cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Business Case for CSR: A Critique and an Indirect Path Forward

Do firms benefit from their voluntary efforts to alleviate the many problems confronting society? A vast literature establishing a “business case” for corporate social responsibility appears to find that usually they do. However, as argued herein, the business case literature has established only that firms usually benefit from responding to the demands of their primary stakeholders. The nature of the relationship between the interests of business and those of broader society, beyond a subset of powerful primary stakeholders, remains an open question despite this vast literature. This article develops a set of propositions that highlight constraints on firms’ ability to profit from corporate social responsibility and outlines a set of managerial challenges on which researchers must focus their attention in order to truly determine whether and when firms can profit by responding to the needs of society.
Finite Dimensional Dynamical Sampling: An Overview

Dynamical sampling is an emerging paradigm for studying signals that evolve in time. In this chapter we present many of the available results pertaining to dynamical sampling in the finite dimensional setting. We also provide a brief survey of the latest results in the infinite dimensional setting.
Investigating B Cell Development, Natural and Primary Antibody Responses in Ly-6A/Sca-1 Deficient Mice

Ly-6A/Stem cell antigen-1 (Ly-6A/Sca-1) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored protein expressed on many cell types including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and early lymphoid-specific progenitors. Ly-6A/Sca-1 is expressed on CD4+ T cells and plays a role in regulating cellular responses to foreign antigens. The role of Ly-6A/Sca-1 in primary antibody responses has not been defined. To investigate whether Ly-6A/Sca-1 functions in humoral immunity, we first injected Ly-6A/Sca-1-deficient and wild-type control mice with chicken ovalbumin (c-Ova) protein mixed with an adjuvant. We then assessed the ability of the mice to generate a primary antibody response against cOva. We further examined the development of B cells and circulating antibody isotypes in non-immunized Ly-6A/Sca-1deficient mice to determine if Ly6A/Sca-1 functions in development irrespective of antigen-specific immune activation. Ly-6A/Sca-1/Sca-1-deficient mice did not show any significant changes in the number of B lymphocytes in the bone marrow and peripheral lymphoid tissues. Interestingly, Ly-6A/Sca-1/Sca-1-/- mice have significantly elevated serum levels of IgA with λ light chains compared to wild type controls. B cell clusters with high reactivity to anti-IgA λ monoclonal antibody were detected in the lamina propria of the gut, though this was not observed in the bone marrow and peripheral lymphoid tissues. Despite these differences, the Ly-6A/Sca-1deficient mice generated a similar primary antibody response when compared to the wild-type mice. In summary, we conclude that the primary antibody response to cOva antigen is similar in Ly-6A/Sca-1deficient and sufficient mice. In addition, we report significantly higher expression of the immunoglobulin λ light chain by B cells in lamina propria of Ly-6A/Sca-1deficient mice when compared to the wild-type control.
Protection against allograft rejection by iron–dithiocarbamate complexes

Publisher Summary Iron—dithiocarbamates are a class of compounds that scavenge NO in vitro and in vivo. Iron—dithiocarbamates appear to have unique attributes as well: besides scavenging NO they were found to have anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant properties. This chapter reviews the experimental evidence for the role of NO in cardiac allograft rejection with special emphasis on the protective action of iron—dithiocarbamates. The expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) has been implicated in graft rejection. Despite caveats of certain experimental designs, the role of iNOS in cardiac rejection has been investigated by a broad range of pharmacological and gene deletion strategies. The pharmacological strategies concentrate on either inhibition of NOS enzyme activity or on scavenging and neutralizing nitric oxide (NO). Acute rejection of solid organ grafts involves a complex array of inflammatory mediators. Among leading candidates for these mediators are lymphokines, cytokines, and NO derived from iNOS.
Lactation and Its Hormonal Control

The mammary gland undergoes its final development in the adult animal, filling the mammary fat pad with a ductal tree and rudimentary alveoli during puberty, and expanding and fully differentiating during pregnancy. The hormones of pregnancy, prolactin (PRL), placental lactogen, growth hormone, and progesterone (P4) cooperate to produce a gland that is fully developed but nonfunctional. Secretory activity commences around parturition, with the withdrawal of progesterone and maintained levels of PRL and glucocorticoid. During lactation PRL provides a comprehensive signal that fosters synthesis and secretion of milk components and the survival of the alveolar cell. The lactating gland produces milk of a composition defined for the species using several specialized pathways including: (1) exocytosis for the secretion of milk proteins, lactose and divalent ions; (2) a unique lipid secretion pathway that produces membrane-bound milk fat globules; (3) transport systems for monovalent ions, glucose, and amino acids; and (d) transcytosis for the secretion of immunoglobulins and other milk components. Tight junctions form a gasket around the apical surface of the epithelial cells that is open to traffic of large and small molecules in pregnancy but tightly closed in lactation. The volume of milk produced is determined by milk removal from the gland, a function dependent on oxytocin secretion by the posterior pituitary and contraction of myoepithelial cells to force milk out of the alveoli. With the termination of milk removal an orderly involution process involving interactions with immune cells returns the gland to its resting state. In short, we provide a summary of our present understanding of the cellular and molecular biology of mammary development and milk secretion in the context of the whole body mechanisms that ensure adequate flux of nutrients to the gland to provide sufficient milk to meet the needs of the neonate.
Decarboxylative and dehydrative coupling of dienoic acids and pentadienyl alcohols to form 1,3,6,8-tetraenes

Dienoic acids and pentadienyl alcohols are coupled in a decarboxylative and dehydrative manner at ambient temperature using Pd(0) catalysis to generate 1,3,6,8-tetraenes. Contrary to related decarboxylative coupling reactions, an anion-stabilizing group is not required adjacent to the carboxyl group. Of mechanistic importance, it appears that both the diene of the acid and the diene of the alcohol are required for this reaction. To further understand this reaction, substitutions at every unique position of both coupling partners was examined and two potential mechanisms are presented.
Determining the Place of AQP-3B in the WNT/CA2+ Noncanonical Pathway (Poster)

During Xenopus laevis gastrulation, convergent extension is required for the mesoderm to extend into the embryo and shape the embryonic body plan. Recent results from our lab suggest that the inhibition of aqp-3b prevents convergent extension of the mesoderm and that aqp-3b acts through noncanonical Wnt signaling. Wnt signaling is a key signal pathway for embryo and tissue development. There are two types of Wnt signaling pathways, the canonical and the noncanonical pathways. There are three separate branches to noncanonical Wnt signaling. Our lab has shown that aqp-3b acts through the noncanonical Wnt/Ca2+ pathway and that it acts upstream of the cytoplasmic Wnt signaling pathway member Disheveled. The Frizzled7 membrane receptor is part of the noncanonical Wnt/Ca2+ pathway and also acts upstream of Disheveled. I will test, whether in this signaling cascade, aqp-3b acts upstream or downstream of Frizzled 7. Thus, I will test whether Frizzled 7 activates aqp-3b, if aqp-3b activates Frizzled 7, or if aqp-3b is bypassed and Frizzled 7 activates disheveled. When Frizzled 7 is active, GFP-labeled protein kinase C (PKC-GFP) relocates from the cytoplasm to the plasma membrane. Thus, I will inject either PKC-GFP alone, PKC-GFP + fz7, or PKC-GFP + fz7 +aqp-3bMO (to inhibit aqp3b) into two-cell Xenopus embryos and examine under a fluorescence microscope whether the PKC is bound to the membrane (Wnt signaling active) or remains in the cytoplasm (no Wnt signaling). With this procedure the place of aqp-3b within the Wnt/Ca2+ pathway will be determined.
Natural Numbers and Induction

Before You Get Started. From previous mathematics, you are accustomed to the symbol <. If we write 7 < 9 you read it as “7 is less than 9,” and if we write m < n you read it as “m is less than n.” But what should, for example, “n greater than 0” mean? If you look back over what we have done so far, you will notice that we have not ordered the integers: even the statement 0 < 1 does not appear. Here we impose another axiom on Z to handle these questions. This axiom will specify which integers are to be considered positive. What should it mean for an integer to be positive? Try to come up with an axiomatic way to describe positive integers. And then think about how we could use positive integers to define the symbol <. Another question: Is Z an infinite set? And what does this mean? Without Axiom 2.1 below we have no answer. We deal with this in Chapter 13.
Preference for Sequences: Rock Loud and Proud Music Set List

Numerous situations require sequencing objects. Several factors can be taken into account, such as creating contrast, avoiding satiation, satisfying impatience, or managing anticipation and recall. In this case, the music director of a rock and roll band uses sequencing to order a band's set list for an upcoming concert. Although the lead singer has chosen 15 songs the music director wants to use her expertise in understanding what factors in a sequence contributed to overall audience satisfaction. Students will be asked to examine the case data and rearrange the set list. Excerpt UVA-QA-0856 Rev. Jul. 19, 2017 Preference for Sequences: Rock Loud and Proud Music Set List As the music director for the band Rock Loud and Proud (RL&P), Sofia Ortega played many roles working with event promotors, booking agencies, and band members to ensure things ran smoothly. Among the tasks she most enjoyed was putting together the band's set list, and she had years of experience honing the list of songs the band played at each venue. But the lead singer and founding band member insisted on managing the set list. While understandable that those playing the music would want to shape the set list, there were considerations beyond personal favorites and a desire to play some new materials that went into the task. The process Ortega and the band had worked out was that the lead singer would develop a list of 30 songs, and then Ortega would decide the final set list of 15 songs using her expertise around the order they should be played. Ortega had just been handed the potential set list for the Chicago stop of the 2016, 28-city tour. It was up to her to whittle the list down and decide on the order of the 15 songs. But this time there was a glitch in the process. The lead singer had already chosen the 15 songs and set the order! While she was okay with the 15 songs and decided not to make a big deal about the situation, Ortega would have to go back to the lead singer armed with rock-solid reasons for why she wanted to change the order of the songs on the set list. See Exhibit 1 for the set list in the order proposed by the lead singer. Rock Loud and Proud . . .
Abstract 17713: Data Driven Modeling of Electronic Health Record Data to Detect Pre-diagnostic Heart Failure in Primary Care

Introduction: Electronic health records (EHRs) represent an opportunity for real-time early risk prediction. EHR records were used to determine the extent to which machine learning tools and a purely data driven approach to modeling (DDM) could detect heart failure subtypes, i.e., preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), 12 months before a clinical diagnosis. Methods: Incident HF cases were identified from Geisinger Clinic primary care patients age 50-85, diagnosed between 2001 and 2010 and further defined as HFrEF if LVEF≤40 and HFpEF if LVEF>50. Controls were chosen to match HF cases by age, gender, location and primary care physician. EHR data were extracted on demographics, ICD-9 codes, medication orders, clinical and behavioral measures. Modeling was completed to detect HF using data from a 24-month observation window 12 months before the HF diagnosis. Patient feature vectors were generated from the data and summarized by one or more aggregation functions (e.g., counts, means). For the HF endpoint, modeling was done with and without patients who had an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event within 12 months of the diagnosis. Regularized logistic regression was applied using information gain feature selection and 10-fold cross validation. Model performance was assessed by the area under the ROC curve (AUC) and complexity by the number of selected features. Results: Performance for HFpEF is better than for HFrEF. The HFpEF model is more complex than the HFrEF model as indicated by more EHR information that was needed to discriminate the HFpEF cases from controls. Performance with and without ACS cases is similar though models including ACS cases are more complex than models excluding them (Table). Conclusions: Purely data driven approaches to modeling can be used to detect HF 12 months before clinical diagnosis. Model performance and complexity varies with the HF subtypes indicating differences in the complexity of modeling the HF subtypes.
Is Collaborative, Community-Engaged Scholarship More Rigorous than Traditional Scholarship? On Advocacy, Bias, and Social Science Research.

Contrary to the charge that advocacy-oriented research cannot meet social science research standards because it is inherently biased, the authors of this article argue that collaborative, community...
A survey of student engagement with multiple resources in an undergraduate physiology course: retrieve or look it up.

Retrieval practice, a deep-learning technique in which the learner attempts to recall a concept of interest from memory, has been shown to be more effective than surface-learning techniques, such a...
A Model for Adhesive Forces in Miniature Systems

Miniature devices including MEMS and the head disk interface (HDI) in magnetic storage often include very smooth surfaces, typically having root-mean-square roughness, Rq of the order of 10 nm or less. When such smooth surfaces contact, or come into proximity of each other, either in dry or wet environments, then strong intermolecular (adhesive) forces may arise. Such strong intermolecular forces may result in unacceptable and possibly catastrophic adhesion, stiction, friction and wear. In the present work, an adhesion model termed sub-boundary lubrication (SBL) model is used to calculate the adhesion forces at typical MEMS interfaces. The model uses the Lennard-Jones attractive potential to characterize the intermolecular forces, and a statistical surface roughness model. The normal separation between the MEMS surfaces that are investigated is of the order of 100 nm down to fully contacting interfaces. Several levels of surface roughness are investigated. The first case is composed of rougher interfaces with combined Rq = 15.8 nm. The second case is an intermediate rough case with Rq = 6.8 nm, and the last case is a super smooth interface with combined Rq = 1.4 nm. The latter is a typical roughness of polished polysilicon films, whereas the rougher interfaces are typical of as deposited polysilicon films. The model reveals the significance of the surface roughness on the adhesion forces as the surfaces become smoother, and suggests that a link between macrotribology and micro/nanotribology is adhesion.
CATHETER-ASSOCIATED STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS BACTEREMIA

The majority of cases of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia are hospital-acquired, and most are associated with infected intravenous catheters. Preventive measures, early detection of infections, and strategies for effective treatment have become matters of increasing urgency.
The College Selection Process from a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Perspective

Given the large number of colleges and universities in the USA alone, and the diversity among these institutions, the problem faced by an American high school senior to make the “right” choice is not trivial. Decision criteria may include the geographic location of the institution, its perceived quality and prestige, the perceived feasibility of attending that school (including the likelihood of getting accepted, and the expected financial burden of attending), the expected quality of life at the institution, etc. Typically, the decision-making procedure consists of at least three stages: (1) selecting a manageable number of colleges for further investigation; (2) selecting a subset for formai application, after information on the institutions has been obtained; and (3) making the final decision after receiving acceptances as well as information on financial support from some of the institutions to which applications were submitted. The suitability of multi-criteria methodology in any of these stage and the general obstacles faced are investigated.
Utility of Implicit Personality: Effects of Achievement Motivation and Evaluations on Creativity

Implicit personality is a widely used concept in psychology but has yet to find little acceptance by management researchers. I describe implicit personality and its and relationship to existing per...
Exposure to di-2-ethylhexyl terephthalate in the U.S. general population from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

BACKGROUND Di-2-ethylhexyl terephthalate (DEHTP) is used as a replacement plasticizer for other phthalates, including di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP). Use of consumer products containing DEHTP may result in human exposure to DEHTP. OBJECTIVE To assess exposure to DEHTP in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. general population 3 years and older from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). METHOD We quantified two DEHTP metabolites, mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl terephthalate (MEHHTP) and mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl terephthalate (MECPTP) in 2970 urine samples by using online solid-phase extraction coupled with isotope dilution-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We used linear regression to examine associations between MEHHTP and MECTPP and several parameters including age, sex, race/ethnicity, and household income. We also compared the MEHHTP and MECPTP results to those of their corresponding DEHP metabolite analogs, namely mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl phthalate (MEHHP) and mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl phthalate (MECPP). RESULTS The weighted detection frequencies were 96% (MEHHTP) and 99.9% (MECPTP); urinary concentrations of the two metabolites correlated significantly (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.89, p < 0.0001). MECPTP concentrations were higher than MEHHTP in all age, sex, race/ethnicity groups examined. Furthermore, MECPTP adjusted geometric mean (GM) concentrations were significantly higher in samples collected in the evening than in the morning or afternoon. Females had significantly higher adjusted GM concentrations of MEHHTP and MECPTP than males. We observed no significant associations between the adjusted GM concentrations of the metabolites and race/ethnicity. Both metabolite adjusted GM concentrations increased significantly with household income, and decreased significantly with age. Only household income was significantly associated with the concentrations of MECPP, but not of MEHHP, the two DEHP metabolites. The adjusted GM of the [MEHHTP]:[MECPTP] molar concentrations ratio increased with age, and was significantly higher in samples collected in the morning than in those collected in the afternoon or evening. CONCLUSIONS Exposure to DEHTP is widespread in the U.S. general population 3 years and older. These data represent the first U.S. population-based representative background exposure to DEHTP.
Nutrient supply and nucleus pulposus cell function: effects of the transport properties of the cartilage endplate and potential implications for intradiscal biologic therapy.

Summary Objective Intradiscal biologic therapy is a promising strategy for managing intervertebral disc degeneration. However, these therapies require a rich nutrient supply, which may be limited by the transport properties of the cartilage endplate (CEP). This study investigated how fluctuations in CEP transport properties impact nutrient diffusion and disc cell survival and function. Design Human CEP tissues harvested from six fresh cadaveric lumbar spines (38–66 years old) were placed at the open sides of diffusion chambers. Bovine nucleus pulposus (NP) cells cultured inside the chambers were nourished exclusively by nutrients diffusing through the CEP tissues. After 72 h in culture, depth-dependent NP cell viability and gene expression were measured, and related to CEP transport properties and biochemical composition determined using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Results Solute diffusivity varied nearly 4-fold amongst the CEPs studied, and chambers with the least permeable CEPs appeared to have lower aggrecan, collagen-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 gene expression, as well as a significantly shorter viable distance from the CEP/nutrient interface. Increasing chamber cell density shortened the viable distance; however, this effect was lost for low-diffusivity CEPs, which suggests that these CEPs may not provide enough nutrient diffusion to satisfy cell demands. Solute diffusivity in the CEP was associated with biochemical composition: low-diffusivity CEPs had greater amounts of collagen and aggrecan, more mineral, and lower cross-link maturity. Conclusions CEP transport properties dramatically affect NP cell survival/function. Degeneration-related CEP matrix changes could hinder the success of biologic therapies that require increased nutrient supply.
Chitosan Nanoparticles Rescue Rotenone-Mediated Cell Death.

The aim of the present investigation was to study the anti-oxidant effect of chitosan nanoparticles on a human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cell line using a rotenone model to generate reactive oxygen species. Chitosan nanoparticles were synthesized using an ionotropic gelation method. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using various analytical techniques such as Dynamic Light Scattering, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transmission Infrared spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. Incubation of SH-SY5Y cells with 50 µM rotenone resulted in 35–50% cell death within 24 h of incubation time. Annexin V/Propidium iodide dual staining verified that the majority of neuronal cell death occurred via the apoptotic pathway. The incubation of cells with chitosan nanoparticles reduced rotenone-initiated cytotoxicity and apoptotic cell death. Given that rotenone insult to cells causes oxidative stress, our results suggest that Chitosan nanoparticles have antioxidant and anti-apoptotic properties. Chitosan can not only serve as a novel therapeutic drug in the near future but also as a carrier for combo-therapy.
Automated Mandarin tone classification using deep neural networks trained on a large speech dataset

A tonal language is one in which the speaker’s intonation modifies the meaning of a word. In this work, we perform a rigorous analysis of intonation changes, or pitch contours, produced by native Mandarin speakers to predict the tone-contour type. Pitch contours are estimated using a number of different methods, also measuring each contour’s Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCCs). The dataset used was autonomously generated from the Aishell open-source Mandarin speech corpus. Each sample was aligned with its transcript using Montreal Forced Alignment and segmented into individual words. The resulting corpus covers 11 topic domains, spoken by 400 individuals. Separate development, training, and testing datasets are created to ensure the integrity of our results. Pitch contours and their MFCCs are exposed to a number of machine learning techniques including clustered, regression, and traditional Deep Neural Network (DNN) approaches. MFCCs are additionally processed using convolutional neural networks. The models are used to predict the corresponding tone for a contour. Our work seeks to determine which intonation representations perform optimally for machine learning tasks. The tool is used to provide audio and visual feedback to learners of tonal languages. [Work supported by RPI Seed Grant and CISL].
Multidisciplinary Evaluation and Management of Cortical Deafness and Other Related Central Hearing Impairments

Purpose A summary of literature surrounding cortical hearing impairment (cortical deafness, auditory agnosia, and pure word deafness) was studied to identify causes and prognoses of the disorders, ...
State Authority to Regulate Mobile Source Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Part 1: History and Current Challenge

In 2018, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a dramatic rethinking of how federal laws that set standards for air pollution and fuel economy for the nation’s cars and trucks are implemented. The agencies have proposed a new reading of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA) which governs federal fuel economy standards. If finalized, the regulations would relax federal greenhouse gas tailpipe standards and fuel economy standards that are currently on the books. At the same time, the regulations would preempt emissions standards put in place by California and adopted by other States. It would also preempt California’s zero emission vehicle (ZEV) requirement. This article examines the agencies’ proposal in light of previous regulatory actions by NHTSA and the jurisprudence that governs preemption. A review of NHTSA actions since 1975 shows that from the beginning of implementation, the agency was aware that California emissions standards could have significant effects on fuel economy. The federal rulemaking record shows that California standards have impacted fuel economy of specific models by as much as 28 percent. However, NHTSA’s historic approach has been to simply factor the impacts of the state standards into the determination of the appropriate stringency for federal fuel economy standards. Informed by this analysis, the article proceeds to examine the agencies’ preemption rationale and finds that the expansive theory of preemption advanced by the agencies poses significant practical problems and logical flaws. NHTSA judges its previous consideration of California emissions standards to be appropriate, but then fails to provide a rational basis for distinguishing those actions from its current proposal for expansive preemption. NHTSA also does not provide any limiting principle that would prevent the agency’s preemption interpretation from being applied to a variety of state and local laws that seem well beyond a federal scheme relating to fuel economy performance requirements that apply to automobile manufacturers. NHTSA attempts to address or contain some of these problems. However, because the solutions aren’t rooted in statute, case law or legislative history, these solutions may ultimately be viewed as arbitrary or capricious. Finally, the article examines the agencies’ preemption proposal in light of the Supreme Court’s preemption jurisprudence. The article argues that the agencies’ analysis is lacking because it fails to adequately discuss the objectives of the federal fuel economy laws, nor the purpose and effect of the state requirements. An examination of these issues suggests a narrower interpretation of federal preemption is warranted that would preserve California’s historic role in establishing tailpipe emissions standards.
Cultivation and aerosolization of Stachybotrys chartarum for modeling pulmonary inhalation exposure.

Objective: Stachybotrys chartarum is a hydrophilic fungal species commonly found as a contaminant in water-damaged building materials. Although several studies have suggested that S. chartarum expo...
Automated analysis of scanning electron microscopic images for assessment of hair surface damage

Mechanical damage of hair can serve as an indicator of health status and its assessment relies on the measurement of morphological features via microscopic analysis, yet few studies have categorized the extent of damage sustained, and instead have depended on qualitative profiling based on the presence or absence of specific features. We describe the development and application of a novel quantitative measure for scoring hair surface damage in scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images without predefined features, and automation of image analysis for characterization of morphological hair damage after exposure to an explosive blast. Application of an automated normalization procedure for SEM images revealed features indicative of contact with materials in an explosive device and characteristic of heat damage, though many were similar to features from physical and chemical weathering. Assessment of hair damage with tailing factor, a measure of asymmetry in pixel brightness histograms and proxy for surface roughness, yielded 81% classification accuracy to an existing damage classification system, indicating good agreement between the two metrics. Further ability of the tailing factor to score features of hair damage reflecting explosion conditions demonstrates the broad applicability of the metric to assess damage to hairs containing a diverse set of morphological features.
Immigration Policy Changes and the Mental Health of Mexican-American Immigrants

In recent years, significant policy changes focused on immigrants migrating through the southern United States border have been implemented. To determine if there was an association between time since immigration and increases in negative mental health symptomology, 249 Mexican-American immigrants ages 18-65 were field recruited to participate in a survey exploring their physical and mental health. Results indicate that inconsistent with the Hispanic Health Paradox, the psychological health of immigrants arriving since 2015 was significantly worse than that of more established immigrants. New arrivals had a .38 increased risk of experiencing clinically significant depression and a .47 increased risk of experiencing global psychological distress. Time since immigration was not significantly related to past 30-day alcohol use. Implications for future research and clinical practice with immigrants are explored, and suggestions on how better identify and assist Mexican-American immigrants with mental health concerns are offered.
KSHV-encoded vCyclin can modulate HIF1α levels to promote DNA replication in hypoxia

The cellular adaptive response to hypoxia, mediated by high HIF1α levels includes metabolic reprogramming, restricted DNA replication and cell division. In contrast to healthy cells, the genome of cancer cells, and Kaposi9s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV) infected cells maintains replication in hypoxia. We show that KSHV infection, despite promoting expression of HIF1α in normoxia, can also restricts transcriptional activity, and promoted its degradation in hypoxia. KSHV-encoded vCyclin, expressed in hypoxia, mediated HIF1α cytosolic translocation, and its degradation through a non-canonical lysosomal pathway. Attenuation of HIF1α levels by vCyclin allowed cells to bypass the block to DNA replication and cell proliferation in the hypoxia. These results demonstrated that KSHV utilizes a unique strategy to balance HIF1α levels to overcome replication arrest and induction of the oncogenic phenotype, which are dependent on the levels of oxygen in the microenvironment.
When Social Capital Becomes Political Capital: Understanding the Social Contexts of Minority Candidates' Electoral Success in the American States

Political scientists have long been interested in studying the elective office-holding of disadvantaged groups. However, this line of research primarily focuses on the representation of ethnic minorities in the U.S. Congress and identifies three types of determinants of minority candidates' electoral success: the demographic and political make-up of constituents, candidates' personal traits, and macro-level electoral rules. Much less attention is given to minority candidates' electoral success in statehouses. In this paper, we ask: what factors promote the electoral success of minority candidates in state legislatures? Beyond voter characteristics and electoral rules, we attribute minority candidates' electoral success to the social capital possessed by their in-group constituents. We theorize that social capital manifested as civic engagement and social connectedness, can become political capital for minority candidates. Using the Current Population Surveys Civic Engagement Supplement, we validate state-level measures of social capital by race and ethnicity. Linking group social capital to state legislative election outcomes, we find the stock of minority social capital contributes to the electoral success of minority candidates, while white social capital decreases minority candidates' electoral success. Key findings suggest social capital is a form of political capital for disadvantaged groups with private benefits for in-group candidates.
The promise of sustainability for Iowa

First paragraphs: I was first attracted to graduate school in sociol­ogy in part to help me understand the nagging question of why some people work hard and yet remain poor. When extrapolated to the community level, I was puzzled by why some communities seem to grow and thrive and yet others decline and stagnate. I wish this book had been available during my graduate training. Two essential dimensions of community eco­nomic development are the natural resource base of the community and the qualities of the work­force, what is often referred to as the human capi­tal of local residents. Jeopardizing either the re­source base or failing to invest in people generally diminishes the opportunities for economic devel­opment. Likewise, spoil the environment and it becomes less attractive to live in and those who can migrate elsewhere. Failing to invest in educa­tion and skill training often results in a marginal­ized population that cannot fully engage in the growth and development of the community. . . .
Quantitative Assessment of Hyperdense Sign Measured by Hounsfield Units is Associated with Unsuccessful Mechanical Thrombectomy

Despite advancement in mechanical thrombectomy (MT) techniques, 10–30% of MT for large vessel occlusions (LVO) are unsuccessful. Current prediction models fail to address the association between patient-specific factors and reperfusion. We aimed to evaluate objective, easily reproducible, admission clinical and radiological biomarkers that predict unsuccessful MT. We analyzed consecutive anterior LVO MT patients at two comprehensive stroke centers. The primary outcome was unsuccessful reperfusion defined by a modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction (mTICI) score of 0–2a. We quantitatively assessed the hyperdense vessel sign by measuring Hounsfield units (HU) on admission computed tomography (CT). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to estimate the predictive value of quantitative hyperdense middle cerebral artery (MCA) measurements (delta and ratio) and of the final model for mTICI scores. We performed multivariable logistic regression to analyze associations with outcomes. Out of 348 patients 87 had unsuccessful MT. Smoking, difficult arch, vessel tortuosity, vessel calcification, diminutive vessels, truncal M1 occlusion, delta HU and HU ratio were significantly associated with unsuccessful MT in the univariate analysis. When we fitted two separate multivariate models including all significant variables and a HU measurement; delta HU <6 (odds ratio, OR = 2.07, 95% confidence intervals, CI 1.09–3.92) and HU ratio ≤1.1 (OR = 2.003, 95% CI 1.05–3.81) were independently associated with failed MT after adjustment for smoking, diminutive vessels, vessel tortuosity, and difficult arch. The area under the curve AUC<9 of the final model was 0.717. Novel radiological biomarkers on CT, CT angiography (CTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) may help identify patients refractory to standard MT and prepare interventionalists for using additional alternative methods. Quantitative assessment of HU (delta and ratio) may be important in developing objective prediction tools for unsuccessful MT.
Exploring the Effect of Noisy Environment on Distributed Problem Solving

Despite the enormous advances in network and Communications technologies, many distributed systems face some issues such as noise in the communication network. The communication issues can question the robustness and trustworthiness of such systems. In addition, distributed problem solving has been of tremendous interest to the research community because of its benefits such as privacy control and distribution of tasks; however, fewer works have been dedicated to addressing the communication challenges. Some of these works have studied the dramatic effects of issues such as message delay and loss in distributed systems, but more studies need to be done. In this study, the effect of a noisy environment on distributed problem solving is investigated. The obtained results can help researchers designing more optimizing algorithms that can adapt themselves to environmental uncertainties. Three common distributed algorithms, Distributed Stochastic Algorithm (DSA), Distributed Breakout Algorithm (DBA), and Max-Gain Message algorithm (MGM), are selected to analyze the noise issue's effect on solving distributed constraint optimization problems. The performance of these three algorithms is compared in the presence of various degrees of noise. These algorithms are applied to solve both static and dynamic distributed constraint optimization problems to understand possible effects better. Results of empirical experiments show that in static problems, MGM and DBA produce better solutions, while in dynamic problems, DSA provides more promising solutions.
Predictors of Cardiac Implantable Electronic Device Artifact on Cardiac MRI: The Utility of a Device Related Score.

Purpose Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) image quality can be degraded by artifact in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED). We aimed to establish a clinical risk score, so patient selection for diagnostic CMR could be optimised. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, CMRs performed for clinical use in subjects with CIED from January 2016 to May 2019 were reviewed. Subject anthropometry, CIED generator/lead specifications and pre-scan chest X-ray (CXR) measurements were collected. Generator-related artifact size was measured on axial steady state free precession images. Interpretability of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) imaging was performed based on a three-grade visual score attributed to each of 17 myocardial segments. Results Fifty-seven (57) patients (59±16 years, 74% male) fitted the inclusion criteria. Artifact precluded left ventricle (LV) evaluation (≥5 segments) in 17 (30%). Artifact was more common with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators, related to generator volume, mass, height, width, thickness, and area, along with right ventricular (RV) lead length and diameter (all p Conclusion Simple, readily available measures, such as lead characteristics and pre-scan CXR measures, can stratify patients via an artifact prediction score to optimise selection for diagnostic CMR.
When the Experimental Lab is Itself the Experiment: Making Someone Else’s Design Work

The redesign of learning spaces has been a growing trend in education, especially higher education. The redesign of such spaces takes time and involves a variety of stakeholders, sometimes resulting in ill-defined designs. This can be exacerbated when individuals leading such efforts depart and there is not a consensus on the design, sometimes leading to vendors having a disproportionate say in final implementations. Understanding these differences and finding a way forward can fall on new stakeholders who are tasked with supporting such spaces after most of the foundational decisions have been made and/or carried out. This case explores one faculty member and designer’s experiences with helping to both design for and define such an ill-defined space. Included in this case are the story of the design of the space pieced together from before the author started his employment and the story since he became a stakeholder, stumbling blocks encountered after the space was built, strategies employed in the interim, discussing a path forward, and finally sharing realizations made during the process which will help his future efforts with designing such multi-stakeholder spaces in the future.
Analyzing journal abstracts written by Japanese, American, and British scientists using Coh-Metrix and the Gramulator

This interdisciplinary study comprises two complementary analyses on a corpus of journal abstracts written in English by American, British, and Japanese scientists. The fi rst analysis uses the computational tool Coh-Metrix to assess text at the discourse level. The second analysis uses the computational tool the Gramulator to compare the frequency of n-grams across the three sources of abstracts. The Coh-Metrix and Gramulator analyses both suggest signifi cant differences between all three varieties of English. The greatest differences were apparent when comparing abstracts written by Japanese and English speakers; however, a number of differences were also apparent when comparing the British English and American English varieties. The results lend weight to the conclusion that native-English speakers (reviewer, editor, or reader) of either the British or American variety may interpret Japanese-English texts as lacking in key areas of the proto-typical style of the English register. Our findings provide information for instructors, course developers, and scientists on how and where text might be modifi ed in order to facilitate the production of more native-English-like representations.
Data-driven and topological design of structural metamaterials for fracture resistance

Abstract Data science as the promising paradigm provides novel and diverse opportunities for structural metamaterials attaining exceptional mechanical properties. It is demonstrated here that porous structures composed of brittle constitutive materials can be strong and tough through topological optimization and data-driven techniques. We show that brittle fracture properties can be tailored through the linear control of the homogenized stress and non-periodic microstructures from a multiscale perspective. These tough advanced structural metamaterials pave the way to multiscale components with exceptional fracture resistance.
SU-E-T-169: Characterization of Pacemaker/ICD Dose in SAVI HDR Brachytherapy.

Purpose: It is important to estimate dose to pacemaker (PM)/Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) before undertaking Accelerated Partial Breast Treatment using High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy. Kim et al. have reported HDR PM/ICD dose using a single-source balloon applicator. To the authors knowledge, there have so far not been any published PM/ICD dosimetry literature for the Strut Adjusted Volume Implant (SAVI, Cianna Medical, Aliso Viejo, CA). This study aims to fill this gap by generating a dose look up table (LUT) to predict maximum dose to the PM/ICD in SAVI HDR brachytherapy. Methods: CT scans for 3D dosimetric planning were acquired for four SAVI applicators (6−1-mini, 6−1, 8−1 and 10−1) expanded to their maximum diameter in air. The CT datasets were imported into the Elekta Oncentra TPS for planning and each applicator was digitized in a multiplanar reconstruction window. A dose of 340 cGy was prescribed to the surface of a 1 cm expansion of the SAVI applicator cavity. Cartesian coordinates of the digitized applicator were determined in the treatment leading to the generation of a dose distribution and corresponding distance-dose prediction look up table (LUT) for distances from 2 to 15 cm (6-mini) and 2 to 20 cm (10–1).The deviation between the LUT doses and the dose to the cardiac device in a clinical case was evaluated. Results: Distance-dose look up table were compared to clinical SAVI plan and the discrepancy between the max dose predicted by the LUT and the clinical plan was found to be in the range (−0.44%, 0.74%) of the prescription dose. Conclusion: The distance-dose look up tables for SAVI applicators can be used to estimate the maximum dose to the ICD/PM, with a potential usefulness for quick assessment of dose to the cardiac device prior to applicator placement.
Spatiotemporal Interpolation Methods for Air Pollution Exposure

This paper investigates spatiotemporal interpolation methods for the application of air pollution assessment. The air pollutant of interest in this paper is fine particulate matter PM2.5. The choice of the time scale is investigated when applying the shape function-based method. It is found that the measurement scale of the time dimension has an impact on the interpolation results. Based upon the comparison between the accuracies of interpolation results, the most effective time scale out of four experimental ones was selected for performing the PM2.5 interpolation. The paper also evaluates the population exposure to the ambient air pollution of PM2.5 at the county-level in the contiguous U.S. in 2009. The interpolated county-level PM2.5 has been linked to 2009 population data and the population with a risky PM2.5 exposure has been estimated. The risky PM2.5 exposure means the PM2.5 concentration exceeding the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. The geographic distribution of the counties with a risky PM2.5 exposure is visualized. This work is essential to understanding the associations between ambient air pollution exposure and population health outcomes.
The “Internal Politics” of Biology and the Justification of Biological Theories

Marjorie Grene has played an extraordinary role in the philosophy of biology. As an academic outsider, working her way back into philosophy after fifteen years’ absence from the profession, she devoted a considerable amount of energy to what was then an unpopular non-discipline. At the time, most of the philosophers who wrote on biological topics were driven to take absurd postures because they accepted a general account of science deriving from the philosophy of physics. Against this orthodoxy, Grene’s was the voice of a dissenter.1 Further compounding the difficulty of gaining acceptance for her work was the fact that many of her early papers in philosophy of biology accorded unorthodox evolutionary theories greater importance than mainstream biologists and philosophers were, at the time at least, prepared to grant to them,2 as well as the fact that she worked within a (very roughly) Aristotelian tradition unfamiliar to the philosophers and biologists interested in what we now know as philosophy of biology.3 Given all of these handicaps, it is marvelous that her voice has been heard at all.