cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms of Retinoid Inhibition of Cell Proliferation in Neuroblastoma

Cyclin/cdk kinases stimulate progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle while members of the CIP/KIP gene family function to inhibit cdk kinase activity and cell cycle progression. To study the mechanism of retinoid induced decrease in NB cell growth, the expression and activity of cyclin/cdk kinases, and their inhibitors was evaluated in KCNR NB cells arrested in G1 by treated with all trans-retinoic acid (RA). After 2 days in 5uM RA and coincident with the arrest of cells in G1, there is a 10 and 5-fold decrease in CDK2 and CDK4 kinase activity, respectively. The decrease in kinase activity occurs despite the fact that the protein levels of the components of the cyclin- cdk kinases are unchanged during this time. RA stimulates a 5-fold increase in p27KIP steady-state levels and a comparable increase in p27KIP complexed to cdk2 and cdk4 compared to untreated cells. The levels of other CIP/KIP genes are unchanged. RA does not stimulate an increase in p27KIPmRNA suggesting an increase in the stability of p27KIP or other post-translational modifications. The mechanism by which RA increases p27KIP may be by decreasing N-myc levels. We find that over-expression of N- myc leads to decreases in p27KIP and increases in cyclin/cdk kinases activity and an increase in cells in G1. Increases in p27KIP are important in inhibiting the growth of NB, since infection of NB with adenoviruses containing p27KIP arrested cells in G1 and decreased cyclin/cdk kinase activity. These data suggest a model in which the RA induced arrest of NB cells is mediated by a decrease in N-myc levels leading to a increase in p27 that binds and inhibits cyclin/cdk kinase activity causing an arrest of cells in G1.
Refashioning and Refusing the Oppressive Self

Resistance and self-fashioning, in many interations, seem focused upone the strategies available to those in subordinated positions and situations for challenging power dynamics that contingently and seemingly perpetually keep them down. Much work emerging out of feminist politics, queer theory, and critical race studies seeks designed to stick it to the man, so-to-speak, as it certainly should. While such practices and theorizations are important for a politics of critique, they may draw attention away from what might be even more vtal theorizations about how to get those within, upon, and along dominant positionalities to engage techniques and practices that will reduce their own hold and/or enjoyment of excessive and oppressive power. One such strategy involves a thoroughgoing refusal of the white self, or the straight self, or theman self, via a series of silences. Silences intended to refuse one's own privileges, along with silences that yield to those in positions of under-privilege, act as a means of responsibly attending political inequalities.
RICO Enterprises: The Mob and Fraud

The Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Practice Act (RICO), passed in 1970, is a sprawling and complex statute designed to penetrate organizations and impose liability on those who orchestrate criminal acts but insulate themselves with layers of underlings and bureaucracy. RICO is a crime and also provides a civil cause of action for those whose business or property has been damaged by RICO conduct. For a variety of reasons, criminal RICO has fallen into disfavor. Civil RICO, which is an optimal tool to pursue fraud, has not yet reached its potential. This article explores this phenomenon and provides a roadmap for civil RICO’s appropriate use in fraud cases. This article makes four points. First, that RICO's “enterprise” requirement fits the typical white collar case well. RICO focuses on those who use an "enterprise" to commit crimes. White collar offenders almost always use an enterprise, as defined by RICO, to do their deeds; they operate through collective endeavors and use the resources of an existing organization. Second, because of globalization and the Internet, white collar crime is on a grander scale, wreaks greater havoc on economic stability, is easier to commit, and easier to conceal, than ever before. Effective tools are needed to combat the threats posed by white collar crime. Used properly, RICO can be a highly effective tool. Third, RICO, especially civil RICO, historically has not been used effectively or appropriately to pursue against fraud. Often it is over utilized which has caused courts and the business community to resent RICO. At the same time, RICO has not been used as much as it could be against sophisticated, wide-ranging frauds. RICO should be deployed more often by the private bar and by the government to target sweeping white collar schemes. One reason for RICO's inappropriate use, both its overuse and underuse, is its complexity. RICO's approach to white collar wrongdoing is novel and effective but its terms are abstract and the courts have made a confusing mess of RICO as they have strived to sort out its elements. Lastly, this article discusses the most confusing aspect of RICO: its enterprise element. Case law on RICO enterprises is jumbled, inconsistent and often, wrong. This article sorts through this tangled web, analyzing existing case law and suggesting which makes sense, and which does not. This article concludes with concrete suggestions for proper analysis of RICO enterprise issues. These suggestions build on established principles of corporate law, and provide a roadmap for straightforward application of RICO even in the most complex situations. Such clarity will help RICO serve as a robust tool against white collar crime.
Solar hydrogen production from seawater vapor electrolysis

Solar photovoltaic utilities require large land areas to produce power equivalent to a conventional fossil fuel utility, and also must be coupled to cost-effective energy storage to overcome the intermittency of sunlight and provide reliable, continuous energy generation. To target both of these disadvantages, a method was demonstrated to produce hydrogen fuel from solar energy by splitting seawater vapor from ambient humidity at near-surface ocean conditions. Using a proton exchange membrane electrolyzer with seawater-humidified air at 80% relative humidity at the anode and dry N2 at the cathode, sufficient electrolysis current density was maintained to operate near the maximum energy-conversion point when driven by a triple-junction amorphous Si solar cell of equivalent area. Fluctuations in atmospheric water content were demonstrated to have minimal effect on the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency, remaining ∼6% with relative humidity ≥30%. Direct solar-driven H2 production from seawater vapor was maintained at >4.5 mA cm−2 for >90 hours. The calculated solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency before and after 50 h of operation changed from 6.0% to 6.3% using an ambient seawater humidity feedstock as compared to a drop from 6.6% to 0.5% using liquid seawater feedstock.
Effects of different levels of supplementation of a 50:50 mixture of molasses:crude glycerol on performance, Bermuda grass hay intake, and nutrient digestibility of beef cattle

Two experiments were performed to evaluate the effects of different levels of supplementation with a 50:50 (as-fed) mixture of molasses:crude glycerol on animal performance, total tract digestibility of nutrients, and ruminal in situ degradability of nutrients in beef heifers and steers consuming Tifton 85 Bermuda grass (Cynodon spp.) hay. For Exp. 1, 24 Angus crossbred heifers (380 ± 31 kg BW) were used in a generalized randomized block design. For Exp. 2, 8 ruminally cannulated Angus crossbred steers (323 ± 42 kg BW) were used in a 4 × 4 duplicated Latin square design. For both experiments, animals were housed in individual pens at the University of Florida Feed Efficiency Facility, had ad libitum access to Tifton 85 Bermuda grass hay, and were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: 1) CTRL, no supplementation; 2) SUP1, 0.45 kg/d (as fed) of 50:50 mixture; 3) SUP3, 1.36 kg/d (as fed) of 50:50 mixture; and 4) SUP5, 2.27 kg/d (as fed) of a 50:50 mixture. Individual feed intake was recorded. Total DMI increased linearly (P = 0.005) as the level of supplementation increased. Hay intake ranged from 1.36 (CTRL) to 1.23% (SUP5) of BW, and was not affected (P ≥ 0.10) by liquid supplementation. Final BW was not affected by liquid supplementation ( ≥ 0.10). There was a linear increase (P = 0.027) in ADG as the liquid supplementation amounts increased. Liquid supplementation did not affect G:F (P ≥ 0.10). Apparent total tract digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, and ADF increased linearly (P < 0.001), while CP total tract digestibility decreased linearly (P = 0.002) as the level of supplementation increased. Ruminal pH was decreased linearly (P = 0.012) as the level of supplementation increased. No effect (P ≥ 0.10) of liquid supplementation was detected on lag time for NDF and ADF content of bermudagrass hay; however, rate of degradation (Kd) of NDF tended (P = 0.076) to be affected cubically by liquid supplementation. In addition, liquid supplementation linearly decreased (P < 0.05) ED of OM, CP, NDF, and ADF. In conclusion, supplementing up to 2.27 kg/d of a 50:50 mixture of molasses:crude glycerol may stimulate microbial growth and fermentative activity, thereby increasing nutrient digestibility. Increased fiber digestion, along with energy supplementation, led to increased ADG in heifers consuming Bermuda grass hay.
Disseminated Toxoplasmosis and Cytomegalovirus Infection Complicating Hodgkin’s Disease

This is a report of a case of disseminated toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus infection in a 30-year-old man who had been treated for Hodgkin's disease. The identity of the parasite was confirmed by electron microscopic examination of tissue from the lungs which had been kept in 10% formalin for 10 months. It is believed that electron microscopic examination of formalin-fixed autopsy specimens may be of valuable assistance in identification of the parasite, especially in difficult cases.
Exit, Choice and Employee Loyalty

This essay argues that we should understand the employee duty of loyalty as a contractual duty, not a fiduciary duty that attaches by virtue of employee status. The chapter considers several risks associated with a contract paradigm but concludes that those risks are less acute than they might at first appear. It then examines several possible contractual conceptions of the duty of loyalty, including those in which its obligations are imputed by public policy or implied as elements of party agreement.Understanding the duty of loyalty as an instance of the general duty to perform in good faith makes the best sense of a historically suspect obligation. This understanding not only redeems the duty of loyalty as a reasonable obligation of employees but also generates guidance on how it can be construed in the most normatively satisfactory way. In particular, understanding the duty of loyalty as an instance of the duty of good faith suggests that its scope should hinge on other terms of an employment contract such as the scope of employer discretion and the terms of employee exit.
Oxygen tension gradients and heterogeneity in venous microcirculation: a phosphorescence quenching study

Localized measurements of intravascular oxygen tension (PO2) at multiple locations in the microvascular network of the rat spinotrapezius muscle were used to study the spatial distribution of PO2 i...
Role of angiography in cervicothoracic trauma.

The role of angiography in cervicothoracic trauma is controversial. Since 1967 the policy at San Francisco General Hospital has been to use liberal indications for angiography in hemodynamically stable patients with either penetrating or blunt cervicothoracic trauma. The 304 patients in Group I had emergency angiographic evaluation: 102 had penetrating cervical wounds; 202 had thoracic injuries—71 penetrating and 131 blunt trauma. During the same time period, 72 patients (Group II) had cervical or thoracic vascular injuries and underwent operative treatment without preoperative angiography. Sixty-six patients in Group I had significant vascular injury. Thirty patients with penetrating cervical injury had 38 vascular lesions. Thirty-six patients with gunshot or blunt chest trauma had 43 vascular lesions. Group II patients had two main indications for operation: exanguinating hemorrhage (45 patients) or suspected vascular injury, usually associated with hemorrhage (27 patients). Angiographic results were useful whether abnormal or normal. In cases with abnormal findings operative treatment was specific and improper incisions were avoided. In cases with normal angiographic results, clarification of the vascular status avoided unnecessary operations and permitted concentration of therapeutic effort upon the main clinical problems of the patients.
Nigeria and “Illusory Hegemony” in Foreign and Security Policymaking: Pax-Nigeriana and the Challenges of Boko Haram

Western observers of African foreign and security policy formation are often perplexed by African regimes’ reactions to insurgencies: the actions of the latter are often read to be duplicitous and self-damaging—and thus irrational—by the former. This article suggests that one cause for this perception rests in the often incomplete appreciation for certain Global South states’ self-identities as “regional hegemons,” which compels them to make foreign and security policy decisions based on maintaining the semblance of power projection capabilities to those in their intended spheres of influence. Particularly, this article suggests that when Global South states possess the realist attributes of a hegemon (military power, economic strength, and a large population) but lack the liberal attributes of a hegemon (the legitimacy for rightful rule), they often undertake a process here termed “illusory hegemony” or foreign and security policy prevarication. Yet, this pursuit of illusory hegemony frequently has the opposite unintended effect of undermining, rather than improving, the perception of rightful rule. This article combines an analysis of current events with International Relations theory and foreign policymaking analysis to present a case study on how Nigeria’s pursuit of its grand strategy of Pax-Nigeriana is being retarded by Boko Haram and the Chibok kidnappings, specifically as a result of Nigeria’s projection of “illusory hegemony.”
Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation and Brassica Seed Meal Amendment Alter Soil Microbiology and System Resistance

Brassica seed meal amendments and anaerobic soil disinfestation (ASD) control a spectrum of soil-borne plant pathogens via a diversity of mechanisms. Transformations in microbial community structur...
Neurodevelopmental Genomic Strategies in the Study of the Psychosis Spectrum

Consistent with the goals of precision medicine to redefine illness mechanistically through elucidating the pathophysiology from gene action to symptoms, large-scale genomic studies have been linking genomic variation to continuous quantitative phenotypes. Such an approach can lead to early detection of pathological processes enabling early intervention. This paradigm shift is now applied in psychiatry with an increased focus in schizophrenia research on early identification of psychosis as the process emerges. Convergent approaches integrate phenotypic features with neurocognitive and neuroimaging measures in large-scale studies. Most studies have examined help-seeking youths.
Intralobar Pulmonary Sequestration With Aneurysmal Feeding Vessel: Use of Hybrid Surgical Management

We describe the endovascular exclusion and surgical resection of an intralobar pulmonary sequestration supplied by an aneurysmal feeding vessel from the aorta. Pulmonary sequestration is a rare congenital anomaly, and the presence of an aneurysmal feeding vessel is even rarer. The possibility of life-threatening hemorrhage resulting from failure to control these aberrant vessels has led many to pursue preoperative embolization. The anatomy in the patient described here was not deemed suitable for embolization, and we thus elected to pursue a novel approach. This case also demonstrates the diagnostic utility of magnetic resonance imaging for delineating the vasculature of pulmonary sequestrations when contrast-enhanced computed tomography is contraindicated.
Multicentric Castleman Disease

Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is a rare, systemic lymphoproliferative disorder associated with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8) infection. Patients present with lymphadenopathy and systemic symptoms including fever, night sweats, and weight loss. The disease commonly involves peripheral and abdominal lymph nodes as well as the spleen and liver. Laboratory studies often demonstrate elevation in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, serum lactate dehydrogenase, and IL-6. Cytopenias, especially anemia and thrombocytopenia, may be present also. Most patients with MCD patients have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, but a subset of patients have POEMS syndrome (peripheral neuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal M protein, skin lesions) and rare patients have neither HIV infection nor POEMS syndrome.
The covalent interaction between dihydrogen and gold: A rotational spectroscopic study of H2–AuCl

The pure rotational transitions of H2–AuCl have been measured using a pulsed-jet cavity Fourier transform microwave spectrometer equipped with a laser ablation source. The structure was found to be T-shaped, with the H–H bond interacting with the gold atom. Both 35Cl and 37Cl isotopologues have been measured for both ortho and para states of H2. Rotational constants, quartic centrifugal distortion constants, and nuclear quadrupole coupling constants for gold and chlorine have been determined. The use of the nuclear spin-nuclear spin interaction terms Daa, Dbb, and Dcc for H2 were required to fit the ortho state of hydrogen, as well as a nuclear-spin rotation constant Caa. The values of the nuclear quadrupole coupling constant of gold are χaa=−817.9929(35) MHz, χbb=504.0(27) MHz, and χcc=314.0(27). This is large compared to the eQq of AuCl, 9.63 312(13) MHz, which indicates a strong, covalent interaction between gold and dihydrogen.
How Effective Is the Tent Screw Pole Technique Compared to Other Forms of Horizontal Ridge Augmentation

Purpose The tent screw pole technique is one of the methods available for practitioners to perform horizontal ridge augmentation to facilitate dental implant placement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the tent screw pole technique for horizontal ridge augmentation and to compare the results with those of the tunnel technique and open ridge augmentation. Patients and Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 35 patients underwent horizontal ridge augmentation with the tent screw pole technique, a 1:1 ratio of mineralized freeze-dried bone allograft and particulate bovine hydroxyapatite, and a resorbable collagen membrane. The incidence of early wound dehiscence and membrane exposure, the number of courses of antibiotics and postoperative visits required for their management, and the number of sites that subsequently had successful implant placement were recorded. These parameters were compared with those in 21 patients who had undergone horizontal ridge augmentation by the tunnel technique and 31 patients who had been treated using an open procedure and a resorbable polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane in the authors' previous study (J Oral Maxillofac Surg 74:1752, 2016). Results Implant placement rate was similar for all 3 methods (71 to 97%). However, there were significant differences among the 3 surgical techniques for membrane exposure and wound dehiscence ( P = .0033), graft loss ( P = .0256), courses of antibiotics ( P = .0017), and postoperative visits ( P = .0043). The PTFE method consistently had the highest rate of complications, whereas the tent screw and tunnel techniques were comparable. Conclusions All 3 techniques allowed a high rate of implant placement; however, the PTFE technique was consistently associated with increased postoperative complications compared with the other 2 methods. The tent screw technique might be more favorable than the tunnel technique in cases in which the bony deficiency is flat.
Ebola could be eradicated through voluntary vaccination

Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe infection with an extremely high fatality rate spread through direct contact with body fluids. A promising Ebola vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV) may soon become universally available. We constructed a game-theoretic model of Ebola incorporating individual decisions to vaccinate. We found that if a population adopts selfishly optimal vaccination strategies, then the population vaccination coverage falls negligibly short of the herd immunity level. We concluded that eradication of Ebola is feasible if voluntary vaccination programmes are coupled with focused public education efforts. We conducted uncertainty and sensitivity analysis to demonstrate that our findings do not depend on the choice of the epidemiological model parameters.
Associations between in-the-moment behavior of children, family literacy program use, and Latina mother-child book reading

This study examined how in-the-moment behaviour of children and family literacy programme use are associated with the affective quality of mother–child interactions and the content of maternal utte...
Giving and Getting: Altruism and Exchange in Transplantation

In the study of organ and tissue transplantation, the focus tends to be on donation. But where there is “giving,” there is also “getting:” receiving help. Altruism, helping behavior, and the exchange of benefits have received extensive attention from social psychological researchers. The gift exchange described by anthropologist Marcel Mauss provides a framework for reviewing this social psychological research on altruism and exchange and applying it to transplantation. An overall conclusion is that altruistic donation is not so ethically or clinically problematic, while receiving help has a complex psychosocial context that needs to be acknowledged and given more attention.
The Golden Mean and an Intriguing Congruence Problem.

In a high school geometry course the so lution to many problems depends on a stu dent's ability to prove two triangles con gruent. For example, in the usual proof that the diagonals of parallelogram ABCD (fig. 1) bisect each other, it is shown that triangles DEC and BEA are congruent (or DEA and BEC). As a result, students are introduced to the five familiar Euclidean methods for showing two triangles con gruent: (1) SSS (side-side-side); (2) SAS (side-angle-side); (3) ASA (angle-side angle); (4) AAS (angle-angle-side); and for right triangles (5) HL (hypotenuse-leg). Al though by definition, two triangles must have six parts that match in order to be congruent, the students are led to believe (either by axiom or theorem) that three congruent parts are usually sufficient. Ex amples such as angle-angle-angle are used so that the students do not try using any three parts. A question that arises naturally is, If three pairs of congruent parts need not imply congruence, what about four pairs? Five pairs? This article will describe a method for
Instrumentation for Single-Site Gynecologic Surgery

In minimally invasive surgery, the surgeon neither directly visualizes nor handles the tissue but rather gains access to the surgical field via cannulae through multiple incisions or a single incision. Access is provided by an optical system that allows visualization of the surgical field. Well-selected laparoscopic instrumentation provides traction and the capacity to seal and divide tissue pedicles to achieve the surgical goal. Access systems are categorized into single-site platforms and multi-incision platforms. The successful single-site surgeon should be thoroughly familiar with surgical instrumentation and should select a complement of instruments that satisfy his or her operative needs and experience. Laboratory experience in a simulated surgical environment allows surgeons to explore instrumentation and thereby provides the surgeon with a comprehensive understanding of an instrument. This chapter reviews the instrumentation for single-site gynecologic surgery.
Simulation of grating compressor misalignment tolerances and mitigation strategies for chirped-pulse-amplification systems of varying bandwidths and beam sizes

The effects of pulse compressor grating misalignment on pulse duration and focusability are simulated for chirped-pulse–amplification systems of varying bandwidths, beam sizes, groove densities, and incident angles. Tilt-alignment tolerances are specified based on a 2 drop in focused intensity, illustrating how tolerances scale with bandwidth and compressor beam size, which scales with energy when transformed via known grating damage thresholds. Grating-alignment tolerance scaling with grating groove density and incident/diffracted angles is investigated and applied to compressor design. A correlation between grating tip and in-plane rotation error sensitivity is defined and used to compensate residual out-of-plane angular dispersion, even for ultra-broadband pulses. Simulation of dispersion compensation methods after grating misalignment is shown to mitigate pulse lengthening, limited by temporal contrast degradation and higher-order effects for ultrabroad bandwidths.
Coordinate-based mapping of tabular data enables fast and scalable queries

Abstract Motivation Biologists commonly store data in tabular form with observations as rows, attributes as columns, and measurements as values. Due to advances in high-throughput technologies, the sizes of tabular datasets are increasing. Some datasets contain millions of rows or columns. To work effectively with such data, researchers must be able to efficiently extract subsets of the data (using filters to select specific rows and retrieving specific columns). However, existing methodologies for querying tabular data do not scale adequately to large datasets or require specialized tools for processing. We sought a methodology that would overcome these challenges and that could be applied to an existing, text-based format. Results In a systematic benchmark, we tested 10 techniques for querying simulated, tabular datasets. These techniques included a delimiter-splitting method, the Python pandas module, regular expressions, object serialization, the awk utility, and string-based indexing. We found that storing the data in fixed-width formats provided excellent performance for extracting data subsets. Because columns have the same width on every row, we could pre-calculate column and row coordinates and quickly extract relevant data from the files. Memory mapping led to additional performance gains. A limitation of fixed-width files is the increased storage requirement of buffer characters. Compression algorithms help to mitigate this limitation at a cost of reduced query speeds. Lastly, we used this methodology to transpose tabular files that were hundreds of gigabytes in size, without creating temporary files. We propose coordinate-based, fixed-width storage as a fast, scalable methodology for querying tabular biological data. Contact stephen_piccolo@byu.edu
A beacon for broader impact: illuminating science.

AbstractBiomedical art has a role to play in combating low health literacy and negative affect associated with complex and critical issues. The Landscapes Within is an installation that endeavours ...
Is Food Insecurity a Contributing Factor to Childhood Obesity?The Association of Household Food Insecurity and Obesity Prevalence Among Children and Adolescents in the United States

The obesity epidemic is a major public health concern, where the prevalence rates amongst the American children population have more than doubled since the 1980s. Among overweight children, the risk of becoming an overweight or obese adult is 70% higher than children of normal weight, and obese children are more likely to remain obese into adulthood and face a number of morbidities associated with it, including lower quality of life and increased financial burden. In this research, we examined the relationship between household food security and obesity among children and adolescents between the ages of 2-18 years old. We used data from the NHANES 2005-2006 (n= 3,432). Amongst the children aged 2-18 years, 31.21% were determined to be obese or at-risk for obesity. Children aged 2-18 years were 1.27 times more likely to be obese or at-risk when living in a food insecure household after adjusting for race/ethnicity. Adolescents aged 12-18 years were 1.47 times more likely to be obese or at-risk when living in a food insecure household. No significant association was found for young children aged 2-11 years. After adjusting for race/ethnicity and poverty level status, however, the association between food insecurity and obesity was not significant for either age group. Further investigation of other potential confounders could explain the association for both young children and adolescents. There are other factors, like social and societal, that influence the trends of obesity. Future programming could work to ameliorate the conditions of food insecurity and other infrastructure factors.
Two-stream cyclotron radiative instabilities due to the marginally mirror-trapped fraction of fusion alphas in tokamaks

It is shown here that the marginally mirror-trapped fraction of newly born fusion alpha particles in deuterium-tritium (DT) reaction-dominated tokamak plasmas can induce a two-stream cyclotron radiative instability for fast Alfven waves propagating near the harmonics of the alpha-particle cyclotron frequency ω cα . This can explain both the experimentally observed temporal behaviour and spatially localized origin of the fusion-product ion cyclotron emission (ICE) in TFTR at frequencies ω mω cα .
Instrumental Support from Parents and Substance Use During the Transition to Adulthood

Instrumental support from parents can be a protective factor in the lives of children and adolescents—one that serves to reduce the risks of drug and alcohol use. But the link between instrumental support from parents and substance use has seldom been explored in emerging adulthood. In particular, it is unclear whether instrumental support from parents during this stage in the life course is protective, or whether it enables young adults’ binge drinking and drug use. Four waves of panel data from the Pathways to Desistance Study are used. Multilevel models are estimated to examine the relationship between parental instrumental support (providing living expenses, loaning money, providing transportation, and shopping/cleaning/doing laundry) and two forms of substance use (binge drinking and illicit drug use) during the transition to adulthood (N = 1137 individuals; 3288 person-waves). Our findings indicate that instrumental support from parents is unrelated to changes in binge drinking or illicit drug use during emerging adulthood. This association was null regardless of the type of instrumental support provided, or how instrumental support was measured. Instrumental support also had no impact on substance use for individuals with prior histories of drug and alcohol use. The results raise questions about the salience of instrumental support from parents during emerging adulthood and instead suggest that parental support may matter most during earlier stages of the life course.
Trends in prevalence and sociodemographic and geographic patterns of current menthol cigarette use among U.S. adults, 2005-2015.

Abstract Despite overall reductions in U.S. smoking prevalence, prior evidence suggests similar reductions may not have occurred for menthol cigarette users. This study examines nationally representative current menthol and non-menthol cigarette use prevalence and trends for adults (18+) overall and by sociodemographic and geographic characteristics using the 2005 (n = 31,132), 2010 (n = 26,967), and 2015 (n = 33,541) National Health Interview Survey. Between 2005 and 2015, non-menthol cigarette use decreased overall (14.7% to 9.6%, p
Open Peer Review

In this issue of Serials Review, the Balance Point column delves into issues surrounding peer review, paying particular attention to open peer review. Beginning with some discussion of the history ...
Current status of robotic surgery in colorectal residency training programs.

Robotic surgery (RS) has been increasingly incorporated into colorectal surgery (CRS) training. The degree to which RS has been integrated into CRS residency training is not well described. A web-based survey was sent to all 2019 accredited CRS residency programs within the United States and Canada. Program directors (PDs) were queried on how robotic surgery had been integrated into their program, specifics on RS curriculum and opinions on RS training during general surgery residency. We compared survey responses by program type (university-based, university-affiliated programs, or independent programs) and by geographic region. In addition, a chi-square test was used to evaluate differences in survey responses with respect to robotic curriculum components. Of 66 programs, 42 (64%) responded to the survey. Of the responding programs, 35 (83%) were university-based or university-affiliated, while 7 (17%) were independent. Most programs were in the Midwest (33%). Forty-one (98%) reported having a surgical robot in use at their institution, with 95% reporting active participation of CRS residents in RS. While 74% of programs have a formal RS training curriculum for CRS residents, there was considerable variability in the curriculum elements employed by each institution, and the differences in proportions of these elements were significant (χ2 99.8, p 0.05) or among the different regions (p > 0.05). This study demonstrated that almost all CRS residencies have integrated RS and have trainees operating at the robotic console. Most programs have a robotics curriculum and there are expanding indications for RS within CRS. This expansion calls for discussion on implementation of training standards such as curricular requisites, baseline competency assessments, and definitions of minimum case requirements to ensure adequate training.
Economic and Political Effects of Fiscal Rules: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Colombia

Fiscal rules are a promising policy tool to address fiscal indiscipline, but their effectiveness and political feasibility remain unclear, particularly in weakly institutionalized settings. To answer this question, we leverage exogenous variation across Colombian municipalities in exposure to a subnational fiscal rule that set a cap on operating expenses as a share of current revenues. We show that the fiscal rule was highly effective at reducing operating costs and the probability of a current deficit, with no changes in capital spending (i.e., no creative accounting). This large reduction in operating expenses came at no meaningful cost in terms of local public goods and living standards, as proxied by education and health indicators, nighttime lights, and sanctions for corruption. Adoption of the rule increased electoral support for the party of the incumbent mayor and weakly reduced protests against the municipal government. This suggests that fiscal rules can improve political agency in settings, like Colombia, with weak political parties and limited career concerns for local politicians.
A Multi-Gbps, Energy Efficient, Contactless Data-Communication Link for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) Interaction with Rotational Freedom

This paper presents a low cost, compact, short-reach contactless data link designed for M2M applications requiring a full 360° rotational freedom. Full rotational freedom is enabled by a 16 GHz split-ring resonator (SRR) based near field coupler (NFC) which provides a fourth order bandpass characteristic with a 4 GHz bandwidth and ~2 dB insertion loss. The link employs 65 nm CMOS TX and RX chipsets for OOK modulation and demodulation of a 16 GHz carrier. The end-to-end contactless link is demonstrated with a variable gap (0.1 mm to 0.7 mm) and rotation angle (covering full range of 360°) between the TX and RX boards. Additionally, a BER 2Gbps (BER <1E-12) rotational links operating at cm-wave frequencies without any signal conditioning.
A photogrammetry-based methodology to obtain accurate digital ground-truth of leafless fruit trees

Abstract In recent decades, a considerable number of sensors have been developed to obtain 3D point clouds that have great potential in optimizing management in agriculture through the application of precision agriculture techniques. In order to use the data provided by these sensors, it is essential to know their measurement error. In this paper, a methodology is presented for obtaining a 3D point cloud of a central axis training system defoliated fruit tree (Malus domestica Bork.) obtained from stereophotogrammetry techniques based on structure-from-motion (SfM) and multi-view stereo-photogrammetry (MVS). The point cloud was made from a set of 288 photographs of the scene including the ground truth tree which was used to generate the digital 3D model. The resulting point cloud was validated and proven to faithfully represent reality. The bias of the resulting model is −0.15 mm and 0.05 mm, for diameters and lengths, respectively. In addition, the presented methodology allows small changes in the ground truth actual tree to be detected as a consequence of the wood dehydration process. Having an actual and a digital ground-truth is the basis for validating other sensing systems for 3D vegetation characterization which can be used to obtain data to make more informed management decisions.
The Natural Surfactant Glycerol Monolaurate Significantly Reduces Development of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis Biofilms.

Abstract Background: Bacterial biofilms are involved in a large proportion of clinical infections, including device-related infections. Unfortunately, biofilm-associated bacteria are typically less susceptible to antibiotics, and infected devices must often be removed. On the basis of a recent observation that lipid-rich biofilm matrix material is present in early biofilm formation and may protect a population of bacteria from interacting with ordinarily diffusible small molecules, we hypothesized that surfactants may be useful in preventing biofilm development. Methods: Experimental Staphylococcus aureus or Enterococcus faecalis biofilms were cultivated on surgical suture suspended in a growth medium supplemented with the natural surfactant glycerol monolaurate (GML) or with a component molecule, lauric acid. After 16 h incubation, the numbers of viable biofilm-associated bacteria were measured by standard microbiologic techniques and biofilm biomass was measured using the colorimetric crystal violet ass...
Riboflavin metabolism of young women on self-selected diets.

The purpose of this study was to determine the riboflavin intake in food and the excretion in the urine and feces of young college women living in the home management house and eating a self selected diet from a common food supply.
INTRODUCTION: THE HORIZON OF CHILDHOOD INJURY

The search for childhood injury control, while encountering new advances in safety engineering, human understanding and techniques of study, continually leads to receding child safety horizons. Technologic gains pose new threats to child and family life; the increasingly rapid pace of living creates problems for children and those who supervise them. Each method of injury is a "disease" unto itself in terms of epidemiologic factors involving the child and his human and physical environment that interact to produce injury and disability. Two years ago, a group of scientists, pediatric practitioners, and public health authorities met in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the first National Childhood Injury Symposium. Many disciplines were represented and a variety of views of the childhood injury problem were offered; it became apparent that this leading health problem of children required all of these disciplines not only to understand the issues involved but to launch an attack upon it. As a result of this first meeting, a score of new studies were developed, more effective communication between investigators and those interested in prevention was initiated, and a more adequate understanding of the complex health problem was obtained. It soon became apparent from participants and other interested workers that another meeting would have an advantage for these reasons. The papers which follow reflect some of the extent of this interest and knowledge which has developed concerning childhood injury. The interdisciplinary nature of the representation of intensive workshop activities was a part of the program, although not included here due to limitations of space.
Association Meeting Planners' Perceived Performance of Las Vegas

ABSTRACT The meeting planner of a particular association is often instrumental in influencing what city will best accommodate the needs of the organization. This study examined how Las Vegas as a convention city meets preferences of association meeting planners by applying Importance-Performance analysis (IPA). Qualitative (open-ended) evaluations were also sought to complement the analysis. The findings showed that Las Vegas effectively met the preferences of association meeting planners in highly important areas such as capacity and quality of facilities, accessibility, and room rate affordability. However, Las Vegas was perceived a relatively low performer in some other highly important areas, a combination of logistics and city image, such as union labor requirements, ease of local transportation, number of hotels within walking distance to the convention center, city reputation, safety and security of destination, and affordable exhibit space. Most of the unfavorable qualitative evaluations were rela...
AMR vs High Order Schemes

Adaptive Mesh Refinement (AMR) schemes are generally considered promising because of the ability of the scheme to place grid points or computational degrees of freedom at the location in the flow where truncation errors are unacceptably large. For a given order, AMR schemes can reduce work. However, for the computation of turbulent or non-turbulent mixing when compared to high order non-adaptive methods, traditional 2nd order AMR schemes are computationally more expensive. We give precise estimates of work and restrictions on the size of the small scale grid and show that the requirements on the AMR scheme to be cheaper than a high order scheme are unrealistic for most computational scenarios.
Parameter optimization of logistic regression classifiers

Logistic regression (LR) classifiers have been used successfully in the single-trial analysis of EEG data, especially in tasks of perceptual decision-making [1,2], but heuristics govern the choices for classifier parameters, such as window size (δ). Furthermore, no rigorous definition exists as to the number of epochs (N) of either class that would allow sufficient classifier training before testing using leave-one-out cross-validation. Here, we attempt to address these issues by exploring this discrete parameter space with the aid of a genetic algorithm. In doing so, we draw preliminary conclusions on both subject-specific and subject-general trends of these classifiers. To establish a baseline for comparison, we utilize EEG data from a previous study using LR to classify neural response to a two-choice forced-decision face vs. car visual task [1]. In this study, a window size (δ) of 60 ms was used to segment epochs for classification. Other studies using this technique also employ a comparable window size [2,3], even though δ has the potential to drastically affect classifier training and performance. Similarly, the number of epochs used to train the classifier can greatly affect its performance, a number too low causing an insufficient number of points through which a dividing hyperplane can be found. Recognizing the dependence of classifier performance on these discrete parameters, we use a genetic algorithm to explore the δ vs. N design space. In doing so, we track an objective function whose value depends on maximizing an epoch window’s leave-one-out Az (area under receiveroperating characteristic) value while decreasing its variability (determined from bootstrapping), which increases with a low number of epochs. Once converging to subjectspecific values of δ* and N*, we then test the classifier solution for statistical significance using the false discovery rate across all windows [4], as there are approximately E/ 2δ* multiple comparisons for an E milliseconds epoch with 50% window overlap. First, minimizing our objective function with N held constant at its maximum, we find that δ* can be tuned in a subject-specific way and we find on average a 3.7 ± 1.1% improvement in maximum Az from that of the earlier study. Second, we vary δ (δ I [5, 6, ..., 149, 150]ms) and N (N I [10, 11, ..., Nmax-1, Nmax] ) simultaneously and converge using a genetic algorithm (6-bit resolution, 36-member population, 0.7 crossover probability, 0.7/ (population size) mutation probability, [5]) to a subjectspecific δ* and N*. In each subject but one we find that N* < Nmax and that δ* is a subject-specific parameter that differs from the heuristics offered by previous work. Finally, on a group level, we find that the components of our objective function exhibit distinct variation with respect to δ and N, with an epoch’s maximum Az optimizing for low N and low δ, while its Az variability minimizes for high N and maximizes for low N, nearly irrespective of δ.
Food Insecurity and Cost-Related Medication Underuse Among Nonelderly Adults in a Nationally Representative Sample

Objectives. We investigated whether nonelderly US adults (aged 18–64 years) in food-insecure households are more likely to report cost-related medication underuse than the food-secure, and whether the relationship between food insecurity and cost-related medication underuse differs by gender, chronic disease, and health insurance status.Methods. We analyzed data from the 2011 and 2012 National Health Interview Survey (n = 67 539). We examined the relationship between food insecurity and cost-related medication underuse with the χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression with interaction terms.Results. Bivariate and multivariate analyses showed a dose–response relationship between food insecurity and cost-related medication underuse, with an increasing likelihood of cost-related medication underuse with increasing severity of food insecurity (P < .001). This association was conditional on health insurance status, but not substantially different by gender or chronic disease status. Being female, low-incom...
Preliminary insight into the periostin leverage during periodontal tissue healing

Background Tissue repair and regeneration is assisted by the efficient coordination of cell and extracellular matrix interactions mediated by matricellular molecules such as periostin. Given its high expression around the teeth, the periodontal organ represents an ideal system to capture the protein dynamics during wound healing. Methods An observational prospective case–control study was designed to characterize periostin changes over time after periodontal surgery in tissue, oral fluids and serum by histological, protein and mRNA analyses. Results Histological analysis showed lower periostin with a diffuse local distribution pattern in disease patients. Levels of periostin in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) increased over time for both groups, more noticeably in the periodontitis subjects. A transient and subtle change in circulating periostin levels was also noticed. The mRNA periostin levels contrasted with the protein levels and may indicate the underlying post-transcriptional regulatory process during chronic inflammation. Levels of known periodontal disease biomarkers such as IL-β, IL1-α, TNF-α, MIP-1α and CRP served as tissue stability markers and complemented the clinical parameters recorded. Conclusion The transient local increase in GCF periostin after eliminating the local etiology in periodontally affected sites suggests its importance in the maturation and stability of the connective tissue. The decreasing levels observed as the tissue healed highlight its spatial/temporal significance.