cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solitary fibrous tumor: Is there a molecular relationship with cellular angiofibroma, spindle cell lipoma, and mammary-type myofibroblastoma?

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a mesenchymal tumor characterized by ovoid cells, branching blood vessels, stromal hyalinization, and CD34 immunoreactivity. Studies have shown loss of 13q in a group of morphologically similar entities, including cellular angiofibroma, mammary-type myofibroblastoma, and spindle cell lipoma. The histologic and immunophenotypic overlap between SFT and the latter group of tumors suggests that these tumors may be genetically linked. We tested a group of 40 SFTs to assess for loss of RB1 (13q14) by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). All 38 SFTs with evaluable signals failed to show loss of RB1 (13q14) by FISH. All cases of cellular angiofibroma (1/1), spindle cell lipoma (6/6), and mammary-type myofibroblastoma (4/4), which were used as a control group, showed monoallelic or biallelic loss of RB1 . The absence of RB1 loss in SFTs suggests that they are not related to cellular angiofibroma, mammary-type myofibroblastoma, or spindle cell lipoma. Upon completion of this activity you will be able to: The ASCP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The ASCP designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ per article. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. This activity qualifies as an American Board of Pathology Maintenance of Certification Part II Self-Assessment Module. The authors of this article and the planning committee members and staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests to disclose. Questions appear on p 1010. Exam is located at [www.ascp.org/ajcpcme][1]. [1]: http://www.ascp.org/ajcpcme
Identification of low frequency patterns in backpropagation neural networks.

Although neural networks have been widely applied to medical problems in recent years, their applicability has been limited for a variety of reasons. One of these barriers has been the inability to discriminate rare classes of solutions (i.e., the identification of categories that are infrequent). In this article, I demonstrate that a system of hierarchical neural networks (HNN) can overcome the problem of recognizing low frequency patterns, and therefore can improve the prediction power of neural-network systems. HNN are designed according to a divide-and-conquer approach: Triage networks are able to discriminate supersets that contain the infrequent pattern, and these supersets are then used by Specialized networks, which discriminate the infrequent pattern from the other ones in the superset. The supersets that are discriminated by the Triage networks are based on pattern similarity. The application of multilayered neural networks in more than one step allows the prior probability of a given pattern to increase at each step, provided that the predictive power of the network at the previous level is high. The method has been applied to one artificial set and one real set of data. In the artificial set, the distribution of the patterns was known and no noise was present. In this experiment, the HNN provided better discrimination than a standard neural network for all classes. In a real data set of nine thousand patients who were suspected of having thyroid disorders, the HNN also provided higher sensitivity than its corresponding standard neural network (without a corresponding decay in specificity) given the same time constraints.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Resonances above the proton threshold in Si 26

$^{26}\mathrm{Al}$ remains an intriguing target for observational $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray astronomy, thanks to its characteristic decay. The $^{25}\mathrm{Al}(p,\ensuremath{\gamma})^{26}\mathrm{Si}$ reaction is the crucial link in a sequence that bypasses the production of the observable $^{26}\mathrm{Al}^{g}$ in favor of the short-lived isomeric state; determining its astrophysical reaction rate across a range of stellar environments has been the focus of many studies. A reanalysis of previous work, utilizing recent improvements in excitation energies and ground state masses, is presented to reduce the ambiguities in the literature and provide focus to future measurements.
The influence of cultural norms on firms' CSR behavior

Researchers have noted that the societal context within which the firm is embedded plays a key role in determining its CSR choices, by imposing systematic institutional pressures that influence the...
Impact of Microgravity and Partial Gravity on Cardiac Shape

The impact of gravitational loading on the cardiac shape is studied numerically through application of two different constitutive models for the cardiac tissue. Transversely isotropic and orthotropic cardiac materials models are incorporated into a finite element heart model that includes a realistic 3D cardiac geometry based on detailed cardiac fiber and sheet micro-architecture. The models are used to predict the cardiac sphericity ratio for different gravitational loadings of Earth, Mars, Moon, and Microgravity. Both the transversely isotropic and the orthotropic material models correctly predict the linear dependence of cardiac sphericity on the gravitational force. However, in comparison to the experimental results, only the orthotropic model predicts the rate and magnitude of the cardiac shape change with gravity accurately. The transversely isotropic tissue model produces a stiffer heart that significantly under-predicts the ultrasound measurements of heart shape change during parabolic flight experiments.
Reoperation for failed gastric bypass procedures for obesity.

Reoperation is worthwhile when there is an obvious defect in the gastric reduction operation that has failed to control weight. Reoperation occasionally is necessary to correct a complication of gastric bypass. Vertical banded gastroplasty is the procedure of choice for reoperations, as it provides weight control while limiting the problems of a bypass. It is the only reoperation used and the only primary operation for morbid obesity at the authors' institution. Conversion of a horizontal to a vertical pouch is safe but requires careful attention to the technique to avoid injury to nearby organs and to preserve the blood supply to the stomach.
Measuring law firm culture

This chapter proposes a research agenda for the study of large law firm culture and explains how the research would contribute to both legal ethics and organizational theory. It focuses on two sets of questions that are uniquely suited to investigation in large law firms. First: what is the significance of organizational culture, relative to that of professional networks and subgroups? To what extent does organizational membership shape lawyers’ understandings about “how things are done”? Second: how is organizational culture sustained? What are the mechanisms of cultural integration in volatile, multioffice firms? The chapter draws on a pilot study of law firm culture in one 500-lawyer firm.
Language in the Science Classroom: Academic Social Languages as the Heart of School-Based Literacy

There are different “ways with printed words” embedded in different social and cultural groups, in different institutions, and in different social practices. Literacy is, in that sense, multiple. Furthermore, literacy viewed in terms of the different sorts of social practices in which it is embedded, is almost always integrally involved with oral language and with ways of acting, interacting, and thinking, and not just reading and writing. In regard to schooling we need to focus on the acquisition of academic sorts of language within specific social practices and not on literacy as a general thing or as only reading and writing. In school, especially as one moves beyond the first couple of years, reading and writing become (or most certainly should be) fully embedded in and integrated with learning, using, and talking about specific content.
Minimal Bases and g-Adic Representations of Integers

Let A be a set of integers, h ≥ 2 an integer. Let hA denote the set of all sums of h elements of A. If hA contains all sufficiently large integers, then A is called an asymptotic basis of order h. An asymptotic basis A of order h is said to be minimal if it contains no proper subset which is again an asymptotic basis of order h. This concept of minimality of bases was first introduced by Stohr [5]. Hartter [1] showed the existence of minimal asymptotic bases by a nonconstructive argument. Nathanson [3] constructed the first nontrivial example of minimal asymptotic bases of order h ≥ 2. Jia and Nathanson [2] recently discovered a simple construction of minimal asymptotic bases of order h ≥ 2 by using powers of 2. Furthermore, for any α: 1/h ≤; α < 1, they constructed a minimal asymptotic basis A of order h such that x α < A(x) < x α, where A(x) is the number of positive elements not exceeding x. In the present paper, we shall generalize these results to g-adic representations of integers.
Computational Model and Characterization of Stacking Faults in ZIF-8 Polymorphs

Degradation of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) in aqueous, humid, and acid gas environments likely begins at defect sites. Until now, however, theoretical studies of MOFs have widely assumed an ideal defect-free structure. Here we present a computational model for low-energy extended defects in bulk zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) that are analogous to stacking faults in zeolites. We demonstrate the thermodynamic accessibility of stacking faults in ZIFs and examine the impact of these defects on pore diffusion and accessible surface area. We identify strong correlations between the defect density of a structure and its X-ray diffraction spectra. By examining a topologically isomorphic ZIF that has been reported experimentally we find characteristic defect-induced peak broadening and splitting in the reported powder patterns, giving strong evidence for the existence for stacking faults in this material.
Situational Contexts of Rural Violence: A Comparison of Male and Female Perpetration:

The amount of social scientific knowledge about rural violence pales in comparison with that of urban violence, and even less is known about the situational contexts of rural violence. Using Nation...
Using incentives to address cannibalization

Abstract In a decentralized multi-product firm, different products within the firm sometimes compete with one another for the same customers. This paper proposes managing such cannibalistic behavior with incentives. Designing the appropriate incentives requires detailed information on how the sales of one product impact the profitability of other products. As this paper shows, the only additional information required is the second choice preferences of buyers. Drawing on successful development by General Motors, this paper shows how this information can be collected and used to develop cannibalization incentives. While developed for the automotive industry, this approach is applicable across industries.
Minority Aging in an Immigrant Context

This chapter focuses on placing elder minority language acquisition in the context of immigration. Acknowledging demographic changes in the United States, we focus on the risk factors associated with immigration and acculturation. Specific attention is given to the economic, social, and cultural effects of immigration on Hispanic immigrants. Exposure to a new country can negatively affect older adults in particular, as poor and economically disadvantaged populations are disproportionally excluded from key institutions and resources. Sociocultural factors profoundly impact minority aging, since acculturation and assimilation are linked with socioeconomic status. We, thus examine the cultural and structural factors that uniquely impact Hispanic elders in an immigrant context. The unique barriers for older immigrants are well documented. Institutional disadvantages exclude immigrants from the type of resources and social networks important for language acquisition and, in turn, impact larger indicators of well-being and language performance.
Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt does not independently increase risk of death in high model for end stage liver disease patients.

Physicians often exclude patients with a model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score ≥ 18 from a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) procedure due to the concern for higher risk of death. We aimed to determine if TIPS increased the risk of death in these patients. We analyzed the interaction between TIPS and MELD in 106 patients with TIPS and 79 with intractable ascites without TIPS. We performed Cox proportional hazard regression, including both TIPS and MELD as time-dependent covariates together with their interaction, to calculate the impact of TIPS on the risk of death associated with a high MELD score. We found a negative interaction between a high MELD score and a history of TIPS, with potentially important effect sizes. Patients with MELD scores ≥18 had a 51% lower incremental risk of death (lower risk than would be expected from the combined independent risks of MELD and needing/receiving TIPS) associated with TIPS than patients with MELD scores <18 (hazard ratio for TIPS, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.10-2.45) in the first 6 months following TIPS. There was an 80% lower incremental risk of death among patients with a MELD score ≥18 (hazard ratio for TIPS, 0.20; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-1.23) 6 months after the TIPS procedure. Conclusion: Risk of death is associated with underlying disease severity as shown by the MELD score and the need for TIPS, and both history of TIPS and high MELD score independently increased the risk of mortality. However, the risk of death after TIPS was progressively lower than expected as the MELD score increased. (Hepatology Communications 2017;1:460–468)
Potential Benefits of Ameliorating Metabolic and Nutritional Abnormalities in People With Profound Developmental Disabilities

Background: People with profound developmental disabilities have some of the most severe neurological impairments seen in society, have accelerated mortality due to huge medical challenges, and yet are often excluded from scientific studies. They actually have at least 2 layers of conditions: (1) the original disability and (2) multiple under-recognized and underexplored metabolic and nutritional imbalances involving minerals (calcium, zinc, and selenium), amino acids (taurine, tryptophan), fatty acids (linoleic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, arachidonic acid, adrenic acid, Mead acid, plasmalogens), carnitine, hormones (insulinlike growth factor 1), measures of oxidative stress, and likely other substances and systems. Summary: This review provides the first list of metabolic and nutritional abnormalities commonly found in people with profound developmental disabilities and, based on the quality of life effects of similar abnormalities in neurotypical people, indicates the potential effects of these abnormalities in this population which often cannot communicate symptoms. Key messages: We propose that improved understanding and management of these disturbed mechanisms would enhance the quality of life of people with profound developmental disabilities. Such insights may also apply to people with other conditions associated with disability, including some diseases requiring stem cell implantation and living in microgravity.
Parent-Adolescent Closeness, Family Belonging, and Adolescent Well-Being Across Family Structures

Adolescents in stepfamilies and single-parent families tend to report lower levels of well-being than adolescents who live with two biological parents. Using data from Add Health (n = 16,684), the present study builds upon this literature by examining family-level predictors of adolescent depressive symptoms, delinquency, failing a class, heavy alcohol use, tobacco use, and marijuana use. We focus on feelings of family belonging as a predictor of adolescent well-being and find that this measure is significantly associated with well-being in all family types, and particularly in two-biological-parent families. In addition, results indicate that family belonging mediates associations between parent-adolescent closeness and well-being for most outcomes.
Proximate cause, anatomical correlates, and obstetrical implication of a supernumerary lumbar vertebra in humans.

Objectives Three issues are considered on variation in number of presacral vertebrae (PSV) in humans: (1) sexual difference in number of PSV, (2) inactivation of Hoxd-11 gene as etiology for a supernumerary lumbar vertebra, and (3) anatomical correlates of a supernumerary lumbar vertebra, including lumbar-sacral nearthrosis, and pelvic size. Materials and methods Sample was 407 skeletonized females and 1,318 males from United States; ages at death were 20 to 49 years. Two subsamples of males were used: (1) 98 with modal numbers of cervical, thoracic, lumbar, and sacral vertebrae (PSV = 24) and (2) 45 with a supernumerary lumbar vertebra but modal numbers for other vertebral segments (PSV = 25). Measurements were taken of ulna, second metacarpal, vertebrae, femur, and pelvis; presence of lumbar-sacral nearthrosis was observed. Results Although 90% of females and males have 24 PSV, females have higher frequency of 23 PSV and males have higher frequency of 25 PSV. Compared to males with 24 PSV, males with 25 PSV and supernumerary lumbar vertebra show (1) no difference in anatomies associated with inactivation of Hoxd-11, and (2) higher frequency of lumbar-sacral nearthrosis and smaller pelvic inlet circumference. Discussion Sexual difference in number of PSV may be due to tempo of somite formation and Hox gene activation. Hypothesis is not supported that a supernumerary lumbar vertebra is due to inactivation of Hoxd-11. The presence of a supernumerary lumbar vertebra is associated with small pelvic inlet circumference, which can be obstetrically disadvantageous.
Dual-mode, enhanced dynamic range CMOS optical sensor for biomedical applications

Silicon photodetectors and CMOS image sensors are widely used in biological sensing and medical imaging, where modern CMOS processes provide sufficient sensitivity and noise performance at a lower cost than traditional CCD sensors. At low light intensity, which is increasingly needed for single-molecule and low concentration biosensing, silicon photodetectors are limited by low photocurrent, commensurate with dark current magnitude. In this paper, we present a method to extend the optical dynamic range of a CMOS-integrated photodiode by operating alternately in linear mode and single-photon Geiger-mode using a single p-n junction diode sensor. The architecture was implemented in a commercial 130 nm CMOS process, and measured results are reported across a range of illumination intensities from 30–3000 lux. Results from an optical transmission experiment are provided to demonstrate utility for quantifying chromogenic reactions in lab-on-CMOS immunoassays.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the elderly: an update on pharmacological management.

The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues to rise in association with an aging Western society. While barriers to receiving optimal healthcare exist for aging patients, pharmacotherapy of COPD in the elderly is important because the treatment benefits in this group are comparable to those seen in the younger COPD population. The frequent presence of co-morbidities and reduced clearance capacity make selection of pharmacotherapy in elderly patients with stable COPD challenging. The adverse effects of standard therapy for COPD may also be more pronounced in elderly patients. A careful risk-versus-benefit assessment should always be carried out when prescribing long-term inhaled bronchodilator and corticosteroid therapy to an elderly COPD patient, and when prescribing β2-adrenoceptor agonists and methylxanthines, in particular, to those with cardiovascular co-morbidities. The present review focuses on the special considerations regarding initiation and maintenance of pharmacotherapy in elderly patients with stable COPD.
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STUDY OF NATURAL LAW

The study of natural law is grounded in a series of epistemological and metaphysical assumptions that must be understood and elucidated to appreciate the implications and requirements of natural law morality. The essays in this volume bring to the fore the importance of identifying the foundations of natural law theory, and a critical reading of this volume makes clear the need to explore the content of the foundational assumptions grounding natural law accounts of morality. Natural law morality has three primary assumptions: (1) nature has particular goals or ends, (2) the ends of nature are knowable, and (3) nature’s ends are morally good and are normative. An examination of natural law theory, first and foremost requires an understanding of what is meant by ‘natural law’ and which nature is normative. To assert only that human nature is normative falls short of the mark for it fails to identify which human nature is normative and what about this nature is normative. Humans may generally be said to have four natures: (1) human nature before the Fall; (2) human nature after the Fall; (3) redeemed human nature; and (4) restored human nature. 1
Selection of Controller Structure

In working with control system design for a multivariable process the terms control strategy, control structure, and controller structure are sometimes used interchangeably. They then mean the selection and pairing of controlled and manipulative variables to form a complete, functional control system. However, the three terms can also be taken to have their own individual meaning. In this case control strategy describes how the main loops in a process are to be set up in order to meet the overall objectives. For example, if the objective of a column is to produce a bottoms product stream, the control strategy to insure the purity of the product might be to use reboiler heat to keep the impurities out. Control structure, on the other hand, is the selection of controlled and manipulated variables from a set of many choices.
CodeNC: Integrating Computational Thinking into K-12 Instructional Activities using Animated Videos

Increasing the representation of minorities in computer science (CS) has become a national priority. One of the many reasons minority students nationwide choose not to study CS is that they often lack mentors and role models to encourage them early in their learning. In her seminal article, Jeannette Wing argues that computational thinking (CT) is an emerging essential skill that should become an integral part of K-12 education. However, a big issue facing this initiative is that many K-12 teachers find themselves lack (1) relevant materials, (2) systematic training, and (3) a supportive community. The democratization of media, such as photos and videos, has provided a great variety of options to educate a broad audience on myriad topics. In this poster, we will describe the challenges and successes of using animated videos including its beauty, soundness, and utility as critical elements in establishing a strong CT comprehension while engaging K-12 teachers in a non-threatening way. Using a process of iterative design, we have found ways to integrate CT concepts in six non-CS disciplines in the K-12 curriculum. The teachers who have collaborated with us respond positively that this design approach provides them with a greater comprehension of the CT concepts while giving them exciting instructional activities. Therefore, this poster may be of interest to any CS educator who wishes to improve the engagement of K-12 teachers while sustaining a CT training program at their institution.
Automatic Extraction of Requirements from State-based Hardware Designs for Runtime Verification

Runtime monitoring and verification enables a system to monitor itself and ensure system requirements are met even in the presence of dynamic environments. For hardware, state-based models are widely used, but verifying the correctness between the state-based model and hardware implementation is time- consuming and difficult. This paper presents a novel method for extracting hardware verification requirements from state-based hardware models to construct a hierarchical runtime monitoring graph that can be efficiently used at runtime to verify correctness.
Technique of Robotic Duodenal Switch Traditional and Single Anastomosis Ilium Duodenal Switch

Surgical weight loss continues to evolve with experience and advancement in technology. Biliopancreatic diversion was pioneered by Scopinaro almost 40 years ago. He performed a distal gastrectomy and a long Roux-en-Y construction with a gastro-ileal anastomosis [1]. Later, this operation was further revised by Hess in 1988 with modification from a distal gastrectomy no a vertical sleeve gastrectomy with pyloric perseveration eliminating previously experienced complications such as dumping, ulcers, and strictures [2, 3]. The operation has further transitioned from open laparotomy to minimally invasive laparoscopy and is currently available with robotic assistance [4–7]. We found robotics to be beneficial in the super obese patient populations undergoing this procedure because it offers greater degrees of freedom when working in a small confined area filled with the fatty liver and a large space-occupying omentum. Also, robotics assists with the heavy torque necessary to maneuver such a thick abdominal wall.
Recurring Nightmares and Silver Linings: Understanding How Past Abusive Supervision May Lead to Posttraumatic Stress and Posttraumatic Growth

Research on traumatic events indicates that the effects of abuse can last a lifetime. This work further suggests that people who have been mistreated can grow and experience positive outcomes from ...
Electrochemical Direct Partial Oxidation of Methane to Methanol

Joonbaek Jang received his B.S. from Korea University in 2016. He then moved to the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained his M.S. working with Prof. Raymond J. Gorte. During his master’s degree, Joonbaek used atomic layer deposition to modify metal oxide catalysts for the improvement of industrial catalytic processes. In 2018, he joined the Morales-Guio Lab in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. Joonbaek is currently working toward the understanding of electrode/electrolyte interfaces and mass transport effects in electrocatalytic processes for sustainable energy applications. Kangze Shen received his B.S. in Materials Chemistry from University of Science and Technology of China in 2018. His undergraduate research with Prof. Yitai Qian focused on the development of high-performance electrode materials for rechargeable Li-ion and Na-ion batteries. He then joined the Morales-Guio Lab in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA where he is working toward the understanding of electrocatalytic processes and electrochemical systems engineering in sustainable energy applications. Carlos G. Morales-Guio is an Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at UCLA. The Morales-Guio Lab is interested in electrochemical catalysis, particularly with respect to energy and chemical transformations for sustainable energy applications. The lab is currently focused on understanding fundamentals of mass and charge transport coupled to electrochemical transformations that will guide the scale up of electrocatalytic reactors. Carlos received his B. Eng. degree from Osaka University in 2011 and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from EPFL in 2013 and 2016, respectively. Most recently, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Stanford University before joining UCLA in 2018.
Neuroimaging in Ischemic Stroke Is Different Between Men and Women in the DEFUSE 3 Cohort

Background and Purpose- Clinical deficits from ischemic stroke are more severe in women, but the pathophysiological basis of this sex difference is unknown. Sex differences in core and penumbral volumes and their relation to outcome were assessed in this substudy of the DEFUSE 3 clinical trial (Endovascular Therapy Following Imaging Evaluation for Ischemic Stroke). Methods- DEFUSE 3 randomized patients to thrombectomy or medical management who presented 6 to 16 hours from last known well with proximal middle cerebral artery or internal carotid artery occlusion and had target core and perfusion mismatch volumes on computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. Using univariate and adjusted regression models, the effect of sex was assessed on prerandomization measures of core, perfusion, and mismatch volumes and hypoperfusion intensity ratio, and on core volume growth using 24-hour scans. Results- All patients were included in the analysis (n=182) with 90 men and 92 women. There was no sex difference in the site of baseline arterial occlusion. Adjusted by age, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, baseline modified Rankin Scale score, time to randomization, and imaging modality, women had smaller core, hypoperfusion, and penumbral volumes than men. Median (interquartile range) volumes for core were 8.0 mL (1.9-18.4) in women versus 12.6 mL (2.7-29.6) in men, for Tmax>6 seconds 89.0 mL (63.8-131.7) versus 133.9 mL (87.0-175.4), and for mismatch 82.1mL (53.8-112.8) versus 108.2 (64.1-149.2). The hypoperfusion intensity ratio was lower in women, 0.31 (0.15-0.46) versus 0.39 (0.26-0.57), P=0.006, indicating better collateral circulation, which was consistent with the observed slower ischemic core growth than men within the medical group (P=0.003). Conclusions- In the large vessel ischemic stroke cohort selected for DEFUSE 3, women had imaging evidence of better collateral circulation, smaller baseline core volumes, and slower ischemic core growth. These observations suggest sex differences in hemodynamic and temporal features of anterior circulation large artery occlusions. Registration- URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02586415.
GGERV20, a recently integrated, segregating endogenous retrovirus in Gallus gallus

Endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) are widespread in vertebrate genomes. The recent availability of whole eukaryotic genomes has enabled their characterization in many organisms, including Gallus gallus (red jungle fowl), the progenitor of the domesticated chicken. Our bioinformatics analysis of a G. gallus ERV previously designated GGERV20 identified 35 proviruses with complete long terminal repeats (LTRs) and gag-pol open reading frames (ORFs) in the Genome Reference Consortium Chicken Build 6a, of which 8 showed potential for translation of functional retroviral polyproteins, including the integrase and reverse transcriptase enzymes. No elements were discovered with an env gene. Fifteen loci had LTR sequences with 100 % identity, indicative of recent integration. Chicken embryo fibroblast RNA-seq datasets showed reads representing the entire length of the GGERV20 provirus, supporting their potential for expressing viral proteins. To investigate the possibility that GGERV20 elements may not be fixed in the genome, we assessed the integration status of five loci in a meat-type chicken. PCRs targeting a GGERV20 locus on G. gallus chromosome one (GGERV201-1) reproducibly amplified both LTRs and the preintegration state, indicating that the bird from which the DNA was sampled was hemizygous at this locus. The four other loci examined only produced the preintegration state amplicons. These results reveal that GGERV20 is not fixed in the G. gallus population, and taken together with the lack of mutations seen in several provirus LTRs and their transcriptional activity, suggest that GGERV20 retroviruses have recently been and continue to be active in the chicken genome.
Horizontal Gene Transfer of Antibiotic Resistance from Acinetobacter baylyi to Escherichia coli on Lettuce and Subsequent Antibiotic Resistance Transmission to the Gut Microbiome.

ABSTRACT Agricultural use of antibiotics is recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a major contributor to antibiotic-resistant infections. While most One Health attention has been on the potential for antibiotic resistance transmission from livestock and contaminated meat products to people, plant foods are fundamental to the food chain for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. We hypothesized that environmental bacteria that colonize plant foods may serve as platforms for the persistence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and for horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes. Donor Acinetobacter baylyi and recipient Escherichia coli were cocultured in vitro, in planta on lettuce, and in vivo in BALB/c mice. We showed that nonpathogenic, environmental A. baylyi is capable of transferring plasmids conferring antibiotic resistance to E. coli clinical isolates on lettuce leaf discs. Furthermore, transformant E. coli from the in planta assay could then colonize the mouse gut microbiome. The target antibiotic resistance plasmid was identified in mouse feces up to 5 days postinfection. We specifically identified in vivo transfer of the plasmid to resident Klebsiella pneumoniae in the mouse gut. Our findings highlight the potential for environmental bacteria exposed to antibiotics to transmit resistance genes to mammalian pathogens during ingestion of leafy greens. IMPORTANCE Previous efforts have correlated antibiotic-fed livestock and meat products with respective antibiotic resistance genes, but virtually no research has been conducted on the transmission of antibiotic resistance from plant foods to the mammalian gut (C. S. Holzel, J. L. Tetens, and K. Schwaiger, Pathog Dis 15:671–688, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2018.2501; C. M. Liu et al., mBio 9:e00470-19, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.00470-18; B. Spellberg et al., NAM Perspectives, 2016, https://doi.org/10.31478/201606d; J. O’Neill, Antimicrobials in agriculture and the environment, 2015; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2019). Here, we sought to determine if horizontal transmission of antibiotic resistance genes can occur between lettuce and the mammalian gut microbiome, using a mouse model. Furthermore, we have created a new model to study horizontal gene transfer on lettuce leaves using an antibiotic-resistant transformant of A. baylyi (AbzeoR).
Random testing for C and C++ compilers with YARPGen

Compilers should not crash and they should not miscompile applications. Random testing is an effective method for finding compiler bugs that have escaped other kinds of testing. This paper presents Yet Another Random Program Generator (YARPGen), a random test-case generator for C and C++ that we used to find and report more than 220 bugs in GCC, LLVM, and the Intel® C++ Compiler. Our research contributions include a method for generating expressive programs that avoid undefined behavior without using dynamic checks, and generation policies, a mechanism for increasing diversity of generated code and for triggering more optimizations. Generation policies decrease the testing time to find hard-to-trigger compiler bugs and, for the kinds of scalar optimizations YARPGen was designed to stress-test, increase the number of times these optimizations are applied by the compiler by an average of 20% for LLVM and 40% for GCC. We also created tools for automating most of the common tasks related to compiler fuzzing; these tools are also useful for fuzzers other than ours.
Technical Note: An embedding-based medical note de-identification approach with sparse annotation

Purpose Medical note de-identification is critical for the protection of private information and the security of data sharing in collaborative research. The task demands the complete removal of all patient names and other sensitive information such as addresses and phone numbers from medical records. Accomplishing this goal is challenging, with many variations in the medical note formats and string representations. Existing de-identification approaches include pattern matching where extensive dictionary lists are constructed a prior; and entity tagging, which trains on a large word-wise annotated corpus. This motivates us to study an alternative to the existing approaches with a reduced annotation burden. Methods In this work, we propose a novel approach that implicitly accounts for the language territory of sensitive information. Specifically, our approach incorporates a contextualized word embedding module and a multilayer perceptron to simultaneously infer the similarity of sensitive and non-sensitive vocabularies to a constructed landmark set, providing an overall sparsely supervised classification. To demonstrate the rationale, we present the principle and work pipeline with the task of name removal, but the proposed method applies to other strings as well. Results On a large cohort of hybrid clinical reports, including various forms of consulting, on-treatment-visit, and follow-up notes, we achieved > 0.99 accuracies in our constructed training, validation, and testing sets. The sensitivity and specificity were 1.0 and 0.9973 respectively for two randomly selected reports, comparing favorably to the benchmark Stanford NER tagger, which achieved 0.8529 and 0.9969. The F1 score was 0.889 ± 0.046 and 0.822 ± 0.103 across six randomly selected reports for the proposed method and the Stanford NER, respectively, and the result was significant under a one-sided t-test with alpha = 0.1. Conclusion Our qualitative and quantitative analysis shows that our method achieved better results than the pre-trained 3-class Stanford NER toolbox.
Laws, Regulations, Standards, Certifications, and Ecolabels

Specific structures provide a consistent and fair way to evaluate a building material or product for sustainable initiatives and environmental impacts. This evaluation occurs through laws, regulations, standards, certifications, and ecolabels. Laws and regulations define required baseline behavior. If manufacturers do not meet criteria, they receive punishment. In contrast, certification to a standard is voluntary. Many standards that promote sustainable initiatives are consensus based and encourage competition. Non-governmental organizations such as standards setting organizations and trade groups define standards. A second group of organizations evaluate materials and products for adherence, providing certification, and an ecolabel or certification mark. Laws and regulations set baseline measurements for environmental impacts that all manufacturers must meet. Standards are voluntary, incentivizing manufacturers to reduce environmental impacts to attain certification. Certification is often evaluated at a level of basic, silver, gold, or platinum.
EVALUATION OF THE WAVE-RESISTANCE GREEN FUNCTION, PART 1: THE DOUBLE INTEGRAL

This work studies the double integral component that represents the local, nonradiating symmetric portion of the steady, translating, free-surface source potential. After developing systematic expansions for the singular component of this function at the origin and its asymptotic expansion in the opposite extreme of large distance from the origin, polynomial approximations are developed that enable the double integral to be evaluated in a simple and computationally efficient manner. Two alternative forms for these approximations are presented.
Left handed metamaterials with negative index of refraction

Summary form only given. The author presents an introduction to the design and physical consequences of metamaterials with a frequency band with simultaneous negative permittivity and permeability. Negative index of refraction at microwave frequencies, and novel methods of construction are discussed.
Augmenting advance care planning in poor prognosis cancer with a video decision aid: a preintervention-postintervention study.

Background We tested whether an educational video on the goals of care in advanced cancer (life-prolonging, basic or comfort care) can help patients understand these goals and impact preferences for resuscitation.
Fernando Ortiz e Allan Kardec: espiritismo e transculturação

This essay explores the importance of Kardec's Spiritism in Fernando Ortiz's beginnings and in his long, often roundabout, inquiry leading to the notion of "transculturation". In his formative years Ortiz was deeply influenced by Lombroso but also, like so many other writers and intellectuals, by Kardec. He published fundamental essays on Spiritism, especially on the implications of reincarnation for spiritual and social hierarchies. Kardec's doctrine of the spiritual progress of the soul allowed Ortiz to argue for a more inclusionary national project. Kardecism also provided metaphors that run like a thread through Ortiz's major works on African cultures in Cuba and in his poetics. The "transmigration" of the souls, with its possibilities of endless new beginnnings, enabled Ortiz to introduce a spiritual and political element into the far-ranging idea of transculturation.
Exploiting spatial correlation towards an energy efficient clustered aggregation technique (CAG) [wireless sensor network applications]

In wireless sensor networks (WSN), monitoring applications use in-network aggregation to minimize energy overhead by reducing the number of transmissions between the nodes. We note that nearby sensor nodes monitoring an environmental feature (e.g., temperature or brightness) typically register similar values. In this paper, we propose clustered aggregation (CAG), which is a mechanism that reduces the number of transmissions and provides approximate results to aggregate queries by utilizing the spatial correlation of sensor data. The result is guaranteed to be within a user-provided error-tolerance threshold. While a query is disseminated to the network, CAG forms clusters of nodes sensing similar values. Subsequently, only one value per cluster is transmitted up the aggregation tree. We use mathematical models and simulations with synthetic and empirical data to evaluate the efficiency-correctness tradeoff of CAG. Our simulation shows that with highly correlated sensor reading and 10% error threshold, CAG can save the communication overhead by as much as 70.9% over TAG while incurring a modest 1.7% error in result.
Role of surface complexed iron in oxidant generation and lung inflammation induced by silicates

Inhalation of silicates induces a variety of lung diseases in humans. The molecular mechanism(s) by which these dusts cause disease is not known. Because several naturally occurring mineral oxides have large amounts of transition metal ions on their surfaces, we tested the hypothesis that surface complexation of iron may be an important determinant of their ability to induce disease. Silica, crocidolite, kaolinite, and talc complexed considerable concentrations of Fe3+ onto their surfaces from both in vitro and in vivo sources. The potential biological importance of iron complexation was assessed by examining the relationship between surface [Fe3+] and the ability of silicates to mediate oxidative degradation of deoxyribose in vitro, induce a respiratory burst and elicit leukotriene B4 (LTB4) release by alveolar macrophages (AM) in vitro, and cause acute alveolitis after intratracheal insufflation. For these studies, three varieties of silicate dusts were used: iron-loaded, wetted (unmodified), and deferoxamine-treated to remove Fe3+. The ability of silicates to catalyze oxidant generation in an ascorbate/H2O2 system in vitro, to trigger respiratory burst activity and LTB4 release by AM, and to induce acute lung inflammation in the rat all increased with surface complexed Fe3+. The results of these studies suggest that surface complexation of iron may be an important determinant in the pathogenesis of disease after silicate exposure.
Differences in anatomy and outcomes in patients treated with open mesenteric revascularization before and after the endovascular era

Objective To compare the clinical characteristics, anatomy, and outcomes of patients treated with open mesenteric revascularization (OR) for chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) before and after the preferential use of endovascular revascularization (ER). Methods We reviewed a prospective database of 257 patients treated for CMI with OR or ER from 1998 to 2009. Treatment trends were analyzed to identify changes in practice paradigm. Prior to 2002, OR was used in 58 of 81 patients (72%). Since 2002, ER surpassed OR as the most common treatment option; OR was indicated in 58 of 176 patients (33%) who either failed ER or had unfavorable lesions for stent placement. We analyzed differences in clinical data, anatomical characteristics, and outcomes in 116 patients treated with OR before (Pre-Endo, n = 58) and after 2002 (Post-Endo, n = 58). Anatomical characteristics were determined by a blinded investigator using conventional angiography, magnetic resonance angiography, and computed tomography angiography with centerline of flow measurements. Results Both groups had similar demographics, risk factors, and clinical presentation, with the exception of higher ( P P = .048) and superior mesenteric artery (SMA) occlusion (67% vs 41%; P = .005). There were no differences ( P > .05) in the number of vessels revascularized (1.8 ± 0.4 vs 1.7 ± 0.5) and in graft configuration (antegrade, 91% vs 78%; retrograde, 9% vs 22%; two-vessel, 69% vs 81%) in the Pre- and Post-Endo groups, respectively. There were no differences in operative mortality (1.7% vs 3.4%), morbidity (43% vs 53%), length of stay (12 ± 1 vs 12 ± 1 days), and immediate symptom improvement (88% vs 86%) in the Pre- and Post-Endo groups, respectively. Mean follow-up was 57 ± 6 months for patients treated before 2002 and 29 ± 6 months for those treated after 2002 ( P = .0001). At 5 years, primary and secondary patency rates and recurrence-free survival were 82%, 86%, and 84% in the Pre-Endo and 81%, 82%, and 76% in the Post-Endo groups ( P > .05). Conclusion OR has been used in approximately one-third of patients treated for CMI since 2002. Despite more comorbidities and more extensive mesenteric artery disease in patients now treated with OR, outcomes have not changed compared with those operated prior to the preferential use of mesenteric stents before 2002.
Costs and utilization of hemophilia A and B patients with and without inhibitors

AbstractObjective:To evaluate the health system costs among patients with hemophilia A and B with and without inhibitors over 5 years.Methods:This was a retrospective, observational study utilizing medical and pharmacy electronic medical records and administrative encounters/claims data tracking US patients between 2006–2011. Patients with diagnosis codes for hemophilia A and B were identified. Patients with inhibitors were characterized by utilization of bypassing agents activated prothrombin complex concentrate or factor VIIa on two or more distinct dates. Severity was classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on laboratory tests of clotting factor.Results:There were 160 hemophilia A patients and 54 hemophilia B patients identified. From this group, seven were designated as patients with inhibitors (five with hemophilia A and two with hemophilia B). Hemophilia A patients without inhibitors reported 65 (41.9%) as being severe, 19 (12.3%) as moderate, and 71 (45.8%) as mild. Hemophilia B patients with...
The mentally ill substance abuser: challenges for the administrator.

Despite a high incidence of dual diagnosis among substance abusers and among the mentally ill, few programs provide the comprehensive services needed to address both problems simultaneously. Dual diagnosis presents a series of challenges for administrators: Which problem should be addressed first? Should admission criteria be altered to exclude such clients? Can more comprehensive services be offered within existing funding?