cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A phase I study of escalated dose subcutaneous alemtuzumab given weekly with rituximab in relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia / small lymphocytic lymphoma

This study assessed the safety and preliminary efficacy of escalated dose subcutaneous alemtuzumab in combination with rituximab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Twenty-eight patients with relapsed refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia were treated on four dosing cohorts of weekly rituximab at 375 mg/m2 and alemtuzumab doses that started at 30 mg three times per week and escalated to weekly dosing over four weeks, culminating with 90 mg weekly. One dose limiting toxicity of a rituximab infusion reaction was seen in cohort 2, but the regimen was otherwise well tolerated without evidence of differential toxicity by cohort. The overall response rate by National Cancer Institute-Working Group criteria was 61%, and the rate of complete bone marrow response was 43%, most of whom were negative for minimal residual disease. The addition of CT scan evaluation per International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia 2008 criteria reduced the overall response rate to 14%. Median overall survival was 35 months, with 12 patients able to proceed to stem cell transplantation. Pharmacokinetic studies showed that chronic lymphocytic leukemia involving more than 80% of the bone marrow at study start was associated with lower trough concentrations of alemtuzumab and rituximab, and that higher trough serum concentrations of alemtuzumab were associated with complete bone marrow clearance. We conclude that escalated subcutaneous doses of alemtuzumab given weekly are well tolerated and result in excellent bone marrow clearance of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, helping patients to proceed to stem cell transplantation. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier:00330252).
Soil resource heterogeneity in terms of litter aggregation promotes nitrous oxide fluxes and slows decomposition

Abstract To better understand the role of resource heterogeneity in decomposition and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) flux we systematically altered the degree of plant litter aggregation in soil, from uniformly distributed to highly aggregated. In laboratory incubations, we distributed 4.5 g of dried clover shoots ( Trifolium pratense L.) in two particle sizes (1 or >5 mm) into 1, 3, or 9 patches versus uniformly distributed. Soil moisture content was also varied to manipulate soil oxygen (O 2 ) concentrations. In moist soil (50% water-filled pore space, WFPS), litter aggregation delayed the peak litter decomposition rate by 3–5 days compared to uniformly distributed litter regardless of the litter particle size. In contrast, under near-saturated soil conditions (80% WFPS) litter aggregation suppressed decomposition throughout the 26-day incubation period. This significant interaction between litter aggregation and soil moisture treatments suggests that diffusion of soil resources (likely O 2 ) plays an important role in the influence of litter aggregation on decomposition. Specifically, O 2 diffusion may more adequately meet O 2 consumption rates when litter is distributed than when aggregated. In contrast to the temporary influence of aggregation on litter decomposition, N 2 O fluxes under 50% WFPS conditions were consistently greater and on average 7.9, 7.2, and 4.7-fold greater than fine aggregated litter (1, 3, and 9 patches, respectively) than when uniformly distributed. Coarse litter aggregation also stimulated N 2 O emissions, but not as much as fine litter. Under field conditions with growing maize ( Zea mays L.), litter aggregation also stimulated N 2 O emissions. The results suggest that litter aggregation plays a role in N 2 O flux from agricultural soils and it might be manipulated to provide an additional N 2 O mitigation strategy.
Cloud-to-Ground Lightning and Surface Rainfall during the Great Flood of 1993

Abstract Relationships between cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning, as reported by the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN), and surface rainfall, as reported by National Weather Service (NWS) cooperative observers, have been examined during the “great flood” of 1993. The daily precipitation volume per reported CG flash (CGF) over the greater Upper Mississippi River basin (GUMRB) ranged from 4.0 × 104 to 4.3 × 106 m3 (CGF)−1 with a mean and a median of 4.6 × 105 and 1.9 × 105 m3 (CGF)−1, respectively, during June–August 1993. The monthly rain volume per reported CG flash ranged from 6.3 × 104 to 2.1 × 105 m3 (CGF)−1 with an overall mean of 1.8 × 105 m3 (CGF)−1. Similar ratios were found for the Upper Mississippi River basin (UMRB) that is embedded within the GUMRB. For the entire summer season, there were about 6.5 × 1011 m3 of rainfall over the GUMRB and there were 3.6 × 106 CGF reported by the NLDN, which gives an overall seasonal mean of 1.8 × 105 m3 (CGF)−1. If the lightning counts are correcte...
Immune targeting of cancer stem cells in gastrointestinal oncology

The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis postulates that a sub-population of quiescent cells exist within tumors which are resistant to conventional cytotoxic/anti-proliferative therapies. It is these CSCs which then seed tumor relapse, even in cases of apparent complete response to systemic therapy. Therefore, therapies, such as immunotherapy, which add a specific anti-CSC strategy to standard cytoreductive treatments may provide a promising new direction for future cancer therapies. CSCs are an attractive target for immune therapies since, unlike chemotherapy or radiotherapy, immune effector cells do not specifically require target cells to be proliferating in order to effectively kill them. Although recent advances have been made in the development of novel systemic and targeted therapies for advanced gastro-intestinal (GI) malignancies, there remains an unmet need for durable new therapies for these refractory malignancies. Novel immunotherapeutic strategies targeting CSCs are in pre-clinical and clinical development across the spectrum of the immune system, including strategies utilizing adaptive immune cell-based effectors, innate immune effectors, as well as vaccine approaches. Lastly, since important CSC functions are affected by the tumor microenvironment, targeting of both cellular (myeloid derived suppressor cells and tumor-associated macrophages) and sub-cellular (cytokines, chemokines, and PD1/PDL1) components of the tumor microenvironment is under investigation in the immune targeting of CSCs. These efforts are adding to the significant optimism about the potential utility of immunotherapy to overcome cancer resistance mechanisms and cure greater numbers of patients with advanced malignancy.
Do Firm Boundaries Affect Financing Policy? Evidence from Non-Financial Conglomerates with Financial Subsidiaries

I study the capital structure of non-financial firms that own a financial subsidiary. In a panel of U.S. non-financial firms over 1984-2007 I find that a significant part of the overall Compustat non-financial universe maintains a financial subsidiary. Such non-financial firms have higher overall leverage and shorter debt maturity. However, these firms have lower excess leverage. My findings thus appear to support Diamond’s (2006, 2007) hypotheses that the establishment of a financial subsidiary in non-financial firms lowers their borrowing capacity and shortens their debt maturity due perhaps to the weaker incentives to monitor on part of the captive financial subsidiaries. Overall, these findings suggest that firm boundaries are an important factor to determine corporate financing policy. They also highlight an additional cost associated with internal capital markets, namely, the diminished borrowing capacity and shortened debt maturity for non-financial borrowers in internal capital markets.
Heterologous expression of apolipoprotein B carboxyl-terminal truncates: a model for the study of lipoprotein biogenesis.

Expression of proteins in cells that lack specific chaperones, or subunits required for correct assembly results in the degradation of these proteins early on after synthesis, probably in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or an ER-related compartment. We have explored heterologous expression as a model to study the complex process involved in the biogenesis of apolipoprotein B (apoB)-containing lipoproteins. As an initial step, a series of carboxyl-terminal truncated apoB in COS cells were expressed to characterize this system. ApoB proteins ranging from apoB-13 to apoB-41 were expressed. Truncates larger than apoB-29 were completely retained and degraded within the cells; hence these cells have a ‘secretory defect’ for the larger truncates. Degradation of these apoB proteins is likely to be in the endoplasmic reticulum or ER-related compartment, as shown by sensitivity to endo beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, by lack of an effect on the degradation kinetics by brefeldin A treatment, and by ImmunoGold EM. Degradation in COS cells was not affected by a variety of protease inhibitors, including N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal (ALLN). Addition of oleate to the culture medium did not alter their metabolic fate. In comparison to the larger truncates, apoB proteins less than apoB-29 were partially secreted; the majority of these, too, were also retained and degraded intracellularly in a similar compartment. Secreted apoB-17 protein was shown to have been processed correctly in the Golgi and was secreted as a minimally lipidated protein. This model, based on the expression of apoB truncates larger than B-29 in COS cells, may therefore allow for the identification and study of the requirements of specific factors that may be required for both apoB secretion and lipoprotein biogenesis by in vivo complementation of this ‘secretory’ defect.
A Note on Evaluating Limits Using Riemann Sums

(1987). A Note on Evaluating Limits Using Riemann Sums. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 60, No. 4, pp. 225-228.
Comparison of a standard and a sensitive thromboplastin in monitoring low intensity oral anticoagulant therapy.

The greater precision in prothrombin time monitoring obtained using thromboplastins with low international sensitivity index (ISI) values are believed to result in improved patient care. The authors conducted a blinded prospective study of 84 random patients on low-intensity warfarin therapy who were monitored with either a sensitive (ISI, 1.3) or standard (ISI, 1.9) thromboplastin. For the patients monitored with standard and sensitive thromboplastins, respectively, no difference was found in the degree of anticoagulation (standard thromboplastin mean INR, 2.4 vs. 2.5, P = .37; sensitive thromboplastin mean INR, 2.6 vs. 2.6, P = .74; mean daily warfarin dose, 5.1 vs. 4.7 mg, P = .28) or efficacy (warfarin dosage adjustments, 117 vs. 116; clinic visits, 362 vs. 378; percentage of therapeutic INR determinations, 47% vs. 48%). In addition, no difference was found in bleeding prevalence or severity (.22 vs. .27 events per person-year observation). The authors concluded that monitoring anticoagulant therapy in the INR range of 2-3 with a standard thromboplastin may be comparable to monitoring with a more sensitive thromboplastin with respect to efficacy, safety, and degree of anticoagulation achieved.
Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disorders

S.G. Kanekar, ed. New York, NY: Thieme, 2016, 397 pages, $189.99 Neurodegenerative diseases comprise a broad swath of different neurologic diseases characterized by loss of neurons in the central nervous system. The most common neurodegenerative disease is Alzheimer disease, a dementing disease.
Multimodal MRI of Nonhuman Primate Stroke

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death. Despite decades of research, no neuroprotective drug has proven to be effective clinically. One widely accepted view to account for this negative outcome is that the rodent stroke model simply does not adequately reflect the complexity of human stroke. Recent failures of several high-profile neuroprotective drugs for stroke treatment in phase III clinical trials further underscore the importance of developing adequate animal models for stroke research. The brain organization and vascular circuitry of nonhuman primates (NHPs) are more homologous with humans than the widely used rodent for stroke modeling. The Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Roundtable, a national committee commissioned by the American Heart Association, recommended that clinically relevant NHP stroke models be established for developing and assessing neuroprotective drugs. The aim of this article is to review the challenges and applications of magnetic resonance imaging studies of NHP stroke models.
The Model Minority: Asian American Students and the Relationships Between Acculturation to Western Values, Family Pressures and Mental Health Concerns

During the beginning of the fall semester at the University of Vermont (UVM), I found myself studying in a relatively secluded area. As I was immersed in my reading, I noticed an Asian male staring out of a window with a concerned look on his face. I decided to flag him down and have a friendly conversation. As we talked, we started to discuss how it feels to be an Asian American at a predominantly White institution. Our experiences adjusting to the campus were quite similar even though we grew up with very different childhoods. He grew up in Boston and I grew up in Seattle, but we both had a strong connection to our culture and our family. As the Asian American student population grows in United States (U.S.) higher education, so does the demand for resources on campus. One major concern facing Asian Americans today is the cultural pressure from home which often leads to mental health concerns. Many Asian American students acculturate to Western values in United States colleges, and in doing so, sacrifice part of their traditional identities. As Asian American students acculturate to Western values, it becomes difficult for them to relate to their immigrant parents or firstgeneration Asian American parents. In contrast, Asian American students who feel close to their traditional values can find difficulty transitioning into college due to the discrimination toward their culture and lack of social support. This article will identify how acculturation to Western values and parental pressures about academics can leave Asian American students—often referred to as “model minorities”— depressed and emotionally unstable.
Didox Induced Apoptosis Occurs by Inhibiting DNA Synthesis and Repair Via Down-Regulation of Ribonucleotide Reductase M1 in Multiple Myeloma (MM).

Ribonucleotide reductase is the rate-limiting enzyme of deoxynucleoside triphosphate synthesis and is therefore an excellent target for cancer chemotherapy. Inhibition of ribonucleotide reductase results in inhibition of DNA synthesis and has anti-neoplastic effects. Several ribonucleotide reductase inhibitors (RRIs) are already in clinical practice, including Hydroxyurea and Gemcitabine. Here we examine the anti-MM activity of a novel RRI, Didox. Our data shows that Didox has potent cytotoxicity against MM cells in 48-hour cultures. Apoptosis induced in MM cell lines by Didox (200mmol/l), evidenced by increased sub-G1 cell fraction, is caspase dependent, confirmed by blocking experiments with Z-VAD-FMK. Unlike other RRIs which mainly target the pyrimidine metabolism pathway (hydroxyurea and gemcitabine), didox targets both the purine and pyrimidine metabolism pathways in MM, as demonstrated by transcriptional profiling using the Affymetrix U133A 2.0 gene chip. Specifically, our data shows a ≥ 2 fold downregulation of genes in these pathways as early as 12 hours after exposure to Didox. Importantly, ribonucleotide reductase (RR) M1 component transcript was downregulated, associated with downregulation of this enzyme by Western Blot analysis, and inhibition of DNA synthesis. Furthermore, genes involved in DNA repair mechanisms were also downregulated after exposure to Didox, demonstrated by heirachial clustering of gene chip data and further validation by western blotting. Specifically RAD 51 homologue, which is involved in nucleotide excision repair and recombination repair, was downregulated in MM cells both transcriptionally as well as at the protein level. This was accompanied by downregulation of the BCL family protein including Bcl-2, Bcl xl , and XIAP both at the transcriptional and post transcriptional levels. Since Didox acts on MM cells by inhibiting DNA synthesis and repair, combination studies with melphalan, an alkylating agent commonly used in MM, were next performed. Our data shows a strong in vitro synergism, with combination indices of
Comparative Study in Acidic and Alkaline Media of the Effects of pH and Crystallinity on the Hydrogen-Evolution Reaction on MoS2 and MoSe2

Single crystals of n-type MoS2 and n-MoSe2 showed higher electrocatalytic activity for the evolution of H2(g) in alkaline solutions than in acidic solutions. The overpotentials required to drive hydrogen evolution at −10 mA cm–2 of current density for MoS2 samples were −0.76 ± 0.13 and −1.03 ± 0.21 V when in contact with 1.0 M NaOH(aq) and 1.0 M H2SO4(aq), respectively. For MoSe2 samples, the overpotentials at −10 mA cm–2 were −0.652 ± 0.050 and −0.709 ± 0.073 V in contact with 1.0 M KOH(aq) and 1.0 M H2SO4(aq), respectively. Single crystals from two additional sources were also tested, and the absolute values of the measured overpotentials were consistently less (by 460 ± 250 mV) in alkaline solutions than in acidic solutions. When electrochemical etching was used to create edge sites on the single crystals, the kinetics improved in acid but changed little in alkaline media. The overpotentials measured for polycrystalline thin films (PTFs) and amorphous forms of MoS2 showed less sensitivity to pH and edg...
Digraphs with Isomorphic Underlying and Domination Graphs: 4-cycles and Pairs of Paths

A domination graph of a digraph D, dom(D), is created using the vertex set of D, V (D). There is an edge uv in dom(D) whenever (u, z) or (v, z) is in the arc set of D, A(D), for every other vertex z ∈ V (D). For only some digraphs D has the structure of dom(D) been characterized. Examples of this are tournaments and regular digraphs. The authors have characterizations for the structure of digraphs D for which UG(D) = dom(D) or UG(D) ∼= dom(D). For example, when UG(D) ∼= dom(D), the only components of the complement of UG(D) are complete graphs, paths and cycles. Here, we determine values of i and j for which UG(D) ∼= dom(D) and UG(D) = C4 ∪ Pi ∪ Pj.
Air-Gap Detection in Dielectric Materials by a Step-Frequency Microwave Technique

Most microwave NDE has been performed using continuous wave excitation and reception, due to the general availability of such equipment and the acceptable procedure of extracting information from the amplitude and phase of such signals. With the availability of sources that can be swept over a band of frequencies, the amplitude and phase information can be converted via the Fourier Transformation to the impulse response in the time domain. Instead of searching for changes in the amplitude and phase of microwave reflected from boundaries, interfaces, and defects, this time domain approach concentrates on the recognition of “echoes”. This approach is implicit in some of the more complex approaches in microwave imaging [1–3]. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate that this approach facilitates the detection of internal defects using microwave, in a manner similar to the practice of pulse-echo ultrasound. The time delay for a microwave “echo” is related to the location, and the Fourier transformed amplitude is related to some characteristics of the defect inside the material.
Repeated low level domoic acid exposure increases CA1 VGluT1 levels, but not bouton density, VGluT2 or VGAT levels in the hippocampus of adult mice.

Domoic acid (DA) is a neurotoxin produced during harmful algal blooms that accumulates in marine organisms that serve as food resources for humans. While acute DA neurotoxicity can cause seizures and hippocampal lesions, less is known regarding how chronic, subacute DA exposure in adulthood impacts the hippocampus. With more frequent occurrences of harmful algal blooms, it is important to understand the potential impact of repeated, low-level DA exposure on human health. To model repeated, low-dose DA exposure, adult mice received a single low-dose (0.75 ± 0.05 μg/g) of DA or vehicle weekly for 22 consecutive weeks. Quantitative immunohistochemistry was performed to assess the effects of repeated, low-level DA exposure on hippocampal cells and synapses. Vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGluT1) immunoreactivity within excitatory boutons in CA1 of DA-exposed mice was increased. Levels of other vesicular transporter proteins (i.e., VGluT2 and the vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT)) within boutons, and corresponding bouton densities, were not significantly altered in CA1, CA3, or dentate gyrus. There were no significant changes in neuron density or glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity following chronic, low-dose exposure. This suggests that repeated low doses of DA, unlike high doses of DA, do not cause neuronal loss or astrocyte activation in hippocampus in adult mice. Instead, these findings demonstrate that repeated exposure to low levels of DA leads to subtle changes in VGluT1 expression within CA1 excitatory boutons, which may alter glutamatergic transmission in CA1 and disrupt behaviors dependent on spatial memory.
August 1914 - Mycroft Holmes and Pre-War European Diplomacy

What caused World War I? And how was it that the diplomats and their masters failed to avert such an obviously disastrous bloodbath? (Sherlock Holmes once referred to war as a “ridiculous” and “preposterous” “method of settling international questions.”) Scholars cannot agree. Indeed, even among elite European historians (a crowd that specializes in studying the evolution of a complex of complex cultures), the tangled threads that led to the Great War are viewed as an extraordinarily terrible mare’s nest. Nevertheless, there is enough common ground on some main themes to make for a fairly coherent conventional narrative of pre-war European diplomacy. It begins in October 1879 — when Austria-Hungary and Germany formed the Dual Alliance. It ends in August 1914 — when diplomacy failed and the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary and Germany) and the Entente Powers (France, Russia and Great Britain) declared war on each other. That passage of 35 years also marks, roughly, the span of Mycroft Holmes’s career in the British government. His involvement in the maneuverings of the great powers in those times may be invisible to most modern eyes (as it was to his contemporaries), but there are clues. They will crop up from time to time in this narrative, which reviews, briefly and in sequence, the perspectives of each of the five major players in the onset of World War I — Austria-Hungary, Germany, France, Russia and Great Britain — with some emphasis on Austria-Hungary, because that is where the war to end all wars began.
Milestone Implementation’s Impact on Narrative Comments and Perception of Feedback for Internal Medicine Residents: a Mixed Methods Study

Feedback is a critical element of graduate medical education. Narrative comments on evaluation forms are a source of feedback for residents. As a shared mental model for performance, milestone-based evaluations may impact narrative comments and resident perception of feedback. To determine if milestone-based evaluations impacted the quality of faculty members’ narrative comments on evaluations and, as an extension, residents’ perception of feedback. Concurrent mixed methods study, including qualitative analysis of narrative comments and survey of resident perception of feedback. Seventy internal medicine residents and their faculty evaluators at the University of Utah. Faculty narrative comments from 248 evaluations pre- and post-milestone implementation were analyzed for quality and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competency by area of strength and area for improvement. Seventy residents were surveyed regarding quality of feedback pre- and post-milestone implementation. Qualitative analysis of narrative comments revealed nearly all evaluations pre- and post-milestone implementation included comments about areas of strength but were frequently vague and not related to competencies. Few evaluations included narrative comments on areas for improvement, but these were of higher quality compared to areas of strength (p < 0.001). Overall resident perception of quality of narrative comments was low and did not change following milestone implementation (p = 0.562) for the 86% of residents (N = 60/70) who completed the pre- and post-surveys. The quality of narrative comments was poor, and there was no evidence of improved quality following introduction of milestone-based evaluations. Comments on areas for improvement were of higher quality than areas of strength, suggesting an area for targeted intervention. Residents’ perception of feedback quality did not change following implementation of milestone-based evaluations, suggesting that in the post-milestone era, internal medicine educators need to utilize additional interventions to improve quality of feedback.
Insulin Pumps: Review of Technological Advancement in Diabetes Management

Insulin pump therapy, also known as continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) therapy is an evolving form of insulin delivery which has been shown to be highly effective in maintaining euglycemia and providing patients with flexibility in their lives. It functions by providing the patient with a continuous subcutaneous infusion of a rapid acting insulin and allows the patient to administer boluses throughout the day for food and correction of high glucose levels. CSII is approved in patients with type 1 diabetes and selected patients with type 2 diabetes; however, it is important to select the right patients for pump therapy. Insulin pump technology continues to rapidly evolve, and many options are now on the market, including those that are used in conjunction with continuous glucose monitoring. This review article focuses on the pros and cons of CSII therapy as well as the technical and clinical considerations in starting a patient on this therapy.
Protecting Privacy When Sharing and Releasing Data with Multiple Records per Person

This study concerns the risks of privacy disclosure when sharing and releasing a dataset in which each individual may be associated with multiple records. Existing data privacy approaches and policies typically assume that each individual in a shared dataset corresponds to a single record, leading to an underestimation of the disclosure risks in multiple records per person scenarios. We propose two novel measures of privacy disclosure to arrive at a more appropriate assessment of disclosure risks. The first measure assesses individual-record disclosure risk based upon the frequency distribution of individuals' occurrences. The second measure assesses sensitive-attribute disclosure risk based upon the number of individuals affiliated with a sensitive value. We show that the two proposed disclosure measures generalize the well-known k-anonymity and l-diversity measures, respectively, and work for scenarios with either a single record or multiple records per person. We have developed an efficient computational procedure that integrates the two proposed measures and a data quality measure to anonymize the data with multiple records per person when sharing and releasing the data for research and analytics. The results of the experimental evaluation using real-world data demonstrate the advantage of the proposed approach over existing techniques for protecting privacy while preserving data quality.
Make Kids Stroke-Smart: A Community Based Interventional Study.

BACKGROUND Stroke is the third leading cause of death and the major cause of long-term disability in the United States. Timely recognition of symptoms is critical. Family members are crucial in recognizing stroke symptoms since <5% patients can call Emergency Medical Services themselves due to inability to speak or dial the phone. This might be of significance, especially, in family units where children have frequent contact with multiple generations. This study was undertaken to assess and improve the knowledge about stroke amongst children. METHODS A community-based interventional study was conducted among 305 kids ranging from second to eighth grade. A pre-test questionnaire was administered and later health education regarding stroke was imparted using audiovisual aids. Post-test was done to assess the impact of stroke education. Components of education included were: 1) What is stroke? 2) FAST mnemonic. 3) Time sensitive treatment. 4) Risk factors for stroke 5) How can they help? 6) Whom to call and where to go? The data was compiled and analyzed using Chi square test. RESULTS There was a significant lack of knowledge in the pretest groups. The post-test showed statistically significant improvement in all the tested components irrespective of age or grade (p<0.001). CONCLUSION Targeting the younger generation for stroke education is one way to improve community knowledge of stroke symptoms thus increasing the chances that the stroke patient may receive acute stroke therapy. Children can also be used as a conduit to transmit educational information to parents and other family members thus further raising awareness.
Aging behavior and strengthening mechanisms of coarsening resistant metastable θ' precipitates in an Al–Cu alloy

Abstract An Al–Cu alloy micro-alloyed with Mn and Zr (ACMZ) was examined to understand the thermal stability and strengthening mechanism of metastable θ'-Al2Cu precipitates with interfacial segregation after prolonged thermal exposure. The microstructure was characterized at multiple scales with techniques including synchrotron x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and atom probe tomography. The θ' precipitates did not exhibit measurable coarsening after thermal exposure at 300°C for 5000 h. Kinetic effects of Mn and Zr interfacial segregation, which dominate over thermodynamic effects under these conditions, were necessary to understand the complete inhibition of precipitate coarsening. The θ' phase fraction was stable during the 5000 h exposure. This stable phase fraction was regarded as the metastable equilibrium value and was smaller than that predicted by the θ' solvus line of the ACMZ alloy. As expected from the observed phase stability, the alloy hardness also remained stable during the 5000 h exposure. An Orowan mechanism alone was inadequate to explain θ' precipitate strengthening. Additional strengthening mechanisms by θ' precipitates specifically related to the transformation strain may explain the observed hardness values.
The Role of Echocardiography in Evaluation of Athletic Heart: A Scoping Study.

Echocardiography can be a useful tool to evaluate athlete's heart in various sports. In this scoping review, we discuss some of the structural and functional changes of the right ventricle across different echocardiographic modes and techniques among individuals engaging in extreme athletic activity. We highlight the role of imaging in the evaluation of athlete's heart and describe similarities and differences between echocardiographic and cardiac MRI features related to acute and chronic athletic activity. We will also review novel echocardiographic parameters including speckle tracking and strain/strain rate imaging. Overall, we aim to present common echocardiographic parameters in elite sports population in order to facilitate better interpretation of their interpretations that may not necessarily be a distinct digression from these common features.
Rosa Luxemburg in Mexico: On the Return of Primitive Accumulation:

Perhaps no concept has shaped discussions of capitalism and its contemporary transformations more than that of ongoing primitive accumulation. This paper examines, accounts for, and unpacks how pri...
Time-course RNASeq of Camponotus floridanus forager and nurse ant brains indicate links between plasticity in the biological clock and behavioral division of labor

Abstract Background Circadian clocks allow organisms to anticipate daily fluctuations in their environment by driving rhythms in physiology and behavior. Inter-organismal differences in daily rhythms, called chronotypes, exist and can shift with age. In ants, age, caste-related behavior and chronotype appear to be linked. “Around-the-clock” active nurse ants are usually younger and, with age, transition into rhythmically active foragers. Moreover, ants can shift between these behavioral castes depending on social context. We investigated how changes in daily gene expression could be contributing to such behavioral plasticity in Camponotus floridanus carpenter ants by combining time-course behavioral assays and RNA-Sequencing of forager and nurse brains. Results We found that nurse brains have three times fewer 24h oscillating genes than foragers. However, several hundred genes that oscillated every 24h in forager brains showed robust 8h oscillations in nurses, including the core clock genes Period and Shaggy. These differentially rhythmic genes consisted of several components of the circadian entrainment pathway, and showed enrichments for functions related to metabolism, cellular communication and protein modification. We additionally found that Vitellogenin, known to regulate division of labor in social insects, showed robust 24h oscillations in nurse brains but not in foragers. Furthermore, the protein products of several genes that were differentially expressed between the two ant castes were previously found in the trophallactic fluid of C. floridanus. This suggests a putative role for trophallaxis in regulating behavioral division of labor through caste-specific gene expression. Conclusion We provide a first look at the chronobiological differences in gene expression between forager and nurse ant brains. This endeavor allowed us to identify putative molecular mechanisms underlying plastic timekeeping. Several components of the ant circadian clock and its output can seemingly oscillate at different harmonics of the circadian rhythm. We propose that such chronobiological plasticity has evolved to allow for distinct regulatory networks that underlie behavioral castes, while supporting swift caste transitions in response to colony demands. Behavioral division of labor is common among social insects. The links between chronobiological and behavioral plasticity that we found in C. floridanus, thus, likely represent a more general phenomenon that warrants further investigation.
Predicting Eighth Grade Math Motivation Using School and National Context.

Student motivation predicts academic achievement, engagement, and related academic behaviors. Yet in spite of the importance of motivation for academic success, few studies have examined the school and national-level contextual characteristics associated with motivation. The present study uses hierarchical linear modeling to analyze a large international dataset of eighth grade students in 40 countries to assess the extent to which math motivation varies by individual, school, and country-level factors. Findings indicate that contextual variables predict student interest, self-efficacy, and utility value related to math. Student perceptions of school climate emerged as a strong and consistent predictor of math motivation, above and beyond demographics and achievement. The current study identifies characteristics of students at risk for poor motivation and emphasizes the need for school climate intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Unstructured Socializing With Peers and Delinquency: The Role of Mediation Through the Lens of Akers’ (1998) Social Structure Social Learning Theory of Crime and Deviance

In purview of Akers’ (1998) social structure and social learning (SSSL) theory of crime and deviance, this study explicates the varied processes by which unstructured socializing with peers influences deviance through variables of social learning theory as well as self-control. To examine the proposed processes, data were obtained from 1,354 adjudicated adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 from the juvenile and adult court systems in Maricopa County, Arizona and Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Through use of structural equation modeling, partial support was found for the relationship between unstructured socializing with peers and deviance being partially mediated by differential association, definitions, personal rewards of crime, as well as self-control. By better understanding the multifaceted ways adolescents who spend time in settings of unstructured socializing with friends engage in delinquency, society can better understand the leading factors among youth that occur through socialization resulting in delinquency.
Processing and Thermal Conductivity of Bulk Nanocrystalline Aluminum Nitride.

Producing bulk AlN with grain sizes in the nano regime and measuring its thermal conductivity is an important milestone in the development of materials for high energy optical applications. We present the synthesis and subsequent densification of nano-AlN powder to produce bulk nanocrystalline AlN. The nanopowder is synthesized by converting transition alumina (δ-Al2O3) with <40 nm grain size to AlN using a carbon free reduction/nitridation process. We consolidated the nano-AlN powder using current activated pressure assisted densification (CAPAD) and achieved a relative density of 98% at 1300 °C with average grain size, d¯~125 nm. By contrast, high quality commercially available AlN powder yields densities ~75% under the same CAPAD conditions. We used the 3-ω method to measure the thermal conductivity, κ of two nanocrystalline samples, 91% dense, d¯ = 110 nm and 99% dense, d¯ = 220 nm, respectively. The dense sample with 220 nm grains has a measured κ = 43 W/(m·K) at room temperature, which is relatively high for a nanocrystalline ceramic, but still low compared to single crystal and large grain sized polycrystalline AlN which can exceed 300 W/(m·K). The reduction in κ in both samples is understood as a combination of grain boundary scattering and porosity effects. We believe that these are finest d¯ reported in bulk dense AlN and is the first report of thermal conductivity for AlN with ≤220 nm grain size. The obtained κ values are higher than the vast majority of conventional optical materials, demonstrating the advantage of AlN for high-energy optical applications.
Comparing Post-Acute Populations and Care in Veterans Affairs and Community Nursing Homes

Abstract Objective The quality of care provided by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is increasingly being compared to community providers. The objective of this study was to compare the VA Community Living Centers (CLCs) to nursing homes in the community (NHs) in terms of characteristics of their post-acute populations and performance on 3 claims-based (“short-stay”) quality measures. Design Observational, cross-sectional. Setting and Participants CLC and NH residents admitted from hospitals during July 2015–June 2016. Methods CLC residents were compared with 3 NH populations: males, Veterans, and all NH residents. CLC and NH performance was compared on risk-adjusted claims-based measures: unplanned rehospitalizations and emergency department visits within 30 days of CLC or NH admission and successful discharge to the community within 100 days of NH admission. Results Veterans admitted from hospitals to CLCs (n = 23,839 Veterans/135 CLCs) were less physically impaired, less likely to have anxiety, congestive heart failure, hypertension, and dementia than Veterans (n = 241,177/14,818 NHs), males (n = 661,872/15,280 NHs), and all residents (n = 1,674,578/15,395 NHs) admitted to NHs from hospitals. Emergency department and successful discharge risk-adjusted rates of CLCs were statistically significantly better than those of NHs [mean (standard deviation): 8.3% (4.6%) and 67.7% (11.5%) in CLCs vs 11.9% (5.3%) and 57.0% (10.5%) in NHs, respectively]. CLCs had slightly worse rehospitalization rates [22.5% (6.2%) in CLCs vs 21.1% (5.9%) in NHs], but lower combined emergency department and rehospitalization rates [30.8% (0.8%) in CLCs vs 33.0% (0.7%) in NHs]. Conclusions and Implications CLCs and NHs serve different post-acute care populations. Using the same risk-adjusted NH quality metrics, CLCs provided better post-acute care than community NHs.
The Perception and Study of Rural Change in the Andes: The Inka Case

Archaeologists investigating social complexity often focus on traits that differentiate complex societies from the simpler organizational forms preceding them. Few approaches address the role of households or communities in the development and consolidation of complex polities. Those that do, notably hierarchy models, treat such constituent elements as unchanging and irrelevant to the operation of the system as a whole. An examination of the Inka empire indicates that imperial expansion both modified and was predicated upon the organization of conquered groups. This suggests that archaeologists must address both the structure and history of rural hinterlands in models of social complexity.
Pelvic floor disorders: linking genetic risk factors to biochemical changes

Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) may share a common pathophysiological process related to pelvic floor tissue laxity and loss of support. We reviewed recent literature on observed biochemical changes in women with SUI and POP, linking them to genetic predisposition. We found that studies of pelvic tissues showed differences between control subjects and women with POP and SUI in collagen and elastin structure at a molecular and fibrillar level. Studies were heterogeneous but showed a trend towards decreased collagen and elastin content. The contribution of matrix metalloproteinases to increased collagenolysis can be related to genetic polymorphisms present in higher frequency in women with PFD. Extracellular matrix (ECM) protein turnover plays a role in the development of POP and SUI, but much remains to be understood of this complex dynamic interplay of enzymes, proteins and molecules. Genotyping of candidate genes participating in ECM formation will elucidate the missing link between the manifestation of the disease and the biochemical changes observed systematically, in addition to those in the pelvic floor.
Technological Aspects of Extending Prime Quality of Seafood

Technologies to extend market lives of fresh fish have focused on the period when the product becomes unacceptable to the consumer. There is, however, a paucity of information on initial changes of fresh fish quality, i.e., on the prime or grade A market lives. Factors responsible for loss of prime fish quality, with emphasis on biochemical reactions, are discussed in this review. Technologies designed to extend the market life of fresh fish include partial freezing, ionizing radiation, modified atmospheres, and chemical treatments. With the possible exception of partial freezing, these methods do not extend the grade A market life of fresh fish products. In order to lengthen grade A market life of fresh fish it will be necessary for technologists to devise ways to control endogenous biochemical reactions that contribute to loss in prime quality.
Solidification point curves of binary acid mixtures

The solidification point diagrams of binary mixtures of tetracosanoic to triacontanoic acids have been presented along with a representative synthesis of one of the acids. The possibility of using these diagrams for the analysis of the wax acid mixtures has been discussed, but an attempt to separate the acids of Chinese insect wax by ester fractionation into binary mixtures proved unsuccessful.
Life history, latitudinal patterns, and status of the shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser brevirostrum

Historically, shortnose sturgeon inhabited most major rivers on the Atlantic coast of North America south of the Saint John River, Canada. Today, only 16 populations may remain. Major anthropogenic impacts on shortnose sturgeon are blockage of spawning runs by dams, harvest of adults (bycatch and poaching), dredging of fresh/saltwater riverine reaches, regulation of river flows, and pollution. The pattern of anadromy (adult use of salt water) varies with latitude. The pattern may reflect bioenergetic adaptations to latitudinal differences between fresh and salt water habitats for thermal and foraging suitability. The greater adult abundance in northern and north-central populations likely reflects a historical difference with southern populations that is currently accentuated by increased anthropogenic impacts on southern populations. Adult abundance is less than the minimum estimated viable population abundance of 1000 adults for 5 of 11 surveyed populations, and all natural southern populations. Across the latitudinal range, spawning adults typically travel to about river km 200 or farther upstream. Dams built downstream of spawning reaches block spawning runs, and can divide amphidromous populations into up- and downstream segments. Conservation efforts should correct environmental and harvest impacts, not stock cultured fish into wild populations.
Outcome in Infants Born to Mothers With Unexplained Elevations of Maternal Serum α-Fetoprotein

The outcome in infants without fetal neural tube defect born to mothers with elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein was studied. Elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein with normal amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein was found to be associated with an increased incidence of intrauterine growth retardation and nonneural tube congenital anomalies. There was no increased incidence of developmental disabilities in infants born to mothers with elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein. It is speculated that adverse events occurring early in gestation may simultaneously result in congenital anomalies and subsequently elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein, perhaps through disruption of the normal placental barrier between the fetal and maternal circulations.
Issues, Economics, and the Dynamics of Multiparty Elections: The British 1987 General Election

We offer a model of multiparty elections that combines voters' retrospective economic evaluations with consideration of parties' issue positions and the issue preferences of voters. We show that both policy issues and the state of the economy matter in British elections. In 1987 voters made a largely retrospective evaluation of the Conservatives based on economic performance; those who rejected the Conservative Party chose between Labour and Alliance based on issue positions. Through simulations we move the parties in the issue space and reestimate vote shares as well as hypothesize an alternative distribution of views on the economy, and we show that Labour had virtually no chance to win with a centrist party as a viable alternative. The predictions from our 1987 simulations are supported in an analysis of the 1992 British election. We argue for multinomial probit in studying three-party elections because it allows for a richer formulation of politics than do competing methods.
Newcomb’s Problem and Two Principles of Choice

Suppose a being in whose power to predict your choices you have enormous confidence. (One might tell a science-fiction story about a being from another planet, with an advanced technology and science, who you know to be friendly, etc.) You know that this being has often correctly predicted your choices in the past (and has never, so far as you know, made an incorrect prediction about your choices), and furthermore you know that this being has often correctly predicted the choices of other people, many of whom are similar to you, in the particular situation to be described below. One might tell a longer story, but all this leads you to believe that almost certainly this being’s prediction about your choice in the situation to be discussed will be correct.