cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mapping Six New Susceptibility to Colon Cancer (Scc) Loci Using a Mouse Interspecific Backcross

Colorectal cancer (CRC) has a complex etiology resulting from the combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors, each with small effects. Interactions among susceptibility modifier loci make many of the loci difficult to detect in human genome-wide association studies. Previous analyses in mice have used classical inbred strains, which share large portions of their genomes due to common ancestry. Herein, we used an interspecific backcross between the Mus musculus strain A/J and the Mus spretus strain SPRET/EiJ to map 6 additional CRC modifier loci (Scc16-21) and 2 suggestive loci. Three loci modify the location of tumors along the proximal-distal axis of the colon. Six CRC modifiers previously mapped in intraspecific crosses were also replicated. This work confirms genetic models suggesting that CRC is caused by many small effect alleles and brings the catalog of reported CRC modifier loci to 23 spread across 13 chromosomes. Furthermore, this work provides the foundation for large population-level epistatic interaction tests to identify combinations of low effect alleles that may have large effects on CRC susceptibility.
What Lessons Can We Learn from the Exceptionalism Debate (Finally)

How we integrate the astounding advances that genetics makes possible into our language, our conceptions of health and disease, and our systems to collect, control, and protect health-related information is a key question facing health law and policy-makers this decade. For example, the prospect that all of us may harbor the genetic seeds of our own demise forces us to confront the blurring of the lines between “health,” “predisposition,” and “disease.” How will we modify our conceptions of health and disease in response to this new distinction? That these questions must be answered using, at least in part, new approaches seems unassailable. Yet, we run the risk of becoming mired in an old debate—exceptionalism—in which we haggle over the precise nature and scope of the similarities and differences between genetic information and all other health-related information.
Nucleation in finite systems: Theory and computer simulation

The free energy of formation of a droplet in a finite system containingN particles in a box of volumeV at a temperatureT is examined. For certain values of the supersaturation the free energy of formation has a maximum and a minimum. The maximum gives rise to a barrier to nucleation whereas the minimum corresponds to the formation of a stable droplet in equilibrium with vapor. Vapor imperfection and the radius dependence of the surface tension of the droplet are shown to affect the barrier and associated cluster distributions at equilibrium in significant ways. The theory is compared with computer simulation results using a Lennard-Jones fluid at a temperature of 84 K.
Alterations in glomerular permeability in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

The alteration in glomerular basement membrane permeability associated with microangiopathy in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats was studied by determining the movement across the glomerular basement membrane of anionic ferritin probes injected into rats at different points in the development of the disease. Visualization of the concentration gradient of anionic ferritin and changes in ultrastructure was accomplished by electron microscopic examination of renal tissue prepared from both control and diabetic rats. In all control rats, the anionic ferritin did not leave the glomerular capillary lumen, nor were there any changes in the normal morphology of the glomerular capillary wall. In the diabetic animals, the concentration of anionic ferritin shifted from the capillary lumen in the abluminal direction. Distinct morphologic changes, such as widening of endothelial intercellular junctions, focal detachment of podocyte foot processes, and extensive thickening of the glomerular basement membrane, were noted in the diabetic rat, and these changes appear to correlate with the observed increase in permselectivity of anionic ferritin across the glomerular capillary wall.
Unperturbed dimensions of cellulose derivatives

The application of recent expressions for estimating unperturbed dimensions from viscosity-molecular weight data in good solvents is discussed. These relationships give satisfactory results for cellulose and derivatives in the solvent cadoxen. The evidence showing that these molecules have similar backbone flexibilities to those of typical synthetic polymers is reviewed. The origin(s) of the large solvent effect on the configuration in water is at present unclear, and it is apparent that current definitions of such effects are inadequate.
Performance and glucose metabolism in calves fed a chromium-nicotinic acid complex or chromium chloride

Twenty-four Holstein bull calves were fed a milk replacer diet to assess the effects of Cr on calf performance and metabolism of glucose. Treatments consisted of no supplemental Cr (control) or 0.4 mg/kg of dry matter of supplemental Cr from CrCl3 or from a Cr-nicotinic acid complex. Supplementation with the Crt-nicotinic acid complex increased the average daily gain and feed efficiency from d 28 to 42, but not over the entire 63-d performance phase. Calves that were fed diets supplemented with CrCl3 or the Cr-nicotinic acid complex had lower plasma glucose concentrations at 45 to 180 min after an i.v. infusion of insulin than did controls. Calves fed diets supplemented with the Cr-nicotinic acid complex also had lower plasma glucose concentrations from 90 to 180 min after insulin challenge than did calves that were fed diets supplemented with CrCl3. After an i.v. infusion of glucose, calves that were fed diets supplemented with CrCl3 had lower serum insulin concentrations at 10 to 25 min after challenge than did controls or calves that were fed diets supplemented with the Cr-nicotinic acid complex. However, the glucose clearance rate after glucose infusion was not affected by Cr supplementation. Chromium supplementation did not markedly affect the performance of calves, but the Cr-nicotinic acid complex and CrCl3 did intensify the response to insulin administered i.v.
Update: comparison of drug use in Australia and the United States as seen in the 2001 National Household Surveys

This paper updates an earlier article by comparing the results of the 1998 and 2001 household surveys. The Australian survey showed a significant decrease in past-year use of “any illicit drug”. The methodological changes in the US surveys prevented comparison for these years, but there were increases in use of any illicit drug between 2000 and 2001. Patterns of use of marijuana, stimulants, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin and needles are shown by age group and gender. Use by teenage girls in both countries has risen to the point that they are now using alcohol and some drugs at rates similar to boys. Over 20% of teens in both countries reported binge drinking in the past month. While Australians in their 20s had the highest rates of lifetime and past-year use, in the United States, depending on the drug, lifetime use was highest among people in their 30s or 40s, with past-year use highest among teenagers. Drug treatment services are needed not only for young people, but also for aging users. The changes in perc...
Robust control of uncertain Markov Decision Processes with temporal logic specifications

We present a method for designing a robust control policy for an uncertain system subject to temporal logic specifications. The system is modeled as a finite Markov Decision Process (MDP) whose transition probabilities are not exactly known but are known to belong to a given uncertainty set. A robust control policy is generated for the MDP that maximizes the worst-case probability of satisfying the specification over all transition probabilities in this uncertainty set. To this end, we use a procedure from probabilistic model checking to combine the system model with an automaton representing the specification. This new MDP is then transformed into an equivalent form that satisfies assumptions for stochastic shortest path dynamic programming. A robust version of dynamic programming solves for a e-suboptimal robust control policy with time complexity O(log1/e) times that for the non-robust case.
Estimating Fundamental Frequencies of Tall Buildings

Empirical estimates of the fundamental frequency of tall buildings vary inversely with their height, a dependency not exhibited by the various familiar models of beam behavior. This paper examines and explains this apparent discrepancy by analyzing the consequences of using two models to estimate such natural frequencies: A two-beam model that couples the bending of a classical cantilever to that of a shear beam by imposing a displacement constraint; and a Timoshenko beam in which the Euler–Bernoulli beam model is extended by adding a shear-displacement term to the classical bending deflection. A comparison of the two beam models suggests that the Timoshenko model is appropriate for describing the behavior of shear-wall buildings, while the coupled two-beam model is appropriate for shear-wall–frame (e.g., tube-and-core) buildings, and that the coupled-beam model comes much closer to replicating the parametric dependence of building frequency on height.
Human T-Cell Growth Factor, Growth of Human Neoplastic T Cells, and Human T-Cell Leukemia-Lymphoma Virus

Identification of conditions permitting growth of different human hematopoietic cell strains was a goal for a long time in many laboratories including ours. To this end we screened a large number of sources including conditioned media from freshly initiated cultures of a variety of tissue and cell types for factors that would support growth of specific hematopoietic cell types in suspension culture. These attempts led to the initial description of an activity in the media from short-term cultures of human peripheral blood lymphocytes treated with phytohemagglutinin (PHA) that allowed the specific growth of T lymphocytes from human peripheral blood or bone marrow (Morgan et al., 1976; Ruscetti et al., 1977). Extensive characterization of the resultant cell population revealed that these were functional T lymphocytes (Ruscetti et al., 1977), and the term “T-cell growth factor” (TCGF) was assigned to the activity. Preliminary analyses quickly revealed that the T-cell response is a two-step process: an initial activation of the lymphocytes by lectin (or an antigen) which makes the cells synthesize receptors for TCGF and subsequently bind TCGF resulting in the mitogenic activity. The effect was highly specific and the only cells that grew out of the mixed population of cells that we started with were cells with morphological and functional characteristics of mature T cells and only after preliminary activation with PHA.
Bilateral, bipedicled DIEP flap for staged reconstruction of cranial deformity

The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) adipocutaneous flap is a versatile flap that has been most popularly used in breast reconstruction. However, it has been applied to many other anatomic areas and circumstances that require free-tissue transfer. We present a case report of the use of the DIEP flap for the reconstruction of severe craniomaxillofacial deformity complicated by indolent infection in a gentleman with infected hardware and methyl methacrylate overlay used in previous repair of traumatic injuries suffered from a motor vehicle collision. The reconstruction was done in a staged, two-step fashion that allowed for adequate infection eradication and treatment using a bilateral, bipedicled DIEP flap for tissue coverage and intravenous antibiotics before the delayed insertion of a polyetheretherketone cranioplasty for reconstruction of the cranial defect.
Accurate Prediction of Strains and Stresses in 2-D Elasticity Using Adini’s Finite Element

In the interest of obtaining accurate stress predictions in linear elastic problems while keeping the computational cost low, a finite element solution approach using cubic elements that include not only the displacement but also the spatial derivatives of the displacement as nodal degrees of freedom (DOFs) is explored in this paper.The proposed approach has the advantage that the nodal values of the strains, and hence the stresses, can be directly computed from the finite element solution and, as shown in this paper, it is capable of converging faster to the analytical solution than the commonly used reduced integration Serendipity quadratic element.Because the proposed approach is capable of achieving high accuracy using less DOFs, it is possible to use coarser meshes than with conventional elements. This is of particular importance in dynamic problems in which explicit techniques are used and the size of the time step is tied to the element size. Moreover, the proposed approach can be beneficial in non-linear problems in which stepping techniques are used to solve a linearized problem and the strains or stresses of the current step are used as input for the following step.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Preoperative patient-reported scores can predict postoperative outcomes after shoulder arthroplasty.

Background Total shoulder arthroplasty and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty are increasingly used to improve pain and function in patients with glenohumeral arthritis or cuff tear arthropathy. Our objective was to determine if preoperative patient-reported outcome measures predict which patients will achieve clinically meaningful improvements after shoulder arthroplasty. Methods Preoperative and 1-year postoperative 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) pain and function scores were prospectively collected from 107 patients who underwent total or reverse shoulder arthroplasty. The minimum clinically important difference (MCID) defined meaningful clinical improvement. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to calculate threshold values and C statistic. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine preoperative measures that were indicative of achieving the MCID postoperatively. Results Threshold values below which patients were more likely to achieve MCID were 12 for ASES function, 25 for ASES pain, 46 for SF-12 PCS, and 42 for SF-12 MCS. Multivariate analysis revealed that preoperative ASES function (area under the curve, 0.79; P = .006) and ASES pain (area under the curve, 0.90; P Conclusion We determined threshold values that predict clinically meaningful improvement after shoulder arthroplasty. Patients with higher preoperative mental health scores and lower physical function and pain scores were more likely to gain significant benefits from surgery. These results can be used to facilitate shared decision-making and to forecast expected benefits after shoulder arthroplasty.
Second, let no harm be done: an American antiimmigration dilemma.

Ongoing legislative proposals to overhaul United States immigration policy look very much like a new wave of nativism is sweeping the Congress. The movement, mounted in early 1995, is in full swing to limit immigrant populations from arriving, settling, producing, and benefiting as our parents' generations have done. Legislators and the courts are now considering the most complete antiimmigration social legislation since the decades following the First World War.
Effect of continuous and partial reinforcement on the acquisition and extinction of human conditioned fear

Extinction of Pavlovian conditioned fear in humans is a popular paradigm often used to study learning and memory processes that mediate anxiety-related disorders. Fear extinction studies often only pair the conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (UCS) on a subset of acquisition trials (i.e., partial reinforcement/pairing) to prolong extinction (i.e., partial reinforcement extinction effect; PREE) and provide more time to study the process. However, there is limited evidence that the partial pairing procedures typically used during fear conditioning actually extend the extinction process, while there is strong evidence these procedures weaken conditioned response (CR) acquisition. Therefore, determining conditioning procedures that support strong CR acquisition and that also prolong the extinction process would benefit the field. The present study investigated 4 separate CS-UCS pairing procedures to determine methods that support strong conditioning and that also exhibit a PREE. One group (C-C) of participants received continuous CS-UCS pairings; a second group (C-P) received continuous followed by partial CS-UCS pairings; a third group (P-C) received partial followed by continuous CS-UCS pairings; and a fourth group (P-P) received partial CS-UCS pairings during acquisition. A strong skin conductance CR was expressed by C-C and P-C groups but not by C-P and P-P groups at the end of the acquisition phase. The P-C group maintained the CR during extinction. In contrast, the CR extinguished quickly within the C-C group. These findings suggest that partial followed by continuous CS-UCS pairings elicit strong CRs and prolong the extinction process following human fear conditioning.
Exploring History, Architecture, and Art Across Three Colleges in the Bronx

Our faculty development work as professors at CUNY brought us together (Carl, Susan, and Harriet) from our different campuses (Eugenio Maria de Hostos Community College, Lehman College, and Bronx Community College [BCC]) in search of a collaborative, intellectual space where, together, we would investigate two significant public works of art on the BCC and Lehman campuses. BCC and Lehman had just concluded a very successful 5-year Title V project where our faculties had many opportunities to interact around teaching techniques and student learning. Hostos faculty had participated in this Title V project as well. The cross-campus dialogue that took place over the course of the Title V grant enabled us to see the value of cross-campus faculty engagement, and Harriet set out to find another vehicle to keep the collaboration going.
Supporting interactive data exploration for GIS planning tasks with a multi-modal virtual environment

We are investigating how combining 3D stereo-vision, touch and sound into a multi-modal virtual environment can be used to improve interaction with and analysis of spatial (3D) data. We specifically focus on providing tools for planning new structures (such as schools or pipelines) within a system of spatial constraints. The planning task is typically performed within a GIS (geographic information system), where it is called suitability analysis. Our proof-of-concept virtual environment uses 3D stereo, force-feedback and interactive sound. We use a set of typical GIS raster and vector data and drape the data on a touchable digital elevation model (3D terrain). In addition, the system lets the user configure a planning environment where the relative importance of each GIS layer can be expressed via force and/or via sound. For example, when digitizing a path, the user could model proximity to objects such as roads or houses as repulsion (with different intensities, depending on the object's importance) and hear land-cover values as sound (pitch). We can then substitute multiple layers of potentially cluttering 2D maps with a combination of vision, force (gravity, friction) and sound (pitch, tempo, timbre) and facilitate the fusion of data streams from different sensory modalities. With the help of students is a ISU GIS class, we intend to formally evaluate this setup and compare it with the traditional GIS suitability analysis.
Choice of the Iterative Method for the Solution of Nonlinear Nonstationary Problem of Heat Conduction for a Half Space in the Course of Radiative Cooling

To solve the nonlinear nonstationary problem of radiative interaction of a half space with an ambient medium, we use the methods of reduction to nonlinear integral equations of the Volterra type, simple iteration, successive approximations, and quasilinearization. We perform the comparative analysis of the efficiency of application of these approaches to the solution of the analyzed class of problems and show that the approach based on the method of quasilinearization guarantees the best possible convergence.
Comparison of Inversion (“flipping”) Rates Among Different Port Designs: A Single-Center Experience

Purpose To compare incidence of port inversion among different types of implantable venous access devices.
Prognostic Significance of Cell of Origin Subclassification in Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma

Abstract Abstract 5081 Background: Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a heterogeneous disease that has been divided into three different prognostic subgroups: Germinal Center B cell-like (GC), Activated B cell-like (ABC) and type 3 according to gene expression profile using cDNA. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been used as surrogate to identify these cell-of-origin subgroups. Data about the prognostic value of IHC has been conflicting. Patients and methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed the charts of 252 patients diagnosed with DLBCL at Henry Ford Hospital from 1999 to 2012. We excluded patients with HIV, transformed lymphomas and unavailable samples. Data was collected on a total of 157 patients. The following data was gathered: age, sex, race, IPI score, disease stage, hemoglobin, white blood and platelet counts, best response achieved and dates of treatment start, relapse, death or last follow up. Tissue microarray slides with the following IHC stains (CD10, MUM1, Bcl6) were prepared and reviewed when needed. Using Hans Algorithm, samples were divided into two major groups (GC-like and non-GC-like). 3-year progression free and overall survivals were compared between all subgroups using a log-rank test. Continuous variables were reported as median and range, and compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Categorical variables were reported as median and range, and compared using Chi-square tests. Statistical significance was set at p Results: Eighty patients (51%) were classified as GC-like, and 77 patients (49%) as non-GC-like. GC-like subgroup had a significantly longer 3-year progression free survival (90% vs 74%, P=0. 024), as compared with the non-GC-like subgroup. There was a trend toward longer overall survival but it didn’t reach statistical significance (74% vs 67%, P=0. 161). For all patients, IPI stands as a strong prognostic index with 3-year overall survival of (85% and 46%, P= Conclusion: Cell of origin subclassification as determined by IHC surrogate markers predict for better progression free survival in GC-like subgroup but not for overall survival. While this prognostic value was maintained in patients with low IPI, there was no prognostic significance in patients with high IPI. IPI is still a valuable prognostic tool in patients with DLBCL. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Sialendoscopy in the Management of Radioiodine Induced Sialadenitis: A Systematic Review.

Objectives:Salivary gland dysfunction as a consequence of radioiodide ablation is present in as many as two-thirds of patients, and unfortunately, many of these individuals do not respond to conservative measures. Sialendoscopy as a minimally invasive therapeutic modality may have utility in the treatment of radioiodide induced sialadenitis (RAIS). Our aim was to explore whether sialendoscopy resulted in clinical improvement in patients with RAIS.Methods:A systematic review of studies on sialendoscopy for RAIS was conducted using MEDLINE database, Embase, and Cochrane Library. The outcomes of interest included the proportion of patients demonstrating clinical improvement after intervention, patient demographics, radiation dose, specific procedural variations, specific salivary gland, failure rate, and recurrence.Results:Eight studies met inclusion criteria. Data reviewed showed an increased predilection of parotid sialadenitis relative to submandibular gland sialadenitis. All but 2 studies employed sialen...
Trauma registry implementation in low- and middle-income countries: challenges and opportunities.

Abstract Background Trauma registries are an essential part of trauma quality improvement programs aimed at decreasing morbidity and mortality in high-income countries. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the burden of injury is disproportionately high, hospitals have faced challenges in adapting trauma registry models implemented in high-income countries. We analyze the barriers to trauma registry implementation in LMICs to inform development of sustainable models in resource-constrained settings. Materials and methods A structured review of published literature was performed. Relevant abstracts were identified using the PubMed, Embase, and CINAHL databases. The search terms included were: “implement registry,” “trauma registry,” “wounds and injuries,” and “injury registry” combined with “Africa,” “Asia,” “low and middle income countries,” “LMIC,” and “developing countries.” Articles describing challenges of trauma registry implementation were reviewed in full and details were abstracted. Results Twenty-eight articles addressed challenges of implementing trauma registries. Data quality (18), lack of resources (6), insufficient prehospital care (3), and difficulty with administrative duties and hospital organization (2) were reported as the most significant barriers to successful implementation. Solutions to the identified barriers were proposed by 15 articles. All 28 studies acknowledged that the presence of at least one local trauma registry improved injury surveillance and promoted better patient outcomes. Conclusions Many LMICs face unique challenges to implementation that must be overcome to create sustainable trauma databases. Understanding these barriers and taking steps to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed solutions may further improve trauma care to address the high burden in these settings.
Visual Quality Assessment for Projected Content

Today's projectors are widely used for information and media display in a stationary setup. There is also a growing effort to deploy projectors creatively, such as using a mobile projector to display visual content on an arbitrary surface. However, the quality of projected content is often limited by the quality of projection surface, environment lighting, and non-optimal projector settings. This paper presents a visual quality assessment method for projected content. Our method assesses the quality of the projected image by analyzing the projected image captured by a camera. The key challenge is that the quality of the captured image is often different from the perceived quality by a viewer as she "sees" the projected image differently than the camera. To address this problem, our method employs a data-driven approach that learns from the labeled data to bridge this gap. Our method integrates both manually crafted features and deep learning features and formulates projection quality assessment as a regression problem. Our experiments on a wide range of projection content, projection surfaces, and environment lighting show that our method can reliably score the quality of projected visual content in a way that is consistent with the human perception.
Rod-Mediated Dark Adaptation and Macular Pigment Optical Density in Older Adults with Normal Maculas.

ABSTRACTPurpose: To examine the association between macular pigment optical density (MPOD) and rod-mediated dark adaptation (RMDA) in persons ≥60 years old with normal maculas as determined by an accepted color fundus photography grading system.Methods: This cross-sectional analysis used baseline data from eyes in the Alabama Study on Early Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Eyes at step 1 in the AREDS 9-step grading system were considered normal. Eyes were additionally assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Foveal MPOD was estimated via heterochromatic flicker photometry, and RMDA was assessed with a computerized dark adaptometer. The association between RMDA and MPOD was examined via Spearman correlation coefficients adjusted for age.Results: In 306 eyes from 306 persons (mean age 68.2 years) in normal macular health, MPOD was not associated with RMDA (age-adjusted rank correlation = 0.043, p = 0.45). After 81 eyes with incidental macular findings by SD-OCT evaluation were exc...
The Problem of Analogy

One does not have to be a student of the writings of St Thomas for very long before being struck by the importance that analogy seems to have for his thought. In the commentaries on Aristotle, in the two Summae, in the disputed questions, the matter of analogy comes up soon and in an obviously important way. Analogy is appealed to to explain our knowledge of prime matter, the unity of the subject of metaphysics and the way in which names are common to God and creature. But despite the fact that it seems to pervade his thought, one does not find any work of St Thomas devoted to analogy. It does not provide the subject of a question, a lectio or a distinctio. Indeed, one becomes increasingly aware of the fact that when analogy is mentioned, it is most often the case that knowledge of what it is is assumed, that we are being presented with an example of it rather than an ex professo treatment of analogy itself.
The transit of Venus and the notorious black drop effect

Les transits interviennent lors des conjonctions inferieures, au moment ou Mercure et Venus sont tres pres du point le plus proche de l'orbite de la Terre, par un effet combine des mouvements de la Terre et du Soleil, un effet de perspective permettant aux deux planetes inferieures de traverser occasionnellement le disque du Soleil. A la suite de cet evenement, de curieux phenomenes optiques se produisent, et les planetes peuvent prendre l'aspect de gouttes noires au moment du contact avec la limbe solaire. Explications et schemas.
Information and Communication Technology in Energy Supply and Consumption

Before I get started, let me pose a question to you: despite facing the financial challenges around the world, is this not an exciting time to be in this industry? Of course this is a rhetorical question because we know what the answer is. It is true that most countries were already facing a powerful convergence of environmental concerns, aging infrastructure, growing energy demands, and security challenges well before our current economic situation. But what clearly stands out is that since the crisis struck, nearly every leader around the world cites a 21st century energy system is at the center of their economic recovery and environmental protection plans
How does hormonal contraception affect the developing human adolescent brain

After over 50 years of hormonal contraception (HC), we know essentially nothing about how it influences brain development during adolescence. This review highlights key findings concerning sex dependent brain maturation during adolescence, including aspects that appear to be sex hormone dependent, with the aim of promoting research into understanding how HC influences adolescent brain maturation.
Applying the Engagement, Capacity and Continuity Trilogy for Computing Undergraduates at Johnson C. Smith University

The Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department is a leading producer of African-American graduates in Computing with retention and graduation outcomes far exceeding the national average. This experience paper describes the partnerships, programs and activities conducted within the JCSU CSE department and how they collectively contribute to such positive impacts. It will provide an overview of how the College of STEM has applied the Engagement, Capacity, and Continuity (ECC) Trilogy framework. This paper also gives suggestions on how understanding its system of interdependency can improve outcomes.
Epidemiology of Chronic Liver Disease in the United States

Chronic liver disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. The most common causes of liver disease include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), chronic hepatitis C virus infection, alcoholic liver disease, and chronic hepatitis B virus infection. Through a discussion of various surveillance methods as well as their strengths and weaknesses, we review the epidemiology, risk factors, and natural history of each of these diseases and discuss prevention measures that have been effective in decreasing incidence rates.
Critical Zone Water Balance Over 13 Years in a Semiarid Savanna

Quantifying how much and when precipitation (P) becomes runoff (R), evapotranspiration (ET), and drainage (D) in the critical zone is key to understanding how climate and land use impact hydrology. We quantify water balance dynamics of a semiarid savanna with a summer/winter rainfall pattern with 13 years of water fluxes and soil moisture. We find multiyear P is partitioned 96% to ET and 7% to R, while D is negligible. While weather regulates ET over diurnal timescales, soil water inputs control seasonal to annual ET amounts. Here we establish that seasonally-integrated ET is a better metric of ecosystem-available water than time-averaged soil moisture or precipitation, some of which is lost to runoff. Contrary to expectations, we find significant, episodic carryover of soil moisture from one growing season to the next. Abundant late-summer P can supply ET in the subsequent spring, even after multi-month dry periods. However, over an annual cycle nearly all soil moisture inputs are used by ET. Likewise, drainage beyond the monitored root zone occurs within a season, but this is counteracted by subsequent ET extraction of deep moisture over the year. Thus, very little groundwater recharge (net drainage) occurs at this site, though there is considerable uncertainty in estimation of this small flux as the residual of much larger ones. These comprehensive, long-term measurements support expectations about the over-riding importance of ET in the dryland critical zone water balance and reveal a surprising degree of inter-seasonal water storage.
Computational Protocol to Understand P450 Mechanisms and Design of Efficient and Selective Biocatalysts

Cytochrome P450 enzymes have gained significant interest as selective oxidants in late-stage chemical synthesis. Their broad substrate scope enables them to be good candidates for their use in non-natural reactivity. Directed evolution evolves new enzyme biocatalysts that promote alternative reactivity for chemical synthesis. While directed evolution has proven useful in developing biocatalysts for specific purposes, this process is very time and labor intensive, and therefore not easily repurposed. Computational analysis of these P450 enzymes provides great insights into the broad substrate scope, the variety of reactions catalyzed, the binding specificity and the study of novel biosynthetic reaction mechanisms. By discovering new P450s and studying their reactivities, we uncover new insights into how this reactivity can be harnessed. We discuss a standard protocol using both DFT calculations and MD simulations to study a variety of cytochrome P450 enzymes. The approach entails theozyme models to study the mechanism and transition states via DFT calculations and subsequent MD simulations to understand the conformational poses and binding mechanisms within the enzyme. We discuss a few examples done in collaboration with the Tang and Sherman/Montgomery groups toward elucidating enzyme mechanisms and rationally designing new enzyme mutants as tools for selective C-H functionalization methods.
Service Placement and Request Scheduling for Data-intensive Applications in Edge Clouds

Mobile edge computing allows wireless users to exploit the power of cloud computing without the large communication delay. To serve data-intensive applications (e.g., augmented reality, video analytics) from the edge, we need, in addition to CPU cycles and memory for computation, storage resource for storing server data and network bandwidth for receiving user-provided data. Moreover, the data placement needs to be adapted over time to serve time-varying demands, while considering system stability and operation cost. We address this problem by proposing a two-time-scale framework that jointly optimizes service (data & code) placement and request scheduling, under storage, communication, computation, and budget constraints. We fully characterize the complexity of our problem by analyzing the hardness of various cases. By casting our problem as a set function optimization, we develop a polynomial-time algorithm that achieves a constant-factor approximation under certain conditions. Extensive synthetic and trace-driven simulations show that the proposed algorithm achieves 90% of the optimal performance.
The Cost of Exposing Large Institutional Orders to Electronic Liquidity Providers

We use a novel dataset to examine the impact of exposing institutional orders to electronic liquidity providers (ELPs). We present empirical evidence that marketable pieces of large parent orders are routed to ELPs, seemingly to avoid paying liquidity fees on exchanges. This routing decision results in lower net effective spreads for these child orders, but leads to higher execution shortfall for the parent order. We obtain causal evidence by utilizing the parent orders of investors who disallow the broker to route their child-orders to ELPs. Our analysis suggests this cost increase is due to information leakage about the parent order.
Digital Health Intrapreneurship

Digital Health Intrapreneurship is a great way to contribute to the company’s growth while fulfilling one’s curiosity and building a skill set which ultimately leads to tremendous job satisfaction. It is a challenging journey, but ultimately rewarding. Preparing for it, learning about the process, managing stakeholders and keeping one’s perspective on the mission will result in a successful career through intrapreneurship.
Patterns of anti-seizure medication (ASM) use in pediatric patients with surgically managed epilepsy: A retrospective review of data from Boston Children's Hospital.

Abstract Object Up to 30 % of patients with epilepsy are medically intractable, defined as persistent seizures despite 2 or more appropriate anti-seizure medications (ASMs) at therapeutic doses. Such patients require non-pharmacologic management that often includes epilepsy surgery. This paper aims to assess the pre-operative ASM use patterns of patients who were surgically managed. Methods Retrospective review of children who underwent surgery for epilepsy at Boston Children’s Hospital between January 2010 and December 2014 were performed. Patient demographics, covariates, etiology, surgery type and ASM use patterns were assessed. Patient characteristics were displayed using descriptive statistics, correlation between ASM use and patient covariates were calculated with the Spearman coefficient, and univariate analysis was performed with Cox regression analysis. Results 141 consecutive records of children were reviewed. All underwent one of four surgical procedures: focal resection, hemispherectomy, corpus callosotomy, or magnetic resonance-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT). In this cohort, at the time of surgical evaluation the average number of pre-operative ASMs trialed was 5.2 and the average number of current ASMs was 2.6. The mean age of seizure onset was 4.4 years, the mean age at the time of surgery was 11.1 years, and the average time from seizure onset to surgery was 6.7 years. The number of total pre-operative ASMs was significantly related to longer time to surgery. Focal resection was associated with decreased ASM use and corpus callosotomy was associated with increased ASM use. Patients with radiographic findings that confer better surgical candidacy did not use fewer pre-operative ASMs or undergo earlier surgical referral. Conclusions Despite guidelines that encourage early surgical referral and evaluation for drug-resistant epilepsy, a delay in surgical referral was seen in clinical practice, as evidenced by an average trial of 5.2 ASMs prior to referral, and an average lag of 6.7 years between time of seizure onset and surgery. Increased medication trials was directly correlated with increased time to definitive surgery. Improved education amongst neurologists for earlier surgical referral is required, especially for pathologies associated with good surgical outcome.
Selection of diverse strains to assess broad coverage of the bivalent FHbp meningococcal B vaccine

MenB-FHbp is a recombinant meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) vaccine composed of 2 factor H binding proteins (FHbps). Meningococcal vaccines targeting polysaccharide serogroup A, C, Y, and W capsules were licensed upon confirmation of bactericidal antibody induction after initial efficacy studies with serogroup A and C vaccines. Unlike meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines, wherein single strains demonstrated bactericidal antibodies per serogroup for each vaccine, MenB-FHbp required a more robust approach to demonstrate that bactericidal antibody induction could kill strains with diverse FHbp sequences. Serum bactericidal assays using human complement were developed for 14 MenB strains, representing breadth of meningococcal FHbp diversity of ~80% of circulating MenB strains. This work represents an innovative approach to license a non-toxin protein vaccine with 2 antigens representing a single virulence factor by an immune correlate, and uniquely demonstrates that such a vaccine provides coverage across bacterial strains by inducing broadly protective antibodies. Neisseria meningitidis is an important cause of invasive meningococcal disease, effective vaccines exist for some serogroups but immunogenicity to the MenB group is poor. Thomas R. Jones and colleagues examine serum bactericidal responses from volunteers challenged with MenB-FHbp – a recombinant MenB vaccine containing two Factor H (FH)-binding proteins. Serum bactericidal responses are tested against 14 MenB clinical isolates selected in an unbiased manner to cover the vast breadth of FHbp antigen and epidemiological diversity. This work demonstrates the broad efficacy of the MenB-FHbp vaccine using a serum bactericidal activity as a surrogate of protection.
Talking Shit, Egos, and Tough Skin: Humor Among Elite Black Men:

Extant research considers humor integral to the Black experience. Previous work on the topic, however, mainly focuses on humor among lower-class Blacks and remains disconnected from broader sociolo...
Modern Statistics for Modern Biology

Bailey K. Fosdick and G. Brooke AndersonHolmes and Huber’s Modern Statistics for Modern Biology is a rich exposition at the intersection of real-world heterogeneous biological data, fundamental and...
Focused Deterrence and Program Fidelity: Evaluating the Impact of Detroit Ceasefire

Focused deterrence programs, which concentrate community and police resources on small groups of high-risk offenders, have been identified in a number of cities as an effective method to reduce vio...
Non-Oral Compensatory Misarticulations Revisited:

Non-oral compensatory misarticulation patterns are often associated with the speech of children with cleft palate. Despite their saliency, the etiology, frequency, and treatment of these misarticul...
Neurological outcomes of Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR): A Systematic Review (S2.009)

Objective: We performed a systematic review of the recent literature to analyze the patients’ characteristics, indications, survival and neurological outcomes associated with Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR). Background: ECPR is a recognized treatment of cardiac arrest refractory to conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CCPR). Design/Methods: Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov for observational studies and randomized clinical trials (RCTs) reporting neurological outcomes of adult patients receiving ECPR for cardiac arrest. Results: Of 3626 studies screened, 59 met the inclusion criteria; including 1 RCT and 58 observational studies (5 prospective and 53 retrospective) totaling 6053 patients; of which 3725 (62%) received ECPR. In ECPR patients, the median age was 55 years (IQR 51–59), 72% were male, 51% had out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and 40% had initial shockable heart rhythm. Etiology of cardiac arrest was reported in 2796 patients; the commonest was acute coronary syndrome (49%), post-cardiotomy (6%), cardiomyopathy or heart failure (6%), arrhythmia (4%), myocarditis (2%), post-transplant failure (0.3%) and other (28%). The overall medians of CCPR and ECPR duration were 50.8 minutes (IQR 36–62) and 3.2 days (IQR 2–5.3); respectively. The median prevalence (IQR) of ischemic stroke, intracranial hemorrhage, anoxic brain injury and brain death were 2% (0–2.8), 4% (1.4–11.8), 18% (10–23.2) and 21% (11.3–25.3); respectively. Overall, 600 patients (16%) survived to discharge (median 29.7%; IQR 24.1–34.8), and 559 (15%) were discharged with CPC 1 or 2 (median 26%; IQR 17.5–37.6). The median mortality due to neurological complications was 14.2% (IQR 9–21). Conclusions: Neurological complications remain key determinants of outcomes in patients with ECPR. There is a dire need for RCTs and prospective studies assessing predictors and preventive methods of these complications; this systematic review and the future meta-analysis will serve as a comprehensive reference for future studies in the field. Disclosure: Dr. Migdady has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rice has nothing to disclose. Dr. Uchino has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cho has nothing to disclose.
A Sodium-Antimony-Telluride Intermetallic Allows Sodium-Metal Cycling at 100% Depth of Discharge and as an Anode-Free Metal Battery.

Repeated cold rolling and folding is employed to fabricate a metallurgical composite of sodium-antimony-telluride Na2 (Sb2/6 Te3/6 Vac1/6 ) dispersed in electrochemically active sodium metal, termed "NST-Na." This new intermetallic has a vacancy-rich thermodynamically stable face-centered-cubic structure and enables state-of-the-art electrochemical performance in widely employed carbonate and ether electrolytes. NST-Na achieves 100% depth-of-discharge (DOD) in 1 m NaPF6 in G2, with 15 mAh cm-2 at 1 mA cm-2 and Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 99.4%, for 1000 h of plating/stripping. Sodium-metal batteries (SMBs) with NST-Na and Na3 V2 (PO4 )3 (NVP) or sulfur cathodes give significantly improved energy, cycling, and CE (>99%). An anode-free battery with NST collector and NVP obtains 0.23% capacity decay per cycle. Imaging and tomography using conventional and cryogenic microscopy (Cryo-EM) indicate that the sodium metal fills the open space inside the self-supporting sodiophilic NST skeleton, resulting in dense (pore-free and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI)-free) metal deposits with flat surfaces. The baseline Na deposit consists of filament-like dendrites and "dead metal", intermixed with pores and SEI. Density functional theory calculations show that the uniqueness of NST lies in the thermodynamic stability of the Na atoms (rather than clusters) on its surface that leads to planar wetting, and in its own stability that prevents decomposition during cycling.
Dynamic imaging of the growth plate cartilage reveals multiple contributors to skeletal morphogenesis

The diverse morphology of vertebrate skeletal system is genetically controlled, yet the means by which cells shape the skeleton remains to be fully illuminated. Here, we perform a quantitative anal...