cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Shakespearian Clock: Time and the Vision of Reality in Romeo and Juliet and the Tempest

EW approaches to a given play reveal its form and its view of reality as quickly as a study of its treatment of time. This is so because drama, above all other arts, is the temporal art. The arts may be divided for convenience into the "literary", the "static", and the "performing" arts. In the static arts-painting, sculpture, architecture-time plays no constitutive role, not even in such a painting as Chagall's "Time is a River without Banks". For although time may be the subject of such works, its expression is assimilated totally to space, color, and geometric form. In poetry and fiction noi only is time often an important part of the subject, but -also its passage may become part of the created illusion. This potentiality in fiction has been much explored by novelists since Proust and Joyce. In poetry, the outstanding example of time as a subject is found in Shakespeare's sonnets. Except in very long poems, however, it is not easily possible for poetry to generate an illusion of passing time. In works designed to be performed before an audience, time enters art in a much more complex way. It becomes a constituent part of the artistic form itself. Music, the dance, and drama are realized as works of art only as they have duration in the time of their performance. The form of each of these depends in no small part upon rhythm and duration. Drama is the only art that is performed and that also may speak of time as a subject. (The dance and program music may do so to the extent that they introduce narrative and become "dramatic", but narrative as such is not intrinsic to them.) Drama is partly a literary and partly a performing art. It is a combination (actually a fusion) of word and action. The action unfolds in time, and the word attempts to understand and comment upon the action-to reveal the mystery of action-filled time. It follows that much about the form and content of a play will be revealed by analysis of its treatment of time.' Such an analysis can be useful, for instance, in defining the view of reality given in The Tempest, and in relating that view to what we find elsewhere in Shakespeare. I shall try to show here the working of such a method. The Tempest shows a manner of "imitating" reality that is radically different from most of Shakespeare's earlier work. But how is it different? What new
Ab initio Splice Site Prediction with Simple Domain Adaptation Classifiers

The next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) have made it affordable to sequence any organism, opening the door to assembling new genomes and annotating them, even for non-model organisms. One option for annotating a genome is to assemble RNA-Seq reads into a transcriptome and aligning the transcriptome to the genome assembly to identify the protein-encoding genes. However, there are a couple of problems with this approach. RNA-Seq is error prone and therefore the gene models generated with this technique need to be validated. In addition, this method can only capture the genes expressed at the time of sequencing. Machine learning can help address both of these problems by generating ab initio gene models that can provide supporting evidence to the models generated with RNA-Seq, as well as predict additional genes that were not expressed during sequencing. However, machine learning algorithms need large amounts of labeled data to learn accurate classifiers, and newly sequenced, non-model organisms have insufficient labeled data. This can be addressed by leveraging the abundant labeled data from a related model-organism (the source domain) and use it in conjunction with the little labeled data from the organism of interest (the target domain) to train a classifier in a domain adaptation setting. The method we propose uses this approach and generates accurate classification on the task of splice site prediction â a difficult and essential step in gene prediction. It is simple â it combines source and target labeled data, with different weights, into one dataset, and then trains a supervised classifier on the combined dataset. Despite its simplicity it is surprisingly accurate, with highest areas under the precision-recall curve between 53.33% and 83.57%. Out of the domain adaptation classifiers evaluated (SVM, na¨A±ve Bayes, and logistic regression) this method produced the best results in 12 out of the 16 cases studied.
Analysis on the Epidemiological Feature and Control Measure for Rabies in Liaocheng City

Objective To analyze the epidemiological feature of rabies and explore the risk factors in Liaocheng City for the control of rabies.Methods Data on rabies in Liaocheng City from Jan.2005 to Dec.2006 were analyzed using the descriptive epidemiological analysis methods.Results The new cases of rabies were tended to focus in the area of Shen and Yanggu County.Dogs were the main hosts(86.4%).81.8% of the persons were affected through dog bites with major wounded part as head-neck(36.4%).Conclusion Severe deep bites,wounded part close to the central nervous system and more than one wound per case were the risk factors in patients with rabies.Maltreatment and low immunization rate were important risk factors as well.It is the major prevention strategy to enforce the government of rabies,enhance immunity vaccinates rate to rabies and eliminate wild dogs.
Surveillance on Major Species of Host Animals and Vectors of Plague in Shenzhen City

Objective To understand the situation of animal plague epidemic in the Shenzhen city. Methods Host animals were caught by cage. Flea was classified after being identified. Yersinia pestis F1 antibodies were detected by IHA and Yersinia pestis was separated by organ impression. Results 472 rat-like animals were captured from 25 surveillance sites in 4 districts, belonging to 2 orders, 3 genera, and 4 species. The capture rate was 8.25%. R.norvegicus, the dominant species in this surveillance, constituted 87.32% of the total number. R.flavipectus, S.murinus and B.indica accounted for 8.03%, 4.42% and 0.21% of the total number, respectively. Gender ratio was 1∶0.82, (famale:male). Reproduction index of R.flavipectus was 0.55, the highest among all, followed by R.norvegicus (0.41), and S.murinus (0.14), hinting that the population size of R.flavipectus might grow more rapidly than the other species in the future. Out of 472 rat-like animals, 129 were identified to be parasitized by 565 flea, all of which were Xenopslla cheopis. Total flea infection rate was 27.33% and the flea index was 1.20. R.flavipectus had the highest flea infected rate (63.16) and flea index (3.80). Flea infecting rate and flea index for R.norvegicus and S.murinus were 25.70%, 15.00%, 1.01 and 0.20, respectively. Capture rate in 5 different habitats varied from 2.61% to 5.42% and flea index of X.cheopis ranged from 0.68 to 2.59. 10 out of 25 surveillance sites X.cheopis flea index was 10. No F1 antibody was detected by IHA from 458 samples. No Yersinia pestis was culuted from 407 organs. Pathogenological and serological results were all negative. Conclusion Currently, no animal plague epidemic was found in Shenzhen city, but relatively high density of host animals and vectors were found, which would possibly facilitate animal plague epidemic if no proper measures was implemented.
Will the quality of US healthcare survive

Should patients have the right to choose high-quality medical care? Yes, says the author, who explains how tax-free medical savings accounts and high-deductible insurance policies can help cut costs and allow patients and physicians to make their own decisions on minor medical problems. He also examines what he sees as the restrictions of managed care and discusses how the too liberal use of advanced technology can lead to "silent rationing."
A lifestyle intervention or metformin prevented or delayed the onset of type 2 diabetes in persons at risk.

Source Citation Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes with lifestyle intervention or metformin. N Engl J Med. 2002 Feb 7;346:393-403. 11832527 (A...
Metaphysical Presuppositions of Neoclassical Economics

The extent to which neoclassical economics reflects a set of subjective values of enlightenment thinkers, instead of objective facts, and the context in which it operates are usually neglected by scholars. We argue that it is not the articulation of consumer choice problem which is important for neoclassical economics, rather it has a two-fold agenda: (i) to provide a technology in order to legitimize capitalist social order according to liberal values and thereby, (ii) justify the liberal ideals of political philosophy. Thus, we strongly reject the claims of its value-neutrality. Liberal society (as legitimized by neoclassical economists) is represented by a model in which each individual exists in an isolated cell of self-interest maximization connected to the rest of society only through the voluntary relationships based on exchange of goods and services. Self-interested individuation and social harmony are seen as mutually reinforcing and, hence, harmonious. The body is seen as the primary instrument dedicated to the only legitimate objective of accumulation for its own sake. On the basis of such a model, perfect competition finds justification as a system that most nearly meets the desire for accumulation. The formation of government to organize society is undertaken by the infallible general-will of the citizens of a society. The government is supposed to provide a neutral framework within which people can pursue their own preferences based on their own conceptions of the good. The questions of ‘right preferences’ and ‘origin of production technology’ are deliberately kept aside. Policies are advocated to move the actual world to the ideal world of perfect competition.
A versatile, SOI BiCMOS technology with complementary lateral BJT's

A silicon-on-insulator, fully-complementary BiCMOS process has been developed for realizing high-performance circuit operation in the sub-3.3 V power supply regime. Complementary, double-diffused lateral BJTs and fully-overlapped, asymmetrical DDD MOSFETs have been successfully integrated in a 10-mask process by utilizing the process simplifications that are unique to thin-film SOI substrates. The BJTs exhibit the highest lateral current gains reported to date, with h/sub fe/=120 and 225 for the NPN and PNP, respectively. NPN f/sub t/=4.5 GHz was achieved, and f/sub t/>20 GHz is possible with an improved layout. The MOSFETs demonstrate excellent short-channel behavior down to L/sub eff/=0.18 mu m, with T/sub ox/=10 nm. The p+ gate, SOI PMOS device exhibits superior I/sub dsat/ and g/sub msat/. A record propagation delay of 12 ps/stage at V/sub dd/=5 V and 300 K was obtained for the CMOS ring oscillators fabricated in this technology. This demonstrates the performance achievable with a deep-submicron SOI process. >
Kinesthetic Feedback During 2DOF Wrist Movements via a Novel MR-Compatible Robot

We demonstrate the interaction control capabilities of the MR-SoftWrist, a novel MR-compatible robot capable of applying accurate kinesthetic feedback to wrist pointing movements executed during fMRI. The MR-SoftWrist, based on a novel design that combines parallel piezoelectric actuation with compliant force feedback, is capable of delivering 1.5 N $\cdot \text{m}$ of torque to the wrist of an interacting subject about the flexion/extension and radial/ulnar deviation axes. The robot workspace, defined by admissible wrist rotation angles, fully includes a circle with a 20 deg radius. Via dynamic characterization, we demonstrate capability for transparent operation with low (10% of maximum torque output) backdrivability torques at nominal speeds. Moreover, we demonstrate a 5.5 Hz stiffness control bandwidth for a 14 dB range of virtual stiffness values, corresponding to 25%–125% of the device’s physical reflected stiffness in the nominal configuration. We finally validate the possibility of operation during fMRI via a case study involving one healthy subject. Our validation experiment demonstrates the capability of the device to apply kinesthetic feedback to elicit distinguishable kinetic and neural responses without significant degradation of image quality or task-induced head movements. With this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of MR-compatible devices like the MR-SoftWrist to be used in support of motor control experiments investigating wrist pointing under robot-applied force fields. Such future studies may elucidate fundamental neural mechanisms enabling robot-assisted motor skill learning, which is crucial for robot-aided neurorehabilitation.
Cohort study of early literacy and childbearing over the reproductive lifecourse

Introduction Literacy is linked to a range of health outcomes, but its association with reproductive health in high-income countries is not well understood. We assessed the relationship between early-life literacy and childbearing across the reproductive lifecourse in the USA. Study design A prospective cohort design was employed to assess early-life literacy and subsequent childbearing, using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979. The US youth aged 14–22 years in 1979, including 6283 women, were surveyed annually through 1994 and biannually thereafter. Literacy was assessed in 1980 using the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Reading Grade Level (RGL). Cumulative childbearing and grand multiparity (≥5 births) were assessed in 2010. Summary statistics, χ2, Kruskal-Wallis, test for trend and logistic regression, were used. Results Of 6283 women enrolled, 4025 (64%) had complete data and were included in the analyses. In 1980, these women were on average 18 years old and in 2010 they were 45. Median cumulative parity decreased for each RGL and ranged from 3.0 ( 12th grade) (p=0.001). Adjusting for race/ethnicity, poverty status, whether a woman had had a child in 1980, and age in 1980, odds of grand multiparity were 1.9 (95% CI 1.1 to 3.5) and 1.8 (95% CI 1.0 to 3.3), greater among women with Discussion In the USA, early-life literacy is associated with total parity over a woman9s lifecourse. Literacy is a powerful social determinant of reproductive health in this high-income nation just as it has been shown to be in low-income nations.
Use of Preventive Health Services in People With Serious Mental Illness: Consumer Perspectives on Barriers and Solutions.

Objective This study asked 350 consumers with serious mental illness (DSM-IV) (who are using community mental health services in Sacramento County, California) for their perspective about barriers and solutions to use of preventive health services. Methods Two questions were posed: (1) What do you think keeps you from getting preventive tests? (2) What do you think would help you complete the recommended tests? Participants were interviewed between October 2010 and December 2012. A mixed qualitative and quantitative data analysis method was used to examine participant responses. Results Perceived barriers included low priority (n = 64, 20%), doctor (did not order) (n = 55, 17%), finances/insurance barriers (n = 45, 14%), fear (n = 39, 12%), and knowledge about the services (n = 31, 10%). Common solutions included doctor-related interventions (n = 75, 23%), information (n = 61, 19%), insurance coverage (n = 49, 15%), transportation (n = 36, 11%), and use of reminders (n = 28, 9%). Conclusions Consumers suggest that interventions may include providing more information and reminding doctors to order the tests and patients to complete the tests.
The Persian Gulf: The Rise and Fall of Bandar-e Lengeh, the Distribution Center for the Arabian Coast, 1750–1930

The Rise and Fall of Bandar-e Lengeh, the Distribution Center for the Arabian Coast, 1750‒1930 is the third in the Mage Publishers series entitled The Persian Gulf. The book is a detailed chronolog...
Effect of annealing atmosphere pO2 on leakage current in 80(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-20(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3 piezoelectric thin films

Ferroelectric 80(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3–20(Bi0.5K0.5)TiO3 thin films were fabricated by chemical solution deposition on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates. Films were post-annealed after crystallization at four different oxygen partial pressures (pO2): O2, air, N2, and H2/N2, given by order of decreasing pO2. In general, post-annealing in more oxidizing atmospheres will decrease the concentration of positive charged oxygen vacancies, thus either increasing the number of electron holes or decreasing the number of electrons. In principle, this allows for the determination of the majority electronic carrier type by studying the conductivity of the films. The DC conductivity was measured as a function of electric field, and the results were found to be consistent with n-type conduction. Also, while the leakage current is generally space charge-limited, there are several key features of the current density-electric field characteristics which were affected by the post-anneal pO2. For instance, while remaining space charge is...
Realist-expressivism and the fundamental role of normative belief

The goal of this paper is to show that a cognitivist–externalist view about moral judgment is compatible with a key intuition that motivates non-cognitivist expressivism. This is the intuition that normative judgments have a close connection to action that ordinary “descriptive factual beliefs” do not have, or, as James Dreier has suggested, that part of the fundamental role of normative judgment is to motivate. One might think that cognitivist–externalist positions about normative judgment are committed to viewing normative judgments as having the same role in our psychology as ordinary descriptive factual beliefs. This paper argues to the contrary. It restricts attention to moral judgments. It develops an account of moral belief according to which, first, moral beliefs are representational cognitive states that have the same basic nature as ordinary descriptive factual beliefs. Yet, second, their fundamental role is such that, when all goes well, moral beliefs mesh with our moral policies to motivate action. The paper draws on a society-centered account of the grounding of morality, a distinction between “basic” and “internal” ways of thinking of the moral properties, and a hybrid account of the “meaning” of moral predicates, called “realist-expressivism.”
Provenance Studies of Midwestern Pipestones Using a Portable Infrared Spectrometer

Affordable, portable, and non-destructive instruments that work equally well in the field and in the lab are rare. For several years, our team of archaeologists and geologists at the University of Illinois has been using a Portable Infrared Mineral Analyzer (PIMA) along with X-ray diffraction and selected chemical techniques to determine the types and origins of pipestones used to make prehistoric North American figurines and pipes (Emerson and Hughes 2000).
Gambogic acid mediates transferrin receptor-1 phosphorylation leading to jnk-dependant apoptosis

3399 Transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1) is a ubiquitous type II membrane receptor with 63aa in the N-terminal cytoplasmic region. TfR1 is highly expressed in proliferating normal cells and cancer cells but not quiescent cells. Overexpression of TfR1 in highly proliferating cells and cancer cells is thought to be a result of the increased requirement of iron uptake necessary for cell growth. Recently, our study has shown that total iron content, measured by atomic absorption, is comparable among various types of cells expressing different levels of TfR1. These results suggest that TfR1 may have other functions because TfR1 gene expression could be independent of iron status. In the present study, we have tested a hypothesis that, in addition to its known function of iron transport through transferrin, TfR1 is a signaling molecule that plays a role in cell survival and apoptosis. Using gambogic acid (GA), an apoptosis inducer and recently identified TfR1 ligand, we have found that GA induced tyrosine phosphorylation of TfR1 protein, most likely in theY20 position of the cytoplasmic region, in primary normal human epidermal keratinocytes and breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. On the contrary, the iron transport protein transferrin and inorganic iron did not induce tyrosine phosphorylation of TfR1. Furthermore, GA, but not transferrin, activated the JNK and p38 signal pathways and cell apoptosis. The JNK kinase inhibitor SP600125 partially blocked GA-induced apoptosis and caspase-3 and -8 cleavages. Upon GA treatment, Src was activated exerting its anti-apoptotic effect and the Src inhibitor PP2 promoted GA-induce apoptosis and JNK activation. Our results indicate that in addition to iron transport, TfR1 may play a role in regulating cell survival and apoptosis. This work is supported by R21 CA132684.
An emotional expression monitoring tool for facial videos

The proliferation of mobile devices and the ubiquitous nature of cameras today serve to increase the importance of Emotionally Aware Computational Devices. We present a tool to help clinicians and mental health professionals to monitor and assess patients by providing an automated appraisal of a patient’s mood as determined from facial expressions. The App takes video as input from a patient and creates an annotated, configurable record for the clinician as output accessible from mobile devices, Internet or IoT devices.
Unidad Campesina del MIR durante la Unidad Popular chilena: memorias subalternas desde la militancia revolucionaria, femenina y local

espanolEl articulo describe, desde un relato de vida, los inicios de la trayectoria politica de una militante del Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR), a partir de su participacion en una unidad campesina del Movimiento Campesino Revolucionario (MCR) en los Andes y Quillota (Valparaiso) en el marco de la Reforma Agraria impulsada por la Unidad Popular chilena (1970-1973). La reconstruccion de esta trayectoria ilustra como en el ingreso al MIR influyen los legados familiares, la reforma universitaria y la insercion en el campo de una estudiante en practica. A su vez, el analisis de la forma en que se reconstruye este relato contribuye a comprender como operan memorias sociales sobre el pasado reciente en Chile triplemente subalternas: las memorias militantes, femeninas y locales. EnglishBased on a life history interview, this paper describes the beginning of a woman’s political trajectory, as a part of Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR, spanish for Revolutionary Left-wing Movement) since she was first involved in a peasant cell of Movimiento Campesino Revolucionario (MCR, spanish for Revolutionary Peasant Movement) in Los Andes and Quillota (Valparaiso), during the Unidad Popular’s Agrarian Reform in Chile (1970-1973). The reconstruction of this trajectory shows how joining MIR is affected by family legacies, the University Reform and an intern’s entry in the countryside. In time, the analysis of the way this life story is rebuilt helps us to understand how social memories about the recent past work when they are simultaneously subaltern in three ways; militant, female and local.
E-cigarettes: Comparing the Possible Risks of Increasing Smoking Initiation With the Potential Benefits of Increasing Smoking Cessation

Introduction The public health community is divided regarding electronic cigarettes. Skeptics emphasize potential vaping-induced increases in smoking among children and possible health hazards for adults. Enthusiasts consider e-cigarettes much less dangerous than smoking and believe they increase adult smoking cessation. We compare potential health benefits and costs to put these two perspectives in context. Methods Using a dynamic model that tracks the US adult population's smoking status and smoking-related deaths over time, we simulate the effects of vaping-induced smoking initiation and cessation on life-years saved or lost to the year 2070. The base case assumes that vaping annually increases smoking initiation by 2% and smoking cessation by 10%. Sensitivity analyses raise the initiation rate increase to 6% while decreasing the cessation rate increase to 5%. Sensitivity analyses also test vaping's reducing the health benefits of quitting smoking by 10%. Results With base-case assumptions, the population gains almost 3.3 million life-years by 2070. If all people who quit smoking by vaping lose 10% of the benefit of quitting smoking, the net life-year gain falls to 2.4 million. Under worst-case assumptions, in which vaping increases smoking initiation by 6% and cessation by 5%, and vaping-induced quitters lose 10% of the health benefits, the population gains over 580000 life-years. Conclusion Potential life-years gained as a result of vaping-induced smoking cessation are projected to exceed potential life-years lost due to vaping-induced smoking initiation. These results hold over a wide range of plausible parameters. Implications Our analysis strongly suggests that the upside health benefit associated with e-cigarettes, in terms of their potential to increase adult smoking cessation, exceeds their downside risk to health as a result of their possibly increasing the number of youthful smoking initiators. Public messaging and policy should continue to strive to reduce young people's exposure to all nicotine and tobacco products. But, they should not do so at the expense of limiting such products' potential to help adult smokers to quit.
Nuclear import pathway key to rescuing dominant progerin phenotypes.

In this issue of Science Signaling, Larrieu et al. show that an acetyltransferase inhibitor that rescues many dominant nuclear phenotypes caused by progerin, a truncated form of lamin A, does so by releasing the specialized nuclear import receptor TNPO1 from sequestration by microtubules. This release enables TNPO1-dependent import of specific cargoes, including the nuclear pore protein Nup153 and the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein hnRNPA1, thus restoring the functionality of nuclear pore complexes, rebalancing the nucleocytoplasmic Ran gradient, and normalizing gene expression.
A transport condensed history algorithm for electron Monte Carlo simulations

An advanced multiple scattering algorithm for the Monte Carlo simulation of electron transport problems is developed. Unlike established multiple scattering algorithms, this new method, called tran...
Image-Guided Ablation Treatment for Lung Cancer Patients

The majority of lung cancer patients are not surgical candidates, either to advanced disease or comorbidities. Radiotherapy has been the traditional fallback treatment for localized disease with improved results due to the newer stereotactic techniques. Thermal ablation is a minimally invasive CT-guided percutaneous treatment that is commonly used with this group of patients, and the published results are very promising. Currently, the most widely used ablation technique in the treatment of lung malignancies is radiofrequency ablation (RFA), followed by microwave ablation (MWA) and cryoablation (CA). Recent studies with MWA and CA have shown some advantages particularly with larger tumors. Further research with these thermal techniques is necessary to determine the clinical indications, treatment strategy, and follow-up. This chapter will cover the application of thermal ablation in the thorax, patient selection, basic aspects of the procedure and techniques, imaging follow-up, and patient outcomes.
Cervantes y El Greco: algunos paralelismos en su obra

Las coincidencias y paralelismos entre la vida y obra de Cervantes y la de El Greco merecen destacarse. En sus retratos y "autorretratos" y en ciertas obras de tematica contemplativa y religiosa se vislumbran semejanzas de contenido y forma. Toledo como ciudad y simbolo es muy significativa para los dos. La fe, el sacrificio, el amor y la redencion son temas representados honda y bellamente en sus obras. En particular se destacan dos ejemplos: "El entierro del Conde de Orgaz" de El Greco y «El rufian dichoso» de Cervantes
Optimization of an Anisotropic Blank Shape Based on Ideal Sheet Forming Design Theory and FEM Analysis

Most of the currently available experimental and analytical technologies for optimizing sheet metal forming processes are intrinsically indirect tools for design purposes. Therefore, it usually takes a significant number of iterations to obtain optimum processes. In order to better guide this iterative procedure by overcoming the indirect nature of the current tools, a direct design theory called ideal forming theory was previously developed [1–3]. The essence of this process design theory is that material elements are prescribed to deform along minimum plastic work paths (or proportional logarithmic strain paths), assuming that such paths provide optimum formability. Then, the optimum forming processes are obtained so as to have the most desirable strain distributions in final products. As output, the design theory provides the ideal forming process parameters such as the optimum initial blank shape and optimum strain distribution as well as intermediate shapes of products and boundary traction histories.
Pulling Back the Curtain: Wicked Experiences

This chapter discusses the experiential marketing techniques that have helped to sustain Wicked for so many years. We analyze six key data points: New York’s “Behind the Emerald Curtain Tour,” the traveling mall-show “The World of Wicked,” “A Special Performance of Wicked Songs,” “Witches’ Night Out,” the Broadway Green Alliance, and the “BullyBust” initiative. Taken together, these Wicked events keep the show in the public eye, reinforce its brand, and provide consumers with multisensory embodied experiences. They attract new consumers to the show while fostering an emotional connection with established consumers.
Microsatellite enhancers can be targeted to impair tumorigenesis

Dysregulation of repetitive elements has been implicated in many cancers and other human diseases; however, the role of repetitive elements remains largely unexplored. In this issue of Genes & Development, Boulay and colleagues (pp. 1008-1019) explore the ability of GGAA repeats to act as alternative enhancers activated by EWS-FLI1 in Ewing sarcoma and contribute to tumorigenesis. Using CRISPR-mediated epigenome editing, repression of EWS-FLI1 targeted microsatellite enhancers halted aberrant gene expression and impaired the growth of Ewing sarcoma xenografts in vivo. The study reveals the regulatory capacity of repetitive elements in cancer and offers insight into therapeutic targets for Ewing sarcoma.
Outcomes Following Treatment of the Infected Achilles Tendon

Background:Infection following Achilles tendon surgery is a devastating complication and can be difficult to treat and often leads to poor outcomes. A number of treatments have been described, but ...
RET-rearranged lung cancers: Immunophenotype and response to immunotherapy.

9034Background: In patients with RET-rearranged lung cancers, multikinase inhibitors (e.g. cabozantinib and vandetanib) and specific (e.g. pemetrexed-containing) chemotherapy regimens have documented activity. In contrast, PD-L1 expression, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and the treatment outcomes of immunotherapy are not well characterized in this genomic subset. Methods: Patients with a pathologically confirmed diagnosis of lung cancer harboring a RET rearrangement were identified between January 2012 and December 2017. PD-L1 expression was determined by IHC (E1L3N Clone). TMB was calculated in tumors that underwent NGS (Mutations/Mb, MSK-IMPACT). Objective response rate (ORR) to immunotherapy was evaluated by RECIST. Results: 74 patients with RET-rearranged lung cancers were identified. The median age was 63 (range 34-80 years), 55% were women, and 68% were never smokers. The majority (97%) had adenocarcinoma and 85% had metastatic disease. In patients with sufficient tissue for analysis, tumor PD-L1 e...
IgE antibody-based analysis for detecting allergens in food

Abstract IgE antibodies circulate in the blood of individuals sensitized to food allergens. This chapter overviews in vivo and in vitro assays that employ human IgE antibodies as reagents for the detection and quantification of select allergens in extracts of foods. More specifically, judicious application of dilutions of physiological food extracts into the skin of humans known to be allergic to a specific food allows detection and semi-quantitative measurement of the allergen in food extracts. Alternatively, human serum containing IgE antibodies to known food allergens can be used as reagents in a competitive inhibition allergosorbent assay to quantify allergen in unknown food extracts. Performance characteristics, assay limitations and assay quality control are discussed for in vivo and in vitro assays.
Tobacco Use Assessment and Treatment in Cancer Patients: A Scoping Review of Oncology Care Clinician Adherence to Clinical Practice Guidelines in the U.S.

Background Smoking after a cancer diagnosis negatively impacts health outcomes; smoking cessation improves symptoms, side effects, and overall prognosis. The Public Health Service and major oncology organizations have established guidelines for tobacco use treatment among cancer patients, including clinician assessment of tobacco use at each visit. Oncology care clinicians (OCCs) play important roles in this process (noted as the 5As: Asking about tobacco use, Advising users to quit, Assessing willingness to quit, Assisting in quit attempts, and Arranging follow-up contact). However, OCCs may not be using the "teachable moments" related to cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship to provide cessation interventions. Materials and methods In this scoping literature review of articles from 2006 to 2017, we discuss (1) frequency and quality of OCCs' tobacco use assessments with cancer patients and survivors; (2) barriers to providing tobacco treatment for cancer patients; and (3) the efficacy and future of provider-level interventions to facilitate adherence to tobacco treatment guidelines. Results OCCs are not adequately addressing smoking cessation with their patients. The reviewed studies indicate that although >75% assess tobacco use during an intake visit and >60% typically advise patients to quit, a substantially lower percentage recommend or arrange smoking cessation treatment or follow-up after a quit attempt. Less than 30% of OCCs report adequate training in cessation interventions. Conclusion Intervention trials focused on provider- and system-level change are needed to promote integration of evidence-based tobacco treatment into the oncology setting. Attention should be given to the barriers faced by OCCs when targeting interventions for the oncologic context. Implications for practice This article reviews the existing literature on the gap between best and current practices for tobacco use assessment and treatment in the oncologic context. It also identifies clinician- and system-level barriers that should be addressed in order to lessen this gap and provides suggestions that could be applied across different oncology practice settings to connect patients with tobacco use treatments that may improve overall survival and quality of life.
Evidence of differential microbiomes in healing versus non-healing diabetic foot ulcers prior to and following foot salvage therapy.

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFU) contribute to 80% of lower extremity amputations. Although physicians currently rely on clinical signs along with non-specific biomarkers of infection, such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein, to diagnose and monitor DFU, there is no specific and sensitive measure available to monitor or prognosticate the success of foot salvage therapy (FST). To address this we performed a prospective, observational microbiome analysis to test the hypotheses that: (i) the initial microbiomes of healed versus non-healed DFU are distinct; (ii) the microbial load, diversity and presence of pathogenic organism of the DFU change in response to antibiotics treatment; and (iii) the changes in the DFU microbiome during treatment are prognostic of clinical outcome. To test this, microbiome analyses were performed on 23 DFU patients undergoing FST, in which wound samples were collected at zero, four, and eight weeks following wound debridement and antibiotics treatment. Bacterial abundance was determined using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Eleven patients healed their DFU, while FDT failed to heal DFU in the other 12 patients. Microbiome results demonstrated that healing DFUs had a larger abundance Actinomycetales and Staphylococcaceae (p < 0.05), while DFUs that did not heal had a higher abundance of Bacteroidales and Streptococcaceae (p < 0.05). FST marked increases Actinomycetales in DFU, and this increase is significantly greater in patients that healed (p < 0.05). Future studies to confirm the differential microbiomes, and that increasing Actinomycetales is prognostic of successful FST are warranted. Statement of Clinical Significance: Tracking changes in the prevalence of pathogens in diabetic foot ulcers may be a clinical tool for monitoring treatment response to foot salvage therapy and prognosticating the need for further surgical intervention. The initial wound sample microbiome may provide important prognostic information on the eventual clinical outcome of foot salvage therapy. It may serve as an important clinical tool for patient counseling and making surgical decision of pursuing foot salvage versus amputation. © 2019 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 37:1596-1603, 2019.
A multiwavelength, common-mode architecture for a digital holographic microscope

Spectral properties of living organism can provide a discriminating method for characterization. However, digital holographic microscopy (DHM), a high-resolution, volumetric imaging technique that is well-suited for examining microbial species is typically monochromatic. Thus, the spectral properties of bacteria are not probed with DHM save only for the wavelength of operation. Here we describe a new DHM instrument which enhances the method via the simultaneous recording of wavelength multiplexed holograms of the sample. This coarse spectral encoding is akin to labeling with RGB values, thereby producing colorized images of the species which enables a new dimension of characterization. This new instrument is derived from a previous architecture which has already demonstrated superior opto/mechanical stability. Herein, this novel instrument is described, and the results of experimental measurements taken with this new instrument are shown.
Hyporheic Interactions Increase Zinc Exposure and Effects on Hyalella azteca in Sediments under Flow-Through Conditions

Groundwater-surface water interactions in the hyporheic transition zone can influence contaminant exposure to benthic macroinvertebrates. In streams, hyporheic flows are subject to varying redox conditions, which influence biogeochemical cycling and metal speciation. Despite these relationships, little is known about how these interactions influence the ecological risk of contaminants. The present study investigated the effects of hyporheic flows and zinc (Zn)-contaminated sediments on the amphipod Hyalella azteca. Hyporheic flows were manipulated in laboratory streams during 10-d experiments. Zinc toxicity was evaluated in freshly spiked and aged sediments. Hyporheic flows altered sediment and porewater geochemistry, oxidizing the sediments and causing changes to redox-sensitive endpoints. Amphipod survival was lowest in the Zn sediment exposures with hyporheic flows. In freshly spiked sediments, porewater Zn drove mortality, whereas in aged sediments simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) in excess of acid volatile sulfides (AVS) normalized by the fraction of organic carbon (fOC) [(SEM-AVS)/fOC] influenced amphipod responses. The results highlight the important role of hyporheic flows in determining Zn bioavailability to benthic organisms, information that can be important in ecological risk assessments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:2447-2458. © 2019 SETAC.
Factors that Influence Applicants Pursuing a Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery.

ABSTRACT Study Objective The Fellowship in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (FMIGS) has been the most competitive fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynecology since 2015. Since its inception, it has served to provide advanced endoscopic training and addresses the need for additional proficiency beyond residency. We sought to identify factors that influence applicants in choosing to pursue minimally invasive gynecologic surgery training. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting 2018 FMIGS application cycle. Patients Not applicable. Interventions A novel, 32-item Web-based survey was distributed to all FMIGS applicants during the 2018 application cycle. Measurements and Main Results Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the applicant sample and responses. Our survey response rate was 47.4% (37/78). Interest in the subject area of minimally invasive gynecologic surgery was the single most influential factor driving applicants to pursue FMIGS, followed by an interest in an academic career. Income level was the least important factor in their decision, with 37.8% rating this as not important. There were no differences in motivational factors between male and female applicants. Few applicants felt “very comfortable” performing laparoscopic hysterectomy (16.2%) or laparoscopic myomectomy (3.0%) on completion of residency training. Conclusion FMIGS applicants are motivated by their interest in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery, academia and research, and the opportunity to increase their proficiency with advanced endoscopic procedures.
First report of pulmonary large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Abstract Introduction Pulmonary large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) is a very rare disease, comprising approximately 3% of lung cancers. Even for Stage I disease, recurrence after resection is common, with a poor five-year overall survival. We present the first report of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for pulmonary LCNEC. Methods A 54-year-old woman with a left upper lobe pulmonary nodule underwent a wedge resection with thoracoscopic mediastinal lymph node dissection, revealing a 2.3 cm pT1b N0 LCNEC. Approximately one year later, surveillance imaging demonstrated a new left upper lobe PET-avid nodule, resulting in completion left upper lobectomy revealing LCNEC, with 0/6 involved lymph nodes and negative staging studies. The patient subsequently chose surveillance over adjuvant chemotherapy; unfortunately 23 months later imaging revealed an enlarging 0.7 cm nodule adjacent to the previous resection site, despite the patient remaining in good health (KPS = 90). Subsequent restaging demonstrated no evidence of metastatic disease. Due to the morbidity of a third operation in this region, and based on the safety of SBRT for Stage I non small-cell lung cancer, the consensus decision from our thoracic oncology team was to proceed with SBRT as preferred management for presumptive second recurrence of LCNEC. The patient shortly thereafter underwent SBRT (50 Gy in 10 Gy/fraction) to this new nodule, 41 months following initial LCNEC diagnosis. Results Four months following SBRT, the patient remains in excellent clinical condition (KPS 90), with no evidence of disease spread on surveillance studies. The nodule itself demonstrated no evidence of growth following SBRT. Conclusions This first report of SBRT for pulmonary LCNEC demonstrates that SBRT is a feasible modality for this rare disease. A multidisciplinary thoracic oncology approach involving medical oncology, thoracic surgery, radiation oncology and pulmonology is strongly recommended to ensure proper patient selection for receipt of SBRT.
SparseTag: High-Precision Backscatter Indoor Localization with Sparse RFID Tag Arrays

In this paper, we study the problem of utilizing a sparse RFID tag array for backscatter indoor localization. We first theoretically and experimentally validate the feasibility of using RFID tag array for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation. We then present the SparseTag system, which leverages a novel sparse RFID tag array for high-precision backscatter indoor localization. The SparseTag system includes sparse array processing, difference co-array design, DOA estimation using a spatial smoothing based method, and a localization method, while a robust channel selection method based on the RFID tag array is proposed for mitigating the indoor multipath effect. The SparseTag system is implemented with commodity RFID devices. Its superior performance is validated in two different environments with extensive experiments.
Accuracy of Ultrasound in Identifying Renal Scarring as Compared to DMSA Scan.

Abstract Objective To assess the accuracy of renal ultrasound (RUS) in detecting renal scarring (RS). Methods All initial DMSA scans performed from 2006 to 2009 for history of urinary tract infection (UTI) or vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in patients under 14 years old were identified, and clinical history obtained via chart review. Patients who had RUS within 4 months of DMSA scan and no documented UTI during that interval were included. Decreased uptake of tracer associated with loss of contours or cortical thinning defined a positive DMSA study. Increased echogenicity/dysplasia, cortical thinning, atrophic kidney and/or abnormal corticomedullary differentiation defined a positive RUS. The sensitivity and specificity of RUS in identifying RS were calculated using DMSA scan as the gold standard. Results A total of 144 patients had initial DMSA scans performed for UTI or VUR, with a RUS within 4 months, and no UTI between the 2 studies. Ninety-five of 144 (66%) had RS on DMSA and 49/144 (34%) did not. Patients with or without RS on DMSA were not different in gender (P = .073), age (P = .432), insurance (P = 1.000) or VUR grade (P = .132). Only 39/144 (27.1%) patients had positive RUS. The sensitivity of RUS for RS was 35.8% and the specificity was 89.8%, leading to an accuracy of 54.2% (95%CI; 45.7-62.5%, P = .999). Conclusion RUS demonstrated poor sensitivity for RS visualized on DMSA scan. This suggests that RUS is a poor screening test for RS or indicators of future renal scar. A normal ultrasound does not rule out RS or risk of future renal scar. Specificity of RUS was excellent.
CO2 plume evolution in a depleted natural gas reservoir: Modeling of conformance uncertainty reduction over time

Author(s): Doughty, C; Oldenburg, CM | Abstract: Uncertainty in the long-term fate of CO2 injected for geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) is a significant barrier to the adoption of GCS as a greenhouse-gas emission-mitigation for industry and regulatory agencies alike. We present a modeling study that demonstrates that the uncertainty in forecasts of GCS site performance decreases over time as monitoring data are used to update operational models. We consider a case study of GCS in a depleted natural gas reservoir, with CO2 injection occurring over 20 years, with a 50-year post-injection site care period. We constructed a detailed model to generate the actual model output, which is considered synthetic observation data. A series of simpler operational models based on limited data and assumptions about how an operator would model such a site are then run and compared against actual model output at specific monitoring points after one year, two years, etc. The operational model is updated and improved using the synthetic observation data from the actual model at the same time intervals. Model parameter values and model features needed to be updated over time to improve matches to the actual model. These kinds of model adjustments would be a normal part of reservoir engineering and site management at GCS sites. Uncertainty in two key measures related to site performance decreases with time: extent of the CO2 plume up-dip migration, and radial extent of the pressure pulse. This conclusion should help allay the concerns of industry and regulators about uncertainty in long-term fate of CO2 at GCS sites.