cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Congressional Representation in an International Crisis: Position-Taking and Explanation on Syria Intervention

This research explores House members’ and senators’ decisions about announcing explaining positions on the president’s military intervention plans through the lens of responses to the 2013 Syria chemical-weapons crisis. Analysis of newly assembled data on members’ Syria positions shows that the parties differed sharply in their response; in addition, ideological extremism in the chamber and constituency opinion were both important predictors of members announcing opposition, while Senate membership, seniority, and centrism in the party predicted announcements of support. A supplementary analysis of the vote on arming Syrian rebels in 2014 reveals parallel patterns. Finally, members split in their approach to explaining their Syria positions, with opponents leaning heavily on arguments about the president and constituency opinion and supporters offering issue-focused explanations. Overall, the Syria case shows that choices over presidential military intervention paralleled the partisan and constituency-driven divisions in recent domestic politics, and it also sheds light on the strategic decisions about position explanation on a very salient issue.
Micromachined Hollow Needle with Integrated Pressure Sensor for Precise, Calibrated Injection into Cells and Embryos

We have developed surface micromachined hollow silicon nitride needles, specifically designed for injection of DNA and proteins into fruit fly embryos. Precisely controlled calibration of the injected volume is possible using an integrated membrane-based pressure sensor with interferometric read out. The membrane can withstand pressures in excess of 3 bar. The excellent mechanical stability of the hollow needle was verified in fruit-fly embryo injection experiments and the injection of water and a solution of GFP (green fluorescent protein) were successfully performed. Flow measurements of air through a needle with channel dimensions: 75 μm x 15 μm x 2.5 μm, resulted in a flow rate of rair = 1.4 nl / (s bar).
Putting ‘Experience’ to the Test in Theological Reflection

I discovered religious experience at Harvard Divinity School, in the Sperry lecture hall, sometime in the late 1980s. By that I do not mean to confess that I had a “first religious experience” there; nor do I mean that, somehow through some activity of my own, I laid hold novelly to the notion of “religious experience,” exposing something new to scholarship, some new direction, or some deep, fundamentally new insight. Rather, I mean quite simply that “religious experience,” the idea, the genre for thinking and reflection, came to my attention for the first time in that room in the late 1980s. In retrospect, I must say that it did so momentously, as I have not been able since to expunge it from my habits of thinking.
BRCA1-directed, enhanced and aberrant homologous recombination: Mechanism and potential treatment strategies

Despite intense studies, questions still remain regarding the molecular mechanisms leading to the development of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. Research focused on elucidating the role of the breast cancer susceptibility gene 1 (BRCA1) in the DNA damage response may be of the most critical importance to understanding these processes. The BRCA1 protein has an N-terminal RING domain possessing E3 ubiquitin-ligase activity and a C-terminal BRCT domain involved in binding specific phosphoproteins. These domains are involved directly or indirectly in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. As the two terminal domains of BRCA1 represent two separate entities, understanding how these domains communicate and are functionally altered in regards to DSB repair is critical for understanding the development of BRCA1-related breast and ovarian cancers and for developing novel therapeutics. Herein, we review recent findings of how altered functions of these domains might lead to cancer through a mechanism of increased aberrant homologous recombination and possible implications for the development of BRCA1 inhibitors.
Re-territorializing the ‘Guilty City’: Nationalist and Right-wing Attempts to Nationalize Budapest during the Interwar Period:

In addition to successive Hungarian governments’ revisionist agenda and the re-education of the population in a Christian and national spirit, the symbolic takeover of Budapest spaces was another priority of Hungarian nationalist policy during the interwar period. From 1920 nationalist and right wing groups in Hungary demonized the capital and attempted to erase its previous associations with communism, cosmopolitanism, liberalism and unbridled consumerism by re-rooting it in the national soil. In order to achieve this effect they limited the autonomy of the municipality of Budapest, erected new monuments and re-wrote the meaning of old ones as well as periodically organizing the spatial takeover of Budapest by Magyar villagers. From the later 1920s on it was the annual celebration of St Stephen in a two-week long festival which became the fulcrum of nationalist efforts to take over the public spaces of the city. However, economic concerns related to the development of urban tourism limited their effectiv...
A Battle of Wills: Antibiotics and Bacteria Lock Horns in a Struggle for Survival

As broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed more widely in the United States, they have been strongly linked with increasing rates of antimicrobial resistance among clinically important bacterial pathogens. Studies investigating resistance mechanisms of Streptococcus pneumoniae and enterococci demonstrate transfer of genetic material by the bacteria within susceptible hosts. A two-pronged strategy that includes a never-ending search for new antimicrobials as well as controls on the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics will be necessary to prevent an apocalyptic “postantibiotic” era.
Identifying Prevalence and Risk Factors for Mild Cognitive Impairment in Adults Presenting for Urological Evaluation

Objective To examine mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a young and older adult urology population, and which external factors were associated with diminished cognitive status at baseline. Methods We enrolled patients >18 years of age presenting to a large, urban tertiary care center for a wide variety of urologic complaints. Cognitive status was determined by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) screening test. A score of 26-30 on the MoCA is considered cognitively intact, whereas Results One hundred ninety-seven patients were included. There were 10/33 (30%) patients aged 18-40 who had MCI. Moreover, 32/68 (47%) patients aged 41-64 had MCI. Of older adults age 65+, MCI was seen in 65/96 (68%) patients. Factors associated with MCI in age group 41-64 included opioid use. Patients with stone disease were less likely to demonstrate MCI, when compared to other general categories of urologic chief complaints. For patients in age group 65+, associations with MCI included a cancer-related chief complaint, increased age, depressive symptoms, and less education. There were no significant associations with MCI in age group 18-40. Conclusion These results demonstrate a significant prevalence of MCI in an adult urology population and factors that may be associated with its prevalence. We believe that this study lays the groundwork for urology providers to be able to identify patients who may have MCI at baseline.
Mediation, Peacekeeping And Civil War Peace Agreements

The post-civil war agreement phase is vulnerable to credible commitment problems, a lack of government capacity to implement, and/or mutual vulnerability to retribution from violating the agreement. This study’s main contribution is to demonstrate the combined utility of mediation and UN peacekeeping. Mediation builds trust and confidence and works with the parties to design an efficacious agreement conducive to, among other features, tamping down post-agreement violence. Peacekeeping stems violence and facilitates the implementation of the agreement. Agreements that are mediated and followed by UN peacekeeping are expected to be more robust in terms of staving off violence. We report the effects of the mediation–peacekeeping interaction using a method correcting for a common misinterpretation of interaction terms. We test logit and hazard models using a sample of full and partial civil war peace agreements signed between 1975 and 2011. Controlling for agreement design, democracy, and income per capita, t...
Depth Dose and Profile Analysis Using Library Least-Squares Method

The Library Least-Squares method has been applied to detect changes in the depth dose and in the profiles of 6 and 20 MeV electron beams, and in 6 MeV photon beams from medical linear accelerators. The changes in the beam energy of 0.78% and 0.32% at low and high electron energies, respectively, induced by the insertion of 0.1 mm A1 absorber were clearly visible in the residual distributions. The changes in the photon beam were introduced by rotation of the gantry or the collimator. The applicability of the method to quantitatively monitor any changes in the treatment beam characteristics is presented.
SU-F-T-481: Physics Evaluation of a Newly Released InCise™ Multileaf Collimator for CyberKnife M6™ System.

Purpose: This work reports the results of the physics evaluation of a newly released InCise™2 Multileaf Collimator (MLC) installed in our institution. Methods: Beam property data was measured with unshielded diode and EBT2 films. The measurements included MLC leaf transmission, beam profiles, output factors and tissue-phantom ratios. MLC performance was evaluated for one month after commissioning. Weekly Garden Fence tests were performed for leaf / bank positioning in standard (A/P) and clinically relevant non-standard positions, before and after MLC driving exercises of 10+ minutes. Daily Picket Fence test and AQA test, End-to-End tests and dosimetric quality assurance were performed to evaluate the overall system performance. Results: All measurements including beam energy, flatness and symmetry, were within manufacture specifications. Leaf transmission was 0.4% 20 mm) was observed in the direction perpendicular to leaf motion due to the tilting of the leaf housing. Mean leaf position offsets was −0.08±0.07mm and −0.13 ± 0.08 for X1 and X2 leaf banks in 13 Garden Fence tests. No significant difference on average leaf positioning offsets was observed between different leaf orientations and before/after MLC driving exercises. Six End-to-End tests showed 0.43±0.23mm overall targeting accuracy. Picket-Fence and AQA showed stable performance of MLC during the test period. Dosimetric point dose measurements for test cases agreed with calculation within 3%. All film measurements on relative dose had Gamma (2%, 2mm) passing rate of >95%. Conclusion: The Incise™2 MLC for CyberKnife M6™ was proven to be accurate and reliable, and it is currently in clinical use. Stanford was one of the physics evaluation sites for the newly released InCise 2 MLC for Accuray Inc.
Upset Early Warning Systems for Biological Treatment Processes: Source and effect relationships

A laboratory study was conducted to elucidate the source-effect relationships for seven chemicals (sources) that can cause activated sludge process upset (effect). These chemicals were studied over a range of concentrations using both nitrifying and non-nitrifying laboratory-scale activated sludge sequencing batch reactors. Effects were characterized according to traditional methods of evaluating process effluent and mixed liquor quality. A range of process effects were observed for both biomass sources. Overall impact was assessed and the degree to which a chemical caused an impact on process performance was considered to be more detrimental than if a chemical had multiple process effects that were moderate. Almost all chemicals caused multiple process effects, but the intensity and type of process effect was not always predictable based on the chemical applied. The findings show that there are multiple ways that chemicals can impact activated sludge plants, and suggest that corrective action practices need to be tailored based on the nature of the chemical causing the upset. This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series ISBN: 9781843397427 (Print) ISBN: 9781780404455 (eBook)
Association of inflammatory, lipid and mineral markers with cardiac calcification in older adults.

Objective Calcification of the aortic valve and adjacent structures involves inflammatory, lipid and mineral metabolism pathways. We hypothesised that circulating biomarkers reflecting these pathways are associated with cardiac calcification in older adults. Methods We investigated the associations of various biomarkers with valvular and annular calcification in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Of the 5888 participants, up to 3585 were eligible after exclusions for missing biomarker, covariate or echocardiographic data. We evaluated analytes reflecting lipid (lipoprotein (Lp) (a), Lp-associated phospholipase A 2 (LpPLA 2 ) mass and activity), inflammatory (interleukin-6, soluble (s) CD14) and mineral metabolism (fetuin-A, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23) pathways that were measured within 5 years of echocardiography. The relationships of plasma biomarkers with aortic valve calcification (AVC), aortic annular calcification (AAC) and mitral annular calcification (MAC) were assessed with relative risk (RR) regression. Results Calcification was prevalent: AVC 59%, AAC 45% and MAC 41%. After adjustment, Lp(a), LpPLA 2 mass and activity and sCD14 were positively associated with AVC. RRs for AVC per SD (95% CI) were as follows: Lp(a), 1.051 (1.022 to 1.081); LpPLA 2 mass, 1.036 (1.006 to 1.066) and LpPLA 2 activity, 1.037 (1.004 to 1.071); sCD14, 1.039 (1.005 to 1.073). FGF-23 was positively associated with MAC, 1.040 (1.004 to 1.078) and fetuin-A was negatively associated, 0.949 (0.911 to 0.989). No biomarkers were significantly associated with AAC. Conclusion This study shows novel associations of circulating FGF-23 and fetuin-A with MAC, and LpPLA 2 and sCD14 with AVC, confirming that previously reported for Lp(a). Further investigation of Lp and inflammatory pathways may provide added insight into the aetiology of AVC, while study of phosphate regulation may illuminate the pathogenesis of MAC.
Roman der Zukunft Heines Geist in George Eliots »Daniel Deronda«

Berlin, 1854: In einem Brief nach England schreibt Marian Evans (ihr Pseudonym »George Eliot« existiert damals noch nicht) uber eine Auffuhrung von Lessings »Nathan der Weise«, die sie am Abend zuvor gesehen hat. Der Grund fur ihre Begeisterung (»it thrilled me«) ist Lessings Wagemut bei der Behandlung des Themas der religiosen Toleranz. Auch bewundert sie die deutsche Aufnahme des Themas und kontrastiert sie mit englischer Bigotterie: Last night we went to see »Nathan der Weise.« You know, or perhaps you do not know that this play is a sort of dramatic apologue the moral of which is religious tolerance. It thrilled me to think that Lessing dared nearly a hundred years ago to write the grand sentiments and profound thoughts which this play contains for the people’s theater which he dreamed of, but which Germany has never had. In England the words which call down applause here would make the pit rise in horror.3
Invertebrate Origins of Vertebrate Nervous Systems

Comparisons between the central nervous systems (CNSs) of vertebrates and their invertebrate chordate relatives, cephalochordates (amphioxus), and tunicates have given insights into how the vertebrate CNS evolved. Microanatomy plus gene expression indicates that the ancestral chordate nervous system was probably similar to that of a modern amphioxus. However, there is no consensus on the evolutionary origins of the chordate CNS. Whether the common ancestor of Ambulacraria (echinoderms and hemichordates) and chordates had a CNS with a brain, nerve cords like those in hemichordates or a nerve net is controversial. If this ancestor had a longitudinal CNS with a brain, it was lost in echinoderms, which independently evolved the five radial nerves. To further confuse the issue, hemichordates have the two nerve cords, which have few neurons and lack a brain. Although conserved gene expression in cnidarians and bilaterians indicates that a nerve net is ancestral to a CNS, whether the ancestral bilaterian had a nerve net or nerve cord(s) with a discrete brain remains hotly debated.
Growth and characterization of Arsenic doped CdTe single crystals grown by Cd-solvent traveling-heater method

Abstract We report the growth of p -type As-doped, Cd-rich CdTe single crystals using metallic Cd as the solvent in the traveling-heater method. We investigate the growth process from Cd solution in terms of the solid-liquid interface shape and the effects of As incorporation on p -type doping. The resulting CdTe crystals have Cd-rich composition which enhances p -type doping. The As doping efficacy was measured for As concentrations by the combination of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, capacitance-voltage measurements. The p -type doping concentration varied from 6 × 10 15 to 8 × 10 16 cm −3 with increasing As concentration, with an apparent doping limit just below 10 17 cm −3 .
Effect of trapped water on the frictional behavior of graphene oxide layers sliding in water environment

Abstract Two-dimensional materials have great potential for applications in the wide-reaching areas of sensing, drug delivery, and biomolecule nano-transportation. When considering graphene for possible applications, interactions with the surrounding environment should be always kept in mind, as they can cause wear and damage of the films and thus largely affect the overall performance of graphene-based devices. In this paper, we use Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) to explore interactions of graphene oxide (GO) films with water at solid/liquid interface. We demonstrate that water trapped between GO layers during deposition from the water solution largely affects the response of the QCM in the liquid environment by unexpectedly increasing the resonant frequency of oscillations. Once the trapped water is released in the DI water environment or eliminated in case of graphene deposited from an ethanol solution, the resonant frequency decreases upon immersion as predicted from viscosity effect on the oscillations. The trapped water also increases friction against the QCM movement in the liquid environment, as indicated by 2–3 times larger mechanical resistance values. Our observations confirm the importance of GO composition and deposition procedures and propose a new method for releasing the trapped water from the structures and improving the tribological performance of the film in solid/liquid interface.
Frequency governors for cloud database OLTP workloads

Dynamically controlling processor frequency to save power while meeting customer Service-Level Objectives (SLOs) can reduce the cost of goods sold for cloud service providers. However, resource governance for Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) workloads in the cloud is complicated by throughput constraints, latency constraints, shallow sleep states that lower processor utilization, and (often) isolation of applications from hardware resource governors. This paper demonstrates a novel frequency governor that improves upon existing Intel P-state and Cpufreq governors in saving power for a cloud OLTP benchmark on Microsoft SQL Server for Linux.
Cell Neighbor Determination in the Metazoan Embryo System

Cell neighbor determination is a significant component in the simulation of a metazoan embryo system since it influences a number of fundamental biological processes, such as cell signaling, migration, and proliferation. Traditional approaches to find the neighbors of a cell such as Voronoi diagram successfully accomplish this goal, but are too time-consuming as the number of cells grows exponentially. In this paper, we propose a learning-based algorithm that determines the neighbors of specific cells in the metazoan embryo in real-time. We decrease the computational time by four orders of magnitude, and achieve an accuracy of 99.66%. For the verification purpose, the simulation results indicate that our model successfully reproduces the neighbor relationship in C. elegans Notch signaling pathways and cell-cell squeeze force modeling of the cell division process.
Plasma X-ray spectra analysis using genetic algorithms

X-ray spectroscopic analysis is a powerful tool for plasma diagnostics. We use genetic algorithms to automatically analyze experimental X-ray line spectra and discuss a particular implementation of the genetic algorithm suitable for our problem. Since spectroscopic analysis may be computationally intensive, we also investigate the use of case injected genetic algorithms for quicker analysis of several similar (time resolved) spectra. Preliminary results are promising and genetic algorithms seem to provide a reliable and robust approach for automated analysis of X-ray line spectra.
User Instructions for the Policy Analysis Modeling System (PAMS)

Author(s): McNeil, Michael A.; Letschert, Virginie E.; Van Buskirk, Robert D. | Abstract: PAMS uses country-specific and product-specific data to calculate estimates of impacts of a Minimum Efficiency Performance Standard (MEPS) program. The analysis tool is self-contained in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and requires no links to external data, or special code additions to run. The analysis can be customized to a particular program without additional user input, through the use of the pull-down menus located on the Summary page. In addition, the spreadsheet contains many areas into which user-generated input data can be entered for increased accuracy of projection. The following is a step-by-step guide for using and customizing the tool.
A Qualitative Examination of Hope and Physical Activity in the No Limits Running Program

Many physical activity programs evaluate effectiveness using physiological and survey measures, but few assessments include participants’ perceptions. This study examined changes in self-perception...
Regeneration of Plants from Protoplasts of Physalis Species

The genus Physalis (family Solanaceae) is of New World origin with 75 species reported (D’Arcy 1991). Work utilizing the species P. minima (ground cherry), P. ixocarpa (tomatillo), P. alkekengi (Chinese lantern), P. peruviana (cape gooseberry), and P. pruinosa (ground cherry) has been reported in plant tissue culture literature. Due to both the imprecise definition of Physalis species and the lack of reported documentation of plant material, there may be some confusion of species used in this body of literature (Wolff 1991; Eash et al. 1993; D’Arcy pers. comm.). Since tissue culture media and growth conditions are often species-specific, it is advisable to verify and document the classification of any plant material. The question of identification of species is especially confusing with P. minima L. This name has been used with several kinds of green-fruited Physalis from the warm parts of Asia. Two of the correct names for these materials are P. angulata L. and P. cordate Miller. Table 1 gives a brief description of several species and any changes and/or concerns of nomenclature.
Development of Chloroplasts Structure and Function

As a developmental system, the chloroplast has several exceptional features. First, its developmental path spans a wide structural range, from the extremely primitive to the complex. During the process, a large amount of the eventual major membrane system in the plant cell is produced. Thus, the morphological changes are striking and are readily described by electron microscopy. Second, several biochemical changes are equally as impressive as the structural changes. Extensive synthesis of lipids, including chlorophyll, is required for formation of the membrane. Proteins that become integrated into the growing membrane are synthesized both inside and outside the organelle. And photosynthetic activities develop in parallel with the structural changes. As described in Chapter 3, chloroplasts and thylakoid membranes are relatively easy to purify, which makes possible careful biochemical analysis. Third, a feature that has attracted numerous investigators is that both the nuclear-cytoplasmic and chloroplastic systems of genetic expression in plant cells are involved in this developmental process. Key questions that have been examined refer to the role of each genetic system and where each component of the chloroplast is synthesized. Chloroplast and cytoplasmic ribosomes are structurally different and can be specifically inhibited to examine the source of a protein. Confirmation that a protein is made inside the chloroplast can be obtained by examining products synthesized by the isolated organelle.
Social Network Dynamics for Open Source Software Projects

Drawing on social network theories and previous studies, this research is an initial effort to explore the dynamics of the social network structure in Open Source Software (OSS) teams. Three projects were selected from SourceForge.net in term of their similarities as well as their differences. Monthly data were extracted from the bug tracking system in order to achieve a longitudinal view of the interaction pattern of each project. Social network analysis was used to generate the indices of network structure. The finding suggests that the interaction pattern of OSS projects evolves from a single hub at the beginning to a core/periphery model as the projects move forward.
Accuracy of Consumer Wearable Heart Rate Measurement During an Ecologically Valid 24-Hour Period: Intraindividual Validation Study

Background: Wrist-worn smart watches and fitness monitors (ie, wearables) have become widely adopted by consumers and are gaining increased attention from researchers for their potential contribution to naturalistic digital measurement of health in a scalable, mobile, and unobtrusive way. Various studies have examined the accuracy of these devices in controlled laboratory settings (eg, treadmill and stationary bike); however, no studies have investigated the heart rate accuracy of wearables during a continuous and ecologically valid 24-hour period of actual consumer device use conditions. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the heart rate accuracy of 2 popular wearable devices, the Apple Watch 3 and Fitbit Charge 2, as compared with the gold standard reference method, an ambulatory electrocardiogram (ECG), during consumer device use conditions in an individual. Data were collected across 5 daily conditions, including sitting, walking, running, activities of daily living (ADL; eg, chores, brushing teeth), and sleeping. Methods: One participant, (first author; 29-year-old Caucasian male) completed a 24-hour ecologically valid protocol by wearing 2 popular wrist wearable devices (Apple Watch 3 and Fitbit Charge 2). In addition, an ambulatory ECG (Vrije Universiteit Ambulatory Monitoring System) was used as the gold standard reference method, which resulted in the collection of 102,740 individual heartbeats. A single-subject design was used to keep all variables constant except for wearable devices while providing a rapid response design to provide initial assessment of wearable accuracy for allowing the research cycle to keep pace with technological advancements. Accuracy of these devices compared with the gold standard ECG was assessed using mean error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percent error. These data were supplemented with Bland-Altman analyses and concordance class correlation to assess agreement between devices. Results: The Apple Watch 3 and Fitbit Charge 2 were generally highly accurate across the 24-hour condition. Specifically, the Apple Watch 3 had a mean difference of −1.80 beats per minute (bpm), a mean absolute error percent of 5.86%, and a mean agreement of 95% when compared with the ECG across 24 hours. The Fitbit Charge 2 had a mean difference of −3.47 bpm, a mean absolute error of 5.96%, and a mean agreement of 91% when compared with the ECG across 24 hours. These findings varied by condition. Conclusions: The Apple Watch 3 and the Fitbit Charge 2 provided acceptable heart rate accuracy (<±10%) across the 24 hour and during each activity, except for the Apple Watch 3 during the daily activities condition. Overall, these findings provide preliminary support that these devices appear to be useful for implementing ambulatory measurement of cardiac activity in research studies, especially those where the specific advantages of these methods (eg, scalability, low participant burden) are particularly suited to the population or research question.
Epigenome-Wide Meta-Analysis of Methylation in Offspring Related to Maternal Smoking in Pregnancy (MOMS) Consortium

Maternal smoking in pregnancy is associated with adverse health outcomes in children. Underlying mechanisms may involve epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation. A few studies have reported...
Voices of Atayal People: Indigenous Cultural Memory in Modern Taiwan Society

When talking about Indigenous culture in the 21 st century, it is important to understand the Taiwan Indigenous People and their ways of cultural practices. This study used ethnographic inquiry as a qualitative approach for a total of 11 people from an aboriginal tribe called, Tayal (Atayal) in northern Taiwan. Data sources include: (1) Tape-recording in Mandarin Chinese, Tayal language, and English from the research participants; (2) Community event observations; and (3) one-on-one interviews. This study revealed that preservation of Tayal heritage, language, culture and social lifestyle structure in the 21 st century and beyond is a major concern and deeply important to Tayal communities and individuals. An effort to construct an authentic Tayal traditional culture education program seems to have significant benefits for not only Tayal children, families, communities, but for the Taiwanese society as well.
A pilot randomized controlled trial to improve sleep and fatigue in children with central nervous system tumors hospitalized for high-dose chemotherapy.

OBJECTIVES To determine whether a sleep intervention compared with standard of care (SOC) was successful in preserving nighttime sleep in children with central nervous system cancers hospitalized for high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) and autologous stem cell rescue, and to explore associations between sleep and fatigue during treatment. METHODS An unblinded, randomized, controlled, multicomponent intervention (NCT00666614) including evidence-based cognitive and behavioral strategies to improve sleep was implemented in 33 children (age 4-12 years) and adolescents (age 13-19 years) during hospitalization. Children wore an actigraph to measure sleep and wake, and reported fatigue scores daily. Parents concurrently kept a sleep diary and reported fatigue scores for their children. RESULTS The mean age was 9.5 ± 3.9 years, 81.8% were white, and 60.6% were male. Sleep in all children was seriously disturbed throughout the study. Children in the intervention group maintained their longest nighttime sleep across the study, while it declined in children receiving SOC (P = 0.009 for interaction). There were few other differences in sleep between groups. Controlling for age and baseline fatigue, higher nighttime activity score, and lower percent sleep were significantly associated with higher next-day adolescent-reported fatigue (P < 0.05); longest sleep was significantly positively associated with next-day child-reported fatigue (P = 0.018). CONCLUSION In this sample of children undergoing HDCT, a multicomponent sleep intervention modestly preserved nighttime sleep duration, although overall sleep was poor in both groups. Sleep is an integral component of health, and may influence outcomes of children receiving HDCT. Further investigation into methods of preserving sleep in children undergoing intensive cancer therapy is warranted.
ml-RECIST: Machine learning to estimate RECIST in patients with NSCLC treated with PD-(L)1 blockade.

9052Background: Real-world evidence (RWE) is increasingly important for discovery and may be an opportunity for regulatory approval. Effective use of RWE relies on determining treatment-specific ou...
On contextuality and logic in scientific discourse: Reply to Aliakbarzadeh, Kitto, and Bruza

Aliakbarzadeh, Kitto, and Bruza (arXiv:1909.13048v1) criticize the Contextuality-by-Default (CbD) theory in three ways: (1) they claim an internal contradiction within the theory, that consists in both denying and accepting the equality of stochastically unrelated random variables; (2) they find CbD deficient because when one confines one's attention to consistently connected systems (those with no disturbance/signaling) one can dispense with the double-indexation of random variables; and (3) they see no relationship between double-indexation and ontic states. This commentary shows that (re$\:$1) the contradiction is inserted in the presentation of CbD by the authors of the paper; (re$\:$2) in the case of consistently connected systems CbD properly specializes to traditional understanding of contextuality; and (re$\:$3) if ontic states are understood as quantum states, they are simply not within the language of CbD, and if they are understood as domain probability spaces for context-sharing random variables, they can be trivially reconstructed.
Substance P receptor blocker, aprepitant, inhibited cutaneous and other neurogenic inflammation side effects of the EGFR1-TKI, erlotinib.

Cutaneous changes like rash and hair loss, as well as other neurogenic inflammation side effects, occur frequently during anticancer treatment with the epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI), erlotinib. These adverse events may be so severe that they impair the patient’s compliance with the treatment or even cause its discontinuation. In the current preclinical study, rats (9.2 weeks) were treated with erlotinib (10 mg/kg/day) ± aprepitant (2 mg/kg/day) for 12 weeks. Visual changes in the development of facial skin lesions/hair loss and SP-receptor expression (immunohistochemically) in facial skin tissue were assessed; also changes in plasma magnesium, 8-isoprostane, substance P (SP), neutrophil superoxide production, and cardiac function (echocardiography) were measured. Erlotinib lowered plasma magnesium 14%, elevated SP 65%, caused 3.7-fold higher basal superoxide production, 2.5-fold higher 8-isoprostane levels, 11.6% lower cardiac systolic, and 10.9% lower diastolic function. Facial dermatological changes (alopecia, skin reddening, scabbing, nose crusting) occurred by 4 weeks (± + to ++) in erlotinib-treated rats, and progressively worsened (±++ to +++) by week 12. Facial skin SP-receptor upregulation (78% higher) occurred in epidermal and hair follicle cells. All adverse effects were substantially and significantly mitigated by aprepitant, including a 62% lowering of skin SP-receptors (p < 0.05). Elevated SP levels mediated the side effects of erlotinib treatment, but aprepitant’s significant prevention of the systemic and cutaneous adverse events indicates a novel potential therapy against the side effects of this anticancer treatment.
Medication Adherence of Latino Children and Caregivers: An Integrative Review.

Introduction:There are significant disparities in medication adherence among underserved minority groups such as Latinos. Adherence to medication is a primary determinant of treatment success. Litt...
Verbesserung der Energieausbeute von bestehenden Wasserkraftanlagen durch Modernisierung der Turbinen

Die Erneuerung der Turbinen von Wasserkraftanlagen ist ein vielbeachtetes Thema und wird seit den 80er Jahren mit grosem Interesse verfolgt. Die Grunde fur Rehabilitationen sind vielfaltig, lassen sich aber im wesentlichen auf drei Hauptgruppen reduzieren: mechanische, okonomische oder okologische Grunde. Im Beitrag werden als Beispiel vier unterschiedliche Turbinenerneuerungen diskutiert, die Pumpenturbine Muddy Run, als Vertreter fur Francisturbinen die Anlagen Fulpmes und Schwarzach und eine Kaplanturbinenanlage, Rocky Reach.
Multistage inferential schemes with applications to robustness analysis of control systems

A persistence concern of control engineering is the performance of systems in the presence of uncer- tainty. By treating uncertain parameters of systems as random variables, the performance of systems may be formulated as means of random variables. In this paper, we develop multistage schemes for making statistical inference of means of random variables. Such schemes are unprecedentedly e±cient as compared to existing methods, while guaranteed pre-speci¯ed level of credibility. The optimality of the proposed schemes is established by making use of the uniform exponential maximal inequalities. The proposed schemes are applied to robustness analysis of control systems under uncertainty. It is demonstrated the computational complexity of the proposed schemes is substantially lower and inde- pendent of the problem size, as compared to the non-polynomial complexity of the worst-case method of robustness analysis.
Ethical Considerations of Fertility Preservation for Transmasculine and Nonbinary Youth.

An increasing number of young adolescents who identify as transgender or nonbinary are presenting to the health care system for gender affirmation therapy before the full progression of puberty. Ge...
“I Thought I Knew You, Two”: A Performative Response to Norman Denzin and Tami Spry’s Wild West Show at ICQI 20181:

For the 2018 Autoethnography Special Interest Group at the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry (ICQI), Norman Denzin and Tami Spry did an integrative co-performance of each other’s autoet...
Closings, crossings, and complications: The fluidity of borders and boundaries in qualitative social work

An editorial is presented to the article coronavirus pandemic has taught us anything, has affirmed global interconnectedness and shone a spotlight on existing inequalities within and for environments Topics include social work scholars and practitioners have had to adapt by embracing fluidity or creatively transcending restrictions;and the collection of essays seems to suggest variations on adaptations
Effect of Propagation Systems and Indole-3-Butyric Acid Potassium Salt (K-IBA) Concentrations on the Propagation of Peach Rootstocks by Stem Cuttings

Traditionally, peach rootstocks are propagated by seeds due to their high availability, low cost, and easy storage and handling. However, stem cuttings allow the propagation of interspecific hybrids and keep the genetic uniformity of heterozygous genotypes. This study compared the effect of four different concentrations of K-IBA (indole-3-butyric acid potassium salt) on softwood cuttings of three peach backcrosses (peach × (peach × almond)) for rootstock propagation in two propagation systems: aeroponics and germination trays. The four concentrations of K-IBA applied were: 0.0% (w/v) as a control, 0.1% (w/v), 0.2% (w/v), and 0.4% (w/v). Data were collected on the survival rate (%), rooting rate (%), and root growth parameters. The relevance of auxin for peach cuttings rooting was evidenced. K-IBA at 0.2% showed the best rooting effect for peach softwood cuttings, evidenced by its high rooting rate and higher survival rate. K-IBA at 0.4% and 0.2% produced the highest number of adventitious roots. The highest root growth parameters were obtained in germination trays, confirming the suitability of this system for root growth. However, aeroponics was demonstrated to be as efficient as the traditional germination trays for the rooting of peach cuttings, allowing for a more controlled environment with a better use of resources.
Heavy is the Head that Wears the CROWN: Examining the CROWN Act's Impact on Reconceptualizing Racism in Race Discrimination Claims

On July 3rd, 2019 the CROWN Act (“the Act”), which stands for “Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair,” was signed by California’s Governor, making California the first of several states to introduce the Act into legislation. More recently, in September of 2020, the United States House of Representatives passed the Act and the bill is currently pending in the Senate for consideration. The Act was introduced to ensure protection against discrimination based on hairstyles that tend to be associated with black men and womxn such as braids, twists, locs, and afros. In gaining public attention, the Act has further put a spotlight on the historical limitations of United States’ anti-discrimination law in that many of these laws fail to fully aid anti-racism efforts – efforts to actively and consciously dismantle of systems, policies, and institutions that subtly, or not so subtly, disadvantage people of color. Further, the text of the Act itself reveals its own limitations in that it likely cannot achieve the result of remedying all hair texture-based race discrimination. This article explores the continued limitations of United States’ anti-discrimination laws and the limitations of the Act in remedying hair texture-based race discrimination. This article also argues that despite its shortcomings, the Act is viable legislation that can serve as a model to shift United States’ anti-discrimination law to a framework that is anti-racist.
Evaluation of the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System and Surgeons Caring for Patients at High Social Risk.

Importance The latest step in the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare transformation to pay-for-value is the Medicare Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). Value-based payment designs often do not account for uncaptured clinical status and social determinants of health in patients at high social risk, and the consequences for clinicians and patients associated with their use have not been explored. Objective To evaluate MIPS scoring of surgeons caring for patients at high social risk to determine whether this implementation threatens disadvantaged patients’ access to surgical care. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective cohort study of US general surgeons participating in MIPS during its first year in outpatient surgical practices across the US and territories. The study was conducted from September 1, 2020, to May 1, 2021. Data were analyzed from November 1, 2020, to March 30, 2021 (although data were collected during the 2017 calendar year and reported ahead of 2019 payment adjustments). Main Outcomes and Measures Characteristics of surgeons participating in MIPS, overall MIPS score assigned to clinician. and practice-level disadvantage measures. The MIPS scores can range from 0 to 100. For the first year, a score of less than 3 led to negative payment adjustment; a score of greater than 3 but less than 70 to a positive adjustment; and a score of 70 or higher to the exceptional performance bonus. Results Of 20 593 general surgeons, 10 252 participated in the first year of MIPS. Surgeons with complete patient data (n = 9867) were evaluated and a wide range of dual-eligible patient caseloads from 0% to 96% (mean [SD], 27.1% [14.5%]) was identified. Surgeons in the highest quintile of dual eligibility cared for a Medicare patient caseload ranging from 37% to 96% dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Surgeons caring for the patients at highest social risk had the lowest final mean (SD) MIPS score compared with the surgeons caring for the patients at least social risk (66.8 [37.3] vs 71.2 [35.9];P Conclusions and Relevance Results of this cohort study suggest that implementation of MIPS value-based care reimbursement without adjustment for caseload of patients at high social risk may penalize surgeons who care for patients at highest social risk.
Chemotherapy resistance pathways identified by single cell RNA sequencing

Objectives: Chemotherapy resistance is a major cause of mortality in recurrent ovarian cancer. The goal of this study is to identify signaling pathways associated with chemotherapy resistance by analyzing gene expression in single cells from ovarian cancer specimens collected from women before and after platinum/taxane based neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). Methods: Women were prospectively consented into our study and ovarian cancer tissue samples were collected from six patients with primary epithelial ovarian cancer both before and after administration of NACT. Samples were subjected to single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) using the 10x Genomics platform followed by sequencing on an Illumina NovaSeq. Sequences were mapped to the human transcriptome and gene expression was quantified to produce unique molecular identifier counts for ~85,000 cells from the 12 samples. Unsupervised hierarchical clustering was performed using a shared nearest-neighbor graph based embedding algorithm implemented by the Seurat R package. Multiple annotation methods were used to assign cell types. Cells annotated as epithelial cancer cells for each sample were extracted and re-clustered and average gene expression was calculated for each pre-NACT cluster. To identify the pre-NACT cluster that had the highest similarity to the post-NACT cells, we performed Spearman Rank Correlation testing on each individual cell in the post-NACT sample comparing it to each cluster in the matched pre-NACT sample. The pre-NACT cluster with the highest number of matches to the post-NACT cells were considered the potential chemotherapy-resistant population in the pre-NACT sample, which we refer to as the ‘seeder’ cell cluster. We used multiple enrichment tests to identify signaling pathways activated in the seeder cell clusters compared to the other pre-NACT epithelial cell clusters. Results: We identified 62 genes that were significantly upregulated in the pre-NACT seeder cell clusters in at least 3 of 6 patient samples analyzed. Pathways enriched in this 62 gene set include 16 hallmark signaling pathways and 36 oncogenic signature pathways. In addition, transcription factor target enrichment identified 36 transcription factors based on the 62 gene set. Expected pathways included p53 and epithelial mesenchymal transition pathways. Novel pathways included TNFa, TGFb, JAK-STAT, interferon, and estrogen. Associated transcription factors included STAT3/5, SMAD4, and TP53. Conclusions: ScRNAseq analysis of matched pre- and post-NACT cancer samples identifies potential chemoresistant cells in pre-NACT samples capable of surviving NACT. The signaling pathways enriched in these cells represent potential therapeutic targets for selective elimination of these ‘seeder’ cells.
Influence of solution electrical conductivity and ionic composition on the performance of a gas–liquid pulsed spark discharge reactor for water treatment

The influence of solution electrical conductivity and ion composition on the performance of plasma reactors for water treatment applications is only partially understood. This study uses a point–point discharge over the surface of water in argon gas to determine the influence of solution conductivity, in the range of 0.3–45 mS/cm, on the physiochemical properties of spark discharges and the removal of two organic contaminants: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Rhodamine B dye. The influence of various ions was also explored using chlorine and non-chlorine salts to adjust solution conductivity. The removal of PFOA increased with conductivity regardless of the salt type due to the salting out effect which increased PFOA's interfacial concentration. The removal of Rhodamine B dye depended on both salt type and solution electrical conductivity. In the presence of non-chorine salts, UV photolysis was the main mechanism for the dye degradation and its removal rate did not change with conductivity. The dye removal rate was the highest in the presence of chloride-based salts at the highest values of solution conductivities. In the presence of chorine salts, OH radicals are produced by the discharge generated hypochlorous acid, which is mixed into the bulk solution to react with the Rhodamine B dye. The generation rate of hydroxyl radicals appears to decrease with increasing solution conductivity, and these species are not directly involved in the degradation of the two compounds investigated in this study.