cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multivariate Adaptive Regression Spline Modeling in SAS

This chapter provides a description of how to use PROC ADAPTIVEREG for generating multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) models for univariate continuous and dichotomous outcomes as well as how to evaluate and compare MARS models with likelihood cross-validation (LCV) scores. Comparison of MARS models to adaptive fractional polynomial models on the basis of LCV scores is also covered as well as how to adaptively transform MARS models. Example code is provided for generating models for predicting the univariate continuous outcome death rate per 100,000 in terms of available predictors as also addressed in Chaps 2, 3, 16, and 17 as well as models for predicting the univariate dichotomous outcome a high mercury level in fish over 1.0 ppm versus a lower level in terms of available predictors as also addressed in Chaps 8, 9, 16 and 17.
Microwave Heating of Synthetic Skin Samples for Potential Treatment of Gout Using the Metal-Assisted and Microwave-Accelerated Decrystallization Technique

Physical stability of synthetic skin samples during their exposure to microwave heating was investigated to demonstrate the use of the metal-assisted and microwave-accelerated decrystallization (MAMAD) technique for potential biomedical applications. In this regard, optical microscopy and temperature measurements were employed for the qualitative and quantitative assessment of damage to synthetic skin samples during 20 s intermittent microwave heating using a monomode microwave source (at 8 GHz, 2–20 W) up to 120 s. The extent of damage to synthetic skin samples, assessed by the change in the surface area of skin samples, was negligible for microwave power of ≤7 W and more extensive damage (>50%) to skin samples occurred when exposed to >7 W at initial temperature range of 20–39 °C. The initial temperature of synthetic skin samples significantly affected the extent of change in temperature of synthetic skin samples during their exposure to microwave heating. The proof of principle use of the MAMAD techniq...
Fixed Restorative Materials

The clinical basis for selection of any restorative material should be based on scientific evidence and clinical experience. It is necessary to evaluate the information gathered from randomized clinical studies, where experimental materials are compared with a control group or a systematic review that answers a specific question relating to the material. It is important that the clinician takes into consideration factors that will affect the longevity of the restoration.
Feynman returns to centre stage

Richard Feynman was the star of his own life. Feynman played Feynman and he played it to the hilt. He was always on stage, whenever he had an audience, no matter how small. Although I don't know him at all, I suspect that, like Feynman, Alan Alda plays Alan Alda. And so now, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, before a house that was sold out for its entire run before it even opened, we have Alan Alda playing Alan Alda playing Richard Feynman playing Richard Feynman, in a play by Peter Parnell called QED.
Repairing human infrastructure in a war zone

People depend on human infrastructure for a range of activities in their daily lives, such as work and socializing. In this paper we consider three different intertwined types of infrastructures of a society that may be affected in crisis situations: the physical, technological, and human infrastructures. We argue that when the human infrastructure is damaged, e.g. in a natural catastrophe or war, then people can switch reliance to the technological infrastructure to be resilient. We conducted an empirical study of 85 people who lived in war zones during the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war and the ongoing Gulf war in Iraq. In this paper, we report how information technology is used by our informants in new ways in their attempt to maintain social relationships and continue working. Our informants also used technology to help navigate safe routes for travel and for psychological support. We discuss implications of our results for disaster research.
Reduction of Salmonella in ground chicken using a bacteriophage

ABSTRACT This study’s goal was to ascertain the effectiveness of a commercially available Salmonella bacteriophage during ground chicken production focusing on: water source, different Salmonella serovars, and time. Salmonella-free boneless, skinless chicken meat was inoculated with 4.0 Log CFU/cm2 of either a cocktail of 3 Salmonella isolates derived from ground chicken (GC) or a cocktail of 3 Salmonella strains not isolated from ground chicken (non-GC). Bacteriophages were spread onto the chicken using sterile tap or filtered water for 30 min or 8 h. Salmonella was recovered using standard plating method. Greater Salmonella reduction was observed when the bacteriophage was diluted in sterile tap water than in sterile filtered water: 0.39 Log CFU/cm2 and 0.23 Log CFU/cm2 reduction after 30 min, respectively (P
MetroSDX: A resilient edge network for the smart community

Smart and connected communities and their associated edge devices are creating new demands on network services. Edge network connectivity is often not resilient to failures, leading to data loss when network devices are isolated by the failure of a single service provider, while other providers are still functional. We propose MetroSDX, a neutral network design that increases the resiliency of edge networks and global and local services, improves isolation of network functions, and preserves data from edge devices when they are disconnected. MetroSDX is a software-defined exchange, a meet-me point for exchanging computing, storage, and networking resources. This work focuses on MetroSDX's approach to location specific resilience and performance in this multi-network paradigm with an eye towards addressing increased demands from the growing set of connected devices and services which will increasingly and inevitably require communication between and across elements connected to multiple networks.
Surgical site infection in immediate breast reconstruction: Does chemotherapy timing make a difference?

Background and objectives We aim to analyze the impact of chemotherapy timing on surgical site infections (SSI) after immediate breast reconstruction (IBR). Methods A retrospective review of patients undergoing IBR between 2010 and 2015 was performed. Patients were divided into four groups: those with neoadjuvant chemotherapy only, adjuvant chemotherapy only, both adjuvant and neoadjuvant, and those with no chemotherapy. Outcomes of interest included SSI and timing of post-operative SSI. Results A total of 949 reconstructions were performed over the study period. Subgroup breakdown was as follows: A total of 56 (5.9%) neoadjuvant only, 173 (18.2%) adjuvant only, 18 (1.9%) both, and 702 (74.0%) none. Overall infection rates were 10.7%, 10.4%, 22.2%, and 6.1% in the four groups, respectively (P = 0.015). On multivariate analysis, no significant differences were observed when comparing presence or absence of chemotherapy in the overall reconstruction cohort or when subgrouped by reconstruction modality-autologous or alloplastic. There were no significant differences in time from neoadjuvant chemotherapy to surgery date noted between patients who developed a post-operative SSI and those who did not (4.40 ± 1.58 vs 4.72 ± 1.39 weeks; P = 0.517). Conclusion Chemotherapy timing did not increase the odds of surgical site infections in patients undergoing immediate breast reconstruction.
Blood-brain barrier dysfunction in ischemic stroke: targeting tight junctions and transporters for vascular protection

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a physical and biochemical barrier that precisely controls cerebral homeostasis. It also plays a central role in the regulation of blood-to-brain flux of endogenous...
Gas Formation in Ground Beef Chubs Due to Hafnia alvei Is Reduced by Multiple Applications of Antimicrobial Interventions to Artificially Inoculated Beef Trim Stock

Gas-forming microorganisms were isolated from gas-swollen ground beef chubs obtained from a commercial source and were phenotypically identified as Hafnia alvei. In in situ experiments, the isolated H. alvei strains produced gas in inoculated irradiation-sterilized ground beef chubs. A five-strain cocktail of H. alvei isolates was inoculated on beef trim. The inoculated beef trim samples were treated with either a water wash (W) at 65 psi for five passes (a pass refers to the application of successive multiple antimicrobial treatments to inoculated beef trim on a moving processing conveyor belt at a speed of 1 cm/s under heat ducts or oscillating spray nozzles), W plus a 2% (vol/vol) lactic acid wash (L) at room temperature at 30 psi for three passes (W/L), or a combination treatment (COMB) consisting of W plus 82°C water for three passes plus 510°C hot air for six passes plus L, or were not treated (control). After treatment, the beef trim was ground and vacuum packaged. The numbers of H. alvei were redu...
TOTAL QUALITY IN NDT OPERATIONS - THE ROLE OF NATIONAL NDT SOCIETIES

Abstract The nineties pose many new challenges to the NDT community. NDT becomes ever more important as the pace of technological change quickens. National NDT Societies, including the British Institute of Non–Destructive Testing, have the objective of furthering the science and practice of NDT. To meet this objective, we must take a broad look at NDT in its engineering context and develop a strategy which integrates our approach to research and development, standards, personnel, training, personnel certification, continuing education, and quality systems. The paper reviews the importance of NDT, the challenges of the nineties and the role of National NDT Societies. An integrated approach to the achievement of quality will be described.
The Molecular and Electronic Structure of Polycyclic Polystannanes

Several new classes of polycyclic polystannanes have been prepared and these compounds have been fully characterized by spectroscopic methods, including crystallographic analysis. The information obtained from these investigations should prove useful in predicting the structure and properties of extended macroscopic materials containing tin, such as the currently unknown polystannynes, [RSn]n.
Abstract IA19: Directing blood cancer therapy with mitochondrial BH3 profiling

Connecting the right drugs to the right tumor is the fundamental job of cancer precision medicine. While there is a tendency to equate precision medicine with genomics, we are surrounded by examples where very effective modern targets are deployed effectively in disease without genomic guidance. One example is in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) where there have been several recent FDA approvals for drugs targeting CD20, PI3K, BTK, and BCL-2. Combinations of these highly active agents will likely dramatically alter practice, yet their discovery and assignment to CLL was not guided by genomics, as CLL generally lacks genetic alterations in any of these pathways. Instead, use in CLL was guided by the identification of vulnerabilities that had more to do with lineage than with genetics. In this talk, I will describe how my laboratory is using a probe of apoptotic signaling at the mitochondrion to identify drugs that provoke apoptotic signaling in cancer cells. This approach, called “BH3 profiling,” has so far been effective in guiding clinical trials of the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax in CLL and acute myelogenous leukemia. I will describe how we can deploy this tool as a predictive biomarker or as a discovery tool to directly identify drug vulnerabilities of cancer cells. Citation Format: Anthony G. Letai. Directing blood cancer therapy with mitochondrial BH3 profiling [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Second AACR Conference on Hematologic Malignancies: Translating Discoveries to Novel Therapies; May 6-9, 2017; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2017;23(24_Suppl):Abstract nr IA19.
Combined adult neurogenesis and BDNF mimic exercise effects on cognition in an Alzheimer’s mouse model

Adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) is impaired before the onset of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology. We found that exercise provided cognitive benefit to 5×FAD mice, a mouse model of AD, by inducing AHN and elevating levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Neither stimulation of AHN alone, nor exercise, in the absence of increased AHN, ameliorated cognition. We successfully mimicked the beneficial effects of exercise on AD mice by genetically and pharmacologically inducing AHN in combination with elevating BDNF levels. Suppressing AHN later led to worsened cognitive performance and loss of preexisting dentate neurons. Thus, pharmacological mimetics of exercise, enhancing AHN and elevating BDNF levels, may improve cognition in AD. Furthermore, applied at early stages of AD, these mimetics may protect against subsequent neuronal cell death.
Cognitive Barriers to Effective Surrogate Decision-Making

There are a number of fundamental ways in which decision-making in the intensive care unit diverges from a process to maximize desired outcomes. Much of this is due to cognitive barriers to effective decision-making, such as the use of heuristics and biases. The difficulties surrogates encounter while engaging in shared decision-making and the errors that they make when selecting the best option are not personal shortcomings, but rather predictable and systematic nuances of human behavior. In this chapter, we explore heuristics and biases that may influence decision-making in the intensive care unit and explore ways to minimize their negative effects on decision-making during critical illness.
Failure of Particle-Laden Interfaces Studied Using The Funnel Method

Abstract We develop a method to explore the mechanical response of particles on a liquid-air interface under biaxial tension. Particles were laser cut with designed 2D geometries that interact in a predictable manner through capillary effects. When such particles were arranged into a raft on the water-air interface in a funnel, raising the water level induced deformation and ultimately failure of the raft. While particles that strongly attract one another can be strained further before they fracture, weakly interacting particles are able to move to heal fractures in a manner that is reminiscent of crack healing in ductile materials. Anisotropic particles delay the onset of failure but prevent rearrangement owing to particles locking into fixed orientations relative to their neighbors. These results illustrate the importance of interparticle interactions in determining the emergent mechanical properties of particle rafts.
Optimizing GPU Kernels for Irregular Batch Workloads: A Case Study for Cholesky Factorization

This paper introduces several frameworks for the design and implementation of high performance GPU kernels that target batch workloads with irregular sizes. Such workloads are ubiquitous in many scientific applications, including sparse direct solvers, astrophysics, and quantum chemistry. The paper addresses two main categories of frameworks, taking the Cholesky factorization as a case study. The first uses host-side kernel launches, and the second uses device-side launches. Within each category, different design options are introduced, with an emphasis on the advantages and the disadvantages of each approach. Our best performing design outperforms the state-of-the-art CPU implementation, scoring up to 4.7× speedup in double precision on a Pascal P100 GPU.
Factors Associated with Interventions after Laser Peripheral Iridotomy for Primary Angle-Closure Spectrum Diagnoses.

Purpose To assess factors associated with receipt of subsequent medical, laser, or surgical interventions after laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI). Design Retrospective review. Participants A total of 1271 eyes in 692 subjects with narrow angles (NAs) that were treated with LPI. Methods Demographic and clinical factors associated with primary angle-closure (PAC) or PAC glaucoma (PACG) versus PAC suspect (PACS) diagnosis and use of glaucoma medications at the time of LPI, as well as factors predictive of subsequent addition of glaucoma medications, and receipt of selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), cataract surgery, and glaucoma surgery were assessed using logistic regression with generalized estimating equations. Kaplan–Meier curves and Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis were used to assess baseline factors affecting the time to SLT, cataract surgery, or glaucoma surgery. Main Outcome Measures Diagnosis of PAC/PACG and medical, laser, or surgical interventions after LPI. Results African Americans (odds ratio [OR], 2.12; P 0.10). Conclusions African Americans were more likely than whites to carry a diagnosis of PAC or PACG at the time of LPI and were significantly more likely to be prescribed additional glaucoma medications and require glaucoma surgery after LPI. Improved screening methods that target African Americans with NAs are needed so that preventive interventions such as LPI can be performed earlier to decrease the risk of progression.
Discontinuing Psychotropic Drugs from Participants in Randomized Controlled Trials: A Systematic Review.

Background and objective Methods and justifications for discontinuing psychotropic drugs in randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and RCTs' acknowledgement of possible withdrawal symptoms following discontinuation, have not been examined systematically, which this review aims to do. Study Eligibility, Data Extraction, and Synthesis: Publications in MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PsycINFO (2000-2017) randomly assigning participants diagnosed with mental disorders to discontinue antipsychotic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant, antimanic, mood-stabilizing, benzodiazepine, or stimulant drugs. Authors independently extracted data, devised a typology of trials, and assessed trials' recognition of with-drawal symptoms. Results Eighty RCTs (70% with industry participation) discontinued drugs from 5,757 participants to investigate relapse prevention (44%), successful dis-continuation (26%), architecture of withdrawal (14%), and practicality of discontinuation (10%). RCTs of stimulants, antidepressants, and antipsychotics mostly aimed to reach conclusions about relapse prevention by testing abrupt or rapid discontinuations; RCTs of benzodiazepines mostly aimed to reduce drug use by testing longer-lasting, supportive discontinuations. In 67% of RCTs, no justification was given for the specific discontinuation strategy, which lasted under 2 weeks in 60% of RCTs. Possible withdrawal confounding of trial outcomes was addressed in 14% of eligible RCTs. Limitations Only the published literature was searched. Conclusions and implications RCTs use drug discontinuation to study several key issues in psychopharmacology but infrequently justify how they implement it or acknowledge that possible withdrawal symptoms may threaten internal validity. Reappraising the use of drug discontinuation and the recognition of withdrawal symptoms in RCTs is required.
Macrofaunal Community Structure Following the Restocking of Northern Quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria) to Great South Bay, Long Island, NY

Overharvest of the once highly abundant northern quahog, or hard clam [Mercenaria mercenaria (Linnaeus, 1758)], has decimated local populations on Long Island, NY, and the ecosystem services they provide. Among the potential ecological consequences of the loss of hard clams, impacts on benthic community structure and function have not been well documented. This study took advantage of a large-scale hard clam restoration effort by The Nature Conservancy in Great South Bay, NY, to investigate these parameters. The benthic communities between areas planted with high densities of adult clams (i.e., spawner sanctuaries) and adjacent sites with no transplants were compared. In clam-stocked areas, there were greater trophic and taxonomic group densities, especially for some environmentally sensitive groups such as crustaceans, and increased species richness, which in turn altered community structure of the resident infauna. Differences between paired sites for macrofaunal diversity and community structure were also observed, likely reflecting larger scale differences in invertebrate communities. Minimal differences were observed in sediment porosity, carbon and nitrogen content, and total organic matter between adjacent areas with and without clams, although all of these parameters were significantly associated with community structure. Although shell density was significantly higher in clam-stocked plots, it explained little of the variation in macrofaunal composition on its own or in combination with other environmental parameters, but in combination with the living clams may have added enough environmental complexity to enhance densities of different trophic groups. Within the short period of 3 y, differences in the benthic community with the presence versus the absence of clams were already detectable. More long-term data incorporating the effect of processes at multiple scales are needed to gain insight into the complexity of rehabilitating coastal benthic environments following the removal of important species such as clams. The results of this work support the notion that M. mercenaria acts as an ecosystem engineer, modifying the environment by creating habitat and enhancing the abundance of other species.
Modeling and simulation of large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic system

In this paper, electromechanical modeling and simulation of large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic systems developed on commercial simulation software are introduced. Characteristics of PV cells and typical grid-connected control strategies are analyzed and modeled in details. In the end, the compared simulation results of transient stability between conventional generator and PV plant are presented.
Abstract P3-03-12: Obesity promotes the activation of genes and pathways in tumor associated breast fat

Tumor-associated adipocytes play an active role in breast tumor progression. Moreover, obesity has been established as a risk factor in cancer-related mortality. The altered expression of genes and signaling pathways in breast adipose as a result of obesity may create a more favorable microenvironment for tumor progression. To this end, we analyzed transcriptome profiles of human adipose tissue from lean and obese women with invasive breast cancer using RNA sequencing (n=10/group). Within individuals, adipose tissue was sampled proximal and distal (2 cm) to the breast tumor. A heat map of normalized expression values was generated with unsupervised clustering for the most informative genes. A cluster heat map was obtained by the analysis of the express of 35 DEGs with the most significant differences (adjusted p-value P 2) recorded. Starting with a list of genes marked as significant in the analysis of lean vs obese, we queried the STRING database. Using ClusterMaker2 and MCL clustering, we performed enrichment analysis and found KEGG pathway hsa05224 breast cancer was enriched with an FDR of 2.7e-40. Using KEGGParser, we over-layed fold changes from lean vs obese data. In examining obese women, there were 16 Hallmark pathways that were statistically significant (adjusted p-value P Citation Format: Niel Infante, James Coad, Don Primerano, James Denvir, Linda Vona-Davis. Obesity promotes the activation of genes and pathways in tumor associated breast fat [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-03-12.
On the Convexification of Constrained Quadratic Optimization Problems with Indicator Variables

Motivated by modern regression applications, in this paper, we study the convexification of quadratic optimization problems with indicator variables and combinatorial constraints on the indicators. Unlike most of the previous work on convexification of sparse regression problems, we simultaneously consider the nonlinear objective, indicator variables, and combinatorial constraints. We prove that for a separable quadratic objective function, the perspective reformulation is ideal independent from the constraints of the problem. In contrast, while rank-one relaxations cannot be strengthened by exploiting information from k-sparsity constraint for \(k\ge 2\), they can be improved for other constraints arising in inference problems with hierarchical structure or multi-collinearity.
Race and Worrying About Police Brutality: The Hidden Injuries of Minority Status in America

Given the historically contentious relationship – including most notably the use of excessive and lethal force – between the police and African Americans, the current project examines the extent to...
Growth hormone treatment for extremely low birthweight children born small for gestational age.

Background The effectiveness of growth hormone (GH) treatment for height gain in short stature children born small for gestational age (SGA) with extremely low birth weight (ELBW; birth weight Methods (STUDY1) Thirty-five prepubertal Japanese children born SGA with ELBW were categorized into three groups based on the presence or absence of catch-up growth by age 3 [CU(+) and CU(-), respectively] and GH treatment [GH(+) and GH(-), respectively]. Height SD scores (HT-SDS) in the CU-/GH+ group (n=19) were compared with those in the age-matched CU+/GH- (n=9) and CU-/GH- groups (n=7). (STUDY2) Sixty-six prepubertal Japanese SGA children treated with GH were divided into three groups by birth weight: 2,000 g (n=27). Changes in HT-SDS during the initial 3 years of GH treatment were compared among the three groups. Results STUDY1: Mean HT-SDS in the CU-/GH+ group (-1.15 SD) was similar to that in the CU+/GH- group (-1.39 SD), but higher than that in the CU-/GH- group (-2.24 SD). STUDY2: GH achieved a height gain of +1.62 SD in the ELBW group, which was similar to that in the other groups (1,000-2,000 g: +1.46 SD, >2,000 g: +1.53 SD). Conclusions GH treatment in short stature children born SGA with ELBW increased HT-SDS, which was similar to that in SGA children born with a birth weight >1,000 g. These results indicate that GH treatment may be an effective approach to promote adequate growth recovery for short stature children born SGA with ELBW.
Fatigue behavior of additively manufactured 17-4 PH stainless steel: The effects of part location and powder re-use

Abstract In laser beam powder bed fusion (LB-PBF), an additive manufacturing method, powder is often reconditioned and re-used multiple times to save cost. Considering the assumption that powder characteristics may affect the LB-PBF part quality, it is essential to understand how such characteristics change by re-using the powder and how these changes affect the mechanical properties of the fabricated part. Therefore, this study systematically investigates the effect of powder re-use on the powder characteristics, microstructural features, and mechanical properties of LB-PBF 17−4 precipitation hardening (PH) stainless steel (SS) specimens in both as-built and machined surface conditions. In addition, the dependency of microstructural features and mechanical properties on the location of the specimen on the build plate and how the powder re-use affects such location dependencies are studied. No significant effect of powder re-use and location dependency was observed on tensile or fatigue behavior of LB-PBF specimens in the as-built surface condition. However, an improved fatigue resistance, specifically in the high cycle regime, was observed for machined specimens fabricated by heavily re-used powder. In addition, considerable location dependency on the fatigue behavior was observed for machined specimens fabricated by unused powder. This location dependency, however, decreased with increasing powder re-use. The observed dependency of the fatigue behavior to the location and the improved fatigue resistance are explained by the better flowability and less compressibility of the re-used powder due to the decreased number of very fine particles and agglomerates within the powder batch. These improved powder characteristics resulted in a more uniform powder distribution on the build plate and less and smaller defects in the specimens.
QoS-Aware Data Management Mechanisms for Optimal Resource Utilisation in Crowd-Assisted Shared Sensor Networks

In this study, we focus on the problem of managing a hybrid, shared IoT-based monitoring system, in which stationary sensor devices are complemented with user-carried personal devices embedded with sensing capabilities. The envisioned crowd-assisted monitoring system must support the sharing of the sensing infrastructure among multiple concurrent sensing tasks that can have highly varying QoS requirements. In such a scenario, a key issue is to maximise the utilisation efficiency of the physical sensing resources and the QoS satisfaction of sensing tasks while limiting the redundancy of collected data. As in previous research, we advocate the use of an IoT Broker, an intermediary entity that (i) interacts with the IoT applications to collect their QoS requirements (i.e., spatial coverage, data notification frequency); and (ii) coordinates with the redundant sensor deployments and mobile devices to selectively activate and configure the data streams that are needed to fulfil application requirements in a cost-efficient way. Then, we have developed an optimisation framework to jointly select the set of physical sensing resources to activate and the data update frequency for maximising the overall sensing performance while limiting redundant data. A key feature of our proposed framework is to be privacy-friendly as it only requires coarse-grained space-time knowledge of device location. Extensive simulations under realistic WSN deployments and real-life mobility patterns confirm the efficiency of the proposed solution in terms of data-coverage gain and reduction of data redundancy with respect to classical non-hybrid monitoring systems.
TRIPS in the Field of Test Data Protection

On April 15, 1994, the TRIPS Agreement was adopted in Marrakesh. For the past twenty-five years, this Agreement has established for both developed and developing countries the international minimum standards for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. One area in which such standards were deficient, if not non-existent, before the founding of the WTO concerns the protections for undisclosed test or other data for pharmaceutical and agrochemical products. Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement became the first multilateral provision in the field of test data protection. This chapter takes stock of the evolution of international standards for protecting undisclosed test or other data for pharmaceutical, agrochemical and, more recently, biological products. Focusing on Article 39.3 of the TRIPS Agreement, the chapter begins by recapturing the origins and normative contents of this provision. It then identifies several unresolved issues surrounding the provision as well as the related concerns for developing countries. The chapter concludes by outlining three distinct sets of challenges that will have serious ramifications for the future development of international standards in the field of test data protection.
Painful nasal and oral lesions.

A man in his 60s presented with painful erythematous plaques and vesicles on the right side of his nose and palate that had appeared three days earlier. Before he noticed the skin lesions, he had a stinging and itchy sensation for two days on the external aspect of his nose. Cutaneous examination showed scattered erythematous plaques and crusted blisters on the right side of his nose, midface (fig 1a), upper eyelid, and forehead (fig 1b), extending to the anterior scalp. Intraoral inspection showed multiple ulcerations overlying whitish slough on the right side of the hard palate, gingiva, and oral mucosa (fig 1c). Fig 1 Cutaneous and mucosal lesions Nasopharyngoscopy to evaluate the intranasal lesions showed a pre-existing perforation of the nasal septum. Lesions were present …
Rates of Ipsilateral Local-Regional Recurrence in High-Risk Patients Undergoing Immediate Post-Mastectomy Reconstruction (AFT-01)

Abstract Background Some surgeons remain hesitant to perform immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) in patients with higher risk cancers owing to concerns about cancer recurrence and/or detection. Our objective was to determine the rate of ipsilateral local-regional recurrence for stage II/III patients who underwent IBR. Methods The National Cancer Database special study mechanism was used to create a stratified sample of women diagnosed with stage II/III breast cancer from 1217 facilities. Demographic, tumor, and recurrence data for women who underwent mastectomy with or without IBR were abstracted, including location of recurrence and method of detection. Estimates of 5-year local-regional recurrence rates were calculated and factors associated with recurrence were identified with multivariable Cox regression. Results Some 13% (692/5318) of stage II/III patients underwent IBR after mastectomy. Patients undergoing IBR were younger (P Conclusion Women with stage II/III breast cancer selected for IBR had similar rates of ipsilateral local-regional recurrence compared with those undergoing mastectomy alone. Offering IBR after mastectomy in a patient-centered manner to select patients with stage II/III breast cancer is an acceptable consideration.
The 'Book of Wisdom' Contains Little Wisdom and Creates Significant Risk of Bias

The patent statute directs that “[u]pon finding for the claimant the court shall award the claimant damages adequate to compensate for the infringement, but in no event less than a reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention by the infringer . . . .” The statute allows for two types of compensation to the patent owner. Upon proper proof, the patent owner may obtain profits lost as a result of the alleged infringement, but, even without such proof, the patent owner may recover at least “a reasonable royalty for the use made of the invention by the infringer.” This Article addresses that second form of damages—reasonable royalty.
Effect of activity monitoring on quality of life in patients with gastrointestinal cancer undergoing chemoradiation.

e18671Background: Patients undergoing concurrent radiation therapy and systemic therapy often experience significant toxicities, which can adversely affect their quality of life. We sought to deter...
A longitudinal study of convergence between Black and White COVID-19 mortality: A county fixed effects approach.

Abstract Background Non-Hispanic Black populations have suffered much greater per capita COVID-19 mortality than White populations. Previous work has shown that rates of Black and White mortality have converged over time. Understanding of COVID-19 disparities over time is complicated by geographic changes in prevalence, and some prior research has claimed that regional shifts in COVID-19 prevalence may explain the convergence. Methods Using county-level COVID-19 mortality data stratified by race, we investigate the trajectory of Black and White per capita mortality from June 2020–January 2021. We use a county fixed-effects model to estimate changes within counties, then extend our models to leverage county-level variation in prevalence to study the effects of prevalence versus time trajectories in mortality disparities. Findings Over this period, cumulative mortality rose by 61% and 90% for Black and White populations respectively, decreasing the mortality ratio by 0.4 (25.8%). These trends persisted when a county-level fixed-effects model was applied. Results revealed that county-level changes in prevalence nearly fully explain changes in mortality disparities over time. Interpretation Results suggest mechanisms underpinning convergence in Black/White mortality are not driven by fixed county-level characteristics or changes in the regional dispersion of COVID-19, but instead by changes within counties. Further, declines in the Black/White mortality ratio over time appear primarily linked to county-level changes in COVID-19 prevalence rather than other county-level factors that may vary with time. Research into COVID-19 disparities should focus on mechanisms that operate within-counties and are consistent with a prevalence-disparity relationship. Funding This work was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences [E.H.: UL1TR002553].
Remorse, Dialogue, and Sentencing

After surveying the many practical difficulties sentencing judges must confront in determining whether the offenders who appear before them are genuinely remorseful, recent dialogical accounts of remorse-based sentence reductions are examined. These accounts depend on a morally communicative approach to legal punishment’s justification and seem to confine such communication to offenders. They contend that, in order to respect remorseful offenders, sentencing judges must reduce their sentences. Why they should do so, by how much they should do so, and whether they should do so when the individuals being sentenced are recidivists, are among the questions discussed. Also examined is whether remorse should be a prominent mitigating factor in sentencing or only one among many aggravating or mitigating factors. In conclusion, it is suggested that existing sentencing practices might make more sense if we suppose judges to be looking for things other than genuine remorse in the individuals who appear before them.
Don’t ignore the tipping point: A framework to fuel diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in health-care sciences

In the United States, social determinants of health have resulted in inequities in health care, particularly for communities affected by systemic forms of racism and oppression. Health-care professionals are essential in assisting participation in the health-care system. Building a more diverse health-care workforce can expand access to care, improve the quality of care, and increase health equity. However, many health-care professions have struggled to effectively recruit and retain individuals from diverse backgrounds. In the field of occupational therapy, leaders in diversity, equity, and inclusion worked together to establish a framework with nationwide initiatives to effectively recruit and retain a workforce that is more representative of the communities, in which health-care professionals serve. The initiatives and framework outlined below can be replicated to advance efforts to increase diversity and create systems that address justice, equity, and inclusion.
Using Diode Simulatons to Verify of Plasma Physics Codes

The planar diode, a device where an electron current traverses an AK gap driven by an external electric potential has been studied for many years 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . Diode physics couple conservation laws with electromagnetics (EM). The relative simplicity of these plasma/EM coupled devices and the fact that in some cases analytic solutions are available make diodes a good candidate for rigorous plasma code verification. Jaffe 1 provided the cold diode solution with a finite velocity beam of electrons emitted at the cathode suitable for particle-in-cell (PIC) code comparisons. Rokhlenko and Lebowitz 2 presented a fluid model of the cold diode which led Hamlin et al. 3 to develop a warm diode model that includes effects of pressure through an adiabatic equation of state for comparison with multi-fluid (MF) plasma codes and a relativistic solution for comparison to special relativistic hydrodynamic (SRMF) codes. Akimov and Schamel 4 added a simple collision term to a fluid model and showed that it captures the Mott-Gurney 5 space-charge-limited law. We have constructed cold, warm, relativistic and collisional diode simulations for verifying four plasma physics codes: PIC, MF, SRMF and hybrid, all currently under development. We discuss diode simulation set-up for and solution strategies for each plasma model, limitations of the analytic models and present rigorous verification of: PIC of a cold diode 1 , MF of a warm diode 3 , SRMF of a warm relativistic diode 3 , and PIC, MF and hybrid codes of a collisional diode 4 .
Organic solvent pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels and biochemicals: A review

Lignocellulosic biomass represents the largest potential volume and lowest cost for biofuel and biochemical production. Pretreatment is an essential component of biomass conversion process, affecting a majority of downstream processes, including enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and final product separation. Organic solvent pretreatment is recognized as an emerging way ahead because of its inherent advantages, such as the ability to fractionate lignocellulosic biomass into cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose components with high purity, as well as easy solvent recovery and solvent reuse. Objectives of this review were to update and extend previous works on pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuels and biochemicals using organic solvents, especially on ethanol, methanol, ethylene glycol, glycerol, acetic acid, and formic acid. Perspectives and recommendations were given to fully describe implementation of proper organic solvent pretreatment for future research.
A New Interpretation of the Fault Detection Filter: The Optimal Detection Filter

This paper presents the formulation of the optimal detection filter problem, for optimization with respect to process and measurement noises. The necessary conditions for the existence of the optimal detection filter are obtained, and a numerical solution technique is shown to be feasible by virtue of the uniqueness of the detection filter gains.
Idiosyncratic heart rate response in men during sexual arousal.

ABSTRACT Introduction Heart rate, sensitive to sympathetic activation, is known to change during sexual arousal and therefore may be a useful tool for investigating psychosomatic differences between sexually functional and dysfunctional men. However, heart rate during arousal also tends to be highly variable across individual men, making its predictability based on group patterns relatively poor. Aim We wanted to determine whether individual men show idiosyncratic heart rate patterns during sexual arousal, that is, whether they exhibit consistent patterns across similar (though not identical) stimulus situations. Main Outcome Measure Agreement between heart rates under the two conditions, visual sexual stimulation (VSS) and VSS + vibrotactile (VIB), was assessed using the concordance correlation coefficient (CCC). Methods Thirty-eight men, 25 of whom were diagnosed with premature ejaculation (PE), were monitored for penile response and heart rate under two similar (though not identical) conditions: a 9-minute erotic video (VSS), then a 9-minute erotic video combined with vibrotactile penile stimulation (VSS + VIB). Results CCC for men with PE was 0.65; for the sexually functional comparison group, CCC was 0.82. For both groups combined, CCC was 0.71. For all groupings, the CCC was relatively high, indicating agreement in heart rate from one session to the next within individual men. Conclusions Despite high intersubject variation in heart rate patterns, individual men show signature heart rates across similar sexual stimulus sessions. Such stereotypy helps explain previous inconsistent findings and may also serve as a marker for the effectiveness of treatments designed to improve ejaculatory control in men with PE. Rowland DL and Crawford SB. Idiosyncratic heart rate response in men during sexual arousal.
Electrical Indicator of Imminent Freezing in Supercooled Water

Data is presented that demonstrate electrical activity and evidences of dipole alignment in supercooled water and heavy water before and after the onset of freezing. Voltage signals as high as 13 mV have been recorded. In some cases up to 3 seconds before latent heat is released and freezing began. The polarity of the voltage signals is suggestive of molecule dipole alignment prior to freezing.
Induction of Colicin Production by High Temperature or Inhibition of Protein Synthesis

Escherichia coli K-12 colicinogenic for ColE1 yielded mutants that appeared to produce colicin at 43 C but not at 30 or 37. These mutants proved to have the mutation recA(-) Further study revealed that both recA(-) and recA(+) bacteria, when carrying ColE1 or ColE2, produce more colicin during growth at higher temperatures or after brief exposure to temperatures beyond the growth range. Counts of lacunae demonstrated that the increase of colicin production is due to an increase in the number of cells that yield colicin. Heat treatment causes lacunae to increase by the same factor in recA(+) and recA(-) cells, although recA(-) bacteria produce 500 times fewer lacunae than recA(+). Inhibition of protein synthesis, notably by chloramphenicol, also induces colicin production in as much as 90% of the cells after removal of inhibition (to permit colicin synthesis). Induction of colicin production by chloramphenicol requires that ribonucleic acid synthesis continue during the period of inhibition. These results are discussed in relation to the regulation of colicin production.
Openness to Import and Productivity

This article tests the effect of change in the degree of openness to import of goods and services on a country’s productivity. The idea is that by driving resources to industries in which the count...
Long Working Hours and the Corporate Gender Divide in Japan

While the workplace custom of working long hours has been known to exacerbate gender inequality, few have investigated the organizational mechanisms by which long working hours translate into and reinforce the power and status differences between men and women in the workplace. Drawing on 64 in-depth interviews with workers at financial and cosmetics companies in Japan, this article examines three circumstances in which a culture of long working hours is disadvantageous for women workers, and the consequences of those circumstances: (a) managers in Japanese firms, reinforcing gender stereotypes, prioritize work over personal and family lives; (b) non-career-track women experience depressed aspirations in relation to long working hours and young women express a wish to opt out due to the incompatibility of work with family life; and (c) workers who are mothers deal with extra unpaid family work, stress such as guilt from leaving work early, salary reduction and concerns over their limited chances for promotion. The article argues that the norm of working long hours not only exacerbates the structural inequality of gender but also shapes employed women's career paths into the dichotomized patterns of either emulating workplace masculinity or opting out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]