cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Group velocity tomography of the upper crust in the eastern Tennessee seismic zone from ambient noise data

Abstract The eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ) is the second most seismically active area in the central and eastern United States after the New Madrid seismic zone, but the relatively weak seismicity and the absence of correlation between the seismicity distribution and the surface geology make its seismogenic potential controversial. In this work we investigate the structure of the upper crust in the ETSZ by means of group velocity tomography maps from seismic noise data. Results show that the seismic activity is associated with a relatively low velocity anomaly mainly located in one or more basement blocks. These blocks, bounded to the NW by the NY–AL lineament and to the SE by the Clingman lineaments, are buried beneath low velocity strata consistent with the presence of a relatively thick sedimentary cover. The imaged low velocity anomaly migrates towards the SE at increasing periods, suggesting a possible SE dipping weak structure where most of the seismic activity takes place. The correlation between the NY–AL magnetic signature and the position of the seismic velocity anomalies supports the interpretation of the low velocity zone as a major basement fault projected to the surface as the NY–AL magnetic lineaments. The fault juxtaposes Granite–Rhyolite basement to the NW with Grenville southern Appalachian basement to the SE.
Diaphragmatic activity during weaning from respiratory support in preterm infants

Objective To determine if weaning from nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) to lesser supportive low flow nasal cannula (LFNC) results in a change in electrical activity of the diaphragm in preterm infants. Design Prospective observational study. Setting Neonatal intensive care unit. Patients Stable preterm infants weaned from nCPAP to LFNC (1 L/min). Main outcome measures Change in diaphragmatic activity, expressed as amplitude, peak and tonic activity, measured by transcutaneous electromyography (dEMG) from 30 min before (baseline) until 180 min after weaning. Subgroup analysis was performed based on success or failure of the weaning attempt. Results Fifty-nine preterm infants (gestational age: 29.0±2.4 weeks, birth weight: 1210±443 g) accounting for 74 weaning attempts were included. A significant increase in dEMG amplitude (median, IQR: 21.3%, 3.6–41.4), peak (22.1%, 8.7–40.5) and tonic activity (14.3%, −1.9–38.1) was seen directly after weaning. This effect slowly decreased over time. Infants failing the weaning attempt tended to have a higher diaphragmatic activity than those successfully weaned. Conclusions Weaning from nCPAP to LFNC leads to an increase in diaphragmatic activity measured by dEMG and is most prominent in preterm infants failing the weaning attempt. dEMG monitoring might be a useful parameter to guide weaning from respiratory support in preterm infants.
The Rule of Impurity: Decolonial Theory and the Question of Literature

Legras’s chapter reviews the general lines that define decolonial theory in the works of some its main proponents (Escobar, Dussel, Mignolo, Castro-Gomez, and Quijano). He points to two shortcomings of decolonial theory: its reliance on identity as a building block for its arguments and the absence of a discussion about the notion of subject in the theoretical work of decolonization. In the final section, Legras argues that Latin American literature, especially those works dealing with indigenous subjects, may offer decolonial theory a model to address these two shortcomings.
Development of a Recombinase Polymerase Amplification Assay for Detection of Epidemic Human Noroviruses.

Human norovirus is a leading cause of viral gastroenteritis worldwide. Rapid detection could facilitate control, however widespread point-of-care testing is infrequently done due to the lack of robust and portable methods. Recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) is a novel isothermal method which rapidly amplifies and detects nucleic acids using a simple device in near real-time. An RT-RPA assay targeting a recent epidemic human norovirus strain (GII.4 New Orleans) was developed and evaluated in this study. The assay successfully detected purified norovirus RNA from multiple patient outbreak isolates and had a limit of detection of 3.40 ± 0.20 log10 genomic copies (LGC), which is comparable to most other reported isothermal norovirus amplification methods. The assay also detected norovirus in directly boiled stool, and displayed better resistance to inhibitors than a commonly used RT-qPCR assay. The assay was specific, as it did not amplify genomes from 9 non-related enteric viruses and bacteria. The assay detected norovirus in some samples in as little as 6 min, and the entire detection process can be performed in less than 30 min. The reported RT-RPA method shows promise for sensitive point-of-care detection of epidemic human norovirus, and is the fastest human norovirus amplification method to date.
Staged Left Ventricular Recruitment and Biventricular Conversion for Patients With Borderline Left Heart

A borderline left heart may be present in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or an unbalanced atrioventricular canal defect. Traditionally, such patients have been managed either by high-risk biventricular repair in infancy or during the neonatal period, or by definitive single-ventricle palliation. In this article, we present an approach for staged left ventricular recruitment that promotes gradual rehabilitation of left heart structures and allows delay in the commitment to either a single-ventricle pathway or a biventricular pathway. The rationale, techniques, and early results are described.
The Failure of All Mothers or the Mother of All Failures? Juror Perceptions of Failure to Protect Laws:

Failure to protect laws have been an area of interest among legal scholars, child and domestic violence advocates, and the social work and psychology fields with varying focuses on the societal underpinnings of the laws and their application. Despite the pervasive legal literature on "mother blaming" and the revictimization of battered women that these laws engender, few studies have empirically examined if "mother blaming" occurs in these cases, or if battered women are treated more harshly. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of defendant sex and presence of domestic violence on mock juror decision making in a failure to protect case. The influences of juror sex on decision making were also examined. Jury eligible community members read a summary of a case in which the defendant was charged with failing to protect their child from a third-party abuser. The sex of the defendant and the presence of domestic violence were manipulated. Participants then rendered a verdict, provided sentencing recommendations, and responded to attitudinal questions about the defendant and perpetrator. Mock jurors were more likely to find the defendant guilty and view the defendant more negatively when the defendant had been the victim of domestic violence. Defendant sex did not affect outcome measures; however, female jurors were more punitive than male jurors. Results are discussed in terms of "victim blaming" and labeling theory of intimate partner violence.
Barker-Coded node-pore resistive pulse sensing with built-in coincidence correction

A resistive pulse sensing device is able to extract quantities such as concentration and size distribution of particles, e.g. cells or microspheres, as they flow through the device's sensor region, i.e. channel, in an electrolyte solution. The dynamic range of detectable particle sizes is limited by the channel dimensions. In addition, signal interference from multiple particles transiting the channel simultaneously, i.e. coincidence event, further hinder the dynamic range. Coincidence data is often considered unusable and is discarded, reducing the throughput and introducing possible biases and errors into the distributions. Here, we propose a two-step solution. We code the channel such that the system response results in a Manchester encoded Barker-Code sequence, allowing us to take advantage of the code's pulse compression properties. We pose the parameter estimation problem as a sparse inverse problem, which enables estimation of particle sizes and velocities while resolving coincidences, and solve it with a successive interference cancellation algorithm. We introduce modifications to the algorithm to account for device fabrication variations and natural stochastic variations in flow. We demonstrate the ability to resolve coincidences and possible increases in the device's dynamic range by screening particles of different size through a Barker encoded device.
Dealloying of Cupro-Nickels in Stagnant Seawater

This report discusses the dealloying (denickelification) of 70-30 cupronickel (UNS C 71500) heat exchanger tubing in stagnant seawater. Heat exchanger tubing exposed to stagnant seawater was examined. The results include metallographic, scanning electron microscope, and X-ray spectrographic analyses supporting the conclusion that the dealloying occurred by a dissolution followed by redeposition of copper process.
Contemporary Burn Survival

Background The standard of burn treatment today reflects major advances. We sought to quantitate the impact of these advances on burn survival via age-stratified mortality ratios compared with other reported mortality analyses in burns. Study Design Age, percent of the total body surface area (TBSA) burned, presence of inhalation injury, length of stay, and survival status were recorded at admission and at discharge for all new burn admissions between 1989 and 2017. The expected mortality probability was calculated using historical multiple regression techniques and compared with observed data. We developed a prediction model for our observed data. Results Between 1989 and 2017, there were 10,384 consecutive new burn admissions, with 355 mortalities (median age, 13 years; median percent TBSA burn, 11%). We saw a significant decrease in our observed mortality data compared to historical predictions (p x /(1 + e x ) where x = –6.44 – 0.12 age + 0.0042 age 2 – 0.0000283 age 3 + 0.0499 TBSA + 1.21 Inhalation Injury + 0.015 third degree TBSA. Conclusions The reduction in mortality over time may be attributed to successful changes in standard of care protocols in the burn center that improved the outlook for burned individuals, including protocols for management of inhalation injury, nutrition, resuscitation, and early excision and grafting.
Etsy and the long-tail: how microenterprises use hyper-differentiation in online handicraft marketplaces

This research presents an analysis of online microenterprises who sell handmade crafts and individually customized products. Using extant literature in the areas of e-commerce and long-tail marketing, this study develops two theoretical models of microenterprise sales success—on the product-level and on the shop-level. The models posit that higher product sales prices or shop average sales prices are associated with hyper-differentiation marketing activities, while controlling for social media impacts. We examine the models and present an empirical analysis of a dataset consisting of the marketing and sales activities of 1490 microenterprises within Etsy, an online commerce platform. Our analysis and results show that microenterprises who leverage their core competencies around handmade and customized products command higher product sales prices, confirmed at the product and shop level. Our study offers insights for existing microenterprises and researchers interested in examining how online microenterprises in niche markets achieve sales success.
Conflict in the Middle East: The US and the Turkish-Kurdish Conflict

The conflict between Turkey and the Kurds is once again reaching a boiling point. Following the defeat of ISIL in northern Iraq and Syria, Turkey is now concerned that the returning Kurdish militias pose a threat to its national security. The United States, as an ally to both parties, finds itself in a unique position to push for diplomatic solutions and to mediate the conflict before it grows out of control once again. This paper will examine the history of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the actors involved, and how US foreign policy can be used to try and deter yet another war in the region.
Results of a Study of Several Transport Algorithms for Premixed, Laminar Steady-State Flames

Our model /1/ of a premixed, steady-state flame includes detailed elementary chemical reactions and requires as input not only the kinetics information (of our immediate interest), but also thermodynamic and transport data. Fortunately for the types of chemical species we are interested in, the thermodynamics input is by and large well defined /2/, /3/. In addition, while some transport coefficients are only well defined through low temperature (< 1000 K) measurements /4/, the theory is sufficiently developed to allow reasonable estimates to be made at higher temperatures /5/. A theory has been developed for multi-component mixtures /5/ – /9/, but it is computationally cumbersome. To circumvent this, previous workers have generally employed some level of simplification /10/ – /20/.
Applications of time series models to software reliability analysis

The purpose of this paper is to present the applications of time series models to software reliability and to illustrate the usefulness of these models for describing the behaviour of software failures and for monitoring the reliability of the software. The models discussed here are motivated by two possible scenarios during the development stage of computer software. A Fourier series model is introduced for describing clustered software failures. A random coefficient autoregressive process is presented as a model for reliability growth (or decay) and ramifications of the process are discussed.
Whole genome sequencing for investigations of meningococcal outbreaks in the United States: a retrospective analysis.

Although rare in the U.S., outbreaks due to Neisseria meningitidis do occur. Rapid, early outbreak detection is important for timely public health response. In this study, we characterized U.S. meningococcal isolates (N = 201) from 15 epidemiologically defined outbreaks (2009–2015) along with temporally and geographically matched sporadic isolates using multilocus sequence typing, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and six whole genome sequencing (WGS) based methods. Recombination-corrected maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian phylogenies were reconstructed to identify genetically related outbreak isolates. All WGS analysis methods showed high degree of agreement and distinguished isolates with similar or indistinguishable PFGE patterns, or the same strain genotype. Ten outbreaks were caused by a single strain; 5 were due to multiple strains. Five sporadic isolates were phylogenetically related to 2 outbreaks. Analysis of 9 outbreaks using timed phylogenies identified the possible origin and estimated the approximate time that the most recent common ancestor emerged for outbreaks analyzed. U.S. meningococcal outbreaks were caused by single- or multiple-strain introduction, with organizational outbreaks mainly caused by a clonal strain and community outbreaks by divergent strains. WGS can infer linkage of meningococcal cases when epidemiological links are uncertain. Accurate identification of outbreak-associated cases requires both WGS typing and epidemiological data.
The community strike: From precarity to militant organizing:

How do insecure layers of the working class resist when they lack access to power and organization at the workplace? The community strike represents one possible approach. Whereas traditional workp...
Climate Responsive Earthen Architecture of Chigule

Vernacular Architecture of many settlements in India uses locally developed mud-based construction techniques for their housing needs which apart from being sustainable are climate responsive. The unique local earthen construction techniques of village Chigule have evolved over a period of time. The planning, earthen construction techniques, spatial organisation, use of local economic and sustainable materials for houses exhibit an eco-sensitive, well-evolved response to climatic and social concerns. This study attempts to document and understand this settlement for its age-old techniques of climate responsive earthen architecture, which unless preserved and conserved may be lost forever.
Writing Jasper Savanhu’s biography from his awkward self-narratives

Sometime in the mid-1970s Jasper Savanhu (1917–1984), a former MP and parliamentary secretary in the Central Africa Federation government (1953–1963), sketched out a ‘prospectus’ for his memoirs. S...
Structure-Based Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Non-Acyl Sulfamate Inhibitors of the Adenylate-Forming Enzyme MenE.

N-Acyl sulfamoyladenosines (acyl-AMS) have been used extensively to inhibit adenylate-forming enzymes that are involved in a wide range of biological processes. These acyl-AMS inhibitors are nonhydrolyzable mimics of the cognate acyl adenylate intermediates that are bound tightly by adenylate-forming enzymes. However, the anionic acyl sulfamate moiety presents a pharmacological liability that may be detrimental to cell permeability and pharmacokinetic profiles. We have previously developed the acyl sulfamate OSB-AMS (1) as a potent inhibitor of the adenylate-forming enzyme MenE, an o-succinylbenzoate-CoA (OSB-CoA) synthetase that is required for bacterial menaquinone biosynthesis. Herein, we report the use of computational docking to develop novel, non-acyl sulfamate inhibitors of MenE. A m-phenyl ether-linked analogue (5) was found to be the most potent inhibitor (IC50 = 8 μM; Kd = 244 nM), and its X-ray co-crystal structure was determined to characterize its binding mode in comparison to the computation...
Trust and Confidence in Media and Criminal Justice Institutions

In every society, the main purpose of the criminal justice system is to maintain social order and ensure that citizens comply with the law. To do this effectively, the police and court systems need citizen cooperation and obedience, and willingness to assist with criminal investigations and report crimes to the police. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between confidence in the media and confidence in the criminal justice institutions in South Africa. The study tests two objectives: to assess South Africans' level of confidence in the police and courts, and to determine whether citizens' levels of confidence in both the print and televised media will influence their levels of confidence in the police, courts, and in the criminal justice system in general. Utilizing data from the World Values Survey, results reveal a significant and positive relationship between confidence in the media and confidence in the criminal justice institutions. Policy implications of this observation are discussed.
“Pink Gold Rush:” Shrimp Aquaculture, Sustainable Development, and the Environment in Northwestern Mexico

This article examines the effects of the changes associated with the neoliberal economic model on the development of the shrimp aquaculture industry in Mexico. It uses a political ecology approach to analyze the relationship between state policies, recent expansion of the industry, and the environment in Sinaloa, Mexico. The analysis reveals the ways in which shrimp aquaculture is currently having a negative impact upon coastal ecosystems and rural people. It also shows how a local resistance to the industry’s expansion is emerging, and the role played by ﬁshing cooperatives in this process. The article proposes that in order to achieve the sustainable development of the shrimp industry, special attention should be given to environmental and social factors as well. Keywords: Mexico, shrimp framing, environmental degradation, sustainable development, coastal ecosystems, political ecology,
Rapid Recovery With Plasma Exchange in Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy With Reversible Conduction Failure.

Characterization of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) subtypes has become increasingly complicated with the recognition of paranodal dysfunction and reversible conduction failure (RCF) in acute motor axonal neuropathy. We describe 2 cases of seronegative acute motor axonal neuropathy with RCF with a rapid onset of severe quadriplegia. Treatment with plasma exchange was associated with rapid clinical and electrophysiological response on serial examinations. Increased recognition of RCF may lead to improved characterization of GBS subtypes and may play a role in determining future treatment options in GBS.
Piperazine aerosol mitigation for post-combustion carbon capture

Abstract Amine loss as aerosol is still a challenge for reliable long-term operations in amine scrubbing units. While attempts have been made to understand, predict, and mitigate amine aerosol growth in the absorber, demonstration of the mitigation of piperazine (PZ) aerosol has not been published. This paper presents results from a comprehensive emission study using 5 m PZ. The focus of this work is not to validate growth mechanisms, but to provide data from which existing hypotheses can be analyzed. PZ aerosol at the water wash outlet was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and an Electrical Low-Pressure Impactor (ELPI+). Two mitigation strategies were successfully implemented during episodes of PZ aerosol emission. These episodes resulted from the presence of SO3 in the flue gas due to periods of sub-optimal SO3 removal upstream of the CO2 capture facility. Four weeks of aerosol tests were also run with 0–6 ppm of SO3 generated and injected into the flue gas to evaluate the resilience of the mitigation strategies. The first approach to aerosol emission mitigation was to remove aerosol nuclei present in the flue gas. The second approach was to run the absorber with flue gas containing varying SO3 at conditions that accelerate aerosol nuclei growth and collection within the packing. SO3 control via hydrated lime addition upstream of the absorber eliminated aerosol while higher lean solvent temperature in the absorber and a two-stage water wash configuration were tested to accelerate aerosol nuclei growth and collection. Increasing the lean solvent temperature by 11 °C and using a two-stage water wash resulted in 98% reduction of PZ emissions. Absorber performance at the elevated lean solvent temperature was sustained in the existing packing with solvent intercooling. PZ emissions were managed to less than 1 ppm for extended periods during the pilot plant campaign.
A Low Output Voltage Ripple Fully-Integrated Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Converter

A fully-integrated switched-capacitor (SC) DC-DC converter that steps down 3.3 V to 1.5 V with a peak efficiency of 68% is implemented in a 2P3M 0.6-µm CMOS process with a 555 pF poly-poly flying capacitor and a 1.34 nF MOS tank capacitor. This paper demonstrates a means of applying a low-frequency input clock as part of a time-interleaving technique for a symmetric charge-discharge topology that reduces the output voltage ripple. Burst-mode pulse-frequency modulation is used to maintain high efficiency over a wide range of load currents. A maximum 27 mV in output voltage ripple is measured for load current between 590 µA and 8 mA. In response to a load transient from 560 µA to 5.1 mA, the SC converter shows no undershoot and an overshoot of only 19 mV. Measured load regulation is 13.2 mV/mA.
Traffic Signal Coordination

Our discussion up to this point has been focusing on signalized intersections with isolated operation, meaning we only consider strategies to improve the operation of a single intersection. In this chapter, we extend our discussion to multiple intersections such that these intersections work together to achieve desired control goals, e.g., to improve traffic operation in certain direction(s). Such a strategy is called traffic signal coordination.
Revisiting the pathobiology of scurvy: a review of the literature in the context of a challenging case

Scurvy is a nutritional disorder resulting from vitamin C deficiency. Although rare in developing countries, scurvy continues to develop in settings of limited dietary intake such as post-gastrointestinal surgery and restrictive dietary habits. The disease primarily affects the skin and soft tissue. As the state of deficiency persists, hematological and immunological sequelae may develop. The classic signs of scurvy are not always present and can be altered by the presence of other comorbidities. In this article, we present a challenging case of scurvy in an older male from an urban tertiary healthcare setting. We review the atypical and uncommon clinical and pathological findings of scurvy including those seen in the skin, blood, and bone marrow. We also review contemporary research findings that provide a better understanding of the pathogenicity and clinical manifestations of vitamin C deficiency.
Variation in False-Negative Rate of Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction-Based SARS-CoV-2 Tests by Time Since Exposure.

Background Tests for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) based on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) are being used to "rule out" infection among high-risk persons, such as exposed inpatients and health care workers. It is critical to understand how the predictive value of the test varies with time from exposure and symptom onset to avoid being falsely reassured by negative test results. Objective To estimate the false-negative rate by day since infection. Design Literature review and pooled analysis. Setting 7 previously published studies providing data on RT-PCR performance by time since symptom onset or SARS-CoV-2 exposure using samples from the upper respiratory tract (n = 1330). Patients A mix of inpatients and outpatients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Measurements A Bayesian hierarchical model was fitted to estimate the false-negative rate by day since exposure and symptom onset. Results Over the 4 days of infection before the typical time of symptom onset (day 5), the probability of a false-negative result in an infected person decreases from 100% (95% CI, 100% to 100%) on day 1 to 67% (CI, 27% to 94%) on day 4. On the day of symptom onset, the median false-negative rate was 38% (CI, 18% to 65%). This decreased to 20% (CI, 12% to 30%) on day 8 (3 days after symptom onset) then began to increase again, from 21% (CI, 13% to 31%) on day 9 to 66% (CI, 54% to 77%) on day 21. Limitation Imprecise estimates due to heterogeneity in the design of studies on which results were based. Conclusion Care must be taken in interpreting RT-PCR tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection-particularly early in the course of infection-when using these results as a basis for removing precautions intended to prevent onward transmission. If clinical suspicion is high, infection should not be ruled out on the basis of RT-PCR alone, and the clinical and epidemiologic situation should be carefully considered. Primary funding source National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Health System, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sparse Single Index Models for Multivariate Responses

Joint models are popular for analyzing data with multivariate responses. We propose a sparse multivariate single index model, where responses and predictors are linked by unspecified smooth functio...
Peanut protein acts as a TH2 adjuvant by inducing RALDH2 in human antigen-presenting cells

Background Peanut is a potent inducer of proallergenic TH2 responses in susceptible individuals. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) including dendritic cells and monocytes instruct naive T cells to differentiate into various effector cells, determining immune responses such as allergy and tolerance. Objective We sought to detect peanut protein (PN)-induced changes in gene expression in human myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) and monocytes, identify signaling receptors that mediate these changes, and assess how PN-induced genes in mDCs impact their ability to promote T-cell differentiation. Methods mDCs, monocytes, and naive CD4+ T cells were isolated from blood bank donors and peanut-allergic patients. APCs were incubated with PN and other stimulants, and gene expression was measured using microarray and RT quantitative PCR. To assess T-cell differentiation, mDCs were cocultured with naive TH cells. Results PN induced a unique gene expression profile in mDCs, including the gene that encodes retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH2), a rate-limiting enzyme in the retinoic acid (RA)-producing pathway. Stimulation of mDCs with PN also induced a 7-fold increase in the enzymatic activity of RALDH2. Blocking antibodies against Toll-like receptor (TLR)1/TLR2, as well as small interfering RNA targeting TLR1/TLR2, reduced the expression of RALDH2 in PN-stimulated APCs by 70%. Naive TH cells cocultured with PN-stimulated mDCs showed an RA-dependent 4-fold increase in production of IL-5 and expression of integrin α4β7. Conclusions PN induces RALDH2 in human APCs by signaling through the TLR1/TLR2 heterodimer. This leads to production of RA, which acts on TH cells to induce IL-5 and gut-homing integrin. RALDH2 induction by PN in APCs and RA-promoted TH2 differentiation could be an important factor determining allergic responses to peanut.
Investigating habitat heterogeneity of Late Pleistocene archaeological sites in eastern Africa from stable isotopes

Site-specific habitat reconstructions in the form of faunal enamel stable carbon and oxygen isotope data allow for a finer assessment of the context of Homo sapiens in eastern Africa. To date, thes...
Localized Pulmonary Nocardia farcinica Infection As the Presenting Symptom of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Nocardiosis is an opportunistic infection that most commonly affects immunocompromised patients, with clinical presentations ranging from localized to disseminated disease. In the United States, the reported incidence is approximately 500 to 1,000 cases per year, with an observed male-to-female predominance of 3:1. We present the case of a 37-year-old male with a past medical history of malaria who presented with watery, non-bloody diarrhea for four days associated with a fever for two weeks. The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) was positive in the emergency room before admission. Computerized tomography (CT) of the chest with contrast revealed an irregular pleural base mass in the right lower lobe with several small air foci. CT of the abdomen and pelvis revealed the right pleural base lung mass to be adherent to the diaphragm, as well as mild splenomegaly. The cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) count was 9 cells/mm3. An acid-fast bacilli (AFB) sputum culture was positive for Nocardia farcinica. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was started for a Nocardia farcinica pulmonary infection, in addition to antiretroviral therapy. The patient was strongly encouraged to follow-up at the outpatient department.
Accuracy of Physician Estimates of Out-of-Pocket Costs for Medication Filling.

Importance One-third of US residents have trouble paying their medical bills. They often turn to their physicians for help navigating health costs and insurance coverage. Objective To determine whether physicians can accurately estimate out-of-pocket expenses when they are given all of the necessary information about a drug’s price and a patient’s insurance plan. Design, Setting, and Participants This national mail-in survey used a random sample of US physicians. The survey was sent to 900 outpatient physicians (300 each of primary care, gastroenterology, and rheumatology). Physicians were excluded if they were in training, worked primarily for the Veterans Administration or Indian Health Service, were retired, or reported 0% outpatient clinical effort. Analyses were performed from July to December 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures In a hypothetical vignette, a patient was prescribed a new drug costing $1000/month without insurance. A summary of her private insurance information was provided, including the plan’s deductible, coinsurance rates, copays, and out-of-pocket maximum. Physicians were asked to estimate the drug’s out-of-pocket cost at 4 time points between January and December, using the plan’s 4 types of cost-sharing: (1) deductibles, (2) coinsurance, (3) copays, and (4) out-of-pocket maximums. Multivariate linear regression was used to assess differences in performance by specialty, adjusting for attitudes toward cost conversations, demographics, and clinical characteristics. Results The response rate was 45% (405 of 900) and 371 respondents met inclusion criteria. Among the respondents included in this study, 59% (n = 220) identified as male, 23% (n = 84) as Asian, 3% (n = 12) as Black, 6% (n = 24) as Hispanic, and 58% (n = 216) as White; 30% (n = 112) were primary care physicians, 35% (n = 128) were gastroenterologists, and 35% (n = 131) were rheumatologists; and the mean (SD) age was 49 (10) years. Overall, 52% of physicians (n = 192) accurately estimated costs before the deductible was met, 62% (n = 228) accurately used coinsurance information, 61% (n = 224) accurately used copay information, and 57% (n = 210) accurately estimated costs once the out-of-pocket maximum was met. Only 21% (n = 78) of physicians answered all 4 questions correctly. Ability to estimate out-of-pocket costs was not associated with specialty, attitudes toward cost conversations, or clinic characteristics. Conclusions and Relevance This survey study found that many US physicians have difficulty estimating out-of-pocket costs, even when they have access to their patients' insurance plans. The mechanics involved in calculating real-time out-of-pocket costs are complex. These findings suggest that increased price transparency and simpler insurance cost-sharing mechanisms are needed to enable informed cost conversations at the point of prescribing.
Ca2+ Contributes to the Signal Transduction Chain in Phytochrome-Mediated Spore Germination

Phytochrome controls spore germination in the fern Onoclea. A major stumbling block in uncovering the calcium requirement for germination has been the presence of large quantities of the ion in the spore wall. Even if one sows the spores in calcium-free media the response to the ion cannot be detected unless the wall bound calcium has been previously removed through washing in EGTA. When the wall-bound calcium is removed the spores display a remarkable sensitivity to the concentration of ion added back. The threshold concentration for calcium ions for germination is submicromolar while 3 µM supports a half-maximal response. Although strontium and barium can substitute for calcium, magnesium is completely ineffective.
Effect of dietary conjugated linoleic acid on apoptosis and gene expression in mouse colon and human colon cancer cell lines

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004 3901 We previously established that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has an inhibitory effect on skin tumor promotion in mice subjected to a two-stage carcinogenesis model. In addition, other recent evidence suggests that CLA prevents colon and breast cancer progression. Although the preventive effect of CLA on tumorigenesis is now well recognized, very little is known about the molecular mechanisms involved. We hypothesize that CLA may elicit its response in one of two ways, 1) inhibition of inflammatory responses and cell growth signals, and/or 2) stimulation of terminal differentiation or apoptotic events. To investigate the effect of CLA on cell growth and apoptosis, several genetically distinct colon cancer cell lines (HT-29, HCT 116, HCT-15) were treated with 100 μM CLA for 2 and 4 days. CLA decreased mRNA levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (a marker of inflammation) by 20-30% in HT-29 cells as compared to untreated cells. No changes in bcl-2 or bax protein were detected in all cell lines tested; however, there was a 2-fold increase in active caspase-3 protein. Preliminary data using immunofluorescence staining and confocal techniques, show increases in bak protein levels and cytoskeletal re-organization with CLA treatment as compared to untreated cells. We are currently investigating specific cytoskeletal proteins that may be affected by CLA. In addition, colons from S129 mice fed either standard AIN-76A diet or basal diet supplemented with 2% CLA were isolated and examined for changes in gene expression by cDNA micro-array. Results showed CLA induced genes involved in differentiation, apoptosis and anti-tumor growth. Examples include cathepsin E (3.3 fold increase) and apoptosis associated tyrosine kinase (2.4 fold increase). Consequently, CLA inhibited expression of genes involved in proliferation (BMP 15) and cell cycle progression (cyclin E1). Taken together our data suggest that the anti-tumorigenic activity of CLA may result from a combined effect of decreasing inflammation and proliferation biomarkers followed by an increase in apoptotic events. This work was supported by NIH RR-017698 and AICR 01A013.
Optimization-Based Conservative Transport on the Cubed-Sphere Grid

Transport algorithms are highly important for dynamical modeling of the atmosphere, where it is critical that scalar tracer species are conserved and satisfy physical bounds. We present an optimization-based algorithm for the conservative transport of scalar quantities (i.e. mass) on the cubed sphere grid, which preserves local solution bounds without the use of flux limiters. The optimization variables are the net mass updates to the cell, the objective is to minimize the discrepancy between these variables and suitable high-order cell mass update (the “target”), and the constraints are derived from the local solution bounds and the conservation of the total mass. The resulting robust and efficient algorithm for conservative and local bound-preserving transport on the sphere further demonstrates the flexibility and scope of the recently developed optimization-based modeling approach [1, 2].
La institucionalización de los estudios culturales en los Estados Unidos: el caso del doctorado en estudios culturales en la Universidad de California, Davis, a los ocho años

Este articulo describe el proceso de institucionalizacion del campo de estudios culturales en los Estados Unidos. El ejemplo de este proceso en la experiencia de la Universidad de California, Davis, donde se establecio hace ocho anos un doctorado en estudios culturales, aunque idiosincratico, ilustra el tipo de problemas, tanto practicos como intelectuales, que tal institucionalizacion ha provocado en este pais. El articulo senala tambien dos areas —el contenido cultural y la gestion cultural— que seria pertinente incorporar en los posgrados para que este campo, al asumir la forma de una disciplina, ofrezca la mejor preparacion posible en la formacion de criticos culturales
Time-frequency properties of extended quadratic congruential frequency hop signals

Frequency-hop pulse train signals, used in applications such as coherent multiuser or multibeam echo location, must be selected on the basis of good time-frequency characteristics in both auto- and cross-ambiguity domains. Toward this end, a class of frequency-hop signals is developed on the basis of an extension of the theory of quadratic congruences. An uniform upper bound is placed on the entire cross-ambiguity function surface, and bounds are placed on the amplitude of spurious peaks in the auto-ambiguity function. These bounds depend on time-bandwidth product and code length exclusively. Examples of typical auto- and cross-ambiguity functions are shown to illustrate the time-frequency properties of the signals. >
Learning layouts of biological datasets semi-automatically

A key challenge associated with the existing approaches for data integration and workflow creation for bioinformatics is the effort required to integrate a new data source. As new data sources emerge, and data formats and contents of existing data sources evolve, wrapper programs need to be written or modified. This can be extremely time consuming, tedious, and error-prone. This paper describes our semi-automatic approach for learning the layout of a flat-file bioinformatics dataset. Our approach involves three key steps. The first step is to use a number of heuristics to infer the delimiters used in the program. Specifically, we have developed a metric that uses information on the frequency and starting position of sequences. Based on this metric, we are able to find a superset of delimiters, and then we can seek user input to eliminate the incorrect ones. Our second step involves generating a layout descriptor based on the relative order in which the delimiters occur. Our final step is to generate a parser based on the layout descriptor. Our heuristics for finding the delimiters has been evaluated using three popular flat-file biological datasets.
Improving Cache Utilization of Linear Relaxation Methods: Theory and Practice

Application codes reliably achieve performance far less than the advertised capabilities of existing architectures, and this problem is worsening with increasingly-parallel machines. For large-scale numerical applications, stencil operations often impose the greater part of the computational cost, and the primary sources of inefficiency are the costs of message passing and poor cache utilization. This paper proposes and demonstrates optimizations for stencil and stencil-like computations for both serial and parallel environments that ameliorate these sources of inefficiency. Additionally, we argue that when stencil-like computations are encoded at a high level using object-oriented parallel array class libraries, these optimizations, which are beyond the capability of compilers, may be automated. The automation of these optimizations is particularly important since the transformations represented by cache based optimizations can be unreasonably complicated by the peculiarities which are architecture specific. This paper briefly presents the approach toward the automation of these transformations.
Plant Expression of a Bacterial Cytochrome P450 That Catalyzes Activation of a Sulfonylurea Pro-Herbicide

The Streptomyces griseolus gene encoding herbicide-metabolizing cytochrome P450SU1 (CYP105A1) was expressed in transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Because this P450 can be reduced by plant chloroplast ferredoxin in vitro, chloroplast-targeted and nontargeted expression were compared. Whereas P450SU1 antigen was found in the transgenic plants regardless of the targeting, only those with chloroplast-directed enzyme performed P450SU1-mediated N-dealkylation of the sulfonylurea 2-methylethyl-2,3-dihydro-N-[(4,6-dimethoxypyrimidin-2-yl)aminocarbonyl]-1, 2-benzoisothiazole- 7-sulfonamide-1,1-dioxide (R7402). Chloroplast targeting appears to be essential for the bacterial P450 to function in the plant. Because the R7402 metabolite has greater phytotoxicity than R7402 itself, plants bearing active P450SU1 are susceptible to injury from R7402 treatment that is harmless to plants without P450SU1. Thus, P450SU1 expression and R7402 treatment can be used as a negative selection system in plants. Furthermore, expression of P450SU1 from a tissue-specific promoter can sequester production of the phytotoxic R7402 metabolite to a single plant tissue. In tobacco expressing P450SU1 from a tapetum-specific promoter, treatment of immature flower buds with R7402 caused dramatically lowered pollen viability. Such treatment could be the basis for a chemical hybridizing agent.
The Adolescent “Hippie” and the Emergence of a Matristic Culture

(1970). The Adolescent “Hippie” and the Emergence of a Matristic Culture. Psychiatry: Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 362-371.
A promising parallel algorithm to manage the RSA decryption complexity

In the field of cryptography, public key algorithms are widely known to be slower than symmetric key alternatives for the reason of their basis in modular arithmetic. The modular arithmetic in RSA (short for Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman) and Diffie Hellman schemes is computationally heavy when compared to symmetric algorithms relying on simple operations like shifting of bits and XOR. Therefore, it has become a serious concern to implement public key algorithms in a faster way. In this work, we explore the impact of compute unified device architecture (CUDA) and Pthread on decryption in RSA when large numbers are created by homomorphic encryption. RSA decryption is based on a power and module operations and produces a very large ciphertext. We introduce a parallel algorithm that splits RSA power operations into different threads and makes use of the large number of processing cores available in graphics processing unit (GPU) cards to reduce the time required in RSA decryption. Experimental results indicate that the proposed CUDA-accelerated multithreaded implementation has potential to effectively deal with the RSA decryption complexity.
A Neural Network-Based Agent Framework for Mail Server Management

Amidst the era of e-economy, one of the difficulties from the standpoint of the information systems manager is, among others, the forecast of memory needs for the organization. In particular, the manager is often confronted with maintaining a certain threshold amount of memory for a prolonged period of time. However, this constraint requires more than technical and managerial resolutions, encompassing knowledge management for the group, eliciting tacit knowledge from the end users, and pattern and time series analyses of utilization for various applications. This paper proposes a framework for building an automated intelligent agent for memory management under the client-server architecture. The emphasis is on collecting the needs of the organization and acquiring the application usage patterns for each client involved in real time. Due to the dynamic nature of the tasks, incorporation of a neural network architecture with tacit knowledge base is suggested. Considerations for future work associated with technical matters comprising platform independence, portability, and modularity are discussed.
Rare Bleeding Disorder Registry: deficiencies of factors II, V, VII, X, XIII, fibrinogen and dysfibrinogenemias

A North American registry for rare bleeding disorders [factor (F)II, factor (F)VII, factor (F)X, factor (F)V, factor (F)XIII, fibrinogen deficiencies and dysfibrinogenemias] was established to gather information about disease prevalence, genotyping frequency, diagnostic events, clinical manifestations, treatment and prophylaxis strategies, as well as disease- and treatment-related complications. Questionnaires were sent to 225 hemophilia treatment centers in the USA and Canada. Among 26% of responding centers, 294 individuals [4.4% of the registered children (200/4583) and 2.4% of adults (94/3809)] were diagnosed with one or more of the rare bleeding disorders (RBDs) included in this survey. The ethnic distribution for each disorder paralleled that of the general US population with the exception of the disproportionately large number of Latinos with FII deficiency. Only 5.4% of affected individuals were genotyped. An abnormal preoperative bleeding screen most often led to diagnosis. The most common coagulopathy was FVII deficiency; however, 40% of homozygous patients were asymptomatic. FX and FXIII deficiencies caused the most severe bleeding manifestations. Among all RBDs, the most common sites of bleeding were skin and mucus membranes. Multiple products were used to treat hemorrhage; however, half of the bleeding episodes required no therapy. The majority of patients suffered no long-term complications from hemorrhage. Treatment-related complications included viral seroconversion, anemia, allergic reactions and venous access device-related events. This registry provides the most comprehensive information to date about North American individuals with RBDs and could serve as an important resource for both basic scientist and clinician.