cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Head Impact Biomechanics in Sport

Head impacts in sport are analyzed, including 1) concussive impacts in professional football simulated in laboratory tests to determine injury mechanisms 2) neck compression forces with head down impacts by striking players and 3) straight punches to the frangible face of the Hybrid III dummy by US Olympic boxers to determine punch force and head dynamics. Concussed NFL players experienced impacts at 9.3 ± 1.9 m/s velocity with 7.2 ± 1.8 m/s head ΔV. Peak acceleration was 98 ± 28 g over 15 ms. Concussion correlated with translational acceleration. The nominal tolerance for concussion was HIC=250. Impact force was 7191 ± 2352 N with 56.1 ± 22.1 g head acceleration in the striking player and 4221 ± 1885 N neck compression force. Nij was greater than tolerance in 1/3rd of the striking players who had neck compression force of 6614 ± 1006 N and Nij of 1.37 ± 0.25. In boxing, the punch force was 3427 ± 811 N, hand velocity 9.14 ± 2.06 m/s and effective punch mass 2.9 ± 2.0 kg. Punch force was higher for the heavier weight classes, due primarily to a greater effective punch mass. Jaw load was 876 ± 288 N and translational acceleration 58 ± 13 g. In the NFL, concussion occurs with considerable impact velocity and head ΔV due to translational acceleration. Olympic boxers deliver straight punches with similar impact velocity, but the punch mass is much lower, so the head ΔV is considerably less than in football concussions. The role of rotational acceleration in concussion is unclear from these studies. Helmets and padding need to reduce HIC to lower the risk of concussion. Neck compression forces often exceed Nij tolerances in professional football. This sports-related biomechanics data is relevant to impact conditions in automotive crashes and the assessment of safety systems.
Risperidone induced amenorrhea and galactorrhea in a case of an adolescent patient

Galactorrhea and amenorrhea are known risks of risperidone, given risperidone’s blockade of dopamine D2 receptors and subsequent risk of prolactin elevation, and this paper presents the case of an ...
Neural Correlates of Morphology Acquisition through a Statistical Learning Paradigm.

The neural basis of statistical learning as it occurs over time was explored with stimuli drawn from a natural language (Russian nouns). The input reflected the “rules” for marking categories of gendered nouns, without making participants explicitly aware of the nature of what they were to learn. Participants were scanned while listening to a series of gender-marked nouns during four sequential scans, and were tested for their learning immediately after each scan. Although participants were not told the nature of the learning task, they exhibited learning after their initial exposure to the stimuli. Independent component analysis (ICA) of the brain data revealed five task-related sub-networks. Unlike prior statistical learning studies of word segmentation, this morphological learning task robustly activated the inferior frontal gyrus during the learning period. This region was represented in multiple ICs, suggesting it functions as a network hub for this type of learning. Moreover, the results suggest that subnetworks activated by statistical learning are driven by the nature of the input, rather than reflecting a general statistical learning system.
On J M Keynes's Original Contributions to Decision Making Under Uncertainty: Indeterminate, Interval Valued Probabilities in Part II of the a Treatise on Probability and Imprecise, Interval Valued Probabilities in Part V of the a Treatise on Probability

All of the logical, statistical and mathematical foundations for Keynes’s work on uncertainty in the General Theory and his 1937 Quarterly Journal of Economics reply article can be found in Parts II and V of Keynes’s A Treatise on Probability. Keynes, building on the original, mathematically developed, logical theory of probability first put forth by George Boole in his The Laws of Thought in 1854, demonstrated how to construct upper and lower probabilities that would define an interval valued probability. Keynes dealt with indeterminate probabilities first. Indeterminate probabilities are interval valued probabilities where the range between the upper and lower bounds or limits will not diminish as new additional data or evidence is examined because there will always be important relevant evidence that will never be attained and is permanently missing or unavailable when a decision or assessment must be made. The great American mathematician, Edwin Bidwell Wilson, acknowledged this begrudgingly in 1934 in his JASA article titled, “A Problem of Boole’s.” Keynes also developed the first approach to “Safety First” by showing how to use Chebyshev’s Inequality to provide a lower bound or limit. This imprecise lower bound or limit would be based on the initial, small amount of data or information that was available to the decision maker at the start of his assessment of a problem. However, over time, as more and more relevant data and information became available, the decision maker would be able to make use of more accurate and reliable statistical methods related to the Normal distribution. The Normal distribution estimate would then serve as an upper bound. The range between the lower and upper bounds would then diminish as larger and larger samples were used. Eventually, a precise probability estimate would result. The lower bound would be relevant at the initial stages of a estimation process. Keynes’s views on imprecise probability estimates, in cases where significant, additional data and information can be obtained over time and a decision to act can be postponed indefinitely, imply that eventually a precise probability would be able to be calculated that was stable. When Keynes defined uncertainty to be an inverse function of the weight of the evidence, he automatically supported his GT with a foundation consisting of the mathematical and logical analysis contained in Parts II and V of the TP on indeterminate probabilities, imprecise probabilities, the weight of the evidence, and the conventional coefficient of weight and risk. Unfortunately, 81 years after Keynes wrote the GT and 96 years after Keynes published his TP, economists are still unable to read Parts II and V of the TP. Economists, like the French mathematician, Emile Borel, and the American mathematician, Edwin Wilson, found that Parts II and V of the TP were just too overwhelming for them.
Usefulness of the carbon-13 tracer technique for characterizing terrestrial carbon pools.

Application of the carbon-13 (13C) tracer technique to soil organic carbon emission is relatively new to many researchers and only a few results have been reported to date. This mini-review paper cites some well-documented research in organic carbon pool studies using the 13C tracer technique. The 13C abundance in soil usually remains at a stable level under a set of natural conditions. Variations in 13C reflect different sources and types of organic components from natural environments. An important feature of 13C discrimination in the soil C pool has permitted researchers to assess the dynamic nature of the pool. This discrimination may reflect a selective preference at early stage of residue decomposition by soil microbes. Crop rotation and residue input to humic substances can change the 13C abundance, which is a possible way to estimate soil C emission. However, the dynamic relationship between 13C abundance in the soil C pool and C emission is still in an early stage of development. Restrictions due to requirement of long-term experiments and duration of vegetation changes may affect its wide-spread adoptions in C emission studies.
Modern Poet and Calypso

Lamps streak those garnet-terraced chambers Where man and goddess sleep. Tonight she lies with him Because he strained ashore, knowing his right To ease down in ancient gossamer And wash through her divinity like sea foam . . . (To come here, some have written of languid oars And sea, poppies, burgeoning island streams; Others of the burning fog of cities, Some of all the sorrow that children bring.) He wakes suddenly?arms still heavy with her? That body's tangible light enphialed in his stare? And thinks of ships: he listens to a nymph's waved song.
Balloon-Occluded Transvenous Obliteration for Gastric Varices

Gastric varices (GVs) occur in the setting of liver cirrhosis and may result in life-threatening hemorrhage. Balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (BRTO) is a minimally invasive image-guided intervention used to treat GVs that are actively, previously, or at high risk for bleeding. This chapter reviews GVs and BRTO in terms of epidemiology, anatomy, patient eligibility, procedure technique, and clinical outcomes.
Reducing the Time from Surgery to Adjuvant Radiation Therapy: An Institutional Quality Improvement Project

Objective The National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines recommend an interval between surgery and adjuvant radiation therapy of less than 6 weeks, but only 44% of patients meet this metric nationally. We sought to identify key components of an improvement process focused on starting adjuvant radiation therapy within 6 weeks of surgery. Methods This project used an A3 model to improve a defined process measure. We studied a consecutive sample of 56 patients with oral cavity carcinoma who were treated at our institution with upfront surgical resection followed by adjuvant radiation therapy. Twelve proposed interventions tested during the study period focused on 3 key drivers of delays: delayed dental evaluation and teeth extraction, delayed radiation oncology consults, and inadequate patient engagement. The primary outcome measure was the number of days from surgery to the start of radiation therapy. Results Prior to the intervention, 62% of patients received adjuvant radiation within 6 weeks of surgery. Following the intervention, 73% of patients achieved this metric. The percentage of patients with avoidable delays decreased from 24% to 9%. The percentage of patients with unavoidable delays was relatively constant before and after the intervention (15% and 18%, respectively). Discussion Defining disease-specific metrics is critical to improving care in our head and neck cancer patient population. We demonstrate several key components to develop and improve self-defined metrics. Implications for Practice As we transition to a system of value-based care, structured quality improvement projects can have a measurable impact on cancer patient process measures.
Diabetes Mellitus and Outcomes in Patients Supported with Left-Ventricular Assist Devices: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review

Introduction Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a well-known risk factor for morbidity and mortality in patients with cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure. Diabetes is known to worsen long-term outcomes in heart transplantation recipients, but its impact on outcomes after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation remains unclear. Methods We searched Medline, Embase, Scopus and the Cochrane Library for publications reporting outcomes after LVADs in diabetic and non-diabetic patients through April 2018. Outcomes were compared under the random-effects model and heterogeneity examined via Chi2 and I2 statistics. Results A total of 6 studies including 1543 LVAD recipients were included in the analysis. Of these, 584 (38%) had DM. Most of the patients included received a HeartMate II (HMII 64.7%, HVAD 7.5%, pulsatile-LVAD 27.7%). The median hemoglobin A1C among diabetic patients was 7.2% ± 1.4. Compared with the non-diabetic group, the overall rate of stroke was significantly higher in the diabetic population (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.13-1.97; p=0.005; Figure 1 ). The difference in stroke rate persisted when only continuous-flow LVADs were analyzed (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.08-2.08; p=0.01). The overall mortality in diabetic patients at 3 years was greater when compared to the non-diabetic group (OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.14-2.76; p=0.01). Other adverse events analyzed including device-related infections, systemic infections, pump thrombosis/exchange, renal failure, and bleeding were comparable between both groups. Conclusion Our analysis suggests that diabetic patients receiving LVADs are at an increased risk of stroke when compared to non-diabetic patients. Furthermore, the risk of mortality after LVAD implantation among patients with diabetes appears to be greater when compared to non-diabetic patients. Diabetes should be considered as another important variable when assessing the overall risk for a potential LVAD candidate. Larger cohorts are needed to better understand the impact of DM on post-LVAD therapy.
Influence of Sports Camps and Vision on Perceived Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents who Are Visually Impaired

IntroductionChildren with visual impairments (that is, those who have low vision or blindness) often demonstrate lower levels of perceived and actual motor competence and physical activity compared...
From Tyuratam Missile Range to Baikonur Cosmodrome

Abstract The Soviet space port in Kazakhstan, Baikonur cosmodrome, occupies a special place in the history of rocketry and spaceflight. The first intercontinental ballistic missile R-7 successfully lifted off there in August 1957 and reached the Kamchatka peninsula six thousand kilometers away. Six weeks later, a modified R-7 placed the first artificial satellite of the planet Earth, Sputnik, into orbit. In 1961, the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin began his space journey from the same launch pad. At that time the Soviet Union publicly identified, as a Cold War deception, the secret space port as Baikonur, a small town 300 km away from the real location of the launch site. American government officials had known the precise location of the launch base since 1957 and called it more accurately Tyuratam after the nearby railroad station. Space publications rarely mention the artificial, decoy nature of the name Baikonur. Most of the general public today, particularly younger generations, never heard about Tyuratam. This article describes establishment of the first cosmodrome and its naming Tyuratam and Baikonur. It includes some never published heretofore historic documents and reconnaissance photographs.
Mummy 61074: a strange case of mistaken identity

Priests of the Twenty-first Dynasty king Smendes I (1070-1043 BCE) had the unenviable task of quickly reburying the kings of the New Kingdom after the Valley of the Kings repeatedly had proven insecure as a final resting place. In the process of reburial these priests identified the mummies of the kings as quickly and as accurately as they could, but reasons exist to question some of their identifications. Mummy 61074, in the Cairo Museum, currently carries the identification of Amunhotep III (1386-1349 BCE). This paper examines Mummy 61074 and with the aid of x-ray and serological evidence proposes that 61074 is not Amunhotep III but his son Akhenaten.
Effect of wall boundary on the scrape-off layer losses of high harmonic fast wave in NSTX and NSTX-U

We perform numerical simulations of high harmonic fast waves (HHFWs) in the scrape-off-layer (SOL) of National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX)/NSTX-U using a recently developed 2D full wave code. We particularly show that a realistic NSTX SOL boundary can significantly affect HHFW propagation and power losses in the SOL. In NSTX SOL boundaries, HHFW is easily localized near the antenna and propagates less to the SOL, and thus, less power is lost to the SOL. We also show that the lower SOL power losses occur when the SOL volume is smaller and the distance between the last closed flux surface and the antenna is shorter. We investigate the effect of electron density in front of the antenna and the ambient magnetic field strengths on the SOL power losses as well. Showing consistency with the experiments, SOL losses are minimized when the SOL density is near the critical density where the fast wave cutoff is open, and the plasma is strongly magnetized.We perform numerical simulations of high harmonic fast waves (HHFWs) in the scrape-off-layer (SOL) of National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX)/NSTX-U using a recently developed 2D full wave code. We particularly show that a realistic NSTX SOL boundary can significantly affect HHFW propagation and power losses in the SOL. In NSTX SOL boundaries, HHFW is easily localized near the antenna and propagates less to the SOL, and thus, less power is lost to the SOL. We also show that the lower SOL power losses occur when the SOL volume is smaller and the distance between the last closed flux surface and the antenna is shorter. We investigate the effect of electron density in front of the antenna and the ambient magnetic field strengths on the SOL power losses as well. Showing consistency with the experiments, SOL losses are minimized when the SOL density is near the critical density where the fast wave cutoff is open, and the plasma is strongly magnetized.
Differing responses of globin and glycophorin gene expression to hemin in the human leukemia cell line K562

The human leukemia cell line, K562, produces embryonic and fetal hemoglobins and glycophorin A, proteins normally associated only with erythroid cells. Hemoglobin accumulation is enhanced by exposure of the cells to 0.05 mM hemin. We have examined K562 cells before and after exposure to hemin to determine whether expression of these erythroid proteins was shared by all cells or confined to specific subpopulations. Globin gene expression was examined by quantitation of globin mRNA sequences, using a 3H-globin cDNA molecular hybridization probe. Constitutive cells produced globin mRNA, the content of which was increased 3-4-fold by hemin. Cell-to-cell distribution of globin mRNA was determined by in situ hybridization of 3H-globin cDNA to constitutive and hemin-treated K562 cells. Virtually all cells in the culture exhibited grain counts above background, indicating globin gene expression by all cells, rather than a confined subpopulation. Virtually all hemin-treated cells had 3-5-fold higher grain counts, indicating uniformly increased globin gene expression. The glycophorin content of K562 cells was estimated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) of cells labeled with fluorescein-labeled antiglycophorin antiserum. The vast majority of constitutive cells contained glycophorin, but exhibited to apparent increase in glycophorin accumulation after hemin exposure. Thus, glycophorin and globin genes exhibited differential responses to hemin. These differences could reflect normal differences in the patterns of specialized gene expression in stem cells. Alternatively, different aberrations of gene expression could be occurring in response to the determinants of the neoplastic properties of K562.
Alternate Formulations for the Joint Space Inertia Matrix

In general, the inertia matrix of a manipulator defines the relationship between certain forces exerted on the system and some corresponding acceleration vector. This relationship is of great importance both in real-time control and in the simulation of multibody systems. In the control realm, for example, the inertia matrix has been used to decouple robot dynamics so that control schemes may be more effectively applied [19]. This may be accomplished either in joint space or operational space, since the inertia matrix may be defined in either domain. The inertia matrix has also been used in the analysis of collision effects [43]. In addition to its use in control applications, the inertia matrix is an explicit and integral part of certain Direct Dynamics algorithms which are used to solve the simulation problem for manipulators and other multibody systems [2, 8, 31, 33, 42].
Urban gardening as politics

While walking on 125th Street in East Harlem in New York City, I recently stumbled on a wonderful place. Cuddled in the shadows of six tall, red-brick public housing buildings and a few minutes awa...
Impacts of a Summer Bridge Program in Engineering on Student Retention and Graduation.

A summer bridge program was developed in an engineering program to advance the preparation of incoming freshmen students, particularly with respect to their math course placement. The program was intended to raise the initial math course placement of students who otherwise would begin their engineering studies in courses below Calculus I. One reason given for low retention rates in this particular engineering program was that students needed to spend too much time taking math courses in college just to be ready to take the Calculus I course expected of incoming freshmen in the program; this extended their total time in college and delayed their ability to take the engineering courses that interested them. The program was successful at meeting its immediate goal of raising the math course placement of these students. However, the program’s success with regards to improving math course placement did not lead to significantly improved odds of the students being retained in engineering or graduating from engineering in comparison to students of similar abilities who did not participate in this bridge program.
P509 Use of internet/mobile dating apps to find sex partners among a nationally representative sample of men who have sex with men

Background Associations between online sex seeking and increased risk for STDs and HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM) typically rely on convenience samples. We examined the prevalence of internet and mobile app use for finding sex partners among a nationally representative sample of MSM. Methods We analyzed 2011–2017 data from the National Survey of Family Growth, a nationally representative sample of the civilian, non-institutionalized US population (15–44 years). The analytic sample was comprised of males who reported one or more same-sex partners in the past year. We also assessed associations between online sex-seeking and STD risk, sexual health service use, and condom use. Results Of 13,320 male respondents, 442 (3.0%) reported sex with a man in the past year, of whom 227 (53.7%) had met a partner online. Between MSM who met partners online and those who did not, we found no differences by age, education, race/ethnicity or socioeconomic status. MSM with online partners were more likely to identify as gay (69.5% vs 49.4%, p Conclusion MSM who report using online sources to find sex partners are more likely than other MSM to report behaviors that increase risk for STD/HIV, but are also more likely to engage in behaviors that may mitigate risk, such as STD testing. Disclosure No significant relationships.
Design and Validation of a School Bus Passing Detection System Based on Solid-State LiDAR

The recent increase in school bus passing accidents leading to injuries to and deaths of children has sparked nationwide concern; hence, the development of a comprehensive solution to minimize the probabilities of such accidents is essential. Ignoring active stop signs and crossing arms on school buses that are boarding and deboarding children at stops is a serious traffic violation, but it is difficult to prosecute drivers who are guilty of these offenses due to the lack of surveillance and monitoring systems that can provide critical violation information to law enforcement agencies. This study aims to address the issue of illegal passing of school buses prevailing in small towns and cities where lack of sufficient oversight exists. A detection system incorporating a solid-state LiDAR unit and a dashcam, both of which are controlled by a Raspberry Pi computer, was designed. The primary function of the system is to capture an image of the license plate of the violating vehicle and make that data available to law enforcement agencies, enabling those agencies to take appropriate enforcement action, which in turn will serve as a deterrent to mitigate future accidents. Several state legislative bodies have passed related bills and have urged researchers to find solutions to address the issue. This detection system achieves two keys goals: reducing overall cost of system implementation and reducing video review time. It is a potential component for a comprehensive solution to the school bus passing problem.
Using dynamic dewpoint isotherms to determine the optimal storage conditions of inert dust-treated hard red winter wheat

Abstract Water-solid interactions play a key role in determining the efficacy of inert dusts. The critical water activity (Awc) for phase transition in amorphous materials is an important characteristic of amorphous inert dusts used as grain protectants. As water activity (Aw) rises above Awc, amorphous dusts undergo a transition from glassy or vitreous state to rubbery state. Such a transition induces dramatic changes in material properties, texture and structure, and hence impact their performance as grain protectants. Full Dynamic Dewpoint Isotherms (DDI) of a synthetic amorphous zeolite intended for grain protection were generated using the Vapor Sorption Analyzer (VSA) to determine Awc by investigating the relationship between moisture content and Aw at constant temperatures. Sorption experimental data was fitted using three sorption isotherm models: Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB), Double Log Polynomial (DLP), and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET). DLP model was the best model to estimate zeolite and wheat sorption isotherms. Full sorption isotherms of zeolite and wheat obtained at 25, 35, and 45 °C clearly showed the hysteresis phenomenon. The hysteresis loops were of type H3 for wheat, and of type H4 for zeolite powder. The intensity of hysteresis remained unchanged for wheat. However, the intensity of hysteresis decreased with increasing temperatures during water adsorption by porous zeolite powder. Monolayer moisture content values for each sorption direction were provided only by GAB and BET models and indicated a decrease in monolayer moisture content with an increase in temperature. The net isosteric heats of sorption and the differential enthalpy of zeolite estimated by the Clausius–Clapeyron equation and determined graphically decreased with increasing moisture content. Conversely, differential entropy of zeolite decreased with increasing zeolite moisture content. The optimal moisture content of inert dust for grain treatment was dependent on wheat moisture content and wheat storage temperature. This is the first time that a synthetic amorphous dust is being investigated for grain protection. Our results recommend the application of inert dusts at the optimal moisture content to mitigate moisture migration within the system “wheat-dust”, thus ensuring dust maximal efficacy.
Long-term Outcomes of Treat and Extend Regimen of Anti-vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose This study describes the long-term visual and anatomic outcomes of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) treatment using a treat and extend dosing regimen. Methods This cross-sectional cohort study consisted of 224 treatment-naive eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NV-AMD) from 202 patients that were treated with anti-VEGF agents bevacizumab, ranibizumab, and aflibercept using a treat and extend (TAE) regimen by four physician investigators in a large urban referral center from 2008 to 2015. Subjects were evaluated for visual acuity, injection frequency, and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Results Over a seven-year follow-up period (mean 3.4 years), an average 20.2 ± 14.7 injections were administered with 8.4 injections in the first year and 5.5 injections by the seventh year of remaining eyes undergoing treatment. Visual acuity was 0.70 logMAR (20/100 Snellen) at the first visit and 0.67 logMAR (20/93 Snellen) at the final visit, with 74% of eyes maintaining or gaining more than 2 lines of vision. Long-term, 45.1% of eyes achieved 20/50 or better, while 27.1% were 20/200 or worse. Of the treated patients, 61.2% received monotherapy with no difference in visual acuity outcomes or number of injections between the agents used. OCT analysis showed decreased fluid from initial to final follow-up visit: 70.1-15.6% with sub-retinal fluid (SRF) and 47.3-18.8% with intra-retinal fluid (IRF) with no difference between the agents were used. Conclusion This study demonstrates that most patients (74%) improve or maintain visual acuity long-term using a TAE model with a significant portion (45.1%) achieving 20/50 or better visual acuity with sustained treatment.
Service-profit chain: literature review and recommendations for future research within the restaurant industry

Increasing pressure has been placed on the restaurant industry concerning the employee-employer relationship and organisations struggle to implement strategies that successfully address workforce concerns while continuing to optimise financial performance. Service management and service-profit chain literature have offered initial support for a framework in which employee perceptions influence customer perceptions of service, which in turn affect financial results. The following paper examines the growing body of service-profit chain literature and provides suggestions for future research within the industry including evaluating employee engagement as the employee perceptions' construct within the chain.
Genome-wide admixture mapping of eGFR and CKD identify European and African ancestry-of-origin loci in U.S. Hispanics/Latinos

Abstract Background Admixture mapping is a powerful approach for gene mapping of complex traits that leverages the diverse genetic ancestry in populations with recent admixture such as U.S. Hispanics/Latinos (HL), who have increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods Genome-wide admixture mapping was performed for CKD and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in a sample of 12,601 participants from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, with validation in a sample of 8191 African Americans from the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). Results Three novel ancestry-of-origin loci were identified on chromosomes 2, 14 and 15 for CKD and eGFR. The chromosome 2 locus (2p16.3) consisted of two European ancestry regions encompassing the FSHR and NRXN1 genes, with European ancestry at this locus associated with increased risk for CKD. The chromosome 14 locus (14q32.2) located within the DLK1-DIO3 imprinted domain was driven by European ancestry, and was associated with lower eGFR. The chromosome 15 locus (15q13.3-14) included intronic variants of RYR3 and was within an African-specific genomic region that was associated with higher eGFR. These findings were compared to the conventional genome-wide association study that failed to identify significant associations in these regions. We validated the chromosome 14 and 15 loci for eGFR in the WHI African Americans. Conclusions This study provides evidence of shared ancestry-specific genomic regions influencing eGFR in HL and African Americans, and illustrates the potential for leveraging genetic ancestry in recently admixed populations for novel discovery of kidney trait loci.
Circular Economy Systems Engineering: A case study on the Coffee Supply Chain

Abstract The current linear “take-make-waste” extractive models that have powered the tremendous growth of the last centuries, lead to the depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation. Circular Economy (CE) aims to address these impacts by building supply chains that are restorative, regenerative, and environmentally benign, through re-utilizing products and materials, using renewable energy sources, and closing any open loops. Process Systems Engineering (PSE) could play a critical role in this transition, providing the necessary analytical tools for a quantitative evaluation, and exploring alternative pathways for social and economic advancement. As such, we present here a novel framework for the modeling and optimization of CE food supply chains, along with a representative case study for the supply chain of coffee. First, the alternative pathways for the production of the desired product and the utilization of wastes are identified. Then, a Resource-Task-Network (RTN) representation that captures all these pathways is constructed. Since this analysis must be conducted holistically, a mixed-integer linear programming model that captures the entire supply chain, its objectives, and constraints is formulated, and it is solved to multi-objective optimality.
Jonathan Boyarin, Yeshiva Days: Learning in the Lower East Side

Jonathan Boyarin’s Yeshiva Days: Learning in the Lower East Side offers a moving and thought-provoking portrait of Mesivtha Tiferet Jerusalem (MTJ), a longstanding yeshiva that is one of the holdou...
Sensitivity of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in transient global amnesia as a function of time from symptom onset.

BACKGROUND The objective was to systematically evaluate the sensitivity of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) for transient global amnesia (TGA) across various time frames compared to the reference-standard clinical criteria. METHODS All indexed publications related to TGA and MRI through June 2020 were retrieved by a medical librarian. Two independent reviewers identified original research studies of adults with a clinical diagnosis of TGA using Caplan and Hodges and Warlow criteria (reference standard) who were evaluated with DW-MRI. Pooled estimates and its 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the proportion of acute TGA patients with positive DW-MRI (i.e., sensitivity) were obtained using random-effects meta-analysis for various time frames. Quality assessment was performed using the revised Quality of Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS-2) tool. RESULTS After screening 665 reports, we identified 81 potentially relevant studies. Twenty-three studies representing 1688 patients met eligibility criteria, but not all studies had data available for meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity (also described as positivity rate) of DW-MRI was 15.6% (95% CI = 2.6%-35.0%) between 0 and 12 h from symptom onset, 23.1% (95% CI = 6.1%-45.7%) at 0-24 h, 72.8% (95% CI = 40.8%-96.3) at 12-24 h, 68.8% (95% CI = 44.8%-88.8%) at 24-36 h, 72.4% (95% CI = 59.8%-83.5%) at 36-48 h, 82.8% (95% CI = 54.7%-99.6%) at 48-60 h, 66.9% (95% CI = 47.5%-83.9%) at 60-72 h, and 72.0% (95% CI = 30.1%-100.0%) at 72-96 h. There was significant concern for risk of bias in the QUADAS-2 domains of patient selection and index test, yielding a low level of certainty in the pooled estimates. CONCLUSION DW-MRI lesions are uncommon in patients with TGA early after symptom onset, but the sensitivity (i.e., positivity rate) of DW-MRI increases with time. Despite the limited quality of existing evidence, obtaining an early DW-MRI in patients with clinical diagnosis of TGA in the acute setting is likely a low-yield test.
Summary Report to the Global Pandemic Network Concerning Responses to COVID-19 in the USA (preprint)

The thesis of this paper is that the initial response to COVID-19 in the U.S. was hampered by structural weaknesses in the U.S. political and healthcare systems that caused them to be ill-adapted to deal decisively with a pandemic on the scale of COVID-19 but presumably have numerous advantages and offsetting benefits in other areas. These structural features did not inevitably doom the U.S. to respond as it did; individual actors in politics, the administrative state, and the media all could have behaved differently. Rather, those features constituted weaknesses that created incentives for the counter-productive but predictable behaviors that we describe. In the long run, however, the U.S.’s technological and administrative ability to develop and deploy an effective vaccine may eventually overcome some of the U.S.’s initial administrative problems and mis-steps, but not until after we suffered a large number of deaths and illnesses, some of which might have been avoided by better planning and preparation. This pattern is not atypical of other responses by the U.S. to crises, which has been compared to that of a “sleeping giant” that is slow to awaken but can deploy strong measures once it does. One over-riding lesson to be learned from the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic is “Don’t try to hold a U.S. presidential election while trying to contain a pandemic.” The on-going presidential election made it very difficult to coordinate a unified national response.
Properties of Solar Oscillations

Many of the oscillations that can be observed in the atmosphere of the Sun are resonant acoustic or gravity modes of the interior. Accurate measurement of the frequencies of these p and g modes permits deductions about the internal structure and dynamics of this star. Some of the methods of interpretation, involving a close interplay between observation and theory, can be carried over to the study of more distant stars.
Clinical development of galunisertib (LY2157299 monohydrate), a small molecule inhibitor of transforming growth factor-beta signaling pathway

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling regulates a wide range of biological processes. TGF-β plays an important role in tumorigenesis and contributes to the hallmarks of cancer, including tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis, inflammation, angiogenesis, and escape of immune surveillance. There are several pharmacological approaches to block TGF-β signaling, such as monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, antisense oligonucleotides, and small molecule inhibitors. Galunisertib (LY2157299 monohydrate) is an oral small molecule inhibitor of the TGF-β receptor I kinase that specifically downregulates the phosphorylation of SMAD2, abrogating activation of the canonical pathway. Furthermore, galunisertib has antitumor activity in tumor-bearing animal models such as breast, colon, lung cancers, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Continuous long-term exposure to galunisertib caused cardiac toxicities in animals requiring adoption of a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic-based dosing strategy to allow further development. The use of such a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model defined a therapeutic window with an appropriate safety profile that enabled the clinical investigation of galunisertib. These efforts resulted in an intermittent dosing regimen (14 days on/14 days off, on a 28-day cycle) of galunisertib for all ongoing trials. Galunisertib is being investigated either as monotherapy or in combination with standard antitumor regimens (including nivolumab) in patients with cancer with high unmet medical needs such as glioblastoma, pancreatic cancer, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The present review summarizes the past and current experiences with different pharmacological treatments that enabled galunisertib to be investigated in patients.
Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein Inhibits the Generation of Tumor-reactive T Cells

The adoptive transfer of tumor-sensitized T cells can eradicate disseminated malignancy in murine animal models. T cells must be sensitized to tumor antigens in vivo to acquire antitumor reactivity. T-cell sensitization has been demonstrated to be dependent on host antigen-presenting cells. Tumor-associated macrophages are a heterogeneous population of cells that may have both inhibitory and stimulatory influences on the sensitization of naive T cells. Here we demonstrate that a weakly immunogenic tumor, the MCA 205 sarcoma, produces substantial amounts of murine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1). Neutralization of MCP-1 during in vivo T-cell sensitization resulted in T cells that possessed enhanced therapeutic activity against established pulmonary metastases. These T cells sensitized during MCP-1 depletion also exhibited enhanced production of IFN-γ upon recognition of tumor targets. These results demonstrate that MCP-1 can have a potent inhibitory influence on the development of tumor-reactive T cells.
Altered prostanoid production by fibroblasts cultured from the lungs of human subjects with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Background Prostanoids are known to participate in the process of fibrogenesis. Because lung fibroblasts produce prostanoids and are believed to play a central role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), we hypothesized that fibroblasts (HF) cultured from the lungs of patients with IPF (HF-IPF) have an altered balance between profibrotic (thromboxane [TX]A2) and antifibrotic (prostacyclin [PGI2]) prostaglandins (PGs) when compared with normal human lung fibroblasts (HF-NL).
The effects of cortisol treatment on carbohydrate and protein metabolism in Fundulus heteroclitus

Abstract In male Fundulus heteroclitus captured during the fall, 5 daily injections of cortisol (200 μg/fish or approximately 20 μg/g body wt) produced significant elevations in serum cortisol and hyperglycemia in both fed and fasted fish. Only fasted fish responded with an increase in liver glycogen. No consistent changes attributable to hormone injection occurred in serum protein, amino acid, liver protein, liver amino acids, or liver alanine aminotrasferase. A single cortisol injection (20 μg/g body wt) in fasted fish produced elevated blood glucose levels which persisted for 48 hr and followed serum cortisol changes closely. Again, no significant changes were seen in liver glycogen or in protein metabolism. We conclude that in F. heteroclitus , blood glucose is the major carbohydrate reservoir influenced by cortisol elevation. Protein catabolism appears not to be the source of the glucose elevation. Reduced peripheral glucose utilization and gluconeogenesis from lactate or glycerol are suggested as alternative sources.
Multi-factorial engineering of heterologous polyketide production in Escherichia coli reveals complex pathway interactions

Polyketides represent a significant fraction of all natural products. Many possess pharmacological activity which makes them attractive drug candidates. The production of the parent macrocyclic aglycones are catalyzed by multimodular polyketide synthases utilizing short-chain acyl-CoA monomers. When producing polyketides through heterologous hosts, one must not only functionally express the synthase itself, but activate the machinery used to generate the required substrate acyl-CoA’s. As a result, metabolic engineering of these pathways is necessary for high-level production of heterologous polyketides. In this study, we over-express three different pathways for provision of the two substrates (propionyl-CoA and (2S)-methylmalonyl-CoA) utilized for the biosynthesis of 6-deoxyerythronolide B (the macrolactone precursor to erythromycin): 1) a propionate → propionyl-CoA → (2S)-methylmalonyl-CoA pathway, 2) a methylmalonate → methylmalonyl-CoA → propionyl-CoA pathway, and 3) a succinate → succinyl-CoA → (2R)-methylmalonyl-CoA → (2S)-methylmalonyl-CoA → propionyl-CoA pathway. The current study revealed that propionate is a necessary component for > 5 mg l−1 titers. Deletion of the propionyl-CoA:succinate CoA transferase (ygfH) or over-expression of the transcriptional activator of short chain fatty acid uptake improved titer to over 100 mg l−1, while the combination of the two improved titer to over 130 mg l−1. The addition of exogenous methymalonate could also improve titer to over 100 mg l−1. Expression of a Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2) methylmalonyl-CoA epimerase, in conjunction with over-expression of E. coli’s native methylmalonyl-CoA mutase, allowed for the incorporation of exogenously fed succinate into 6-deoxyerythronolide B.
Moved but not gone: an evaluation of real-time methods for discovering replacement web pages

Inaccessible Web pages and 404 "Page Not Found" responses are a common Web phenomenon and a detriment to the user's browsing experience. The rediscovery of missing Web pages is, therefore, a relevant research topic in the digital preservation as well as in the Information Retrieval realm. In this article, we bring these two areas together by analyzing four content- and link-based methods to rediscover missing Web pages. We investigate the retrieval performance of the methods individually as well as their combinations and give an insight into how effective these methods are over time. As the main result of this work, we are able to recommend not only the best performing methods but also the sequence in which they should be applied, based on their performance, complexity required to generate them, and evolution over time. Our least complex single method results in a rediscovery rate of almost $$70\,\%$$ 70 % of Web pages of our sample dataset based on URIs sampled from the Open Directory Project (DMOZ). By increasing the complexity level and combining three different methods, our results show an increase of the success rate of up to $$77\,\%$$ 77 % . The results, based on our sample dataset, indicate that Web pages are often not completely lost but have moved to a different location and "just" need to be rediscovered.
Paul's Epistle to Philemon: Toward an Alternative Argumentum

In 1964, the Elenchus Bibliographicus Biblicus, which until that time had listed together works treating Colossians and Philemon, provided Colossians with its own heading and introduced a new rubric: “Philemon; Slavery in the NT.” So firmly established is the interpretation of the epistle as a “cover letter” addressed to the master of a repentant runaway slave that any discussion of slavery in the New Testament invariably alludes to Paul's Epistle to Philemon; all recent commentators on the epistle include in their treatments at least a brief disquisition or excursus on ancient slavery. Even in his methodologically sophisticated study of the “narrative world” of Philemon, Norman Petersen began his summary of the “story” behind the letter as follows: “Once upon a time there was a runaway slave named Onesimus.…” Furthermore, the epistle is universally construed as a delicate and canny intervention on the part of the apostle Paul into the problematic of Christian relations under the Roman slave regime, despite the concession on the part of modern exegetes that Philemon fails to elucidate Paul's attitudes toward either slaves in particular or the institution of slavery in general.
A Comparative Study of Residual Stresses in Single and Multilayer Composite Diamond Coatings

Residual stresses in four types of diamond films deposited by hot filament chemical vapor deposition on molybdenum substrate, three types on tungsten carbide or silicon nitride substrate are measured. Residual stresses are determined by X-ray method and Raman spectroscopy. The results from both these techniques are compared and conclusions are made on the mechanisms of adhesion of diamond films to the different substrates.
Three-year study of two light-cured posterior composite resins.

Abstract Two visible light-cured composite resins, Ful-Fil and X-55, were used to restore 136 Class I and Class II cavity preparations in adult teeth. After three years, the ratings for color matching, interfacial staining, secondary caries, and marginal adaptation remained good using USPHS criteria (ranging from 72% to 100% Alfa). The average surface loss due to occlusal wear was 145 and 164 micrometers for Ful-Fil and X-55, respectively. These results indicate that Ful-Fil composite resin meets the current ADA Council on Dental Materials specifications for provisional acceptance in adult posterior teeth.
Mhd thermal hydraulic analysis of three-dimensional liquid-metal flows in fusion blanket ducts

Magnetohydrodynamic flows of liquid metals in thin conducting ducts of various geometries in the presence of strong, non-uniform transverse magnetic fields are examined. The interaction parameter and Hartmann number are assumed to be large, whereas the magnetic Reynolds number is assumed to be small. Under these assumptions, viscous and inertial effects are confined in very thin boundary layer adjacent to the walls. At walls parallel to the magnetic field lines, as at the side walls of a rectangular duct, the boundary layers (side layers) carry a significant fraction of the volumetric flow rate in the form of high velocity jets. The presence of these jets strongly enhances heat transfer performance. In addition, heat transfer can be further improved by guiding the flow toward a heated wall by proper variation of wall thicknesses, duct cross-sectional dimensions, and/or shape. Flows in non-conducting circular ducts are also examined. Experimental results obtained from the ALEX experiments at the Argonne National Laboratory are used to validate the numerical predictions.