cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On Saltman's p-Adic Curves Papers

We present a synthesis of Saltman’s work (Adv. Math. 43(3):250–283, 1982; J. Alg. 314(2):817–843, 2007) on the division algebras of prime-to-p degree over the function field K of a p-adic curve. Suppose Δ is a K-division algebra. We prove that (a) Δ’s degree divides the square of its period; (b) if Δ has prime degree (different from p), then it is cyclic; (c) Δ has prime index different from p if and only if Δ’s period is prime, and its ramification locus on a certain model for K has no “hot points”.
BEDOPS: high-performance genomic feature operations.

Summary: The large and growing number of genome-wide datasets highlights the need for high-performance feature analysis and data comparison methods, in addition to efficient data storage and retrieval techniques. We introduce BEDOPS, a software suite for common genomic analysis tasks which offers improved flexibility, scalability and execution time characteristics over previously published packages. The suite includes a utility to compress large inputs into a lossless format that can provide greater space savings and faster data extractions than alternatives. Availability: http://code.google.com/p/bedops/ includes binaries, source and documentation. Contact: ude.notgnihsaw.u@njs and ude.notgnihsaw.u@matsj Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The Price of Opportunity: Race, Student Loan Debt, and College Achievement

This paper examines racial differences in student loan debt and concurrently assesses the potential payoffs and countervailing risks inherent in reliance on loans in a cohort of black and white first-year college students. Using the 1996–2001 Beginning Postsecondary Student study we find that the use of loans results in greater enrollment persistence and higher odds of college completion, especially for black students. However, black students acquire larger amounts of student loan debt and face a higher risk of default than white students. This is in part due to associated racial differences in family socioeconomic status and type of institution attended. We suggest these findings illuminate the dual-sided nature of college loans that makes them an imperfect, but overall positive, tool for reducing educational inequality. On the one hand, student loans reduce educational inequality that otherwise results from disadvantaged students' struggles to pay for college and complete college in a timely fashion. At the same time, the degree to which loans reduce racial inequality is diminished by black students' higher loan amounts, the large number of black students who borrow but do not finish college, and the large racial difference in the odds of defaulting on a loan.
Analysis of the Number of Student-Set Deadlines in a Personalized Psychology Course

In two separate studies, we permitted students to set their own deadlines for nine or five course tasks. Student-set (SS) deadline conditions were compared to instructor-set (IS) deadline conditions. Results indicated that students in the nine SS deadline condition demonstrated greater compliance to schedule and more frequently completed the third review exam as scheduled than did students in the IS deadline condition. Students in the SS deadline conditions missed more deadlines than did students in the IS deadline conditions. Pacing conditions produced no differences in academic performance.
Development of a prototype personal digital assistant-decision support system for the management of adult obesity.

Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a prototype personal digital assistant-decision support system (PDA-DSS) based on a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the management of obesity. Design The study was composed of four phases: (1) analysis of advanced practice nurse (APN) students’ documentation related to the management of obesity using the Clinical Log-APN (CL-APN), (2) identification of functional requirements and data modeling through use case analysis and unified modeling language (UML), (3) evaluation of representation of obesity-related concepts with standardized terminologies, and (4) design of a web-based prototype user interface. Results The analysis revealed the documentation rate of obesity as an assessment diagnosis and adherence to the CPG for obesity was low. Through use case analysis and UML modeling, the functional requirements – screening, assessment, and documentation of CPG-based obesity treatment plan – were identified and a data model was built. Overall, the standardized terminologies that are used in the database for the CL-APN could represent about 80% of the obesity-related concepts. However, the terms of these standardized terminologies were not specific enough to represent all the concepts. The systematized nomenclature of medicine-clinical terms (SNOMED CT) could represent 83% of the concepts and was used to extend the knowledge base. Based on the functional requirements specification, four prototype screens were designed. Conclusion The PDA-DSS for the management of obesity has potential uses for education, nursing practice, and research. As an educational tool, it can be used to improve APN students’ adherence to the CPG's recommendations and to enhance informatics competencies. The PDA-DSS has the potential to improve APN students’ clinical decision making at the point-of-care and delivery of CPG-based care, thereby improving patients’ outcomes related to the management of obesity. A randomized trial is underway to investigate the PDA-DSS's impact on APN students’ screening rates and adherence to obesity CPG recommendations, and users’ acceptance of the system.
Managing patients with acute thyrotoxicosis.

who have an understanding of this life-threatening condition can quickly intervene to improve patients’ outcomes. In this article, I describe thyroid physiology, discuss the clinical manifestations and treatment of acute thyrotoxicosis, and present a case study of a patient with thyrotoxicosis who was admitted to the critical care unit because of acute congestive heart failure.
Workforce Development and the Organization of Work: The Science We Need

The industrialization of health care, underway for several decades, offers instructive guidance and models for speeding access of children and families to clinically and cost effective preventive, treatment, and palliative interventions. This industrialization—i.e., the systematized production of goods or services in large-scale enterprises—has the potential to increase the value and effects of care for consumers, providers, and payers (Hayes and Gregg in Integrated behavioral healthcare: Positioning mental health practice with medical/surgical practice. Academic Press, San Diego, 2001), and to generate efficiencies in care delivery, in part because workforce responsibilities become more functional and differentiated such that individuals with diverse educational and professional backgrounds can effectively execute substantive clinical roles (Rees in Clin Exp Dermatol, 33, 39–393, 2008). To date, however, the models suggested by this industrialization have not been applied to children’s mental health services. A combination of policy, regulatory, fiscal, systemic, and organizational changes will be needed to fully penetrate the mental health and substance abuse service sectors. In addition, problems with the availability, preparation, functioning, and status of the mental health workforce decried for over a decade will need to be addressed if consumers and payers are to gain access to effective interventions irrespective of geographic location, ethnic background, or financial status. This paper suggests that critical knowledge gaps exist regarding (a) the knowledge, skills, and competencies of a workforce prepared to deliver effective interventions; (b) the efficient and effective organization of work; and (c) the development and replication of effective workforce training and support strategies to sustain effective services. Three sets of questions are identified for which evidence-based answers are needed. Suggestions are provided to inform the development of a scientific agenda to answer these questions.
Optimal traffic distribution in minimum energy wireless sensor networks

Energy efficient data transmission and traffic control are essential for increasing the lifetime of wireless sensor networks (WSN). In traditional sensor networks, the optimization of the traffic distribution is restricted to a subset of the possible routes. This constraint makes achieving a global energy minimization impossible. In this paper, the stochastic based traffic distribution (SBTD) is formulated in terms of the traffic segmentation with an additional degree of freedom of the routes. It is derived based on the parametric stochastic models underlying the operational characteristics of the WSNs, whereby, the nodes' unbalanced energy consumption is balanced and the network's lifetime is prolonged. As illustrated in the paper, a WSN using the proposed optimal traffic distribution performs significantly better in conserving energy and increasing the WSN's lifetime as compared to the energy balanced data propagation (EBDP) as suggested in C. Efthymiou, et al (2004)
The pharmacology of methotrexate

Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. The treatment of this condition is primarily surgical, but medical management in selected cases is safe, effective, cost-effective and eliminates the morbidity of surgery. Methotrexate (MTX) is a folate antagonist that can be used for non-oncologic purposes including the treatment of EP. The dose and duration of MTX therapy for EP is much lower than that used in oncology cases, thus reducing side effects and increasing safety. MTX selectively acts on rapidly dividing cells, such as trophoblast cells which comprise the implantation site of the early gestation. The two most common methods of administering MTX to patients with EP are im. administration of a single-dose, based on body surface area and calculated by the equation 50 mg/m(2) (without the need for leucovorin rescue), or the multiple-dose regimen of 1 mg/kg of MTX, alternating with 0.1 mg/kg of leucovorin rescue. Both methods have a similar side effect profile, resulting in the rare occurrence of nausea, vomiting, stomatitis, elevated liver function tests, anorexia and diarrhoea. The two methods yield success rates similar to those of conservative surgical therapy with similar future fertility. The potential single- and multi-dose methods have never been directly compared, but it appears that the success of multiple dosing is more effective. As the efficacy of MTX therapy is not 100%, women must be followed clinically until there is compete resolution of human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) titres from their serum.
The “Modified” Winch Stitch

Background. The methods described to achieve intraoperative tissue expansion have drawbacks. Objective. To report an intraoperative tissue expansion technique using standard suture material and hemostats to create a “modified” winch stitch. Methods. A continuous running suture is placed with both ends left free. A “fixed” hemostat is placed above the skin at one end. After pulling at the other end with a second hemostat, a third hemostat is placed proximal to this hemostat just above the skin, which is left in place to produce stretching. The second and third hemostats are then used in an alternating pulling and holding fashion. Results. This method produces significant tissue expansion. If the desired degree of approximation is achieved, the ends of the suture can be tied together, as in the previously described winch stitch. Conclusion. The modified winch stitch is a simple and inexpensive means to facilitate closure of wounds under a significant amount of tension.
Consensus properties for the deep coalescence problem and their application for scalable tree search

Background To infer a species phylogeny from unlinked genes, phylogenetic inference methods must confront the biological processes that create incongruence between gene trees and the species phylogeny. Intra-specific gene variation in ancestral species can result in deep coalescence, also known as incomplete lineage sorting, which creates incongruence between gene trees and the species tree. One approach to account for deep coalescence in phylogenetic analyses is the deep coalescence problem, which takes a collection of gene trees and seeks the species tree that implies the fewest deep coalescence events. Although this approach is promising for phylogenetics, the consensus properties of this problem are mostly unknown and analyses of large data sets may be computationally prohibitive.
An exact analysis of the impact of fading correlation on the average level crossing rate and average outage duration of selection combining

This paper derives the average level crossing rate (LCR) and the average outage duration (AOD) of selection combining (SC) over correlated and/or unbalanced channels. More specifically, it presents a general approach for the analysis of such systems operating over correlated Rayleigh, Rician, and/or Nakagami fading channels. The general approach is then applied to obtain generic closed-form expressions for the LCR and AOD of dual-branch SC in a correlated Rayleigh and Nakagami fading environment. The results obtained as special cases of the offered generic closed-form expressions are compared to those previously reported in the literature. Finally, some numerical examples comparing the LCR and AOD of SC with various value of fading correlation, average fading power unbalance, and Nakagami parameter are provided and discussed.
Mat Formation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae Requires Nutrient and pH Gradients

The ability of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to form morphologically complex colony-like structures called mats requires expression of the cell surface glycoprotein Flo11p and growth on a semisolid surface. As the mat grows, it forms two visually distinct populations called the rim (edge of the mat) and the hub (interior of the mat), which can be physically separated from one another based on their agar adherence properties. Here, we show that growth of the mat on a semisolid agar surface creates concentric glucose and pH gradients in the medium that are required for the differentiation of the hub and rim. Disruption of the pathways that respond to changing levels of glucose block mat formation by decreasing FLO11 expression. However, in wild-type cells, Flo11p is expressed in both portions of the structure. The difference in adherence between the rim and hub appears to be a consequence of the reduced adherence of Flo11p at the elevated pH of the rim.
The Roma and Wall Street/CEOs: linguistic construction of identity in U.S. and Canadian crime reports

Discriminatory practices against Roma (also known as Romanies) occur on a daily basis in many countries around the world through media discourse. This paper investigates the representation of Romanies in U.S. and Canadian online newspaper crime reports and compares this representation to Wall Street/CEOs in crime reports demonstrating how identity of both groups is constructed through a variety of linguistic and non-linguistic strategies. Drawing on Mayr and Machin’s (2012) critical linguistic analysis of the language of crime, this multimodal study incorporates a variety of tools such as Critical Discourse Analysis and Cognitive Linguistics in order to dig below the surface to reveal ideological frames. Results illustrate the denaturalization (and negative representation) of Romanies and contrasting naturalization of CEOs and point to a growing need for consciousness-raising through critical linguistic analysis such as this in order to continue to fight for social change and a more just system for the Roma.
In-situ Preparation of Photopolymerized Sol-Gel Monoliths for Capillary Electrochromatography on a Chip

We have developed a simple and fast procedure for the in-situ photopolymerization of a sol-gel monolith having a porous structure on a chip. A solution of methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane mixed with an acid catalyst, water, toluene, and a photoinitiator was irradiated at 365nm for 10sec∼1min in a microchip to prepare a photopolymerized sol-gel monoliths under an inverted microscope with a mercury lamp.
Put a Bird on It: Mythologies of Portland(ia)

AbstractPortland, Oregon is a city in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and Portlandia is a television show produced by the Independent Film Company (IFC); both mythologize place. Portland is lauded by popular media as well as planning and design professionals as a model city. Portlandia satirizes this celebrated model urbanism orchestrated by artisanal values and hipster ethics. This essay examines how both Portland the city and Portlandia the show between them fabricate a model for twenty-first-century urbanism.
Studies on Haemoflagellates: II. A Study of the Growth Rates of Leishmania Donovani, L. Brasiliensis, L. Tropica, and Trypanosoma Cruzi in Culture

Although the four species of haemoflagellates forming the objects of this study, all pathogenic to man, are well known from a clinical standpoint, much of their fundamental biological nature remains obscure. The three species of Leishmania considered in this paper are morphologically all but identical and indistinguishable. The disease processes which they initiate show, to be sure, certain striking differences. It, therefore, becomes a matter of great interest to attempt to evaluate such fundamental differences of degree and kind as may He beneath the morphological similarity. It is also of interest to see how Trypanosoma cruzi which is morphologically very different from the leishmaniae differs in some of the fundamental biological activities from the leishmaniae. The fluid medium with a solid base reported by one of us (S.L.C.) in the previous paper of this series, provides a convenient means for growing these organisms in large quantities and also a good opportunity to study some of their fundamental biological activities. It was because of interest in these fundamental biological activities that the first attempt was made to study the growth rates of three species of Leishmania and T. cruzi. The materials and procedures used in the study are described, and the results observed are presented and discussed in the present paper.
Deferential-Participant Politics: The Early Republic's Political Culture, 1789–1840*

The concepts of “party” and “party system” may be obscuring the nature of early national political culture. The presence of a modern party ethos before the 1830s seems to be taken for granted, as are assumptions regarding the alleged benefits of party. Historians have not yet demonstrated, however, the many dimensions of institutionalized party behavior. Focus is recommended on three observable elements of party (after Sorauf): as organization, in office, in the electorate. Studies of party self-consciousness developing over the entire 1789–1840 period are necessary in various political units. Evidence is inconclusive, but weighs on balance against a first party system of Federalists and Republicans (1790s–1820s). While relatively stable elite coalitions and even mass cleavage patterns perhaps developed at staggered intervals in different arenas, especially during the war crisis period of 1809–1816, the norms of party did not take root and pervade the polity. The era to the 1820s was transitional, a deferential-participant phase of mixed political culture roughly comparable to England's after 1832. Theories relating party to democratization, national integration, and political development, should be reconsidered.
The Sublime in Antiquity

Current understandings of the sublime are focused by a single word ('sublimity') and by a single author ('Longinus'). The sublime is not a word: it is a concept and an experience, or rather a whole range of ideas, meanings and experiences that are embedded in conceptual and experiential patterns. Once we train our sights on these patterns a radically different prospect on the sublime in antiquity comes to light, one that touches everything from its range of expressions to its dates of emergence, evolution, role in the cultures of antiquity as a whole, and later reception. This book is the first to outline an alternative account of the sublime in Greek and Roman poetry, philosophy, and the sciences, in addition to rhetoric and literary criticism. It offers new readings of Longinus without privileging him, but instead situates him within a much larger context of reflection on the sublime in antiquity.
John Urry: E-Special Introduction

This article introduces a special electronic collection of many of the key works published by the late British sociologist John Urry (1946–2016) in the journals Theory, Culture & Society and Body & Society. It serves both to commemorate and to continue Urry’s profound contributions as a social theorist, as a network builder, and as a public intellectual who changed the face of British, and indeed global, social science. The selections range from 1982 to 2014, including articles and introductions to collections, both sole-authored and collaborative pieces, all of which are put into context here in relation to his wider body of work. By gathering this portion of his work in one place we seek to make it easily accessible, as well as marking the signal importance of his impact on contemporary social theory.
Bayesian Security Games for Controlling Contagion

Influence blocking games have been used to model adversarial domains with a social component, such as counterinsurgency. In these games, a mitigator attempts to minimize the efforts of an influencer to spread his agenda across a social network. Previous work has assumed that the influence graph structure is known with certainty by both players. However, in reality, there is often significant information asymmetry between the mitigator and the influencer. We introduce a model of this information asymmetry as a two-player zero-sum Bayesian game. Nearly all past work in influence maximization and social network analysis suggests that graph structure is fundamental in strategy generation, leading to an expectation that solving the Bayesian game exactly is crucial. Surprisingly, we show through extensive experimentation on synthetic and real-world social networks that many common forms of uncertainty can be addressed near optimally by ignoring the vast majority of it and simply solving an abstracted game with a few randomly chosen types. This suggests that optimal strategies of games that do not model the full range of uncertainty in influence blocking games are typically robust to uncertainty about the influence graph structure.
Examining the Legal Consequences of Improper Use of Social Media Sites in the Workplace

Social media has made radical and revolutionary changes; from the previous evolution of email and instant messaging to newer forms of communications (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.). These changes have had a tremendous amount of influence on the way people function and behave. The advanced elements contained within social media have expanded the social constructs of society (i.e., businesses, etc.) in virtual horizons. Boyd and Ellison define a web-based social networking site as a service that allows users to: “(1) Construct a public or semi-public profile with a bounded system; (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection; and, (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” [3, p. 211]. This paper will examine the legal consequences on the impact of social networking technologies use in employment. Focusing primarily on the following question: Are there any legal recourses from an employer/employee perspective if they are victims of improper or inappropriate use of social media sites?
Reply to Drs. Nuzzo and Barry

to the editor: The point of our recent Editorial was to emphasize the importance of publishing “negative data.” Although Nuzzo and Barry acknowledge this in their letter ([3][1]), they reacted strongly to the following statements in our editorial ([1][2]). “For example, lifting heavy weights
Electronic Catalogs in the Web-Based Business-to-Business Procurement Process

Electronic catalogs [e-Catalogs] are becoming the gateway to Electronic Commerce on the Internet. Most of the research and applications to date have centered on supplier based catalogs. There are at least as many business buyers as there are suppliers and yet little information is available to these buyers concerning the benefits, costs, and managerial considerations associated with the use of e-Catalogs. We examine e-Catalog issues from the business buyer’s viewpoint. We concentrate particularly, on the use of web-based supplier catalogs in the management of procurement transactions. After reviewing the Web-based e-Catalog system design issues, we consider tangible and intangible aspects of cost/benefit relationships when adopting a Web-based procurement/purchasing system [WBPS]. There are some obvious tangible and intangible benefits. However, when adopting a WBPS, it is important for management to address the organizational issues very early on to assure organizational buy-in. We consider the various managerial issues that need to be addressed to assure a successful implementation.
Holes at GaAs-AlxGa1-xAs heterojunctions in magnetic fields

The effects of anisotropy of the valence-band structure and of the mixing of the heavy and light holes on the Landau levels of the hole inversion layer in a normal magnetic field are studied. Some of the crossings of the Landau levels which occur when anisotropy is neglected are removed when it is included. While the measured multiple cyclotron-resonance frequencies are explained qualitatively by our calculation, there is quantitative disagreement.
PRIMA: An End-to-End Framework for Privacy at Scale

Person-specific data offer enormous opportunities for deriving insights that can radically improve different facets of our everyday lives, ranging from the provisioning of personalized medicine and healthcare, to the offering of smart transportation and smart energy. At the same time, the use of person-specific data to support these applications can come at a high cost to individuals' privacy, unless proper de-identification technology is in place to provide rigorous privacy guarantees. In this paper we introduce PRIMA, an end-to-end solution allowing decision makers to map out and execute their data privacy strategy through a comprehensive workflow. Our toolkit offers an intuitive risk-utility exploration framework for end users to navigate through the enormous number of possible combinations of anonymization settings and provide meaningful reports that help them understand the impact of each strategy in terms of utility and risk. Unlike traditional approaches, that rely on limited scale tools and manual analyses, our toolkit is the first scalable, production-grade system that can execute all of its components (such as vulnerability analysis, anonymization, risk and information loss measurements) on arbitrarily large datasets. Furthermore, it offers a flexible library for developers to integrate and extend its functionality to embed de-identification components into their applications.
Mechanisms of radiation-induced segregation around He bubbles in a Fe-Cr-Ni crystal

Abstract Fe-15Cr-15Ni (wt.%) austenitic stainless steel was irradiated with 200 keV 4He+ ions to a fluence of 5 × 1016/cm2 at 500 °C. Radiation-induced segregation (RIS) at He bubbles in the irradiated steel was measured using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) coupled with Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). The RIS measurements exhibited an enrichment of Ni and a depletion of Cr and Fe at the bubbles. To determine the underlying mechanisms of the RIS, the prediction of the Marwick model was compared with the RIS measurements. The model with parametric input in accordance with the Inverse Kirkendall effect (IKE), i.e. a preferential flux of elements associated with vacancy flux, was inadequate in explaining the observed amount of segregation of Fe, Cr and Ni. Specifically, a considerably lower ratio of the concentration gradient between Cr and Fe, ∇ Cr ∇ Fe , of 0.53 was obtained from the RIS measurements versus the model-predicted value of 2.3, indicating an overestimation of Cr depletion at the bubbles by the Marwick model. To explain this difference between the model prediction and the RIS measurements, in addition to the Cr depletion at the bubbles by IKE due to the fastest diffusion via vacancy flux, a preferential interstitial flux of Cr from the matrix to the bubbles is discussed as a possible concurrently operating mechanism.
Evidence for functional interactions between the placenta and brain in pregnant mice

The placenta plays a pivotal role in the development of the fetal brain and also influences maternal brain function, but our understanding of communication between the placenta and brain remains limited. Using a gene expression and network analysis approach, we provide evidence that the placenta transcriptome is tightly interconnected with the maternal brain and fetal brain in d 15 pregnant C57BL/6J mice. Activation of serotonergic synapse signaling and inhibition of neurotrophin signaling were identified as potential mediators of crosstalk between the placenta and maternal brain and fetal brain, respectively. Genes encoding specific receptors and ligands were predicted to affect functional interactions between the placenta and brain. Paralogous genes, such as sex comb on midleg homolog 1/scm-like with 4 mbt domains 2 and polycomb group ring finger (Pcgf) 2/ Pcgf5, displayed antagonistic regulation between the placenta and brain. Additionally, conditional ablation of forkhead box a2 ( Foxa2) in the glands of the uterus altered the transcriptome of the d 15 placenta, which provides novel evidence of crosstalk between the uterine glands and placenta. Furthermore, expression of cathepsin 6 and monocyte to macrophage differentiation associated 2 was significantly different in the fetal brain of Foxa2 conditional knockout mice compared with control mice. These findings provide a better understanding of the intricacies of uterus-placenta-brain interactions during pregnancy and provide a foundation and model system for their exploration.-Behura, S. K., Kelleher, A. M., Spencer, T. E. Evidence for functional interactions between the placenta and brain in pregnant mice.
SP0013 GROWTH FACTORS AND CARTILAGE: FROM MECHANISMS TO DMOADS

Background: Growth factors are biologically active molecules that can stimulate cellular division, growth and differentiation and, in articular cartilage, can regulate development, homeostasis and regeneration of matrix. These anabolic factors can stimulate synthesis of proteoglycans, aggrecan and type II collagen, induce mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation and drive differentiation of MSCs into chondrocytes and decrease catabolic effects of cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Growth factors would not, however, be expected to have a direct analgesic effect in patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. Objectives: To review the role of growth factors in articular cartilage, identify specific growth factors and review data from phase 1 and 2 studies of selected growth factors in subjects with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: A PubMed search was performed using key words “cartilage or chondrocyte” and “growth factor”. The search included both original manuscripts and review articles as well as clinical trials but was limited to English language. From these searches, I selected review articles and clinical trials and excluded articles that solely examined molecular mechanisms of action of growth factors on chondrocytes. Results: Growth factors for articular cartilage include molecules in the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-ββ superfamily (including TGF-β1, bone morphogenic protein [BMP]-2 and BMP-7), insulin-like growth factor-I, fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family (including FGF-2 and FGF-18), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and Wnt ligands as well as platelet rich plasma (PRP). Conclusion: Data will be presented from phase 1 and 2 studies of rhFGF-18 and SM-04690, a Wnt signaling inhibitor, that demonstrate proof-of-concept and early efficacy of these growth factors for structure modifying effects in subjects with knee osteoarthritis (OA). References: [1] Boehme KA, Rolauffs B: Onset and progression of human osteoarthritis - can growth factors, inflammatory cytokines, or differential miRNA expression concomitantly induce proliferation, ECM degradation, and inflammation in articular cartilage? Int J Mol Sci 2018;19:2282;doi:10.3390/ijms19082282. [2] Zhu Z, Li J, Ruan G, Wang G, Huang C, Ding C: Investigational drugs for the treatment of osteoarthritis, an update on recent developments. Expert Opin Invest Drugs 2018. doi.org/10.1080/13543784.2018.1539075. Disclosure of Interests: Marc Hochberg Shareholder of: BriOri Biotech, Theralogix LLC., Consultant for: Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novartis Pharma AG, Pfizer Inc., Samumed LLC, Symic Bio Inc., Theralogix LLC, TissueGene Inc., TLC Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., Zynerba, Galapagos, IQVIA, Hoffman LaRoche.
Genital burns in the United States: Disproportionate prevalence in the pediatric population.

Abstract Introduction and objectives To describe the epidemiology of genital burns in the U.S. and investigate the underlying etiology. Methods The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database was queried for individuals who sustained genital burns from 2000 to 2016. We collected data on age, gender, injury diagnosis, disposition, and causative agents. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine predictors of hospitalization. Results We estimate 17,026 (95% CI 16,649–17,404) cases of genital burns presented to emergency departments nationally. Genital burns occurred more in males than females (12,295 vs 4,731). Scalding (57.9%) was the most common mechanism of injury and hot water (35.7%) the most common causative agent. Significant predictors of hospitalization on multivariate analysis were multi-surface (OR 4.4), scalding (OR 11.5) and thermal burns (OR 27.9). Children ages 0–2 had the highest prevalence of genital burns, and children ages 0–12 comprised 37.1% of the study. For children Conclusions Children sustain genital burns at a higher rate than adults and many appear to have a preventable mechanism. Improved product design for safety and educating caregivers about potential hazardous situations are needed.
Calculating dose from a 2.5 MV imaging beam using a commercial treatment planning system.

Patient dose from 2.5 MV images on the TrueBeam linear accelerator is not easily quantified, primarily because this beam energy is not normally modeled by commercial treatment planning systems. In this work we present the feasibility of using the Eclipse® treatment planning system to model this beam. The Acuros XB and the AAA dose calculation algorithms were tested. Profiles, PDDs, and output factors were measured for the 2.5 MV unflattened imaging beam and used for beam modeling. The algorithms were subsequently verified using MPPG 5.a guidelines. Calculated doses with both algorithms agreed with the measurement data to within the following criteria recommended for conventional therapeutic MV beams: 2% local dose-difference in the high-dose region, 3% global difference in the low-dose region, 3 mm distance to agreement in the penumbra, and a gamma pass rate of >95% for 3%/3 mm criteria. Acuros was able to accurately calculate dose through cork and bone-equivalent heterogeneities. AAA was able to accurately calculate dose through the bone-equivalent heterogeneity but did not pass within the recommended criteria for the cork heterogeneity. For the 2.5 MV imaging beam, both the AAA and Acuros algorithms provide calculated doses that agree with measured results well within the 20% criteria for imaging beams recommended by AAPM TG-180.
Agent-Based Models of Social Life: Fundamentals

Social interactions are rich, complex, and dynamic. One way to understand these is to model interactions that fascinate us. Some of the more realistic and powerful models are computer simulations. Simple, elegant and powerful, tools are available in user-friendly free software to help you design, build and run your own models of social interactions that intrigue you, and do this on the most basic laptop computer. Focusing on a well-known model of housing segregation, this Element is about how to unleash that power, setting out the fundamentals of what is now known as 'agent based modeling'.
Comparison of the NeuMoDX, Diasorin Simplexa, Cepheid and Roche CDC SARS-CoV 2 EUA assays using nasopharyngeal/nasal swabs in universal transport media (UTM) and sputum and tracheal aspirates

Abstract In March 2019 the outbreak of SARS-CoV 2 was officially defined as a pandemic by the World Health Organization and shortly after, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) molecular testing for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from NP swabs. Since then, EUA with relaxed regulations were granted to numerous manufacturers and clinical microbiology laboratories to implement in-house testing assays with nasopharyngeal swabs (NP) and subsequently additional specimen types. Because of supply chain shortages leading to competition for reagents, sustaining any significant volume of testing soon became problematic. As a countermeasure, within several weeks the Henry Ford Microbiology Laboratory validated 4 different rtPCR assays and multiple specimen types using NeuMoDX, Diasorin Simplexa, Cepheid and Roche platforms. The purpose of this study was to analyze the analytic sensitivity of these rtPCR assays with NP/nasal swabs and sputum/tracheal aspirates. Qualitative analytic agreement between the 4 platforms for NP/nasal swabs ranged 95% - 100% overall with no statistically significant difference in threshold cT values. Similar results were obtained with the sputum/tracheal aspirates. These data demonstrate the high accuracy and reproducibility in detection of SARS-CoV 2 between the rtPCR assays performed on 4 different platforms with numerous specimen types.
Gated Hall and field-effect transport characterization of e-mode ZnO TFTs

Two methods of measuring the electronic transport properties of a material are transistor DC-voltage and the Hall effect. Hall mobility measurements of normally off semiconductors can be done by electrostatic doping to lower resistance in the channel. We show that by measuring both, we can compare any value (raw measured as well as calculated data) directly to any other value along an index of FET gate and drain voltage across the entire safe operating area of the device. Our gated Hall technique intrinsic calculations of Hall mobility, typically possible only for bulk or doped materials, for thin-film transistor materials stack up with thickness scaled to practical values.
Le Paris souterrain de Vassilis Alexakis dans L’Enfant grec : catabase funeste ou lieu de renaissance ?

Cet article vise a interpreter la presence du sous-sol parisien dans le roman L’Enfant grec (2012) de Vassilis Alexakis, vingt apres que ce dernier ait represente ce meme espace souterrain dans Avant. Apres un bref resume de l’oeuvre, une mise au point sur l’importance du souterrain dans l’imaginaire collectif et une breve presentation du sous-sol parisien en litterature, j’analyse la valeur metaphorique que l’auteur confere aux egouts, catacombes, carrieres et sous-sols, reels ou imaginaires, qui caracterisent le schema geographique de L’Enfant grec et qui occupent une place croissante au fil des pages. Cet appel du sous-sol donne-t-il forme, comme dans Avant, a un rejet spatial de la capitale francaise ou bien s’agit-il d’une evocation plus traditionnelle d’espaces souterrains associes a la mort ? Existe-t-il un lien entre ces espaces en sous-sol et l’espace de la creation litteraire ? Meme si, dans un premier temps, tout peut laisser a penser que l’auteur a cree une catabase funeste, je conclue que le Paris souterrain d’Alexakis dans L’Enfant grec est un lieu cathartique de renaissance qui permet au narrateur d’apaiser sa crainte de la mort et de se reconcentrer sur l’espace ludique de la creation litteraire.
The Menopause Transition: Signs, Symptoms, and Management Options.

Context Menopause, the permanent cessation of menses, reflects oocyte depletion and loss of gonadal steroids. It is preceded by a transition state, the perimenopause, which is characterized by the gradual loss of oocytes, altered responsiveness to gonadal steroid feedback, wide hormonal fluctuations, and irregular menstrual patterns. The goal of this mini-review is to discuss the basic pathophysiology of the menopausal transition and the hormonal and nonhormonal management of clinicopathology attributed to it. Evidence acquisition A Medline search of epidemiologic, population-based studies, and studies of reproductive physiology was conducted. A total of 758 publications were screened. Evidence synthesis The reproductive hormonal milieu of the menopausal transition precipitates bothersome vasomotor symptoms, mood disruption, temporary cognitive dysfunction, genitourinary symptoms, and other disease processes that reduce the quality of life of affected women. The endocrine tumult of the menopause transition also exposes racial and socioeconomic disparities in the onset, severity, and frequency of symptoms. Hormone therapy (HT) treatment can be effective for perimenopausal symptoms but its use has been stymied by concerns about health risks observed in postmenopausal HT users who are older than 60 and/or women who have been postmenopausal for greater than 10 years. Conclusions The menopause transition is a disruptive process that can last for over a decade and causes symptoms in a majority of women. It is important for clinicians to recognize early signs and symptoms of the transition and be prepared to offer treatment to mitigate these symptoms. Many safe and effective options, including HT, are available.
Efficient Data-based Methodology for Model enhancement and Flowsheet analyses for Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Abstract Accurate process predictability and efficient flowsheet analysis has been the focus of research in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Currently available mechanistic models, being unable to account for all complex powder variabilities, need to be improved for accurate digital twin framework of the manufacturing plant. In this work, we propose a novel methodology of integrated plant data for model enhancement. These enhanced models are applied for flowsheet analyses focusing on design space identification. Surrogate-based feasibility analysis is implemented using artificial neural network with adaptive sampling techniques. This strategy is demonstrated for a direct compaction line capturing realistic scenarios observed in the manufacturing plant.
Universal molecular-kinetic scaling relation for slip of a simple fluid at a solid boundary

A molecular-kinetic model, based on thermally activated processes, is developed for the slip of a simple fluid on a smooth solid boundary. Navier slip is recovered at low shear-rates. Predictions at higher shear-rates are tested against experiments and MD simulations.
Sequential versus Simultaneous Aging of EPDM Nuclear Cable Insulation Subjected to Elevated Temperature and Gamma Radiation

Electrical cables are integral to power, control, and instrumentation systems within nuclear power plants (NPPs). Exposure of cable systems within nuclear containment to elevated temperatures and gamma radiation during decades-long operation of NPPs can lead to degradation of the cables' polymeric insulation. Prediction of nuclear cable insulation degradation is complicated because thermal and radiation stress are not additive. In this work, we explore the relative effects of simultaneous and sequential thermal and gamma irradiation on the aging of ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM) elastomer insulation to better understand realistic scenarios of cable insulation degradation. Cable insulation samples of EPDM were subjected to up to 320 kGy of gamma radiation at a dose rate of 300 Gy/hr in two heating scenarios: (1) simultaneously aged samples were heated at 150°C during irradiation and (2) sequentially aged samples were heated at 150°C for designated durations followed by corresponding periods of irradiation at ambient temperature. The mass, tensile elongation at break, and the carbonyl index were assessed to quantify the aging of the polymers. The simultaneous aging scenario was found to be the more severe of the two for EPDM insulation degradation.
‘Nói thì học Mỹ, học rặt Mỹ luôn’: language ideologies in a Vietnamese restaurant in South Texas

Employing ethnography and the theoretical paradigm of language ideology (Silverstein, M. 1979. “Language structure and linguistic ideology.” In The Elements: A Parasession on Linguistic Units and L...
Gene expression ratio of deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) to cytidine deaminase (CDA) corresponds with cytotoxicity in solid tumors in vitro

116 Purpose: Gemcitabine (GEM) and paclitaxel (PAC) were commonly administered together to patients with advanced breast, lung and ovarian cancer. This combination only provided marginal benefit compared to either agent alone and appeared inferior to other combinations. However, this combination could prove beneficial in some patients if appropriately selected based on histological or molecular markers. Our preliminary data indicated PAC reduced the systemic clearance and volume of distribution of GEM in humans and the production of its metabolites in primary human cells. We investigated the sequence-dependence of this combination and the effects of PAC on the gene expression and activity of dCK and CDA, two enzymes responsible for the metabolism of GEM. Experimental Design: Five cell lines were used in this study: adenocarcinoma, T47D:A18 (breast), A2780 (ovarian), H838 (lung); squamous cell carcinoma, H460 (lung); and large cell carcinoma, H520 (lung). The IC50 for GEM and PAC was determined in each cell line in a separate study. Cytotoxicity, by direct cell count, and flow cytometry analysis were assessed after treatment with sequential PAC→GEM and GEM→PAC. Each cell line was treated with PAC or GEM at 24 h intervals for a total drug exposure of 48 h. The type of drug interaction was assessed by the combination index (CI). The gene expression for dCK and CDA were measured using quantitative real-time PCR (TaqMan) and the activity for dCK was measured using a radiolabeled assay with and without PAC. Results: GEM→PAC was favored compared to PAC→GEM in 4 of the 5 cell lines as demonstrated by decreased cell viability at the IC50 of GEM and PAC. Sequence dependent changes noted in flow cytometry analysis; greater G2 + M phase arrest with PAC→GEM and greater S phase arrest with GEM→PAC, as anticipated. The CI indicated: strong antagonism (T47D:A18), nearly additive (H460), synergism (H520) and high synergism (A2780, H838). PAC increased dCK activity by 30% to 70% in 4 of the 5 cell lines (A2780, H520, H460, T47D:A18). dCK and CDA mRNA levels were significantly decreased in 2 of the 5 cell lines (p=0.02, H460, H520). A ratio of dCK to CDA > 1 corresponded with synergism; a ratio = 1 corresponded with nearly additive and a ratio