cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Eyes wide shut: The curious silence of The law of peoples on questions of immigration and citizenship

r E s u m E n En un mundo independiente de identidades y membresias politicas superpuestas, los estados y ciudadanos democraticos enfrentan dificiles elecciones al momento de responder al fenomeno de la migracion a gran escala y a la cuestion sobre quien de be tener derecho a acceder a la ciu da ­ dania. En un influyente in ten to por establecer un marco norma tivo para un orden global mas jus to, El derecho de gentes, John Ra wls curiosamen­ te guarda silencio res pecto a que significado tendria este marco para las politicas de migra cion. En este articulo considero las complicaciones que causan la desatencion de Rawls en su vision mas amplia de la justicia global. Sin embargo, tambien intento mostrar como estos aspectos de la teoria de Rawls sur gen de una tension subyacente que confrontan todas las concepciones democraticas de justicia, en teoria y practica. En mi conclusion, esbozo una alternativa basada en las intuiciones del pluralis­ mo agnos tico que “rompen” el silencio rawl siano y teoriza activamente la legitimacion democratica de las fron teras politicas. p a l a b R a s c l a v e Inmigracion, migracion, cuidadania, El derecho de gentes. a b s t r a c t In an interdependent world of overlapping political memberships and identities, states and democratic citizens face difficult choices in respond­ ing to large­scale migration and the related question of who ought to have access to citizenship. In an influential attempt to provide a normative framework for a more just global order, The Law of Peoples, John Rawls is curiously silent regarding what his framework would mean for the politics of migration. In this piece, I consider the complications Rawls’s inattention to these issues creates for his broader vision of global justice. Yet I also attempt to show how these aspects of Rawls’s theory emerge from an underlying tension which confronts all liberal democratic con­ ceptions of justice, both in theory and in practice. In my conclusion, I sketch an alternative rooted in the insights of agonistic plu ralism, which “breaks” the Rawlsian silence and actively theorizes the democratic legitimation of political borders. k e y W o R d s
Twin-fiber interferometric method for measuring spatial coherence

A new method for measuring spatial coherence in which optical fibers replace the traditional slits in Young's experiment is developed. The beam is sampled by the fiber ends, and the phase difference that causes the fringes is introduced by translating one fiber along its long axis by a few wavelengths. The technique has several advantages over the slit method: The fibers can be moved to arbitrarily chosen points, as opposed to removing and replacing sets of slits, giving greater flexibility in measurement as well as easing alignment problems. This method also does not rely on diffraction, and therefore enables measurement of much dimmer beams and dimmer points on beams. One can take as many data points as desired, thus tracing the shape of the coherence function accurately, whereas with slits one is restricted to the number of slit sets available. Finally, one does not have to assume beam symmetry. Although the magnitude of the spatial coherence function is not accurately reproduced, this can be corrected for, and the ability to reproduce the shape of the beam remains a useful measurement tool. We report, in particular, measurements of spatial coherence of a single-stripe diode laser, as well as a HeNe laser.
Cognitive Abilities in Families with Reading Disabled Children

Psychometric test data were obtained from 125 reading disabled children, their parents and siblings, and the members of 125 matched control families (total N = 1,044). Principal component analysis of eight tests common to all age groups yielded three readily interpretable ability dimensions—reading, spatial/ reasoning, and coding/speed. Reading disabled children obtained significantly lower scores than control children on all three measures; however, the largest difference was for reading. Both siblings and parents of reading disabled children manifested deficits on the reading and coding/speed dimensions. With regard to the reading measure in siblings, a significant interaction between sex and family type indicated that brothers of reading disabled children were more affected than sisters. Sex differences for spatial/reasoning and coding/speed were significant for all three comparisons (reading disabled children versus controls, parents, and siblings). Males obtained higher spatial/reasoning scores than ...
Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty in octogenarians

Abstract Extensive data are available on the results of nonoperative coronary revascularization using percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in patients over the age of 65, 1–3 but few data are available in the subgroup of patients in their octogenarian years. We attempted to ascertain clinical data and results in patients older than 80 years of age undergoing PTCA in our hospital.
Purification and characterization of the inositol 1,4,5- trisphosphate receptor protein from rat vas deferens.

Among rat peripheral tissues examined, Ins(1,4,5)P3 receptor binding is highest in the vas deferens, with levels about 25% of those of the cerebellum. We have purified the InsP3 receptor binding protein from rat vas deferens membranes 600-fold. The purified protein displays a single 260 kDa band on SDS/PAGE, and the native protein has an apparent molecular mass of 1000 kDa, the same as in cerebellum. The inositol phosphate specificity, pH-dependence and influence of various reagents are the same for purified vas deferens and cerebellar receptors. Whereas particulate InsP3 binding in cerebellum is potently inhibited by Ca2+, particulate and purified vas deferens receptor binding of InsP3 is not influenced by Ca2+. Vas deferens appears to lack calmedin activity, but the InsP3 receptor is sensitive to Ca2+ inhibition conferred by brain calmedin. The vas deferens may prove to be a valuable tissue for characterizing functional aspects of InsP3 receptors.
Information and regulation in robots, perception and consciousness: Ashby's embodied minds

This article considers W. Ross Ashby's ideas on the nature of embodied minds, as articulated in the last five years of his career. In particular, it attempts to connect his ideas to later work by others in robotics, perception and consciousness. While it is difficult to measure his direct influence on this work, the conceptual links are deep. Moreover, Ashby provides a comprehensive view of the embodied mind, which connects these areas. It concludes that the contemporary fields of situated robotics, ecological perception, and the neural mechanisms of consciousness might all benefit from a reconsideration of Ashby's later writings.
Niche Construction and the Study of Culture Change in Anthropology: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract | Many North American anthropologists remain deeply suspicious of attempts to theorize the evolution of culture, given the legacy in our discipline of nineteenth-century stagist theories of cultural evolution that were shaped by scientific racism . In the late twentieth-century, some theorists tried to escape this legacy by using formal models drawn from neo-Darwinian population biology to reconceptualize cultural evolutionary processes, but these more recent approaches have been found unsatisfactory for reasons of their own. For example, gene-culture coevolution and the dual inheritance theory have limited appeal to many contemporary cultural anthropologists because these theories rely on definitions of culture, and assumptions about human individuals and social groups, that many cultural anthropologists no longer find persuasive . Niche construction, by contrast, appears more promising as a framework for connecting cultural change with biological and ecological change. Nevertheless, the innovative features of niche construction coexist uneasily alongside the same problematic features that limit the usefulness of gene-culture coevolution and dual inheritance theory in cultural anthropology . This article discusses anthropological concerns about niche construction theory, but also suggests ways in which some of them might be reduced if niche construction theory were to incorporate insights from developmental systems theory and actor network theory.
Revision of the Genus Psectrotarsia Dognin, 1907 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Heliothinae)

Based on characters of the male and female genitalia, the genus Erythroecia Hampson, 1910 is considered a new syn- onym of Psectrotarsia Dognin, 1907. Psectrotarsia contains five species: P. flava Dognin (type species); P. suavis (H. Edwards), new combination; P. hebardi (Skinner), new combination; P. euposis (Dyar), new combination and revised status; and P. rhodophora (Hampson), new combination. Each species is redescribed and illustrated. Copitarsia fuscirena (Hampson), new combination, and C. tamsi (Giacomelli), new combination, are transferred from Psectrotarsia to Copitarsia Hampson, 1906. Psectrotarsia ranges from the northeastern, midwestern, and southwestern United States to Guatemala.
GDP growth determinants and foreign direct investment causality: the case of Iran

Given the economic conditions in Iran and the need to accelerate its economic growth, there is a rising interest in examining the variables that fuel its GDP growth. The scant literature on economic growth in Iran is composed of only a few scholarly studies that investigate this nation's GDP growth. However, none of these studies has examined the causality between GDP growth and its determining elements. The purpose of this study is: (1) to determine the economic variables that contribute to Iran's GDP per capita growth over time, and (2) to examine the causality between foreign direct investment and the relevant variables that are included in the model. To achieve these goals the study uses a model that is based on the postulates of de Mello. The results indicate that: (1) the major determinants of GDP per capita growth in Iran are value added growth and domestic investment growth; (2) there is no causal relationship between foreign direct investment growth and GDP per capita growth in Iran in either dir...
A Low-Dissipation Second-Order Upwind Flux Formulation for Simulation of Complex Turbulent Flows

A numerical method is presented for low-dissipation, high-resolution finite-volume CFD simulations of turbulent flow. The convective fluxes in the governing equations are computed using a conventional upwind-biased second order scheme, with a modified linear reconstruction of face states from neighboring cells. The new scheme, dubbed optimization-based gradient reconstruction (OGRE), incorporates two key enhancements to improve performance. The first is an iterative least-square gradient computation procedure which minimizes the second-order dissipative error contribution to the face reconstruction on structured Cartesian meshes. The second is a slope limiting scheme which enforces local monotonicity near discontinuities without the detrimental effect of limiting in smooth regions of the flowfield. In addition, for density-based methods employing flux-difference splitting for the convective terms, a recently proposed weighted-average for obtaining the reconstructed face variable values is used, which improves accuracy in subsonic flow regions and eliminates the need for preconditioning. The new method has been implemented into the Ansys FLUENT and Loci-CHEM flow solvers, and is validated for several test cases by comparison to a conventional linear reconstruction implementation. Results clearly show the advantage of the new scheme over conventional upwind-biased second order schemes in terms of accuracy, particularly with regard to LES/DNS simulation. The most significant improvement is obtained for Cartesian meshes and low Mach number flows, but all test cases showed some level of improvement using the new scheme. The method is also quantified in terms of increased computational cost versus traditional methods. Based on results shown here, the method appears to represent a viable alternative to currently used centered and blended schemes in terms of accuracy, robustness, and computational expense.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Market Share Liability: A New Doctrine of Causation in Product Liability

The recent decision in Sindell v. Abbott Laboratories et al. established a new doctrine of causation in product liability, “market share liability.” Under this doctrine the manufacturers of the dru...
Investigation of Freezing Temperatures of National Bureau of Standards Aluminum Standards.

The design of a high-precision furnace for investigating the freezing points of metals up to 700 °C or higher is described. The freezing points of aluminum samples of nominally 99.999 percent purity from two batches were compared in terms of the ratio R(Al)/R(TP), the ratio of the resistance of the platinum resistance thermometer at the aluminum freezing point to that at the triple point of water. The average standard deviation of measurements of the ratio R(Al)/R(TP) obtained on six specimens corresponds to ±0.40 mK, while the average standard deviations of R(Al) and R(TP) correspond to ±0.17 mK and ±0.14 mK, respectively. (The variations in the measurements of R(TP) are amplified by 3.4 in the ratio R(Al)/R(TP).) The spread of the mean R(Al)/R(TP) obtained for five out of the six specimens corresponds to 0.51 mK; the deviation of the mean R(Al)/R(TP) of the sixth specimen from the mean R(Al)/R(TP) of the five specimens corresponds to -1.31 mK. (The sixth specimen may have been contaminated during the assembly of the freezing-point cell or the original sample bar was inhomogeneous.) The results show that aluminum can provide a freezing point (near 660 °C) that is at least as reproducible as the freezing point of antimony (near 631 °C).
Circuitos visuales: una colecciÓn de estrategias para ahorrar tiempo

Introduction. The visual pathways in our brain perform a practically impossible task: they are able to identify objects in tenths of a second in spite of having to process millions of data items. Studies being conducted in basic Neuroscience are beginning to discover 'the tricks 'that make this process possible. Method. These studies are based on two main pillars. First, we have an increasingly more detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the visual pathway. Second, the analyses of the receptive fields of the visual cells are becoming more and more sophisticated (each cell in the visual pathway responds to specific stimuli located within a tiny area ofthe space we call receptive field). Recent studies, including those conducted in my own laboratory, are beginning to reveal the pathways that give rise to different types of receptive fields and their possible function. Conclusion. The study of the different types of receptive fields provides us with important lessons about how images are processed. This paper offers a brief review of the current concepts that attempt to explain why such a complex task as sight gives the impression of being so simple.
Macromolecular Prodrugs of Small Molecules

In this chapter the term “macromolecular prodrug” will refer to a type of therapeutic agent in which multiple pharmacologically active small molecules (drugs) are covalently, yet reversibly, linked to a macromolecular polymer (promoiety). The versatile nature of these polymers allows them to address several problems. First, the increased time needed for polymer-drug cleavage imparts an inherent sustained release capability to macromolecular prodrugs, providing increased plasma half-life and more consistent administration; this may decrease the spikes in blood levels that contribute to toxicity in many pharmaceutical agents (Larsen and Johansen, 1989). Second, the preferential degradation of certain polymers in the colon has led some researchers to use this strategy for colon targeted delivery (Larsen et al., 1989; McLeod et al., 1993). Third, the high aqueous solubility of many of these polymers may help solve solubility problems associated with a parent drug. Fourth, tumor targeting with macromolecular prodrugs is a promising area due to the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) phenomena of macromolecules in tumors (Maeda and Matsumura, 1989).
Peak-Don Region

This region, much the smallest of all the regions in extent, was also at the beginning of the period the smallest of them in population. By 1911, however, it contained a larger population than three other regions ; such was the rapidity of its development. The growth did not take place on the western side — towards the High Peak in Derbyshire — but further east, in Sheffield, the city of the region, and in the coalfields of the Don Valley.
Foster Parents’ Nutritional Strategies and Children’s Well-Being

Among their many responsibilities, foster parents are tasked with providing healthy food and proper nutrition to children with a variety of physical, psychological, and emotional needs. Using the lens of symbolic interactionism, this exploratory mixed methods study examined how foster parents attend to the nutritional needs of abused and neglected children. Methods used included both quantitative surveys and qualitative follow-up interviews. Surveys were completed by 23 foster parents in a large, Midwest metropolitan area. Parents reported they provided their children balanced meals, although one-third of households reported instances of food insecurity. During qualitative interviews, foster parents (N = 9) described how children arrived at their home with a variety of unhealthy eating habits, some severe in nature. Parents discussed strategies used to modify and improve eating patterns, including offering healthy food choices, having children plan meals, and gathering as a family for daily dinners. In general, parents understood the link between unhealthy eating and past childhood trauma, but also reported being unprepared for more serious eating problems like hoarding. Findings indicate that foster parents need food assistance to increase food security as well as training in assessing and responding a variety of unhealthy child eating behaviors.
Social capital and relationship maintenance: uses of social media among the South Asian Diaspora in the U.S.

This study uses the framework of bridging and bonding social capital to explore how South Asian immigrants to the U.S. negotiate relationships amongst three social groups: their ties in their home ...
Through the Lens of Accountability Analyzing Legitimacy in Environmental Governance

Environmental governance implies creation of novel interdependencies among actors and actions, and this innovation and diversity presents challenges. One of these challenges is the maintenance of l...
Gearbox fault diagnosis using vibration and current information fusion

This paper proposes a novel vibration and current information fusion-based fault diagnostic method for drivetrain gearboxes. First, two multiclass support vector machines (SVMs) are designed to output the probabilities of different fault (or health condition) classes according to the input features extracted from a vibration signal and a current signal collected from the condition monitoring system, respectively. The Dempster-Shafer (D-S) theory is then applied to fuse the probabilistic outputs of two SVMs to get the final fault diagnostic result. Experiments are conducted for a gearbox with different types of fault, where a gearbox vibration signal and a generator current signal are collected to prove the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results show that the proposed method is more robust and reliable than the traditional methods of using a single sensor or a single type of sensor for gearbox fault diagnosis.
Application of auto-catalytic metallization as a sustainable technique for planar inductor fabrication

Onboard passive components are very popular in electrical and electronics manufacturing technologies. Methods of printed circuit board manufacturing, used for making passive onboard devices such as inductors, have been unchanged for decades. Current PCB technology uses subtractive processes which involve acids and solvents which produce significant toxic waste in creating the metallic layers. In this paper auto-catalytic metallization is studied as the best candidate to replace the old process. Inductors designs were fabricated and measured. Similar inductors were made by high-resolution inkjet printers using silver nanoparticles. Comparison of these two methods showed lower resistivity of conductors and significant improvement in the quality of inductors fabricated using autocatalytic method. This new method is additive and eliminates the use of hazardous chemicals such as acids and solvents during the fabrication process. It also reduces the number of fabricating steps and improves the fabrication speed.
Control of an Inverted Pendulum Using Direct Model Reference Adaptive Control

Abstract This paper presents the design of a robust direct model reference adaptive control (DMRAC) algorithm with focus on the satisfaction of an almost strictly positive real (ASPR) condition over the maximal range of parameter variations of the plant, and its application to an inverted pendulum. To alleviate the ASPR condition, the pendulum is augmented with a feedforward compensator optimized for robustness. A DMRAC algorithm ensuring asymptotic model following is then integrated with the feedforward compensator design. These new experimental results validate the algorithm's use and applicability to the control of an inverted pendulum with a variety of parameter uncertainties.
Dementia Care: An Evidence-Based Approach

Dementia Care: An Evidence-Based Approach is divided into four sections that focus on Dementia prevention, detection and early support; Clinical management of dementia; Toward person-centered commu...
Environmental or Nasal Cannula Supplemental Oxygen for Preterm Infants: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial.

Objective To test the hypothesis that environmental compared with nasal cannula oxygen decreases episodes of intermittent hypoxemia (oxygen saturations Study design This was a single center randomized crossover trial with a 1:1 parallel allocation to order of testing. Preterm infants on supplemental oxygen via oxygen environment maintained by a servo-controlled system or nasal cannula with flow rates ≤1.0 L per kg per minute were crossed over every 24 hours for 96 hours. Data were collected electronically to capture real time numeric and waveform data from patient monitors. Results Twenty-five infants with gestational age of 27 ± 2 weeks (mean ± SD) and a birth weight of 933 ± 328 g were studied at postnatal day 36 ± 26. The number of episodes of intermittent hypoxemia per 24 hours was 117 ± 77 (median, 98; range, 4-335) with oxygen environment vs 130 ± 63 (median, 136; range, 16-252) with nasal cannula (P = .002). Infants on oxygen environment compared with nasal cannula also had decreased episodes of severe intermittent hypoxemia (P = .005). Infants on oxygen environment compared with nasal cannula had a lower proportion of time with oxygen saturations Conclusions In preterm infants receiving supplemental oxygen, servo-controlled oxygen environment decreases hypoxemia compared with nasal cannula. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov : NCT02794662 .
Cardiovascular Disease in Osteogenesis Imperfecta

There is an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), though its exact prevalence is not known. Because type I collagens are widely present in cardiac valves, ventricles, and vasculature, clinicians should be wary of associated conditions. These include valve insufficiency, heart failure, aortic aneurysm, and arterial dissection. Murine models with Col1a1 and Col1a2 mutations help to identify the cardiovascular manifestations that are predicted to occur in pelople with OI. Human population studies are also informative, but longitudinal studies are inherently limited by relatively small numbers. The pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases in OI is poorly understood, but similar phenotypic features in other heritable disorders of connective tissue suggest that extracellular collagens may regulate growth factor signaling. Surgery for severe cardiovascular complications in OI should be considered in the context of associated risks, such as difficulties with airway access, bone fracture, poor wound healing, fragile capillaries, and platelet dysfunction.
The Shape of Diffraction Peaks — X-ray Line Broadening

During processing, the shape of a diffraction peak can change (as well as shift) and this is called “X-ray Line Broadening”. This broadening can be an important signature. For example, as shown in Fig. 8.1 (from [1]), for peened soft steels this can be even more important in controlling fatigue life than the induced stress. For a well-annealed sample, the peak shape depends on the size of the source, finite divergences of the slits at the x-ray tube and the receiving slits, the range of wavelengths in the beam, and the fact that in a diffractometer a flat specimen is only tangent to the focusing circle at one point.1 As a soft sample is deformed, there are local strains due to the strain fields from dislocations and dislocation arrays. The material is broken into regions with slight tilts with respect to one another due to these arrays, subgrain boundaries, etc. Constructive interference occurs only within each such region, and the peak (from such a region) is larger in angular extent the smaller is such a region. This is so because when the region is small there are not as many planes to cause destructive interference away from the exact Bragg angle. To see this more clearly we adopt a treatment by Cullity [2].
Monroe Freedman's Solution to the Criminal Defense Lawyer's Trilemma Is Wrong as a Matter of Policy and Constitutional Law

Monroe Freedman has argued, most recently in the third edition of Understanding Lawyers’ Ethics, co-authored with Abbe Smith, that criminal defense lawyers have a “trilemma” because the rules of their profession give them potentially contradictory instructions. First, competence requires lawyers to seek all information that can aid a client’s matter. Second, lawyers have a duty of confidentiality that generally forbids them to use a client’s information except for the client’s benefit. Third, lawyers have a duty of candor to the court that may require them to reveal a client’s confidential information in order to prevent or correct fraud on the court (which perjury would be). Freedman believes that these three obligations cannot always co-exist, and that is certainly true. Sometimes, a lawyer will have to sacrifice one obligation to fulfill another obligation. This trilemma is not limited to criminal defense lawyers, but Understanding Lawyers’ Ethics addresses only the criminal defense lawyer. Freedman argues that where the lawyer is defending a person accused of a crime, the ethics rules should subordinate the third obligation, candor to the court, to the other two obligations. The upshot is that if a defense lawyer cannot dissuade a client from giving false testimony and cannot avoid aiding the perjury by
Health Services in the United States: Groping Toward a “System”?

There is no U.S. “health services system”, in the formal sense of the term, and very little formal coordination between the many fragments, public or private, of this huge and vital industry, which now accounts for nearly 10 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP) and is estimated to cost about $275 billion in 1982.1/ In some important respects, there is even less coordination today — under the antigovernment, pro-competition policies advanced by the Reagan Administration — than there was five years ago. However, this does not mean that the multitudinous programs, agencies, instititions, and individual practitioners are totally lacking in cooperative arrangements, coordination, or other “meaningful relationships”. On the contrary, there is widespread, albeit inconsistent, evidence of increasing coordination, consolidation, and even mergers between and among various institutions and programs.
Analytical description of charged grain boundary recombination in polycrystalline thin film solar cells

We present analytic expressions for the dark current-voltage relation of a pm+ junction with a positively charged columnar grain boundary, containing a distribution of defect states in the band gap. A closed form relation for the open-circuit voltage V∞ is provided for an illuminated junction. These findings are verified by direct comparison with numerical simulations, and provide a quantitative understanding of the reduction of V∞ by grain boundaries in thin film photovoltaic materials.
A regularized deconvolution method for turbulent closure modeling in implicitly filtered large-eddy simulation

Abstract Turbulence closure models that are based on a regularized deconvolution method (RDM) are proposed for application to implicitly filtered Large-Eddy Simulation (LES). This method reconstructs sub-grid scale contributions by approximately recovering filtered quantities through an optimization approach. Physical principles on the boundedness and conservation of reconstructed quantities are preserved by constraining the optimization problem. To account for effects of scales that are not resolved in implicitly filtered LES, a reconstruction method is proposed that combines sub-grid projection and energy-similarity to enrich unresolved scales. With this method, closure models are developed for turbulent scalar fluxes and turbulence–chemistry interaction that are intrinsically consistent with the LES formulation. These closure models are evaluated in application to a piloted turbulent jet flame with inhomogeneous inlet composition, in which combustion is represented by a two-scalar manifold model. The RDM-formulation is benchmarked against simulations obtained using a presumed PDF method and eddy diffusivity closure model. In partially-premixed flame regions, it is observed that RDM improves the prediction of turbulent mixing, and faster grid convergence is observed for results with RDM compared to simulations employing a presumed PDF method.
Early Detection Of Prostate Cancer Among Black And White In San Bernardino

The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes toward prostate cancer, screening practices and deterrents to early detection and treatment among Black and White men 40 years and older residing in San Bernardino and Riverside, California. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire developed and pre-tested among similar participants in the study. Two hundred and fourteen men participated in the study, of which 75% were Black and 25% White. The majority (53%) was between the ages of 40-50 years, and 74% were married. The study found that there was very little difference in socioeconomic status between Whites and Blacks. Most (34%) had a college degree, but more Whites (92%) had a personal family physician than Blacks (77%), and slightly more Whites (62%) than Blacks (57%) said that prostate screening was done regularly. Findings from this study should aid in the design and development of culturally appropriate programs that will detect prostate cancer in this population at an earlier stage when treatment is more successful.
Abstract 1125: Secretory pathway calcium ATPase-2 (SPCA2) regulates metastasis by suppressing mesenchymal markers in triple negative breast cancer cell lines

Introduction: Over 90% of cancer deaths in breast cancer are associated with metastasis. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is the hallmark of metastasis. Dysregulation of the Ca2+ toolkit has profound consequences for tumor growth and metastasis, raising hopes for novel avenues of therapeutic intervention. The Secretory Pathway Ca2+-ATPase Isoform 2 (SPCA2) transports Ca2+ from cytoplasm to the Golgi, and elicits Ca2+ influx by interacting with plasma membrane Ca2+ channels. Previously, we showed that SPCA2 is implicated in breast cancer progression (Feng et al., Cell 2010). Furthermore, low SPCA2 expression is associated with triple negative breast cancers (TNBC), which are highly metastatic. Therefore, we investigated if ectopic expression of SPCA2 modulates EMT in TNBC cell lines. Methods: TCGA invasive breast carcinoma project datasets were accessed through cBioPortal. Gene expression was determined by qPCR and protein expression by Immunoblotting and confocal microscopy. Live cell calcium imaging was performed using Fura-2 AM dye. NSG mice were used for in vivo studies. Results: Low SPCA2 expression was associated with poor survival in TNBC patients (n=255, P Conclusion: These novel findings point to a causal link between low SPCA2 levels, poor prognosis, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition required for breast cancer metastasis. Restoration of SPCA2 expression in TNBC by HDAC inhibitors may have therapeutic potential. Citation Format: Monish Ram Makena, Donna K. Dang, Myungjun Ko, Manuj Bandral, Rajini Rao. Secretory pathway calcium ATPase-2 (SPCA2) regulates metastasis by suppressing mesenchymal markers in triple negative breast cancer cell lines [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1125.
Structures of SF3b1 reveal a dynamic Achilles heel of spliceosome assembly: Implications for cancer-associated abnormalities and drug discovery

The pre-mRNA splicing factor SF3b1 exhibits recurrent mutations among hematologic malignancies and cancers, and consequently is a major therapeutic target of clinically-advanced spliceosome inhibitors. In this review, we highlight and rigorously analyze emerging views of SF3b1 conformational transitions, including the human SF3b particle either in isolation or bound to spliceosome inhibitors, and human or yeast spliceosome assemblies. Among spliceosome states characterized to date, an SF3b1 α-helical superhelix significantly closes to surround a U2 small nuclear RNA duplex with the pre-mRNA branch point sequence. The SF3b1 torus is locally unwound at an active site adenosine, whereas protein cofactors appear to stabilize overall closure in the spliceosome. Network analyses demonstrates that the natural SF3b1 dynamics mimic its conformational change in the spliceosome, raising the possibility of conformational selection underpinning spliceosome assembly. These dynamic SF3b1 conformations have consequences for gatekeeping of spliceosome assembly and therapeutic targeting of its cancer-associated dysfunction.
Fossil Capital: The Rise of Steam Power and the Roots of Global Warming by Andreas Malm

Andreas Malm begins his book by noting that ‘ours is, if anything, an epoch of diachronicity’ (p. 8). This theme – diachronicity – permeates his text, and is reflected in his constant emphasis on t...
Tackling Elevated Risk in PAD: Focus on Antithrombotic and Lipid Therapy for PAD

The PAD population is at increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and major adverse limb events (MALE). Risk factor modification, symptom control, antithrombotic, and lipid therapies are the mainstays of PAD medical therapy. Recent data has challenged prior recommendations regarding the optimal secondary prevention strategies in PAD. To review clinical evidence from large randomized controlled trials showing the benefit of antithrombotic and lipid therapy in the PAD population. The COMPASS trial challenged prior recommendations regarding anticoagulation in PAD. Among the PAD subgroup, rivaroxaban 2.5 mg plus aspirin reduced MACE (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.57–0.90, p = 0.0047), MALE (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.35–0.82, p = 0.0037), and major amputation (HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.11–0.80, p = 0.011) compared with aspirin monotherapy. The THEMIS trial showed a 55% risk reduction for MALE with ticagrelor DAPT compared with aspirin monotherapy (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.23–0.86). The FOURIER trial revealed that lowering LDL cholesterol below current targets with a PCSK9 inhibitor reduced MACE (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.59–0.91, p = 0.0040) and MALE (HR 0.43, 95% CI 0.19–0.99, p = 0.042) in subjects with symptomatic PAD. Recent high-quality evidence shows the benefit of antiplatelet therapy, anticoagulation therapy, and lipid therapy in reducing MACE and MALE in PAD. Despite these findings, implementation remains a challenge and focus should now shift towards adopting evidence-based recommendations in clinical practice.
Managing Antral Wall Discontinuities in Sinus Elevation Surgery.

Introduction Schneiderian membrane perforation (SMP), which is usually readily manageable, is the most common intraoperative complication of sinus elevation surgery. Some evidence suggests that SMP is associated with increased risk for postoperative complications, including maxillary sinusitis. Antral wall discontinuity (AWD) is an acquired condition that may increase SMP likelihood and lead to larger, less-manageable perforations. Case presentation A generally healthy patient receiving sinus elevation surgery exhibited an AWD in the palatine process of the maxilla. The osseous defect was isolated intraoperatively, and the Schneiderian membrane was sharply dissected from the palatal connective tissue. Favorable augmentation of the maxillary sinus was noted on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) assessment at postoperative month 34. Conclusions AWD (fusion of the Schneiderian membrane with the periosteum of the maxilla) is a condition identifiable on preoperative CBCT images, which may increase the incidence and severity of SMP during sinus elevation procedures. Careful assessment for integrity of antral osseous walls before surgery is essential. Presence of AWD may obligate modifications to the surgical plan, or in some cases, contraindicate sinus elevation surgery.
At Speed Testing Challenges and Solutions for 56Gbps and 112Gbps PAM4 SerDes

Margining Test with either internal or external loopback has become a popular Design for Test (DfT) feature in high-speed SerDes. These SerDes DfT-derived results are becoming more unreliable because SerDes devices are pushing the limits of process variability. In addition, implementing DfT at the high-speed side of a device introduces the age-old problem of performance degradation due to the added circuitry. Given that many of these devices have very little performance margin, it is problematic to cause even a small reduction in performance. This is becoming more apparent with new Ethernet SerDes pushing the 100Gbps data rate. As with most new technology, more efficient and targeted DfT and BIST will emerge once the failure mechanisms and process dependencies of the devices are better known. For now, functional and parametric testing for these SerDes is generally required to make end-users comfortable that these devices are performing to spec and relying on off chip features implementation. Additionally, new DfT techniques and new metrics are being introduced to ensure manufacturing of these products.
A framework for assessing glaucoma progression using structural and functional indices jointly.

Purpose While many tests and indices are available to identify glaucoma progression, using them in combinations may decrease overall specificity. The aim of this study was to develop a framework for assessing glaucoma progression using structural and functional indices jointly for a fixed specificity. Methods The study included 337 eyes of 207 patients with ocular hypertension or primary open-angle glaucoma selected from the Diagnostic Innovations in Glaucoma Study or the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study. All patients had at least 9 visits. Each visit had retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and mean sensitivity from static automated perimetry (SAP MS) measured within a one-month window. Simple linear regression was applied to assess deterioration in each index for series of 5 to 9 visits. To identify progression using the two indices jointly, marginal significance levels set at a specificity of 95% were derived for two criteria: ANY (worsening on either RNFLT or SAP MS) and ALL (worsening on both RNFLT and SAP MS). Positive rate (percentage of eyes flagged as progressing) was determined individually for each index, as well as for the ANY and ALL criteria. Results Compared to SAP MS, RNFLT had higher positive rates (15% to 45%) for all series lengths. For the joint analyses, the positive rate was on average 12% higher for the ANY criterion compared to the ALL criterion. While RNFLT-alone had comparable positive rates and time-to-detection as the ANY criterion, each uniquely identified a subset of eyes (Kappa = 0.55 to 0.75). Conclusions This study provides a simple framework for assessing glaucoma progression with data from two tests jointly, without compromising specificity. This framework can be extended to include two or more parameters, can accommodate global or regional indices, and can eventually be used with novel parameters identified as predictive of glaucoma progression.
The Effects of News Site Design on Engagement and Learning

Several news websites have adopted a homepage design that emphasizes the reduction of visual clutter and the limiting of prominence cues. We examine how site design affects news engagement and what...
Altered Mobility and Accumulation of Inefficient Workers in Juvenile Hybrid Termite Colonies

Hybridization of two different species is an important mechanism to have gene flows between species. Recently, mating of two economically important invasive species of subterranean termites (Coptotermes formosanus and Coptotermes gestroi) have been observed in the field and hybrids colonies have been established in the laboratory. It was previously reported that incipient colonies (~1yr old) of hybrid Coptotermes species contained more termites than colonies of parental species, showing hybrid vigor. In this study, colony vigor and individual termite vigor were investigated in juvenile colonies (~2yr old), using colony growth parameters and the movement activity of individual termites as proxies for the evaluation of hybrid vigor beyond the initial colony foundation. After two years from colony foundations, hybrid colonies showed no more hybrid vigor. In addition, movement activity of termites in hybrid colonies was significantly slower than in termites from conspecific colonies. It is suggested that a reduction in the molting rates of individuals in hybrid colonies may have a negative impact on their physiology and their movement activity. These possible changes in physiology may affect the movement of individuals, and accumulation of these inefficient termites in hybrid colonies may contribute to the loss of hybrid vigor at two years of age in hybrid colonies.
Tumors of the Central Nervous System

Central nervous system (CNS) tumors are the most common solid tumors in childhood. For example, there are approximately 2500 brain tumors diagnosed in children each year in the United States. The incidence of reported pediatric brain tumors has gradually increased by 1.37% annually over the past few decades. Recent advances in diagnostic capabilities, aggressive surgical techniques, and multimodal therapy, including radiation and/or chemotherapy, have led to improved cures rates for some tumors with no change in outcomes for other tumors.
Two-Tiered Political Entrepreneurship and the Congressional Committee System

Theories of political entrepreneurship usually focus on the construction of coalitions necessary to change policy. We argue that political entrepreneurs who are unable to secure favored policies may redirect their efforts to a “higher tier,” attempting to change the rules of the game to enable the exploitation of future political profit opportunities. We present a taxonomy of three levels of political rules—pre-constitutional, constitutional, and post-constitutional—and identify the salient characteristics of institutional entrepreneurship that targets rules at each level. The development of the congressional committee system is explored as a case study in entrepreneurship over post-constitutional rules.
Evaluation of Dual-port versus Single-port Tissue Expanders in Postmastectomy Breast Reconstruction.

Background Immediate tissue expander placement in postmastectomy breast reconstruction can be complicated by seroma or infection, requiring further imaging studies or interventions. This study compares dual-port tissue expanders, with both an aspiration and expansion port, with single-port expanders in terms of postoperative complications and further interventions. Methods Patients with immediate tissue expander placement from March 2019 to March 2020 were reviewed. Complications included seroma, infection, hematoma, necrosis, and malposition of the expander. Further intervention included aspiration, ultrasound imaging, interventional radiology (IR) drainage, or return to operating room. Results In total, 128 dual-port expanders were compared with 125 single-port expanders. Patients with single-port expanders were younger (P = 0.022) and of lower BMI (P = 0.01). There were no significant differences in key complications between these groups. In multivariate analysis, single-port expanders had a 3.4× higher odds of postoperative ultrasound imaging when controlling for texture, placement, and age (P = 0.01). Mean time to IR drain placement in the dual-port group was approximately 30 days after placement in single port (51.1 versus 21.4 days, P = 0.013). Thirty-four percent of dual-port expanders had at least one aspiration in clinic performed by plastic surgery, versus 2% of single port that required ultrasound-guided aspiration (P < 0.001). Conclusions There were no differences in key postoperative complications between the two expander cohorts. Dual-port expanders significantly reduced postoperative ultrasound imaging, and delayed IR drain placement. The added convenience of clinic aspirations likely reduced costs related to utilization of resources from other departments.
Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Autonomic Failure

Publisher Summary Autonomic nervous system (ANS), sleep, and breathing are closely interrelated. Sleep has profound effects on the functions of the ANS and the control of breathing. Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), including sleep apnea, has been described in many patients with autonomic failure (AF). AF can be primary or secondary to a variety of central or peripheral neurologic or other medical disorders and familial dysautonomia. The best known condition with primary AF is multiple system atrophy (MSA) with progressive AF. First and foremost in the diagnosis of AF is the clinical manifestation of dysautonomia followed by autonomic function tests. For secondary AF, appropriate tests to establish the primary cause should be performed. Only symptomatic measures for sleep apnea or other respiratory arrhythmias and treatment of the primary condition causing secondary AF are available. Tracheostomy remains the only effective emergency treatment for severe respiratory dysfunction in patients with laryngeal stridor caused by laryngeal abductor paralysis and in patients who have been resuscitated from respiratory arrest. However, the decision to perform tracheostomy in a progressive neurodegenerative disease with AF with an overall unfavorable prognosis must be carefully weighed before pursuing this therapy.