cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alternative logics for decision making in social settings

Abstract In this paper I discuss evidence that traditional, consequentialist models of decision making are inadequate to account for human decision making. The alternative model that I explore derives from March’s idea that decision processes involve perceptions of appropriateness, identity, and rule-based choice.
Understanding Employees' Willingness to Contribute to Shared Electronic Databases A Three-Dimensional Framework

Work organizations increasingly adopt shared electronic databases. However, employees' unwillingness to contribute to shared resources undermines the utility of such technologies. Current research is limited to either a utilitarian or normative perspective. To advance understanding in this area, this study proposes a three-dimensional framework. It includes the utilitarian and normative perspectives as two complementary dimensions in addition to a third collaborative dimension. Based on this framework, the study identifies three key organizational processes and advances an additive model to predict employees' willingness to contribute to shared electronic databases. An empirical test was conducted to assess the model in a large manufacturing organization. The test showed both significant overall effects of the model and significant main effects of each predictor variable. The article will discuss the findings and address both theoretical and practical implications.
Mixed longitudinal study of dental emergence in the chimpanzee, Pan troglodytes (primates, pongidae)

Dental emergence ages are examined for a mixed longitudinal sample of 58 chimpanzees of known age and sex (22 males, 36 females) followed over the past 10 years. This study provides the most complete data set currently available on dental emergence in chimpanzees of known age and sex. Summary statistics and cumulative frequency percentiles of emergence ages are presented for both the permanent and the primary teeth. Male and female percentiles are also compared and reveal a number of cases of sexual dimorphism in emergence ages. Comparisons of emergence means reveal some statistically significant differences between upper and lower teeth but not between antimeres in the upper or lower dentition. Kendall's rank correlation coefficient (tau) suggests a correlation in timing between first molar and incisor emergence within individuals. In addition, a significant time lag was observed between first molar and central incisor emergence. A number of emergence sequence polymorphisms are presented as well. These findings provide important baseline information for future studies of chimpanzee growth, development, and demography and also contribute to several current issues in paleoanthropology relating to dental maturation patterns in early hominids.
Stable Spheromaks Sustained by Neutral Beam Injection

It is shown that spheromak equilibria, stable at zero-beta but departing from the Taylor state, could be sustained by non-inductive current drive at acceptable power levels. Stability to both ideal MHD and tearing modes is verified using the NIMROD code for linear stability analysis. Non-linear NIMROD calculations with non-inductive current drive and pressure effects could point the way to improved fusion reactors.
Health care costs and participation in a community-based health promotion program for older adults.

INTRODUCTION EnhanceWellness (EW) is a community-based health promotion program that helps prevent disabilities and improves health and functioning in older adults. A previous randomized controlled trial demonstrated a decrease in inpatient use for EW participants but did not evaluate health care costs. We assessed the effect of EW participation on health care costs. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study in King County, Washington. Enrollees in Group Health Cooperative (GHC), a mixed-model health maintenance organization, who were aged 65 years or older and who participated in EW from 1998 through 2005 were matched 1:3 by age and sex to GHC enrollees who did not participate in EW. We matched 218 EW participants by age and sex to 654 nonparticipants. Participants were evaluated for 1 year after the date they began the program. The primary outcome was total health care costs; secondary outcomes were inpatient costs, primary care costs, percentage of hospitalizations, and number of hospital days. We compared postintervention outcomes between EW participants and nonparticipants by using linear regression. Results were adjusted for prior year costs (or health care use), comorbidity, and preventive health care-seeking behaviors. RESULTS Mean age of participants and nonparticipants was 79 years, and 72% of participants and nonparticipants were female. Adjusted total costs in the year following the index date were $582 lower among EW participants than nonparticipants, but this difference was not significant. CONCLUSION Although EW participation demonstrated health benefits, participation does not appear to result in significant health care cost savings among people receiving health care through a health maintenance organization.
Simulation Study of Confounder-Selection Strategies

In the absence of prior knowledge about population relations, investigators frequently employ a strategy that uses the data to help them decide whether to adjust for a variable. The authors compared the performance of several such strategies for fitting multiplicative Poisson regression models to cohort data: 1) the "change-in-estimate" strategy, in which a variable is controlled if the adjusted and unadjusted estimates differ by some important amount; 2) the "significance-test-of-the-covariate" strategy, in which a variable is controlled if its coefficient is significantly different from zero at some predetermined significance level; 3) the "significance-test-of-the-difference" strategy, which tests the difference between the adjusted and unadjusted exposure coefficients; 4) the "equivalence-test-of-the-difference" strategy, which significance-tests the equivalence of the adjusted and unadjusted exposure coefficients; and 5) a hybrid strategy that takes a weighted average of adjusted and unadjusted estimates. Data were generated from 8,100 population structures at each of several sample sizes. The performance of the different strategies was evaluated by computing bias, mean squared error, and coverage rates of confidence intervals. At least one variation of each strategy that was examined performed acceptably. The change-in-estimate and equivalence-test-of-the-difference strategies performed best when the cut-point for deciding whether crude and adjusted estimates differed by an important amount was set to a low value (10%). The significance test strategies performed best when the alpha level was set to much higher than conventional levels (0.20).
Is gas-discharge plasma a new solution to the old problem of biofilm inactivation?

Conventional disinfection and sterilization methods are often ineffective with biofilms, which are ubiquitous, hard-to-destroy microbial communities embedded in a matrix mostly composed of exopolysaccharides. The use of gas-discharge plasmas represents an alternative method, since plasmas contain a mixture of charged particles, chemically reactive species and UV radiation, whose decontamination potential for free-living, planktonic micro-organisms is well established. In this study, biofilms were produced using Chromobacterium violaceum, a Gram-negative bacterium present in soil and water and used in this study as a model organism. Biofilms were subjected to an atmospheric pressure plasma jet for different exposure times. Our results show that 99.6 % of culturable cells are inactivated after a 5 min treatment. The survivor curve shows double-slope kinetics with a rapid initial decline in c.f.u. ml−1 followed by a much slower decline with D values that are longer than those for the inactivation of planktonic organisms, suggesting a more complex inactivation mechanism for biofilms. DNA and ATP determinations together with atomic force microscopy and fluorescence microscopy show that non-culturable cells are still alive after short plasma exposure times. These results indicate the potential of plasma for biofilm inactivation and suggest that cells go through a sequential set of physiological and morphological changes before inactivation.
The average order of a subtree of a tree

Let T be a tree all of whose internal vertices have degree at least three. In 1983 Jamison conjectured in JCT B that the average order of a subtree of T is at least half the order of T. In this paper a proof is provided. In addition, it is proved that the average order of a subtree of T is at most three quarters the order of T. Several open questions are stated.
AFM study of asphalt binder “bee” structures: origin, mechanical fracture, topological evolution, and experimental artifacts

The morphology of “bee” structures on the surface of bituminous asphalt binder was studied by AFM microscopy to provide insight into their origin. Based on how the “bees” flattened and fractured under applied tensile strain, the “bee” structures were hypothesized to be the result of wrinkling of very thin surface films on the order of 10 nm thick. Theories of thin film deformation suggest that the wavelength and amplitude of the “bees” may be related to the stiffness and thermal expansion coefficient of the bitumen. The study also showed that “bee” structures exhibited topological evolution over time depending on humidity and temperature in a manner consistent with the idea of the “bees” being composed of crystallized hydrophobic wax. The results of this paper should contribute to a better understanding of the relation between “bee” structures and bituminous material properties.
The Politics Of Standards-Based Curriculum In A Course-Based Environment

Demands for standards-based teacher education clash with university systems in a case study of one university's experience in revising its elementary education program. Issues of power and identity are explored.
Geographic and temporal ranges of Middle and Late Miocene carnivores

Carnivores are ecologically diverse mammals. Dietary adaptations vary from strict herbivory to pure carnivory. These adaptations have evolved independently several times within families, so evolution within the order is iterative. I used 2 databases to examine whether ecological adaptations have an effect on longevity or spatial distributions of fossil carnivores. Miocene hypercarnivorous species had, on average, the widest spatial distributions. Their temporal distributions were not significantly longer than those of other carnivores. Body size also had a significant interaction with maximum spatial distribution. Large-bodied carnivores, regardless of feeding adaptations, had larger geographical ranges, but did not have greater longevity. However, when all the data were pooled, temporal distribution had a significant correlation with spatial distribution. The position of hypercarnivores at the top of the food chain and their specialized adaptations for meat eating probably increased their extinction risk to the same level of more narrowly distributed, less specialized carnivores.
The Diverse Role of NK Cells in Immunity to Toxoplasma gondii Infection

The obligate intracellular parasite Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), found in ~30% of humans worldwide, is a significant health risk for people with HIV/AIDS, people undergoing chemotherapy treatment or organ transplantation, and for developing fetuses as a result of congenital infection [1]. Infection can cause death, blindness, spontaneous abortion, or mental retardation and is correlated with behavior and neurocognitive changes [2]. No therapies exist to prevent or clear parasite infection, which is lifelong. CD8 T cell interferon (IFN)γ is the major mechanism of protection [3,4]; however, many immune factors contribute to successful parasite control. One is the natural killer cell (NK cell) [5]. NK cells are considered group 1 innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) and provide defense against tumors and intracellular pathogens (viruses, bacteria, and parasites) [6]. They use surface receptors (activating, inhibitory, and cytokine) to survey host cells and tissues for damage or infection. Receptor engagement stimulates killing of diseased target cells (cytotoxicity) and initiating IFNγ production. Activating receptors recognize specific ligands expressed on target cell surfaces and activate via cytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs (ITAM) or associated adapter molecules DAP10 and DAP12 [7]. Inhibitory receptors inhibit by assessing self through MHC Class I (MHCI) recognition and, when triggered, recruit ITAM-antagonizing phosphatases SHIP1 and SHP1 via cytoplasmic immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motifs (ITIM) [8]. Inflammatory cytokines IFNα/β, Interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 synergize with activating receptor signals or stimulate NK cell activation alone [7]. Other functional surface proteins include FcγRs, Fas, and tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL). Ultimately, these surface proteins regulate NK cell function depending upon the stimulatory environment. Studies of NK cell responses to T. gondii have broadly impacted parasite immunology and NK cell fields. Thus, T. gondii is an excellent and relevant model to investigate NK cell biology. This model will be important in future studies, given newly emerging NK cell adaptive immune and regulatory roles and their therapeutic potential.
Mechanical lengthening in multiple intestinal segments in-series.

Abstract Purpose Current models of mechanical intestinal lengthening employ a single device in an isolated segment. Here we demonstrate that polycaprolactone (PCL) springs can be deployed in-series to lengthen multiple intestinal segments simultaneously to further increase overall intestinal length. Methods A Roux-en-y jejunojejunostomy with a blind Roux limb was created in the proximal jejunum of rats. Two encapsulated 10-mm PCL springs were placed in-series into the Roux limb and were secured with clips. After 4weeks, the lengthened segments were retrieved for histological analyses. Results Lengthening two intestinal segments simultaneously was achieved by placing two PCL springs in-series. The total combined length of the lengthened segments in-series was 45±4mm. The two jejunal segments with PCL springs (25±2 and 20±2mm) were significantly longer than control segments without the spring (14±1mm, p Conclusion Spring-mediated lengthening can be achieved using multiple springs placed sequentially. The use of the Roux-en-y surgical model allowed easy insertion of springs in a blind Roux limb and arrange them in-series. Combined with relengthening techniques, we can use these methods to increase the length of small intestine to reach clinical significance. Level of Evidence: 1 Experimental
Universities and the Food Commission Report

T HE Food Commission's report demands university respect. A distinguishing feature is its phlegmatic professional reception. It is more dormant than dead, however. Much simmering is necessary to evolve and flavor dialogue deserved by such an effort. Ten years were used to sort social from commercial problems in American agriculture. Unscrambling foreign trade and aid relations from domestic policy may take another decade. The report will have impact on university people in time. The report has probably not been read. The trade is reading it, but their lasting impression was set by a leaked version. Professional marketing men may not have read it since they think they know it all. Traditional policy workers have never really found it fashionable to read marketing materials.
State of the Debate: Natural Gas Fracking in New York's Marcellus Shale

Natural gas extraction through high-volume hydraulic fracturing, often used with horizontal drilling (“fracking”), increased by 24 percent from 2006 to 2011, and is projected to grow unabated. One of the most promising sources of natural gas is the Marcellus Shale, underlying several eastern US states, including New York. While production is underway in neighboring states, New York currently has a de facto moratorium on the type of high-volume fracking necessary to extract gas from the Marcellus Shale. In 2008, New York began updating gas drilling regulations to meet state environmental review requirements. The state is weighing the environmental and health risks and economic benefits of fracking, and is navigating overlapping jurisdiction with local, regional, and the federal governments. Although the effects of fracking are largely unknown in New York, residents are learning from Pennsylvania’s experience with fracking and are demonstrating extraordinary civic engagement, mainly against fracking. New York State has a long history of both resource extraction and environmental protection, but fracking is proving to be an intractable issue with high stakes on all sides and no clear resolution in sight.
Stress echocardiography: its emerging role in identifying viable myocardium.

SUMMARY Stress echocardiography is an emerging technique for identifying viable myocardium in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction or myocardial infarction.
Identification of human papillomavirus DNA sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify and identify the presence of the DNA of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, and 18 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of women with and without urogenital HPV infections. HPV DNA of various types was found in PBMCs of 13 of 25 (52.0%) patients with urogenital HPV infections and in none of the 19 control subjects who are free of urogenital HPV infections. The presence of HPV DNA in PBMCs may impair the immunologic functions of the lymphocytes and play a role in the epidemiology of HPV infections and the pathogenesis of HPV-induced diseases.
Toward manufacturing and cost considerations in multidisciplinary aircraft design

This paper discusses the need for and demonstrates the challenges in the way of manufacturing and cost considerations in multidisciplinary aircraft design. A perspective view of multidisciplinary aircraft design optimization is presented. Several methods for addressing product quality and customer requirements early in aircraft design are discussed. A literature survey on concurrent engineering, manufacturing influence factors, and manufacturing cost models indicates substantial accomplishments. However, many unresolved issues with regard to methods for accurate prediction of manufacturing cost and determination of manufacturing complexity still remain that require further research.
Observations of testicular abnormalities in Gallus domesticus males

SUMMARY While conducting research on testicular development in Gallus domesticus, it was noticed that several of the males had nodules on their testes. On further histological investigation, we observed that these nodules were composed of seminiferous tubules that were contained within the tunica vaginalis of the testicular capsule. The seminiferous tubules within these nodules contained sperm and spermatids at various stages of development; however, no direct outlet of the sperm into the testes was identified or observed. These testicular nodules were found in the most common primary breeder males investigated from 9 flocks, with occurrences for individual males (n > 450) ranging from 42 to 93%. The flocks that were investigated consisted of commercial breeder flocks, individually caged males, and males used in pen trials. Nodules were also found in a pure line of French Mottled Houdan chickens as well as in a randombred broiler breeder line from the 1980s. The majority of nodules were observed on a single testis, the left testis in 90.3% and the right testis in 0.6%, with 9.032% of males with nodules on both testes. The number of visible nodules on the testes ranged from 1 to as many as 18, with the size ranging up to 4.5 mm. Using histological preparations, we detected these testicular abnormalities in males as young as 18 wk of age and in males that had not been light stimulated. No conclusion about the effects of testicular nodules on fertility was apparent because all the flocks investigated had normal or higher fertility. Therefore, the etiology and subsequent effects of these testicular nodules in roosters are unknown.
On the Supervisory Role Played by Supervisor in the Examination Process

The operation of quality system can not work without regular quality supervision.Based on the management prac- tice,this paper is to analyze how an supervisor implements effective supervision in the examination process to keep the quality sys- tem running continuously and efficiently from the perspectives of the supervised body,the supervisony requirements,and the han- dling of the supervisorny result.
Testing Installed Propulsion for Shielded Exhaust Configurations

Jet-surface interaction (JSI) can be a significant factor in the exhaust noise of installed propulsion. Tests to further understanding and prediction of the acoustic impacts of JSI have been described. While there were many objectives for the NASA JSI1044 test, the overall objective was to prepare for a 2016 test validating the design of a low-noise, low-boom supersonic commercial airliner. In this paper we explore design requirements for a partial aircraft model to be used in subscale acoustic testing, especially focusing on the amount of shielding surface that must be provided to simulate the acoustic environment between propulsion exhaust system and observer. We document the dual-stream jets, both nozzle and flow conditions, which were tested to extend JSI acoustic modeling from simple single-stream jets to realistic dual-stream exhaust nozzles. Examples of observations found as surface geometry and flow conditions were varied were provided. And we have presented initial measurements of the installation impacts of integrating the propulsion on the airframe for a supersonic airliner with realistic airframe geometries and nozzles.
Effect of thymus enclosed in millipore diffusion envelopes on thymectomized hamsters.

Neonatally thymectomized hamsters implanted with diffusion envelopes containing thymus showed partial prevention of the effects of thymectomy. A normal humoral antibody response was maintained in these animals, although a significant lymphocytopenia remained. This suggests that the thymus participates in immunogenesis by a humoral mechanism and possibly by a cellular mechanism as well, which was blocked by the diffusion envelope. Thymectomized hamsters implanted with diffusion envelopes containing adult spleen, bone marrow or kidney were still impaired in their ability to produce humoral antibody, although these tissues appeared to enhance antibody production. The thymus humoral factor appeared to be specific to the thymus. Reimplanted diffusion envelopes, containing large thymic cells resembling epithelial-reticular cells, were used to show that these cells produced the thymus humoral factor.
Possible Immunological Factors in Amphibian Lymphosarcoma Development

Spontaneous lymphoid cancers in Xenopus laevis (the South African clawed toad) were first described by Balls in 1962 (1). These growths are lethal, and appear primarily in the hematopoietic organs: the liver, spleen and kidneys. Xenopus is a primitive anuran and shares with the more primitive urodeles the use of the liver subcapsular epithelium as a granulocytic organ and with the more advanced anurans the kidney as an emergency source of lymphocytes (2, 3). The disease is not limited to these organs, however, and on occasions the cancer will develop in all other viscera and, less frequently, in the head, trunk and limb musculature.
Epistemic analyticity: A defense

Salvaging analyticity, I argued, depends crucially on distinguishing between a metaphysical and an epistemic version of that concept. According to the metaphysical notion, a sentence is analytic if it owes its truth entirely to its meaning and without any contribution from the ‘facts.’ By contrast, I took a sentence to be epistemically analytic if grasp of its meaning can suffice for justified belief in the truth of the proposition it expresses.
GraphPad: Optimized Graph Primitives for Parallel and Distributed Platforms

The duality between graphs and matrices means that many common graph analyses can be expressed with primitives such as generalized sparse matrix-vector multiplication (SpMSpV) and sparse matrix-matrix multiplication (SpGEMM). Achieving high performance on these primitives is challenging due to limited arithmetic intensity, irregular memory accesses, and significant network communication requirements in the distributed setting. In this paper we implement four graph applications using GraphPad, our optimized multinode implementations of generalized linear algebra primitives such as SpMSpV and SpGEMM. GraphPad is highly flexible to accommodate multiple data layouts, partitioning strategies, and incorporates communication optimizations. Our performance at scale can exceed that of CombBLAS by up to 40x. In addition to GraphPad's performance in a distributed setting, it is also within 2x the performance of GraphMat, a high performance graph framework on a single node for four out of five benchmarks. We also show our communication optimizations and flexibility are critical for good performance on both HPC clusters and commodity cloud platforms.
El factor de transcripción nuclear kappa en las enfermedades humanas

El factor de transcripcion nuclear kappa B (NF-κB) fue descrito por primera vez en 1986. Actualmente ha sido ligado a un sinnumero de enfermedades metabolicas, inflamatorias y diversos tipos de cancer, y seguira siendo de interes en diversos procesos de enfermedad inflamatorios, infecciosos y neoplasicos. El descubrimiento de este factor ha logrado ampliar nuestro conocimiento sobre la regulacion de la inflamacion y las enfermedades cronicas, asi como de los farmacos para tratar dichas enfermedades
Mechanistic Evaluation of Benzo[a]pyrene’s Developmental Toxicities Mediated by Reduced Cyp19a1b Activity

Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant that is both an endocrine disruptor and a carcinogen. Aromatase (CYP19) is a key enzyme in steroidogenesis that is responsible for conversion of androgens to estrogens and thus plays a key role in steroid homeostasis. We hypothesized that some of the adverse outcomes of early developmental exposure to BaP are the result of reduced Cyp19a1b activity. Our goal was to investigate the role of estrogen homeostasis during early development and determine the role of aromatase inhibition as a relevant mechanism in BaP’s developmental toxicities. One-cell zebrafish embryos were injected with a Cyp19a1b-morpholino (MO) or control-MO. Other non-injected embryos were exposed to waterborne BaP, fadrozole (a Cyp19 inhibitor), estradiol (E2), BaP + E2, Cyp19a1b MO + E2, or fadrozole + E2 for 96 hours post-fertilization (hpf). Adverse outcomes were compared between treatments, and the ability of E2 co-exposure to rescue each observed dysmorphology was assessed. BaP significantly decreased cyp19a1b gene expression in 96 hpf zebrafish larvae homogenates. Concentrations of E2 in 48 hpf larvae were significantly decreased by BaP, fadrozole and Cyp19a1b-MO. Cumulative mortality of zebrafish larvae was significantly increased following BaP or fadrozole exposure or Cyp19a1b knockdown compared to controls. E2 co-treatment rescued mortality caused by 10 μg/L BaP, 10 μg/L fadrozole, or Cyp19a1b-MO. In a treatment-blinded morphological assessment of larvae at 96 hpf, several phenotypes were negatively impacted by BaP, fadrozole, or Cyp19a1b knockdown and rescued by exogenous E2 co-treatment; these included body length, optic vesicle size, swim bladder inflation, pericardial and abdominal edema, and incidence of normal larval tail shape. Abnormal pectoral fins were caused by BaP exposure only. Uninflated swim bladders were caused by all treatments including E2 alone. Our results indicate that certain BaP-mediated adverse developmental outcomes were mechanistically in accordance with BaP-mediated Cyp19a1b inhibition.
Segmentation-free quasi-Newton method for polyenergetic CT reconstruction

X-ray polychromaticity is well-known source of artifacts in clinical CT imaging. As a polyenergetic X-ray beam passes through an object, rays with lower energy are preferentially attenuated, and thus the spectrum of the beam becomes increasingly skewed towards high-energy rays This beam hardening phenomenon results in inconsistent projection data, and produces artifacts in mages reconstructed using Altered backprojection (FBP). Methods for reducing or eliminating beam hardening artifacts can be broadly categorized into post-reconstruction approaches, which attempt to eliminate artifacts from an image reconstructed using FBP, or iterative reconstruction approaches, which attempt o reconstruct an artifact-free image from the projection data, by incorporating X-ray polychromaticity directly into the system model. In this paper we compare a well-known post-reconstruction approach with an iterative approach that uses a quasi-Newton minimization algorithm. The post-reconstruction approach is a two-step process consisting of a soft-tissue correction and bone correction, while our iterative approach i based on modeling energy-dependent attenuation coefficients as a sum of photo-electric and Compton scattering components. Two numerical phantom experiments are used to demonstrate that the post-reconstruction approach does not compensate for artifacts caused by more than one different type of high attenuation material, while the iterative approach is able to reconstruct artifact-free images in both experiments The presented iterative approach does not require any segmentation and can readily incorporate attenuation models other than the one used in this paper.
Production and characterization of monoclonal IgM autoantibodies specific for the T-cell receptor.

Natural autoantibodies to the T-cell receptor (Tcr) have been identified in all human sera. However, titer, epitope specificity, and isotype vary with physiological conditions, autoimmune diseases, and retroviral infections. The levels of anti-Tcr autoantibodies in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are significantly higher than in normal individuals, and the autoantibodies are typically IgM. To obtain detailed information on these autoantibodies, we generated B-cell heterohybridomas secreting monoclonal IgM autoantibodies (mAAbs) from the synovial tissue and peripheral blood of RA patients. We selected clones secreting mAAbs that bound a major Vβ epitope defined by a synthetic peptide that contains the CDR1 region of the Vβ 8.1 gene product. From these we isolated a subset of seven mAAbs that bound a recombinant single-chain Vα/Vβ construct containing the peptide epitope and, also to JURKAT cells which express Vβ 8.1. The mAAbs produced by these clones were distinct from each other in their V-region sequences. However, all the V regions were essentially identical to germline sequences in both the heavy and light chains. Heavy-chain CDR3 segments ranged in length from 17 to 26 residues, did not correspond to any known autoantibodies, and showed extensive N-region diversity in the V(D)J junctions. Five monoclonal autoantibodies use VH 3 genes, while the remaining two utilized VH 4 sequences. Light-chain variable regions used were Vκ 3 (two), Vλ 3 (four), and one Vλ 2. These autoantibodies derived their unique features from their CDR3 segments that could not be aligned with any known sequences.
Organizing Locally: How the New Decentralists Improve Education, Health Care, and Trade, by Bruce Fuller, with Mary Berg, Danfeng Soto-Vigil Koon, and Lynette Parker

Postindustrial societies face an organizational dilemma. To ensure equitable access to basic services, public organizations have traditionally relied on centralized authorities and regulatory guida...
SHULMAN, Robert. Social Criticism and Nineteenth-Century American Fictions

(1989). SHULMAN, Robert. Social Criticism and Nineteenth-Century American Fictions. ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews: Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 34-36.
Genome-wide association study of treatment response to venlafaxine XR in generalized anxiety disorder

We conducted the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) to identify potential predictors of venlafaxine XR treatment outcome. Ninety-eight European American patients participated in a venlafaxine XR clinical trial for GAD, with Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) response/remission at 24 weeks as the primary outcome measure. All participants were genotyped with the Illumina PsychChip, and 266,820 common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were analyzed. Although no SNPs reached genome-wide significance, 8 SNPs were marginally associated with treatment response/remission and HAM-A reduction at week 12 and 24 (p<0.00001). Several identified genes may indicate markers crossing neuropsychiatric diagnostic categories.
Why do we continue to overtreat stage Ia carcinoma of the cervix

The current recommended treatment for stage Ia2 cervical cancer is a radical or modified radical hysterectomy. Although in the United States the incidence of cervical cancer is low and declining, almost 50% of the >4000 new cases will present in early stages. An estimated 2200 women each year will undergo radical hysterectomy and many will have both early- and late-onset complications. The purpose of this review is to examine if there is still a role for radical hysterectomy in the proper treatment of stage Ia2 cervical cancer given most recent data. Sufficient histological evidence suggests that although parametrial involvement and lymph node metastases can increase the risk for recurrence, they are relatively uncommon at early stages. Worldwide data that challenge radical hysterectomy as standard of care have shown that conservative management of stage Ia2 cervical cancer results in similar survival and recurrence rates. It is the recommendation based on all reviewed data that radical hysterectomy should no longer be considered standard of care in all cases of stage Ia2 cervical cancer.
Demographic and spatial disparity in HIV prevalence among incarcerated population in the US: A state-level analysis:

The purpose of this study was to explore empirically the presence of any spatial and demographic disparity in the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection rate among the prison inmates across 48 states in the US and compare the results for 2000 and 2010. HIV infection is a severe health issue for incarcerated populations in the US. In 2010, the rate of diagnosed HIV infection among inmates in state and federal prisons was five times more than the nonincarcerated population. The National Prisoner Statistics database was used to find the demographic disparities in HIV prevalence rate based on incarceration rate, gender, race/ethnicity, the proportion of non-US citizens, and proportion of population below 18 years. State-level spatial mapping, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Moran's I statistic (univariate and bivariate) were computed based on these demographic characteristics using QGIS and Geoda software. There was a statistically significant pattern of spatial disparity in overall, male and female HIV infection rates across the state prisoners, with South and South-Eastern states facing a higher risk of infection. There was also statistically significant bivariate spatial association of HIV infection rate with the covariates: whites (negative), blacks (positive), non-US citizen (positive), and prisoners under age 18 years (positive) for both 2000 and 2010. There was a statistically significant higher HIV infection rate among the female prisoners in comparison to the male prisoners. It is of prime importance to examine the state-level disparities in HIV infection rate based on place and demographics. This is because evaluating the spatial pattern will help in accessing the relevant local information and provide federal agencies with better knowledge to target interventions and prevention programs toward the subgroup of the population at higher risk and help in controlling and reducing HIV infection prevalence.
Collaboration vs. Competitive Advantage Across the Value Chain:A Study of Pharmaceutical Consortia

While the pharmaceutical industry provides a crucial role in improving human health, over the past 20 years established firms have faced declining efficiency and effectiveness of their R&D efforts....
Pinprick hypo- and hyperalgesia in diabetic rats: Can diet content affect experimental outcome?

Abstract Existing literature concerning the effect of experimentally-induced diabetes on pain thresholds in rodent models remains controversial. In this work, we describe a phenotypical switch from streptozotocin-induced pinprick hypoalgesia to hyperalgesia observed in the same laboratory, in the same strain of rats, obtained from the same vendor, and measured by the same technique carried out by the investigators. This switch was observed around January 2015, at the time when there was a change in the diet of rats at the Radley North Carolina Charles River facility. These data support the contention that diet may significantly modify disease progression, including progression of signs of diabetic neuropathy.
PEG/Dextran Double Layer Influences Fe Ion Release and Colloidal Stability of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Despite preliminary confidence on biosafety of polymer coated iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), toxicity concerns have hampered their clinical translation. SPIONs toxicity is known to be due to catalytic activity of their surface and release of toxic Fe ions originating from the core biodegradation, leading to the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Here, we hypothesized that a double-layer polymeric corona comprising of dextran as an interior, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as an exterior layer better shields the core SPIONs. We found that ROS generation was cell specific and depended on SPIONs concentration, although it was reduced by sufficient PEG immobilization or 100 µM deferoxamine. 24 h following injection, PEGylated samples showed reduction of biodistribution in liver, heterogenous biodistribution profile in spleen, and no influence on NPs blood retention. Sufficient surface masking or administration of deferoxamine could be beneficial strategies in designing and clinical translation of future biomedical SPIONs.
Determination of True Infrared Absorption Frequencies from Internal Reflection Data

At the 1966 Pittsburgh Conference some measurements of the magnitudes of observed frequency differences between internal reflection bands and transmission bands were presented (1). For strong absorptions with thick films, the internal reflection minima were displaced from the transmission minima toward lower frequencies by as much as 14 cm−1. The reason for these shifts is related, of course, to the large dispersion in the refractive index coefficient and the consequent large changes in reflectivity, which do not coincide with the changes in the absorption coefficient in the vicinity of the absorption bands. Other data in the same paper suggested that, for thin films of the same materials, small frequency shifts occurred in the opposite direction, toward higher frequencies.
A case of sinus pause induced by swallowing in the setting of olanzapine and guanfacine overdose.

Olanzapine, a second-generation antipsychotic, is used in both adult and pediatric populations for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression and has been associated with autonomic dysregulati...
Carving growing nanocrystals: coupling seed-mediated growth with oxidative etching

This work presents multiple experimental evidences coherently showing that the versatile structural evolution of Au nanocrystals during seed-mediated growth under the guidance of foreign metal ions and halide-containing surfactants is essentially dictated by the dynamic interplay between oxidative etching and nanocrystal growth. Coupling nanocrystal growth with oxidative etching under kinetically controlled conditions enables the in situ surface carving of the growing nanocrystals, through which the surface topography of shape-controlled nanocrystals can be deliberately tailored on the nanometer length-scale.
Cardiotoxicity of FDA-approved immune checkpoint inhibitors: A rare but serious adverse event

Refractory cancer represents a challenge for oncologists in providing treatment options without excessive toxicity and has led to the investigation of immune mechanisms. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) directly interfere with the tumor cells' ability to evade the innate and adaptive immune system by targeting specific proteins such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4), programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), and programmed cell death protein-ligand 1 (PD-L1), which are involved as negative regulators of T-cell function. Their growing success has led to the investigation for frontline treatment in several types of cancers. Even though these ICIs have demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of a variety of cancers, their use has been associated with the development of rare but severe adverse events. These events are the result of targeting specific checkpoint proteins on normal cells of the body as well as secondary downstream off-target effects on normal tissue. Similar to combined conventional cancer treatment, treating with combined ICIs are also associated with a higher risk of adverse events. Although cardiotoxicities related to immunotherapy are reportedly rare, they can be severe and associated with life-threatening conditions such as fulminant heart failure, hemodynamic instability, and cardiac arrest. Oncologists must carefully weigh the risk versus the therapeutic benefit of these agents in determining the best option for improving overall survival and minimizing morbidity and mortality of their patients. Our review focuses on the approved ICIs, their mechanism of action, their oncologic efficacy, and the associated potential for cardiovascular toxicity.
How to yes-and: using improvisational games to improv(e) communication, listening, and collaboration techniques in tourism and hospitality education.

Abstract Improvisational theater games can foster a space where academics become more aware of their speech and behaviors in order to respond to their environment. This study, informed by self-efficacy theory, explores how improvisation workshops potentially help individuals feel confident about their work and improv(e) their collaborative learning environments. Faculty and graduate students participated in an improvisational workshop at an academic conference. Based on attendees’ survey responses and follow-up phone interviews, the improvisation workshop provided tools to help participants become confident teachers, communicators, and leaders. Thus, learning improvisational techniques can foster a paradigm shift in designing and experiencing higher education.
Detection of Common English Grammar Usage Errors

Our research aims to provide writers with automated tools to detect grammatical usage errors and thus improve their writing. Correct English usage is often lacking in scientific and industry papers. [16] has compiled 130 common English usage errors. We address the automated detection of these errors, and their variations, that writers often make. Grammar checkers, e.g., [9] and [11], also implement error detection. Other researchers have employed machine learning and neural networks to detect errors. We parse only the part of speech (POS) tags using different levels of generality of POS syntax and word-sense semantics. Our results provide accurate error detection and are feasible for a wide range of errors. Our algorithm specifies precisely the ability to increase or decrease the generality in order to prevent a large number of false positives. We derive this observation as a result of using The Brown corpus, which consists of 55, 889 untagged sentences, covering most genres of English usage, both fiction and non-fiction. This corpus was much larger than any corpus employed by related researchers. We implemented 80 of Swan’s most common 130 rules; and detected 35 true positives distributed among 15 of Swan’s rules. Such a low true positive rate, 35/55889, had been expected. No false positives were detected. We employed a separate, smaller, test suite of both true positive and true negative examples. Our system, as expected, correctly detected errors in all the true positive examples, and ignored all the true negative ones. The Language-Tool system had a detection rate of 28/130 = 22%; Grammarly had a detection rate of 60/130 = 46%. Our results show significant improvement in the detection of common English usage errors.
GRÖBNER THEORY AND TROPICAL GEOMETRY ON SPHERICAL VARIETIES

Let G be a connected reductive algebraic group. We develop a Grobner theory for multiplicity-free G-algebras, as well as a tropical geometry for subschemes in a spherical homogeneous space G/H. We define the notion of a spherical tropical variety and prove a fundamental theorem of tropical geometry in this context. We also propose a definition for a spherical amoeba in G/H using Cartan decomposition. Our work partly builds on the previous work of Vogiannou on spherical tropicalization and in some ways is complementary.
Utility of high-resolution anterior segment optical coherence tomography in the diagnosis and management of sub-clinical ocular surface squamous neoplasia.

To evaluate the frequency and characteristics of sub-clinical ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) detected by high-resolution anterior segment tomography (HR- OCT) in patients with clinically unapparent disease following topical treatment. A retrospective chart review of patients with OSSN identified through a pharmacy database at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute from January 2013 to December 2018 was conducted. Patients undergoing primary therapy with topical 5-fluorouracil 1% (5-FU) (4 times a day for 7 days with a 21-day break) or interferon-alpha-2b (IFN) (4 times a day) were reviewed. Patients were separated into two groups. Group 1 included individuals whose clinical resolution of OSSN aligned with complete resolution on HR-OCT. Group 2 (sub-clinical OSSN group) included individuals with clinical OSSN resolution but with features of persistent disease on HR- OCT. Patients excluded included those treated at an outside institution and those who used topical therapy as a surgical adjunct. A total of 95 patients (95 eyes) were reviewed. Sub-clinical OSSN was detected at a frequency of 17% in our study patients (n = 16 patients, 9 treated with 5-FU and 7 treated with IFN). In the 16 individuals, the mean time to clinical resolution was 3.6 ± 1.0 cycles for 5-FU and 4.0 ± 0.0 months for IFN. An additional 2.1 ± 0.8 cycles for 5-FU and 1.2 ± 0.4 months for IFN were needed to achieve HR-OCT resolution of OSSN. Recurrence in Group 1 was noted in 10 patients (12%) while no recurrences occurred in Group 2, the cohort with subclinical disease that received the extended medical therapy. The mean follow-up was 24.0 ± 17.9 months. We found that at least 17% of individuals with apparent clinical resolution of OSSN have sub-clinical disease detected on HR-OCT. This information can be used to optimize treatment and extend therapy past the point of clinical resolution.