cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Utilization of Vascular Conduits to Facilitate Renal Transplantation in Patients With Significant Aortoiliac Calcification

Objective To describe the use of vascular conduits (donor iliac artery or saphenous vein) in renal transplantation recipients with extensive aortoiliac calcification. Materials and Methods Vascular conduits were used in 10 renal transplants with severe vascular calcification at Cleveland Clinic from 2009 to 2013. Both iliac artery (N = 8) and saphenous vein (N = 2) grafts were used. Surgical technique is reviewed in detail. Surgical complications, patency on renal transplant ultrasonography, and serum creatinine level at multiple time points were reviewed. Results Mean follow-up time was 26 months (7-44 months). Mean serum creatinine level was 1.42 mg/dL (1.04-1.74 mg/dL) at 6 months, 1.35 mg/dL (0.83-1.86 mg/dL) at 12 months, and 1.43 mg/dL (0.79-1.81 mg/dL) at last follow-up. All patients were demonstrated postoperatively to have patent vasculature on renal ultrasonography. No patients experienced lower extremity vascular complications. Death-censored graft survival was 100%. One patient died from complications after mitral valve replacement, and one patient died from metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. Both patients had functioning grafts at the time of death. Conclusion Vascular conduits can be used to facilitate renal transplantation in the setting of severe recipient aortoiliac calcification, thus allowing for successful transplantation of these complex recipients.
Siderophore-Mediated Cargo Delivery to the Cytoplasm of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Syntheses of Monofunctionalized Enterobactin Scaffolds and Evaluation of Enterobactin–Cargo Conjugate Uptake

The design and syntheses of monofunctionalized enterobactin (Ent, L- and D-isomers) scaffolds where one catecholate moiety of enterobactin houses an alkene, aldehyde, or carboxylic acid at the C5 position are described. These molecules are key precursors to a family of 10 enterobactin-cargo conjugates presented in this work, which were designed to probe the extent to which the Gram-negative ferric enterobactin uptake and processing machinery recognizes, transports, and utilizes derivatized enterobactin scaffolds. A series of growth recovery assays employing enterobactin-deficient E. coli ATCC 33475 (ent-) revealed that six conjugates based on L-Ent having relatively small cargos promoted E. coli growth under iron-limiting conditions whereas negligible-to-no growth recovery was observed for four conjugates with relatively large cargos. No growth recovery was observed for the enterobactin receptor-deficient strain of E. coli H1187 (fepA-) or the enterobactin esterase-deficient derivative of E. coli K-12 JW0576 (fes-), or when the D-isomer of enterobactin was employed. These results demonstrate that the E. coli ferric enterobactin transport machinery identifies and delivers select cargo-modified scaffolds to the E. coli cytoplasm. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 K648 (pvd-, pch-) exhibited greater promiscuity than that of E. coli for the uptake and utilization of the enterobactin-cargo conjugates, and growth promotion was observed for eight conjugates under iron-limiting conditions. Enterobactin may be utilized for delivering molecular cargos via its transport machinery to the cytoplasm of E. coli and P. aeruginosa thereby providing a means to overcome the Gram-negative outer membrane permeability barrier.
Acute alterations on DTI caused by alcohol consumption: region of interest-based diffusion tensor analysis limited because of poor reproducibility, with the additional detrimental effects of a small population size and minute changes.

I read the article by Kong et al titled “Acute Effects of Alcohol on the Human Brain: Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study” in the May 2012 issue of AJNR with great interest.[1][1] The authors reported novel findings on the world's oldest and most widely used recreational drug, ethanol, and
The role of network orientation and microstructure in fracture initiation

Three approaches towards a fracture theory are discussed, namely the statistical, the continuum-mechanical, and the micro-morphological approach. The latter recognizes that (amorphous or semicrystalline) high-polymer solids are composed of chain molecules which show a close range order and/or a superstructure. Information from morphological and spectroscopic investigations is utilized to characterize the different elementary molecular processes (slip of chains, segment rotation, chain scission, crystal deformation) which may lead to fracture initiation, crack growth, or yielding. The statistical variability of the elementary processes and the correlation of these processes with each other determine the statistical variability of the cumulative process, e.g., time to failure or fracture strength. Thus, a relation between the results of the micro-morphological approach and the terms of the statistical approach (underlying distribution) is obtained. A mathematical study of the effect of these processes (network degradation, stress relaxation) on the expectation values of strength or time to failure is carried out for networks of different degrees of orientation. The results obtained for one-phase networks are applied to critically stressed regions of heterogeneous polymers (amorphous regions in oriented fibers, plastically deformed zone at tip of growing crack). Thus, a correlation between continuum-mechanical terms (stress intensity factor, surface energy) and molecular terms (network properties, activation energies) is attempted. A failure criterion is derived.
Putting the Democracy in Democracy and Distrust: The Coherentist Case for Representation Reinforcement

Nearly a quarter of a century after its publication, "Democracy and Distrust" remains the single most perceptive justificatory account of the work of the Warren Court and modern constitutional law more broadly. Yet, the continuing influence of John Hart Ely's process theory of American constitutional law may seem surprising, given that the account has been incisively criticized as both too limited and too sweeping. Beginning with Laurence Tribe's "Puzzling Persistence of Process-Based Constitutional Theories" and culminating in the work of Ronald Dworkin and others, critics have argued that the representation-reinforcing approach to interpreting the Constitution is no less laden with controversial value judgments than other, more openly substantive methods, and that therefore, judicial review ought not to be restricted in the way that Ely thought it should be. From the other side, those that Ely called interpretivists have invoked (more or less) the same set of arguments as a basis for concluding that the Constitution's open-ended provisions should be given neither substantive nor procedural content apart from what is narrowly entailed by the original understanding of its framers and ratifiers. In light of these mirroring critiques, what accounts for the staying power of "Democracy and Distrust"? The answer, to which Ely himself points in the opening pages of the book, is the popularity of democracy. We have as a society from the beginning, he writes, and now almost instinctively, accepted the notion that a representative democracy must be our form of government. By making more-or-less-majoritarian democracy the centerpiece of his account of judicial review, Ely trades on this deeply rooted instinct. Throughout "Democracy and Distrust", he invokes "the basic democratic theory of our government" as the standard against which an approach to judicial review should be measured.
Pooled samples bias fungal community descriptions

We tested the accuracy of molecular analyses for recovering the species richness and structure of pooled fungal communities of known composition. We constructed replicate pools of 2-20 species and analysed these pools by two separate pooling-DNA extraction procedures and three different molecular analyses (Automated Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (ARISA), terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and clone library-sequencing). None of the methods correctly described the known communities. Only clone library-sequencing with high sequencing per pool (∼100 clones) recovered reasonable estimates of richness. Frequency data were skewed with all procedures and analyses. These results indicate that the error introduced by pooling samples is significant and problematic for ecological studies of fungal communities.
The flow created by a sphere moving along the axis of a rotating, slightly-viscous fluid

The title flow has been studied by measuring the drag force on, and by observing the flow field around, a sphere rising through a large, rotating tank of water. Long, almost stagnant, regions are formed up- and downstream within the shadow of the sphere and are surrounded by a thin annular region within which the velocity is larger than the mean velocity of the approach flow. Several regions are found within which vortex-jump phenomena occur and it is concluded that such features exert a controlling influence over the dynamics of the observed flow field.
Infliximab and adalimumab for uveitis.

Purpose: To describe the corticosteroid-sparing success in controlling chronic uveitis in patients treated with TNFα inhibitors.Methods: Retrospective longitudinal case series of patients started on infliximab (n = 31) or adalimumab (n = 12) for chronic noninfectious uveitis at a tertiary referral center. The main outcome was corticosteroid-sparing success. Secondary outcomes were sustained control of inflammation regardless of corticosteroid-sparing effect, tapering of concurrent nonbiologic therapy, and discontinuation.Results: Sustained control of inflammation with corticosteroid-sparing success on infliximab and adalimumab, respectively, was achieved in 33.3 and 37.5% at 3 months, 60.7 and 62.5% at 6 months, and 60.9 and 57.1% at 12 months. Median time to this outcome was 98 days for infliximab and 169 days for adalimumab. Six infliximab patients had adverse reactions.Conclusions: Infliximab and adalimumab improve control of ocular inflammation and are successful corticosteroid-sparing agents. However...
The ultrastructure of rat rod synaptic terminals: Effects of dark‐adaptation

The ultrastructure of synaptic terminals of rat rod photoreceptors was studied in light-adapted and dark-adapted states. In the light-adapted state, horizontal cell processes embedded in the photoreceptor terminal show smooth surface contours and are ovoid in cross section. In the dark-adapted state, fingerlike protrusions of photoreceptor cytoplasm extend into the horizontal cell processes on either side of the synaptic ribbon. An electron-dense structure lies under the horizontal cell membrane that surrounds these fingerlike protrusions. This submembrane specialization is generally associated with areas of concavity of the horizontal cell membrane; it occurs in goldfish rods as well as rat rods. The protrusions and the horizontal cell specialization may be involved in membrane dynamics during synaptic activity.
Characterizations of enriched metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes in polymer composite

Using different processing conditions, we disperse the single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) into the polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to form composites. In the melt-blended sample, the SWNTs originally semiconducting - became predominantly metallic after dispersion into the melt-blended composite. The interaction of the PMMA and SWNT is investigated by the polarized Raman studies. The structure changes in the PMMA and SWNT shows that the anisotropic interactions are responsible for SWNT electronic density of states (DOS) changes. The increased metallic SWNT percentage is confirmed by the conductivity and dielectric constant measurements .
A new soft metric for FH/DPSK systems with coding and diversity in the presence of partial-band noise jamming

A scheme is proposed to generate a soft metric based on L hard decision diversity outputs. The performance of this scheme is studied and compared with existing schemes. The target system used for investigation is a slow frequency-hopped differential phase shift keying (FH/DPSK) system in the presence of partial band noise jamming (PBNJ). It is shown that a significant improvement in L-diversity hard decision systems can be achieved. It is demonstrated that, by using the proposed soft metric, the almost ideal performance can be achieved for FH/DPSK systems in the presence of PBNJ without relying on any jammer state information; nor is optimization for quantization step size or threshold needed in order to achieve a satisfactory performance. >
Aspartic acid 252 and asparagine 185 are essential for activity of lipid N-acetylglucosaminylphosphate transferase

A key step in the assembly of oligosaccharide-lipid intermediates in N-linked glycosylation is the transfer of N-acetylglucosamine 1-phosphate to dolichyl phosphate, catalyzed by the enzyme UDP-N-acetylglucosaminyl:dolichyl phosphate N-acetylglucosaminyl phosphoryl transferase (L-G1PT). Comparison of the amino acid sequences of L-G1PT from five diverse species showed 75 amino acids identical in all five proteins. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we analyzed the importance of a number of these conserved residues to the enzymatic activity of L-G1PT using a plasmid shuffling procedure in Schizosaccharomyces pombe. S. pombe cells containing a chromosomal deletion of the essential gpt+ gene are rescued by a plasmid containing the S. pombe gpt open reading frame. Replacement of that plasmid by a plasmid encoding a mutated hamster L-G1PT cDNA sequence indicated that the mutated protein provided sufficient enzyme activity to permit cell growth. Mutations of aspartic acid 252 and asparagine 185 did not allow plasmid shuffling, indicating these residues were essential for activity. A combination of mutations at asparagine 182 and tryptophan 122 did not allow plasmid shuffling, although the single mutations did. Overexpression of the mutant proteins in S. pombe conferred tunicamycin (TM) resistance, indicating that the mutant proteins had a conformation necessary for binding TM, a substrate analog. The mutant proteins were also detected in Western blots and were correctly localized to the membrane fractions. However, the overexpressed proteins did not increase the endogenous level of enzymatic activity in these cells, indicating they were enzymatically inactive.
DSM-IV and Social Work Professionals: A Continuing Education Evaluation

Abstract This six-hour group training was designed to gather information in regard to the role of social workers using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Health Disorders (DSM-IV). The intention of the group training was to explore social workers' knowledge and comfort in using the DSM-IV as well as assessing the continuing education experience provided. In total, 132 surveys were circulated during two training groups. All participants were asked to give general information and perceptions of use of the DSM, and were pre and posttested for current levels of understanding and comfort regarding diagnostic usage. Significant relationships were noted between several study variables as well as between pretest and posttest scores. Overall, pre and posttest results yielded a significant positive correlation between comfort levels in utilization of the DSM-IV and formulating a diagnostic impression as a means of identifying certain mental health conditions. Furthermore, the results of this study sup...
Detection of Epstein-Barr Virus with Molecular Hybridization Techniques

The cord-blood transformation assay remains the standard method for detecting Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in secretions. However, newer methods are much faster and more sensitive, although most are still regarded as research procedures. The most useful of these are Southern blot hybridization, particularly the variation that employs terminal genomic probe analysis; in situ cytohybridization; and polymerase chain reaction analyses. Use of these methods alone or in combination should disclose the infected cell type, whether the infection is productive or latent, and the presence of multiple strains of EBV. Such information may help establish whether EBV is a causal agent in chronic fatigue syndrome.
Charge asymmetry of nucleon widths of the lowest T = 32 states of 13N and 13C

Abstract The isospin-forbidden widths of the lowest T = 3 2 states of 13N and 13C are calculated by including isospin mixing due to Coulomb interaction and charge dependent nuclear forces in the first-order perturbation approximation. The widths are obtained by using the Feshbach formula with the continuum-state wave function distorted by an optical potential. It is found that the widths are sensitive to the exchange character of the charge-independent nuclear potential. The absolute magnitude of the widths, and the charge asymmetry in the branching ratio to the ground and first excited states of 12C are found to be compatible with the theoretical results, and the presence of a charge-dependent nuclear force is not essential for this agreement.
Effect of Rhizosphere Dissolved Oxygen on Nitrogen Utilization of Rice

Low rhizosphere dissolved oxygen in waterlogged paddy,leads to a series of changes in soil physical and chemical properties and soil microbial community structure,directly or indirectly affecting the nitrogen cycling and utilizing process,including nitrification,de-nitrification,mineralization,as well as the ratio of nitrogen forms in soil(NH4+-N and NO3--N).This circumstance is unfavorable to N absorption and utilization.This review summarized the progresses in research at home and abroad from three aspects such as absorption and utilization of different forms of nitrogen,the effect of rhizosphere dissolved oxygen on nitrogen absorption and metabolism in rice.Also,by considering the results of research on rice nitrogen oxygen interaction mechanism of our team in recent years,the future research was discussed.
SU-G-201-01: An Automated Treatment Plan Quality Assurance Program for High-Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy with a VaginalCylinder Applicator

Purpose: Plan specific quality assurance (QA) is an important step in high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy to ensure the integrity of a treatment plan. The conventional approach is to assemble a set of plan screen-captures in a document and have an independent plan-checker to verify it. Not only is this approach cumbersome and time-consuming, using a document also limits the items that can be verified, hindering plan quality and patient safety. We have initiated efforts to develop a web-based HDR brachytherapy QA system called AutoBrachy QA, for comprehensive and efficient QA. This abstract reports a new plugin in this system for the QA of a cylinder HDR brachytherapy treatment. Methods: A cylinder plan QA module was developed using Python. It was plugged into our AutoBrachy QA system. This module extracted information from CT images and treatment plan. Image processing techniques were employed to obtain geometric parameters, e.g. cylinder diameter. A comprehensive set of eight geometrical and eight dosimetric features of the plan were validated against user specified planning parameter, such as prescription value, treatment depth and length, etc. A PDF document was generated, consisting of a summary QA sheet with all the QA results, as well as images showing plan details. Results: The cylinder QA program has been implemented in our clinic. To date, it has been used in 11 patient cases and was able to successfully perform QA tests in all of them. The QA program reduced the average plan QA time from 7 min using conventional manual approach to 0.5 min. Conclusion: Being a new module in our AutoBrachy QA system, an automated treatment plan QA module for cylinder HDR brachytherapy has been successfully developed and clinically implemented. This module improved clinical workflow and plan integrity compared to the conventional manual approach.
Reclaiming the White Coat for Black Lives.

The authors reflect on the White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL) social organization as of 2016, and it mentions how the group is comprised of various medical students who support the Black Lives Matter social movement and are concerned about issues such as anti-Black racism in America. According to the article, WC4BL was founded in 2015 in an effort to eliminate racial bias in the practice of medicine. The history of the Black Panther Party is also examined.
GaN-on-Si switched mode RF power amplifiers for non-constant envelope signals

This work implements three discrete switched mode power amplifier (PA) topologies, namely inverse class-D (CMCD), push-pull class-E and inverse push-pull class-E, in a GaN-on-Si process for medium power level (5–10W) femto/pico-cells base-station applications. The designs are analyzed and compared with respect to non-idealities such as bond-wire effects and input signal duty cycle variation. These architectures are designed for non-constant envelope inputs in the form of digitally modulated signals such as RFPWM, which undergoes duty cycle variation. After comparing the three topologies, this work concludes that an inverse push-pull class-E architecture gives highest output power and efficiency for GaN-based discrete power amplifiers. This inverse class-E PA achieves 61.5% drain efficiency at 37.7dBm output power in the 880MHz band.
Erasure insertion via the ratio-threshold test in frequency-hop multiple-access radio networks with partial-band interference

The use of erasure insertion techniques can result in increased coding gains in frequency-hop spread-spectrum communication systems. Viterbi's ratio threshold test is used with Reed-Solomon codes to determine which code symbols should be erased before decoding. The system performance in partial-band and multiple-access interference environments is analyzed and compared to errors-only decoding and to errors-and-erasures decoding with perfect side information. When interference is strong, large coding gains are observed and error probabilities are reduced by several orders of magnitude. >
An Unintended Consequence of CPOE Implementation: Shifts in Power, Control, and Autonomy

Having found that an unintended consequence of computerized provider order entry (CPOE) implementation is “changes in the power structure” of the organization, we sought a deeper understanding of what was happening and why. If such consequences can be anticipated, they can be better managed. Using qualitative methods to study five successful CPOE sites, a multidisciplinary team found that CPOE enables shifts in power related to work redistribution and safety initiatives and causes a perceived loss of control and autonomy by clinicians. With recognition of the extent of these shifts, clinicians can anticipate them and will no longer be surprised by them. Greater provider involvement in planning, quality initiatives, and the work of clinical information coalitions/committees can benefit the organization and provide a different kind of power and satisfaction to clinicians.
Forecasting squatting of demand in display advertising

In the world of display advertising, advertisers often book a campaign ahead of time and therefore reserve the corresponding supply-inventory. However, they can choose to cancel the campaign any time prior to the start date. When such cancellation happens, it may result in a possible waste of the supply-inventory and a likely increase in opportunity cost. In this paper, we propose a model, referred to as squatting model, which predicts a probability that a given campaign will be cancelled. This probability score along with the supply-inventory requested by the campaign, can then facilitate the decision making process of how many impressions (supply-inventory) should be allocated to this campaign. The term squatting is used because many campaigns reserve inventory without any real intention of using it. Typically, there is no cost for booking and cancelling campaigns, and there is only a cost for utilizing impressions. We used proprietary machine learning framework developed by Microsoft to generate the model and scoring pipeline, deployed it into production environment, and used it to compute the probability-scores on a daily basis for the campaigns that are booked. In this paper, we provide insights into machine learning approach to predict the cancellation of a campaign, experimental results, metrics used, and the applications of the squatting model.
The equilibrium-diffusion limit for radiation hydrodynamics

Abstract The equilibrium-diffusion approximation (EDA) is used to describe certain radiation-hydrodynamic (RH) environments. When this is done the RH equations reduce to a simplified set of equations. The EDA can be derived by asymptotically analyzing the full set of RH equations in the equilibrium-diffusion limit. We derive the EDA this way and show that it and the associated set of simplified equations are both first-order accurate with transport corrections occurring at second order. Having established the EDA’s first-order accuracy we then analyze the grey nonequilibrium-diffusion approximation and the grey Eddington approximation and show that they both preserve this first-order accuracy. Further, these approximations preserve the EDA’s first-order accuracy when made in either the comoving-frame (CMF) or the lab-frame (LF). While analyzing the Eddington approximation, we found that the CMF and LF radiation-source equations are equivalent when neglecting O ( β 2 ) terms and compared in the LF. Of course, the radiation pressures are not equivalent. It is expected that simplified physical models and numerical discretizations of the RH equations that do not preserve this first-order accuracy will not retain the correct equilibrium-diffusion solutions. As a practical example, we show that nonequilibrium-diffusion radiative-shock solutions devolve to equilibrium-diffusion solutions when the asymptotic parameter is small.
Survival trends of myeloma patients in the new millennium.

e17694 Background: For patients with multiple myeloma (MM), survival outcomes have significantly improved in the last decade owing to the expeditious usage of proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs in treatment of MM. Nevertheless, the survival benefits seen are not uniform across all sectors. We performed a population based analysis using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database to assess the overall survival (OS) differences in various patient groups. Methods: Patients who had a diagnosis of MM (International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd Edition code 9732/3) were identified in the SEER 18 database diagnosed between January 2002 and December 2007. Patients were divided into cohorts based on age categorization at diagnosis: ages 15 to 44, 45 to 54, 55 to 64, 65 to 74 and 75 to 84 years, as well as sex and race. OS was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression was used to estimate predictors of patient survival. Results: In total, 25,897 pa...
CORP: Measurement of lung function in small animals

The measurement of lung function in mice and rats is crucial for understanding how well small animal models of pulmonary disease recapitulate human clinical pathology but brings with it the challenge of making accurate measurements in animals as small as a mouse. Overcoming these challenges can be achieved in a number of ways, each based on a model idealization of how the lung works as a mechanical system. Accordingly, it is important to understand the theoretical basis on which an assessment of lung function rests to interpret experimental measurements appropriately. It is also crucial to attend to a number of practical issues that determine the quality of the measurements. The most accurate measurements of lung function in small animals are provided by the forced oscillation technique that provides lung resistance and elastance and its multifrequency generalization known as impedance. Measurement quality is maximized when the greatest possible degree of control is exerted over the amplitude and frequency with which air is oscillated in and out of the lungs, the mean or end-expiratory transpulmonary pressure pertaining to when the oscillations are applied, and the immediate past volume history of the lungs. It is also crucial that no spontaneous breathing efforts occur during the measurement period. Finally, there is no substitute for the skill in animal handling and surgical preparation that comes with practice; such a skill should be in place before embarking on any important series of experiments.
O-007 Upss (utilization of proper imaging or screening for strokes) study

Introduction/Purpose Identification of large vessel occlusion (LVO) strokes has become increasingly important with the recent publications of five favorable acute stroke thrombectomy trials. Delay in time to treatment has been shown to hinder outcomes. Identification of (LVO) can be done with LVO screening tools or with early CTA allowing for timely activation of transfer and Neuroendovascular evaluation. We evaluated four primary stroke centers (PSCs) one year after American Stroke Association guidelines on thrombectomy are published. Methods Data on LVO screening, time to CTA from Stroke alert, time to official CTA read, transfer times, as well as NIHSS were collected by our stroke center coordinators. Data for all patients with NIHSS>=6 were evaluated for the first nine months of 2016 after approval by IRB. Results In this cohort of 4 PSCs without Neuroendovascular services, LVO screening was not consistently done in all patients, 0% had formal screening. 37% of patients with NIHSS>=6 eventually had CTA. Only 10% of CTAs where read within one hr. Of patients eventually transferred, 17% were within 2 hours. Conclusion Despite new guidelines, patients with NIHSS>=6 are not consistently screened, CTA interpretation is significantly delayed, and only 17% are being transferred within 2 hours. We recommend that Stroke and Neurovascular organizations should have get with the guidelines campaign for mandatory LVO screening in ED, time to CTA, time to CTA read, and time to transfer to comprehensive stroke centers. Disclosures M. Teleb: None. W. Toe: None. J. Lee Ianotti: None.
Abundance and consumption rate of glassy-winged sharpshooter (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) on peaches and plums.

Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar), the glassy-winged sharpshooter, is a primary vector of phony peach and plum leaf scald diseases caused by Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al. A survey of H. vitripennis on peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] varieties established that leafhopper abundances varied from 0–13 per tree. Prunus persica cvs. Flordaking and June Gold and Prunus salicina Lindl. (cvs. Methley and Santa Rosa) were then budded on each of 3 P. persica rootstocks (cvs. Aldrighi, Lovell and Nemaguard). Leafhopper abundance was monitored on each of the two scions budded on each rootstock and on non budded rootstocks over a 2-yr period. The genotypes were container-grown in Year 1 and were planted in the field in Year 2. For both years leafhopper abundance was greatest during early June and on Methley and Santa Rosa cultivars compared with the peach genotypes. The feeding rates of leafhoppers were substantially higher on plum scions than on peach scions, and nocturnal feeding rates were often higher than dayt...
Socioeconomic status in childhood predicts sleep continuity in adult Black and White men

Abstract Objectives Low socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood may be associated with sleep in adulthood. We evaluated the relationships between SES in childhood through adolescence and into adulthood and sleep in midlife men. Design Prospective assessment of SES in childhood and adulthood. Setting Population-based study of 139 Black and 105 White men enrolled since age 7 and evaluated for sleep characteristics at age 32. Measurements Actigraphy and diary measures of sleep duration, continuity, and quality for 1 week. Their parents reported their SES (a combination of educational attainment and occupational status) annually when the boys were ages 7 to 16. We estimated SES intercept (age 7) and slope (age 7 to 16) using M-Plus and conducted linear regression analyses using those values to predict adult sleep measures, adjusting for covariates. Results Men who had lower SES families at age 7, smaller increases in SES from ages 7 to 16, and lower SES in adulthood had more minutes awake after sleep onset. White men with greater increases in SES from ages 7 to 16 had shorter sleep. Conclusions SES in childhood and improvement in SES through adolescence are related to sleep continuity in midlife men. To our knowledge, this is the first report using prospectively measured SES in childhood in relation to adult sleep.
Monolithic Optical Transceivers in 65 nm Bulk CMOS

We present the integration of optical passive and active components next to millions of nano-scale bulk silicon transistors through a single deposited layer of polysilicon on silicon oxide islands. We demonstrate 10 Gb/s monolithic O-band optical transceivers on this platform.
Chronic Pulmonary Silicone Embolism from Breast Augmentation Is Not a Common Finding in Explanted Lungs.

Objective. Acute pulmonary silicone embolism (APSE) related to subcutaneous silicone injections is a well-known entity. Recently, a few cases of pathologically confirmed chronic pulmonary silicone embolism (CPSE) from breast implants have been reported. The prevalence of CPSE in women with breast augmentation is unknown. This study was done to determine the prevalence of CPSE in female lung transplant recipients with a history of breast augmentation and to determine whether breast augmentation plays a role in chronic lung diseases requiring lung transplantation. Methods. A retrospective chart review was performed to identify female lung transplant recipients with a history of breast augmentation prior to or at the time of lung transplantation. Ten patients meeting these criteria were identified. The pathologic features of the explanted lungs of these patients were reexamined for CPSE by a board-certified pathologist with expertise in lung transplantation and pulmonary embolism. Results. Of 1518 lung transplant recipients at Cleveland Clinic, 578 were females. Of 578 females, 10 (1.73%) had history of breast augmentation. A total of 84 H&E-stained slides from the explanted lungs from 10 cases were examined. No pathologic evidence of chronic silicone embolism was seen in any of the 10 cases. Conclusions. CPSE is not associated with pulmonary disease leading to lung transplantation. Breast augmentation is not a significant contributor to pulmonary disease requiring lung transplantation. Further studies are required to ascertain the prevalence of CPSE in the general breast augmentation populace and to define the relationship between breast augmentation and pulmonary disease.
Fish predators reduce kelp frond loss via a trait-mediated trophic cascade.

Although trophic cascades were originally believed to be driven only by predators eating prey, there is mounting evidence that such cascades can be generated in large part via non-consumptive effects. This is especially important in cascades affecting habitat-forming foundation species that in turn, influence associated communities. Here, we use laboratory and field experiments to identify a trait-mediated indirect interaction between predators and an abundant kelp in a marine temperate reef system. Predation risk from a microcarnivorous fish, the senorita, suppressed grazing by the host-specific seaweed limpet, which in turn, influenced frond loss of the habitat-forming feather boa kelp. This trophic cascade was pronounced because minor amounts of limpet grazing decreased the strength required to break kelp fronds. Cues from fish predators mitigated kelp loss by decreasing limpet grazing; we found 86% of this indirect interaction between predator and kelp was attributed to the non-consumptive effect in the laboratory and 56% when applying the same effect size calculations to the field. In field manipulations, the non-consumptive effect of senorita was as strong as the total predator effect and most importantly, as strong as the uncaged, "open" treatment with natural levels of predators. Our findings demonstrate that the mere presence of this fish reduces frond loss of the feather boa kelp through a trait-mediated trophic cascade. Moreover, despite large volumes of water, current flow, and wave energy, we clearly demonstrate a strong non-consumptive effect via an apparent chemical cue from senorita, suggesting that chemically mediated trait-driven cascades may be more prevalent in subtidal marine systems than we are currently aware.
Basic Cancer Biology

Cancer has been recognized since early times, but treatment protocols and medications have lagged, by millennia, the initial observations of the disease. The tragic cases of childhood and teenage cancer notwithstanding, most cancers develop in the aging population, consistent with the nature of metabolic, genetic and other alterations discussed below and in various chapters. Epidemiological data show that, behind heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and many expect that in time cancer will overtake heart disease as the leading cause of mortality. Some 150 years ago it was demonstrated that cancer is composed of cells with morphology differing from that of normal cells. With information becoming available from numerous areas in biology and medicine, and capitalizing on major advances in technology, great strides were made in the twentieth century in unraveling many of the complexities of cancer, work that is continuing at an accelerating pace in the twenty-first century. It is now recognized that by far the majority of all cancers arises from environmental factors, metabolic disturbances, somatic mutations, and other pathophysiological processes (discussed throughout the book), while the remaining ones are attributable to germline mutations and are thus inheritable (familial).
Toenails for Biomonitoring of Environmental Exposures

Human nails are composed of keratins, proteins that incorporate different elements and lipophilic chemicals as they grow. Given this characteristic, coupled with the ease of collection and storage and the potential to reflect multiple exposures occurring approximately 1 year ago, toenail concentrations are promising biomarkers of environmental exposures. In particular, research has focused on elemental concentration in toenail clippings. Although reporting baseline elemental concentrations in nails is useful for understanding how this biological material may reflect exposure, steps must be taken to validate the biomarker before widespread application. In particular, efforts should focus on relating the biomarker to estimated intake of the contaminant, exploring temporal stability of the biomarker concentration, and understanding the association with other known biological markers for the contaminant. A majority of work related to toenail biomarker validity has focused on arsenic and selenium; these studies suggest that toenails may be useful in measuring exposure to these elements. Further work should focus on validation of this potentially valuable biomarker for other contaminants of interest, while continuing to refine the exposure–biomarker association for arsenic and selenium.
Meritocratic Fairness for Infinite and Contextual Bandits

We study fairness in linear bandit problems. Starting from the notion of meritocratic fairness introduced in~\citeJKMR16, we carry out a more refined analysis of a more general problem, achieving better performance guarantees with fewer modelling assumptions on the number and structure of available choices as well as the number selected. We also analyze the previously-unstudied question of fairness in infinite linear bandit problems, obtaining instance-dependent regret upper bounds as well as lower bounds demonstrating that this instance-dependence is necessary. The result is a framework for meritocratic fairness in an online linear setting that is substantially more powerful, general, and realistic than the current state of the art.
Middle-Upper Ordovician (Darriwilian-Sandbian) paired carbon and sulfur isotope stratigraphy from the Appalachian Basin, USA: Implications for dynamic redox conditions spanning the peak of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event

Abstract The Evans Ferry section from the Appalachian Basin of eastern North America has been analyzed for chemostratigraphic trends to elucidate possible causal mechanisms facilitating the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE). Paired stable isotope (δ13C and δ34S) analyses were used in this carbonate-dominated locality from the Appalachian Basin to reconstruct the marine redox states during this key period of rapid biodiversification. This succession is one of the most expanded Sandbian Stage (Upper Ordovician) deposits known from North America, and it allows new high-resolution reconstructions of long-term, global carbon and sulfur cycle fluctuations. The integrated geochemical and sequence-stratigraphic investigation presented here from the Laurentian epeiric seaway allows for possible identification of the contraction and expansion of reducing water masses during the Middle–Late Ordovician that may have been linked to global-marine paleoredox dynamics. Utilizing new conodont-based 87Sr/86Sr isotope stratigraphy along with previous conodont biostratigraphy, we can confidently correlate our stable isotope profiles to other carbonate successions globally. Carbonate facies indicate that this area experienced partial restriction from open-marine conditions during certain intervals in the Sandbian. These semi-restricted environments record carbon (δ13Ccarb) isotope trends that are secular in nature, as they can be correlated to other successions across Laurentia and Baltica. We identify several intervals when δ13Ccarb and δ34SCAS (carbonate-associated sulfate) trends are decoupled. These inverse stratigraphic trends are, at times, followed by parallel positive shifts in δ13Ccarb and δ34SCAS. Causal mechanisms for the observed decoupled δ13C and δ34S trends may include a wide variety of factors such as more closed-system, local biogeochemical processes associated in part with diagenesis, or they could instead reflect variations in the global fluxes of organic matter and pyrite burial linked to changing marine paleoredox conditions. The positive covariation in trends presented here likely represents transient increases in organic carbon and pyrite burial in response to expansion of reducing marine environments.
Patient identification based on wrist activity data

In the hospital environment, authentication is required to allow patients to access constrained areas such as dedicated patient rooms. Identification is necessary for any authentication design, as the purpose of the authentication is to verify the identity of the user. This paper proposes a novel patient identification approach based on sensory data collected by activity sensors placed on the patients' wrist. It uses a support vector machine based classifier to identify different patients based on statistical and biophysical features extracted from the data. The evaluation results show that the proposed approach can achieve a high identification accuracy of 94.21%.
Eliciting Public Display Awareness and Engagement: An Experimental Study and Semantic Strategy

ABSTRACTAs displays move from the desktop and mobile world to situated urban and public spaces, these mixed use interfaces will continue to pose both opportunities and challenges for architects and...
Assessing the accuracy of ICD-10 codes for identifying acute thromboembolic events among patients receiving anticoagulation therapy.

International classification of disease (ICD) codes can improve the efficiency of epidemiological research provided the codes accurately identify outcomes of interest. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study is to evaluate the accuracy of ICD-10 codes for identifying thromboembolic events occurring during anticoagulation therapy. Medical charts of patients hospitalized for any reason while receiving anticoagulant therapy between September 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 were reviewed by two reviewers blinded to ICD-10 code status. Following identification of confirmed acute thromboembolic events, ICD-10 codes were unblinded and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) along with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for coding in any diagnosis position (“principal” or “other”). There were 661 hospitalizations identified among 487 anticoagulated patients. There were 27 thromboembolic events identified during chart review. Stroke and venous thromboembolism were the most common thromboembolic event types. Overall thromboembolic ICD-10 coding sensitivity was 100.0% (95% CI 87.2–100.0); specificity was 79.3% (75.9–82.4). PPV was 17.1% (11.6–23.9%), and NPV was 100% (99.3–100.0). ICD-10 codes can reliably be used for ruling out hospitalizations for thromboembolic events in patients receiving anticoagulation therapy but should not be used for identifying thromboembolic complications without confirmatory chart review.
A comparison of startle response in two morphs of the brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans): Further evidence for a trade-off between defensive morphology and swimming ability

It is generally thought that predation pressure drives the evolution of long spines and robust pelvic girdles in sticklebacks (Pisces: Gasterosteidae). However, the lack of these traits in some environments with intense predation pressure suggests that there may be a limit to which apparently defensive structures benefit sticklebacks. This paper focuses on a trade-off between defensive morphology and escape response performance in a genetically based polymorphic population of brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans), in which fish have fully developed pelvic girdles and pelvic spines (‘complete’ morph) or completely lack these defensive structures (‘absent’ morph). Startle response experiments revealed that the absent morph did better in all aspects of startle performance (displacement, maximum velocity, acceleration) than the complete morph. The absent morph also bent deeper than the complete morph during the initial phase of the startle response. The pelvic girdle polymorphism in this population may be maintained because individuals with a complete pelvic girdle and spines may be able to escape more easily from predators once they are captured, whereas individuals lacking these structures may better avoid capture when they are attacked.
Bargaining Over Policy Space in Trade Negotiations

Much is written about the problem of trade and social inclusion, but little in terms of concrete proposals. This essay proposes two reforms in trade law to address two issues from the perspective of government intervention for social protection and development. It contends that the World Trade Organization faces two significant issues from this perspective: (a) a failure to deal with imports produced under conditions that violate international labor norms and (b) restrictions it imposes on development strategies that deter legitimate experimentation. The essay proposes the following two reforms: (1) a hybrid antidumping/safeguard regime that would authorize increased tariffs when imported goods are produced under substandard labor conditions; and (2) exceptions to the law on subsidies for legitimate industrial policy for development purposes. While there will be opposition to these measures since the “North” has an interest in the first and the “South” in the second, it may be possible to negotiate a reform package with appropriate safeguards against abuse if political will can be mustered. Otherwise, countries inevitably will push the interpretation of existing WTO law to accommodate these policies, placing greater pressure on the WTO’s judicial bodies. Concrete proposals are needed to address the externalities involved on all sides.