cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Large Are Global Fossil Fuel Subsidies

Summary This paper estimates fossil fuel subsidies and the economic and environmental benefits from reforming them, focusing mostly on a broad notion of subsidies arising when consumer prices are below supply costs plus environmental costs and general consumption taxes. Estimated subsidies are $4.9 trillion worldwide in 2013 and $5.3 trillion in 2015 (6.5% of global GDP in both years). Undercharging for global warming accounts for 22% of the subsidy in 2013, air pollution 46%, broader vehicle externalities 13%, supply costs 11%, and general consumer taxes 8%. China was the biggest subsidizer in 2013 ($1.8 trillion), followed by the United States ($0.6 trillion), and Russia, the European Union, and India (each with about $0.3 trillion). Eliminating subsidies would have reduced global carbon emissions in 2013 by 21% and fossil fuel air pollution deaths 55%, while raising revenue of 4%, and social welfare by 2.2%, of global GDP.
Exploring beyond palladium: Catalytic reduction of aqueous oxyanion pollutants with alternative platinum group metals and new mechanistic implications

Abstract For over two decades, Pd has been the primary hydrogenation metal studied for reductive catalytic water treatment applications. Herein, we report that alternative platinum group metals (Rh, Ru, Pt and Ir) can exhibit substantially higher activity, wider substrate selectivity and variable pH dependence in comparison to Pd. Cross comparison of multiple metals and oxyanion substrates provides new mechanistic insights into the heterogeneous reactions. Activity differences and pH effects mainly originate from the chemical nature of individual metals. Considering the advantages in performance and cost, results support renewed investigation of alternative hydrogenation metals to advance catalytic technologies for water purification and other environmental applications.
Risk factors for and timing of adverse events after total shoulder arthroplasty

Background Total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) is a likely target for future bundled payment initiatives, necessitating accurate preoperative risk stratification. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for unplanned readmission and severe adverse events, to risk stratify TSA patients based on these risk factors, and to assess timing of complications after TSA. Methods Data were collected from patients undergoing TSA from 2009 to 2014 in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Bivariate and multivariate analyses of risk factors for severe adverse events or readmission were assessed. Patients were risk stratified, and timing of severe adverse events and cause of readmission were evaluated. Results The analysis included 5801 TSA patients; 146 (2.5%) suffered severe adverse events, and 158 (2.7%) had a 30-day unplanned readmission. The most common severe adverse events were reoperation (40%), thrombolic event (deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism; 14%), cardiac event (10%), and death (8.2%). Pneumonia (8.9%) and thrombolic event (7.6%) were the most common medically related causes, whereas dislocation (7.6%) and postoperative infection or wound complication (5.1%) were the most common surgical causes for readmission. Multivariate analysis identified inflammatory arthritis ( P = .026), male gender ( P = .019), age ( P P = .024), and American Society of Anesthesiologists class 3/4 ( P = .01) as independent predictors for unplanned 30-day readmission and all but inflammatory arthritis for severe adverse events ( P ≤ .05 for all). Patients with ≥3 risk factors had an 11.56 ( P = .002) and 3.43 ( P = .013) times increased odds of unplanned readmission and severe adverse events occurring within 2 weeks after surgery, respectively, compared with patients with 0 risk factors. Conclusions Patients at high risk of TSA complications and readmission should be identified preoperatively to improve outcomes and to lower costs. Bundled payment initiatives must account for both patient- and procedure-related risk factors.
Youth use of electronic vapor products and blunts for administering cannabis.

Abstract Background The positive association between youth use of cannabis and tobacco is well-established, and reports show that some youth are using electronic vapor products (EVPs) to administer cannabis. This study examines the prevalence and correlates of youth consumption of cannabis via EVP and how this compares with co-use of cannabis with cigars (blunts) among a large statewide sample of youth. Methods We used data from the Florida Youth Tobacco Survey (FYTS), a school-based, pencil-and-paper questionnaire given to Florida middle and high school students (N = 12,320). We conducted weighted descriptive analyses and logistic regressions examining prevalence and correlates of EVP/cannabis and blunt use. Results Ever EVP/cannabis use was lower among middle school students (3.4%) than high school students (11.5%). Blunt use was reported by 6.0% of middle school and 24.1% of high school students. Approximately one-third of youth who had ever administered cannabis via either mode reported using both EVP/cannabis and blunts. EVP/cannabis and blunt use were both associated with lower school performance and use of other tobacco products. EVP/cannabis use did not vary by race/ethnicity, but blunt use was higher among black and Hispanic youth than white, non-Hispanic youth. Discussion A substantial percentage of youth in a statewide sample are using EVPs and blunts to administer cannabis, and overlap between these use patterns is common. Differences in the demographic risk profile for EVP/cannabis and blunt use suggest that EVPs may provide a novel route of administration for delivering cannabis that appeals to groups not otherwise susceptible to using cannabis via blunts.
Piano Transcription With Convolutional Sparse Lateral Inhibition

This letter extends our prior work on context-dependent piano transcription to estimate the length of the notes in addition to their pitch and onset. This approach employs convolutional sparse coding along with lateral inhibition constraints to approximate a musical signal as the sum of piano note waveforms (dictionary elements) convolved with their temporal activations. The waveforms are pre-recorded for the specific piano to be transcribed in the specific environment. A dictionary containing multiple waveforms per pitch is generated by truncating a long waveform for each pitch to different lengths. During transcription, the dictionary elements are fixed and their temporal activations are estimated and postprocessed to obtain the pitch, onset, and note length estimation. A sparsity penalty promotes globally sparse activations of the dictionary elements, and a lateral inhibition term penalizes concurrent activations of different waveforms corresponding to the same pitch within a temporal neighborhood, to achieve note length estimation. Experiments on the MIDI aligned piano sounds dataset show that the proposed approach significantly outperforms a state-of-the-art music transcription method trained in the same context-dependent setting in transcription accuracy.
Iron Oxide Nanospheres and Nanocubes for Magnetic Hyperthermia Therapy: A Comparative Study

Improving the heating capacity of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) for hyperthermia therapy is an important but challenging task. Through a comparative study of the inductive heating properties of spherical and cubic Fe3O4 MNPs with two distinct average volumes (∼7000 nm3 and 80,000 nm3), we demonstrate that, for small size (∼7000 nm3), the cubic MNPs heat better compared with the spherical MNPs. However, the opposite trend is observed for larger size (∼80,000 nm3). The improvement in heating efficiency in cubic small-sized MNPs (∼7000 nm3) can be attributed to enhanced anisotropy and the formation of chain-like aggregates, whereas the decrease of the heating efficiency in cubic large-sized MNPs (∼80,000 nm3) has been attributed to stronger aggregation of particles. Physical motion is shown to contribute more to the heating efficiency in case of spherical than cubic MNPs, when dispersed in water. These findings are of crucial importance in understanding the role of shape anisotropy and optimizing the heating response of magnetic nano-structures for advanced hyperthermia.
Brief of 44 Law, Economics and Business Professors as Amici Curiae in Support of Respondent in Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc.

Patent transactions are a key component of technology markets, enabling patent owners and other firms to efficiently commercialize new technologies on the costly and risky path from “lab” to “market.” Mandatory patent exhaustion without the possibility of contractual waiver or modification substantially limits the range of possible transactions by precluding the enforcement via patent infringement actions of downstream restrictions relating to sales of patented products. Although mandatory patent exhaustion can mitigate problems of notice and related transaction costs, its categorical approach substantially reduces the static and dynamic benefits — including to consumers — of customized patent transactions. Instead, we support a presumptive approach to patent exhaustion, which allows contractual opt-out when clear notice is provided of a downstream limitation that is otherwise lawful. Such a rule best promotes the invention and commercialization goals of patent law and also is more consistent with the body of prior Supreme Court opinions. Thus, presumptive exhaustion should apply to domestic sales of patented products. Additionally, we argue that while there is little legal basis for exhaustion in the context of foreign sales, should the Supreme Court adopt an international exhaustion doctrine, it should be presumptive for similar reasons.
Energy efficiency in former Soviet republics: opportunities for the West

We review what former Soviet republics need to improve energy efficiency in both the short and long term. We examine the different ways in which western public and private authorities might accelerate these improvements. We envisage an enormous role for western organizations to aid these countries, while we caution about pitfalls and discuss the merits of different approaches. In particular, we caution against a narrow, 'enercentric' approach that focuses mainly on energy and the energy sector, arguing that the forces of economic reform should be harnessed to provide the main thrust for improving efficiency.
Oxidative pathways in the sickle cell and beyond

Polymerization of deoxy sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) is well recognized as the primary event that triggers the classic cycles of sickling/unsickling of patients red blood cells (RBCs). RBCs are also subjected to continuous endogenous and exogenous oxidative onslaughts resulting in hemolytic rate increases which contribute to the evolution of vasculopathies associated with this disease. Compared to steady-state conditions, the occurrences of vaso-occlusive crises increase the levels of both RBC-derived microparticles as well as extracellular Hb in circulation. Common byproduct resulting from free Hb oxidation and from Hb-laden microparticles is heme (now recognized as damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule) which has been shown to initiate inflammatory responses. This review provides new insights into the interplay between microparticles, free Hb and heme focusing on Hb's pseudoperoxidative activity that drives RBC's cytosolic, membrane changes as well as oxidative toxicity towards the vascular system. Emerging antioxidative strategies that include the use of protein and heme scavengers in controlling Hb oxidative pathways are discussed.
Relationship between Peer and Follower Transparency: Moderating Role of Follower Personality

Transparency is an underpinning of workplace ethics. However, most of the existing research has focused on the relationship between leader transparency and its consequences. Drawing on social and s...
Efficient Social Justice: How Critical Race Theory Research can Inform Social Movement Strategy Development

Critical Race Theory (CRT) scholars in Education, like activists, are intent on dismantling racism in education (and society at large), and often do so by engaging the problem of racial injustice through social science research. CRT research creates a wealth of awareness about how racism functions, and as a result, inspires social agency to create a more just society. This conceptual piece explores how CRT research, when joined with the efforts of activists, is even more potent with capacity to realize social justice. In the paper, the tenets of CRT in Education are outlined, and serve as the foundation of a model that reveal how each tenet can shape research designs, that inform decision making in social movement strategy development. The model is inspired by the author’s personal experiences with combining CRT research with social movement strategy development, and is intended to serve as an impetus for increased dialogue about how CRT social science research, particularly in Education, can support activists’ goals to dismantle racism.
Epigenetic Signature of Impaired Fasting Glucose in the Old Order Amish.

Introduction: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a common chronic disease with substantial disease burden and economic impact. Lifestyle changes can significantly alter the course of the disease, if detected at an early stage. DNA methylation signature may serve as a biomarker for early detection of increased T2D risk. Design: DNA methylation profiling was performed using the Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 450K Bead chip array in 24 normoglycemic Old Order Amish (OOA) individuals who later developed Impaired Fasting Glucose (IFG) (cases), and 24 OOA individuals who remained normoglycemic after an average follow up of 10 years (controls). Cases and controls were matched on age, sex, BMI, baseline fasting glucose, and glucose level after 2 h from 75 g Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT). Results: Association analysis found no significant difference in either global methylation or individual probe methylation between cases and controls, however, the top 34 suggestive significant sites were located in genes with interesting biological links to T2D and glycemic traits. These genes include BTC that plays a role in pancreatic cell proliferation and insulin secretion, ITGA1 a known bone mineral density gene that was recently found to be associated also with T2D and glycemic traits, and may explain the link between T2D and BMD, and RPTOR and TSC2 both of which are part of insulin signaling pathway. Conclusions: These results may shed light on the initiation and development of hyperglycemia and T2D and help to identify high risk individuals for early intervention; however, further studies are required for validation.
Testing the relativistic Doppler boost hypothesis for supermassive black hole binary candidates

Supermassive black hole binaries (SMBHBs) should be common in galactic nuclei as a result of frequent galaxy mergers. Recently, a large sample of sub-parsec SMBHB candidates was identified as bright periodically variable quasars in optical surveys. If the observed periodicity corresponds to the redshifted binary orbital period, the inferred orbital velocities are relativistic (v/c ≈ 0.1). The optical and ultraviolet (UV) luminosities are expected to arise from gas bound to the individual BHs, and would be modulated by the relativistic Doppler effect. The optical and UV light curves should vary in tandem with relative amplitudes which depend on the respective spectral slopes. We constructed a control sample of 42 quasars with aperiodic variability, to test whether this Doppler colour signature can be distinguished from intrinsic chromatic variability. We found that the Doppler signature can arise by chance in ∼20 per cent (∼37 per cent) of quasars in the nUV (fUV) band. These probabilities reflect the limited quality of the control sample and represent upper limits on how frequently quasars mimic the Doppler brightness+colour variations. We performed separate tests on the periodic quasar candidates, and found that for the majority, the Doppler boost hypothesis requires an unusually steep UV spectrum or an unexpectedly large BH mass and orbital velocity. We conclude that at most approximately one-third of these periodic candidates can harbor Doppler-modulated SMBHBs.
Multiple myeloma and other plasma cell neoplasms

Plasma cell neoplasms (PCN) encompass a range of diseases ranging from indolent to aggressive. They include monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) (67%), multiple myeloma (14%), solitary plasmacytoma of the bone or extraosseous tissue (3%), primary amyloidosis (9%), immunoglobulin (Ig) chain deposition diseases (<1%), POEMS syndrome (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M component, and skin changes), and more recently recognized TEMPI syndrome (telangiectasias, elevated erythropoietin level and erythrocytosis, monoclonal gammopathy, perinephric fluid collections, and intrapulmonary shunting).
Interactive Class Editing

Legal writing is a process. Writing, however, is not a process that occurs in a straight line. An important part of the writing process is editing. Editing during different stages of the writing process can reveal organizational as well as analytical problems, in addition to grammatical and spelling mistakes. As Justice Brandeis said, "[t]here is no such thing as good writing. There is only good rewriting.” The time and extent spent on editing skills conveys the importance of editing. Devoting class time to editing and making it interactive allows students to focus on editing and practice their editing skills. In my experience, students sometimes overlook the importance of editing and the critical role it plays in producing quality writing. Students often do not spend enough time editing or view it as merely proofreading. Students must learn the skill of editing.
Women's empowerment as a public problem: A case study of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development

Using the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) as a case study, I examine how women's empowerment amassed public attention. I investigate feminist preparations for the conference and suggest that by playing an active role in preparatory meetings and the conference, women gained recognition from governments throughout the world and from the United Nations, and helped frame issues in a way that motivated the press to highlight women's empowerment. I argue ‘empowering women’ became a catch phrase for media coverage and that abortion surfaced as a symbol of this empowerment. UN publications and reports of proceedings prior to, and during the 1994 ICPD, and articles from The New York Times illustrate use of this media package. The paper raises questions about types of policies governments will use to improve the position of women and the political power women will have in decisions.
Lower Extremity Function Is Independently Associated With Hospitalization Burden in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

ABSTRACT Background Frailty reflects decreased resilience to physiological stressors; its prevalence and prognosis are not fully defined in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Methods The Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) was prospectively obtained in 114 outpatients with HFpEF. The SPPB tests gait speed, tandem balance, and timed chair rises, each scored from 0 to 4 points. Severe and mild frailty were respectively defined as an SPPB score ≤6 and 7–9 points. We used risk-adjusted logistic, Poisson, and negative binominal regression, respectively, to assess the relationship between SPPB score and risk of death or all-cause hospitalization, number of hospitalizations, and days hospitalized or dead longer than 6 months. Results Patients were similar to other HFpEF cohorts (age 68 ± 13 years, 58% female, body mass index 36 ± 8 kg/m2, multiple comorbidities). Mean SPPB score was 6.9 ± 3.2, and 80% of patients were at least mildly frail. Over a 6-month period, the SPPB score independently predicted death or all-cause hospitalization (odds ratio 0.81 per point, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69–0.94, P = .006), number of hospitalizations (incidence rate ratio 0.92 per point, 95% CI 0.86–0.97, P = .006), and days hospitalized or dead (incidence rate ratio 0.85 per point, 95% CI 0.73–0.99, P = .04). Conclusions Lower extremity function, as measured by the SPPB, independently predicts hospitalization burden in outpatients with HFpEF. Additional studies are warranted to explore shared mechanisms and treatment implications of frailty in HFpEF.
Prevalence and Outcomes of Isolated Tricuspid Valve Surgery Among Medicare Beneficiaries

We sought to characterize the clinical outcomes and to identify predictors of mortality undergoing isolated tricuspid valve surgery in the United States. We identified 5,164 patients undergoing isolated tricuspid valve surgery from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Provider Analysis and Review data between January 2003 and December 2014. The primary outcome was all cause 1-year mortality. A backward elimination method was performed to identify predictors of 1-year mortality. Tricuspid valve repair was performed in 2,494 (48.3%) patients and tricuspid valve replacement was performed in 2,670 (51.7%) patients. Perioperative and 1-year mortality rates were 9.9% and 24.1%, respectively. Predictors of 1-year mortality were age (p
Hydrodynamic description of long-distance spin transport through noncollinear magnetization states: Role of dispersion, nonlinearity, and damping

Nonlocal compensation of magnetic damping by spin injection has been theoretically shown to establish dynamic, noncollinear magnetization states that carry spin currents over micrometer distances. Such states can be generically referred to as dissipative exchange flows (DEFs) because spatially diffusing spin currents are established by the mutual exchange torque exerted by neighboring spins. Analytical studies to date have been limited to the weak spin injection assumption whereby the equation of motion for the magnetization is mapped to hydrodynamic equations describing spin flow and then linearized. Here, we analytically and numerically study easy-plane ferromagnetic channels subject to spin injection of arbitrary strength at one extremum under a unified hydrodynamic framework. We find that DEFs generally exhibit a nonlinear profile along the channel accompanied by a nonlinear frequency tunability. At large injection strengths, we fully characterize a magnetization state we call a contact-soliton DEF (CS-DEF) composed of a stationary soliton at the injection site, which smoothly transitions into a DEF and exhibits a negative frequency tunability. The transition between a DEF and a CS-DEF occurs at the maximum precessional frequency and coincides with the Landau criterion: a subsonic to supersonic flow transition. Leveraging the hydraulic-electrical analogy, the current-voltage characteristics of a nonlinear DEF circuit are presented. Micromagnetic simulations of nanowires that include magnetocrystalline anisotropy and nonlocal dipole fields are in qualitative agreement with the analytical results. The magnetization states found here along with their characteristic profile and spectral features provide quantitative guidelines to pursue an experimental demonstration of DEFs in ferromagnetic materials and establish a unified description for long-distance spin transport.
A Single Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT) Followed By Two Years of Post-Transplant Therapy in Older Recently Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma (MM) Patients. Safety and Response Results from the Prospective Phase II Trial (NCT01849783)

Introduction While melphalan 200 mg/m2 has been the standard preparative regimen for ASCT, studies are currently evaluating the role of including novel agents along with melphalan to improve outcomes. We have previously reported outcomes in patients younger than 65 years who received intensive conditioning, ASCT, followed by triple maintenance therapy. This current prospective study evaluates the tolerance of this therapy in elderly patients older than 65. Here we report preliminary responses and safety outcomes. Methods and patients A total of 41 eligible patients above the age 65 were prospectively enrolled in the IRB approved phase II trial beginning in June 2013. After induction chemotherapy and stem cell collection, ASCT was performed with a preparative chemotherapy consisting of VDT-Melphalan 200 mg/m2. Early after engraftment, patients were started on maintenance for 2 years with triple agent therapy consisting of either a proteasome inhibitor (PI) or an immunomodulatory drug (Imid), along with steroids. Primary end points include PFS, frequency of severe toxicities, ICU admissions, and percentage of patients able to complete the full course of maintenance. Results Thirty seven of the 41 patients enrolled received a single ASCT and were included in the analysis. Median age was 71 (range: 66 to 77). Twelve patients (59%) had standard risk cytogenetics and 15 patients (40%) had high risk cytogenetics by FISH. Median follow up was 26 months (range: 3 months – 5 years). Median time to neutrophil and platelet engraftment were both 11 days. There was one death within day 100 related to candida sepsis. Only 2 patients were re-hospitalized within 100 days but none required ICU admission. Median time to start post-transplant therapy was 73 days (range: 47 to 185 days). Best responses noted prior to initiation of maintenance were 17 sCR (47%), 3 CR (8%), 10 VGPR (28%) and 6 PR (17%). Thirty five patients (95%) were able to start on planned triple maintenance regimen. Twelve patients have completed 2 years of maintenance therapy at last follow up. A total of 3 patients died during maintenance phase due to progressive disease. Median PFS and OS were not reached and 3 year PFS and OS were 82 and 91%, respectively. Conclusions This is the first trial to prospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of early ASCT in elderly MM patients using a novel agent conditioning regimen followed by a triple maintenance therapy consisting of either a PI or an Imid combination. These results indicate that the regimen is safe and well tolerated without any increased mortality, and results in a deep, sustained response rates. Longer follow up will determine the long term side effects of the regimen, disease responses and PFS in elderly patients.
Genetics of Gilles De La Tourette Syndrome: Accelerating Discoveries Through Large-Scale Collaborative Efforts

Overall Abstract Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a common, albeit still under-diagnosed, neuropsychiatric disorder that is caused by a complex genetic basis, interacting with environmental factors. This symposium will showcase exciting findings from all current large-scale collaborative efforts aiming to elucidate the genetic background of TS, through diverse approaches and studies of several thousands of individuals with TS; genome-wide association studies (GWAS) aiming to identify common variants associated to the disorder, whole-exome sequencing approaches seeking rare variants, gene-expression studies aiming to identify the relative contribution of genetics versus environmental factors, and sophisticated approaches aiming to dissect complex and comorbid phenotypes. We will present novel TS susceptibility genes implicated on a genome-wide significance level either by GWAS, large-scale CNV scans or whole-exome sequencing and introduce heritable TS sub-phenotypes. We will also present large-scale GWAS meta-analysis of TS together with other, often comorbid neurodevelopmental disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism. Finally, after more than two decades of active research aiming to identify the genetic background of TS etiology, we are on the verge of a new era, yielding exciting and rapid discoveries in the field of TS genetics. Investigators from around the world, representing multiple disciplines and scientific approaches, are joining their efforts in large-scale initiatives supported both by the European Union and US National funding agencies. Propelled by the gradual availability of large scale TS cohorts, novel methodologies for the study of both common and rare genetic variants, and importantly, sheer enthusiasm by multiple researchers working together across different countries, the new era of TS genetics holds the promise to identify novel targets for improved therapies.
Participation of Allotypic Markers in Rabbit Immunoglobulin Classes

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the participation of allotypic markers in rabbit immunoglobulin classes. Oudin proposed the term allotypy to indicate the occurrence of varying antigenic specificities for the same protein within different members of an animal species. For rabbit IgG**, the group a specificities, a l, a 2, and a 3, are present on the Fd portion of the heavy chains and the group b specificities, b 4, b 5, b 6, and b 9 are present on the κ light chains. The immunoglobulin classes of the rabbit, IgG, IgM, IgA, and homocytotropic antibody, are distinguished by antigenic differences residing, in part at least, in the Fc portion of the H chain
Disparities in information on Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives available to college students on student health center websites in USA

Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive (LARC) methods are among the most effective birth control approaches for adolescent and young adults yet information on these methods is not widespread. We examine LARC information provided by Student Health Centers (SHC) websites from Universities across the USA to document disparities in access to information on these important contraception methods for college students. We find that compared to EC, Condoms, (plus Pap smear as control), LARC is mentioned less frequently than the others and 73% of schools have no LARC content on their SHC websites. There is no standardization in how the sexual and reproductive health information is organized on SHC websites, which might hinder access. When LARC information does exist, readability and accessibility vary. Universities having high rates of the student body who are African American or female are less likely to provide LARC information on their SHC website and universities situated in more rural settings are less likely to post LARC information on their websites.
Changes in frailty are associated with waitlist mortality in patients with cirrhosis.

Background & Aims To date, studies evaluating the association between frailty and mortality in patients with cirrhosis have been limited to assessments of frailty at a single time point. We aimed to evaluate changes in frailty over time and their association with death/delisting in patients too sick for liver transplantation. Methods Adults with cirrhosis, listed for liver transplantation at 8 US centers, underwent ambulatory longitudinal frailty testing using the liver frailty index (LFI). We used multilevel linear mixed-effects regression to model and predict changes in LFI (ΔLFI) per 3 months, based on age, gender, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD)-Na, ascites, and hepatic encephalopathy, categorizing patients by frailty trajectories. Competing risk regression evaluated the subhazard ratio (sHR) of baseline LFI and predicted ΔLFI on death/delisting, with transplantation as the competing risk. Results We analyzed 2,851 visits from 1,093 outpatients with cirrhosis. Patients with severe worsening of frailty had worse baseline LFI and were more likely to have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diabetes, or dialysis-dependence. After a median follow-up of 11 months, 223 (20%) of the overall cohort died/were delisted because of sickness. The cumulative incidence of death/delisting increased by worsening ΔLFI group. In competing risk regression adjusted for baseline LFI, age, height, MELD-Na, and albumin, a 0.1 unit change in ΔLFI per 3 months was associated with a 2.04-fold increased risk of death/delisting (95% CI 1.35–3.09). Conclusion Worsening frailty was significantly associated with death/delisting independent of baseline frailty and MELD-Na. Notably, patients who experienced improvements in frailty had a lower risk of death/delisting. Our data support the longitudinal measurement of frailty, using the LFI, in patients with cirrhosis and lay the foundation for interventional work aimed at reversing frailty. Lay summary Frailty, as measured at a single time point, is predictive of death in patients with cirrhosis, but whether changes in frailty over time are associated with death is unknown. In a study of over 1,000 patients with cirrhosis who underwent frailty testing, we demonstrate that worsening frailty is strongly linked with mortality, regardless of baseline frailty and liver disease severity. Notably, patients who experienced improvements in frailty over time had a lower risk of death/delisting. Our data support the longitudinal measurement of frailty in patients with cirrhosis and lay the foundation for interventional work aimed at reversing frailty.
Pediatric Safety Restraint Use in Motor Vehicle Crashes at a Level I Safety-Net Trauma Center.

Abstract Background Adherence to child passenger safety recommendations is essential to prevent death and injury in children involved in motor vehicle crashes. Parents may not undertake the proper safety measures, which can lead to increase injury. Methods A safety net, level I trauma center's database was used to identify admitted children (age Results Eighty patients met inclusion criteria. Thirty-two (40%) children were unrestrained. Safety restraint device was noted in 48 (60%) children with 13 (27.1%) patients improperly restrained. The most common method of improper restraint (6, 46.2%) was traveling in the front seat before the age state law recommends. With respect to proper, improper, and no restraint, age (7.31 ± 14.26, 5.76 ± 3.24, P = 0.36), female sex (17, 8, 13, P = 0.32), low-income status (14, 5, 24, P = 0.28), and race (P = 0.08) did not differ between the groups. The unrestrained children had statistically lower initial Glasgow Coma Scale and higher Injury Severity Score and were more often involved in high-risk mechanism of Injury motor vehicle crashes. Conclusions Despite recommendations and regulations regarding child passenger safety measures, there are a significant number of children that remain suboptimally restrained who are admitted to a safety-net trauma center. Further research is needed to understand the barriers to increase the compliance with recommendations along with targeted educational campaigns in low-compliance populations.
Early chemical changes during wood decomposition are controlled by fungal communities inhabiting stems at treefall in a tropical dry forest

A better knowledge of how deadwood decomposes is critical for accurately characterizing carbon and nutrient cycling in forests. Fungi dominate this decomposition process, but we still have limited understanding of fungal community structuring that ultimately controls the fate of wood decomposition. This is particularly true in tropical ecosystems. To address this knowledge gap, our study capitalized on an extreme storm event that caused a large and synchronized input of deadwood to the forest floor. Here we report data for the first year of wood decomposition of trees in a Puerto Rican dry forest for nine tree species that were snapped by Hurricane Maria in 2017. We measured wood properties and the associated fungal communities after 12 months of decomposition and compared them with initial wood properties and stem-inhabiting fungal communities to identify the best predictors of wood decomposition rates and chemical changes. Changes in wood chemistry were primarily explained by rapid xylan losses, the main hemicellulose component for the studied tree species. Fungal communities were dominated by saprotrophic and plant pathogenic fungi and showed moderate changes over time. The initial relative abundances and ratios of different fungal functional guilds were significant predictors of both xylan and glucan losses, with plant pathogenic fungi accelerating cellulose and hemicellulose decomposition rates compared to saprotrophs. Our results confirm that fungi present at the time of treefall are strong drivers of wood decomposition and suggest that plant pathogenic fungi might act as efficient early decomposers of hemicellulose in dry tropical forests.
Estrogen receptor gets a grip on RNA

The nuclear hormone receptor estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) is a well-known transcription factor present in many breast cancers, where it promotes cancer progression. In this issue of Cell, Xu et al. report that ERα is also an RNA-binding protein and that its post-transcriptional activity enables cancer cell fitness and survival.
Convergence in Probability Theory

Several notions of convergence play essential roles in probability theory The theory of such convergence is extensive and sophisticated, although much of it could be developed on the basis of the background provided by this text. We simply examine the underlying concepts and state, largely without proof, some of the principal properties of and relationships between the more important modes of convergence. The goal of this treatment is to provide a minimal background for reading the literature in which these concepts are used. Detailed developments are readily available in many standard works on mathematical probability for those who need a more thorough grounding.
Chapter 11 Yeast Minichromosomes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the advantages and disadvantages of minichromosomes as an experimental system and reviews some of the questions regarding chromatin structure, which are successfully addressed using yeast minichromosomes. It describes general methods for their isolation, with an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each in regard to particular applications. Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromatin comprises nucleosomal subunits containing the four core histone molecules that are highly conserved among all eukaryotes. The chapter also describes mapping techniques useful in determining nucleosome position. The episomal DNA is packaged into chromatin in yeast. Although yeast plasmids may lack centromeres and do lack telomeres, they are often referred to as “minichromosomes,” using nomenclature introduced for viral episomes in higher eukaryotes. Yeast minichromosomes have provided a unique model system for study of many aspects of chromatin structure. Yeast minichromosomes provide an in vivo system. The ability to manipulate the genetic background of the host yeast cell together with the relative ease with which plasmid chromatin can be isolated and analyzed make yeast minichromosomes a very powerful system to study the structure of chromatin and also the functional consequences of changes in chromatin structure.
Marathon: detecting atomic-set serializability violations with conflict graphs

Recent research has proposed several analyses to mitigate the fact that finding concurrency bugs in multi-threaded software is notoriously hard. This work proposes a new analysis based on a correctness criterion called "atomic-set serializability", which incorporates both race conditions and traditional atomicity/serializability. We present a novel analysis based on conflict cycle detection that is guaranteed to find all violations in the intercepted execution trace. A set of heuristics automatically determines all annotations required for atomic-set serializability. We implemented the analysis and evaluated it on a suite consisting of real programs and benchmarks. The evaluation demonstrates the usefulness of our heuristics by finding a number of known (as well as new) violations with competitive overhead and a very low false positive rate.
Plenary talks The touch of a hand: Neural interfaces restore the sense of touch and position following limb loss

One of the first biology lessons in grade school is of the five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. They are the (only) connection to the world and people around us. Of the five senses, touch is the one we take most for granted and least understand the devastating impact of its loss. The sense of touch comes from the skin, the largest sensory organ in the human body. For nearly 2 million people in the US and 185,000 more each year, the loss of sensation is one of the most significant effects of limb loss resulting from trauma or vascular disease. Body-powered prostheses are often preferred over more functional powered devices because the user can “feel” the pressure of a grip through a requisite body harness. Providing representative sensory information on the residual limb is unnatural and does not directly match the sensory locations expected by the user's visual experience of the prosthesis. We have addressed these challenges with permanently implanted, multi-contact nerve cuff electrodes on the residual ulnar, radial, and median nerves of subjects with limb loss. These electrodes directly and selectively activate the peripheral neural pathways, and hence all upstream pathways, normally responsible for sensation. Ninety percent of the channels produce physically unique locations of sensation, distributed around the hand and wrist. The quality of the sensation is controlled by using a patterned stimulation intensity. The pattern pulses are critical to the brain's interpretation of the sensation. Varying the pattern can produce multiple different sensations at a common location. The addition of sensation to the user during tasks improves fine motor control with standard myoelectric prostheses. The system has been implanted and stable for three years. The user reports feeling their hand - the missing hand - in touching and manipulating objects. Restoring feeling has allowed the individuals to, “feel [my] hand for the first time since the accident,” and “feel [my] wife touch my hand.” With more than five subject-years of experience, this work is leading the evolution of a new era in prostheses and haptic interfaces.
IT Outsourcing and Competitive Advantage: A Competency-based View

The study reviews research on the impact of Information Technology (IT) outsourcing on developing organizational competitive advantage. The paper examines the impacts of outsourcing based on a competency-based model of sustainable competitive advantage. Both negative and positive impacts of outsourcing on three different types of organizational competency are explained and research questions for future exploration are offered.
Alcoholism and Marital Violence: A Comparative Study of Men in Alcohol Treatment Programs and Batterer Treatment Programs

In certain situations alcoholics who batter their partners become involved in alcohol treatment programs, but in other apparently similar situations, they participate in batterer treatment programs. This paper presents a comparison of men (in an ongoing relationship with a partner) enrolled in batterer programs (N = 39) or alcohol treatment programs (N = 52) on factors related to marital violence. Factors which were compared included: age, education, income, race, marital status, current level of marital stress, level of self esteem, socially desirable response bias, attitude toward marital violence, level of sex-role egalitarianism, history of childhood violence, level of violence in current relationship, and level of alcohol abuse. Very few differences between the men were found on any of the variables. The majority of men in both groups were alcoholics and used violent conflict tactics in their relationships. Implications for treatment of dually affected men are presented.
Getting to the Grassroots: Feminist Standpoints Within the Welfare Rights Movement

This article presents historical evidence of how standpoints were used in women's participation in the welfare rights movement from 1964-1972. Results of a qualitative study using archival sources and oral history interviews are presented. An intersectional analysis of race, class, and gender, informed by feminist standpoint theory, provides lessons for current social movement work. Findings reveal that class-based standpoints were strong motivators for the recipients of welfare in their movement participation. Gender-based standpoints were important in non-recipients' participation in the movement; however, race formed a strong standpoint for the African American non-recipients in this study. Participants in social movements may exhibit unique standpoints, and understanding how these emerge and vary is important for mobilization.
The conversion of permittivity as measured by a PR2 capacitance probe into soil moisture values for Des Moines lobe soils in Iowa

Measurement of soil moisture is essential for irrigation scheduling and capacitance sensors have been widely used to monitor soil moisture at different depths. Two approaches for converting permittivity measures using the capacitance probe (PR2, Delta-T Devices) to soil water content are to (a) use the default equation and parameters provided by the manufacturer, and (b) use site specific calibration equations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the manufacturer's default equation and in-situ calibrated equations for estimating soil water content. Permittivity measurement using the PR2 probe coincided with soil sampling during the growing seasons in 2006, 2007 and 2008 for Des Moines lobe soils in north-central Iowa. The default equation provided by Delta-T Devices for the PR2 probe estimated the soil water content for 3 years with an average root mean square error (RMSE) and index of agreement (IoA) values of 0.097 cm 3 /cm 3 and 0.587, respectively. The default equation was calibrated by a 1-year (2006) and a 2-year (2006 + 2007) data set. The resultant statistics indicate that site specific calibration gives more accurate estimates of soil water content compared to the uncalibrated default equation. Three-year averaged RMSE and IoA values were 0.049 cm 3 /cm 3 and 0.742 for equations calibrated by the 1-year data set, and 0.034 cm 3 /cm 3 and 0.807 for equations calibrated by the 2-year data set. The results from this study indicate that a site specific calibration is necessary for the PR2 probe, and equations calibrated by data from a longer period performed better than data from a shorter period. Where a site-specific field calibration cannot be applied, coefficients are provided for various cropping systems in Des Moines Lobe soils of Iowa based on the results from this study.
Comparative Legal Education: An Introduction to US Legal Education and Preparation for the Practice of Law

US legal education is a 3 year, graduate-level program that focuses on professional education in the common-law tradition. US law schools seek to introduce students to legal analysis, a wide range of legal subjects, an increasing array of legal skills, and professional values. Not surprisingly, US legal education faces continuing criticism over its effectiveness in preparing students for the practice of law. The goal of this article is to provide an overview of US legal education, along with some analysis of the challenges of implementing legal education in the US and critiques and criticisms of the current legal education model.
Analysis of Bromination of Ethylbenzene Using a 45 MHz NMR Spectrometer: An Undergraduate Organic Chemistry Laboratory Experiment

A 45 MHz benchtop NMR spectrometer is used to identify the structures and determine the amount of 1-bromoethylbenzene and 1,1-dibromoethylbenzene produced from free-radical bromination of ethylbenzene. The experiment is designed for nonchemistry majors, specifically B.S. Biology students, in a predominantly undergraduate institution with insufficient resources for the initial cost and maintenance of high-field Fourier transform (FT) NMR instrumentation. Students learn the basic concepts of nuclear magnetic resonance, acquire FID (free-induction decay) signals, process the data, interpret, assign peaks, and determine product composition. The experiment demonstrates to students that NMR spectroscopy can be used for molecular structure characterization and for determination of product yields. Hands-on experience with a low-field spectrometer provides undergraduate students with confidence to run an NMR instrument while minimizing fear that can be generated at the sight of high field FT-NMR instrumentation.