cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface Cloud Grid (SfcCldGrid) Value-Added Product. Algorithm Operational Details and Explanations

This document describes the algorithm used for the Surface Cloud Grid Value-Added Product (VAP). This VAP uses as input the 15-min. output from the Shortwave (SW) Flux Analysis VAP (see Long 2001; Long and Ackerman 2000; Long et al. 1999) from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Reseach Facility (ACRF) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility and extended facilities. This network of 21 sites is unevenly spaced over northern Oklahoma into southern Kansas, covering an area from 95.5° to 99.5° west longitude and 34.5° to 38.5° north latitude. For research applications such as single-column modeling, an estimate of the cloud and cloud effects distribution over this entire domain is desirable. The Surface Cloud Grid VAP applies a multi-pass weighted sum analytic approximation technique (Caracena 1987), which uses Gaussian weighting and an imposed scale length, to interpolate to a 0.25° by 0.25° lat/long grid over the SGP domain. The output, like the input, includes solar elevation angles of 10° or greater.
Loop Sequence Context Influences the Formation and Stability of the i-Motif for DNA Oligomers of Sequence (CCCXXX)4, where X = A and/or T, under Slightly Acidic Conditions

The structure and stability of DNA is highly dependent upon the sequence context of the bases (A, G, C, and T) and the environment under which the DNA is prepared (e.g., buffer, temperature, pH, ionic strength). Understanding the factors that influence structure and stability of the i-motif conformation can lead to the design of DNA sequences with highly tunable properties. We have been investigating the influence of pH and temperature on the conformations and stabilities for all permutations of the DNA sequence (CCCXXX)4, where X = A and/or T, using spectroscopic approaches. All oligomers undergo transitions from single-stranded structures at pH 7.0 to i-motif conformations at pH 5.0 as evidenced by circular dichroism (CD) studies. These folded structures possess stacked C:CH+ base pairs joined by loops of 5′-XXX-3′. Although the pH at the midpoint of the transition (pHmp) varies slightly with loop sequence, the linkage between pH and log K for the proton induced transition is highly loop sequence depend...
Abstract 3383: Tumor vasculature normalization by recoupling nitric oxide synthase with a tetrahydrobiopterin precursor

The abnormal, irregular nature of tumor vasculature has been well documented. The aberrant nature of the vasculature results in uneven, heterogeneous blood flow and leaky, hemorrhagic blood vessels. Due to the unusual nature of tumor vessels, areas of hypoxia tend to develop that contribute to radioresistance and inefficiency of therapeutic drug delivery. Our current studies examine the role of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in tumor vasculature. NOS has been demonstrated to be “uncoupled” in tumor cells due to reduced levels of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4), a necessary cofactor, resulting in peroxynitrite (ONOO-) formation in lieu of nitric oxide (NO). NO signaling is critical for vascular function and thus uncoupling of eNOS in the endothelial cells may partly explain the poor vasculature structure found within solid tumors. Having previously demonstrated that NOS can be “recoupled” and NO production restored through treatment of tumor cells with Sepiapterin (SP), a BH4 precursor, we examined whether SP could normalize tumor vasculature, promoting radiosensitivity and improving drug uptake. Multispectral optoacoustic tomography analysis of both flank tumor xenografts and a spontaneous breast tumor model (MMTV) demonstrate that SP given orally significantly enhances the percent of oxyhemoglobin in the tumor. Immunohistochemical analysis of tumors treated with SP showed a significant reduction in CD31 staining and a significant increase in smooth muscle actin (SMA), both hallmarks of vascular normalization. Ex vivo analysis of tumors revealed that the enhanced tumor oxygenation resulted in over a two-fold increase in radiation induced cell killing. These preliminary data demonstrate great potential for SP as an adjuvant in the treatment of cancer, especially when we take into consideration that SP has been demonstrated to be cytotoxic to both breast and colon tumors. Future studies will examine drug uptake in tumors as well as the mechanism behind the vascular normalization. Citation Format: Christopher Rabender, Ninu Bruno, Ross B. Mikkelsen. Tumor vasculature normalization by recoupling nitric oxide synthase with a tetrahydrobiopterin precursor. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3383.
The Honor of Human Rights: Environmental Rights and the Duty of Intergenerational Promise

The idea of human rights either as a moral system or as a set of legal practices does not sit well with the concept of honor. This is true for both ontological reasons and because of some reprehensible misuses of the term in constructs such as “honor killings.” Yet the absence of honor as an argument for human rights comes with a high cost in the defense of human rights generally. As Hobbes made clear in his early theory, rights—and dignity—are grounded in the human capacity to make promises and in the necessity of honoring them. In his view then, honor is an essential feature of human rights and one closely linked to the human capacity for dignity. In this article, I explore how environmental human rights place a renewed emphasis on honor as a requirement for the protection of the rights of future generations. In the process, I explore the general relationship between honor, dignity, and human rights.
(Re)-discovering the sacred in the material universe: An exploration of cosmic spirituality in the works of Malcolm de Chazal and Michel Serres:

The purpose of this comparative study is to probe the common threads that exist between the relatively unknown Mauritian author Malcolm de Chazal and the underutilised philosopher of science Michel...
Evolution's Chimera: Bats and the Marvel of Evolutionary Adaptation

Professor David Jacobs, of the University of Cape Town, has written a fascinating book introducing evolutionary theory primarily with examples involving bats. This combination of subjects is not surprising as Prof. Jacobs holds a South African Research Chairs Initiative Chair in Animal Evolution and Systematics, and bats have for many years been the focus of his research group's work. In this new book, evolutionary and biological concepts are clearly explained, and important terms are indicated by bold-face text making them easy to find. There is also a useful glossary at the beginning of the book, and the text is fully indexed. The text is complemented by figures that support the various explanations, and useful analogies are given throughout the book to assist in understanding the different concepts.
Juror Decision-making in Death Penalty Sentencing when Presented with Defendant's History of Child Abuse or Neglect

Previous studies have found aggravating, mitigating, and null effects of defendant histories of abuse and neglect on punishment preferences in capital sentencing. Perceiving these defendants as more dangerous, jurors may be more likely to favor the death penalty when such evidence is presented. This is counter to the intuition that abuse or neglect reduces culpability, and therefore mitigates the severity of punishment. We investigated the effect of defendant childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect on the probability of a prospective juror preferring the death penalty in an between-subject experimental design. Using vignettes and two large samples (students and jurors), defendant histories were found to mitigate the probability that the hypothetical defendant received the death penalty, with sexual abuse having the most salient effect. Further, the effects were conditioned by preference for the death penalty - larger mitigating effects were observed among individuals who favor the death penalty. These findings suggest that initial judgments of abuse and neglect are related to juror leniency, and further research on the interaction of jury instructions and defendant histories is needed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quantifying and Modeling the Force Variation Within Random Arrays of Spheres

In this study, we perform fully-resolved direct numerical simulations (DNS) of a flow past random arrays of spheres using immersed boundary methods (IBM). These simulations are used to quantify the error arising from point-particle (PP) force models which assumes equal drag and zero lateral forces on all particles. The results show that the rms drag and lateral force fluctuation can be as high as 26% and 15% of the mean drag value, respectively. For each sphere, the hydrodynamic forces are shown to be dependent on the exact location of few neighboring spheres. A pairwise interaction extended point-particle (PIEP) model is then presented. The model can approximate the drag and lateral forces on each sphere by systematically accounting for the location of few of its neighbors. The perturbation from each neighbor is considered separately then linearly superposed to obtain the total variation of the drag and lateral force. Significant error reduction is observed when using PIEP model instead of mean drag models upon comparing to exact forces acquired from the DNS IBM simulations.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Specialize and Divide (Twice): Functions of Three Aurora Kinase Homologs in Mammalian Oocyte Meiotic Maturation

The aurora kinases (AURKs) comprise an evolutionarily conserved family of serine/threonine kinases involved in mitosis and meiosis. While most mitotic cells express two AURK isoforms (AURKA and AURKB), mammalian germ cells also express a third, AURKC. Although much is known about the functions of the kinases in mitosis, less is known about how the three isoforms function to coordinate meiosis. This review is aimed at describing what is known about the three isoforms in female meiosis, the similarities and differences between kinase functions, and speculates as to why mammalian germ cells require expression of three AURKs instead of two.
The Lacrimal System

The lacrimal system is a tear drainage apparatus composed of a secretory portion (the main and accessory lacrimal glands) and an excretory portion (the puncta, canaliculi, lacrimal sac, and nasolacrimal duct). Maintenance of this system allows for lubrication of the globe and drainage of excess tears. Lacrimal system trauma requires a careful evaluation of the eyelids and the underlying soft tissues. Sharp objects such as broken glass or knives are common causes of significant eyelid lacerations. Dog bites are also a common cause of lid lacerations, especially in children, and they have a propensity to involve the canalicular system. Lacrimal system probing is required to confirm the diagnosis of a canalicular laceration. This chapter includes details on lacrimal system anatomy, exam, and surgical reconstruction following trauma. If lacrimal system injuries are not repaired in a timely fashion, occlusion of the canalicular system may ensue with resultant epiphora. It is recommended that canalicular lacerations are repaired within 24 h of trauma to ensure both proper functioning of the system and a good cosmetic result. There are several methods that can be used to repair canalicular lacerations but this text focuses on two techniques that use silicone tube intubation.
Classical Mistakes in Forensic Toxicology Made by Forensic Pathologists

The forensic pathologist interprets the toxicology results in the setting of the entire death investigation. This review focuses on potential errors by the forensic pathologist with regard to toxic...
Targeting BCL-2 in B-cell lymphomas

The B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) family of proteins governs the intrinsic pathway of mitochondrial apoptosis. Dysregulation of BCL-2 has long been known to be a crucial part of the pathophysiology of B-cell lymphomas; however, several early attempts to target this pathway therapeutically were unsuccessful because of toxicity, lack of efficacy, or both. Recently, a highly potent and selective oral BCL-2 antagonist, venetoclax, was approved in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, where it has proven to be highly active, even in patients with high-risk del(17p) disease. Venetoclax has also demonstrated efficacy in other B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes, in particular mantle cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. Here, I review the history of targeting BCL-2 in B-cell lymphomas, and I discuss recent data on venetoclax used as monotherapy and in combination with monoclonal antibodies, chemotherapy, and other novel agents. I also discuss how genomic and functional approaches such as BH3 profiling may allow us to prioritize novel-agent combinations for further study in clinical trials. These approaches may also help us to understand resistance mechanisms to BCL-2-selective therapy and how to overcome resistance. Finally, I provide my perspective on how to move BCL-2-directed therapies forward toward a goal of developing well-tolerated, time-limited combination regimens with curative potential for patients with B-cell lymphomas.
Alternative Plasmonic Materials

Abstract This chapter is an overview of the recent progress in the search for alternative plasmonic materials. The efficiency of plasmonic and optical metamaterial devices depends on the geometry and optical properties of the constituent materials. Usually, geometry optimization is performed to design efficient devices and obtain the required functionality. However, tailoring and adjusting properties of the constituent materials is another dimension that can enhance the performance, provide design flexibility, and allow new physics to be explored with these devices. This chapter starts with a short discussion of the optical properties of materials, and then describes the major drawbacks of conventional metals currently used in plasmonics. This is followed by the discussion of various alternative plasmonic materials. Because the material platform is critical for the realization of practical plasmonic and metamaterial devices, an exploration of the capabilities and advantages of the proposed new plasmonic materials as well as novel device concepts with alternative materials are described. To estimate and evaluate the performance of alternative materials, a brief overview of the comparative studies of materials for various plasmonic and metamaterial applications is also provided.
Factors associated with participant and provider pain rating during office-based first-trimester vacuum aspiration.

Abstract Objective The objective was to describe factors associated with reported pain and assess correlations between participant and provider pain assessments during first-trimester vacuum aspiration. Study design Participants and providers in a trial evaluating music for pain reduction reported procedure-related pain using a 100-mm visual analog scale. Results The mean participant-reported maximum pain was 65.9±23.0 compared to 41.3±22.0 by provider assessment. Provider-reported scores correlated poorly with participant maximum pain (r=0.28) and participant maximum pain adjusted for baseline (r=0.27). Previous abortion (60.5 versus 71.4, p=.02) and immediate intrauterine device insertion (46.1 versus 68.6, p=.03) were associated with lower participant-reported pain. Conclusions Providers underestimate pain reported during vacuum aspiration; provider estimates correlate poorly with participant self-report. Implications To improve management of pain during first-trimester vacuum aspiration, we need to better understand factors that influence patient and provider pain rating. When assessing patient pain in this setting, providers should not assume a baseline of zero pain.
Examining the relationship between academic performance and workplace position: does the glass ceiling exist among graduates from the same university?

This study examines the relationship between academic performance and workplace position. Academic performance is measured by undergraduate grade point average (GPA). A series of ordered probit reg...
Central Organization of Exercise Input

Although muscular activity demands the most intense response in respiration and circulation to meet the oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal, the operational mechanisms involved in the regulation of respiration and circulation during exercise are not fully understood. A great deal of information is available concerning the magnitude of changes in ventilation and blood flow, the shunting of blood and the increase in oxygen capacity, etc., but we still have many loopholes in our interpretation of mechanisms of exercise hyperpnea and exercise “hyper-rheoemia” — increase in blood flow (1, 2).
The Association of In-world Avatar Investment with Expectations of Behavioral Change

We explore whether watching the behavior of an avatar created by a user can affect that users' behavior in the actual world. This research aims to determine if we can achieve results similar to those obtained from an experimental design detailed in Study 3 of "Virtual Self-Modeling: The Effects of Vicarious Reinforcement and Identification on Exercise Behaviors" Fox and Bailenson, 2009, but using avatars created by observers rather than experimenter provided ones enhanced with a photographic likeness. Fox and Bailenson theorized that the behavioral change elicited stems from modeling the behavior of physically similar people as supported by social cognitive theory. In this study, we focused more on investigating whether people's own avatars' behavior would elicit behavioral change based on social-perception theory. Therefore, users observed their own avatars that were doing exercise or not regardless of any physical similarity between the avatars and their owners. The preliminary results showed there was a strong trend for users to engage in physical activities more when they watched their own avatars exercise, compared to observing their own avatars that did not exercise. The results also demonstrated that users with higher body mass index BMI engaged in physical activities more when they watched their own avatars with exercise behavior, compared to users with lower BMI. This study seeks to clarify whether or not the notions of psychological reflexivity and avatar ownership/investment are possible factors influencing avatar owners' behavioral outcomes.
Comparative rates of protein synthesis of rat kidney medulia and cortex invitro

Abstract The in vitro rate of 14 C-leucine incorporation into protein has been examined in rat kidney tissue. The presence of a marked gradient was observed. Thus, the white medulla was the most active in this respect followed by, in descending order, red medulla and cortex. 14 C-Leucine incorporation into protein was completely abolished in the presence of cycloheximide. The distribution of labeled protein between the medium and slice suggests a high degree of cellular integrity and little secretion of labeled protein from slice to medium. The pattern of 14 C-leucine incorporation amongst the different zones of kidney of hypophysectomized rats was similar to that noted in normal rats.
Candida albicans in the gnotobiotic animal.

The effects of intestinal bacteria on the multiplication, morphogenesis and infectivity of Candida albicans in the alimentary tract were investigated by comparing results obtained in germ-free and conventional chicks, after oral inoculation with the pathogen. This challenge resulted in the establishment of large numbers of the pathogen in the alimentary tract of each group of chicks. These numbers were largest in the crop contents from challenged germ-free chicks; numbers of hyphae were larger than those of the yeast form. These animals also had lesions of the crop epithelium containing numerous hyphae and few yeast-like forms. In contrast, challenged conventional chicks receiving an adequate diet displayed no evidence of infection. Their alimentary tract contained the yeast form of C. albicans : no hyphae were seen. While we found bacterial inhibition of C. albicans multiplication in the alimentary tract, this in itself did not . suffice to explain the resistance to intestinal candidiasis in our conventional chicks. We argued that this resistance was due chiefly to the inhibition of morphogenesis of C. albicans by intestinal bacteria. The establishment of C. albicans in the gut of conventional chicks apparently did not produce any great changes in the numbers and kinds of bacteria; some increase was found in numbers of enterococci in contents from the crop. The pH values in contents from the gut of the germ-free chicks were higher than in conventional birds; however, this difference was not clearly related to the resistance to infection in the latter animal group. The Eh values on the above gut contents were only slightly higher in the conventional crop compared to the germ-free crop. The lowest Eh value was found in the cecal contents from the conventional chicks. Again it is doubtful that these results could explain the resistance in question. Invasion of the blood stream and kidneys of conventional chicks by the yeast form of C. albicans occurred in challenged animals receiving a purified diet which had been radiation sterilized and stored six months at room temperature. These animals became moribund. No hyphae were observed in either the tissues or contents from the intestine of these animals. Challenged germ-free chicks receiving the same diet were resistant to the above invasion; although, these animals had the crop lesions containing hyphae as described. The resistance of germ-free chicks to systemic invasion was attributed to their lack of a bacterial flora competing for low levels of vitamins in the stored diet. Germ-free chicks had decreased levels of γ-globulin in the blood serum compared to conventional animals. Oral challenge of germ-free chicks with C. albicans brought the γ-globulin concentration up to the conventional level, whereas this value was unchanged in conventional birds after a similar challenge.
Inter-subject variation in partition coefficient is largely due to variation in LGE blood T1

Background MRI is the only non-invasive modality capable of quantifying diffuse cardiac fibrosis using late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) cardiac T1 mapping. This pulse sequence measures LGE cardiac T1, which directly correlates with the amount of extracellular contrast agent occupying the expanded extracellular matrix containing the interstitial fibrosis, and obviates the need for a reference normal tissue. A practical limitation of the LGE cardiac T1 mapping pulse sequence is that it is sensitive to contrast agent dosage and specific delayed imaging time (i.e., two factors that affect the amount of contrast agent present in tissue). Recently, a method was proposed to address this limitation by combining blood and myocardial T1 measurements preand post-contrast agent administration to calculate an index called partition coefficient (l). However, post-contrast blood T1 can vary across subjects, due to variations in hydration and renal function. We sought to evaluate intersubject variation in blood T1, myocardial T1, and l.
TIVAN: tissue-specific cis-eQTL single nucleotide variant annotation and prediction

Summary Predicting genetic regulatory variants, most of which locate in non-coding genomic regions, still remain a challenge in genetic research. Among all non-coding regulatory variants, cis-eQTL single nucleotide variants (SNVs) are of particular interest for their crucial role in regulating gene expression. Since different gene expression patterns are believed to contribute to the etiologies of different phenotypes, it is desirable to characterize the impact of cis-eQTL SNVs in a context-specific manner. Though computational methods for predicting the potential of variants being pathogenic or deleterious are well-established, methods for annotating and predicting cis-eQTL SNVs are under-developed. Here, we present TIVAN (TIssue-specific Variant ANnotation and prediction), an ensemble method of decision trees, to predict tissue-specific cis-eQTL SNVs. TIVAN is trained based on a comprehensive collection of features, including genome-wide genomic and epigenomic profiling data. As a result, TIVAN has been shown to accurately discriminate cis-eQTL SNVs from non-eQTL SNVs and perform favorably to other methods by obtaining higher five-fold cross-validation AUC values (CV-AUC) and Leave-One-Chromosome-Out predicted AUC values (LOCO-AUC) across 44 different tissues belonging to 27 different tissue classes. Finally, TIVAN consistently maintains top performance on an independent testing dataset, which includes 7 tissues in 11 studies. Availability and implementation TIVAN software is available at https://github.com/lichen-lab/TIVAN. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Civil Society and Civil Justice: Teaching with Technology to Help Close the Justice Gap for Non-Profit Organizations

Technological innovation, climate change, economic inequality, globalization, and the increased migration of individuals and families to urban settings are all changing the way humans work, relate to each other and themselves, engage with the wider world, and form community. These forces are altering the relationship of the individual to the state, and between the individual and civil society: that loose sphere of organizations, associations, and collections of individuals that exist beyond government and the business sector. These groups that make up civil society play a significant role in the lives of individuals and families throughout the world. They mediate religious worship, educate youth and adults alike, heal us when we are sick, channel competition in sports, and help individuals work collectively to topple dictators. Technological innovations are affecting how these organizations function and communicate and often play a role in the social change such organizations and networks pursue. But the organizations themselves must adapt to changing environments, new needs spurred by such change, and the ways in which the legal ecosystem is itself also changing, spurred on by technological innovation as well. This Article explores whether the technological changes afoot in society generally, and the legal services sector in particular, can expand access to justice for non-profit organizations through the delivery of web-based legal guidance. It does so by exploring one effort to help non-profits that wish to form under New York State law obtain information and guidance that helps them generate the critical documents such organizations must prepare to organize themselves under state law. This effort was the product of a class taught at Albany Law School, led by one of the co-authors, and in which the two other co-authors were enrolled as students. In this class, entitled “The Law of Social Entrepreneurship and Exempt Organizations,” the students learned not just the substantive law of non-profit entities, they also learned how to incorporate technology into the provision of legal services to non-profit groups to help address the justice gap such organizations face. This Article explores the work of this class and the ways in which the students were able to incorporate technology to improve access to justice for non-profit entities. It is our hope that this process yielded helpful insights into the ways in which one can use technology to improve access to justice for non-profit groups in particular, but also for individuals and other corporate entities as well. This Article will identify these insights and examine what implications they might have for the use of technology to improve access to justice, for both organizations and individuals. It also shows how law schools can incorporate technology-based projects that help close the justice gap generally.
Identification and Quantification of Gaps in Access to Autism Resources in the United States: An Infodemiological Study.

Background: Autism affects 1 in every 59 children in the United States, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network in 2018. Although similar rates of autism are reported in rural and urban areas, rural families report greater difficulty in accessing resources. An overwhelming number of families experience long waitlists for diagnostic and therapeutic services. Objective: The objective of this study was to accurately identify gaps in access to autism care using GapMap, a mobile platform that connects families with local resources while continuously collecting up-to-date autism resource epidemiological information. Methods: After being extracted from various databases, resources were deduplicated, validated, and allocated into 7 categories based on the keywords identified on the resource website. The average distance between the individuals from a simulated autism population and the nearest autism resource in our database was calculated for each US county. Resource load, an approximation of demand over supply for diagnostic resources, was calculated for each US county. Results: There are approximately 28,000 US resources validated on the GapMap database, each allocated into 1 or more of the 7 categories. States with the greatest distances to autism resources included Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, and Arizona. Of the 7 resource categories, diagnostic resources were the most underrepresented, comprising only 8.83% (2472/28,003) of all resources. Alarmingly, 83.86% (2635/3142) of all US counties lacked any diagnostic resources. States with the highest diagnostic resource load included West Virginia, Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi, and New Mexico. Conclusions: Results from this study demonstrate the sparsity and uneven distribution of diagnostic resources in the United States, which may contribute to the lengthy waitlists and travel distances—barriers to be overcome to be able to receive diagnosis in specific regions. More data are needed on autism diagnosis demand to better quantify resource needs across the United States.
Community stroke education practices in New York State designated stroke centres

Objective:Community stroke education is a regulated, integral component of stroke systems of care. However, little is known about the types of activities conducted by hospitals. This study was desi...
A proposed strategy for management of immunosuppression in heart transplant patients with COVID-19.

There is limited experience in management of orthotopic heart transplant (OHT) patients with COVID-19. In this study, we present our initial experience using a standardized management algorithm. Data collection was performed on OHT patients with COVID-19 after March 10, 2020 (declaration of state of emergency in Massachusetts). Among the 358 OHT patients currently followed at our program, 5 patients (1.4%) tested positive for COVID-19 (median age 50 years [IQR, 49-58], duration post-OHT 21 years [IQR, 6-25], and 4 of 5 [80%] were men). Among the 5 OHT patients, 2 of 5 (20%) had mild disease and had no change in baseline immunosuppression therapy. Two of 5 (20%) had moderate disease and received remdesivir as part of a clinical trial and reduced immunosuppression therapy. One patient (20%) died prior to presenting to the hospital, consistent with 20% case fatality rate. Four patients (80%) are doing well 4 weeks post-discharge. In this small cohort of OHT patients with COVID-19, we report a 1.4% COVID-19 infection rate and 20% case fatality rate. All OHT patients managed under our clinical management algorithm had good short-term outcomes. Further study to estimate the true risk profile of OHT patients and validate the proposed management strategy is warranted.
Media Portrayals of Immigration and Refugees in Hard and Fake News and Their Impact on Consumer Attitudes

This study examined the effect of media portrayals of immigrants and refugees on participants’ attitudes using an experimental design. Participants included 196 male and female college students who...
Haplotyping the Potato Psyllid (Hemiptera: Triozidae) and the Associated Pathogenic Bacterium 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' in Non-crop Alternative Hosts in Southern Idaho

Zebra chip, is a potato disease associated with the bacterium 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) and vectored by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli Sulc. Potato psyllids are native to North America, where four haplotypes have been described. They are able to colonize a wide range of solanaceous species, crops, and weeds. The epidemiology of zebra chip disease is still poorly understood and might involve the different haplotypes of psyllids as well as two haplotypes of Lso. As several perennial weeds have been recognized as potential host for potato psyllids and Lso, a yearly monitoring of several patches of bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) and field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) located in the potato-growing region of southern Idaho was conducted from 2013 to 2017, to gain insight into psyllid dynamics in non-potato hosts and Lso presence in the fields. Potato psyllids caught on each host were individually tested for Lso, and a subset were haplotyped based on the CO1 gene, along with the haplotyping of Lso in positive samples. On bittersweet nightshade, the Northwestern haplotype was numerically dominant, with around 2.7% of psyllids found to be carrying either Lso haplotype A or B, suggesting a limited role in zebra chip persistence, which has infected Idaho fields at a low occurrence since the 2012 outbreak. Field bindweed was found to be a transient, non-overwintering host for potato psyllid of Northwestern, Western and Central haplotypes late in the season, suggesting minor, if any, role in persistence of Lso and field infestation by potato psyllids.
A Little Help From Their Friends? How Social Factors Relate to Students' Sense of Belonging at a Large Public University

Sense of belonging plays a key role in college students' persistence and successful degree completion. This study evaluated how social factors contributed to students’ sense of belonging at a major...
Burnout among chronic pain anesthesiologists

Burnout is a concern to individuals in different professions and it continues to be a major concern among physicians in different specialties. Hyman et al [1][1] conducted a study to compare the severity of burnout among different anesthesiology subspecialties. Chronic pain anesthesiologists had
Intraoperative Seizure Detection During Active Resection of Glioblastoma Through a Novel Hollow Circular Electrocorticography Array.

Background and importance Data supporting the use of electrocorticography (ECoG) monitoring during electrical stimulation in awake craniotomies for resection of supratentorial neoplasms is robust, but its applicability during active resection is often limited by the inability to keep the array in place. Given the known survival benefit of gross total resection in glioma surgery, novel approaches to surgical monitoring are warranted to maximize safe resection and optimize surgical outcomes in patients with glioblastoma. Clinical presentation A 68-yr-old right-handed woman presented to the emergency department with confusion. Imaging studies revealed a bifrontal intra-axial brain lesion. She underwent a left-sided awake craniotomy procedure with cortical and subcortical mapping. During surgical resection, multiple electrographic seizures were detected on continuous ECoG monitoring with a customized 22-channel high-density hollow circular array. She remained without clinical evidence of seizures at 3 mo after surgery. Conclusion We report a unique case of serial electrographic seizures detected during continuous intraoperative ECoG monitoring during active surgical resection of a glioblastoma using a novel circular hollow array during an awake craniotomy. The use of continuous ECoG monitoring during active resection may provide additional data, with potential influence in outcomes for patients undergoing resection of high-grade glial neoplasms.
Multilevel ecological analysis of the predictors of spanking across 65 countries.

OBJECTIVE Ending violence against children is critical to promote the health and socioemotional development of children across the globe. To this end, the UNICEF and the WHO have called for the abolishment of spanking, which is the most pervasive form of physical violence against children worldwide. This study used an ecological perspective to examine micro-level and macro-level predictors of parental spanking across 65 countries. PARTICIPANTS Data came from the fourth and fifth rounds of the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, which were administered between 2009 and 2017 (N=613 861 households). We examined the predictors of spanking using multilevel logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Micro-level factors (ie, those observed at the familial level) were stronger predictors of spanking in comparison to macro-level factors (ie, those observed at the community and country level). Caregiver belief that children need physical punishment in order to be raised properly was the largest risk factor for spanking (OR=2.55, p<0.001). Older child age, the child being female, the head of the household having a secondary education or higher, and higher household wealth were protective factors against spanking, while a higher number of people living in the household was a risk factor for spanking. Living in an urban community was the only macro-level factor associated with spanking. CONCLUSIONS Intervention at the micro-level and macro-level are important to reduce violence against children across the globe.
Delayed presentation of a traumatic scalp arteriovenous fistula.

Background Arteriovenous (AV) fistulas of the scalp are extracranial vascular malformations commonly caused by trauma and typically present within 3 years. Although they follow a benign course, they can be esthetically displeasing. Case Description We present an atypical onset of scalp AV fistula in a patient with a 1-year history of the left-sided pulsatile tinnitus and scalp swelling 7 years after a traumatic epidural hematoma evacuation. Our patient was found to have an 8 mm AV fistula supplied by the deep temporal artery. Endovascular embolization was performed using eight coils. There was no complication from the procedure, and the patient's pulsatile tinnitus and swelling resolved immediately after embolization. Follow-up angiogram demonstrated complete obliteration of the AV fistula. Conclusion Delayed presentation of traumatic scalp AV fistula is very rare, and it is important to keep this in the differential in patients with scalp swelling after head trauma.
Management of Neonates Admitted with Tetralogy of Fallot: Changing Patterns Across the United States.

Abstract Background This study describes the evolving in-hospital management strategies for neonates who are diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF). Methods The Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database was used to identify admitted patients 0-1 month old with ToF from 2010-2019. Era 1: 2010-2014; Era 2: 2015-2019. ICD codes were used to identify related interventions, which occurred during this admission but not necessarily as a neonate: full repair, systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, and percutaneous stent in the RVOT &/or PDA. Results 6,021 neonates were diagnosed with ToF. 2,030(34%) of them underwent an intervention:60% had total repair, 31% systemic-to-pulmonary shunt, 9% percutaneous stent. In the no-intervention cohort, in-hospital mortality was 9%. In-hospital mortality between repair(6%), shunt(6%), and stent(3%) patients(p=0.446) did not differ. Regarding regional practices, no-intervention was most frequently employed in the Midwest (69%vs.65% average for all other regions(avg),p=0.075) while interventions overall were performed most frequently in the West (36%vs.33.5% avg, p=0.075). Amongst the interventions, full repair was most frequent in the Northeast (76%vs.57% avg,p Conclusions Although the majority of neonates admitted with ToF are discharged with no intervention, over 1/3 undergo some intervention with a 3-6% mortality. Though the proportion of these patients intervened upon is unchanged over the past decade, the types of intervention have changed and significant regional differences exist.
The Political Influence of Churches: Clergy Influences and Religious Commitment Reconsidered

chapter 1 has laid out an argument, with considerable empirical support, for the salience of social networks within congregations as crucial factors affecting the political activities and beliefs of church members. The specification of church-centered formal and informal social networks through the questions posed in our congregational study represents a significant advancement in how social scientists comprehend and measure the political influence of church and, by extension, how political influence in other types of social organizations may be evaluated. But as we argued in the Introduction, social networks are just one component of the complete picture, albeit an essential one. Moreover, our theoretical framework does not merely assert that aspects of social networks should simply be incorporated into existing explanatory models of church member political behavior. Rather, we argue that the five sets of factors outlined in the Introduction work in concert to affect what church members think and do in the political realm. This assertion necessitates a reinterpretation of how all potential explanatory factors influence congregant political behavior, particularly in light of the strong initial evidence supporting the salience of social networks. The two explanatory factors most in need of reinterpretation are clergy influences and religious commitment, and this chapter offers an examination of the nature – more specifically, the circumscribed nature – of the influence each factor exerts on church member political behavior.
Water, Climate, and Life

The search for life on Mars cannot be carried out strictly by seeking evidence of life itself. Rather, the entire planet must be understood to determine whether Mars may once have harbored life. In his Perspective, Jakosky discusses new results from the Mars Global Surveyor project that were presented at a recent meeting of the American Geophysical Union (San Francisco, December 1998). Instruments on the spacecraft have been used to discover substantial ancient magnetism, large concentrations of the important iron-bearing mineral hematite, and new information about the polar topography of Mars. The new findings point to complex interweaving of many geophysical processes and confirm that conditions were right for a watery past, which could have been one ingredient in supporting life on the planet.
Federalism and Company Law

stitutions that served as the vehicles of that evolution.3 Both the American doctrines concerning the proper mix of state and federal involvement with private enterprise activity, and the court system that developed those doctrines, often have been looked to as guides to the achievement of some analogous division of powers over enterprise law in Europe. This kind of comparative inquiry is all the more attractive because of the hope that judicial development can escape or at least more successfully confront the political realities that have made the legislative and administrative path to European harmonization more an obstacle course than a road. This search also is fueled by a persisting sense of an ideological affinity between the two cultures - the sense that a liberal socio-economic theory undergirds the American system, and that this theory is reflected in the American lesson of increased unification or harmonization of enterprise law.4 At the least, the American vacillations between facilitative and regulatory law, depending upon changing perceptions of appropriate statet I am indebted to my colleague, Michael E. Smith, for a critical evaluation of this paper, and to David Bledsoe, Class of 1985, for substantial research assistance.
Development of a teaching tool: the Texaco energy systems laboratory at Penn State

The importance of developing improved teaching tools for design of thermal systems has been recognized at Penn State University, USA. This paper describes an undergraduate energy systems laboratory to be implemented at the Mechanical Engineering Department, under primary sponsorship from Texaco, NSF and internal matching funds. This lab will be implemented by judicious selection of test stands allowing the students to experiment with actual machines. Three test stands have been procured in order to allow the students to exercise and reinforce the theoretical knowledge acquired in the thermal courses, and to appreciate the comprehensive nature of design activities. The authors plan to have an internal combustion engine, a steam Rankine cycle and a refrigeration system. Other issues illustrating the integrating nature of the design activity, such as considerations of vibration, noise, fatigue, material selection and environmental compliance will also be addressed as the laboratory develops.
Energy efficient DC to AC power conversion using advanced controllers and novel voltage trajectories

A typical DC:AC conversion system consists of two stages, a DC:DC converter to generate the necessary bus voltage followed by an inverter which generates the desired AC output. A modification of this system is proposed for the purpose of reducing switching losses. The proposed two-stage system consists of a buck converter which produces a mixed (DC+AC) signal which is fed to a traditional inverter. This mixed signal is designed such that it reduces the switching loss across the inverter switches while still providing the necessary voltage for the inverter input. Backstepping controllers are designed to achieve output voltage tracking objectives for both stages. Lyapunov stability analysis and simulation results validate these controller designs. Efficiency and THD comparisons are made between the typical and modified systems.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Question Answering

This special issue issue of AI Magazine presents six articles on some of the most interesting question answering systems in development today. Included are articles on Project, the Semantic Research, Watson, True Knowledge, and TextRunner (University of Washington’s clever use of statistical NL techniques to answer questions across the open web).
Digital ischemia associated with small bowel malignancy

Abstract A 59-yr-old woman presented with digital ischemia and was found to have a small-bowel malignancy. After resection of the neoplasm, her digital ischemic symptoms resolved. Five years after the operation, she has no evidence either of recurrence of the intestinal malignancy or of the digital ischemia. This report contrasts with earlier studies, which have suggested that patients with digital ischemia associated with malignancy have a poor prognosis.
The Prediction of Transient Fission-Gas Release and Fuel Microcracking Under Severe Core-Accident Conditions

The interrelationship between fuel fracturing (microcracking), temperature scenario, and fission-gas-bubble response is investigated. The fission-gas-bubble behavior is described using the FASTGRASS computer code. A model, based on the work of DiMelfi and Deitrich describing ductile/brittle fuel behavior, has been incorporated into the FASTGRASS analysis. The predictions of fission-gas release, radial distribution of released gas, radial distribution of microcracking, and fuel temperatures are compared with the results of transient direct-electrical-heating experiments on irradiated light water reactor fuel. Finally, results of analyses for Three Mile Island Unit 2 type accident conditions are presented and implications for microcracking and fission-gas behavior during this accident are discussed.