cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Takeover! 1997 (F): J. P. Hudson / Hudson Guaranty Bank

This case extends the Takeover! 1997 simulation exercise (UVA-F-1170 through 1173) to include a role for a bank. As with the other roles in the exercise, students form teams to play their assigned roles in the drama of the hostile takeover. The exercise follows the schedule of briefings, negotiations/simulations, and debriefings. In this case (and its sibling, UVA-F-1250), students represent a lender/investment banker, from whom bidders must obtain financing. This exercise simulates a hostile takeover attempt in January 1997. The target is an underperforming conglomerate with two principal business segments: consumer foods and specialty chemicals. The raider company has a history of hostile action, usually profiting from greenmail or the bust-up liquidation of the unfortunate target. Two other bidding parties are present: a white-knight firm that has had amicable relations with the target in the past and considers making a friendly bid for the target, and an LBO firm that has ample equity and lines of credit to finance a buyout. Finally, the instructor has the option of including two banks that can impose some restraint on possible "deal frenzy." The exercise organizes students into teams representing the four companies, who must negotiate an outcome that is most advantageous to their own firms. The parties are motivated to take action because the expiration of the raiders tender offer will occur soon, at which time, if there is no higher offer outstanding, the arbitrageurs will tender their shares and the raider will seize control. All parties know that the target companys board of directors is meeting in a few hours in an effort to settle on a course of action. This exercise is ideally suited to (1) exercise students valuation and negotiation skills, (2) train students in the unusual dynamics of hostile takeovers, and (3) develop an understanding of some fundamental points of corporate governance, including the responsibilities of a board of directors and the agency problems that can arise when managers jobs are threatened. This exercise is an expanded and updated version of the original Takeover! Exercise, which was set in 1988. While the valuation problem here is largely the same as in that exercise, much more information has been added regarding the raider, the white knight, and the LBO firm. In addition, the legal and regulatory settings in this exercise reflect important changes in the environment that occurred in the early and mid-1990s.
Effects of Cross-Linking and Branching on the Molecular Constitution of Diene Polymers

Abstract Reaction mechanisms whereby cross-linked and branched polymer structures may be formed during the polymerization of dienes are discussed. A kinetic treatment of the formation of cross-linkages via the occasional addition of a free radical to the unsaturated carbon of a structural unit of a previously polymerized molecule is presented. It is pointed out that the rate of this addition step relative to monomer addition can be deduced from the average chain length and the conversion at which gelation occurs. Cross-linkages introduced by the mechanism under consideration are not distributed at random, but the deviations from a random distribution are unimportant except at high conversions. Conditions are examined under which the cross-linking reaction decreases the total number of molecules more rapidly than they are formed. Physical properties of polymers (with particular emphasis on vulcanized rubbers) are most conveniently interpreted in terms of (1) the primary molecular weight (i.e., molecular we...
Tutorial: simulation metamodeling

The concept of a metamodel has been an important tool for simulation analysis for forty years. These models of simulation models have the advantage of faster execution, and they can (sometimes) provide insight on the nature of the simulation response as a function of design and input distribution parameters. This introductory tutorial will describe metamodeling uses and associated processes, survey commonly used metamodel types and associated experiment designs, and give a brief description of some recent developments and how they may affect future "mainstream" simulation metamodeling.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Base of the Tongue

The squamous cell carcinomas of 119 patients treated between 1958 and 1980 were retrospectively reclassified according to the 1977 American Joint Committee for Cancer Staging-End Results Reporting guidelines. Analysis of the information was performed with an interactive computer program that allows the analysis of a large number of medical factors with numerous variables. The following factors show the statistically significant improved survival rates: well-differentiated histopathologic findings, small T-stage lesions, and clinically negative neck disease. Although the survival curve was similar in the planned combined therapy and radiation therapy groups, local control was statistically superior in the combined therapy group. A similar trend is seen in those patients who receive interstitial implants in addition to external beam therapy. A randomized prospective study is needed to determine the optimum mode of therapy.
Early stages in the organization of cardiovascular control

AbstractOur studies have revealed a number of unexpected characteristics of the immature cardiovascular system of the infant rat. Sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic system appear to have different timetables for the development of tonic and phasic activities. These different timetables of development result in unusual physiological organizations at particular stages in postnatal life. We have described some of the features of one of these: the infant rat's cardiac rate responses in the second week after birth include a high resting rate, decreased rates in response to several (but not all) forms of activation, and two forms of phasic activity, a bradycardia and a tachycardia, that are related to naturally occurring behavioral states and have not been described in adults. The nature of this age-specific autonomic organization was explored further and found to be embedded in the infant's relationship with its mother and in her role as a supplier of nutrient in particular. The mechani...
Controlling the Cell-Adhesion Properties of Poly(acrylic acid)/Polyacrylamide Hydrogen-Bonded Multilayers

A thorough understanding of thermal effects on the physicochemical properties of layer-by-layer (LbL) assembled multilayers is crucial in utilizing these films in a variety of applications. In this work, we investigate the effect of thermal treatment on cross-linking and swelling of a hydrogen-bonded multilayer film made of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and polyacrylamide (PAAm), which has been shown to exhibit excellent long-term cell adhesion resistance. We observe that the apparent swelling of PAA/PAAm multilayers treated at 90 and 180 °C in a physiologically relevant condition is similar; however, these two multilayers with different thermal history exhibit completely different cell adhesion properties when assessed with human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). While the 90 °C treated samples show excellent cell adhesion resistance, those treated at 180 °C are highly cell adhesive. A combination of characterization techniques including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) sp...
The use of homologous tarsus as a donor graft in lid surgery.

Abstract Several materials have been used to extend the posterior lamella of the eyelids in cases of retraction due to thyroid disease, cicatrix, or loss of tissue. Substances previously used have been autogenous trasus, mucous membrane, ear or nasal cartilage, and donor sclera or just space. I present the use of homologous bank tarsus, its advantages, limitations, and methods of handling.
“Give Me a Break—English Is Not My First Language!” Experiences of Linguistically Diverse Student Teachers

Today’s K–12 music educators interact regularly with students from culturally diverse communities and backgrounds. Although research exists on culturally diverse students, there is comparatively li...
Performance and robustness of hybrid model predictive control for controllable dampers in building models

A variety of strategies have been developed over the past few decades to determine controllable damping device forces to mitigate the response of structures and mechanical systems to natural hazards and other excitations. These “smart” damping devices produce forces through passive means but have properties that can be controlled in real time, based on sensor measurements of response across the structure, to dramatically reduce structural motion by exploiting more than the local “information” that is available to purely passive devices. A common strategy is to design optimal damping forces using active control approaches and then try to reproduce those forces with the smart damper. However, these design forces, for some structures and performance objectives, may achieve high performance by selectively adding energy, which cannot be replicated by a controllable damping device, causing the smart damper performance to fall far short of what an active system would provide. The authors have recently demonstrated that a model predictive control strategy using hybrid system models, which utilize both continuous and binary states (the latter to capture the switching behavior between dissipative and non-dissipative forces), can provide reductions in structural response on the order of 50% relative to the conventional clipped-optimal design strategy. This paper explores the robustness of this newly proposed control strategy through evaluating controllable damper performance when the structure model differs from the nominal one used to design the damping strategy. Results from the application to a two-degree-of-freedom structure model confirms the robustness of the proposed strategy.
A Richer, Brighter Vision for American High Schools: Collegiality, Caring, and Continuity

In addition to an emphasis on critical thinking, the Common Core advocates attention to such “soft skills” as collegiality, cooperation, communication, teamwork, and social skills. This chapter will discuss how we might promote these skills for both students and teachers. I will start with collegiality, then discuss the need to establish relations of care and trust in order to support the whole array of social skills, and conclude with an argument in support of continuity of subject matter, people, and place in our high schools. COLLEGIALITY “Collegiality” conveys the notion of shared responsibility. In Chapter 1, I commented on the collegial organization used at Columbia University in planning and implementing its freshman core course. Its benefits, described by Andrew Delbanco, include the mixing of students from various departments, socio-economic backgrounds, and social clubs. The Core also counters the provincialism of the faculty. Senior and junior professors, along with graduate student instructors, gather weekly to discuss the assigned texts – a rare opportunity for faculty from different fields, and at different stages of their careers, to consider substantive questions. And, not least among its benefits, it links all students in the college to one another through a body of common knowledge; once they have gone through the core, no student is a complete stranger to any other. I am not sure the claim that “no student is a complete stranger to any other” can be sustained, but the random assignment of students to small core classes is certainly valuable in extending both friendships and information on various programs at the university. I have already suggested that such a mixture of students be used in the four-year social studies classes designed to treat collegially planned interdisciplinary themes. High school English teachers might also adopt this process and use random assignment of students to small discussion groups as they promote the interdisciplinary knowledge required for contextual understanding of the documents students are now expected to analyze. The idea of collegiality – shared responsibility – is valuable for students as well as teachers.
Analysis of Epidemic Situation of Hand-foot-mouth Disease in Jinjiang District,Chengdu During 2006-2008

Objective Through the statistical analysis of epidemic information on hand-foot-mouth disease in Jinjiang District,Chengdu from 2006 to 2008,to provide the epidemic situation of HFMD in the district and scientific bases for control and prevention of HFMD.Method The situation of epidemiology of HFMD was analysed by descriptive epidemiological method.Result The incidence of HFMD was increasing year by year from 2006 to 2008(15,98 and 326 cases respectively).The date of peak period of the disease had advanced from the winter of 2007 to the summer of 2008.The cases were mainly distributed in the 1-5-year age group and they were preschool or scattered living children,meanwhile,the cases of males were more than females.Conclusion The incidence of HFMD has been increasing in recent 3 years in Jingjiang District,so it is crucial to carry out a long-term effective epidemic monitoring and healthy education courses for the extensive groups of target people.
A non-scale-invariant form for coarse-grained diffusion-reaction equations

The process of mixing and reaction is a challenging problem to understand mathematically. Although there have been successes in describing the effective properties of mixing and reaction under a number of regimes, process descriptions for early times have been challenging for cases where the structure of the initial conditions is highly segregated. In this paper, we use the method of volume averaging to develop a rigorous theory for diffusive mixing with reactions from initial to asymptotic times under highly segregated initial conditions in a bounded domain. One key feature that arises in this development is that the functional form of the averaged differential mass balance equations is not, in general, scale invariant. Upon upscaling, an additional source term arises that helps to account for the initial configuration of the reacting chemical species. In this development, we derive the macroscopic parameters (a macroscale source term and an effectiveness factor modifying the reaction rate) defined in th...
Scalability analysis of parallel wideband ACE-FMM

The fast multipole method (FMM) has slowly become ubiquitous in its use to ameliorate both CPU and memory costs for integral equation (IE) solvers. This is reflected in a number of papers on this topic. However, a long-standing problem is effective parallelization of FMM based IE solvers. While techniques exist that have shown reasonable scalability up to 1024 processors, the dropoff beyond that is precipitous. This state of art stands in contrast to the rest of the computing community, where the focus is now on developing parallel solvers for exa-scale systems. In this paper, we focus on tearing down a scalable parallel FMM kernel to examine its innards with respect to scalability of each component. At the conference, we shall present a thorough analysis for multicore-clusters as well as propose solutions to bottlenecks.
Psychosocial care for people with diabetes: A position statement of the American diabetes association. Diabetes care 2016;39:2126-2140

In the print version of the article listed above, the sentence on page 2131: “Further, providers should consider asking whether there …
Intestinal disposition of farnesol in the rat ileum.

B110 Introduction: Farnesol (FOH) is a dietary isoprenoid compound found in lemongrass and tea that has demonstrated promising in vivo activity in the azoxymethane-aberrant crypt foci model of colon cancer in Fischer 344 (F344) rats. The apparent mechanism of activity for FOH may involve regulation of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway with respect to protein isoprenylation, an essential process for the activation of oncogenic Ras. The pharmacokinetics and intestinal disposition of FOH, however, have not been fully described. Methods: The intestinal disposition of FOH was investigated in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) and F344 rats using the single-pass intestinal perfusion method with mesenteric vein sampling. A 20 uM solution of trans-, trans-FOH and trans-, trans-[3-14C]-FOH (activity of 0.2 uCi/mL) in buffer (pH = 6.5) was perfused through a 10 - 15 cm segment of the ileum over a period of 40 - 60 minutes. Outlet perfusate and mesenteric blood samples were collected every 5 minutes during the perfusion. Perfusate and plasma samples were analyzed by liquid scintillation counting for permeability determination and radiometric HPLC for the presence of parent and/or metabolites. Results: In both the SD and F344 strains, [14C]-FOH was the sole radiolabelled compound detected in the outlet perfusate. Permeability values of 3.11 x 10-5 and 4.19 x 10-5 cm/sec from perfusate were determined for SD and F344 rats, respectively, whereas influx of parent compound in blood was only 1.82 x 10-5 and 8.00 x 10-6 cm/sec (SD and F344 rats, respectively). In the mesenteric plasma of both strains, [14C]-FOH and [14C]-FOH-associated metabolites were detected. Furthermore, one [14C]-FOH-associated metabolite, of slightly higher polarity than [14C]-FOH, accounted for the majority of the radioactivity detected in the mesenteric plasma of both strains. Conclusions: Permeability values from perfusate indicates that FOH is a highly permeable compound, however, low influx of parent compound in blood and rapid conversion to polar derivates suggest that FOH is substantially metabolized in the enterocyte during transport from the lumen. This extensive intestinal first pass metabolism of FOH may have implications in the cancer prevention activity of this compound, particularly for cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Further delineation of the intestinal disposition and pharmacokinetics of FOH should provide a basis for designing optimal dosing strategies. Acknowledgement: Financial support from McKesson Bioservices through NCI subcontract N02-CN-95016
Embodied avatars: Genealogies of black feminist art and performance

What happens when bodies that have historically faced dehumanizing practices mobilize objecthood? How must performance studies adjust its frame when the avant-garde begins from the position of ante...
Rural Films in an Urban Festival: Community Media and Cultural Translation at the Yunnan Multi Culture Visual Festival

This chapter explores how Yunnan Multi Culture Visual Festival (Yunfest) created and sustained a space for cultural translation between rural and urban China. Yunfest’s Participatory Visual Education (PVE) program, which featured rural community media and documentaries as part of the festival over its ten year run, enabled rural filmmakers to show their work to an audience and participate in the festival experience. Thus, as this chapter argues, the festival became a space of cultural translation in a process that entailed a doubled movement: first, for urban film festival audiences to see rural China as presented in documentary films made by rural Chinese; and second, for rural Chinese filmmakers to be seen as filmmakers—in the urban, social context of the film festival itself.
Abstract 187: Differential Coronary Remodeling and Plaque Composition Patterns Manifest in Diabetic Versus Nondiabetic Coronary Artery Disease: Insights from Pre--Percutaneous Coronary Intervention in Vivo Compositional Analysis Using Intravascular Ultrasound Virtual Histology

Background: Prior reports note patients (pts) with diabetes mellitus (DM) and coronary artery disease (CAD) undergo negative vascular remodeling with vessel shrinkage and low-volume plaque in angio...
Neural and neuroendocrine predictors of pharmacological treatment response in adolescents with depression: A preliminary study.

Abstract Objective Typically, about 30 to 50% of adolescents with depression fail to respond to evidence-based treatments, including antidepressant medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Efforts for identifying predictors and moderators of treatment response are needed to begin to address critical questions relevant to personalized care in adolescent depression. In this pilot study, we aim to identify biological predictors of response to antidepressant treatment. Method We used a multiple levels of analysis approach to evaluate threat system functioning (fronto-limbic system and the associated hormonal cascade) to determine if key biological indexes at baseline could predict improvement in depressive symptoms after eight weeks of antidepressant treatment in adolescents with depression. Results Neural predictors of favorable treatment response included lower amygdala connectivity with left supplementary motor area and with right precentral gyrus, and greater amygdala connectivity with right central opercular cortex and Heschl's gyrus connectivity during rest. During an emotion task, neural predictors of treatment response were greater activation of the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex and left medial frontal gyrus. Additionally, different patterns of salivary cortisol obtained in the context of a modified Trier Social Stress Test were associated with those whose depressive symptoms remitted as compared to those whose symptoms persisted. Conclusions This approach shows significant promise for identifying predictors of treatment response in adolescents with depression. Future work is needed that incorporates sufficiently powered, randomized control trials to provide the basis by which both predictors and moderators of treatment response are identified. The hope is that this work will inform the development of methods that can guide clinician decision-making in assigning beneficial treatments for adolescents who are suffering from depression.
ACTR-15. THERAPEUTIC KETOGENIC DIET (KD) WITH RADIATION AND CHEMOTHERAPY FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED GLIOBLASTOMA – PRELIMINARY RESULTS FROM NCT02046187

INTRODUCTION The KD shows promise as a treatment for glioblastoma (GB). Pre-clinical studies show potentitation of radiation and chemotherapy, enhanced anti-tumor immune-reactivity and a reduction in peri-tumoral edema, angiogenesis and hypoxia. It appears safe and tolerable, based on its use in the treatment of epilepsy and increasingly, by athletes/bodybuilders.
Evaluation of Quantra Hologic Volumetric Computerized Breast Density Software in Comparison With Manual Interpretation in a Diverse Population.

Objective:Increased mammographic breast density is a well-established risk factor for breast cancer development, regardless of age or ethnic background. The current gold standard for categorizing b...
Another Round of “Clue” to Uncover the Mystery of Complex Traits

A plethora of genetic association analyses have identified several genetic risk loci. Technological and statistical advancements have now led to the identification of not only common genetic variants, but also low-frequency variants, structural variants, and environmental factors, as well as multi-omics variations that affect the phenotypic variance of complex traits in a population, thus referred to as complex trait architecture. The concept of heritability, or the proportion of phenotypic variance due to genetic inheritance, has been studied for several decades, but its application is mainly in addressing the narrow sense heritability (or additive genetic component) from Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS). In this commentary, we reflect on our perspective on the complexity of understanding heritability for human traits in comparison to model organisms, highlighting another round of clues beyond GWAS and an alternative approach, investigating these clues comprehensively to help in elucidating the genetic architecture of complex traits.
Attractor Stability in Unemployment and Inflation Rates

Several discrepancies have surfaced recently regarding the structure of unemployment and inflation rates. These discrepancies can be translated into dubious national policies if they are left unchecked. The research reported here defines the controversial points as hypotheses in nonlinear dynamics. Statistical tests for chaos, fixed-point attractors, and bifurcation structures indicated the presence of two asymptotic points in unemployment rates in the US, one of which was a chaotic attractor and the other an unstable point resulting from a bifurcation structure. Similar tests indicated the presence of chaotic attractors for inflation rates with nonzero epicenters.
Endurance under stress and cardioprotective functions by cardiac fibroblasts

In the interstitium, the majority of cells are fibroblasts (1,2). Apoptosis or programmed cell death is an essential stage of cell cycle in cardiac morphogenesis during development and of central importance in maintaining homeostasis by eliminating the damaged and dysfunctional fibroblasts which will be replaced by new generation of cells. The mechanisms of apoptosis in cardiac fibroblasts are vastly unknown and in depth examination of various intracellular pathways responsible for apoptosis in response to environmental stress are yet to be performed. Relatively more is known on signals controlling apoptosis in cardiac myocytes than in cardiac fibroblasts. This issue is discussed in detail in separate chapter. Based on as yet limited information on both systems it is evident that the intracellular mechanisms and extracellular inducers of apoptosis in cardiac fibroblasts are not similar to those in post-mitotic cardiac myocytes. It is also evident that under environmental stress, such as hypoxia, which would cause apoptosis and cell death in cardiac myocytes, cardiac fibroblasts survive if not indefinitely, at least longer. This resilience lends support to the notion that cardiac fibroblasts may indeed have a mission to protect other cardiac cells or to compensate for their loss. In the past decade a growing body of evidence demonstrating various functions of cardiac fibroblasts has emerged and their role in the regulation of biological responses of other cardiac cells during development, normal growth, aging, ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure after myocardial infarction has been recognized.
Excess risk of Clostridium difficile enterocolitis in ovarian cancer is related to exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics

Purpose The purpose of the study was to determine if a diagnosis of ovarian cancer is independently associated with an increased risk of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
295. Outcomes of Orthopedic Hardware-Related Osteomyelitis Treated Via a County Hospital Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) Program

Background Orthopedic hardware-related osteomyelitis (OHRO) is associated with high morbidity and cost from prolonged courses of antibiotics and additional surgery. There is limited published data describing OPAT for the treatment of OHRO.
Learning Autonomous Marine Behaviors in MOOS-IvP

Manually authoring and testing behaviors for autonomous marine vehicles can become tedious and impractical when faced with complex or rapidly changing adversarial situations. We address this problem by learning autonomous behaviors using deep reinforcement learning. We apply deep reinforcement learning, an approach that learns behaviors without relying on explicit vehicle models, to a game of capture the flag with multiple competing vehicles. We integrated deep reinforcement learning with MOOS-IvP, a software suite for marine robotics communication, control, and simulation, that allows the development and execution of behaviors for both underwater and surface vehicles. To our knowledge, this is the first application of reinforcement learning to this platform. We extended MOOS-IvP to create and train a neural net to learn autonomous behaviors for reaching the opponent’s flag while avoiding an adversary exhibiting a defense behavior in simulation.
Sexual minority disparities in opioid misuse, perceived heroin risk and heroin access among a national sample of US adults

Abstract Background Lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults have elevated use of many substances compared to heterosexual adults, yet LGB disparities in specific types of opioid misuse and perceived opioid risk have not been fully characterized. Methods Data on 126,463 adults (including 8241 LGB adults) were from the 2015–2017 National Survey of Drug Use and Health. Logistic regression was used to estimate lesbian/gay (L/G) and bisexual disparities (relative to same-gender heterosexuals) for: lifetime prescription pain reliever misuse, heroin use and injection heroin use; past-year opioid misuse and opioid use disorder (OUD); and perceived risk of and access to heroin. Results All LGB subgroups had elevated lifetime pain reliever misuse rates relative to same-gender heterosexuals. Lifetime heroin use was elevated among LGB women and bisexual men; bisexual women had 4 times the odds of injection heroin use. LGB women and gay men had 1.4–2.4 times the odds of past-year opioid misuse; bisexual women had 2.5 times the odds of OUD. LGB women reported both lower perceived risk of trying heroin and greater perceived heroin access. Conclusions Lifetime and past-year opioid misuse is elevated among LGB adults. Bisexual women are particularly at-risk, uniquely exhibiting disparities on high-risk injection use and OUD. Lower perceived risk of and greater access to heroin among LGB women may play a role in the onset or continuation of opioid misuse. Opioid misuse disparities among LGB adults are of substantial concern given the resultant elevated risk for fatal and non-fatal opioid overdose.
An institutional experience evaluating hTERT immunostaining in 100 consecutive ThinPrep urine specimens.

Introduction Studies have shown that expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) in mature urothelial cells indicates an increased risk of urothelial carcinoma. We evaluated the utility of immunocytochemistry with a commercially available anti-hTERT antibody (SCD-A7) in 100 consecutive urine cytology specimens using ThinPrep processing. Materials and methods ThinPrep slides prepared from 100 consecutive urine specimens were stained using anti-hTERT antibody (SCD-A7) after staining optimization had been successfully completed. Patient demographics, cytology diagnoses, histologic follow-up data, and anti-hTERT staining results were recorded. Results The cytology diagnoses included 7 cases of high-grade urothelial carcinoma (HGUC), 2 cases suspicious for HGUC (SHGUC), 24 cases of atypical urothelial cells (AUCs), and 67 cases negative for HGUC (NHGUC). Of 92 samples, 68 (74%) were positive and 24 (26%) were negative for anti-hTERT staining. Although 31 of 32 specimens (97%) with a diagnosis of AUCs and greater showed positive staining, 37 of 60 NHGUC cases (62%) were also positive for anti-hTERT. Although the HGUC and suspicious for HGUC cases were more likely to show strong staining (6 of 9; 67%), 7 AUC (32%) and 8 NHGUC (22%) cases also demonstrated strong staining. Eight samples (8%) were unsatisfactory for interpretation. Anti-hTERT staining of nonurothelial cells was seen in 77 of 92 samples (84%). Conclusions Interpretation of anti-hTERT immunocytochemical staining of ThinPrep material is challenging owing to obscuring of nonurothelial cell staining and difficulty discerning individual urothelial cell cytomorphology when the cells are stained. The significance of the large number of anti–hTERT-positive but cytology-negative cases in our study is uncertain.
Field Distance Effects of Fipronil and Chlorfenapyr as Soil Termiticides Against the Desert Subterranean Termite, Heterotermes aureus (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae)

A desirable trait of termiticides is that they suppress termite activity at a distance from the site of application. Fipronil and chlorfenapyr are two non-repellent termiticides that display delayed toxicity and are therefore good candidates for yielding distance effects. We assessed their effects as soil-applied termiticides for the management of the desert subterranean termite, Heterotermes aureus (Snyder), under field conditions in southern Arizona. Our approach involved recording termite activity within field experimental grids consisting of termite monitoring stations at selected distances from a termiticide application perimeter. Fipronil-treated plots experienced large and significant reductions in termite presence and abundance relative to controls in stations immediately adjacent to treated soil. However, there was no evidence of reductions in termite activity in stations further away from the soil treatment. In contrast, termite abundance and presence in stations decreased relatively to controls after chlorfenapyr application in whole experimental grids and in several grid sections spatially separated from treated soil. These reductions were especially evident in the five central stations surrounded by the treatment perimeter and in the furthest set of stations. The spatial pattern of changes in chlorfenapyr plots was consistent with termiticide transfer as a mechanism behind distance effects. The impact of fipronil and chlorfenapyr on termite populations in our study suggests that they can both be useful for the management of H. aureus, although each might be suited for different management goals. Our results also suggest that perimeter treatments alone are not sufficient to accomplish full control of large H. aureus infestations.
The infection process of Armillaria mellea and Armillaria solidipes

Abstract Armillaria mellea and A. solidipes are two of the primary causal agents of Armillaria root rot (ARR) in over 500 woody hosts. Although extensive research on this disease has been conducted over the past few decades, finding controls for ARR has been challenging. This is largely due to the lack of knowledge of the fungal infection and host response processes. It is important to understand the infection process in order to develop new strategies to control the disease. In this review, the initial steps of the infection process of A. mellea and A. solidipes are discussed, with focus on fungal attachment and penetration. A mucilaginous substance produced at the rhizomorph tip is thought to aid attachment of the pathogen to host. Toxins and cell wall degrading enzymes produced by the fungus together with mechanical pressure generated by the rhizomorph is speculated to support fungal penetration. However, a detailed description of the Armillaria spp. infection process is lacking in the literature, and this illustrates the need for further studies.
An Interpreted Atlas of Biosynthetic Gene Clusters from 1000 Fungal Genomes

Abstract Fungi are prolific producers of natural products, compounds which have had a large societal impact as pharmaceuticals, mycotoxins, and agrochemicals. Despite the availability of over 1000 fungal genomes and several decades of compound discovery efforts from fungi, the biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoded by these genomes and the associated chemical space have yet to be analyzed systematically. Here we provide detailed annotation and analyses of fungal biosynthetic and chemical space to enable genome mining and discovery of fungal natural products. Using 1037 genomes from species across the fungal kingdom (e.g., Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, and non-Dikarya taxa), 36,399 predicted BGCs were organized into a network of 12,067 gene cluster families (GCFs). Anchoring these GCFs with reference BGCs enabled automated annotation of 2,026 BGCs with predicted metabolite scaffolds. We performed parallel analyses of the chemical repertoire of Fungi, organizing 15,213 fungal compounds into 2,945 molecular families (MFs). The taxonomic landscape of fungal GCFs is largely species-specific, though select families such as the equisetin GCF are present across vast phylogenetic distances with parallel diversifications in the GCF and MF. We compare these fungal datasets with a set of 5,453 bacterial genomes and their BGCs and 9,382 bacterial compounds, revealing dramatic differences between bacterial and fungal biosynthetic logic and chemical space. These genomics and cheminformatics analyses reveal the large extent to which fungal and bacterial sources represent distinct compound reservoirs. With a >10-fold increase in the number of interpreted strains and annotated BGCs, this work better regularizes the biosynthetic potential of fungi for rational compound discovery. Significance Statement Fungi represent an underexploited resource for new compounds with applications in the pharmaceutical and agriscience industries. Despite the availability of >1000 fungal genomes, our knowledge of the biosynthetic space encoded by these genomes is limited and ad hoc. We present results from systematically organizing the biosynthetic content of 1037 fungal genomes, providing a resource for data-driven genome mining and large-scale comparison of the genetic and molecular repertoires produced in fungi and compare to those present in bacteria.
Esophageal Rupture Associated With COVID-19: A Novel Case Report

Emergency departments (EDs) are the primary driver for hospital admissions in the United States (US), and that trend is likely to continue through the ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic. As the US continues to experience rampant community spread, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) will likely present in increasingly variable ways to the EDs. We present a case of Mallory-Weiss tear and esophageal perforation, which was likely caused by COVID-19 pneumonia. This case is notably the first of its kind that we have seen reported in the COVID-19-related literature. Clinicians should be vigilant about the various complications of COVID-19 and continue to exercise caution when seeing and treating these patients.
Potential Drug Interactions Between Cannabinoids and Its Derivatives and Oral Anticoagulants

The increase use of cannabidiol containing products poses potential risks with high-alert medications such as oral anticoagulants. To review the use of cannabidiol and its’ derivatives with oral an...
Effect of the timing of pupal irradiation on the quality and sterility of oriental fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) for use in Sterile Insect Technique

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a target-specific, biologically based method used to control pestiferous tephritids entailing the release of mass-reared, sterilized males of the target species to achieve sterile male x wild female matings. As documented for several tephritid species, sterilizing irradiation may have adverse effects on various biological parameters, including life span, flight ability, and mating competitiveness. To minimize these impacts and ensure sterility, released flies must be irradiated at a precise dose at a specific and uniform age. The objective of the present study was to determine the impact of pupal age at the time of irradiation on flight ability, male survival, fertility, and mating competitiveness for the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) irradiated at 100 Gy. We concluded that flies irradiated as pupae 4 days before emergence were significantly compromised with respect to flight ability and male survival when compared to flies irradiated 1 or 2 days before emergence. Additionally, we determined that crosses between males irradiated 1 day before emergence with non-irradiated females yielded significantly more pupae than the same cross with males irradiated at 2, 3, and 4 days before emergence. Although rare, the occurrence of pupae and emerged adults suggested low levels of fertility for flies irradiated as pupae 1 day before emergence, but complete sterility at 2, 3, and 4 days before emergence. These findings suggest that SIT programs can potentially irradiate pupae at 2 or 3 days before emergence without compromising the quality of the released flies, which would permit the distribution of flies over greater distances.
Private Solidarity

It’s natural to think of acts of solidarity as being public acts that aim at good outcomes, particularly at social change. I argue that not all acts of solidarity fit this mold - acts of what I call ‘private solidarity’ are not public and do not aim at producing social change. After describing paradigmatic cases of private solidarity, I defend an account of why such acts are themselves morally virtuous and what role they can have in moral development.
Cortico-Subcortical Interactions in Overlapping Communities of Edge Functional Connectivity

Both cortical and subcortical regions can be functionally organized into networks. Regions of the basal ganglia are extensively interconnected with the cortex via reciprocal connections that relay and modulate cortical function. Here we employ an edge-centric approach, which computes co-fluctuations among region pairs in a network to investigate the role and interaction of subcortical regions with cortical systems. By clustering edges into communities, we show that cortical systems and subcortical regions couple via multiple edge communities, with hippocampus and amygdala having a distinct pattern from striatum and thalamus. We show that the edge community structure of cortical networks is highly similar to one obtained from cortical nodes when the subcortex is present in the network. Additionally, we show that the edge community profile of both cortical and subcortical nodes can be estimates solely from cortico-subcortical interactions. Finally, we used a motif analysis focusing on edge community triads where a subcortical region coupled to two cortical regions and found that two community triads where one community couples the subcortex to the cortex were overrepresented. In summary, our results show organized coupling of the subcortex to the cortex that may play a role in cortical organization of primary sensorimotor/attention and heteromodal systems and puts forth the motif analysis of edge community triads as a promising method for investigation of communication patterns in networks.
Interstitial laser anterior capsulotomy for obsessive-compulsive disorder: lesion size and tractography correlate with outcome.

Background Anterior capsulotomy is a well-established treatment for refractory obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) allows creation of large, sharply demarcated lesions with the safeguard of real-time imaging. Objective To characterise the outcomes of laser anterior capsulotomy, including radiographical predictors of improvement. Methods Patients with severe OCD refractory to pharmacotherapy and cognitive–behavioural therapy underwent bilateral anterior capsulotomy via LITT. The primary outcome was per cent reduction in Yale-Brown Obsessive–Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score over time. Lesion size was measured on postablation MRI. Disconnection of the anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC) was assessed via individual and normative tractography. Results Eighteen patients underwent laser anterior capsulotomy. Median follow-up was 6 months (range 3–51 months). Time occupied by obsessions improved immediately (median Y-BOCS item 1 score 4–1, p=0.002). Mean (±SD) decrease in Y-BOCS score at last follow-up was 46%±32% (16±11 points, p Conclusions Laser anterior capsulotomy resulted in immediate, marked improvement in OCD symptom severity. Larger lesions permit greater disconnection of prefrontal–subcortical pathways involved in OCD. The importance of greater disconnection is presumably related to variation in ALIC structure and the complex role of the PFC in OCD.
Composition dependence of dislocation-mediated strain relaxation in InGaAs/GaAs heteroepitaxy

Recent work has confirmed the accuracy of real-time measurements of the stress-thickness product collected using optical monitoring of the wafer curvature during MBE growth. These experiments yield plots of the strain relieved vs. film thickness, thus providing direct comparison with kinetic models of dislocation-mediated relaxation. The present contribution documents the experimental relaxation profile and its change with growth temperature in the range of approximately 400-500/spl deg/C for two values of In composition, x /spl sim/ 0.15 and x /spl sim/ 0.30.
Transformation of Streptococcus lactis Protoplasts by Plasmid DNA.

Abstract Polyethylene glycol-treated protoplasts prepared from Streptococcus lactis LM3302, a lactose-negative (Lac−) derivative of S. lactis ML3, were transformed to lactose-fermenting ability by a transductionally shortened plasmid (pLM2103) coding for lactose utilization.
IFN-α Therapy Is Effective in Suppressing the Clinical Experimental Myasthenia Gravis

To study the therapeutic efficacy of IFN-alpha after the onset of clinical signs of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG), we treated mice with clinical EAMG with recombinant human IFN-alpha or mouse IFN-alpha. In the first experiment, 7 of 16 (44%) mice had a complete clinical remission in the recombinant human IFN-alpha-treated group, in contrast to none in the placebo group (0/14) (p = 0.006). There was a higher incidence of death and severe disease in the placebo group (7/14) relative to the IFN-alpha group (4/16). In the second experiment, 6 of 18 (33%) mice in the mouse IFN-alpha-treated group had a complete clinical remission, while none of 17 (0%) mice in the placebo-treated group had remission (p = 0.011). Again, more mice died or worsened in the placebo group (11/17) compared with the IFN-alpha group (7/18). IFN-alpha treatment significantly reduced the anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) Ab levels, especially the IgG1 and IgG2b isotypes, and the amount of anti-AChR Abs bound to muscle AChR. IFN-alpha treatment also lowered CD4 cells in the lymph nodes and spleen, and suppressed the in vitro lymphocyte proliferative response to AChR and its dominant peptide in a dose-dependent manner.
On-line motion planning for mobile robots in nonstationary environments

The problem of real-time motion planning of a mobile robot in an environment containing moving obstacles is examined. The considered dynamic model, constraints, and assumptions are presented. Objects, including the robot, are modeled as convex polyhedra. Collision avoidance is guaranteed if the minimum distance between the robot and the objects is nonzero. A nominal trajectory is assumed to be known from offline planning. The main idea is to change the velocity along the nominal trajectory so that collisions are avoided. Furthermore, consistency with the nominal plan is desirable. An optimization problem is stated, and a close-to-optimal solution is derived. Simulation results verify the value of the proposed strategy. >
Effects of Trace Mineral Supplementation on Cow-Calf Performance, Reproduction, and Immune Function

Abstract Three-hundred Angus cows were used in a randomized design to evaluate trace mineral supplementation over a 209-d trial on cow and calf performance, liver trace mineral content, and immune function. Treatments included the following supplemental trace minerals: 1) inorganic trace minerals—low level; 2) inorganic trace minerals—high level; and 3) organic trace minerals—high level. Cows fed the high level of inorganic trace minerals lost more weight (P
The effect of the mouse X-linked Testicular feminization mutation on the hypothalamus-pituitary axis. I. Paradoxical effect of testosterone upon pituitary gonadotrophs.

Testosterone exercises a negative feedback upon pituitary gonadotrophs, paiticularly presumptive LH producers, of both the normal male and normal female mouse. In sharp contrast, the effect of testosterone upon the corresponding cells of Tfm/Y♂ can best be described as a positive feedback. These cells of Tfm/Y♀ atrophy after castration and show remarkable hypertrophy in response to continuous administration of testosterone.