cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Litigation risk and financial leverage

In this paper, we use a unique hand-collected dataset on corporate litigation to examine the relationship between litigation risk and financial leverage. We find that an increase in litigation risk is associated with a significant decrease in total debt. Partitioning total debt into long-term debt and short-term debt, we find a negative relationship between litigation risk and long-term debt. There is no significant relationship between litigation risk and short-term debt.
Corrigendum to novel approaches for two and three dimensional multiplexed imaging of osteocytes Bone 76 (2015) [129-140].

Corrigendum to novel approaches for two and three dimensional multiplexed imaging of osteocytes Bone 76 (2015) [129–140] Suzan A. Kamel-ElSayed , LeAnn M. Tiede-Lewis , Yongbo Lu , Patricia A. Veno , Sarah L. Dallas a,⁎ a Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Missouri, 650 E. 25th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108, USA b Biomedical Sciences Department, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, 414 O'Dowd Hall, Rochester, MI 48309, USA c Medical Physiology Department, Assiut University School of Medicine, 71516 Asyut, Egypt d Department of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, 3302 Gaston Ave., Dallas, TX 75246, USA
Morphology control in mesoporous carbon films using solvent vapor annealing

Ordered mesoporous (2–50 nm) carbon films were fabricated using cooperative self-assembly of a phenolic resin oligomer with a novel block copolymer template (poly(styrene-block-N,N-dimethyl-n-octadecylamine p-styrenesulfonate), (PS-b-PSS-DMODA)) synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Due to the high Tg of the PS segment and the strong interactions between the phenolic resin and the PSS-DMODA, the segmental rearrangement is kinetically hindered relative to the cross-linking rate of the phenolic resin, which inhibits long-range ordering and yields a poorly ordered mesoporous carbon with a broad pore size distribution. However, relatively short exposure (2 h) to controlled vapor pressures of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) yields significant improvements in the long-range ordering and narrows the pore size distribution. The average pore size increases as the solvent vapor pressure during annealing increases, but an upper limit of p/p0 = 0.85 exists above which the fi...
Limits on action priming by pictures of objects.

When does looking at an object prime actions associated with using it, and what aspects of those actions are primed? We examined whether viewing manmade objects with handles would selectively facilitate responses for the hand closest to the handle, attempting to replicate a study reported by Tucker and Ellis (1998). We also examined whether the hypothesized action priming effects depended upon the response hand’s proximity to an object. In 7 experiments, participants made judgments about whether pictured objects were manmade or natural or whether the objects were upright or inverted. They responded by pressing buttons located either on the same or opposite side as the objects’ handles, at variable distances. Action priming was observed only when participants were explicitly instructed to imagine picking up the pictured objects while making their judgments; the data provide no evidence for task-general automatic priming of lateralized responses by object handles. These data indicate that visually encoding an object activates spatially localized action representations only under special circumstances.
Ebolavirus Glycoprotein Fc Fusion Protein Protects Guinea Pigs against Lethal Challenge.

Ebola virus (EBOV), a member of the Filoviridae that can cause severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates, poses a significant threat to the public health. Currently, there are no licensed vaccines or therapeutics to prevent and treat EBOV infection. Several vaccines based on the EBOV glycoprotein (GP) are under development, including vectored, virus-like particles, and protein-based subunit vaccines. We previously demonstrated that a subunit vaccine containing the extracellular domain of the Ebola ebolavirus (EBOV) GP fused to the Fc fragment of human IgG1 (EBOVgp-Fc) protected mice against EBOV lethal challenge. Here, we show that the EBOVgp-Fc vaccine formulated with QS-21, alum, or polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid-poly-L-lysine carboxymethylcellulose (poly-ICLC) adjuvants induced strong humoral immune responses in guinea pigs. The vaccinated animals developed anti-GP total antibody titers of approximately 105−106 and neutralizing antibody titers of approximately 103 as assessed by a BSL-2 neutralization assay based on vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) pseudotypes. The poly-ICLC formulated EBOVgp-Fc vaccine protected all the guinea pigs against EBOV lethal challenge performed under BSL-4 conditions whereas the same vaccine formulated with QS-21 or alum only induced partial protection. Vaccination with a mucin-deleted EBOVgp-Fc construct formulated with QS-21 adjuvant did not have a significant effect in anti-GP antibody levels and protection against EBOV lethal challenge compared to the full-length GP construct. The bulk of the humoral response induced by the EBOVgp-Fc vaccine was directed against epitopes outside the EBOV mucin region. Our findings indicate that different adjuvants can eliciting varying levels of protection against lethal EBOV challenge in guinea pigs vaccinated with EBOVgp-Fc, and suggest that levels of total anti-GP antibodies elicit by protein-based GP subunit vaccines do not correlate with protection. Our data further support the development of Fc fusions of GP as a candidate vaccine for human use.
Nonlinear magnetic dynamics in a nanomagnet–topological insulator heterostructure

Magnetization dynamics of a nanomagnet, when strongly coupled with a topological insulator (TI) via the proximity interaction, is examined theoretically in the presence of electrical current on the TI surface under realistic transport conditions. Due to the spin-momentum interlock, the magnetic state and TI electron transport depend significantly on each other. Such an interdependence leads to a variety of nonlinear dynamical responses in all transport regimes including the scattering dominant diffusive cases. Generation of the anomalous Hall current, in particular, is found to be a key to the unique features that have not been observed previously. For instance, the anomalous Hall current can result in antiparallel alignment of the final magnetization state in reference to the effective driving magnetic field by inducing an extra term that counters the damping effect. Similarly the calculation also reveals steady oscillation of the magnetization under a broad range of conditions, offering a robust mechanism for highly efficient magnetization reversal and/or spin wave excitation under a dc bias.
There's No Business Like Oil Business: The Allure of Tax Sheltered Oil Income to Hollywood's Wealthy

Hollywood’s greatest stars did not only produce blockbusters, but were savvy businessmen who also produced oil gushers. These stars invested in oil interests in order to shelter a large part of their income from the rapidly rising income tax rates of the 1930s. The unique tax benefit they used was the percentage oil depletion allowance, part of the Revenue Act of 1926, which allowed an oil company to reduce its taxable income by 27 ½ percent. By the 1950s, many Hollywood individuals and corporations extensively invested in the oil business which made the allowance an important component of their financial portfolios. Meanwhile, rich oilmen were also attracted to Hollywood to capitalize on a big hit, or use the losses on a money losing movie to offset their taxable profits from oil. Thus, in the mid-twentieth century, the American oil industry and Hollywood formed a close, mutually reinforcing relationship, and one that academic historians have largely overlooked. After the 1973 oil shock, the percentage depletion allowance came under threat as it was repealed for major integrated oil companies. To protect the allowance for the non-integrated independent producers, Hollywood found their political patron in the famous Hollywood actor and Republican president, Ronald Reagan. As president, Reagan ardently defended the retention of the allowance during his term in the 1980s. Hollywood’s role in the oil industry developed from being a few casual investors using the oil depletion allowance into a substantial oil industry participant and a major political defender of oil-specific tax provisions.
The vulnerability of self-reported disability measures to malingering: a simulated ADHD study.

AbstractObjective: Making diagnostic and accommodation decisions for potential Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in adults is difficult, as the assessor often relies more on self-reported symptoms and functional disability than in childhood evaluations. Malingering of ADHD occurs frequently in the educational setting and for a variety of reasons, including the potential benefits of access to stimulant medications and academic accommodations. Method: The present study utilized a simulation design to examine the potential for malingering of self-reported functional disability on the World Health Organization Disability Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS). Participants were 167 students from two Midwestern universities. Thirty-six self-reported a previous diagnosis of ADHD, and the remaining 131 students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: best effort, malingering for the purpose of receiving stimulant medication, or malingering for the purpose of receiving extra time accommodations. Results: ...
Low rate of positive bronchoscopy for suspected foreign body aspiration in infants

Abstract Objectives To describe our institution's low rate of positive bronchoscopy in infants suspected of inhaling a foreign body. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Methods A retrospective review was performed of patients at a tertiary children's hospital with suspected inhalation of a foreign body. Charts were reviewed for demographic information, radiologic findings, operative reports, and respiratory viral panels were reviewed. Results Sixteen pediatric patients under 12 months of age were identified from 2008 to 2016 with a diagnosis of possible airway foreign body inhalation who underwent emergent bronchoscopy. Of these patients, only one was positive for a foreign body present in the airway. The remaining 15 children were found to have a negative direct laryngoscopy and bronchoscopy evaluation for a foreign body. Of these fifteen patients, 14 were found to have structural airway abnormalities and 7 tested positive for a respiratory viral infection. Conclusions Our institution has a low rate of positive bronchoscopy for highly suspected foreign body inhalation in a group of patients less than 12 months of age. Patients presenting with respiratory distress, stridor, or other airway symptoms were often found to have an underlying airway abnormality or viral infection, which coupled with an unclear history, would increase the suspicion for an airway foreign body and subsequent decision to perform bronchoscopy. In stable patients, diagnostic evaluation for an underlying respiratory infection should be performed in these cases. Level of Evidence Case Series.
Activating Ru nanoparticles on oxide supports for ring-opening metathesis polymerization

Nano-sized particles mounted on heterogeneous oxide supports such as silica have altered reactivity when compared to their homogeneous analogs. In particular, catalyzed olefin metathesis using supported Ru nanoparticles has shown great promise and various methods have been employed to develop functional heterogeneous Ru catalysts. This article reports a method for synthesizing Ru nanoparticles supported on silica and titania. The nanoparticles were characterized using XPS showing Ru(0) dominates when not exposed to air. TEM showed Ru nanoparticle sizes of 3.1 ± 0.8 nm for Ru supported on SiO2 and 5.6 ± 1.3 nm for Ru supported on TiO2. The materials demonstrated modest activity in ring-opening metathesis reactions via diazo activation and nanoparticle-embedded polymers of norbornene and norbornadiene were synthesized using dry box and Schlenk line techniques. The Ru/support/polymer composite materials were characterized using proton NMR, XPS, and SEM/EDS.
Childhood Maltreatment and Pediatric PTSD: Abnormalities in Threat Neural Circuitry

This chapter will detail my laboratory’s work highlighting the effects of childhood maltreatment and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on the brain’s processing of threat. This review will focus on functional brain abnormalities associated with childhood maltreatment and PTSD and give consideration to which of these changes may be adaptive or maladaptive in the context of a stressful childhood environment. This chapter will begin with a brief overview of the neural circuitry involved in threat processing and regulation, followed by a summary of functional brain MRI studies my lab has conducted across adult and youth samples. In this work, I propose a model in which childhood maltreatment is associated with heightened reactivity in brain regions responsible for the detection of threat, such as the amygdala, which may aid a child in staying safe in a dangerous environment. However, recruitment and connectivity of threat-detecting regions with prefrontal regulatory regions may play a key role in determining adaptive and maladaptive emotional outcomes following childhood maltreatment. Delineating adaptive and maladaptive neurodevelopment following maltreatment is crucial if we are to advance our prevention and intervention strategies for the many harmful emotional effects of maltreatment.
Creativity and Culture: State of the Art

Our project goal was to understand how creativity is defined across cultures, to identify key stimuli for fostering creativity in different cultures, and to understand how creative performance differs by culture. Based on a comprehensive literature review and several field studies of designers, we find that current research on creativity and culture is biased toward Western conceptions. Applying this Western-biased view of creativity, research concludes that the West shows greater creative performance than the East. The East, in contrast, emphasizes the value of re-interpreting existing practices and de-emphasizing originality. Most recent approaches to the study of creativity, however, measure the number of ideas and the level of originality as key indicators of creativity. We also found that scant research has been conducted to understand the factors that stimulate creativity in different cultures. Though factors such as extrinsic vs. intrinsic motivation and conformity pressure have been explored, results are inconclusive. We speculate on new directions for research on creativity and culture.
Identification of Genetic Causality Statements in Medline Abstracts Leveraging Distant Supervision

In the era of precision medicine, the clinical utility of next generation sequencing technology highly depends on the ability of interpreting the causality association of genetic variants and phenotyping which can be a labor intensive process. There are various resources available for cataloging such associations such as HGMD or ClinVar. Given the exponential growth in literature in the field, it is desired to accelerate the process by automatically identifying genetic causality statements from literature. Here, we define the task of identifying the statements as a classification task for sentences containing gene and disease entities. We used the cancer gene census available at the Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) and to generate a weakly labeled data set for our classification task. We evaluated multiple feature sets such as: words, bi-grams, word embedding, and several machine-learning methods and showed the weighted F-measure around 95%. Evaluation using the top 50 genetic variant disease sentences demonstrated that the proposed method can identify genetic causality statements.
Unilateral bilateral acute iris transillumination-like syndrome after intracameral moxifloxacin injection for intraoperative endophthalmitis prophylaxis

In recent years, the use of intracameral moxifloxacin for intraoperative endophthalmitis prophylaxis has gained wide acceptance. Overall, moxifloxacin has been demonstrated to have excellent ocular safety with minimum toxicity. However, some ocular adverse effects have been postulated to be associated with systemic moxifloxacin use. One such possible association identified in recent years is bilateral acute iris transillumination (BAIT), in which sudden pigment dispersion, variable pupillary abnormalities, and diffuse iris transillumination defects are seen in the absence of known infectious or uveitic processes. Until now, such findings have only been reported in the setting of systemic moxifloxacin exposure and never with topical or local exposure. Herein we present the first known case of a BAIT-like syndrome in a single eye after unilateral intracameral injection of moxifloxacin for endophthalmitis prophylaxis.
Interface Engineering of Metal Oxynitride Lateral Heterojunctions for Photocatalytic and Optoelectronic Applications

Significant improvements of the photocatalytic and optoelectronic applications demand materials that exhibit finely tuned band gaps, band edge potentials, exciton dynamics, charged states, and crys...
Plasma Heating in Magnetic Fusion Devices

The history of magnetic confinement plasma heating methods is given. The difficulty in using ohmic heating to heat reactor-grade plasmas to thermonuclear temperatures is shown. Neutral beam injection (NBI) techniques are described from the standpoint of the atomic physics of neutralization, accelerator current density limits (the Child-Langmuir law), and ion optics. The need for negative ion beams for penetration of large plasmas is shown. The current design of the ITER NBI system is shown. Radiofrequency (RF) heating approaches are described, with the details of RF wave propagation shown through the cold-plasma dispersion relation, accessibility and the CMA diagram, and then the warm-plasma dispersion relations. Ray tracing techniques are described, along with a discussion of tunneling and mode conversion. Nonlinear effects leading to heating and current drive at lower hybrid (LH) and electron cyclotron resonance frequency (ECRF) are discussed. Ion cyclotron range of frequency (ICRF) systems are discussed from an accessibility viewpoint and from the antenna design viewpoint. The technology required for these frequency bands, including the power sources such as tetrodes (ICRF), klystrons (LH), gyrotrons and quasioptical devices (ECRF), and the transmission systems including coaxial cables (ICRF), waveguides (LH and ECRF), and quasioptical transmission (ECRF) are described, with emphasis on the current ITER RF heating and current drive systems.
An Extended Method of Multiple-Camera Calibration for 3D Vehicle Tracking at Intersections

In this paper, we propose an extended method for calibration of multiple cameras for 3D vehicle tracking at intersections that eventually targets automated and accurate traffic data collection. To allow simple, efficient yet accurate camera calibration of multiple cameras, we propose to extend the method based on the traditional vanishing-point based technique for individual camera calibration. First, a common rectangular road pattern derived from parallel traffic lanes is established to set up a unique world coordinate. Then, each camera is separately calibrated using parallel lines from the road pattern and finally all cameras are jointly optimized in least-squared nonlinear approach for minimum projection error. It is evaluated in a practical traffic scene with two cameras that more than 90% accuracy is achieved for distance and vehicle 3D dimension estimation.
New Measures of Operational Readiness for Multi-states Avionics Integrated Systems with Reduced Efficiency

The paper presents a method of analysis and determination of partial operational readiness coefficients and a way of its assessment, as well as guidelines for making decisions in the field of rational management and efficient use of the aircraft with equipment that is partially non-airworthy under conditions of the occurrence of, e.g. armed conflict, state threat, and crisis state. It was indicated that for efficient management of the operation of military aircraft and helicopters under conditions of ensuring flight safety, it is necessary to support a decision-making process with the use of IT systems that allow for current determination of the partial and complete operational readiness level of individual aircraft on-board systems with many states with reduced usability.
Truth® ads, receptivity, and motivation to use or quit tobacco among college students.

Objective: Examine receptivity and motivation to use/quit tobacco among college students after viewing Truth ads. Participants: Random sample of 10,000 college students invited to complete online s...
Polytherapy and Targeted Cancer Drug Resistance

A current challenge in cancer treatment is drug resistance. Even the most effective therapies often fail to produce a complete and durable tumor response and ultimately give rise to therapy resistance and tumor relapse. However, how resistance arises in cancer remains incompletely understood. While drug resistance in cancer is thought to be driven by irreversible genetic mutations, emerging evidence also implicates reversible proteomic and epigenetic mechanisms in the development of drug resistance. Tumor microenvironment-mediated mechanisms and tumor heterogeneity can significantly contribute to cancer treatment resistance. Here, we discuss the diverse and dynamic strategies that cancers use to evade drug response, the promise of upfront combination and intermittent therapies and therapy switching in forestalling resistance, and epigenetic reprogramming to combat resistance.
The Low-Resolution CCSM4

AbstractThe low-resolution version of the Community Climate System Model, version 4 (CCSM4) is a computationally efficient alternative to the intermediate and standard resolution versions of this fully coupled climate system model. It employs an atmospheric horizontal grid of 3.75° × 3.75° and 26 levels in the vertical with a spectral dynamical core (T31) and an oceanic horizontal grid that consists of a nominal 3° resolution with 60 levels in the vertical. This low-resolution version (T31x3) can be used for a variety of applications including long equilibrium simulations, development work, and sensitivity studies. The T31x3 model is validated for modern conditions by comparing to available observations. Significant problems exist for Northern Hemisphere Arctic locales where sea ice extent and thickness are excessive. This is partially due to low heat transport in T31x3, which translates into a globally averaged sea surface temperature (SST) bias of −1.54°C compared to observational estimates from the 187...
A Developmental Framework for Improving Hurricane Model Physical Parameterizations Using Aircraft Observations

ABSTRACT As part of NOAA’s Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program (HFIP), this paper addresses the important role of aircraft observations in hurricane model physics validation and improvement. A model developmental framework for improving the physical parameterizations using quality-controlled and post-processed aircraft observations is presented, with steps that include model diagnostics, physics development, physics implementation and further evaluation. Model deficiencies are first identified through model diagnostics by comparing the simulated axisymmetric multi-scale structures to observational composites. New physical parameterizations are developed in parallel based on in-situ observational data from specially designed hurricane field programs. The new physics package is then implemented in the model, which is followed by further evaluation. The developmental framework presented here is found to be successful in improving the surface layer and boundary layer parameterization schemes in the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast (HWRF) model. Observations for improving physics packages other than boundary layer scheme are also discussed.
Odorants from the Thermal Treatment of Hydrolyzed Mushroom Protein and Cysteine Enhance Saltiness Perception

Innovative approaches to develop flavors with high sensory appeal are critical in encouraging increased consumer preference and adoption of low sodium foods. Gas chromatography-olfactometry, coupled with stable isotope dilution assays and sensory experiments, led to the identification of the odorants responsible for an enhancement in saltiness perception of chicken broth prepared with thermally treated enzymatically hydrolyzed mushroom protein and cysteine, then reacted under kitchen-like cooking conditions. Comparative aroma extract dilution analysis revealed 36 odorants with flavor dilution factors between a range of 1 and 256. Sixteen odorants were quantitated and odor activity values (OAVs) calculated. Important odorants included 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, OAV 610), 1-(2-furyl)ethanethiol (meaty, OAV 78), 3-sulfanylpentan-2-one (catty, OAV 42), sotolon (maple, OAV 20), indole (animal, OAV 8), 2-methyl-3-(methyldithio)furan (meaty, OAV 3), and p-cresol (barnyard, OAV 1). An odor simulation model was evaluated in two consumer sensory studies. These studies confirmed that the addition of the aroma model increased the perceived saltiness of low sodium chicken broth (p < 0.05).
An application of DNA barcoding in identification of Cricetulus Barabensis

Objective To apply DNA barcoding technology for exploring its taxonomic status and differences in the molecular biology of Cricetulus barabensis in Shaanxi Province. Methods Sixty-five samples of Cricetulus barabensis were collected from Dingbian, Jingbian Counties in northern of Shaanxi and Dali County in Guanzhong plain (Dingbian 58 samples, Jingbian 2 samples, and Dali 5 samples). According to the mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit Ⅰ gene (COⅠ) sequence, the genetic distance was calculated and Neighbor-Joining tree was constructed. Results The genetic distance between two samples (13.16, 13.21) and other 56 samples of Dingbian was 9.2%-10.0%. The genetic distance between the 56 samples of Dingbian and Jingbian was less than 1% and Dali was 7.2%-8.3%; the average intraspecific genetic distance of Jingbian and Dali was less than 1%. The Neighbor-Joining tree showed that all the Cricetulus barabensis samples from the three counties were separated into two large branches. The samples of 13.16, 13.21 from Dingbian together were classified into a class and the rest of the samples into another separate branch. At the same time, other samples from Dingbian except 13.16, 13.21 and Jingbian were distributed in a small branch, and Dali samples were occupied another small branch. Conclusion Using the DNA barcoding technology, we have determined three subspecies of Cricetulus barabensis in Shaanxi Province, Dingbian has two kinds and Dali has a different subspecies. Key words: Cricetulus barabensis; DNA barcoding; Mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase subunit Ⅰ gene
A guide to poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) toxicity management

Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death in women and is the leading cause of gynecologic-related deaths in the United States.[1 2][1] Only ~40% of patients with ovarian cancer achieve a cure and the 5-year overall survival is ~47%.[1][1] The majority of ovarian
A comprehensive review on catalysts for electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic degradation of antibiotics

Abstract Antibiotics in water environment have caused serious risk to human health due to their difficult biodegradability and environmental accumulation. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been demonstrated to effectively degrade antibiotics in wastewaters via the formation of reactive oxygen species with strong oxidation ability, such as hydroxyl radical. Electrocatalysis (EC) and photoelectrocatalysis (PEC) have emerged as promising AOPs. This article provides a comprehensive review on the progress in EC and PEC for degradation of antibiotics, with emphasis on the development of catalysts and their performances. The effect of experimental parameters (current density, applied potential, pH, electrolyte concentration, coexisting ions, and light source and intensity) on the degradation of antibiotics and the toxicity of intermediate, final products, and treated water are also assessed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are discussed for EC and PEC degradation processes of antibiotics.
Diagnosing Dyspneic Older Adult Emergency Department Patients: A Pilot Study

Dyspnea is the second leading cause of US emergency department (ED) visits and an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality1 in older adult patients aged ≥65 years. Unfortunately, the diagnosis of the cause of dyspnea presents diagnostic challenges to emergency physicians2-4 that disproportionately affects older adults.5 One in 5 dyspneic older adults experience missed diagnosis in the ED2 and 21% are treated for ≥1 pneumonia, acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], and acute exacerbation of heart failure [HF].5 Importantly, some may have multiple causes of their dyspnea but accurate diagnosis remains critical.
An applied approach to multi-criteria humanitarian supply chain planning for pandemic response

Purpose: When a large-scale outbreak such as the COVID-19 pandemic happens, organizations that are responsible for delivering relief may face a lack of both provisions and human resources Governments are the primary source for the humanitarian supplies required during such a crisis;however, coordination with humanitarian NGOs in handling such pandemics is a vital form of public-private partnership (PPP) Aid organizations have to consider not only the total degree of demand satisfaction in such cases but also the obligation that relief goods such as medicine and foods should be distributed as equitably as possible within the affected areas (AAs) Design/methodology/approach: Given the challenges of acquiring real data associated with procuring relief items during the COVID-19 outbreak, a comprehensive simulation-based plan is used to generate 243 small, medium and large-sized problems with uncertain demand, and these problems are solved to optimality using GAMS Finally, post-optimality analyses are conducted, and some useful managerial insights are presented Findings: The results imply that given a reasonable measure of deprivation costs, it can be important for managers to focus less on the logistical costs of delivering resources and more on the value associated with quickly and effectively reducing the overall suffering of the affected individuals It is also important for managers to recognize that even though deprivation costs and transportation costs are both increasing as the time horizon increases, the actual growth rate of the deprivation costs decreases over time Originality/value: In this paper, a novel mathematical model is presented to minimize the total costs of delivering humanitarian aid for pandemic relief With a focus on sustainability of operations, the model incorporates total transportation and delivery costs, the cost of utilizing the transportation fleet (transportation mode cost), and equity and deprivation costs Taking social costs such as deprivation and equity costs into account, in addition to other important classic cost terms, enables managers to organize the best possible response when such outbreaks happen © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited
Endoscopic Management of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs in up to 20% of the population. Effective management of the condition is essential to reduce both symptoms and the risk for dysplastic changes of esophageal mucosa. Although lifestyle and diet modification and proton-pump inhibitors (PPIs) remain the standard of therapy, approximately 30% of patients experience persistent or recurrent symptoms with this therapy, which has been labeled PPI-refractory GERD. Surgical antireflux procedures have long been the standard therapy for PPI-refractory GERD, but drawbacks include cost and surgical morbidity. Endoscopic techniques for GERD management have been developed over the past 20 years including transoral incisionless fundoplication, the Stretta procedure, and antireflux mucosectomy. This article will review the current literature on each of these endoscopic procedures as well as highlight areas where further research is needed to fully understand the best practices for use of these endoscopic techniques for the management of PPI-refractory GERD.
Optical emission-based phantom to verify coincidence of radiotherapy and imaging isocenters on an MR-linac.

Purpose Demonstrate a novel phantom design using a remote camera imaging method capable of concurrently measuring the position of the x-ray isocenter and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) isocenter on an MR-linac. Methods A conical frustum with distinct geometric features was machined out of plastic. The phantom was submerged in a small water tank, and aligned using room lasers on a MRIdian MR-linac (ViewRay Inc., Cleveland, OH). The phantom physical isocenter was visualized in the MR images and related to the DICOM coordinate isocenter. To view the x-ray isocenter, an intensified CMOS camera system (DoseOptics LLC., Hanover, NH) was placed at the foot of the treatment couch, and centered such that the optical axis of the camera was coincident with the central axis of the treatment bore. Two or four 8.3mm x 24.1cm beams irradiated the phantom from cardinal directions, producing an optical ring on the conical surface of the phantom. The diameter of the ring, measured at the peak intensity, was compared to the known diameter at the position of irradiation to determine the Z-direction offset of the beam. A star-shot method was employed on the front face of the frustum to determine X-Y alignment of the MV beam. Known shifts were applied to the phantom to establish the sensitivity of the method. Results Couch translations, demonstrative of possible isocenter misalignments, on the order of 1mm were detectable for both the radiotherapy and MRI isocenters. Data acquired on the MR-linac demonstrated an average error of 0.28mm(N=10, R2 =0.997, σ=0.37mm) in established Z displacement, and 0.10mm(N=5, σ=0.34mm) in XY directions of the radiotherapy isocenter. Conclusions The phantom was capable of measuring both the MRI and radiotherapy treatment isocenters. This method has the potential to be of use in MR-linac commissioning, and could be streamlined to be valuable in daily constancy checks of isocenter coincidence.
A Comparison of Ceramic Materials Dynamically Impacted by Tungsten Carbide Spheres

Ballistic comparisons of several armor-grade, hot-pressed ceramics are made using data obtained from dynamic impact experiments with tungsten carbide (WC-6%Co) spheres. Titanium Diboride, Silicon Carbide, Tungsten Carbideand Boron Carbide were tested and all ceramics show the same three distinct groupings, characterized by impact velocity. A lower velocity regime, to as high as 500 m/s, characterized by little or no visual surface damage (other than ring cracks), while significant sub-surface damage is generated (see companion papers). A higher velocity regime is characterized by inelastic impactor response, yield or shattering, which typically occurs above 1 km/s. The damage is evident by craters that form and the impactor penetrates the damaged material. This regime is representative of typical armor applications. An intermediate velocity range exists, characterized as an onset to penetration where the damage results in craters that are not necessarily fully developed, but where the impactor remains elastic. The penetration response curves generated for each of these materials are compared on an areal density basis. Less areal density penetrated at a given impact velocity implies greater target resistance to penetration. The rate of crater depth with increasing velocity is governed by target properties related to ballistic penetration resistance, which is typically used within analytic penetration formulations. Penetration resistance may be obtained from correlation with the data. This is a lumped parameter that is related to the constitutive behavior of comminuted ceramic material, which is typically assumed to behave as a granular material with a pressure-dependent Mohr-Coulomb behavior. The slope of the pressure-shear dependence can be approximated from the testing technique.
Optimization Models for Structural Analysis and Control Synthesis of Large Scale Systems

The role of the structural properties of large scale systems for the synthesis of feasible control schemes is investigated in this paper. The feasibility of considering a state variable as an output (control objective) of a system is expressed via the concepts of multi-input connectability and structural functional controllability. It is shown, that these concepts can be formulated as mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problems and efficient algorithms are presented for the determination of the above notions as well as for accessability and structural controllability. Two examples illustrate the concepts and the proposed approach.
An Analysis of Case Logs From American Urologists in the Treatment of Peyronie's Disease.

Objective To review recent trends in the treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD), we assess surgical practice patterns of urologists in the United States with emphasis on specialty training, demographics, and temporal changes. Methods Six-month case log data of American urologists between 2004 and 2013 were obtained from the American Board of Urology. Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes were used to identify surgical procedures, including plaque injection. Results A total of 6564 urologists were included in the surgical cohort, logging 8195 surgical procedures for PD. Only 15.4% of urologists (1012/6564) reported a surgical case for PD. Andrologists (urologist subspecialty designation) accounted for 5.3% of these urologists (54/1012) and performed 18.5% of PD procedures ( P = .0001). The frequency of plaque injections increased from 499 in 2004 to 797 in 2013, a 59% increase, whereas surgical correction remained stable. Urologists performed four times as many injections as surgical procedures for PD ( P = .001) with andrologists more likely to attempt injection than surgical correction ( P = .045). Among surgeries performed, 73.2% were corrections of angulation without plaque excision, 20.5% were excisions of plaque (with possible grafting) up to 5 cm, and 6.2% were excisions of plaque (with possible grafting) >5 cm. There was a 313% increase in the ratio of plication to plaque manipulation (0.92 in 2004 to 2.91 in 2013). Conclusion PD is treated by a minority of urologists and disproportionately by subspecialist in andrology. When compared with surgical interventions, excluding prosthesis implantation, most surgeons favor conservative treatment. The majority of surgical corrections were corrections of angulation without plaque manipulation.
Input-output organization of the sensorimotor striatum in the squirrel monkey

The basal ganglia receive massive inputs from the neocortex and send outputs that exert both inhibitory and disinhibitory control over parts of the frontal cortex and brainstem. Between these basal ganglia inputs and outputs lies the striatum, which receives most of the cortical afferents and projects to the basal ganglia output nuclei--the globus pallidus and substantia nigra. To analyze this system we conjointly labeled, in squirrel monkeys, sensorimotor cortical inputs to the striatum and striatal outputs to the globus pallidus. Anterograde tracers were injected into the motor (MI) and somatosensory (SI) cortical body maps, at sites determined by electrophysiological stimulation and recording. Retrograde tracers were stereotaxically injected into the external and internal pallidal segments (GPe and GPi). We found that multiple dispersed modules (“matrisomes”) in the putamen that all received inputs from single body-part representations in sensorimotor cortex could, in turn, send convergent outputs to single sites in the pallidum. This divergence-reconvergence pattern was found for both GPe and GPi sites, and for inputs from both SI and MI cortex. Thus, information from a single functional region in the cortex can be split up at the striatal stage only to be brought back together in the pallidum. The temporary divergence may increase lateral interactions between sensorimotor matrisomes, as well as between matrisomes and striosomes. One function of striatal modularity may thus be to set up an associative network in the striatum, which might contribute to sensorimotor learning. We also found that some sets of matrisomes did not receive strong sensorimotor inputs, even though they projected to regions of GPe and GPi that are near the sensorimotor- recipient zones described above. Thus, the matrisomal system may sort MI/SI inputs and other inputs before transfer to paired regions of GPe and GPi.
Estimated impacts of emission reductions on wheat and maize crops

We assess the benefits of climate change mitigation for global maize and wheat production over the 21st century by comparing outcomes under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 as simulated by two large initial condition ensembles from NCAR’s Community Earth System Model. We use models of the relation between climate variables, CO2 concentrations, and yields built on observations and then project this relation on the basis of simulated future temperature and precipitation and CO2 trajectories under the two scenarios, for short (2021–2040), medium (2041–2060) and long (2061–2080) time horizons. We focus on projected mean yield impacts, chances of significant slowdowns in yield, and exposure to damaging heat during critical periods of the growing seasons, the last of which is not explicitly considered in yield impacts by most models, including ours. We find that substantial benefits from mitigation would be achieved throughout the 21st century for maize, in terms of reducing (1) the size of average yield impacts, with mean losses for maize under RCP8.5 reduced under RCP4.5 by about 25 %, 40 % and 50 % as the time horizon lengthens over the 21st century; (2) the risk of major slowdowns over a 10 or 20 year period, with maize chances under RCP4.5 being reduced up to ~75 % by the end of the century compared to those estimated under RCP8.5; and (3) exposure to critical or “lethal” heat extremes, with the number of extremely hot days under RCP8.5 roughly triple current levels by end of century, compared to a doubling for RCP4.5. For wheat, we project small or occasionally negative effects of mitigation for projected yields, because of stronger CO2 fertilization effects than in maize, but substantial benefits of mitigation remain in terms of exposure to extremely high temperatures.
Modulation by IL-2 of CD70 and CD27 Expression on CD8+ T Cells: Importance for the Therapeutic Effectiveness of Cell Transfer Immunotherapy

Proper T cell function relies on the integration of signals delivered by Ag, cytokine, and costimulatory receptors. In this study, the interactions between IL-2, CD27, and its ligand CD70 and their effects on human T cell function were examined. Unstimulated CD8(+) T cells expressed relatively low levels of CD70 and high levels of CD27. Incubation in vitro with high doses of IL-2 (3,000 IU/ml) or administration of IL-2 in vivo resulted in substantial up-regulation of CD70 expression and the concomitant loss of cell surface CD27 expression on CD8(+) cells. Withdrawal of IL-2 from activated CD8(+) T cells that had been maintained in IL-2 resulted in a reversal of the expression of these two markers, whereas reciprocal changes were seen following treatment of PBMCs with IL-2. The proliferation observed in cells stimulated with IL-2 primarily occurred in a subset of the CD70(+)CD8(+) T cells that up-regulated IL-2 receptor expression but did not occur in CD70(-)CD8(+) T cells. Blocking CD70 resulted in a significant reduction of T cell proliferation induced by high-dose IL-2, indicating that the interaction of CD70 with CD27 played a direct role in T cell activation mediated by IL-2. Finally, studies conducted on tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) samples that were administered to melanoma patients indicated that the size of the pool of CD27(+)CD8(+) T cells in bulk TILs was highly associated (p = 0.004) with the ability of these TILs to mediate tumor regression following adoptive transfer.
Diapiric origin of the Blytheville and Pascola arches in the Reelfoot rift, east-central United States: Relation to New Madrid seismicity

Most of the earthquakes in the New Madrid seismic zone correlate spatially with the Blytheville arch and part of the Pascola arch, which are interpreted to be the same structure. Both arches may have formed by diapirism along the axis of the Reeffoot rift. Seismic, geophys ical, and drill-hole data indicate that the rocks in the arches are highly deformed and fractured and have gross lithologic properties that make them weaker than rocks adjacent to the arches. The weaker rocks are inferred to fail seismically more readily than the stronger rocks adjacent to the arches.
Microsomal fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase catalyzes the oxidation of aliphatic aldehyde derived from ether glycerolipid catabolism: implications for Sjögren-Larsson syndrome.

The enzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of fatty aldehyde derived from ether glycerolipid catabolism has not been identified. To determine whether microsomal fatty aldehyde dehydrogenase (FALDH) is responsible, we investigated the metabolism of 1-O-[9,10- 3 H-octadecyl]-glycerol ([ 3 H]OG) in FALDH-deficient cultured cells from patients with Sjo « gren^ Larsson syndrome (SLS) and in mutant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. Intact fibroblasts from SLS patients incubated with [ 3 H]OG showed a selective deficiency (38 ˛ 7% of normal) in the incorporation of radioactivity into fatty acid, but no decrease in incorporation of radioactivity into fatty alcohol, total lipids and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). Consistent with fatty aldehyde accumulation, incorporation of radioactivity into N-alkyl-phosphatidylethanolamine, which is derived from Schiff base formation of free aldehyde with PE, was 4-fold higher in SLS fibroblasts compared to normal controls. Similar results were seen with SLS keratinocytes, whereas FALDH-deficient CHO cells showed a more profound reduction in radioactive fatty acid to 12 ˛ 2% of normal. These results implicate FALDH in the oxidation of ether-derived fatty aldehyde in human and rodent cells. Metabolism of ether glycerolipids is a previously unrecognized source of fatty aldehyde that may contribute to the pathogenesis of SLS. fl 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.