cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Noise figure of vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers

The noise figure of vertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Limitations on the noise figure set by the reflectivity of the mirrors are studied. Highly reflective mirrors lead to increased output noise as well as lasing at moderate carrier densities, which imposes a limit on the obtainable population inversion. Expressions for the excess noise coefficient, which governs signal-spontaneous beat noise enhancement due to finite mirror reflectivity, are presented for transmission and reflection-mode operation. Experimental results from a VCSOA operating in the reflection mode at 1.3 /spl mu/m are presented. The results, from optical as well as electrical measurement techniques, are analyzed and compared to theoretical values.
Bistability in apoptosis: roles of bax, bcl-2, and mitochondrial permeability transition pores.

We propose a mathematical model for mitochondria-dependent apoptosis, in which kinetic cooperativity in formation of the apoptosome is a key element ensuring bistability. We examine the role of Bax and Bcl-2 synthesis and degradation rates, as well as the number of mitochondrial permeability transition pores (MPTPs), on the cell response to apoptotic stimuli. Our analysis suggests that cooperative apoptosome formation is a mechanism for inducing bistability, much more robust than that induced by other mechanisms, such as inhibition of caspase-3 by the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP). Simulations predict a pathological state in which cells will exhibit a monostable cell survival if Bax degradation rate is above a threshold value, or if Bax expression rate is below a threshold value. Otherwise, cell death or survival occur depending on initial caspase-3 levels. We show that high expression rates of Bcl-2 can counteract the effects of Bax. Our simulations also demonstrate a monostable (pathological) apoptotic response if the number of MPTPs exceeds a threshold value. This study supports our contention, based on mathematical modeling, that cooperativity in apoptosome formation is critically important for determining the healthy responses to apoptotic stimuli, and helps define the roles of Bax, Bcl-2, and MPTP vis-a-vis apoptosome formation.
Development, application, and validation of a survey for infectious disease control practices at equine boarding facilities.

Objective—To develop a questionnaire for self-assessment of biosecurity practices at equine boarding facilities and to evaluate infectious disease control practices in these facilities in Colorado. Design—Cross-sectional study. Sample Population—64 equine boarding facilities in Colorado. Procedures—Survey questions were rated according to importance for prevention and containment of equine infectious diseases. Point values (range, 0 to 20) were assigned for possible responses, with greater values given for optimal infection control methods. Questionnaires were mailed to equine boarding facilities in Colorado advertised on the World Wide Web. Survey responses were compared with assessments made by a member of the research team during visits to 30 randomly selected facilities. Agreement among results was analyzed via a kappa test and rated as poor, fair, moderate, substantial, or nearly perfect. Results—Survey responses were received for 64 of 163 (39%) equine boarding facilities. Scores ranged from 106 to ...
Models of Behaviour and the Behaviour of Models

A model proposed by Bateson suggests that the discrepancy between an adopted child's genotype for I.0. and the adoptive parents' I.Q. should contribute negatively to the child's intellectual development. In support, he cited evidence from an adoption study that the absolute difference between birth mothers' and adoptive mothers' I.Qs is negatively correlated with adopted child's I.Q. Further confirmation of the empirical relationship is reported; however, it is pointed out that such a correlation may artefactually result from a difference in parental means, and that the formal model presents other problems as well. Language: en
The Belief in a Just World and Willingness to Accommodate among Married and Dating Couples

Since the mid 1960s, the effects of individual differences in one’s Belief in a Just World (BJW; Lerner, 1980; Lerner and Miller, 1978; Rubin and Peplau, 1975) has been applied to various domains. One area that seems particularly promising is the understanding of how the BJW might be related to a number of important indicators of relationship functioning and well-being. In this chapter, we will review some preliminary findings that have been obtained from samples of married and dating couples relating the BJW to one style of handling interpersonal conflict, willingness to accommodate.
FINAL STATES WITH ONE OR TWO CHARGED PARTICLES AND A VISIBLE anti K$sup 0$ FROM K$sup -$d INTERACTIONS AT 4.5 GeV/c.

We report on a study of the interactions of $4.48\ensuremath{-}\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c} {K}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ mesons on deuterium. The 372 000-picture exposure was taken in the Argonne National Laboratory 30-in. deuterium-filled bubble chamber. The ${\overline{K}}^{0}$ final states from the one- and two-prong-plus-vee topologies are discussed. The final states investigated include (1) ${\overline{K}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{pn}$, $(2) {\overline{K}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}d$, $(3) {\overline{K}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{0}d$, $(4) {\overline{K}}^{0}{\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}p$ (missing mass). Production of the ${K}^{*\ensuremath{-}}(890)$ resonance is analyzed from both ${K}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{p}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{n}$ and ${K}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{n}\mathrm{e}\mathrm{u}\mathrm{t}\mathrm{r}\mathrm{o}\mathrm{n}$ interactions and is compared with absorption and Regge-pole models. The production of ${\ensuremath{\Delta}}^{\ensuremath{-}}(1236)$ in reaction (1) is compared with the predictions of Thews and with those of Maor and Krammer. Strong ${K}^{*\ensuremath{-}}(890)$ production occurs in reaction (2), and evidence for dominant-vector-meson exchange is given. The ${d}^{*}$ enhancement is quite strong in (3), and ${K}^{*}{d}^{*}$ production is discussed.
Polymer–Graphene Oxide Quadlayer Thin-Film Assemblies with Improved Gas Barrier

Layer-by-layer assembly was used to create quadlayers (QLs) of chitosan (CH), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), CH, and graphene oxide (GO). Electron microscopy confirmed GO coverage over the film and a highly ordered nanobrick wall structure. By varying pH deviation between CH and PAA, a thick and interdiffused polymer matrix was created because of the altered chain conformation. A 5 CH (pH 5.5)/PAA (pH 3)/CH (pH 5.5)/GO QL assembly (48 nm) exhibits very low oxygen permeability (3.9 × 10–20 cm3 cm cm–2 Pa–1 s–1) that matches SiOx barrier coatings. In an effort to maintain barrier performance under high humidity, GO was thermally reduced to increase hydrophobicity of the film. This reduction step increased H2/CO2 selectivity of a 5 QL film from 5 to 215, exceeding Robeson’s upper bound limit. This unique water-based multilayer nanocoating is very promising for a variety of gas purification and packaging applications.
Algorithms in the diagnosis and management of exotic diseases. XX. Toxoplasmosis.

osis-like syndrome. T. gondii infection may also be transmitted via the placenta, causing abortions, still births, or congenital abnormalities. Serologically, the prevalence of antibodies to T. gondii varies widely in different parts of the world, ranging between 1% and 70% with an estimated mean of 30% [1]. In various parts of the United States, serological surveys have shown the prevalence of T. gondii in adults to vary from 20% to 70% [1, 2]. Congenital toxoplasmosis has been estimated to occur at a rate of 0.25-5.0 cases per 1,000 live births. In adults, there is little accurate data on the incidence of disease due to T. gondii although it appears to be low. Recently, considerable morbidity and mortality due to toxoplasmosis have been observed in immunosuppressed individuals.
Effect of Light Exposure Conditions on the Light-Induced Degradation in Amorphous Silicon Alloy Solar Cells

Light-induced changes in current-voltage characteristics of amorphous single-junction solar cells made of silicon alloys, a-SiC, a-Si, and a-SiGe have been studied systematically. The effect of the light intensity and the bias voltage on the light-induced degradation in the conversion efficiency and other photovoltaic parameters has been clarified quantitatively, and it has been shown that the light-induced degradation characteristics of the photovoltaic parameters can be described by a single function of some normalized parameters of exposure condition. Theoretical background for the experimental results is also examined and discussed by applying a defect creation model modified to an active layer of the a-Si alloy solar cells. Utilizing these analytical formula, we propose an accelerated test method by solar simulator indoor measurement instead of natural sunlight outdoor testing.
Policies on exportation of hazardous substances in western developed countries. A public-health problem.

A characteristic of the 1970s in many Western developed industrialized countries, including the United States, was the expansion of government intervention and regulation in the areas of occupation...
Prebiotic Pathways Involving Carbohydrates

This chapter discusses potential prebiotic pathways to carbohydrates with a particular focus on ribose. Most organisms are heterotrophs that live by degrading carbon compounds produced by other organisms. In the prebiotic world, it seems likely that one-carbon chemistry also dominated the synthesis of carbon compounds that were crucial to the origin of life. However, in this case, the key precursor carbon was probably formaldehyde formed in the atmosphere or in the lithosphere. It seems likely that formaldehyde gave rise to a wide array of carbohydrates and other organic molecules. Among these, the most important sugar that was required to get the nucleic acid world underway was probably ribose. When an aqueous solution of formaldehyde is warmed in the presence of a calcium hydroxide suspension, a mixture of sugars is produced. The process is referred to as the formose reaction. The results from the formose reaction suggested that formaldehyde might be the most feasible precursor for ribose under some circumstances. The chemistry of the glycolaldehyde cycle is simple and repetitious, involving reactions that are very familiar from organic chemistry. The aldol condensation and tautomerization reactions also are found in the glycolytic-gluconeogenetic pathways. Formaldehyde has always been considered the most likely precursor of carbohydrates in the prebiotic world. The favored route for formaldehyde synthesis in the prebiotic atmosphere involves water and carbon dioxide and exposure of these compounds to low-wavelength UV light. The formaldehyde formed in a series of free-radical reactions would have rained down because formaldehyde is very soluble in water.
Environmental influences on fish assemblage variation among ecologically similar glacial lakes

The composition and structure of fish communities are affected by a variety of factors, both within the aquatic ecosystem and from the surrounding watershed. Many studies have examined what structures fish assemblages over broad spatial and environmental gradients. However, the influence of local environmental attributes on the observed variation in fish assemblages is less understood across finer spatial scales, where broad-scale climatic and anthropogenic factors are relatively similar. We used multiple linear regression to examine the relationships between environmental variables and various aspects of fish assemblages (including trophic function, community indices, and species composition) in 90 glacial lakes from northern Indiana, USA, from 1990 to 2010. Trophic structure and species composition were primarily related to water quality, whereas trophic level increased and omnivores declined as Secchi depth increased and phosphorus concentrations decreased. Species richness and diversity, in contrast, were positively linked to lake size and depth. We also found unique relationships among fish assemblages and environmental variables between samples collected using gill nets and night electrofishing, which may result from these gears sampling different assemblage components – therefore, relationships that were apparent in both sampling techniques (e.g., Secchi depth effects on trophic structure) may be the most robust and useful for improving aquatic ecosystem management on local scales.
The \mathrm {GURA_G} Administrative Model for User and Group Attribute Assignment

Several attribute-based access control (ABAC) models have been recently proposed to provide finer-grained authorization and to address the shortcomings of existing models. In particular, Servos et al. [33] presented a hierarchical group and attribute based access control (HGABAC) model which introduces a novel approach of attribute inheritance through user and object groups. For authorization purposes the effect of attribute inheritance from groups can be equivalently realized by direct attribute assignment to users and objects. Hence the practical benefit of HGABAC-like models is with respect to administration. In this paper we propose the first administration model for HGABAC called \(\mathrm {GURA_G}\). \(\mathrm {GURA_G}\) consists of three sub-models: UAA for user attribute assignment, UGAA for user-group attribute assignment and UGA for user to user-group assignment.
Longwave and Total Radiation

All objects in the universe emit radiation proportional to the fourth power of their absolute temperature or some fraction thereof, depending upon their spectral emittance. Whether the emitted radiation is transmitted by the medium surrounding the object depends on the properties of the medium. A vacuum transmits all emitted radiation. Air transmits a broad band of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared radiation, with certain spectral regions selectively absorbed. Liquid water transmits only very-near ultra-violet, visible, and very little infrared radiation. The plants and animals of the world live in an environment generally dominated by radiation. Organisms in terrestrial habitats receive some radiation at all times. Organisms living in aquatic habitats may receive radiation only part of the time since liquid water transmits some sunlight, relatively little ultraviolet, and no infrared.
Exploring intentions of physician-scientist trainees: factors influencing MD and MD/PhD interest in research careers

Prior studies have described the career paths of physician-scientist candidates after graduation, but the factors that influence career choices at the candidate stage remain unclear. Additionally, previous work has focused on MD/PhDs, despite many physician-scientists being MDs. This study sought to identify career sector intentions, important factors in career selection, and experienced and predicted obstacles to career success that influence the career choices of MD candidates, MD candidates with research-intense career intentions (MD-RI), and MD/PhD candidates. A 70-question survey was administered to students at 5 academic medical centers with Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs) and Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) from the NIH. Data were analyzed using bivariate or multivariate analyses. More MD/PhD and MD-RI candidates anticipated or had experienced obstacles related to balancing academic and family responsibilities and to balancing clinical, research, and education responsibilities, whereas more MD candidates indicated experienced and predicted obstacles related to loan repayment. MD/PhD candidates expressed higher interest in basic and translational research compared to MD-RI candidates, who indicated more interest in clinical research. Overall, MD-RI candidates displayed a profile distinct from both MD/PhD and MD candidates. MD/PhD and MD-RI candidates experience obstacles that influence their intentions to pursue academic medical careers from the earliest training stage, obstacles which differ from those of their MD peers. The differences between the aspirations of and challenges facing MD, MD-RI and MD/PhD candidates present opportunities for training programs to target curricula and support services to ensure the career development of successful physician-scientists.
Special Issue: Alzheimer’s disease

More than 45 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's disease (AD), a deterioration of memory and other cognitive domains that leads to death within 3 to 9 years after diagnosis. The principal risk factor for AD is age. As the aging population increases, the prevalence will approach 131 million cases worldwide in 2050. AD is therefore a global problem creating a rapidly growing epidemic and becoming a major threat to healthcare in our societies. It has been more than 20 years since it was first proposed that the neurodegeneration in AD may be caused by deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in plaques in brain tissue. According to the amyloid hypothesis, accumulation of Aβ peptides, resulting from a chronic imbalance between Aβ production and Aβ clearance in the brain, is the primary influence driving AD pathogenesis. Current available medications appear to be able to produce moderate symptomatic benefits but not to stop disease progression. The search for biomarkers as well as novel therapeutic approaches for AD has been a major focus of research. Recent findings, however, show that neuronal-injury biomarkers are independent of Aβ suggesting epigenetic modifications, gene-gene and/or gene-environment interactions in the disease etiology, and calling for reconsideration of the pathological cascade and assessment of alternative therapeutic strategies. In addition, recent research results regarding the expression of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene resulting in the presence of various APP-mRNA isoforms and their quantification, especially for identifying the most abundant one that may decisive for the normal status or disease risk, have been reported. As such, a more complete understanding of AD pathogenesis will likely require greater insights into the physiological function of the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP).
Microstimulators: Minimally Invasive Implantable Neuromodulatory Devices

Abstract Neuromodulation was originally conceived of as a replacement for surgery by using implanted neurostimulators to deliver electrical current to create an electrical block instead of a surgical one. Microstimulators are a subset of neuromodulation devices that are chronically implanted by minimally invasive means. In this chapter we provide a summary of “active” and “passive” microstimulator technology, where active devices are completely implanted neurostimulators capable of regulating therapy and measuring electrode impedance, while passive devices can be thought of as an implanted output stage of a remote stimulator located outside the body. Technical aspects of microstimulator design are discussed, including electrodes, powering, magnetic resonance imaging compatibility, and human factors. We also provide an overview of human clinical experience with eight different microstimulators, and summarize recent federal and corporate funding that may further this important technology.
David Oliver: Do bed and chair sensors really stop falls in hospital?

In December a coroner’s narrative verdict was widely covered in the media. “Frail hospital patients put at risk for want of basic equipment costing less than £100, coroner warns,” reported the Telegraph .1 The verdict concerned Ken Swift, 80, a retired nurse who had been admitted to York Hospital with pneumonia. He fell from his hospital bed and sustained a hip fracture, which the coroner said was likely to have contributed to his death. Bed and chair sensors had been recommended as part of Swift’s care plan. These devices trigger an alarm or warning light if patients leave their bed or chair for a few seconds. Staff can then, in theory, respond quickly and intervene to prevent a fall or assist the …
Activation of the interleukin-3 gene by chromosome translocation in acute lymphocytic leukemia with eosinophilia [see comments]

The t(5;14)(q31;q32) translocation from B-lineage acute lymphocytic leukemia with eosinophilia has been cloned from two leukemia samples. In both cases, this translocation joined the IgH gene and the interleukin-3 (IL-3) gene. In one patient, excess IL-3 mRNA was produced by the leukemic cells. In the second patient, serum IL-3 levels were measured and shown to correlate with disease activity. There was no evidence of excess granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or IL-5 expression. Our data support the formulation that this subtype of leukemia may arise in part because of a chromosome translocation that activates the IL-3 gene, resulting in autocrine and paracrine growth effects.
Effectiveness of electric vehicle incentives in the United States

Abstract Transportation accounts for 28% of total energy use and 26% of carbon emissions in the US, and battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are promising options to decarbonize transportation. Federal and state governments, electric utility operators, and a number of other entities have provided support to accelerate electric vehicle purchases via monetary and non-monetary incentives. In this paper, we evaluate the effect of these incentives on the adoption of electric vehicles. We find that every $1000 offered as a rebate or tax credit increases average sales of electric vehicles by 2.6%. We also find that HOV lane access is a significant contributor to adoption, the effect is a 4.7% increase corresponding to density of HOV lanes (every 100 vehicles per hour). In addition, we introduce a novel variable to capture consumer knowledge of EVs and associated incentives in our model to help explain the state level heterogeneity in response to incentives and find that raising consumer awareness is critical to the success of EV incentive programs.
The Whats and Whys of Outcome-Based Evaluation

Welcome to the 1990s! In case you haven’t noticed, things have changed significantly in the world of service delivery and program evaluation over the last few years. The term that is used most frequently to reflect this change is paradigm, which refers to how we approach or think about something. Indeed, both human service programs and the techniques we use to evaluate their efforts and outcomes are currently undergoing a “paradigm shift” characterized by terms such as empowerment, equity, supports, inclusion, accountability, and pragmatic evaluation. This paradigm shift, occurring at the same time that we are seeing an increased competition among service providers and constant social-cultural change, has resulted in new ways of thinking about program evaluation and the techniques we use to evaluate a program’s effectiveness, impact, or benefit-cost.
Characteristics and Species-Dependent Employment of Flexible Versus Sustained Thermal Dissipation and Photoinhibition

Summary Photoprotective energy dissipation is a process in which xanthophylls (particularly zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin; Z + A) facilitate the dissipation of excess absorbed light energy as heat. This process can occur in different versions that meet the demands of different environments. Flexible thermal dissipation (qE type) responds to intra-thylakoid pH, is controlled by the PsbS protein, and relaxes rapidly upon darkening at warm temperatures. This flexible, PsbS/� pH-dependent dissipation is the predominant form of energy dissipation under environmental conditions favorable for growth, irrespective of plant species. In comparison with short-lived species, perennial evergreens not only have slower growth and lower photosynthetic capacities but also possess higher capacities for flexible thermal dissipation and show greater increases in PsbS level and Z + A in full sun versus moderate growth light intensity.Furthermore,asustainedformofthermaldissipation(qItype)isobservedpredominantlyinphotoinhibited evergreens under environmental conditions unfavorable for growth, irrespective of the environmental factor(s)
The Impact of Context and Word Type on Students' Maze Task Accuracy

Despite evidence that the maze is a reliable measure of reading comprehension, existing research suggests potential problems with the manner in which maze probes are developed. Specifically, resear...
Laughbot: Detecting Humor in Spoken Language with Language and Audio Cues

We propose detecting and responding to humor in spoken dialogue by extracting language and audio cues and subsequently feeding these features into a combined recurrent neural network (RNN) and logistic regression model. In this paper, we parse Switchboard phone conversations to build a corpus of punchlines and unfunny lines where punchlines precede laughter tokens in Switchboard transcripts. We create a combined RNN and logistic regression model that uses both acoustic and language cues to predict whether a conversational agent should respond to an utterance with laughter. Our model achieves an F1-score of 63.2 and accuracy of 73.9. This model outperforms our logistic language model (F1-score 56.6) and RNN acoustic model (59.4) as well as the final RNN model of D. Bertero, 2016 (52.9). Using our final model, we create a “laughbot” that audibly responds to a user with laughter when their utterance is classified as a punchline. A conversational agent outfitted with a humor-recognition system such as the one we present in this paper would be valuable as these agents gain utility in everyday life.
Early Warning Indicators and Intervention Systems: State of the Field

Abstract This chapter examines the current state of the field for early warning indicators and intervention systems. These are efforts by schools, districts, state, and nonprofits to use evidence-based indicators of student need and predictors of negative outcomes (i.e., course failure and dropping out of high school) and positive trajectories (i.e., college readiness) to proactively and peremptorily provide additional supports or interventions to change the likely trajectory of the student. Most often associated with dropout prevention, indicator and response systems are now being generalized to also help students to be prepared for and succeed in postsecondary schooling and to have greater success during the elementary school years. This chapter provides a brief history of their development, surveys the existing evidence base of early warning indicators, details their current use of indicator and response systems and their impacts, and then discusses the emerging issues and trends in their future development and use.
Regulatory non-coding small RNAs are diverse and abundant in an extremophilic microbial community

Regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) represent a major class of regulatory molecules that play large-scale and essential roles in many cellular processes across all domains of life. Microbial sRNAs have been primarily investigated in a few model organisms and little is known about the dynamics of sRNA synthesis in natural environments, and the roles of these short transcripts at the community level. Analyzing the metatranscriptome of a model extremophilic community inhabiting halite nodules (salt rocks) from the Atacama Desert with SnapT - a new sRNA annotation pipeline - we discovered hundreds of intergenic (itsRNAs) and antisense (asRNAs) sRNAs. The halite sRNAs were taxonomically diverse with the majority expressed by members of the Halobacteria. We found asRNAs with expression levels negatively correlated with that of their putative overlapping target, suggesting a potential gene regulatory mechanism. A number of itsRNAs were conserved and significantly differentially expressed (FDR<5%) between 2 sampling time points allowing for stable secondary structure modeling and target prediction. This work demonstrates that metatranscriptomic field experiments link environmental variation with changes in RNA pools and have the potential to provide new insights into environmental sensing and responses in natural microbial communities through non-coding RNA mediated gene regulation.
Abstract 472: Smyd1 Variants Regulate Distinct Areas of Chromatin in the Cardiomyocyte

Heart failure is one of the most devastating conditions that contributes to 25% of all deaths in the USA every year. The development of heart failure, which is often preceded by cardiac hypertrophy...
On the neutralizing status of Polish word-final devoicing

Within phonological theory a fundamental distinction is made between rules that are neutralizing and those that are non-neutralizing. Recent experimental research has examined a number of neutralization rules and found that underlying contrasts are, in fact, phonetically preserved. These findings have raised a number of questions about the character of neutralization rules. This paper examines the phonetic effects of word-final devoicing in Polish across different places and manners of articulation, in different phonetic contexts as produced by five different speakers. Fifteen pairs of words (distinguished by underlying voicing of the word-final obstruent) were recorded in two contexts (__# C and __# V). Measurements were obtained for the final consonant closure duration, voicing into closure, and preceding vowel duration. The results demonstrate that the rule of word-final devoicing in Polish is not neutralizing for the group of Polish speakers studied nor for any of the individual speakers. The underlying voice distinction is preserved phonetically. However, the manner in which it is preserved varies depending on phonetic context, place and manner of articulation, and individual speaker. This variation is, nonetheless, systematic and must be accounted for by phonetic implementation rules that are sensitive to abstract phonological distinctions.
Blackface in Egypt: the theatre and film of Ali al-Kassar

Othman the Nubian was the recurrent role of famous stage and film comedian Ali al-Kassar. Its immense success turned it into a cultural icon in Egypt during the first half of the 20th century, whic...
Pan-cancer Analysis of CDK12 Alterations Identifies a Subset of Prostate Cancers with Distinct Genomic and Clinical Characteristics

Abstract Background CDK12 genomic alterations occur in several tumor types, but little is known about their oncogenic role and clinical significance. Objective To describe the landscape of CDK12 alterations across solid cancers and the clinical features of CDK12-altered prostate cancer. Design, setting, and participants A single-center retrospective study of 26743 patients across 25 solid tumor types who underwent tumor sequencing was performed. Clinicopathologic features and outcomes were assessed in prostate cancer. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis CDK12 alterations and their association with genomic characteristics are described. For prostate cancer patients, overall survival and time to castration resistance were assessed using univariable and multivariable Cox regression analysis. Results and limitations CDK12 alterations were identified in 404/26743 patients (1.5%) overall, but were most frequent in prostate (100/1875, 5.3%) and ovarian cancer (43/1034, 4.2%), in which they were associated with a high prevalence of truncating variants and biallelic inactivation. CDK12 alterations defined a genomic subtype of prostate cancer with a unique copy-number alteration profile and involvement of distinct oncogenic pathway alterations, including cell-cycle pathway genes. CDK12-altered prostate cancer was associated with somewhat more aggressive clinical features and shorter overall survival (median 64.4 vs 74.9 mo; p = 0.032) independent of standard clinical factors and tumor copy-number alteration burden (adjusted hazard ratio 1.80, 95% confidence interval 1.12–2.89; p = 0.024). The study is limited by its retrospective nature. Conclusions CDK12 alteration is a rare event across solid cancers but defines a clinically distinct molecular subtype of prostate cancer associated with unique genomic alterations and slightly more aggressive clinical features. Patient summary CDK12 gene alterations occur rarely across tumor types, but more frequently in prostate cancer, where they are associated with genomic instability, cell-cycle pathway gene alterations, and somewhat worse clinical outcomes, warranting further investigation of therapeutic targeting of this disease subset.
Sudden cardiac death in HIV-infected patients: A contemporary review

HIV-infected individuals have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death compared to the general population; yet the mechanisms underlying this increased risk remain unclear. The mechanisms underlying the heightened sudden cardiac death risk in HIV-infected individuals is likely multifactorial. We reviewed the literature to elucidate and summarize the potential mechanisms contributing to sudden cardiac death in the HIV patient population. There is biologic plausibility that the following mechanisms may be contributing to the significantly heightened risk of sudden cardiac death in HIV to varying degrees: ventricular arrhythmias, myocardial fibrosis and scar, prolonged QTc interval (both as a direct effect of HIV on repolarization as well as a result of concurrent medications/antiretroviral therapies), substance abuse, structural heart disease, and premature atherosclerosis. Further understanding of the mechanisms underlying the increased sudden cardiac death risk in HIV can lead to identification of modifiable risk factors, implementation of public health programs, and potential revision of ICD implantation guidelines to ultimately reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death in HIV-infected patients. Further studies are needed to assess the relative contribution of each of these mechanisms and risk factors.
Brief Transdiagnostic Intervention for Parents With Emotional Disorder Symptoms During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Example

Abstract Concerns regarding parent mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic are justifiably on the rise. Although anxiety, depression, and traumatic stress levels have risen precipitously across all demographics during the pandemic, parents residing with their children are under particular and unique strain. Caregivers with children in the home are responsible not only for their own health, financial security, and safety during this time, but often full-time caregiving, household management and, in many cases, their children’s schooling. In this case paper, we describe the development of the Unified Protocol for Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders for Caregivers (UP-Caregiver) and provide a case example of its implementation. This 4-session indicated prevention for caregivers is a modification of existing versions of the Unified Protocols for adults and children, modified to maximize its responsiveness to issues faced by parents and caregivers living with youth (ages 6–13) during the current pandemic. UP-Caregiver was offered as part of a randomized, controlled trial via telehealth in a small group format to any parent with a child in the specified age range with mild or greater anxiety, depression or traumatic stress symptoms during an initial screening. The case example provided is of a White, Hispanic mother with a range of self-reported emotional disorder concerns at an initial assessment. Declines in anxiety, depression and traumatic stress symptoms were all noted, as well as improvements in parenting self-efficacy and distress tolerance 6-weeks after initiating UP-Caregiver. An ongoing randomized, controlled trial of UP-Caregiver will further evaluate the utility and feasibility of this approach to alleviate parental distress during COVID-19.
A novel 3D cellular automata-phase field model for computationally efficient dendrite evolution during bulk solidification

Abstract Large-domain 3D microstructure prediction that balances both efficiency and accuracy remains a challenging task of materials science and engineering communities. This paper presents a novel 3D Cellular Automata-Phase Field (CA-PF) model that can accurately predict the dendrite formation in a large domain, which combines a 3D CA model with a 1D PF component. In this integrated model, the PF component reformulated in a spherical coordinate is employed to accurately calculate the local growth kinetics including the growth velocity and solute partition at the solidification front while the 3D CA component uses the growth kinetics as inputs to update the dendritic morphology variation and composition redistribution throughout the entire domain. Taking advantage of the high efficiency of the CA model and the high fidelity of the PF model, the 3D CA-PF model saves the computational cost more than five orders of magnitude compared to the 3D PF models without losing much accuracy. By coupling the thermodynamic and kinetic calculations into the PF component, the CA-PF model is capable of handling the microstructure evolution of any complex multi-component alloys. A 2D and a 3D phase-field benchmark problems were first adopted to validate the single dendrites predicted by the 3D CA-PF model. Then, the 3D CA-PF model is applied to predicting the dendrite growth during large-scale solidification processes of directional solidification of Al-30wt.%Cu and laser welding of Al-Cu-Mg and Al-Si-Mg alloys.
Re-envisioning the role of student health centers in offering LGBTQIA + friendly and sex-positive services.

Objective:Offering comprehensive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual (LGBTQIA+) friendly and sex-positive student health centers are central to institutions of...
Factors Leading to "Detransition" Among Transgender and Gender Diverse People in the United States: A Mixed-Methods Analysis.

Purpose: There is a paucity of data regarding transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people who "detransition," or go back to living as their sex assigned at birth. This study examined reasons for past detransition among TGD people in the United States. Methods: A secondary analysis was performed on data from the U.S. Transgender Survey, a cross-sectional nonprobability survey of 27,715 TGD adults in the United States. Participants were asked if they had ever detransitioned and to report driving factors, through multiple-choice options and free-text responses. A mixed-methods approach was used to analyze the data, creating qualitative codes for free-text responses and applying summative content analysis. Results: A total of 17,151 (61.9%) participants reported that they had ever pursued gender affirmation, broadly defined. Of these, 2242 (13.1%) reported a history of detransition. Of those who had detransitioned, 82.5% reported at least one external driving factor. Frequently endorsed external factors included pressure from family and societal stigma. History of detransition was associated with male sex assigned at birth, nonbinary gender identity, bisexual sexual orientation, and having a family unsupportive of one's gender identity. A total of 15.9% of respondents reported at least one internal driving factor, including fluctuations in or uncertainty regarding gender identity. Conclusion: Among TGD adults with a reported history of detransition, the vast majority reported that their detransition was driven by external pressures. Clinicians should be aware of these external pressures, how they may be modified, and the possibility that patients may once again seek gender affirmation in the future.
Photo Quiz: Strength in Numbers-a Disseminated Infection Causing Shortness of Breath.

A 67-year-old male with acute myeloid leukemia and an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) from a matched, unrelated donor two and a half months prior was admitted with 10 days of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. After his HCT, he had hematopoietic engraftment and was maintained on
FM/a Blood Test for Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia.

Limited data suggest that the FM/a test accurately differentiates patients with fibromyalgia from healthy controls and has some ability to differentiate fibromyalgia from other rheumatologic diseases.
The Impact of Hepatic Cirrhosis on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in the United States: A Nationwide Analysis.

We aimed to study the impact of Hepatic Cirrhosis (HC) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Our study is a retrospective cohort study using the 2016-2017 National Readmission Database (NRD). NRD is part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), organized and supported by means of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Patients were included if they were 18 years or older and had a principal diagnosis of COPD based on International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10- CM) codes and had a secondary diagnosis of HC. A total of 505,004 patients were included in the study with a diagnosis of COPD, 6196 (1.23%) of whom had HC. HC was found to be more common amongst male patients between the ages of 50 and 65 years. Medicare beneficiaries with high comorbidity burden, lower socioeconomic status, and those who received treatment in a large urban teaching hospital also had higher rates of HC. Patients with HC and COPD correlated to an increase of in-hospital mortality (adjusted odds ratio (aOR: 2.21, p<0.001) and 30-day hospital readmission rate (aOR: 1.23, p<0.001) compared with patients without HC. The in-hospital mortality rate was higher during readmission compared with index admissions (5.01% versus 2.16%; p<0.001). In addition, HC was associated with higher morbidity including prolonged mechanical ventilation (aOR: 1.39, p<0.001), resource utilization with prolong length of stay (LOS) (adjusted mean difference (aMD: 0.51, p<0.001), higher total hospitalization charges (aMD: 4967, p<0.001), and costs (aMD: 1200, p<0.001). Both patient groups had similar odds of being intubated (aOR: 1.18, p-0.13), tracheostomy (aOR: 0.81, p-069) and bronchoscopy rates (aOR: 1.27, p-0.36). The most common causes of hospital readmission were found to be COPD with acute exacerbation (19.7%), sepsis, unspecified organism (6.0%, acute and chronic respiratory failure with hypoxia (4.2%), acute on chronic systolic heart failure (3.9%), and hepatic failure, unspecified coma (3.1%). Various autonomous prognosticators of readmission were sex (particularly female), alcohol dependence, LOS greater than 7 days, lower comorbidity burden, and discharge to short term hospital or against medical advice. On the other hand, males, patients without a history of alcohol dependence, greater comorbidity burden, and LOS fewer than 3 days, were less likely to be readmitted. We found that HC is related to higher in-hospital mortality, LOS, increased mechanical ventilation, resource utilization with prolonged LOS, hospital costs, odds of intubation, and tracheostomy and bronchoscopy rates. Our study aims to shed light on the impact of HC on COPD in hopes to improve future management.
Design and Implementation of High-density Isolated Bi-directional Soft-switching Resonant DC-DC Converter with Partial Power Processing

With the increasing demand for energy storage system in transportation and stationary applications, a high-density high-efficient bi-directional dc-dc converter with galvanic isolation and scalable architecture for different battery systems is desired. This paper adopts a 500 kHz high-efficiency isolated bi-directional soft-switching resonant converter with a partial power processing (PPP) architecture for energy storage systems. Compared with existing PPP or two-stage architectures, the proposed resonant converter utilizes a low voltage (LV) buck regulator for battery interface. Due to the LV regulator, dc transformer (DCX) operates at a fixed switching frequency without any additional ac inductor and zero current detection (ZCD) components. To minimize ac loop inductance in the proposed DCX, a two-dimensional (2-D) flux cancelation layout is proposed, which achieves loop inductance of 4.24 nH. The paper presents the analysis of the converter operation, detailed 18 kW converter design of using 1.2 kV silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs and 650/150 V gallium nitride (GaN) FETs, achieving efficiency 98.8% and 142 W/in3 power density.
Impact of Purkinje Cell Simple Spike Synchrony on Signal Transmission from Flocculus

Purkinje cells (PCs) in the cerebellar flocculus carry rate-coded information that ultimately drives eye movement. Floccular PCs lying nearby each other exhibit partial synchrony of their simple spikes (SS). Elsewhere in the cerebellum, PC SS synchrony has been demonstrated to influence activity of the PCs' synaptic targets, and some suggest it constitutes another vector for information transfer. We investigated in the cerebellar flocculus the extent to which the rate code and PC synchrony interact. One motivation for the study was to explain the cerebellar deficits in ataxic mice like tottering; we speculated that PC synchrony has a positive effect on rate code transmission that is lost in the mutants. Working in transgenic mice whose PCs express channelrhodopsin, we exploited a property of optogenetics to control PC synchrony: pulsed photostimulation engenders stimulus-locked spiking, whereas continuous photostimulation engenders spiking whose timing is unconstrained. We photoactivated flocculus PCs using pulsed stimuli with sinusoidally varying timing vs. continuous stimuli with sinusoidally varying intensity. Recordings of PC pairs confirmed that pulsed stimuli engendered greater PC synchrony. We quantified the efficiency of transmission of the evoked PC firing rate modulation from the amplitudes of firing rate modulation and eye movement. Rate code transmission was slightly poorer in the conditions that generated greater PC synchrony, arguing against our motivating speculation regarding the origin of ataxia in tottering. Floccular optogenetic stimulation prominently augmented a 250-300 Hz local field potential oscillation, and we demonstrate relationships between the oscillation power and the evoked PC synchrony.
Complexities of Character: Hume on Love and Responsibility

Hume claims that moral assessments refer to character; it is character of which we morally approve and disapprove. This essay explores what Hume means by "character." Is it true that moral assessments refer to character, and should Hume think this given his other commitments in moral philosophy and moral psychology? I discuss two prominent themes—namely, Hume's views on moral responsibility; and Hume's comparison of moral feelings with feelings of love—to see what light these themes can shed on Hume's broader views about moral assessment. I argue that at least according to a traditional understanding of the term, character could not plausibly have a role to play in Hume's account of moral assessment, but that Hume's moral theory could require a conception of character different from this traditional one: a conception according to which character need not be the standard one that holds character to be consistent, stable, and well-integrated. In morally assessing others, we do not do so on the basis of their characters (at least in any robust sense of character), but on the basis of their motivational states. My account of Hume's theory of the responsibility, passions and the moral sentiments leaves intact the central Humean insights about the conditions for action and the arousal of the moral sentiment, suggesting what Hume could have said, both more plausibly and without undermining the key features of his moral psychology. And it also shows that Hume's moral theory has no need for a robust conception of character.
At the Font of the Marvelous: Exploring Oral Narrative and Mythic Imagery of the Iroquois and Their Neighbors

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Anthony Wonderley Year: 2009 Pages: 224 Publisher: Syracuse University Press ISBN: 978-0-8156-3207-8 (hard cover). Prices: $29.95 USD(hard cover).