ITD mutant allele cut-off for OS was 6.9% in group one, there was no optimal cut-off in group two. On multivariate analysis, poor performance status (PS) (P = .003), sorafenib (P = .01), and presenting white blood cells (WBC) (P < .001) were independent predictors of OS. Higher FLT3-ITD allele burden is associated with a worse outcome in patients treated with IA-based chemotherapy. Addition of sorafenib to chemotherapy not only nullifies the negative prognostic impact of higher allele burden, but also improves outcome of FLT3-ITD mutated AML patients regardless of the allele burden.
A Virtual Bridge to Cultural Access: Culturally Relevant Virtual Reality and Its Impact on Science Students.

This mixed-methods study examines the implications of using the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to design an elementary science lesson grounded in four virtual reality (VR) videos. Given the need for additional understandings of how elementary science educators can infuse cultural relevance alongside content development, this study illuminates how designing for CRP can utilize VR as a pedagogical platform to bridge science instruction and students’ lived experiences. Using pre- and post-attitudinal surveys (n=145) and post interviews (n=48), we examined students’ perceptions of a single virtual reality lesson about energy and food chains. The data suggest that learning through a CRP-based VR design (CRP-VR) enhanced students’ perception of the connection between the science content and its socio-political application to social justice issues. Implications highlight the potential of leveraging VR technology as a means to provide science instruction that explicitly affords students the opportunity to connect content learning and social action.
Soft Tissue and Lymph Nodes of the Head and Neck

A variety of reactive and neoplastic hematolymphoid disorders may be found in the head and neck. Some lymphomas have a predilection for mucosal, extranodal sites, but almost any lymphoma may present in a neck lymph node. In addition the head and neck are the primary locations for a variety of soft tissue lesions. Soft tissue lesions can be difficult to diagnose given the morphologic overlap. Knowledge of the clinical presentation and location with respect to the head and neck can help narrow the differential diagnosis. This chapter aims to discuss common soft tissue and hematopoietic tumors of the head and neck as they relate to specific sites and specific entities in the differential diagnosis.
Listening to Bach: The Mass in B Minor and the Christmas Oratorio: by Daniel R. Melamed, New York, Oxford University Press, 2019, 176 pp., $21.95 (paper), ISBN 978-0-19-009725-7

Daniel R. Melamed begins the text by explaining that a parody is both poetic and musical. Musical parodies are not intended to make fun of the original piece, but to help with the creative process ...
An approach towards individualized lower rate settings for pacemakers

Author(s): Infeld, Margaret; Avram, Robert; Wahlberg, Kramer; Silverman, Daniel N; Habel, Nicole; Lustgarten, Daniel L; Pletcher, Mark J; Olgin, Jeffrey E; Marcus, Gregory M; Meyer, Markus
Politicizing Samuel Beckett’s Postwar Plays

This article examines Samuel Beckett’s post-WWII plays in order to contrive a political connection that has received insufficient attention in Beckett studies. The investigation is two-fold: first, I shall make textual analyses of Rough for Radio II and Catastrophe to investigate various performances of linguistic babbles; and second, I shall theorize Giorgio Agamben’s conceptual notions of “bare life” and the “state of exception” based on the analyses done in the first part. This article hopes to throw useful light on a political reading of Beckett’s work and to foreground the embedded problems in a modern democracy.
The Superconducting Single Electron Transistor: in situ Variation of the Dissipation

We have fabricated a superconducting single electron transistor (sSET) on a GaAs/AlGaAs substrate containing a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) about 100 nm below the surface. The island separating the two junctions, each of resistance 18 kΩ, and the leads connected to the sSET are capacitively coupled to the 2DEG. Depleting the 2DEG by means of a voltage applied to a back gate enables us to decrease the dissipation experienced by the sSET in situ. The measured minimum zero-bias conductance, G o min , of the sSET follows the approximate power law dependences G o min ∝ T α g β , where T is the temperature and g ≡ R K /4R g ; here R K = h/e 2 and R g is the resistance per square of the 2DEG. We find α ≈ — 1 and β ≈ 0.2 — 0.4, depending on the temperature. These results are in qualitative agreement with the theory of Wilhelm et al. However, the fact that β, in particular, has a temperature dependence suggests that one cannot separate the temperature and dissipation dependences with the functional form Tαg β .
The People’s Ledger: How to Democratize Money and Finance the Economy

The COVID-19 crisis underscored the urgency of digitizing sovereign money and ensuring universal access to banking services. It pushed two related ideas—the issuance of central bank digital currency and the provision of retail deposit accounts by central banks—to the forefront of the public policy debate. To date, however, the debate has not produced a coherent vision of how democratizing access to central bank money would—and should—transform and democratize the entire financial system. This lack of a systemic perspective obscures the enormity of the challenge and dilutes our ability to tackle it. This Article takes up that challenge. It offers a blueprint for a comprehensive restructuring of the central bank balance sheet as the basis for redesigning the core architecture of modern finance. Focusing on the U.S. Federal Reserve System (the Fed), the Article outlines a series of structural reforms that would radically redefine the role of a central bank as the ultimate public platform for generating, modulating, and allocating financial resources in a democratic economy—the People’s Ledger. On the liability side of the ledger, the Article envisions the complete migration of demand deposit accounts to the Fed’s balance sheet and explores the full range of new, more direct and flexible, monetary policy tools enabled by this shift. On the asset side, it advocates a comprehensive qualitative restructuring of the Fed’s investment portfolio, which would maximize its capacity to channel credit to productive uses in the nation’s economy. This compositional overhaul of the Fed’s balance sheet would fundamentally alter the operations and systemic footprints of private banks, funds, derivatives dealers, and other financial institutions and markets. Analyzing these structural implications, the Article shows how the proposed reforms would make the financial system less complex, more stable, and more efficient in serving the long-term needs of the American people.
Robotic Inguinal Hernia Repair

Historically, inguinal hernia repair is one of the most described procedures in the literature. Throughout centuries, numerous techniques have been developed. Minimally invasive hernia surgery allows for faster recovery and less postoperative pain without compromising the quality of the repair. However, the laparoscopic approach has a steeper learning curve and, for this reason, a lower adoption rate in the surgical community. With its improved dexterity, the robotic surgical platform may offer a quicker transition to a minimally invasive approach.
Kinesiology Taping for Knee Osteoarthritis Pain.

How effective is kinesiology taping (elastic tape applied to the knee to create patellar tension) for osteoarthritis pain of the knee?
From Precision Metapharmacology to Patient Empowerment: Delivery of Self-Care Practices for Epilepsy, Pain, Depression and Cancer Using Digital Health Technologies

To improve long-term outcomes of therapies for chronic diseases, health promotion and lifestyle modifications are the most promising and sustainable strategies. In addition, advances in digital technologies provide new opportunities to address limitations of drug-based treatments, such as medication non-adherence, adverse effects, toxicity, drug resistance, drug shortages, affordability, and accessibility. Pharmaceutical drugs and biologics can be combined with digital health technologies, including mobile medical apps (digital therapeutics), which offer additional clinical benefits and cost-effectiveness. Promises of drug+digital combination therapies are recognized by pharmaceutical and digital health companies, opening opportunities for integrating pharmacotherapies with non-pharmacological interventions (metapharmacology). Herein we present unique features of digital health technologies which can deliver personalized self-care modalities such as breathing exercises, mindfulness meditation, yoga, physical activity, adequate sleep, listening to preferred music, forgiveness and gratitude. Clinical studies reveal how aforementioned complimentary practices may support treatments of epilepsy, chronic pain, depression, cancer, and other chronic diseases. This article also describes how digital therapies delivering "medicinal" self-care and other non-pharmacological interventions can also be personalized by accounting for: 1) genetic risks for comorbidities, 2) adverse childhood experiences, 3) increased risks for viral infections such as seasonal influenza, or COVID-19, and 4) just-in-time stressful and traumatic circumstances. Development and implementation of personalized pharmacological-behavioral combination therapies (precision metapharmacology) require aligning priorities of key stakeholders including patients, research communities, healthcare industry, regulatory and funding agencies. In conclusion, digital technologies enable integration of pharmacotherapies with self-care, lifestyle interventions and patient empowerment, while concurrently advancing patient-centered care, integrative medicine and digital health ecosystems.
Design and implementation of a TCG-based integrity measurement architecture

We present the design and implementation of a secure integrity measurement system for Linux. All executable content that is loaded onto the Linux system is measured before execution and these measurements are protected by the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) that is part of the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) standards. Our system is the first to extend the TCG trust measurement concepts to dynamic executable content from the BIOS all the way up into the application layer. In effect, we show that many of the Microsoft NGSCB guarantees can be obtained on today's hardware and today's software and that these guarantees do not require a new CPU mode or operating system but merely depend on the availability of an independent trusted entity, a TPM for example. We apply our trust measurement architecture to a web server application where we show how our system can detect undesirable invocations, such as rootkit programs, and that our measurement architecture is practical in terms of the number of measurements taken and the performance impact of making them.
δ-Aminolevulinic Acid Synthetase I. STUDIES IN LIVER HOMOGENATES

δ-Aminolevulinic acid synthesis has been demonstrated in both porphyric and normal liver homogenates. A study of the factors which affect δ-aminolevulinic acid production indicates that the enzyme δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase can be measured in liver homogenates, with use of added glycine and endogenously generated succinyl coenzyme A. δ-Aminolevulinic acid production in this system is greater than in the isolated mitochondrial system previously used. The generation of succinyl coenzyme A from endogenous substrates is close to the optimal amount for δ-aminolevulinic acid production in liver homogenates. The determinations of hepatic δ-aminolevulinic acid production in a number of normal species agree well with estimates of the δ-aminolevulinic acid required for heme enzyme synthesis. The effects of factors influencing the synthesis of aminoacetone and δ-aminolevulinic acid in liver homogenates were compared and found to be markedly different.
Nucleon spectral function in Li6

We calculate the energy spectrum of a bound S1⁄2 proton in the JPT = I+0 ground state of Li 6. We use the K harmonics formulation in Kmin approximation. A continuous negative energy spectrum is obtained. This is in contrast to the simple shell model where a discrete delta function negative energy distribution is an input assumption of the model. The energy speCtrum of a bound nucleon is similar, yet complementary, to the energy spectral function of an excited hole state of a nucleus. Because of our interest in (0s1⁄2) proton pickup or knockout reactions in light nuclei we choose to focus our attention on the energy distribution of a proton in a target nucleus, rather than for a hole in a highly excited residual nucleus. We write the hamiltonian for the entire system as
Mutagenic Effects of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles on Biological Cells

In recent years, there has been an increased interest in the design and use of iron oxide materials with nanoscale dimensions for magnetic, catalytic, biomedical, and electronic applications. The increased manufacture and use of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) in consumer products as well as industrial processes is expected to lead to the unintentional release of IONPs into the environment. The impact of IONPs on the environment and on biological species is not well understood but remains a concern due to the increased chemical reactivity of nanoparticles relative to their bulk counterparts. This review article describes the impact of IONPs on cellular genetic components. The mutagenic impact of IONPs may damage an organism's ability to develop or reproduce. To date, there has been experimental evidence of IONPs having mutagenic interactions on human cell lines including lymphoblastoids, fibroblasts, microvascular endothelial cells, bone marrow cells, lung epithelial cells, alveolar type II like epithelial cells, bronchial fibroblasts, skin epithelial cells, hepatocytes, cerebral endothelial cells, fibrosarcoma cells, breast carcinoma cells, lung carcinoma cells, and cervix carcinoma cells. Other cell lines including the Chinese hamster ovary cells, mouse fibroblast cells, murine fibroblast cells, Mytilus galloprovincialis sperm cells, mice lung cells, murine alveolar macrophages, mice hepatic and renal tissue cells, and vero cells have also shown mutagenic effects upon exposure to IONPs. We further show the influence of IONPs on microorganisms in the presence and absence of dissolved organic carbon. The results shed light on the OPEN ACCESS Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2015, 16 23483 transformations IONPs undergo in the environment and the nature of the potential mutagenic impact on biological cells.
Brief paper: MIMO controller synthesis with integral-action integrity

A controller synthesis method is presented for closed-loop stability and asymptotic tracking of step input references with zero steady-state error. Integral-action is achieved in two design steps starting with any stabilizing controller and adding a PID-controller in a configuration that guarantees robust stability and tracking. The proposed design has integral-action integrity, where closed-loop stability is maintained even when any of the proportional, integral, or derivative terms are removed or the entire PID-controller is limited by a constant gain matrix. The integral constant can be switched off when integral-action is not wanted.
Time evolution of the total distribution function of a one-dimensional system of hard rods

We continue our investigation of the time evolution of a one-dimensional system of hard rods. At $t=0$ there is one particle with a specified position ${r}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and velocity ${v}^{\ensuremath{'}}$, and the remainder are in "equilibrium." Since in this system collisions merely interchange velocities, the "equilibrium" velocity distribution ${h}_{0}(v)$ need not be Maxwellian. Exact solutions are obtained for the time-dependent one-particle position-velocity distribution function $f(r\ensuremath{-}{r}^{\ensuremath{'}}, v, \frac{t}{{v}^{\ensuremath{'}}})$. We investigate in particular the averaged positional part of $f$, viz., $G(r\ensuremath{-}{r}^{\ensuremath{'}}, t)$, which is the time-dependent pair correlation function whose space-time Fourier transform $S(k,\ensuremath{\omega})$ describes coherent neutron scattering in realistic systems. It is shown that $S(k,\ensuremath{\omega})$ does not generally contain modes corresponding to sound propagation. The exceptions are systems with discrete velocity distributions. In the latter case the space Fourier transform $\ensuremath{\chi}(k,t)$ of $G(r,t)$ is rigorously a sum of simple damped oscillations. An exact kinetic equation for the time evolution of $f$ is derived and investigated. Also found is an approximate kinetic equation which, however, gives exact values of $S(k,\ensuremath{\omega})$.