cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrating parts of the APhA Career Pathway Evaluation Program for pharmacy professionals into a career development lab.

Abstract Background and purpose To use parts of the APhA Career Pathway Evaluation Program for Pharmacy Professionals in a career development laboratory designed to provide students with relevant information that will help them prepare for successful careers across the profession of pharmacy. Educational Activity and Setting Students enrolled in the second professional year of pharmacy school participated in an interactive three-hour career development laboratory. Students completed the APhA Career Pathway Evaluation Program for Pharmacy Professionals Online Assessment Tool prior to the laboratory. In class, the students were randomized into eight groups. Two career profiles were assigned to each group for discussion during a thirty-minute brainstorming session. The groups reported their knowledge for each career profile to the entire class, and the instructors supplemented the discussion with details and more specific information about each profile. Findings Two years of data were collected (n=300 students). One hundred and twenty four (41.3%) students responded to the voluntary post-laboratory survey questions. Overall, students rated the career pathway activities favorably with an average score of 8.13 out of 10. After participation in the discussion, 74 (59.7%) respondents indicated their career interests had been impacted. Summary This career development laboratory is one example of how the APhA Career Pathway Evaluation Program for Pharmacy Professionals can be effectively incorporated into the PharmD curriculum in order to help students explore the various career options they might not have otherwise discovered on their own.
CHAPTER 10 – LINEAR ALGEBRA

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the graphs of linear algebra. There are three elementary operations which if performed on a given system of equations, will clearly result in an equivalent system. One may change the order in which the equations are listed under one another. Any equation can be multiplied by a non-zero number. To one equation one may add a multiple of another. In practice, it is a good procedure to write down a complete set of equations with each step. It is also very useful to keep coefficients of the same unknowns in different equations lined up in vertical columns.
Adsorption onto Mesoporous Silica Using Supercritical Fluid Technology Improves Dissolution Rate of Carbamazepine—a Poorly Soluble Compound

The purpose of this research was to design and characterize an immediate-release formulation of carbamazepine (CBZ), a poorly soluble anti-epileptic drug, using a porous silica carrier. Carbon dioxide in its supercritical state (2000 psi, 30–35°C) was used as an anti-solvent to precipitate CBZ onto two particle size variants of silica. Adsorption isotherms were used as a pre-formulation strategy to select optimum ratios of silica and CBZ. The obtained drug-silica formulations were characterized by dissolution studies, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This formulation strategy resulted in a 2.4-fold improvement in dissolution rate when compared to pure drug after 30 min of dissolution testing. PXRD and DSC confirmed the amorphous nature of CBZ in the formulations as well as the differences in polymorphic forms of commercial and supercritical fluid-processed CBZ. Additionally, solid-state NMR spectroscopy showed that the spin-lattice relaxation time for bulk drug (without silica) was ∼7.5 times greater than that for silica-confined CBZ, implying that when CBZ was adsorbed onto mesoporous silica, it is structurally disordered and had higher structural mobility, a characteristic of amorphous solids. The mesoporous silica matrix prevented CBZ crystal growth by imposing spatial constraint on CBZ nuclei and hence resulted in faster dissolution compared to bulk solid drug. Adsorption onto mesoporous silica using supercritical fluid technology may be used as a novel formulation strategy for amorphization of poorly soluble compounds, in turn improving their dissolution rate.
Next generation human skin constructs as advanced tools for drug development

Many diseases, as well as side effects of drugs, manifest themselves through skin symptoms. Skin is a complex tissue that hosts various specialized cell types and performs many roles including physical barrier, immune and sensory functions. Therefore, modeling skin in vitro presents technical challenges for tissue engineering. Since the first attempts at engineering human epidermis in 1970s, there has been a growing interest in generating full-thickness skin constructs mimicking physiological functions by incorporating various skin components, such as vasculature and melanocytes for pigmentation. Development of biomimetic in vitro human skin models with these physiological functions provides a new tool for drug discovery, disease modeling, regenerative medicine and basic research for skin biology. This goal, however, has long been delayed by the limited availability of different cell types, the challenges in establishing co-culture conditions, and the ability to recapitulate the 3D anatomy of the skin. Recent breakthroughs in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology and microfabrication techniques such as 3D-printing have allowed for building more reliable and complex in vitro skin models for pharmaceutical screening. In this review, we focus on the current developments and prevailing challenges in generating skin constructs with vasculature, skin appendages such as hair follicles, pigmentation, immune response, innervation, and hypodermis. Furthermore, we discuss the promising advances that iPSC technology offers in order to generate in vitro models of genetic skin diseases, such as epidermolysis bullosa and psoriasis. We also discuss how future integration of the next generation human skin constructs onto microfluidic platforms along with other tissues could revolutionize the early stages of drug development by creating reliable evaluation of patient-specific effects of pharmaceutical agents. Impact statement Skin is a complex tissue that hosts various specialized cell types and performs many roles including barrier, immune, and sensory functions. For human-relevant drug testing, there has been a growing interest in building more physiological skin constructs by incorporating different skin components, such as vasculature, appendages, pigment, innervation, and adipose tissue. This paper provides an overview of the strategies to build complex human skin constructs that can faithfully recapitulate human skin and thus can be used in drug development targeting skin diseases. In particular, we discuss recent developments and remaining challenges in incorporating various skin components, availability of iPSC-derived skin cell types and in vitro skin disease models. In addition, we provide insights on the future integration of these complex skin models with other organs on microfluidic platforms as well as potential readout technologies for high-throughput drug screening.
Human Blood Monocyte Subsets: A New Gating Strategy Defined Using Cell Surface Markers Identified by Mass Cytometry.

Objective— Human monocyte subsets are defined as classical (CD14 ++ CD16 − ), intermediate (CD14 ++ CD16 + ), and nonclassical (CD14 + CD16 + ). Alterations in monocyte subset frequencies are associated with clinical outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, in which circulating intermediate monocytes independently predict cardiovascular events. However, delineating mechanisms of monocyte function is hampered by inconsistent results among studies. Approach and Results— We use cytometry by time-of-flight mass cytometry to profile human monocytes using a panel of 36 cell surface markers. Using the dimensionality reduction approach visual interactive stochastic neighbor embedding, we define monocytes by incorporating all cell surface markers simultaneously. Using visual interactive stochastic neighbor embedding, we find that although classical monocytes are defined with high purity using CD14 and CD16, intermediate and nonclassical monocytes defined using CD14 and CD16 alone are frequently contaminated, with average intermediate and nonclassical monocyte purity of ≈86.0% and 87.2%, respectively. To improve the monocyte purity, we devised a new gating scheme that takes advantage of the shared coexpression of cell surface markers on each subset. In addition to CD14 and CD16, CCR2, CD36, HLA-DR, and CD11c are the most informative markers that discriminate among the 3 monocyte populations. Using these additional markers as filters, our revised gating scheme increases the purity of both intermediate and nonclassical monocyte subsets to 98.8% and 99.1%, respectively. We demonstrate the use of this new gating scheme using conventional flow cytometry of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from subjects with cardiovascular disease. Conclusions— Using cytometry by time-of-flight mass cytometry, we have identified a small panel of surface markers that can significantly improve monocyte subset identification and purity in flow cytometry. Such a revised gating scheme will be useful for clinical studies of monocyte function in human cardiovascular disease.
Mimicking the Bioactivity of Fibroblast Growth Factor-2 Using Supramolecular Nanoribbons

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) is a multifunctional growth factor that has pleiotropic effects in different tissues and organs. In particular, FGF-2 has a special role in angiogenesis, an important process in development, wound healing, cell survival, and differentiation. Therefore, incorporating biological agents like FGF-2 within therapeutic biomaterials is a potential strategy to create angiogenic bioactivity for the repair of damaged tissue caused by trauma or complications that arise from age and/or disease. However, the use of growth factors as therapeutic agents can be costly and does not always bring about efficient tissue repair due to rapid clearance from the targeted site. An alternative would be a stable supramolecular nanostructure with the capacity to activate the FGF-2 receptor that can also assemble into a scaffold deliverable to tissue. We report here on peptide amphiphiles that incorporate a peptide known to activate the FGF-2 receptor and peptide domains that drive its self-assembly i...
Identifying and extracting a seasonal streamflow signal from remotely sensed snow cover in the Columbia River Basin

Abstract In the western United States, meltwater from mountain snowpacks serves as the dominant water supply for many communities. Efficient distribution and use of this renewable, yet temporally and spatially variable resource relies critically on accurate forecasting of future water availability. Here we report on initial efforts to use Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS) data on snow coverage to forecast flow in six selected watersheds within the Columbia River Basin. Little research has been done on identifying the relationship between seasonal discharge volume and these satellite-derived snow cover data. In the Yakima watershed within the Columbia River Basin, we could explain 52% of the spring discharge (April – July total streamflow volume) variance by selecting specific 24-km grid cells that exhibit both strong correlation with historical flows as well as high inter-annual variation. This approach yielded reasonable success in other watersheds. Of the six Columbia River subbasins examined in this paper, five of them give statistically significant predictors of April – July streamflow volume at the α = 0.05 level. When comparing this optimized specific-cell technique to the overall average across the entire watershed of interest, we observe improvements in each of our six subbasins, although in some regions, improvements were minimal. Clearly, this optimization technique is inherently limited by the role of snow cover variation in determining streamflow discharges in different subbasins. For both mountainous regions with extensive and stable snow cover as well as low-elevation regions with consistently minimal snow, the snow cover variation only accounts for a small inter-annual streamflow discharge variance. Our methodology shows that the IMS provides remotely-sensed data that are ready to “plug and play” into existing streamflow forecast models such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) Visual Interactive Prediction and Estimation Routines (VIPER).
Data mining and classification of polycystic ovaries in pelvic ultrasound reports

Objectives: To develop and evaluate the performance of a rules-based classifier and a gradient boosted tree model for automatic feature extraction and classification of polycystic ovary morphology (PCOM) in pelvic ultrasounds. Methods: Pelvic ultrasound reports from patients at Boston Medical Center between October 1, 2003 and December 12, 2016 were included for analysis, which resulted in 39,093 ultrasound reports from 25,535 unique women. Following the 2003 Rotterdam Consensus Criteria for polycystic ovary syndrome, 2000 randomly selected ultrasounds were manually labeled for PCOM status as present, absent, or unidentifiable. Half of the labeled data was used as a training set, and the other half was used as a test set. Results: On the test set of 1000 random US reports, the accuracy of rules-based classifier (RBC) was 97.6% (95% CI: 96.5%, 98.5%) and 96.1% (94.7%, 97.2%) for the gradient boosted tree model (GBT). Both models were more adept at identifying non-PCOM ultrasounds than either unidentifiable or PCOM ultrasounds. The two classifiers estimated prevalence of PCOM within our population's ultrasounds to be about 44%, unidentifiable 32%, and PCOM 24%. Conclusions: Although accuracy measured on the test set and inter-rater agreement between the two classifiers (Cohen's Kappa = 0.988) was high, a major limitation of our approach is that it uses the ultrasound report text as a proxy and does not directly count follicles from the ultrasound images themselves.
Circulating MiR-374a-5p is a potential modulator of the inflammatory process in obesity.

Obese individuals without expected metabolic co-morbidities are referred to as metabolically healthy obese (MHO). The molecular mechanisms underlying this phenotype remain elusive. MicroRNAs may be involved in the MHO phenotype. To test this hypothesis, we screened 179 serum miRNAs in 20 African-American women (10 MHOs and 10 metabolically abnormal obese individuals -MAO). We identified 8 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) with validation in an independent sample of 64 MHO and 34 MAO. Of the eight DEMs in the screening phase (p ≤ 0.05), miR-374a-5p remained significant (p = 0.04) with directional consistency in the validation sample. Ingenuity Pathway analysis revealed that miR-374a-5p putatively targeted 37 mRNAs (e.g. chemokines and transcription factors) which are members of canonical pathways involved in inflammation (IL-17A signaling) and lipid metabolism. Analysis restricted to adipocytes, the main source of circulating miRNAs in obesity, identified 3 mRNAs (CCL2, STEAP2, EN1) as the main target of miR-374a-5p. Evaluation of the 3 mRNAs in an independent sample showed that CCL2 was significantly downregulated (p = 0.0005). In summary, MiR-374a-5p is upregulated in MHO compared to MAO individuals and appears to show association with downregulation of pro-inflammatory markers that are linked to insulin resistance. Given the correlative nature of our findings, functional studies are needed.
The radiology of gangliogliomas and ganglioneuromas of the central nervous system

Plain film changes, pneumographic and angiographic features of four cases of gangliogliomas of the central nervous system are reported. The confusing pathology and nomenclature is discussed. Radiologic features include bone changes consistent with slow growth, absence of tumor vascularity and frequent involvement of the temporal lobe in the younger age group.
Anti-Surrealism? Augusto de Campos “Untranslates” Spanish-American Poetry

This article focuses on translations by Augusto de Campos in which he integrates select Spanish-American poets into his Brazilian poetics and highlights the most linguistically experimental aspects of that canon. Campos applies techniques of fragmentation and negation in his intraducoes as he calls his creative translations. I analyze selections he translated from Spanish-American modernista and vanguardista poets to demonstrate that these works bridge a gap between diverging poetic traditions of Latin America and invite readers to imagine a different historical trajectory for pan-Latin American experimental poetry. The alternative tradition these translations construct is more inclusive of Brazilian poetics and circumvents the surrealist moment to instead pass through early avant-garde language experimentation directly to concrete poetry.
Towards Deep-Learning-Driven Intrusion Detection for the Internet of Things

Cyber-attacks on the Internet of Things (IoT) are growing at an alarming rate as devices, applications, and communication networks are becoming increasingly connected and integrated. When attacks on IoT networks go undetected for longer periods, it affects availability of critical systems for end users, increases the number of data breaches and identity theft, drives up the costs and impacts the revenue. It is imperative to detect attacks on IoT systems in near real time to provide effective security and defense. In this paper, we develop an intelligent intrusion-detection system tailored to the IoT environment. Specifically, we use a deep-learning algorithm to detect malicious traffic in IoT networks. The detection solution provides security as a service and facilitates interoperability between various network communication protocols used in IoT. We evaluate our proposed detection framework using both real-network traces for providing a proof of concept, and using simulation for providing evidence of its scalability. Our experimental results confirm that the proposed intrusion-detection system can detect real-world intrusions effectively.
Cerebral White Matter Disease and Response to Anti-Cholinergic Medication for Overactive Bladder in an Age-Matched Cohort

To determine if the presence of cerebral white matter disease (WMD) affects the response to anti-cholinergic medications. This was a retrospective cohort of age-matched patients treated for OAB with anti-cholinergic medications between January 2010 and December 2017. Inclusion criteria were a chief complaint of OAB, never evaluated by a urogynecologist for OAB, treated with a maximum dose for a minimum of 4 weeks, and underwent head computed tomography (CT) within 12 months of starting therapy. Patients with WMD were matched 1:1 by age and number of prior failed antimuscarinics to controls with normal head CTs. Exclusion criteria included incomplete documentation of therapeutic response, non-WMD CT abnormalities, and non-idiopathic OAB. The primary outcome was anti-cholinergic treatment failure. Pairwise analysis between groups was performed using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Fisher’s exact test where appropriate. Univariate logistic regression was performed, and any variable that was associated with treatment failure and a p value ≤ 0.2 was included in the multivariable regression analysis. Sixty-eight cases were matched with 68 controls. Patients with WMD were more likely to have undergone hysterectomy (57.4% vs. 41.2%, p = 0.04) and to use diuretics (31.1% vs. 19.1%, p = 0.04). Patients with WMD were more likely to fail treatment compared with controls (60.7% vs. 29.4%, p = 0.004). After adjusting for confounders, WMD was strongly associated with an increased probability of failure (aOR = 7.31, 95% CI: 1.49–12.20). Additional significant risk factors for treatment failure were the previous number of failed medications (aOR = 3.65 per medication, 95% CI: 1.48–9.01) and a rising HbA1c (aOR: 1.39 per 1.0% increase, 95% CI: 1.0–1.91). WMD is independently associated with anti-muscarinic treatment failure in women with overactive bladder symptoms.
David Oliver: The CQC, hierarchies, and hospital safety.

Last month Ted Baker, chief inspector of hospitals at the Care Quality Commission, said that safety in many NHS hospitals wasn’t improving quickly enough.1 Although performance had improved in recent years, 40% of services still received ratings of “requires improvement” or “inadequate” for safety. In the same speech he compared hospitals with other sectors, including the aviation industry. I’m sure he was right to say that a focus on safety first, as an overarching priority and mission, isn’t so well ingrained in the NHS. But he also mentioned pilots not leaving the stand if a flight wasn’t safe, however much trouble they got into for missing schedules, and an “elastic attitude to safety” among …
Evaluation of adult and offspring thiamine deficiency in salmonine species from Lake Ontario

Abstract Thiamine Deficiency Complex (TDC) is an ongoing problem impacting salmonine health in various waterbodies, including Lake Ontario. The prevalence of TDC has been variable and explanations for differences are limited. In the current study, thiamine concentrations were measured in eggs, liver tissue, and muscle tissue sampled from brown trout (Salmo trutta), Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), coho salmon (O. kisutch), lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush), and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) that were collected from Lake Ontario and its surrounding tributaries. The occurrence of TDC was measured for each species based on TDC-induced offspring mortality rates under laboratory conditions. TDC-induced offspring mortality was observed for all species except brown trout. For affected species, egg free thiamine (Th) was consistently low compared to lake trout collected from Lake Superior that are considered thiamine replete. In addition, species with the lowest percentages of Th in their eggs were the most susceptible to TDC, suggesting that limited thiamine reserves in the form of Th may cause TDC-induced offspring mortality. Lastly, our results show that egg thiamine concentrations have yearly variation and increased for all species throughout the study. Reasons for such variation are undetermined; but, if egg thiamine concentrations continue to increase, the impacts of TDC on these salmonine species may lessen. Future monitoring is needed for determining if thiamine concentrations are increasing and the potential impacts that may have on the entire Lake Ontario fishery.
Copper Cofire X7R Dielectrics and Multilayer Capacitors Based on Zinc Borate Fluxed Barium Titanate Ceramic

Copper cofired dielectrics may give new opportunities for high temperature capacitors. To demonstrate feasibility, BaTiO3 has been formulated into X7R dielectrics with copper inner electrodes. This requires the development of a formulation that permits sintering at temperatures below 1000°C, and then firing in a reducing environment in atmospheres pO2 ∼ 10−8 atms. ZnO—B2O3 chemistries were explored with additional dopants to modify densification and the temperature coefficient of capacitance of the BaTiO3 dielectric anomaly. X7R characteristics with relative dielectric permittivities ∼2750 and tanδ ∼ 0.01 at 1 kHz were obtained at room temperature. Multilayer capacitors were fabricated in 3.2 mm × 1.6 mm size multilayers with an acrylic binder system and oxidation resistive copper inner electrodes.
Being Your 'True Self': The Experiences of Two Gay Music Educators Who Teach in The Bible Belt.

Many LGBTQ educators approach identity management with great caution, but what types of identity management do these teachers employ when teaching in an area characterised by evangelical fundamenta...
Holistic cyber hygiene education: Accounting for the human factors

Abstract Cybersecurity is paramount in modern cyberdefense. One important factor linked to reducing human-instigated breaches of cybersecurity includes cyber hygiene. Cyber hygiene is the adaptive knowledge and behavior to mitigate risky online activities that put an individual's social, financial, and personal information at risk – a danger that is significantly compounded when discussing the risk to entire countries as opposed to a single individual. Interestingly, even though the human is the greatest risk to cybersecurity, very little research has examined the latent individual differences associated with developing cyber hygiene-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Thus, the goal of the present study was to address this gap in cyber hygiene research. The results from 173 university participants demonstrated that several factors, such as information handling, incident reporting, and password management were associated with better cyber hygiene. Individual differences such as trust in technology and intrinsic motivation were predictive of improved cyber hygiene – but were subject to significant sex differences. Differences across academic majors, such as science and technology majors, also emerged. Finally, we discuss the importance of understanding the role of human factors in modern cybersecurity and the potential practical implications associated with refining current course curricula in computer and information sciences.
Discrete Probability Models

In Chapter 1, we explored the idea of a random variable and saw some specific examples. Now it’s time to see some of the standard “classes” of random variables. These classes serve as standard models for modeling real-world problems. There’s an important advantage to having such standard models: The theory’s already worked out! If you can match your problem with a standard model, you can draw on previous experience, intuition, and an established theory.
Planet Bug: Promoting Awareness of Declining Insect Populations

Planet Bug is an educational game that teaches players about insects through a fun and interactive medium. Insect populations worldwide are declining, but little media coverage or publicity has highlighted this growing environmental concern [6]. Incorporating a unique gaming console and engaging graphics, Planet Bug tells a story that educates players on insect populations of the world, and how to take actions to protect them. Starting with a message from the future, the journey begins with an important mission to photograph insects from three different habitats (corresponding to three levels). Upon successful competition of the final level, the true message of the game will be displayed.
Cribra orbitalia is a vascular phenomenon unrelated to marrow hyperplasia or anemia: Paradigm shift for cribra orbitalia

The orbital phenomenon, cribra orbitalia, has long been a source of controversy, especially with regard to its nature, derivation, and relationship to anemia. Therefore, the external surfaces of orbital roofs were systematically examined microscopically in human skulls from historical collections. Superior orbital surfaces of 278 individual crania within the Hamann-Todd collection were assessed at various magnifications using epi-illumination microscopy to identify the presence of cribra orbitalia and characterize its nature. Also, 12 additional individuals with diagnosed anemia in the Hamann-Todd collection were evaluated. Orbital roof alterations, present in one-third of examined crania, had two discrete appearances: Vascular grooves (45%) and application of new bone in a vascular branching pattern on the orbit surface (55%). Porosity of the orbit was not observed. Evaluation of the orbits of 12 individuals with diagnosed anemia revealed one with a single deep defect, suggesting a space-occupying phenomenon, but no evidence of bone accretion, vascular grooves, or porosity. Cribra orbitalia has often been lumped indiscriminately as an indicator of organismal stress, rather than identified as a indicating a specific etiology. Neither that perspective nor porosity are supported by high resolution examination of orbital roof changes. Recognition of the blood vessel imprint pattern falsifies previous speculations and provides a new paradigm. The actual character of cribra orbitalia is documented and new hypotheses generated. While population prevalence of cribra orbitalia seems excessive for explanation on the basis of these hypotheses, the imprints are clearly vascular in origin.
Shock Wave Physics as Related to Primary Non-Impact Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury.

Introduction Blast overpressure exposure, an important cause of traumatic brain injury (TBI), may occur during combat or military training. TBI, most commonly mild TBI, is considered a signature injury of recent combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Low intensity primary blast-induced TBI (bTBI), caused by exposure to an explosive shock wave, commonly leaves no obvious physical external signs. Numerous studies have been conducted to understand its biological effects; however, the role of shock wave energy as related to bTBI remains poorly understood. This report combines shock wave analysis with established biological effects on the mouse brain to provide insights into the effects of shock wave physics as related to low intensity bTBI outcomes from both open-air and shock tube environments. Methods Shock wave peak pressure, rise time, positive phase duration, impulse, shock velocity, and particle velocity were measured using the Missouri open-air blast model from 16 blast experiments totaling 122 mice to quantify physical shock wave properties. Open-air shock waves were generated by detonating 350-g 1-m suspended Composition C-4 charges with targets on 1-m elevated stands at 2.15, 3, 4, and 7 m from the source. Results All mice sustained brain injury with no observable head movement, because of mice experiencing lower dynamic pressures than calculated in shock tubes. Impulse, pressure loading over time, was found to be directly related to bTBI severity and is a primary shock physics variable that relates to bTBI. Discussion The physical blast properties including shock wave peak pressure, rise time, positive phase duration, impulse, shock velocity, and particle velocity were examined using the Missouri open-air blast model in mice with associated neurobehavioral deficits. The blast-exposed mice sustained ultrastructural abnormalities in mitochondria, myelinated axons, and synapses, implicating that primary low intensity blast leads to nanoscale brain damage by providing the link to its pathogenesis. The velocity of the shock wave reflected back from the target stand was calculated from high-speed video and compared with that of the incident shock wave velocity. Peak incident pressure measured from high sample rate sensors was found to be within 1% of the velocity recorded by the high-speed camera, concluding that using sensors in or close to an animal brain can provide useful information regarding shock velocity within the brain, leading to more advanced knowledge between shock wave physics and tissue damage that leads to bTBIs.
Corporate “green gold”: State policy implications for wind and solar energy buyers

Abstract Renewable energy (RE) is “green gold” for corporate energy buyers, and big companies have been using their influence and scale to advocate for state policies that will make it easier to buy RE. For most companies, however, getting to 100% RE is still a long slog through the current policy landscape. With that in mind, this article highlights policy implications at the state level that can advance or impede corporate RE energy buying. The article also provides case studies based on four states whose varying policies create different opportunities for companies to buy RE. The goal is to demonstrate the potency of state energy policy and to recommend shifts in the policy landscape so companies can meet their RE targets.
A Green Performance Bond Framework for Managing Greenhouse Gas Emissions During Construction: Proof of Concept Using Agent-Based Modeling

A+C and A+B+C bidding methods have been recognized as innovative green contracting strategies for addressing climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions during the construction phase of infrastructure projects. However, there are practical issues including the possibility of opportunistic bidding that casts doubt on the successful implementation of these bidding methods. This study introduces a green performance bond framework as a potential solution and evaluates its feasibility and effectiveness in discouraging opportunistic bidding behaviors. In doing so, the A+C bidding environment is simulated using agent-based modeling and conduct simulation experiments in which contractors attempt to increase their probability of winning by intentionally submitting an unrealistic emission mitigation plan. The results show that applying the green performance bond framework can significantly reduce the over-emission and the probability of success of an opportunistic bid in all bidding scenarios.
Current Status of CAR T Cell Therapy for Leukemias

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has become the standard of care for children and young adults with relapsed and refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), and it is a highly promising therapy under investigation for adults with relapsed disease. Despite having potentially life-threatening toxicities, such as cytokine release syndrome and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome, the benefits of CAR T-cell therapy far outweigh these risks, particularly as increased experience and improved supportive care measures are mitigating these toxicities. CAR T cells can result in complete remission for significant proportion of patients with relapsed and refractory B-ALL and permit them to proceed to potentially curative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). CAR T cells may also be curative by themselves. Herein lie the greatest challenges and questions for clinical investigators, specifically, how are CAR T cells best employed and how do we overcome mechanisms of resistance to them? The primary clinical question is the timing and even the necessity of allo-HSCT. Relative to resistance, we know that target antigen loss, specifically CD19, is a major contributor to resistance. However, current investigations of alternative targets, such CD22, and CAR T cells expressing dual targeting antigen receptors have demonstrated encouraging initial results and provide a high degree of optimism that the efficacy and the broader application of CAR T-cell therapy will gradually increase in B-ALL. That optimism is not as high and the challenges are increased for the application of CAR T cells in T-cell leukemias and acute myeloid leukemia due to the relative lack of suitable leukemia surface targets that are not also expressed on normal hematopoietic progenitors. Despite these significant challenges, considerable research is being conducted into the development of CAR T cells for these diseases utilizing unique technologies, which may be applicable to other diseases.
Decentralized arterial traffic signal optimization with connected vehicle information

This paper proposes a decentralized signal control algorithm that leverages connected vehicle information to improve traffic operations along arterials. The proposed algorithm obtains real-time veh...
Targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome to improve healing of diabetic wounds.

Significance: Chronic skin wounds are a significant health problem around the world, often leading to amputation and even death. Although persistent inflammation is a hallmark of these poorly heali...
Women in Statistics: Scientific Contributions Versus Rewards

Significant contributions have been made to science, through statistics, by women all over the world. These contributions range from theoretical developments to applications in diverse fields such as agriculture, climatology, engineering, biology, and medicine. Yet, there is evidence that their contributions have not been equally rewarded, particularly in academics, in either salary or rank. In this chapter, we review some key contributions to statistical theory and applications made by some notable women. We then describe the research on rank and salary studies that have been conducted in academe, updating the data in Billard (1994) following the passage in the United States of equal opportunity legislation. The data suggest that, while differences in salary and rank for men and women have been reduced in some domains (e.g., government agencies), gaps between men and women in academe still remain.
RNA respiratory viruses.

RNA respiratory viruses, including influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human rhinovirus (HRV), and coronavirus (CoV), are increasingly being recognized as causing significant morbidity, graft failure, and death among immunocompromised patient populations. Respiratory viral infections are associated with increased risk of death, development of viral pneumonia, and coinfections, particularly bacterial pneumonia and invasive aspergillosis. Respiratory viral infections are associated with both acute and chronic rejection. Antiviral resistance is an emerging issue among immunocompromised patients infected with influenza virus, although resistance testing is not yet widely available outside the research setting. Unlike the case for RSV and influenza virus, no rapid antigen test kits are available for detection of PIV. There are several monoclonal antibody (MAb) systems that allow for identification and differentiation of the different PIV serotypes in primary patient samples and in cell cultures. There are currently five clinically significant human coronaviruses recognized, namely, OC43, 229E, NL63, HKU1, and severe acute respiratory syndrome CoV (SARS-CoV).
Symmetry and isotropic coherence transfer

A general treatment of spin dynamics during coherence transfer is presented as an example of a many-body problem under strong coupling. In a previous paper, coherence transfer by isotropic mixing (IM) between two coupled spins was examined. However, the greatest experimental interest in the technique of IM centers on the transfer of coherence between spins that are not directly coupled. The dynamics of coherence transfer in multiple spin systems are cast in a superoperator formulation, in which diagonalization of the mixing Liouvilian matrix allows derivation of the coherence transfer frequencies from the eigenvalues. Development of a particular basis of the spin density operator space facilitates diagonalization of the strong coupling Liouvillian. This basis is completely reduced with respect to rotation, permutation, and particle number. Treatment of the many-body aspect is based on an approach using the Young tableaux. The exact calculation of the dynamics of coherence transfer in a three spin system i...
X-Ray cephalometry

Abstract A method is presented for the roentgenographic measurement of the engaged head. The part of the head measured is the magnified shadow of the (oblique) biparietal diameter. The necessary data for reducing the magnification of the shadow are obtained by determining the height of the object above the sensitive film. This is accomplished by measuring the distance of the object from the ischial spines and the distance of the spines from the sensitive film. In 31 controlled measurements the maximum error was 0.4 cm. In 77.4 per cent of these cases the error was not greater than 0.2 cm.
Reading Blackstone in the Twenty-First Century and the Twenty-First Century through Blackstone

Sir William Blackstone is enjoying a renaissance in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. The Court’s references to Blackstone have increased tenfold since the 1930s, so that the Commentaries is now cited in 1 in 13 cases. At the same time, practically nobody reads it. Indeed, part of Blackstone’s persuasive power today comes from his text’s simultaneous familiarity and mystery. The Court capitalizes on Blackstone’s status as a kind of mythical ancestor – the “oracle of the law in the mind of the American framers,” citing Blackstone for the original meaning of the Constitution. This mythic use of Blackstone allows the justices to have their cake and eat it too. The Court’s analysis gains the kind of rule-of-law certainty that comes from relying on the Commentaries as a canonical text. But presenting the Commentaries through the eyes of a supposedly uncritical ‘founding generation’ allows the Court to maintain a sophisticated modern distance. In this way the Court avoids the accusations of legal primitivism that would surely accompany their own direct avowals that Blackstone is the definitive source of all common law structures implicitly incorporated in the U.S. Constitution.If the Supreme Court mythologizes Blackstone, it is equally true that Blackstone himself was engaged in something of a mythmaking project. Far from a neutral reporter, Blackstone has some stories to tell, in particular the story of the hero law. The problems associated with using the Commentaries as a transparent window on eighteenth-century American legal norms, however, do not make Blackstone’s text irrelevant today. The chapter concludes with my brief reading of the Commentaries as a critical mirror of some twenty-first-century legal and social structures. That analysis draws on a long-term project, in which I am making my way through all four volumes of the Commentaries and posting short responsive essays online on the Blackstone Weekly.
Thinking versus Acting

Abstract This article investigates the relationship between heterosexual attitudes toward homosexuals and homophobic and pro-gay helping behaviors participated in over the previous year. Variables previously identified as associated with attitudes toward homosexuals are also examined. The findings demonstrate that attitude, gender, previous contact, and religiosity are associated with heterosexual behavior toward homosexuals.
Treatment of unreduced elbow dislocations with hinged external fixation

Background: The results of operative treatment of an unreduced elbow dislocation have been regarded with pessimism. Suggested procedures have included tendon-lengthening, tendon transfer, or reconstruction of ligament or bone. Methods: Three women and two men (average age, forty-nine years) with an unreduced dislocation of the elbow without associated fractures were treated with open relocation of the joint and hinged external fixation at an average of eleven weeks (range, six to thirty weeks) after the initial injury. The lateral soft tissues, including the origin of the lateral collateral ligament complex, were reattached to the lateral epicondyle in three patients, but no attempt was made to reconstruct the ligaments, tendons, or bone. A passive worm gear incorporated into a hinged external fixator was used to mobilize the elbow initially, and active mobilization was gradually introduced. The hinge was removed at an average of five weeks after the procedure. Results: At an average of thirty-eight months (range, twelve to ninety-eight months), a stable, concentric reduction had been maintained in all five patients, with radiographic signs of mild arthrosis in four. The average arc of flexion was 123×, and all patients had full forearm rotation. The average score on the Mayo Elbow Performance Index was 89 points, with two excellent and three good results. The average scores on the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons outcome instruments (13 and 92 points, respectively) reflected mild residual pain and disability. Conclusions: Treatment of unreduced elbow dislocations with open reduction and hinged external fixation as much as thirty weeks after the injury can restore a stable, mobile joint without the need for tendon-lengthening or transfer, ligament reconstruction, or deepening of the trochlear notch of the ulna.
A new approach to some possibilistic linear programming problems

Abstract In practice, the unit costs/profits of new products or new projects, the lending and borrowing interest rates, and cash flows are always imprecise. We provide an auxiliary multiple objective linear programming model to solve a linear programming problem with imprecise objective and/or constraint coefficients. Our strategy is to maximize the most possible value of the imprecise profit. At the same time, we would like to minimize the risk of obtaining lower profit and maximize the possibility of obtaining higher profit. This strategy is equivalent to the practical considerations of financial problems. In this paper, a numeric investment problem is solved for illustrating the new approach.
Radiological and salinity relationships in the water at Bikini Atoll

The circulation in Bikini Lagoon during the post-Baker Day period is deduced from the distribution of salinity and radioactivity. The use of the distribution of radioactivity as a method of determining the circulation is compared with other methods. The presence of radioactivity in the waters of the Lagoon as a result of the explosion presented a unique opportunity to obtain a partial evaluation of the radioactive tracer technique in problems of hydrography. Figures showing a circulation scheme and the distribution of salinity and radioactivity are presented for the third, fourth, and fifth day after the underwater explosion. The circulation at this time was found to be abnormal due mainly to the unusual weather conditions. It has therefore been discussed with particular reference to the areas of concentration of the radioactive material in view of the possible bearing on studies of the effect of radiological contamination on marine flora and fauna at Bikini. The use of radioactivity in tracing water motions at Bikini gave results which were in general agreement with those obtained by other methods.
Simulation of the pre-reversal enhancement in the low latitude vertical ion drifts

Low latitude F region ion motions exhibit strong seasonal and solar cycle dependences. The pre-reversal enhancement (PRE) in the vertical ion drifts is a particularly well-known low latitude electrodynamic feature, exhibited as a sharp upward spike in the velocity shortly after local sunset, which remains poorly understood theoretically. The PRE has been successfully simulated for the first time by a general circulation model, the National Center for Atmospheric Research thermosphere/ionosphere/electrodynamic general circulation model (TIEGCM). The TIEGCM reproduces the zonal and vertical plasma drifts for equinox, June, and December for low, medium, and high solar activity. The crucial parameter in the model to produce the PRE is the nighttime E region electron densities: densities ≥ 104 cm−3 preclude the PRE development by short-circuiting the F region dynamo. The E region semidiurnal 2,2 tidal wave largely determines the magnitude and phase of the daytime F region drifts.
Pathologic basis of focal therapy for early-stage prostate cancer

The selection of patients with prostate cancer who are suitable for focal therapy remains a controversial topic. In this Review, Mouraviev and colleagues discuss pathological insights into the biology of early-stage disease, and highlight the critical role of three-dimensional prostate mapping protocols in the localization of disease. The treatment paradigm for small-volume, low-grade unifocal or unilateral prostate cancer is shifting from a radical, whole-gland approach toward organ-sparing, focal ablation. The widely implemented screening program in the US has detected small-volume prostate lesions at early stages of carcinogenesis, which has enabled the shift in treatment paradigm. An image-guided approach to focal therapy has yet to be realized, and is dependent on the development of an imaging modality that detects cancer with high sensitivity and specificity. The future success of focal therapy will depend on adequate prostate sampling at biopsy, along with accurate characterization of the spatial distribution of tumor within the prostate. The pathologic evaluation of radical prostatectomy specimens remains of paramount importance, as this reference standard can validate all preoperative clinical, demographic, laboratory, imaging and prostate biopsy findings.