cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SHARE’s Open Dataset of Research Outputs

Objective: Librarians are not just using open research tools, they are contributing to, even leading, initiatives that develop these tools. SHARE is one such initiative and is creating a new access and discovery tool which addresses the need to maximize research impact. Most access and discovery tools stifle innovation by keeping information about research behind paywalls or in environments that discourage reuse. SHARE is developing SHARE Notify, an open access and discovery tool that is free and encourages use, reuse, and repurposing. SHARE Notify is a dataset of metadata about research events such as articles, datasets, presentations, grant awards, etc. This poster addresses the purpose of SHARE and the development SHARE Notify. Methods: SHARE is funded by Sloan and IMLS; led by ARL and COS; and co-sponsored by the AAU and APLU. SHARE Notify is being developed collaboratively by participants representing libraries, repositories, university administrations, publishers, and non-profit organizations. Results: In 2015, SHARE released a beta version of SHARE Notify (https://osf.io/share/?). SHARE Notify harvests metadata from more than 100 content providers including data, institutional, and disciplinary repositories and databases such as CrossRef and PubMed Central. SHARE Notify’s code is freely available on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/t3j94/). Anyone is free to participate in and build upon SHARE Notify. During Phase Two (2015-2017) SHARE is enhancing the SHARE Notify dataset by harvesting from more sources, adding more identifiers, working with similar international initiatives on interoperability, and promoting SHARE. Conclusions: SHARE welcomes your involvement in ensuring that SHARE Notify reaches its full potential.
Reflections on Theoretical Issues in Argumentation Theory. Editors Frans H. van Eemeren and Bart Garssen (Eds.). Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2015; pp. 289. $139.00 eBook, $179.00 hardcover.

Reflections on Theoretical Issues in Argumentation Theory Frans H. van Eemeren and Bart Garssen (Eds.) Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2015. Pp. xiv, 1-293. ISBN 978-3-319-21102-2. eBook US$139.00, €118,99; Hardcover US$179.00, €147,69
Defects in Superlattices Under Pressure

We report theoretical calculations of deep levels in GaAs/Al x Ga 1−x As superlattices under hydrostatic pressure. We predict phase diagrams for DX centers: for a given composition x there is a function p(a), which relates pressure p and GaAs quantum-well width a, and defines a phase boundary between two regions: one in which DX is a deep trap in the fundamental band gap and another in which the DX deep level lies in the conduction band.
Cross-sectional Analysis of Anisotropic, Thin-Walled, Closed-Section Beams with Embedded Strain Actuation

The paper presents a theory for the analysis of active anisotropic beams. The focus of the paper is on the calculation of 2-D, beam, cross-sectional properties that can then be incorporated into any 1-D beam analysis. Closed-form expressions for the cross-section flexibilities as well as actuation strains for an active, anisotropic, thin-walled, closed-section beam are derived and presented in a form that can be easily applied. Test cases presented in the paper indicate that the theory can be used to eciently calculate accurate crosssectional properties for preliminary design and optimization.
Extracellular matrix composition and rigidity regulate invasive behavior and response to PDT in 3D pancreatic tumor models

The composition and mechanical compliance of the extracellular matrix (ECM) have been shown to serve as regulators of tumor growth and invasive behavior. These effects may be particularly relevant in tumors of the pancreas, noted for a profound desmoplastic reaction and an abundance of stroma rich in ECM. In view of recent progress in the clinical implementation of photodynamic therapy (PDT) for pancreatic tumors, in this report we examine how ECM composition and rheological properties impact upon invasive behavior and response to PDT in 3D multicellular pancreatic tumor spheroids in ECM environments with characterized rheological properties. Tumor spheroids were cultured initially in attachment-free conditions to form millimeter-sized spheroids that were transplanted into reconstituted ECM microenvironments (Matrigel and Type I Collagen) that were characterized using bulk oscillatory shear rheology. Analysis of growth behavior shows that the soft collagen ECM promoted growth and extensive invasion and this microenvironment was used in subsequent assessment of PDT and chemotherapy response. Evaluation of treatment response revealed that primary tumor nodule growth is inhibited more effectively with PDT, while verteporfin PDT response is significantly enhanced in the ECM-infiltrating populations that are non-responsive to oxaliplatin chemotherapy. This finding is potentially significant, suggesting the potential for PDT to target these clinically problematic invasive populations that are associated with aggressive metastatic progression and chemoresistance. Experiments to further validate and identify the mechanistic basis of this observation are ongoing.
Considering International Conflict and Border Violence

This research was conducted after I completed transnational studies of how educators teach of United States (US) policies, including international conflict, wars, and terrorism in three separate countries, Malaysia, Mexico, and Canada. In the aforementioned studies, I sought to uncover how educators in the three countries address United States (US) policies, including international conflict, wars, and terrorism in their respective curricula (Cashman, 2013).
Adding A Spending Metric To Medicare's Value-Based Purchasing Program Rewarded Low-Quality Hospitals

In fiscal year 2015 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expanded its Hospital Value-Based Purchasing program by rewarding or penalizing hospitals for their performance on both spending and quality. This represented a sharp departure from the program’s original efforts to incentivize hospitals for quality alone. How this change redistributed hospital bonuses and penalties was unknown. Using data from 2,679 US hospitals that participated in the program in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, we found that the new emphasis on spending rewarded not only low-spending hospitals but some low-quality hospitals as well. Thirty-eight percent of low-spending hospitals received bonuses in fiscal year 2014, compared to 100 percent in fiscal year 2015. However, low-quality hospitals also began to receive bonuses (0 percent in fiscal year 2014 compared to 17 percent in 2015). All high-quality hospitals received bonuses in both years. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should consider incorporating a minimu...
The Optimum Integrated Cultivation Technique for High Yield of Luxiang 615,a Hybrid Aromatic Rice Variety with Quality and Disease Resistance

Luxiang 615,a hybrid rice variety with high yield,good agronomic characters,quality rice,heavy aroma and strong disease resistance,was approved by Sichun Crops Variety Examination in 2004 and China Committee Crops Variety Examination Committee in 2006 respectively.The paper introduces its agronomic characteristic and the optimum integrated cultivation technique for its high yield to provide the scientific basis for its popularization on a large scale.
Site Selection in Experiments: An Assessment of Site Recruitment and Generalizability in Two Scale-up Studies

ABSTRACTRecently, statisticians have begun developing methods to improve the generalizability of results from large-scale experiments in education. This work has included the development of methods for improved site selection when random sampling is infeasible, including the use of stratification and targeted recruitment strategies. This article provides the next step in this literature—a template for assessing generalizability after a study is completed. In this template, first records from the recruitment process are analyzed, comparing differences between those who agreed to be in the study and those who did not. Second, the final sample is compared to the original inference population and different possible subsets, with the goal of determining where the results best generalize (and where they do not). Throughout, these methods are situated in the post hoc analysis of results from two scale-up studies. The article ends with a discussion of the use of these methods more generally when reporting results...
The Language of Current Economics: Social Theory, the Market, and the Disappearance of Relationships

Social theory begins with the odd proposition that persons are basically separate and somehow must be united. As a result of this inauspicious beginning, the collapse of society and the need for order have been a key preoccupation of many social critics. Dennis Wrong (1961) contends, accordingly, that this fear of disorder has resulted in these writers advancing an “over-socialized” conception of human existence. Specifically, unless persons are dominated by powerful institutions, the assumption is that society will likely erupt into chaos.
TU-H-CAMPUS-JeP3-04: Factors Predicting a Need for Treatment Replanning with Proton Radiotherapy for Lung Cancer

Purpose: Proton dose distribution is sensitive to tumor regression and tissue and normal anatomy changes. Replanning is sometimes necessary during treatment to ensure continue tumor coverage or avoid overtreatment of organs at risk (OARs). We investigated action thresholds for replanning and identified both dosimetric and non-dosimetric metrics that would predict a need for replan. Methods: All consecutive lung cancer patients (n = 188) who received definitive proton radiotherapy and had more than two evaluation CT scans at the Roberts Proton Therapy Center (Philadelphia, USA) from 2011 to 2015 were included in this study. The cohort included a variety of tumor sizes, locations, histology, beam angles, as well as radiation-induced tumor and lung change. Dosimetric changes during therapy were characterized by changes in the dose volume distribution of PTV, ITV, and OARs (heart, cord, esophagus, brachial plexus and lungs). Tumor and lung change were characterized by changes in sizes, and in the distribution of Hounsfield numbers and water equivalent thickness (WET) along the beam path. We applied machine learning tools to identify both dosimetric and non-dosimetric metrics that predicted a replan. Results: Preliminary data showed that clinical indicators (n = 54) were highly correlated; thus, a simple indicator may be derived to guide the action threshold for replanning. Additionally, tumor regression alone could not predict dosimetric changes in OARs; it required further information about beam angles and tumor locations. Conclusion: Both dosimetric and non-dosimetric factors are predictive of the need for replanning during proton treatment.
The Mass Media and Critical Theory: An American View

(1982). The Mass Media and Critical Theory: An American View. Annals of the International Communication Association: Vol. 6, Communication Yearbook 6, pp. 18-33.
Limited Efficacy of BMS-911543 in a Murine Model of JAK2V617F Myeloproliferative Neoplasm

Abstract Activation of JAK2, frequently as a result of the JAK2V617F mutation, is a characteristic feature of the classical myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia and myelofibrosis and thought to be responsible for the constitutional symptoms associated with these diseases. BMS-911543 is a JAK2 selective inhibitor that induces apoptosis in JAK2-dependent cell lines and inhibits the growth of CD34+ progenitor cells from patients with V617F+ MPN. To explore the clinical potential of this inhibitor, we tested BMS-911543 in a murine retroviral transduction – transplantation model of JAK2V617F MPN. Treatment was initiated at two dose levels (3 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg) when the hematocrit exceeded 70%. Following the first week, white blood cell counts were reduced to normal in the high dose group and were maintained well below the vehicle-treated mice throughout the study. However, BMS-911543 had no effect on red cell parameters. After 42 days of treatment, the proportion of JAK2V617F - positive cells in hematopoietic tissues was identical to controls or slightly increased compared to controls. Plasma concentrations of IL-6, IL-15, and TNFα were elevated in MPN mice and reduced in the high dose treatment group, while other cytokines were unchanged. Collectively, these results show that BMS-911543 has limited activity in this murine model of JAK2V617F – driven MPN and suggest that targeting JAK2 alone may be insufficient to achieve effective disease control. Disclosures Deininger: BMS, Novartis, Celgene, Genzyme, Gilead: Research Funding; BMA, ARIAD, Novartis, Incyte, Pfizer: Advisory Board, Advisory Board Other; BMS, ARIAD, Novartis, Incyte, Pfizer: Consultancy.
Can Medicaid Claims Validly Ascertain Foster Care Status

Medicaid claims have been used to identify populations of children in foster care in the current literature; however, the ability of such an approach to validly ascertain a foster care population is unknown. This study linked children in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being-I to their Medicaid claims from 36 states using their Social Security numbers. Using this match, we examined discordance between caregiver report of foster care placement and the foster care eligibility code contained in the child's Medicaid claims. Only 73% of youth placed in foster care for at least a year displayed a Medicaid code for foster care eligibility. Half of all youth coming into contact with child welfare displayed discordance between caregiver report and Medicaid claims. Children with emergency department utilization, and those in primary care case management health insurance arrangements, had the highest odds of accurate ascertainment. The use of Medicaid claims to identify a cohort of children in foster care results in high rates of underascertainment. Supplementing administrative data with survey data is one way to enhance validity of ascertainment.
COX2 induction: a mechanism of endocrine breast cancer resistance?

Urine prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels have shown to be a risk factor of breast cancer, and the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is known to be beneficial in preventing breast cancer risk and/or recurrence with or without aromatase inhibitors. We hypothesized that the use of an aromatase inhibitor triggers the activation of the inflammatory pathway via release of PGE2. A single oral 25 mg dose of an aromatase inhibitor (exemestane) was given to 14 healthy postmenopausal female volunteers. Blood and urine samples were collected between 0 and 72 h post-dosing for pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analysis. Our findings showed that urine PGE2 levels were markedly increased 72 h after exemestane administration (average pre-dosing PGE2 levels, 4061.1 pg/mL vs. post-dosing average PGE2 levels, 10732.5 pg/mL, P = 0.001, Wilcoxon Rank Test). Out of 14 subjects enrolled in the study, one subject showed no change in PGE2; another showed a 23-fold decreased in PGE2; and the remaining 12 showed an average of 8.4-fold increase in PGE2 levels (range 1.3–30.5, standard deviation 9.2) after exemestane administration. We found no statistically significant correlations between fold increase in urine PGE2 levels and the pharmacokinetics of either exemestane or 17-hydroexemestane (major in vivo metabolite of exemestane). Our results indicate that one of the pharmacological effects to aromatase inhibitors (e.g., exemestane) involves the activation of the inflammatory pathway via release of PGE2. Further in vitro mechanistic and in vivo translational studies designed to elucidate the role of this newly discovered effect are now warranted.
Managing water resources under scarcity: the role of social norms

ABSTRACTWe develop a framework that quantifies the effect of social norms on the efficient functioning of institutions and thereby their impact on effectiveness of reforms for sustaining common pool water resources under conditions of scarcity. We derive theoretical results and use numerical simulations to provide evidence for performance of a group of farmers that use a common pool resource (reservoir or aquifer) with and without norms, with various marginal utility levels from norm adherence, and with various existing (Social Planner) institutional setting considered in the theoretical model. The theoretical results suggest that with no water trade and with norm adherence, water users will always use less water than the no norms scenario. With possible inter-group water trade, norm-adhering water users would replace excess extraction with increased trade rates. Simulation results for the no-trade case suggest that with higher marginal utility values from norm adherence, the resource is sustained for sig...
Malignancy following lung transplantation.

e12019 Background: Malignancy has been shown to be a frequent complication of solid organ transplantation. It has been reported more commonly in lung transplant patients compared to other solid organ transplant recipients presumably due to the greater degree of immunosuppression required for these patients; the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) reported that malignancies account for 15% of all deaths of lung transplant patients between 5 and 10 years after transplant. The aim of this study is to describe malignancies observed in patients who underwent lung transplantation in a single, large tertiary center. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the medical records of all adult recipients of lung allografts transplanted at Henry Ford Hospital between 1994 and 2010 was performed. Main variables included age at transplant, type of transplant, smoking status and type of malignancy. Study end point was development of malignancy. Patients surviving less than 3 months were excluded ...
When Flow Goes Slow, von Willebrand Factor Can Bind Red Blood Cells.

“Stasis, hypercoagulability, vessel wall injury”: If you repeat Virchow’s triad to yourself a few times, it almost sounds like the definition of clotting rather than the cause of clotting. Still, Virchow’s triad is a remarkable predictor of where clotting initiates, specifically during venous thrombosis in the valve pocket. In the body, blood is typically clotting under flow conditions unless it has pooled outside of a broken vessel. Within vessels, the prevailing flow dictates the cellular collision frequency, the collision interaction time, as well as the forces on adhering or aggregating cells. However, when venous flows becomes pathologically slow at <100 s−1 wall shear rate (or <1 dyne/cm2 wall shear stress), the collision rate …
Neurobiology: Diversity reaches the stars.

Cells called astrocytes promote and maintain neuronal function. The discovery that astrocytes vary in their gene expression, protein levels, cellular structure and function suggests that they are specialized to support distinct circuits.
Sleep Disordered Breathing and Heart Failure: What Does the Future Hold?

Abstract Most patients with heart failure (HF) have sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), with central (rather than obstructive) sleep apnea becoming the predominant form in patients with more severe disease. Cyclical apnea and hypopneas are associated with sleep disturbance, hypoxemia, hemodynamic changes, and sympathetic activation. These patients have a worse prognosis than those without SDB. Mask-based therapies of positive airway pressure targeted at SDB can improve measures of sleep quality and can partially normalize the sleep and respiratory physiology. However, recent randomized trials of cardiovascular outcomes in central sleep apnea in chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction have had neutral findings or suggested the possibility of harm, likely from an increased rate of sudden death. Further randomized outcome studies are required to determine whether mask-based treatment is appropriate for patients with chronic HF with reduced ejection fraction and obstructive sleep apnea, for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, and for patients with decompensated heart failure. New therapies for sleep apnea (e.g., implantable phrenic nerve stimulators) also require robust assessment. No longer can the surrogate endpoints of improvement in respiratory and sleep metrics be taken as adequate therapeutic outcome measures in patients with HF and sleep apnea.
Moral Properties: Some Epistemological, Ontological, and Normative Dimensions

Moral properties lead a double life. We invoke them as high authorities when we feel mistreated or want to redirect others; but we also doubt their authority—or even their existence—when we seek to understand them philosophically. Some philosophers would say that even this open-ended contrast between respect and skeptical doubt presupposes too much: ontological neutrality requires speaking not of moral properties but instead of moral predicates. Nonetheless, even if we confine the contrast to those, a comparable duality is evident. For nearly everyone, moral terms are apparently quite well understood when it comes to bringing up children—an activity in which our true colors surely show—but deeply puzzling when it comes to the attempt at analysis. In this, to be sure, moral language is not so different from many other kinds: we learn how to use moral terms, much as we do psychological and other “descriptive” terms, and in that crucial way we know what they mean, yet even most philosophers are unable to give definitions that capture their meaning. This plainly applies to psychological language embodying action-explaining terms, and it clearly applies to at least a great many physical terms, perhaps all those not ostensively “definable.” This kind of parity between moral and descriptive language is one among many reasons to explore the moral domain on the tentative assumption of realism. This paper does not argue directly for moral realism, but if the framework it presents for understanding moral discourse and practice is plausible, that will perhaps constitute an indirect argument for the view that moral judgments belong to the realm of the true and the real, not simply to that of attitudinal expression and behavioral regulation.
Designing the Iridescences of Biopolymers by Assembly of Photonic Crystal Superlattices

Structural color in naturally occurring systems is generally constituted by nanoscale lattices of biopolymers that generate beautiful iridescences through their regular structures, often interspersed with defects or period mismatch. Taking inspiration from both formats and materials found in Nature, a series of large-scale, highly reflective biopolymer-based photonic crystal superlattices constituted by stacking layers of 3D nanoscale lattices with different periodicity is presented. These silk photonic crystal superlattices (SPCSs) are fully composed of naturally derived structural proteins (silk fibroin) and exhibit brilliant structural color while being mechanically flexible. Multi-stopbands over broad wavelength ranges or single-stopbands with narrowband spectral responses can be readily realized and precisely controlled by manipulating the hierarchy of the lattice stacks or the repetition periods of the assembled colloidal monolayers. The unique ability to vary the silk protein conformation allows to vary the lattice and controllably “design” the iridescences of the SPCSs with water vapor adding versatility to this biopolymer-based photonic structure.
Synthesis of Nepetoidin B

The first synthesis of nepetoidin B in an overall yield of 17% was achieved in two steps through Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of commercially available 1,5-bis(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1,4-pentadien-3-one with oxone to produce the tetramethylated nepetoidin B, followed by demethylation using boron tribromide.
Jim Crow Terminals: The Desegregation of American Airports: Ortlepp, Anke Athens: University of Georgia Press 222 pp., $26.95, ISBN 978-0-8203-5121-6 Publication Date: July 2017

Historians have paid a great deal of attention to the desegregation of buses, thanks to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Freedom Riders. Until now, however, little attention has been directed at ...
Noble Death, Rational Suicide, or Self-Determination

The first performance of Brian Clark’s play, Whose Life Is It Anyway, was transmitted on March 12, 1972, by Granada television in England. It was performed subsequently on the London stage in 1978 and in New York in 1979 and made a motion picture in 1981.
Corporate forensics class design with open source tools and live CDS

While Corporate and Law Enforcement (LE) Forensics share a common process; they differ in important ways including context, scope, outcomes, and tools. Since most forensic texts are created from a LE perspective, designing a corporate forensic class can be a challenge. In this paper, we discuss how incorporating Open Source Tools and LiveCDs into our Corporate Forensics Class helped us meet this challenge. To place our solution in context, the paper first presents an overview of digital forensics. It follows that with a presentation of corporate forensic concepts. Then, it presents our corporate forensics class along with specific corporate forensic activities that it incorporates. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of open source tools and LiveCDs utilized in class.
Biological Fluxes in the Ocean and Atmospheric pCO 2

The biological pump in the ocean has a strong impact on the pCO 2 of the atmosphere, potentially acting as a feedback to future changes in climate or ocean pH. However, the characterization of the strength of the biological pump today is less than ideal: there is a general discrepancy between direct measurements with sediment traps versus estimates based on bottle incubations, satellite data, and models. As a result, our ability to predict the future response of the biological pump is embryonic. Changes in primary production and calcification rates, which could impact sinking fluxes through changes in ballasting and marine snow aggregation, can be envisioned, but making reliable quantitative predictions is still elusive. The impact on atmospheric CO 2 depends on how the ocean carbon and nutrient cycles respond to the change. The goal of this chapter is to synthesize the impacts of biological fluxes in the ocean on the CO 2 concentration of the atmosphere, and to discuss ways in which biological fluxes might respond to past and future changes in climate and the chemistry of the oceans, such as ocean acidification. The intensities of these interactions will determine the strength, and the sign, of any carbon cycle feedback from the ocean to Earth's climate.
Suprachoroidal Space as a Therapeutic Target

The uveoscleral route of aqueous humor outflow has been less well characterized than the trabecular route. The two routes differ physiologically in many respects. Whereas trabecular outflow is dependent on intraocular pressure (IOP), uveoscleral outflow is mostly driven by the higher hydrostatic pressure difference in the anterior chamber relative to the suprachoroidal space (SCS). Outflow through the two routes is also differentially responsive to pharmacological interventions intended to manipulate IOP. For example, prostaglandin-based therapies target the uveoscleral route but have little effect on trabecular outflow. Injection of drugs into the SCS is being investigated as a means of delivery of small molecules and potentially sustained-release formulations of large biological molecules to the back of the eye. The uveoscleral pathway is also being increasingly targeted by diverse surgical approaches, with the potential to avoid some of the more serious complications associated with trabecular surgical interventions.
Cosmetic Neurology: For Physicians the Future is Now.

Medications for brain enhancement raise many ethical concerns regarding the roles of personal autonomy and responsibility. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Global and local media and the making of an Ethiopian national icon

ABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the global and local media coverage of Melaku Belay, an acclaimed Ethiopian dancer and social entrepreneur. How have the media mythologized his story? How does Melaku pa...
Something Old and Something New: Future Directions in Vocational Research With People of Color in the United States:

Vocational psychology scholarship has largely overlooked the work experiences of people of color. In this article, we present evidence that vocational research that addresses the work issues of peo...
The Mitochondrial Permeability Transition in Mitochondrial Disorders

Mitochondrial permeability transition pore (PTP), a (patho)physiological phenomenon discovered over 40 years ago, is still not completely understood. PTP activation results in a formation of a nonspecific channel within the inner mitochondrial membrane with an exclusion size of 1.5 kDa. PTP openings can be transient and are thought to serve a physiological role to allow quick Ca2+ release and/or metabolite exchange between mitochondrial matrix and cytosol or long-lasting openings that are associated with pathological conditions. While matrix Ca2+ and oxidative stress are crucial in its activation, the consequence of prolonged PTP opening is dissipation of the inner mitochondrial membrane potential, cessation of ATP synthesis, bioenergetic crisis, and cell death—a primary characteristic of mitochondrial disorders. PTP involvement in mitochondrial and cellular demise in a variety of disease paradigms has been long appreciated, yet the exact molecular entity of the PTP and the development of potent and specific PTP inhibitors remain areas of active investigation. In this review, we will (i) summarize recent advances made in elucidating the molecular nature of the PTP focusing on evidence pointing to mitochondrial FoF1-ATP synthase, (ii) summarize studies aimed at discovering novel PTP inhibitors, and (iii) review data supporting compromised PTP activity in specific mitochondrial diseases.
Benchmarking and Qualification of Gate Drivers for Medium Voltage (MV) Operation using 10 kV Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs

Emergence of reliable medium voltage (MV) silicon carbide (SiC) devices, has made it possible to use these for MV applications, including grid interconnections, and medium voltage drives system. In a converter structure, the isolated power supplies of the gate drivers for these MV devices experience a peak stress up to 15 kV and a very high dv/dt (up to 100 kV/μs). Exposing the gate driver to such harsh conditions leads to various challenges in providing the required insulation, and maintaining the signal fidelity (due to common mode (CM) currents across the parasitic capacitance of the transformer). The failure of gate drivers at a converter level can lead to destructive damage to the converter. This calls for a methodology to design, test and qualify the gate drivers before implementing them in the field for long-term operation. This paper provides a detailed design methodology and analysis to qualify the gate drivers for a long-term operation. The analysis and design-phase ensures reliable operation of the gate driver, and the testing and qualifying phase ensures long-term operation of the gate driver. The experimental test setup has been built and test results have been provided based on a gate driver designed for 10 kV SiC MOSFETs.
Monometallic lanthanide salicylhydrazone complexes exhibiting strong near-infrared luminescence

We report the synthesis of monometallic lanthanide complexes supported by one salicylhydrazone ligand. Complexes of neodymium, erbium, and ytterbium have been synthesized, and exhibit near infrared luminescence with modest to high quantum yields. The luminescence of ytterbium is increased by a factor of five when comparing our complex to other salicylhydrazone-supported complexes.
Inclusive management for social entrepreneurs with intellectual disabilities: “how they act”

Background Social entrepreneurship is a growing trend that reflects a shift in contemporary policy towards entrepreneurship and self-employment as viable employment option for people with disabilities. Entrepreneurship is intended to promote autonomy and reduce dependence on entitlement-based services as well as reduce employment disparities while stimulating business and job creation.However, it is not well understood what exactly this means for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) involved in social entrepreneurial ventures. Methods Dyadic interviews were conducted with people with ID participating in social entrepreneurship (n = 7) as well as with the person they identified as instrumental in providing support (n = 7). Interviews focused on understanding the management processes used by people with ID, or "how they act" in negotiating between formal and informal systems of services and supports and barriers encountered. Results Themes that emerged include the main barriers they experienced, how their businesses are organized; and the use of formal and informal services and supports. Conclusions This research expands upon our understanding of social entrepreneurship and the management processes involved in customized employment for people with ID. It offers new insights and information for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to inform the expectations we set for entrepreneurship as a sustainable employment option, from the perspective of social entrepreneurs with ID themselves.
Labor Earnings Inequality in Manufacturing during the Great Depression

We study labor earnings inequality during the Great Depression using establishment-level information from the Census of Manufactures (COM). Inequality, as measured by the interquartile range in earnings per worker, declines by 10 log points between 1929 and 1933. However, by 1935, this difference has recovered to its 1929 level. In a decomposition, this decline and then rise in inequality is entirely explained by returns to observable factors, most notably the skill premium and regional differentials. The exit of establishments plays an important role in the initial decline in inequality but barely any role in the recovery.
Real estimates of mortality following COVID-19 infection; an oversimplification of a complex issue

Some authors have claimed that the mortality rate estimations for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which are based on the number of deaths relative to the number of confirmed cases of infection are not representative of the actual death rate. As a matter of fact, the current mortality rate estimates (specially for calculations performed during the exponential phase of the virus spread) are an underestimation of the potential mortality of the symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Here we discuss some pitfalls of Baud and colleague’s innovative suggestion to re-estimate the COVID-19 mortality rate by dividing the number of deaths on a given time by the number of confirmed symptomatic COVID-19 patients at an earlier time (time from onset of symptom to death).
Amides as bioisosteres of triazole-based geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase inhibitors

Geranylgeranyl diphosphate synthase (GGDPS) inhibitors are of potential therapeutic interest as a consequence of their activity against the bone marrow cancer multiple myeloma. A series of bisphosphonates linked to an isoprenoid tail through an amide linkage has been prepared and tested for the ability to inhibit GGDPS in enzyme and cell-based assays. The amides were designed as analogues to triazole-based GGDPS inhibitors. Several of the new compounds show GGDPS inhibitory activity in both enzyme and cell assays, with potency dependent on chain length and olefin stereochemistry.
The effect of sarcopenia on perioperative complications in abdominally based free-flap breast reconstruction

Purpose The identification of patient-specific risk factors, which predict morbidity following abdominally based microvascular breast reconstruction is difficult. Sarcopenia is a proxy for patient frailty and is an independent predictor of complications in a myriad of surgical disciplines. We predict that sarcopenic patients will be at higher risk for surgical complications following abdominally based microvascular breast reconstruction. Methods A retrospective study of all patients who underwent delayed abdominally based autologous breast reconstruction following postmastectomy radiation therapy from 2007 to 2013 at a single institution was conducted. Univariate and multiple logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of sarcopenia on postoperative outcomes. Results Two hundred and eight patients met the inclusion criteria, of which 30 met criteria for sarcopenia (14.1%). There were no significant differences in demographics between groups. There were no significant differences in minor (36.7% vs 44.4%; P = .43) or major (16.7% vs 25.3%; P = .36) complications between groups as well as hospital length of stay. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that a staged reconstruction with the use of a tissue expander was the only consistent variable, which predicted major complications (OR, 2.24; 95% CI, 1.18-4.64; P = .015). Conclusions Sarcopenia does not predispose to minor or major surgical complications in patients who undergo abdominally based microsurgical breast reconstruction.
Quantification of spatiotemporal parameter behavior during walking speed transitions

Abstract The biomechanics of constant speed walking have been well quantified, but little is known about transitions between walking speeds. Spatiotemporal behavior (step time, length, and speed) has been investigated in starting, stopping, and walking to running transitions, but speed transitions during walking have yet to be investigated. This study quantified the spatiotemporal parameter behavior during walking speed transitions with a range of magnitudes (or differences between pre- and post-transition normalized speeds ranging from 0.03 to 0.13, or approximately 1.18 m/s to 1.58 m/s). 23 healthy adults walked on a treadmill at five different constant speeds for one minute each to establish a baseline. They then performed walking speed transitions, in which they walked on the treadmill as it randomly changed between the five speeds. Linear mixed effect models showed that subjects converged to slightly different post-transition step time and step length averages than established in the constant speed baseline, but the differences are likely too small to be meaningful (on the order of 0.01 s and 0.01 m). When diverging from the pre-transition speed, subjects either diverged in only step time (with step length remaining the same), only step length (with step time remaining the same), or both step time and step length to reach the post-transition speed, with the behavior strongly tied to the magnitude of the speed transition ( p 0.001 ). Step time often overshot the new value before converging. The number of steps required for each parameter to converge increased with increasing transition magnitude ( p 0.001 ) and was consistently higher at all magnitudes for speed than step time and length ( p 0.001 ). In summary, transition magnitude affected the spatiotemporal behavior during walking speed transitions. Further, step time, length, and speed all exhibited slightly different divergence and convergence behavior during transitions.
Effects of springtime sodium selenate foliar application and NPKS fertilization on selenium concentrations and selenium species in forages across Oregon

Abstract Selenium (Se) concentrations in soils and plants are low in the Pacific Northwest, and consequently, in livestock consuming locally-grown forages. Applying sodium selenate with traditional nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium-sulfur (NPKS) fertilizers provides a cost-effective Se agronomic biofortification method for increasing forage Se concentrations and maintaining optimum health and productivity of livestock. This 2-year study was conducted across Oregon on four representative forage fields: orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) in Terrebonne (central Oregon), grass-clover mixture in Roseburg (southwestern Oregon), and both grass mixture and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) fields in Union (eastern Oregon). Using a split plot design with double-repeated measures (2017 and 2018 with first, second, third, and residual harvest cuts each year), we determined the effect of springtime Se foliar application rate (0, 45, or 90 g Se ha−1 from sodium selenate; whole plot) and NPKS fertilization (none, NPK/PK fertilization, or NPKS/PKS fertilization; subplot; NPKS amounts adapted to meet forage and soil requirements) on total Se concentration and beneficial Se species in forages. Forage Se concentrations increased linearly with foliar sodium selenate application, doubling with each additional 45 g Se ha−1 application (first cut median: 0.11, 2.06, and 4.15 mg kg−1 dry matter, respectively). Nearly all incorporated Se was contained in the first two cuts (87 % and 9 % in first and second cuts, respectively) and most applied selenate was metabolized to selenomethionine. NPK/PK fertilization decreased Se concentrations in second and latter cut forages from Se-amended fields, whereas sulfur fertilization decreased forage Se concentrations from non-Se amended fields. Among forages, alfalfa had greater Se concentrations under low soil Se conditions, whereas grass-dominated forages had higher Se concentrations after Se-amendment. In conclusion, springtime sodium selenate foliar application is an effective management strategy to increase forage total Se concentrations and highly bioavailable selenomethionine concentrations across Oregon, and should be implemented to meet local forage and livestock requirements.
The characteristics and outcomes of critically Ill patients with COVID-19 who received systemic thrombolysis for presumed pulmonary embolism: an observational study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with abnormal hemostasis, autopsy evidence of systemic microthrombosis, and a high prevalence of venous thromboembolic disease. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been used in patients with critically ill COVID-19 with high clinical suspicion of pulmonary embolism (PE). A retrospective cohort study of 6095 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at 5 acute care hospitals in New York was conducted. 57 patients received tPA for presumed PE during March 10th to April 27th. The mean age was 60.8 ± 10.8 years, and 71.9% (41/57) were male. We defined strongly suspected PE among 75.4% (43/57) of patients who had acute worsening of hypoxia and acute hypotension requiring pressors. The findings suggestive of PE included right ventricular (RV) strain in 15.8% (9/57), deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in 7.0% (4/57), increased dead space ventilation (Vd) in 31.6% (18/57) of patients, respectively. RV strain and RV thrombus were present in 3.5% (2/57), RV strain and DVT in 5.3% (3/57), RV strain and increased Vd in 8.8% (5/57), and DVT and increased Vd in 3.5% (2/57) of patients. Chest CT Angiography was not performed in any of the patients. Following tPA infusion, 49.1% (28/57) of patients demonstrated improvement. Six patients (10.5%) survived to discharge, of whom 2 received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and were transferred to other facilities for lung transplant, 2 were discharged home, and 2 were discharged to a rehabilitation facility. However, overall mortality was 89.5%. The utility of tPA for critically ill patients with COVID-19 and presumed PE warrants further studies.
The Immune Contexture and Cancer Therapy Aspects of the TIM-3 Checkpoint Pathway

The advent of immune checkpoint therapy revolutionizes the oncology field by achieving durable anti-tumor efficacy and immense clinical progress. Among the immune checkpoints, T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain 3 (TIM-3) has been reported to express on both innate and adaptive immune cells where it accounts for immune tolerance and tumor aggression. It shows promising effects that are applicable in several cancer types. This review provides a broad overview of the main TIM-3 relative signaling pathways and its immune regulatory role to shape cancer development positively. The importance of TIM-3 inhibitors in cancer control were also summarized according to the latest reports, discussing its clinical trial data that inform the rationale for TIM-3 blockade.
Generation of Glucocorticoid Resistant SARS-CoV-2 T-Cells for Adoptive Cell Therapy

Adoptive cell therapy with viral-specific T cells has been successfully used to treat life-threatening viral infections, supporting the application of this approach against COVID-19. We expanded SARS-CoV-2 T-cells from the peripheral blood of COVID-19-recovered donors and non-exposed controls using different culture conditions. We observed that the choice of cytokines modulates the expansion, phenotype and hierarchy of antigenic recognition by SARS-CoV-2 T-cells. Culture with IL-2/4/7 but not other cytokine-driven conditions resulted in >1000 fold expansion in SARS-CoV-2 T-cells with a retained phenotype, function and hierarchy of antigenic recognition when compared to baseline (pre-expansion) samples. Expanded CTLs were directed against structural SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including the receptor-binding domain of Spike. SARS-CoV-2 T-cells could not be efficiently expanded from the peripheral blood of non-exposed controls. Since corticosteroids are used for the management of severe COVID-19, we developed an efficient strategy to inactivate the glucocorticoid receptor gene (NR3C1) in SARS-CoV-2 CTLs using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. Funding: Supported in part by the generous philanthropic contributions to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center AML Moonshot Program, by the grants from National Institute of Health, National Cancer Institute 5R01CA211044-04 and Cancer Center Support (CORE) Grant (CA016672) that support the Flow Cytometry and Cellular Imaging Facility and the RNA sequencing core facility at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval: Buffy coat units were processed from 500mL of whole blood collected from each of the 10 COVID-19 recovered donors (CoV-RD) and 20 mL of peripheral blood from 5 healthy donors were collected under local Institutional Review Board approved protocols (Lab02-0630 and PA13-0647) and following informed consent.
A World Society Analysis of the Rights of Unaccompanied Minors

This chapter employs a Clinical Sociology approach, complemented by a World Society Approach, to study whether and how an international framework of children’s rights effectively leads to interventions, resources, and services useful, perhaps necessary, to unaccompanied children. This chapter finds hope through providers of interventions to unaccompanied children within this international framework of children’s rights, but gaps continue to be found and problems continue to persist, especially during a global pandemic.
Climate Change and the Amplification of Agricultural Worker Health Risks

Work in agriculture is hard, and it is about to get harder. Hired farm labor is a form of highly precarious employment, due to various contingencies, with significant degrees of insecurity and poor...