cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Environmental life cycle analysis of pipe materials for sewer systems

Abstract Wastewater system performance continues to be a matter of utmost importance to the development of sustainable communities today. Over the past few decades, we have seen dramatic increases in urbanization that has substantially added to an already-enhanced need for improvement of wastewater infrastructure systems. Traditionally studies on sewer system design have been focusing on maximizing the economic advantages, while limited work has been done on the analysis of environmental impacts of sewer systems made of different piping materials. In this paper, a comparative life cycle analysis (LCA) is performed for six different types of wastewater pipe materials: composite fiber reinforced polymer (FRP), PVC, high density polyethylene (HDPE), ductile iron, vitrified clay, and reinforced concrete. The functional unit is defined as one kilometer sewer infrastructure needed for a small city with population of 25,000 people for a period of 50 years. Considering various life cycle stages, environmental impacts were quantified and compared for all pipe materials in two types of sewer systems i.e. pure gravity sewer and sewer with lifting stations. The results indicate that the manufacturing stage in pure gravity sewer systems has the maximum impact, while for sewer systems with lifting use phase can have comparable or even higher impacts than manufacturing phase. Among the six pipe materials, ductile iron seems to be the worst option while reinforced concrete seems to be the best option. Results from the analysis may help current and future wastewater infrastructure designers and material manufacturers to understand and develop more sustainable sewer systems.
Course Assignments for Self and Program Renewal

In this chapter I explore how course assignments might serve as a vehicle for facilitating and evaluating both self and program renewal efforts. Teacher educators have to comply with a multitude of external state and national credentialing requirements. In addition, they have institutional, departmental, and programmatic expectations and commitments to consider. More often than not, inconsistencies exist among those demands and between them and a teacher educator’s personal beliefs, values, and educational goals. Finding practical resolutions that can simultaneously satisfy these various renewal agendas can be enormously challenging. I suggest that well-designed course assignments can be an important part of the resolution. I share an exemplar of a new task I developed to help elementary student teachers learn how to lesson plan and the research I did on the outcomes. It was an assignment designed to meet both state evaluation requirements and a personal/departmental equity agenda. The results indicate that it was helpful in achieving my own development goals, while also contributing to our externally and internally motivated program renewal endeavors.
A Second-Generation Synthesis of the Cyanthiwigin Natural Product Core.

An improved synthesis of the cyanthiwigin natural product core enabled by new catalytic technology is reported. The key double catalytic enantioselective alkylation has been reoptimized using a recently developed protocol employing low loadings of palladium catalyst, thereby facilitating large-scale production of the tricyclic cyanthiwigin framework. Additionally, preparation of the penultimate aldehyde intermediate is expedited through the application of anti-Markovnikov Tsuji–Wacker oxidation.
Improved design of Pseudomonas exotoxin A-based immunotoxins

A73 Immunotoxins are engineered proteins that combine antibodies with protein toxins. They are used therapeutically to target and kill cancer cells expressing specific cell surface antigens. Immunotoxins based on Pseudomonas exotoxin A (PE) consist of the FV portion of an antibody fused to domains Ib, II, and III of PE. Clinical trials are currently in progress to assess PE immunotoxins for the treatment of CD22-expressing lymphomas and leukemias, and mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. Broad therapeutic application of PE immunotoxins, however, has been limited by recurring problems of immunogenicity and nonspecific toxicities. In an effort to reduce the immunogenicity of PE immunotoxins, we have pursued a strategy of identifying and removing lysosomal protease cleavage sites in the toxin. This approach has two potential benefits. Firstly, we diminish MHC class II-associated immune response by preventing efficient lysosomal processing of the immunotoxin. Secondly, by removing protease-accessible regions that are not essential for cytotoxicity, we begin to approach the minimum effective size of the toxin, eliminating potential epitopes. We have identified lysosomal protease cleavage sites in immunotoxins by N-terminal sequence analysis of peptide fragments generated by digestion of an immunotoxin with either purified lysosomal proteases or the lysosomal fraction of Raji B cells. Cleavage sites were found only within domains II and Ib of the toxin. None were found in domain III or the FV. A series of anti-CD22 immunotoxin mutants were produced that contain large deletions of domain II in order to both remove protease sites and minimize the size the toxin. Analyses of the in vitro cytotoxicity of these mutants revealed that much of domain II and all of domain Ib are not essential for immunotoxin activity. Currently, the most promising compromise between reducing the size of the immunotoxin and preserving its cytotoxicity is a mutant construct, termed PE25 HA22, which consists of an anti-CD22 FV linked to domain III of PE by a short stretch of domain II. In vitro cytotoxicity testing shows that PE25 HA22 has similar activity to standard HA22. In vivo testing of PE25 HA22 anti-tumor activity in a mouse xenograft model shows that the mutant protein is slightly less active than standard HA22, but has greatly reduced nonspecific toxicity. Mice can tolerate doses of PE25 HA22 that are 10-fold higher than HA22, which significantly enhances the anti-tumor response. We conclude that PE25 HA22 represents a promising step forward in the development of PE immunotoxins. The focus of future research is the evaluation of PE25 HA22 immunogenicity by measuring the antibody response in mice.
Nutrient-driven O -linked N -acetylglucosamine ( O -GlcNAc) cycling impacts neurodevelopmental timing and metabolism.

Nutrient-driven O-GlcNAcylation is strikingly abundant in the brain and has been linked to development and neurodegenerative disease. We selectively targeted the O-GlcNAcase (Oga) gene in the mouse brain to define the role of O-GlcNAc cycling in the central nervous system. Brain knockout animals exhibited dramatically increased brain O-GlcNAc levels and pleiotropic phenotypes, including early-onset obesity, growth defects, and metabolic dysregulation. Anatomical defects in the Oga knockout included delayed brain differentiation and neurogenesis as well as abnormal proliferation accompanying a developmental delay. The molecular basis for these defects included transcriptional changes accompanying differentiating embryonic stem cells. In Oga KO mouse ES cells, we observed pronounced changes in expression of pluripotency markers, including Sox2, Nanog, and Otx2. These findings link the O-GlcNAc modification to mammalian neurogenesis and highlight the role of this nutrient-sensing pathway in developmental plasticity and metabolic homeostasis.
Guarded promise for adenovirus therapy.

Adenovirus can cause deadly infection after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). In this issue of Blood, Hiwarkar et al present data in pediatric HCT patients with adenoviremia indicating that brincidofovir, a prodrug of cidofovir, was well tolerated, demonstrated substantially more rapid virologic clearance rates compared with cidofovir, was effective even after cidofovir failure, and was efficacious even in the absence of improved lymphopenia.1 Heretofore, we have lacked effective tools to prevent this life-threatening threat.
Inclusive Sustainability: Environmental Justice in Higher Education

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate why and how efforts at UC Santa Cruz have begun to shift from sustainability as a technical, expert-oriented activity focused on aspects such as built environment, climate, energy, food and water, to more of a concern with inclusive sustainability, which centers on issues of power dynamics, difference, and ethical considerations. As the campus undergoes significant demographic change (e.g., UCSC’s undergraduate population is 66% non-white and 43% are first generation college students), framings of sustainability must resonate with these increasingly diverse populations. The People of Color Sustainability Collective (PoCSC) is a groundbreaking partnership between UCSC’s Ethnic Resource Centers, Colleges Nine and Ten, and Sustainability Office. PoCSC’s efforts to recognize, celebrate, and validate diverse understandings and expressions of sustainability is a response to evidence of exclusion among certain sectors of our student population. Based on a recent campus-wide survey, this paper compares and contrasts responses between white, non-Hispanic students and students of color in terms of their participation in and perceptions about the environmental sustainability movement, finding that the former participate at a higher rate and rate mainstream environmental concerns such as conservation of biodiversity as more important, while environmental justice issues such as food access were rated more important to students of color. However, many areas of convergence between the two groups was found, notably a broad agreement about the importance of environmental issues.
High-accuracy 12 C 16 O 2 line intensities in the 2 μm wavelength region measured by frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy.

Reported here are highly accurate, experimentally measured ro-vibrational transition intensities for the R-branch of the (20012) - (00001) 12C16O2 band near λ = 2 μm. Measurements were performed by a frequency-stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy (FS-CRDS) instrument designed to achieve precision molecular spectroscopy in this important region of the infrared. Through careful control and traceable characterization of CO2 sample conditions, and through high-fidelity measurements spanning several months in time, we achieve relative standard uncertainties for the reported transition intensities between 0.15 % and 0.46 %. Such high accuracy spectroscopy is shown to provide a stringent test of calculated potential energy and ab initio dipole moment surfaces, and therefore transition intensities calculated from first principles.
Prescription of high-risk medications among patients with chronic kidney disease: a cross-sectional study from the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho region Practice and Research Network.

Background Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk for adverse drug events related to medication dosing errors and prescriptions for relatively contraindicated medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Objectives To examine the scope of and variation in prescribing relatively contraindicated medications and medications above the recommended dose levels among patients with stage III/IV CKD in primary care practice. Methods This is a cross-sectional descriptive study that used structured electronic health record data. The study participants were patients aged 18 years and older from three primary care clinics in a practice-based research network. Number/proportion of adult patients with stage III/IV CKD; proportion of these patients with at least one NSAID or other relatively contraindicated medication prescribed over 2 years. Results Of the 7586 eligible adult patients, 4.9% had stage III/IV CKD; 46.6% of these 373 patients with stage III/IV CKD were prescribed at least one relatively contraindicated drug (acarbose, chlorpropamide, glyburide, nitrofurantoin or any NSAID) during the 2-year study period; and 34.0% of patients with stage III/IV CKD were prescribed NSAIDs. Conclusions Primary care patients with stage III/IV CKD were frequently prescribed or had documented use of relatively contraindicated drugs and thus were at risk of adverse drug events. Given the significant number of individuals with CKD in the USA, research that examines rates of adverse events related to these prescriptions and that tests primary care-based interventions to decrease inappropriate prescribing of relatively contraindicated medications to these patients is needed.
Stochastic axion scenario

For the minimal QCD axion model it is generally believed that overproduction of dark matter constrains the axion mass to be above a certain threshold, or at least that the initial misalignment angle must be tuned if the mass is below that threshold. We demonstrate that this is incorrect. During inflation the axion tends toward an equilibrium, assuming the Hubble scale is low and inflation lasts sufficiently long. This means the minimal QCD axion can naturally give the observed dark matter abundance in the entire lower part of the mass range, down to masses $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$ (or ${f}_{a}$ up to almost the Planck scale). The axion abundance is generated by quantum fluctuations of the field during inflation. This mechanism generates cold dark matter with negligible isocurvature perturbations. In addition to the QCD axion, this mechanism can also generate a cosmological abundance of axionlike particles and other light fields.
Correlates of anxiety and depression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) survivors.

153Background: CLL is an indolent lymphoma effecting aging populations. Early stage patients are assigned to active surveillance and only 10% of patients require treatment at diagnosis. Active surveillance for CLL may increase susceptibility to anxiety and depression, resulting in enhanced comorbidities and reduced quality of life. However, little is known about the prevalence and risk factors of anxiety and depression in CLL. Methods: 125 CLL patients that were treatment naive (n = 86) or previously chemotherapy-treated (n = 39) completed anxiety and depression questionnaires (State Trait Anxiety Index (STAI) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D)). Multivariable linear regression was used to examine associations with STAI/CES-D score. Logistic regression was used to examine clinically meaningful anxiety and depression, using validated cut points of 40 for the STAI and 16 (or on antidepressants) for the CES-D. All models included treatment status (treatment naive vs. treated), age, gende...
Distribution of Heliotropium torreyi (Boraginaceae), and the Description of a New Species from Its Midst

The taxonomic history and geographical distribution of Heliotropium torreyi is reviewed. From amongst its fabric a new taxon was discerned and described as H. powelliorum. While allopatric with H. torreyi, the two taxa do not intergrade, suggesting that specific status is warranted. An illustration of the novelty is provided, along with a map showing its distribution, and that of its closest relative, H. torreyi.
Regulation of p53 Activity and Associated Checkpoint Controls

Cancer develops when numerous genetic changes accumulate in pathways that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In eukaryotes, failure to control cell division and loss of genomic stability are the hallmarks of neoplastic cells. Eukaryotic cells have evolved intricate signaling pathways, called checkpoints that can both halt uncontrolled proliferation and delay cell cycle progression in response to genotoxic stress, oncogenic activation, and aberrant proliferative signals. The p53 tumor suppressor encodes one such checkpoint protein. Although various mechanisms activate numerous positive and negative regulators required for cell cycle signaling cascades, these proteins relay their signals through many of the same essential components. Given the importance of these proteins in regulating cell cycle progression, many are altered during tumorigenesis. Herein, we provide an overview of the signaling mechanisms that control cell cycle progression and a primer of some of the most clinically promising agents targeting p53 and associated pathways that impact the cell cycle.
Enabling/Disabling: Fanfiction and Disability Discourse

While fanfiction ostensibly provides a safe space to explore and challenge ideologies about any belief media texts reify, a review of fan studies literature shows little attention to disability from scholars in the field. This erasure seems odd, since Archive of Our Own, the fanfiction archive associated with the Organization for Transformative Works, lists “disability” in its list of “most popular” tags, and most fandoms include a significant body of texts that disable its characters (“Tags”). Blindness, deafness, injuries leading to mobility impairments, and other visible and invisible disabilities feature strongly as tropes in fanfictions themselves. Clearly fandom has something to do with disability of all kinds: physical, cognitive, and emotional.
Electrical and thermal transport properties of the Y1 − x Mx CrO3 system

The effects of substituting divalent metal ions (Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) for Y in YCrO3 were investigated by electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity measurements. The electrical conductivity results were consistent with the hopping-type conduction of a temperature-independent concentration of small polarons, with measured activation energies of 0.18-0.26 eV. The Seebeck coefficient increased nearly linearly with temperature and indicated p-type conductivity. Both electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient results show a strong dependence on dopant size (ionic radius) and indicate that the highest carrier concentrations were associated with Ca as the dopant, which is attributed to the similar ionic radii of Ca2+ and Y3+. The thermal conductivity decreased slightly with temperature and dopant concentration.
A Room Without a View: Toward the Evidence.

Bronchiolitis is 1 of the most common causes of pediatric hospitalization and accounts for >$1.7 billion in hospital charges annually.1 The history of management of bronchiolitis in infants is a study in the reduction of unnecessary resources. Early in treating this disease, routine testing and ineffective therapies were common. Many of us recall the days of ubiquitous chest radiography, complete blood cell counts, albuterol, racemic epinephrine, and steroids. Many recall average lengths of stay of 5 days rather than perhaps 2.5 now. We have not entirely gotten away from that history. Although data show a lack of efficacy of these therapies and guidelines have reduced use, overtesting and overuse of interventions remain common.2 And we continue to employ new therapies before evidence demonstrates efficacy. For example, the use of high-flow nasal cannula has not been shown to impact length of stay or any resource use other than use of high-flow nasal cannula, yet we continue to broadly adopt it in the United States without robust evidence demonstrating benefit.3,4 Although there have been considerable efforts to …
Association Between Plant-Based Dietary Patterns and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance Accumulating epidemiologic evidence has suggested favorable associations between plant-based dietary patterns and risk of type 2 diabetes, although there is a lack of a quantitative summary of evidence substantiating this important association. Objective To quantitatively synthesize available prospective observational evidence on the association between plant-based dietary patterns and risk of type 2 diabetes. Data Sources A systematic search of PubMed and MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and reference lists through February 15, 2019, was conducted. Data analysis was conducted between December 2018 and February 2019. Study Selection All prospective observational studies that examined the association between adherence to plant-based dietary patterns and incidence of type 2 diabetes among adults 18 years or older were identified. Data Extraction and Synthesis Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines for data abstraction and reporting were followed, and a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute assessment tool was used to evaluate study quality. Two authors independently conducted full-text assessments and data abstraction. Meta-analysis was conducted using the random-effects method to calculate the overall relative risk (RR) and 95% CI. Main Outcomes and Measures Level of adherence to a plant-based diet and incidence of type 2 diabetes. Results A total of 9 studies were identified, totaling 307 099 participants with 23 544 cases of incident type 2 diabetes. A significant inverse association was observed between higher adherence to a plant-based dietary pattern and risk of type 2 diabetes (RR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.71-0.84) in comparison with poorer adherence, with modest heterogeneity across studies (I2 = 44.5%;P = .07 for heterogeneity). Similar findings were obtained when using the fixed-effects model (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.75-0.84). Consistent associations were observed across predefined subgroups. This association was strengthened when healthy plant-based foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts, were included in the definition ofplant-based patterns(RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.62-0.79). Most studies were deemed to have good quality in terms of dietary assessment, disease outcomes, and statistical adjustment for confounding factors. Using restricted cubic splines, a significant inverse linear dose-response association was identified between plant-based dietary indices and risk of type 2 diabetes. Conclusions and Relevance Plant-based dietary patterns, especially when they are enriched with healthful plant-based foods, may be beneficial for the primary prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Benefits of Blockchain Initiatives for Value-Based Care: Proposed Framework

Background: The potential of blockchain technology to achieve strategic goals, such as value-based care, is increasingly being recognized by both researchers and practitioners. However, current research and practices lack comprehensive approaches for evaluating the benefits of blockchain applications. Objective: The goal of this study was to develop a framework for holistically assessing the performance of blockchain initiatives in providing value-based care by extending the existing balanced scorecard (BSC) evaluation framework. Methods: Based on a review of the literature on value-based health care, blockchain technology, and methods for evaluating initiatives in disruptive technologies, we propose an extended BSC method for holistically evaluating blockchain applications in the provision of value-based health care. The proposed method extends the BSC framework, which has been extensively used to measure both financial and nonfinancial performance of organizations. The usefulness of our proposed framework is further demonstrated via a case study. Results: We describe the extended BSC framework, which includes five perspectives (both financial and nonfinancial) from which to assess the appropriateness and performance of blockchain initiatives in the health care domain. Conclusions: The proposed framework moves us toward a holistic evaluation of both the financial and nonfinancial benefits of blockchain initiatives in the context of value-based care and its provision.
A Bench Study Evaluation of the Amount of Auto-PEEP When Ventilating an Electronic Lung Model Simulated to Represent Normal, ARDS and COPD Lung Conditions

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of Auto-PEEP in VC A/C when ventilating normal, ARDS and COPD lung models on the Servo-i, Drager V500, PB 980 and Avea. Methods: This study was completed using an IngMar Medical ASL 5000 electronic lung simulator (ASL 5000) setup to simulate normal, ARDS and COPD conditions. Normal lung: Cst 54 mL/cm H2O, inspiratory resistance (Rin) 13 cm H2O/L/s, expiratory resistance (Rout) 12 cm H2O/L/s; ARDS: Cst 39 mL/cm H2O, Rin 12 cm H2O/L/s, Rout 14 cm H2O/L/s; COPD: Cst 59 mL/cm H2O, Rin 22 cm H2O/L/s, Rout 18 cm H2OL/s. VC A/C parameters were set using 70 kg PBW and a tidal volume of 6 mL/kg. Respiratory rates of 15, 20 and 25 breaths/min with a tidal volume of 420 mL were chosen to achieve a minute ventilation of 90 mL/min/kg, 120 mL/min/kg, and 150 mL/min/kg. PEEP was set at 5 cm H2O throughout the study. Peak flow and I-time were adjusted to maintain an I:E ratio of 1:3 for normal and ARDS conditions. An I:E ratio of 1:4 was used for COPD conditions. A decelerating flow waveform was used, when available. The same circuit was used for each ventilator. The y-piece of the ventilator circuit was attached to the ASL 5000 using a 7023 Hans Rudolph 22 mm adapter. With each change in minute ventilation, the conditions were stabilized for one minute before data collection. Data were collected on each ventilator for each minute ventilation and lung condition for two minutes. Results: As respiratory rate increased, an increase mean pressure, Auto-PEEP and total PEEP were observed in each ventilator. Conclusions: A reduction in expiratory time causes an increase in mean pressure, Auto-PEEP, and total PEEP in all conditions with all ventilators. The Servo-i showed the lowest amount of Auto-PEEP with the Avea yielding the highest amount of Auto-PEEP in all patient conditions. Due to the possible physiological consequences of Auto-PEEP in critically ill patients, further research is needed to evaluate the presence of Auto-PEEP in the clinical setting with mechanically ventilated patients.
Primary Syphilis Presenting As a Chronic Lip Ulcer

Syphilis is usually a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum. Primary syphilis classically presents as a painless, ulcerated lesion on the genitals. However, the primary lesion is not restricted to this site and appears wherever the spirochete enters through the skin. The symptomatology and appearance of the primary lesion can also vary. We present a case of a 59-year-old man with a primary syphilitic chancre of the lower lip. The patient was referred to the dermatology clinic by their primary care provider after the ulceration failed to heal with antibiotic therapy. A biopsy of the lesion was taken at this time; the diagnosis of syphilis was then made by histologic examination and immunohistochemical staining. Subsequent serologic tests were also positive. Upon prompting, the patient did report a history of sexually transmitted disease but not of syphilis specifically. The patient was treated with penicillin, and there was clinical improvement of the lesion at the follow-up visit.
Deep Remote Sensing Methods for Methane Detection in Overhead Hyperspectral Imagery

Effective analysis of hyperspectral imagery is essential for gathering fast and actionable information of large areas affected by atmospheric and green house gases. Existing methods, which process hyperspectral data to detect amorphous gases such as CH 4 require manual inspection from domain experts and annotation of massive datasets. These methods do not scale well and are prone to human errors due to the plumes’ small pixel-footprint signature. The proposed Hyperspectral Mask-RCNN (H-mrcnn) uses principled statistics, signal processing, and deep neural networks to address these limitations. H-mrcnn introduces fast algorithms to analyze large-area hyper-spectral information and methods to autonomously represent and detect CH 4 plumes. H-mrcnn processes information by match-filtering sliding windows of hyperspectral data across the spectral bands. This process produces information-rich features that are both effective plume representations and gas concentration analogs. The optimized matched-filtering stage processes spectral data, which is spatially sampled to train an ensemble of gas detectors. The ensemble outputs are fused to estimate a natural and accurate plume mask. Thorough evaluation demonstrates that H-mrcnn matches the manual and experience-dependent annotation process of experts by 85% (IOU). H-mrcnn scales to larger datasets, reduces the manual data processing and labeling time (×12), and produces rapid actionable information about gas plumes.
Impact of Social Determinants of Health on the Emerging COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

A novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) caused a global pandemic in the months following the first four cases reported in Wuhan, China, on December 29, 2019. The elderly, immunocompromised, and those with preexisting conditions-such as asthma, cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, chronic kidney disease (CKD), or obesity-experience higher risk of becoming severely ill if infected with the virus. Systemic social inequality and discrepancies in socioeconomic status (SES) contribute to higher incidence of asthma, CVD, hypertension, CKD, and obesity in segments of the general population. Such preexisting conditions bring heightened risk of complications for individuals who contract the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from the virus (2019-nCoV)-also known as "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2" (SARS-CoV-2). In order to help vulnerable groups during times of a health emergency, focus must be placed at the root of the problem. Studying the social determinants of health (SDOH), and how they impact disadvantaged populations during times of crisis, will help governments to better manage health emergencies so that every individual has equal opportunity to staying healthy. This review summarizes the impact of social determinants of health (SDOH) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sorting over flood risk and implications for policy reform

Abstract Do individuals sort across flood risk? This paper applies a boundary discontinuity design to a residential sorting model to provide novel estimates of sorting across flood risk by race, ethnicity, and income. We find clear evidence that low income and minority residents are more likely to move into high risk flood zones. We then highlight the overall and distributional implications of proposed price and information reforms to the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program. While such reforms are likely welfare increasing overall, heterogeneous behavioral responses yield significant distributive effects that also alter the composition of residents in harm's way.
The nuclear stellar disc in Andromeda: a fossil from the era of black hole growth

The physics of angular momentum transport from galactic scales (∼10–100 pc) to much smaller radii is one of the outstanding problems in our understanding of the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes (BHs). Seemingly unrelated observations have discovered that there is a lopsided stellar disc of unknown origin orbiting the BH in M31, and possibly many other systems. We show that these nominally independent puzzles are in fact closely related. Multiscale simulations of gas inflow from galactic to BH scales show that when sufficient gas is driven towards a BH, gravitational instabilities form a lopsided, eccentric disc that propagates inwards from larger radii. The lopsided stellar disc exerts a strong torque on the remaining gas, driving inflows that fuel the growth of the BH and produce quasar-level luminosities. The same disc can produce significant obscuration along many sightlines and thus may be the putative ‘torus’ invoked to explain obscured active galactic nuclei and the cosmic X-ray background. The stellar relic of this disc is long lived and retains the eccentric pattern. Simulations that yield quasar-level accretion rates produce relic stellar discs with kinematics, eccentric patterns, precession rates and surface density profiles in reasonable agreement with observations of M31. The observed properties of nuclear stellar discs can thus be used to constrain the formation history of supermassive BHs.
Modelling the role of environmental variables in determining the distribution of invasive Burmese Python in Florida

The objective of this study was to model the relationship between environmental variables and the spatial distribution of the Burmese Python across Florida. MaxEnt model was utilized to understand the relative preference of pythons based on environmental variables. While Burmese Python presence is most prevalent along roads and canals, our study moves beyond these human-made paths to identify other environmental variables, which determine their presence. The distribution is mostly restricted to southern Florida and probability of presence is high in areas where elevation is 0–1 feet and mean temperature range between 24 and 25 °C. The most suitable habitats were located throughout wetlands, where the soil is shallow that sits atop limestone bedrock. There was also a seasonal shift in the spatial patterns. During the dry season, the distribution was spread throughout the south of the state with several areas of clustering. While, during the wet season the distribution was clustered throughout the south of the state with areas of high probability along the southwest coast. Moreover, the probability of presence is highest during the dry season in areas identified as urban and wetlands. The results of our study fills a gap in invasive species management by providing a new and inexpensive way to monitor the distribution and spread of Burmese Pythons.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and kidney function: Follow-up results from the Diabetes Prevention Program trial.

Abstract Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are ubiquitously detected in populations worldwide and may hinder kidney function. The objective of the study was to determine longitudinal associations of plasma PFAS concentrations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and evaluate whether a lifestyle intervention modify the associations. We studied 875 participants initially randomized to the lifestyle or placebo arms in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP, 1996–2002) trial and Outcomes Study (DPPOS, 2002–2014). We ran generalized linear mixed models accounting a priori covariates to evaluate the associations between baseline PFAS concentrations and repeated measures of eGFR, separately, for six PFAS (PFOS, PFOA, PFHxS, EtFOSAA, MeFOSAA, PFNA); then used quantile-based g-computation to evaluate the effects of the six PFAS chemicals as a mixture. The cohort was 64.9% female; 73.4% 40–64 years-old; 29.4% with hypertension; 50.5% randomized to lifestyle intervention and 49.5% to placebo and had similar plasma PFAS concentrations as the general U.S. population in 1999–2000. Most participants had normal kidney function (eGFR > 90 mL/min/1.73 m2) over the approximately 14 years of follow-up. We found that plasma PFAS concentrations during DPP were inversely associated with eGFR during DPPOS follow-up. Each quartile increase in baseline plasma concentration of the 6 PFAS as a mixture was associated with 2.26 mL/min/1.73 m2 lower eGFR (95% CI: −4.12, −0.39) at DPPOS Year 5, approximately 9 years since DPP randomization and PFAS measurements. The lifestyle intervention did not modify associations, but inverse associations were stronger among participants with hypertension at baseline. Among prediabetic adults, we found inverse associations between baseline plasma PFAS concentrations and measures of eGFR throughout 14 years of follow-up. The lifestyle intervention of diet, exercise and behavioral changes did not modify the associations, but persons with hypertension may have heightened susceptibility.
Pt-decorated phosphorene as a propitious room temperature VOC gas sensor for sensitive and selective detection of alcohols

Inspired by prior advancements and the growing utilization of two-dimensional (2D)-based gas sensors, this work presents the potential of black phosphorene for sensing volatile organic compound (VOC) gas molecules. First-principles density functional theory (DFT) combined with non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) calculations was employed to evaluate the VOC sensing performance of suspended pristine and Pt-decorated phosphorene materials. Several VOCs, such as acetone, ethanol, formaldehyde, methanol, and toluene, along with CO2 and H2O molecules, were considered as the target gases. The results indicated that although the electronic properties of pristine phosphorene were slightly affected by the VOC adsorption, decorating the phosphorene sheet with Pt atoms drastically increased its sensitivity to alcohols. Sensors based on Pt-decorated phosphorene were found to be more sensitive and selective toward methanol among the other considered gas molecules with a gas response of 41.10%. A short recovery time of 0.17 s at room temperature and under UV light was obtained theoretically, and it confirmed the potential application of Pt–phosphorene-based sensors for alcohol detection at room temperature.
“Render a service worthy of me”: A qualitative study of factors influencing access to LGBTQ-specific health services

Abstract For a half-century, LGBTQ-specific health services have sought to address the unmet health care needs of LGBTQ people in the U.S. However, there is a dearth of research examining factors that influence LGBTQ care-seekers’ reasons for choosing LGBTQ-specific services and their experiences accessing care. This interview-based study explored factors that facilitate and inhibit access to LGBTQ-specific health services among a sample of 40 LGBTQ adults in a major U.S. city. Using framework analysis, emergent themes were organized into supply- and demand-side factors, guided by Levesque et al.’s (2013) framework for patient-centered health care access. Supply-side factors included provider empathy and affirmation, provider knowledge, comprehensive care, and provider-based stigma. Demand-side factors included care-seeker's willingness for self-disclosure, care-seeker beliefs placing primacy on health needs over LGBTQ identities, contentment with general providers, a lack of knowledge for service identification, and perceptions of ability to pay. Social aspects of care seeking were also identified, including desires for social belonging, collective self-esteem, and community solidarity. Findings suggest opportunities to enhance the fit between health care policy, LGBTQ-specific provider characteristics, and care-seeker needs, particularly for multiply-marginalized LGBTQ communities.
Scattering of electromagnetic plane waves in radially inhomogeneous media: ray theory, exact solutions and connections with potential scattering theory

This chapter addresses several related topics: the existence of direct transmission (or zero-order) bows in radially inhomogeneous spheres for some specific refractive index profiles; a method for obtaining analytic solutions of the radial electromagnetic wave equations (one for each polarization) in both spherical and cylindrical geometry; scalar plane wave scattering by a transparent sphere, and its connection with the scattering matrix of potential scattering theory.
The Role of 3-Methyleneoxindole in Auxin Action

A product of the enzymatic oxidation of indole-3-acetic acid, 3-methyleneoxindole, is at least 10-fold more effective than indole-3-acetic acid as a plant auxin as estimated by stimulation of elongation of excised pea and mung bean stem segments and by the stimulation of protein synthesis in the subapical regions of decapitated pea seedlings. An obligatory role for 3-methyleneoxindole in such auxin-stimulated responses is suggested by the following additional observations. 1. Chlorogenic acid, which blocks the enzymatic oxidation of indole-3-acetic acid to 3-methyleneoxindole in peas, antagonizes the stimulatory effect of indole-3-acetic acid on elongation and protein synthesis but does not interfere with the same stimulatory effects of 3-methyleneoxindole, the product of the blocked reaction. 2. 3-Methyleneoxindole reacts directly with sulfhydryl compounds; as expected, its growth-promoting activity is blocked by reduced, but not by oxidized, glutathione. Reduced glutathione also blocks the action of indole-3-acetic acid, which does not react directly with sulfhydryl compounds. 3. A synthetic auxin, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid, cannot be oxidized to 3-methyleneoxindole; however, it has another relationship to 3-methyleneoxindole metabolism as an inhibitor of the enzymatic reduction of 3-methyleneoxindole to 3-methyloxindole, an inert substance. Small amounts of 1-naphthaleneacetic acid, inactive alone, cause a considerable reduction in the amount of 3-methyleneoxindole required for optimal stimulation of growth. It is therefore suggested that 1-naphthaleneacetic acid might act by maintaining endogenous supplies of 3-methyleneoxindole at elevated intracellular levels through inhibition of 3-methyleneoxindole reductase. It is proposed that the stimulatory effects of 3-methyleneoxindole might result from its previously demonstrated ability to render a growth rate-limiting regulatory protein insensitive to its negative effector in a bacterial model system. The necessary specificity of action, both in terms of comparison to ordinary sulfhydryl reagents which do not have auxin activity and from the point of view of interaction with its cellular targets, may reside in its oxindolic structure and in the fact that it is a specific substrate for inactivating enzymes of plants, 3-methyleneoxindole reductases.
Code Section 1031 Drop-and-Swaps Thirty Years after Bolker

Thirty years have passed since the Ninth Circuit decided Bolker, granting section 1031 nonrecognition to an exchange of property that the exchanger received from a corporation in a tax-free liquidation. The Bolker opinion establishes that a person can satisfy the section 1031 holding and use requirements, even though the person receives property with the intent to transfer it as part of a section 1031 exchange. Even though little has happened in this area of the last over the last thirty years, property owners and their advisors continue to worry about properly structuring transactions that are similar to the Bolker transaction. This article reviews Bolker and the few rulings and cases that consider similar transactions and the authority that presents other doctrines that could apply to them. It also considers problems that can crop up in these types of transactions and steps that property owners and their advisors can take to avoid those problems. Finally, it anticipates arguments that the IRS and state taxing authorities may make in challenging the tax-free treatment of Bolker-like transactions and considers the viability of such arguments.
Nonbiological factors affecting survival in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia

BACKGROUND Progress has been made in determining the biological variants of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and their prognostic implications. However, to the authors' knowledge, little is known regarding the impact of nonbiological factors (NBFs) on the survival of patients with AML. METHODS The impact of NBFs (marital status, insurance status, county-level income, and education) on survival was assessed along with biological factors (disease subtype, sex, age, and race/ethnicity) using a cohort of patients aged 19 to 64 years who were diagnosed with AML between 2007 and 2011 and reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program registry (SEER 18). RESULTS There were 5541 patients included. The median overall survival for the entire study population was 16 months. On multivariate analysis, an increased risk of death was independently linked to being a Medicaid beneficiary, uninsured, single, divorced, and residing in a county within the lower 3 quintiles of median household income. NBFs affected the risk of early (<2 months) and late mortality and their impact was confirmed among patients known to have received chemotherapy. CONCLUSIONS Insurance status, marital status, and county-level income were found to independently affect the survival of younger patients with AML and should be integrated into outcome comparisons. Interventions are needed to mitigate the impact of social factors on survival among patients with AML. Cancer 2015;121:3877–3884. © 2015 American Cancer Society.
Formation of mixed oxide powders in flames: Part II. SiO 2 −GeO 2 and Al 2 O 3 −TiO 2

SiO2−GeO2 and Al2O3−TiO2 mixed oxide powders were synthesized using a counterflow diffusion flame burner. SiCl4, GeCl4, Al(CH3)3, and TiCl4 were used as source materials for the formation of oxide particles in hydrogen-oxygen flames. In situ particle sizes were determined using dynamic light-scattering. Powders were collected using two different methods, a thermophoretic method (particles are collected onto carbon coated TEM grids) and an electrophoretic method (particles are collected onto stainless steel strips). Their size, morphology, and crystalline form were examined using a transmission electron microscope and an x-ray diffractometer. A photomultiplier at 90° to the argon ion laser beam was used to measure the light-scattering intensity. The formation of the mixed oxides was investigated using Si to Ge and Al to Ti ratios of 3:5 and 1:1, respectively. Heterogeneous nucleation of the SiO2 on the surface of the GeO2 was observed. In Al2O3−TiO2 mixtures, both oxide particles form at the same temperature. X-ray diffraction analysis of particles sampled at temperatures higher than 1553 K showed the presence of rutile, γ–Al2O3, and aluminum titanate. Although the particle formation process for SiO2−GeO2 is very different from that for Al2O3−TiO2, both mixed oxides result in very uniform mixtures.
Xenolithic evidence for Proterozoic crustal evolution beneath the Colorado Plateau

Tertiary diatremes of the Navajo volcanic field brought a wide variety of Proterozoic xenoliths to the surface of the Colorado Plateau. Examination of crustal xenoliths from the Navajo volcanic field diatremes permits reconstruction of Proterozoic pressure-temperature ( P-T ) histories beneath the Colorado Plateau. Diatremes from the northwest part of the Navajo volcanic field carry the greatest variety of xenoliths, including metasedimentary rocks, amphibolites, felsic gneisses, mafic granulites, and crustally derived eclogites; these rock types show variable degrees of hydrous alteration and evidence for complex reaction histories. In contrast, diatremes from the southeast part of the Navajo volcanic field contain primarily mafic and felsic granulites that show fewer reaction textures and less alteration; metasedimentary and eclogitic xenoliths are absent in these diatremes. The P-T paths from the northwest xenoliths are counterclockwise and reach temperatures as high as 850 °C and pressures equal to or greater than 10 kbar. Later hydrous alteration occurred around 500 °C and 8–12 kbar. Xenoliths from the southeast diatremes preserve little evidence of their P-T evolution, but paths involve heating and/or decompression. The differing rock types, P-T paths, and alteration histories of the northwest and southeast populations suggest that Proterozoic tectonism juxtaposed two distinct crustal blocks beneath the Colorado Plateau. Previous workers have postulated that the boundary between the Proterozoic Yavapai and Mazatzal provinces occurs in the region; our data support the existence of a northeast-trending boundary beneath the Four Corners area. If the eclogitic metamorphism and hydrous alteration are Proterozoic in age, their restricted occurrence beneath the northwest part of the plateau suggests that subduction was northwest dipping during Proterozoic accretion of the Mazatzal province onto North America.