cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Institutional Embeddedness of International Business Strategy: Implications for U.S. Firms

U.S. managers and business academics alike have been slow to recognize some of the fundamental differences between domestic and international industrial competition. This article examines one particularly salient difference, the role of national institutional systems in shaping economic action across national markets. The article initially reviews four relevant bodies of literature on competitive strategy and international competition and finds that, despite progress in this direction, none of them adequately account for the institutional embeddedness of corporate strategy. The nature of national institutional systems and their impact on international business strategies are then theoretically described. Finally, some fundamental strategic implications of the institutional embeddedness approach are explored for U.S. firms.
The Cultural Career of the Japanese Economy: developmental and cultural nationalisms in historical perspective

Abstract This essay explores the connection between the economy and cultural identity in Japanese nationalism and the intellectual discourses that have historically defined it. Nationalism in the pre-war period was closely associated with the anxiety that Japanese modernity was deformed. After World War II Japan was part of the global trend towards developmental nationalism, including a transformation of its economy into both a wealthy and a highly egalitarian one. In the 1970s and 1980s ethnic nationalism re-emerged, this time arguing that economic success was the product of Japanese cultural uniqueness rather than of the developmental nationalist policies of the previous quarter-century. The economic downturn of the 1990s thus challenged Japan both economically and culturally, and reawakened anxieties about Japanese deformity. At first, this crisis led to a critical re-evaluation of national culture, manifested as serious attempts to both resolve tensions with Asia dating from World War II and to disman...
Incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of opportunistic infections in pediatric renal transplant recipients

OIs present significant risks to patients following solid organ transplantation. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for the development of OIs after kidney transplantation in pediatric patients and to evaluate the impact of OIs on outcomes in this patient population. A single-center retrospective longitudinal cohort analysis including pediatric patients 21 yr of age or younger transplanted from July 1999 to June 2013 at an academic medical center was conducted. Patients were excluded if they received multi-organ transplant. A total of 175 patients were included in the study. Patients who developed OIs were more likely to be female and younger at the time of transplant. A six-factor risk model for OI development was developed. Death, disease recurrence, and PTLD development were similar between groups but trended toward increased incidence in the OI group. Incidence of rejection was significantly higher in the OI group (p = 0.04). Patients who developed OIs had several important risk factors, including younger age, EBV-negative serostatus, CMV donor (+)/recipient (-), biopsy-proven acute rejection, ANC 500 mg/m(2), and any infection. Incidence of rejection was higher in the OI group, but rate of graft loss was not statistically different.
Hidden electrophoretic variation at the xanthine dehydrogenase locus in a natural population of Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT Sixty-two isochromosomal lines of D. melanogaster were screened for cryptic electrophoretic variation at the xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) locus. Sequential polyacrylamide vertical slab gel electrophoresis was performed using four electrophoretic criteria. A total of 15 classes of electromorphs were revealed. D. melanogaster appears to exhibit as much polymorphism at this locus as other extensively studied Drosophila species.—No evidence for loci on the X or second chromosomes which modified XDH mobility was found. Six of the electromorphs were mapped to the Xdh ( ry ) structural locus. Eight of the remaining nine classes exhibited mobility variation consistent with structural variation at the X dh locus. The final class exhibited aberrant patterns and is under further study.
Space Radiation Issues within the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI)

One of the more important considerations of manned space-flight, outside the Earths magnetoshere with exploration and habitation of the lunar and Martian surfaces, is the radiation hazard. Specifically, the risk of high levels of radiation, due to Galactic Cosmic-Rays (GCR) and Solar Particle Events (SPE) during long duration manned missions of 2–3 years length, must be quantitaively assessed. Current limits of space radiation to astronauts (NCRP, 1989) could easily be exceeded on long missions, if shielding requirements are not met for spacecraft and habitats. Life-threatening solar flares occurring during a solar maximum are readily detected but not reliably predicted. Quantitative shielding estimates (Simonsen and Nealy, 1991a) for spacecraft indicate that 10–20 metric tons (mt) of water equivalent are required for shielding from a large solar flare event. It is therefore necessary and prudent to define the passive shielding requirements quantitatively with minimum uncertainties in order to reduce the overall vehicle mass. Additionally, the engineering design that utilizes materials, fuels, and cargo for supplemental shielding to a storm shelter will further reduce the weight penalty for radiation protection shielding.
Introduction: Phenomenology as the Inspirational Force of Our Times

“Phenomenology” is a term that has acquired varied meaning over the course of the last century, beyond those meanings already put into circulation by Lambert and Hegel. A multiplicity of theories, concepts, ideas are held to legitimately bear the name phenomenology. Those who advance them all claim that they are in some or other fashion, more or less directly, true adherents of the philosophy of Edmund Husserl. Certainly the schools of thought that Husserl inspired came to powerfully influence twentieth-century learning and culture.
Swords into plowshares: Military geology and national security projects

Military geology and national security projects are often comparable, achieving their rai-son d`etre in support of national goals, military operations, and/or systems-all for vital national interests. The application of Geoscience to these ends, especially engineering geology, has occurred from pole to pole and included every conceivable environment and natural condition. In the conduct of such projects, the Geosciences have advanced, and vice versa. Desert trafficability, most notably regarding playa surfaces, is both temporary and variable and not a persistent condition as some early authors believed. Playas in Australia, Iran, and the US show that saline efflorescence is removed following surface water dissolution and subsequent deflation, resulting in very hard crusts. Magadiite, a hydrous sodium silicate and possible precursor of bedded chert, was first discovered in North America at Alkali Lake, OR, during a military project. Pleistocene Lake Trinity, a small and mostly buried evaporate basin in the northern Jornada del Muerto, NM, was discovered during exploratory drilling in support of a military test program.
Trust Metrics Exploration in Optimizing Stock Investment Strategies

The decision-making process in stock investment requires not only the rational trading rules practices, but also faith that market information is reliable. A trust metric is an indication of the degree to which one social actor trusts another. In our Agent-Based Model we built a stock-trading model that issues a daily stock trading signal. This paper introduces an agent-based model for finding the optimal degree of trust in stock transactions. The system has been evaluated in the context of Bank of America stock in the period of 1987–2014. The model outperformed both S&P 500 and buy-and-hold Bank of America stock strategy by two to three times.
The Separation by Starch Electrophoresis of Two Antibodies to Sheep Red Cells DIffering in Hemolytic Efficiency

A previous report1 described the separation by differential centrifugation of two antibodies in rabbit antiserums to the Forssman and isophile antigens of sheep red cells which differed in hemolytic efficiency. With antiserums to both antigens, it was found that the ratio of hemolysin to combining units (i.e., hemolytic efficiency) increased progressively from top to bottom fractions during centrifugation. The bottom fraction, containing an enriched concentration of large molecular weight globulins, was found to be 10 times as hemolytically efficient as the top fraction, which consisted mainly of smaller molecular weight proteins. While it might be reasonable to assume that the hemolytically efficient antibody associated with the large molecular weight fraction had some combining capacity, the results of this study did not permit a demonstration of hemolytic activity in the less efficient and presumably
Duality in the Formulas of Spherical Trigonometry

(1909). Duality in the Formulas of Spherical Trigonometry. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 47-53.
Field Evaluation of Pheromone-Baited Traps for Monitoring Grape Berry Moth (Lepidoptera: Olethreutidae)

Four pheromone trap designs (Pherocon IC, Pherocon ICP, Delta, and Kitterman), trap placement on the trellis, and two commercial sex pheromone dispensers (Pherocon rubber septa and Albany International capillary tubes) were evaluated for specificity and use for monitoring the grape berry moth (OBM), Endopiza viteana Clemens, in Erie County, Pa., during 1979 and 1981. Placement of pheromone dispenser within the trap and an entrance modification on the Delta trap were also studied. The traps were about equal in their ability to capture OBM, although the Pherocon ICP trap captured fewer OBM than the Pherocon IC trap in one test. Both pheromone dispensers were effective in attracting OBM, but the Albany International dispenser attracted significantly more of a nontarget moth, Episimus argutanus (Clemens). No differences were observed in number of OBM captured when pheromone dispensers were placed at various locations in the various traps. Traps captured the most OBM and were easiest to service when hung from the top trellis wire. The Delta trap captured fewer E. argutanus when the entrance was enlarged by leaving the flaps open. A nontarget species, the redbanded leafroller, Argyrotaenia velutinana (Walker), was captured in low numbers in all pheromone and trap combinations.
Optimization of Membrane Electrode Assembly in Air-Breathing Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

The structure and performance of MEA were optimized by tailoring the catalyst layer,cathodic microporous layer ( MPL) ,anodic MPL and membrane,with the considerations of unique characteristics of airbreathing direct methanol fuel cell ( DMFC) such as methanol crossover and cathode flooding. It was found that high catalyst loading could suppress the methanol crossover effectively,but too high catalyst loading can lead to high mass transport resistance. Hydrophobic anodic MPL with 30% ( by mass) PTFE could facilitate the CO2 bubble detachment,which decreased the methanol concentration gradient and suppressed the methanol crossover accordingly. When Nafion 115 was used as membrane,methanol crossover was severe,while Nafion 117 was used, the water in cathode could not be effectively back-flowed to the anode by hydraulic pressure. For considerations of complicated interactions and trades-off between the water and methanol crossover effects,the optimized MEA showed peak power density of 33 mW·cm-2 at ambient conditions,the best working methanol concentration was 4 mol·L-1.
Platelet-activating factor as a mediator of bronchial asthma.

Since its discovery in the 1960s and chemical characterization in the 1970s, PAF has emerged as a multidirectional pathogenic threat. A strong mediator of inflammation, it is produced by a variety of cells implicated in asthma, including the eosinophil, for which PAF is the most potent chemotactic factor known. PAF antagonists may clarify its pathophysiologic actions in asthma.
Biostatistics Primer: What a Clinician Ought to Know: Subgroup Analyses

Large randomized phase III prospective studies continue to redefine the standard of therapy in medical practice. Often when studies do not meet the primary endpoint, it is common to explore possible benefits in specific subgroups of patients. In addition, these analyses may also be done, even in the case of a positive trial to find subsets of patients where the therapy is especially effective or ineffective. These unplanned subgroup analyses are justified to maximize the information that can be obtained from a study and to generate new hypotheses. Unfortunately, however, they are too often overinterpreted or misused in the hope of resurrecting a failed study. It is important to distinguish these overinterpreted, misused, and unplanned subgroup analyses from those prespecified and well-designed subgroup analyses. This overview provides a practical guide to the interpretation of subgroup analyses.
Evidence for channel mediated transport of boric acid in squash (Cucurbita pepo)

Boron (B) is taken up by plant roots as undissociated boric acid which is a non-electrolyte of similar size to urea and other non-electrolytes. In animal systems, non-electrolytes are transported across biological membranes through aquaporins or through non-aquaporin channels. In artificial lipids boric acid is known to diffuse directly through the lipid bilayer at a rate that is determined by lipid composition. A possible role for channel proteins in in-vitro B uptake is suggested by recent work in which B uptake into isolated membrane vesicles was inhibited by channel blockers and by demonstration that the expression of the plant channel protein PIP1 in Xenopus oocytes increases boric acid uptake by 30%. This study examines whether B transport is a channel-mediated process in intact plants. In the presence of the channel inhibitors HgCl2, phloretin, and DIDS, B uptake by squash plants was reduced by 40–90% by HgCl2 (as HgCl2 varied from 50 μM to 1 mM), 44% by phloretin (250 μM) and 58% by DIDS (250 μM). The effect of Hg ions on B uptake was reversed by 2-mercaptoethanol. The addition of other non-electrolytes in size ranges similar to boric acid inhibited B uptake to various degrees. Addition of urea resulted in 54% decrease in B uptake, while, acetamide, formamide, thiourea and glycerol inhibited uptake by 50, 35, 53 and 44%, respectively. The effect of HgCl2 on B uptake was greater at high B concentrations than at low B concentrations. These data and information from in-vivo studies suggest two possible mechanisms of B uptake: passive diffusion through lipid bilayers and channel-mediated transport.
Ethics and Decision Making in Dementia

Care of a person with dementia, just as with any other patient, will require decisions to be made on a regular basis. The nature of these decisions becomes increasingly difficult due to the patient’s cognitive decline. The added burden of having to make such decisions on behalf of someone else may result in a protracted decision-making process, anguish, and guilt. How best to approach such complex questions? Health care professionals need to reflect on “nonclinical” factors such as their own values and biases, the significance of eating and drinking in the culture of the patient and his or her family, and that patients can say no. The quality of the decision making comes not from the outcome but from the process used. In dementia and particularly in advanced disease and/or with issues of hydration and nutrition, there is rarely one “perfect” outcome; more often people have to try to find the “least bad” option. Having a rationale for the decision-making process will support health care professionals as in turn, they try to support their patients and families. Evidence-based practice and balancing ethical principles will move the process from an internal process to one that is externally validated. This will ensure that attention is paid to the many factors affecting a situation, some of which a person might be blind to initially. Ultimately the patients, and in the case of dementia more often the families, will benefit from such a robust process. And health care professionals involved with these difficult and emotionally charged situations will be able to sleep a little easier at night.
Proceedings of The 2015 NSF Workshop on Curricular Development for Computing in Context

Topics such as cybersecurity and big data analysis are increasingly important at the top of list of important things for information technology (IT) managers to do in their enterprises. This focus ...
How the TRAMP Model Revolutionized the Study of Prostate Cancer Progression.

See related article by Gingrich et al., [Cancer Res. 1996;56:4096–102][1] . Visit the Cancer Research 75th Anniversary [timeline][2]. FDA approval for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing in 1994 as a screening aid led to a dramatic increase in the diagnosis of prostate cancer cases. Yet,
Impact of intrinsic point defect concentration on thermal transport in titanium dioxide

Abstract The thermal conductivity of functional oxide materials can be significantly impacted by variations in point defect concentration, especially at high concentrations where defect interactions can result in extended defects and secondary phase formation. In this work, we systematically study the impact of high point defect concentrations on thermal transport in rutile TiO 2 . Using atmospherically controlled annealing, we vary equilibrium point defect concentrations and measure the resulting thermal conductivity using time domain thermoreflectance. We verify our results with analytical modeling and find that it is not until very high defect concentrations ( > 0.5 mol.%) that the phonon thermal conductivity is impacted. We vary the partial pressure of oxygen to low enough levels that sub-stoichiometric Magneli phases form and find that these highly defective phases severely reduce the thermal conductivity and anisotropy from intrinsic levels.
Acculturation to Both American and Chinese Cultures Predicts Condom Use Intent Among U.S.-Dwelling Chinese/Taiwanese Men Who Have Sex With Men:

The Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction is used to assess how, through shaping people’s attitudes, perceived norms, and self-efficacy, acculturation affects the intent to use a condom with casual sex partners among U.S.-dwelling Chinese/Taiwanese men who have sex with men. Results suggest that only acculturation to both American and Chinese cultures leads to a more favorable attitude toward using a condom, which eventually determines the intent to do so. The study contributes to the literature on acculturation and safe sex practice and provides theoretical and practical implications for public health researchers and practitioners.
Optimal sorting policies in remanufacturing systems: Application of product life-cycle data in quality grading and end-of-use recovery

Abstract The quality of used products returned to recovery facilities is often highly uncertain. Quality grading and sorting policies are immediate solutions that are used in remanufacturing systems to handle this source of variability in incoming products. The sorting policies offered in the literature so far are mainly based on external criteria such as market trends, corporate policies and assessment of the product’s physical condition. In this study, we offer a new sorting method based on both product’s internal factors such as future reusability of components, product identity data, and product health status as well as external factors such as market trends. The purpose of this paper is to improve decision making in remanufacturing operations by integrating the product life cycle information, particularly product usage phase data, into determining both optimal sorting policies and End-of-Life/End-of-Use (EoL/EoU) decisions. To achieve this, two related analyses are conducted: first, a reusability index is derived for each product unit based on the reusability of its components, product features, and the product usage phase information. Second, the reusability index is used as a quality measure to derive the optimal EoU decision for each product category. Clustering algorithms are employed to identify similar products that could go through the same recovery process. A data set of hard disk drive Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) coupled with simulated data has been analyzed to illustrate the application of the model. The proposed framework helps decision makers include product identity data in the EoU recovery decision making under the quality heterogeneity.
Evaluation of USDA approved antimicrobials on the reduction of Salmonella and Campylobacter in ground chicken frames and their effect on meat quality

Abstract The main objective of this study was to examine the efficacy of USDA approved antimicrobials in reducing Salmonella Heidelberg (S. H.) and Campylobacter jejuni (C. j.) in ground chicken frames and to determine the treatment effects on total aerobic counts and meat color. Six antimicrobials (0.1% peracetic acid [PAA], 0.6% cetylpyridinium chloride [CPC], 0.005% sodium hypochlorite, 1.5% acidified lactic acid [ALA], 0.3% propionic acid, and 0.1% lauric arginate [LAE]) applied as dip treatments were evaluated in their efficacy in reducing S. Heidelberg and C. jejuni. Fresh chicken frames were spot inoculated with nalidixic acid resistant S. H. and C. j. (ATCC 33291) to achieve a recovery level of ca. 3 log CFU/g in the ground product. Frames were dipped for 10 s in each antimicrobial solution and each treatment was replicated on 3 frames. Three separate replications were conducted for this experiment. Frames were blended, and ground samples similar to mechanically separated chicken (MSC) were obtained and stored at 4°C for 24 hours. Samples were analyzed after grinding on d zero (2 h) and d one (24 h) to determine reduction in S. H. and C. j. counts in MSC. PAA and LAE treatments had the highest reductions on Salmonella counts (P ≤ 0.05), both treatments resulting in 0.9 log CFU/g reduction as compared to control on d zero. PAA and CPC reduced Salmonella counts by 1.4 and 0.9 log CFU/g, respectively, on d one; PAA, propionic acid, ALA, and LAE resulted in one log CFU/g reductions of C. j. as compared to control on d one. There was no significant difference among the treatments in their ability to reduce C. j. on d one. The treatments had no effect on total aerobic counts. The findings from the study indicate that PAA, CPC, and LAE can reduce S. H. in ground chicken frames, whereas all the antimicrobials tested in the study, except chlorine, have the ability to reduce C. j. in ground chicken frames, a product similar to commercial MSC.
Using computational game theory to guide verification and security in hardware designs

Verifying that hardware design implementations adhere to specifications is a time intensive and sometimes intractable problem due to the massive size of the system's state space. Formal methods techniques can be used to prove certain tractable specification properties; however, they are expensive, and often require subject matter experts to develop and solve. Nonetheless, hardware verification is a critical process to ensure security and safety properties are met, and encapsulates problems associated with trust and reliability. For complex designs where coverage of the entire state space is unattainable, prioritizing regions most vulnerable to security or reliability threats would allow efficient allocation of valuable verification resources. Stackelberg security games model interactions between a defender, whose goal is to assign resources to protect a set of targets, and an attacker, who aims to inflict maximum damage on the targets after first observing the defender's strategy. In equilibrium, the defender has an optimal security deployment strategy, given the attacker's best response. We apply this Stackelberg security framework to synthesized hardware implementations using the design's network structure and logic to inform defender valuations and verification costs. The defender's strategy in equilibrium is thus interpreted as a prioritization of the allocation of verification resources in the presence of an adversary. We demonstrate this technique on several open-source synthesized hardware designs.
In Silico HTS and Structure Based Optimization of Indazole-Derived ULK1 Inhibitors

We present the outcome of an in silico high throughput screen (HTS) and optimization of a small molecule Unc-51-Like Kinase 1 (ULK1) inhibitor hit, SR-17398, with an indazole core. Docking studies guided design efforts that led to inhibitors with increased activity vs ULK1 (IC50 < 50 nM). The most advanced molecules in this inhibitor series (3a and 3g) hold promise for further development into selective ULK1 molecular probes to interrogate the biology of ULK1 and to assess whether selectively targeting autophagy is an effective anticancer strategy.
Seismicity Induced by Wastewater Injection in Washington County, Ohio: Influence of Preexisting Structure, Regional Stress Regime, and Well Operations

Recent seismicity in Washington County, Ohio has been suggested to be induced by wastewater disposal operations despite injection ~2 km above the Precambrian basement. We investigated the relationships between disposal-well locations and operational histories, spatio-temporal patterns of seismicity enhanced by waveform correlation, and mapped subsurface structures. We also analyzed proxies for in-situ stress conditions to evaluate existing principal stress orientations and magnitudes. Double-difference relocations of small (ML ≤ 2.1) seismicity revealed linear clusters defining a NE-SW orientation that parallels the trend of small-amplitude folds in Upper Paleozoic rocks within 1-2 km of the injection well. Hypocenter depths of ~3.1 to 4.3 km indicate seismicity occurred along faults below the Silurian injection interval in Lower Paleozoic strata and Precambrian crystalline basement. Similar folds/faults imaged in nearby seismic reflection lines were associated with basement-involved fault systems that cut the injection interval targeted by the injection well, providing permeability pathways for fluid pressure increases that initiated slip. Interpreted faults were also optimally oriented in the regional stress field for reactivation due to injection-related decreases in effective stress. Well completion records suggest that during the recorded seismicity, the Long Run-1 well was injecting disposal fluids close to or above the fracture pressure of the targeted Silurian injection interval. A comparison of observed seismicity rates and monthly injection records from the disposal well also indicate a close correspondence between earthquake frequency and injection rate. Taken together, these results provide a physical framework for understanding why wastewater disposal operations induced the Washington County seismic sequence.
Getting to good enough: Performance of a suite of methods for spatially allocating fishing effort to management areas

Abstract Allocating fishing effort to management areas is a critical component of many fisheries monitoring programs, though the effectiveness of the methods utilized by these programs has not been comprehensively evaluated. Using high-frequency (1 poll/60 s) global positioning system (GPS) data to approximate ‘true’ fishing behavior, the performance of several methods are evaluated with respect to their ability to correctly estimate the time spent fishing per fishery management area. Results indicate that straight line interpolation methods, and medium-frequency vessel monitoring system (VMS) polling methods (≥1 poll/30 min) can be used to provide reasonably accurate estimates of fishing effort (fishing time) per management area. Assigning the management area based on the location of the end of the haul, or from low-frequency VMS polling (≤1 poll/60 min) generally performed poorly. The performances of VMS-based methods were markedly improved when instantaneous vessel speed information was available. These results are useful for fishery managers looking to evaluate the sufficiency of current fishery monitoring and data collection programs, as well as highlighting the practical trade-offs between improvements and program operating costs.
DBR: depth-based routing for underwater sensor networks

Providing scalable and efficient routing services in underwater sensor networks (UWSNs) is very challenging due to the unique characteristics of UWSNs. Firstly, UWSNs often employ acoustic channels for communications because radio signals do not work well in water. Compared with radio-frequency channels, acoustic channels feature much lower bandwidths and several orders of magnitudes longer propagation delays. Secondly, UWSNs usually have very dynamic topology as sensors move passively with water currents. Some routing protocols have been proposed to address the challenging problem in UWSNs. However, most of them assume that the full-dimensional location information of all sensor nodes in a network is known in prior through a localization process, which is yet another challenging issue to be solved in UWSNs. In this paper, we propose a depth-based routing (DBR) protocol. DBR does not require full-dimensional location information of sensor nodes. Instead, it needs only local depth information, which can be easily obtained with an inexpensive depth sensor that can be equipped in every underwater sensor node. A key advantage of our protocol is that it can handle network dynamics efficiently without the assistance of a localization service. Moreover, our routing protocol can take advantage of a multiple-sink underwater sensor network architecture without introducing extra cost. We conduct extensive simulations. The results show that DBR can achieve very high packet delivery ratios (at least 95%) for dense networks with only small communication cost.
A qualitative model for space

Most geometric models are quantitative, making it difficult to abstract the underlying spatial information needed for tasks such as planning, learning or vision. Furthermore, the precision used in a typical quantitative system often exceeds the actual accuracy of the data. In this work we describe a systematic representation that builds spatial maps based on local qualitative relations between objects. It derives relations that are more "functionally relevant" - i.e. those that involve accidental alignments, or can be described based on such alignments. In one dimension, interval logic (Allen 83] provides a mechanism for representing these type of relations; in this work we propose a formalism that enables us to perform alignment-based reasoning in two and higher dimensions with objects at angles. The principal advantages of this representation is that a) it is free of subjective bias, and b) it is complete in the qualitative sense of distinguishing all overlap/ tangency/nocontact geometries. In addition, the model is capable of handling uncertainty in the initial system (e.g. "the fuse box is somewhere behind the compressor") by constructing bounded inferences from disjunctive input data. Two kinds of uncertainty can be handled - those arising from deliberate imprecision in the interest of compactness ("down the road from"), or those caused by an inadequacy of data (sensors, spatial descriptions, or maps).
Preclinical SPECT and SPECT/CT

The molecular processes underlying carcinogenesis and malignant spread are the foundation of future drug development for the treatment of cancer. Understanding these processes requires study of the interaction of complex biologic systems in a way that spatially and temporally recapitulates that seen in humans. Likewise, once an anticancer agent is developed, its intended antitumor action and its unintended side-effects must be studied in a rigorous and reproducible manner prior to its introduction into the clinic, a process that can benefit from methods that elucidate specific molecular processes and that can be performed serially. Recent advances in small-animal models of cancer, radiochemistry of single photon emitting radionuclides, single photon emission tomography systems, and image reconstruction techniques have set the stage for an ever-increasing use of SPECT and SPECT/CT in preclinical oncology-related applications. Several of these advances as well as several specific applications in oncology are highlighted and areas needing further improvement are identified.
Cryosurgery for Primary and Metastatic Liver Tumors

Cryosurgery is the application of extreme cold temperatures to achieve tumor cell death. Cryoablation, cryotherapy and cryosurgery are interchangeable terms which all apply to the process of tissue destruction using subzero temperatures. Topical application of cold substances to tumors was first reported in treatment of superfiicial tumors of skin, oropharynx and gynecologic systems. (1) The rationale for using extreme cold to treat tumors is the potential for in situ tumor destruction while sparing normal surrounding structures and without the complications of major surgical intervention. In 1963 Irving Cooper was the first to describe the feasibility of such an approach to the liver and other organs. (2) He devised a system of liquid nitrogen delivery through insulated cannulas that could be placed within the substance of the liver. Subsequently Andrew Gage and co-investigators performed in vivo studies of hepatic cryosurgery and described many of the physiologic responses to liver treatment. They showed that large areas of liver could be treated successfully and that large remnants of devitalized tissue did not produce toxic effects to the animal. (3)
An Engineered Synthetic Biologic Protects Against Clostridium difficile Infection.

ABSTRACT Morbidity and mortality attributed to Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) have increased over the past 20 years. Currently, antibiotics are the only US FDA-approved treatment for primary C. difficile infection, and these are, ironically, associated with disease relapse and the threat of burgeoning drug resistance. We previously showed that non-toxin virulence factors play key roles in CDI, and that colonization factors are critical for disease. Specifically, a C. difficile adhesin, Surface Layer Protein A (SlpA) is a major contributor to host cell attachment. In this work, we engineered Syn-LAB 2.0 and Syn-LAB 2.1, two synthetic biologic agents derived from lactic acid bacteria, to stably and constitutively express a host-cell binding fragment of the C. difficile adhesin SlpA on their cell-surface. Both agents harbor conditional suicide plasmids expressing a codon-optimized chimera of the lactic acid bacterium's cell-wall anchoring surface-protein domain, fused to the conserved, highly-adherent, host-cell-binding domain of C. difficile SlpA. Both agents also incorporate engineered biocontrol, obviating the need for any antibiotic selection. Syn-LAB 2.0 and Syn-LAB 2.1 possess positive biophysical and in vivo properties compared with their parental antecedents in that they robustly and constitutively display the SlpA chimera on their cell surface, potentiate human intestinal epithelial barrier function in vitro, are safe, tolerable and palatable to Golden Syrian hamsters and neonatal piglets at high daily doses, and are detectable in animal feces within 24 hours of dosing, confirming robust colonization. In combination, the engineered strains also delay (in fixed doses) or prevent (when continuously administered) death of infected hamsters upon challenge with high doses of virulent C. difficile. Finally, fixed-dose Syn-LAB ameliorates diarrhea in a non-lethal model of neonatal piglet enteritis. Taken together, our findings suggest that the two synthetic biologics may be effectively employed as non-antibiotic interventions for CDI.
Evidence Matters: Spring 2015

This issue of Evidence Matters explores housing issues in Indian Country with a focus on tribal self-determination. The lead article, “Obstacles, Solutions, and Self-Determination in Indian Housing Policy,” discusses the development and implementation of federal policies that empower tribal self-determination in housing policy. The Research Spotlight piece, “Who Counts? Identifying Native American Populations,” considers federal and tribal initiatives to improve data concerning Native American populations and the In Practice article, “Local Initiatives Promote Homeownership in Indian Country,” examines how tribal communities have addressed unique barriers to homeownership.
Stroboscopic Imaging of Acoustic Waves in Nanostructures using Tabletop High Harmonics

We report the first dynamic (i.e. stroboscopic), full field, tabletop extreme ultraviolet microscope. This new capability allows us to image longitudinal and transverse acoustic waves in laser-excited Nickel nano-grating on Silicon substrates.
Impact of modifiable comorbidities on 30-day wound morbidity after open incisional hernia repair.

Abstract Background We aimed to assess the impact of modifiable comorbidities—obesity, diabetes, and smoking—and their aggregate effect on wound complications after incisional hernia repair. Methods Data on all open, elective, incisional hernia repair with permanent synthetic mesh in clean wounds were collected from the Americas Hernia Society Quality Collaborative and reviewed. Three groups were defined: those with 0, 1, or 2+ modifiable comorbidities, with associations described for each specific comorbid condition. Primary outcomes included surgical site occurrences, surgical site infections, and surgical site occurrences requiring procedural intervention. Results A total of 3,908 subjects met the inclusion criteria. Mean hernia width was 9.6 ± 6.5 cm, mean body mass index was 32.1 ± 6.6 kg/m2, 21% of patients had diabetes, and 9% were smokers. Of those, 31% had no modifiable comorbidities, 49% had 1 modifiable comorbidity, and 20% had 2+ modifiable comorbidities. Compared with having no modifiable comorbidities, having 1 modifiable comorbidity, or 2+ modifiable comorbidities significantly increased the odds of a surgical site occurrence (odds ratios 1.33 and 1.61, respectively). However, only patients with 2+ modifiable comorbidities had significantly increased odds of surgical site occurrences requiring procedural intervention compared with no modifiable comorbidities and 1 modifiable comorbidity (odds ratios 2.02 and 1.65, respectively). Patients with all 3 comorbidities had a two-fold increase in odds for all wound morbidity, followed similarly by obese patients with diabetes. Conclusion The presence of any number of comorbidities (1 modifiable comorbidity or 2+ modifiable comorbidities) increases the odds for wound events. However, having multiple comorbidities was associated with more procedural interventions for wound management. This was most evident in patients with all 3 comorbidities, and, in obese diabetics, underscoring the importance of preoperative counseling on expected recovery in such patients.
Phase II Study of Avelumab in Patients With Mismatch Repair Deficient and Mismatch Repair Proficient Recurrent/Persistent Endometrial Cancer.

PURPOSEDespite the tissue-agnostic approval of pembrolizumab in mismatch repair deficient (MMRD) solid tumors, important unanswered questions remain about the role of immune checkpoint blockade in ...
The development of adaptive risk taking and the role of executive functions in a large sample of school-age boys and girls

Abstract Background The Balloon Analogue Risk Task for Children (BART-C) demands self-regulation of emotion that requires risk-tolerance and adaptive risk-taking to make good decisions under stress (hot cognition). Methods BART-C measures of adaptive risk-taking in 5,409 children K-8th grade were analyzed for improvements by grade, for relationships to executive functioning (EF) and for associations with school characteristics and academic achievement. Findings BART-C improved across grades. Boys showed significantly greater Recklessness, particularly in middle school. EF was a partial mediator between grade and Variability and Recklessness. Better BART-C Total score and less Recklessness were related to lower free-or-reduced-school-lunch percentage and better math and reading proficiency of children's schools. Conclusions BART-C is a potential “hot-cognition” measure of self-regulation and adaptive risk-taking for children.
Improved Soft Skill and University Club Involvement. Are They Connected

There is a need for business students to develop soft skills in addition to technical skills, in order to successfully transition into the workforce. Hiring managers stress the importance for business students to have strong soft and hard skills in order to be competitive during the job search process. Hiring managers are finding that recent graduates lack soft skills such as presentation, listening, and teamwork, which many jobs require. The purpose of this qualitative study is to identify and determine what changes in soft skills/professional skills, specifically leadership, communication, and networking, business students may develop, after one year of involvement in a university marketing club; based on student perceptions. The results for this study show that business students who are members of an undergraduate university club for one year perceive improvement in the aforementioned soft skills. Based off the findings, business faculty should focus on incorporating soft skill development into their curriculum. Soft skill development could potentially better prepare graduates for entering the workforce. Â Â
Association of Early-Life Cognitive Enrichment With Alzheimer Disease Pathological Changes and Cognitive Decline.

Importance Indicators of early-life cognitive enrichment (ELCE) have been associated with slower cognitive decline and decreased dementia in late life. However, the mechanisms underlying this association have not been elucidated. Objective To examine the association of ELCE with late-life Alzheimer disease (AD) and other common dementia-related pathological changes. Design, Setting, and Participants This clinical-pathological community-based cohort study, the Rush Memory and Aging Project, followed up participants before death for a mean (SD) of 7.0 (3.8) years with annual cognitive and clinical assessments. From January 1, 1997, through June 30, 2019, 2044 participants enrolled, of whom 1018 died. Postmortem data were leveraged from 813 participants. Data were analyzed from April 12, 2019, to February 20, 2020. Exposures Four indicators of ELCE (early-life socioeconomic status, availability of cognitive resources at 12 years of age, frequency of participation in cognitively stimulating activities, and early-life foreign language instruction) were obtained by self-report at the study baseline, from which a composite measure of ELCE was derived. Main Outcomes and Measures A continuous global AD pathology score derived from counts of diffuse plaques, neuritic plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles. Results The 813 participants included in the analysis had a mean (SD) age of 90.1 (6.3) years at the time of death, and 562 (69%) were women. In a linear regression model controlled for age at death, sex, and educational level, a higher level of ELCE was associated with a lower global AD pathology score (estimate, −0.057; standard error, 0.022;P = .01). However, ELCE was not associated with any other dementia-related pathological changes. In addition, a higher level of ELCE was associated with less cognitive decline (mean [SD], −0.13 [0.19] units per year; range, −1.74 to 0.85). An indirect effect through AD pathological changes constituted 20% of the association between ELCE and the rate of late-life cognitive decline, and 80% was a direct association. Conclusions and Relevance These findings suggest that ELCE was associated with better late-life cognitive health, in part through an association with fewer AD pathological changes.
Comparing Head Ultrasounds and Brain MRIs for the Detection of Low-Grade Bleeds in Preterm Infants

Background: Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a major complication of preterm birth and high grade IVH can lead to significant morbidity. There is mounting evidence that low-grade bleeds can also be associated with adverse neurological sequelae. Head ultrasounds are increasingly used to screen infants for IVH; however, there is concern that low-grade bleeds might be missed. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the results of head ultrasounds at 7 days of life and brain MRIs at 36 weeks corrected gestational age for babies born before 30 weeks …
Early changes in immune cell metabolism and function are a hallmark of sleeve gastrectomy: a prospective human study

Abstract Objective To characterize longitudinal changes in blood biomarkers, leukocyte composition, and gene expression following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). Background LSG is an effective treatment for obesity, leading to sustainable weight loss and improvements in obesity-related co-morbidities and inflammatory profiles. However, the effects of LSG on immune function and metabolism remain uncertain. Methods Prospective data was collected from 23 enrolled human subjects from a single institution. Parameters of weight, co-morbidities, and trends in blood biomarkers and leukocyte subsets were observed from pre-operative baseline to one year in three-month follow-up intervals. RNA-sequencing was performed on pairs of whole blood samples from the first six subjects of the study (baseline and three months post-surgery) to identify genome-wide gene expression changes associated with undergoing LSG. Results LSG led to a significant decrease in mean total body weight loss (18.1%) at three months and among diabetic subjects a reduction in HbA1c. Improvements in clinical inflammatory and hormonal biomarkers were demonstrated as early as three months after LSG. A reduction in neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was observed, driven by a reduction in absolute neutrophil counts. Gene set enrichment analyses of differential whole blood gene expression demonstrated that after three months, LSG induced transcriptomic changes not only in inflammatory cytokine pathways but also in several key metabolic pathways related to energy metabolism. Conclusions LSG induces significant changes in the composition and metabolism of immune cells as early as three months post-operatively. Further evaluation is required of bariatric surgery’s effects on immunometabolism and consequences for host defense and metabolic disease.
Universal Conditional Gradient Sliding for Convex Optimization.

In this paper, we present a first-order projection-free method, namely, the universal conditional gradient sliding (UCGS) method, for solving $\varepsilon$-approximate solutions to convex differentiable optimization problems. For objective functions with H\"older continuous gradients, we show that UCGS is able to terminate with $\varepsilon$-solutions with at most $O((M_\nu D_X^{1+\nu}/{\varepsilon})^{2/(1+3\nu)})$ gradient evaluations and $O((M_\nu D_X^{1+\nu}/{\varepsilon})^{4/(1+3\nu)})$ linear objective optimizations, where $\nu\in (0,1]$ and $M_\nu>0$ are the exponent and constant of the H\"older condition. Furthermore, UCGS is able to perform such computations without requiring any specific knowledge of the smoothness information $\nu$ and $M_\nu$. In the weakly smooth case when $\nu\in (0,1)$, both complexity results improve the current state-of-the-art $O((M_\nu D_X^{1+\nu}/{\varepsilon})^{1/\nu})$ results on first-order projection-free method achieved by the conditional gradient method. Within the class of sliding-type algorithms, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a sliding-type algorithm is able to improve not only the gradient complexity but also the overall complexity for computing an approximate solution. In the smooth case when $\nu=1$, UCGS matches the state-of-the-art complexity result but adds more features allowing for practical implementation.
Proverbs Through the Eyes (and Ears) of Performance

While in the last two decades or so orality and performance have entered into the mainstream of biblical studies, the genre of wisdom literature has remained largely unexplored from these perspecti...