cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Video Game Consoles and Video Games: Everyone’s a Hero

In this chapter I begin by offering a discussion of the role of video game consoles in the video game industry, the most important video game consoles, and the question of whether consoles will be supplanted by tablets and smartphones. Next I offer information on the most important kinds and genres of video games and statistics on the amount of money spent on handheld, mobile, personal computer, and video game consoles and a listing of the top ten video games of 2013. This is followed by a discussion of the attributes of video games, such as immersion and interactivity, and the problem of video game addiction. Finally I offer an analysis of PacMan as an example of how video games reflect important themes in American culture.
Do firms' nonfinancial disclosures enhance the value of analyst services? *

Regulation FD recommends press releases as a primary avenue for timely disclosure of material information to market participants. Firms commonly issue product‐related and business expansion information through press releases, yet no study examines how analysts respond to these information events. We find that forecasting activity nearly doubles at the disclosure date, and that forecasts associated with these disclosures become more accurate and less dispersed across analysts. Finally, in short windows around the disclosure date, the market’s reaction is concentrated at the date of the subsequent forecast revision. Overall, our results suggest that nonfinancial disclosures improve the quality and quantity of information in capital markets and appear to enhance the value of analysts’ services, even though the information is made widely available to all market participants at the time the firm makes the disclosure. * We thank B. Ayers, L. Bamber, L. Brown, J. Hales, M. Venkatachalam and participants at the
Distribution, Sorption and Desorption of Tylosin, Chlortetracycline and their Metabolites in Pig Manure

Effects of pH on sorption, desorption and hysteresis of chlortetracycline (CTCs), tylosin (TYL) and their metabolites have been studied in pig manure samples collected from different pig farms. Approximately 36% of the samples analyzed tested positive (concentration > quantitative detection limit) for the antibiotics and metabolite residues. The degree of contamination depended upon the manure’s pH. The acidic TYL-positive manure samples contained TYL-A and TYL-B, while the basic TYL-positive samples contained TYL-A, TYL-ALD and TYL-D. The CTC-positive manure samples contained mostly CTC, ECTC and ACTC at acidic pH, but mostly CTC, ICTC, EICTC and EACTC at basic pH. For acidic and neutral manure samples, the logK D des values were greater than the K D s values for TYL-B, TYL-A, TYL-ALD, CTC, ACTC, ECTC and EACTC, indicating sorption-desorption hysteresis. TYL-D, ICTC and EICTC did not exhibit sorption-desorption hysteresis. At acidic and neutral pH, the residues remained solid-bound, but an increase in pH decreased hysteresis, resulting in greater leaching and contamination of the environment. Thus, environmental pH may determine the antibiotics and metabolite leaching in freshwater at or away from the site of production. In addition, analysis of the parent antibiotic residues may not provide an accurate assessment of the environmental health.
Changing the Channels: Nature's Remote Controlling in Health and Disease.

Once the heart starts beating, it only stops on death. This mechanical work requires a continuous supply of oxygen and nutrients which is provided by the coronary microcirculation. However, at rest, the myocardium extracts nearly 70% to 80% of oxygen from the blood which means that in the working myocardium, the oxygen demand should be met by increased blood supply because there is little left of extraction reserve. The small arteries and arterioles represent the majority of vascular resistance in the myocardium, controlling the demands for an adequate supply of oxygen. An imbalance in this supply/demand ratio can lead to severe consequences, resulting in heart failure and eventual death. In fact, inadequate myocardial perfusion and substrate delivery is the major underlying cause in the progression of heart failure after myocardial infarction and pressure-overload hypertrophy or other ischemic heart diseases. Article, see p 658 Although vascular tone of coronary arteries has been shown to adapt to match the workload of the myocardium, mediators and molecular mechanisms involved are not well known. Endothelial-derived factors, such as nitric oxide and prostacyclins, have been demonstrated to be the major mediators of coronary artery vasodilation in healthy humans during both times of rest and stress. These factors seem to mostly be involved in flow-mediated dilation and released in response to shear stress. However, as with designing an extraordinary pump with unmatched metabolic rates, nature has also devised a game plan for meeting the needs of the heart in the form of metabolic by-products. Adenosine, the by-product of ATP breakdown, is considered to be the major vasodilator of coronary microcirculation during ischemia, but with a limited role in metabolic dilation.1 Mitochondria, the same site that generates ATP, also produces another by-product of reactive oxygen species, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). For a long time, …
Post-Translational Tubulin Modifications in Human Astrocyte Cultures

The cytoskeletal protein tubulin plays an integral role in the functional specialization of many cell types. In the central nervous system, post-translational modifications and the expression of specific tubulin isotypes in neurons have been analyzed in greater detail than in their astrocytic counterparts. In this study, we characterized post-translational specifications of tubulin in human astrocytes using the normal human astrocyte (NHA; Lonza) commercial cell line of fetal origin. Immunocytochemical techniques were implemented in conjunction with confocal microscopy to image class III β-tubulin (βIII-tubulin), acetylated tubulin, and polyglutamylated tubulin using fluorescent antibody probes. Fluorescent probe intensity differences and colocalization were quantitatively assessed with the 'EBImage' package for the statistical programming language R. Colocalization analysis revealed that, although both acetylated tubulin and polyglutamylated tubulin showed a high degree of correlation with βIII-tubulin, the correlation with acetylated tubulin was stronger. Quantification and statistical analysis of fluorescence intensity demonstrated that the fluorescence probe intensity ratio for acetylated tubulin/βIII-tubulin was greater than the ratio for polyglutamylated tubulin/βIII-tubulin. The open source GEODATA set GSE819950, comprising RNA sequencing data for the NHA cell line, was mined for the expression of enzymes responsible for tubulin modifications. Our analysis uncovered greater expression at the mRNA level for enzymes reported to function in acetylation and deacetylation as compared to enzymes implicated in glutamylation and deglutamylation. Taken together, the results represent a step toward unraveling the tubulin isotypic expression profile and post-translational modification patterns in astrocytes during human brain development.
Peripheral modifications of [Ψ[CH2NH]Tpg4]vancomycin with added synergistic mechanisms of action provide durable and potent antibiotics.

Subsequent to binding pocket modifications designed to provide dual d-Ala-d-Ala/d-Ala-d-Lac binding that directly overcome the molecular basis of vancomycin resistance, peripheral structural changes have been explored to improve antimicrobial potency and provide additional synergistic mechanisms of action. A C-terminal peripheral modification, introducing a quaternary ammonium salt, is reported and was found to provide a binding pocket-modified vancomycin analog with a second mechanism of action that is independent of d-Ala-d-Ala/d-Ala-d-Lac binding. This modification, which induces cell wall permeability and is complementary to the glycopeptide inhibition of cell wall synthesis, was found to provide improvements in antimicrobial potency (200-fold) against vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). Furthermore, it is shown that this type of C-terminal modification may be combined with a second peripheral (4-chlorobiphenyl)methyl (CBP) addition to the vancomycin disaccharide to provide even more potent antimicrobial agents [VRE minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 0.01–0.005 μg/mL] with activity that can be attributed to three independent and synergistic mechanisms of action, only one of which requires d-Ala-d-Ala/d-Ala-d-Lac binding. Finally, it is shown that such peripherally and binding pocket-modified vancomycin analogs display little propensity for acquired resistance by VRE and that their durability against such challenges as well as their antimicrobial potency follow now predictable trends (three > two > one mechanisms of action). Such antibiotics are expected to display durable antimicrobial activity not prone to rapidly acquired clinical resistance.
Adequate sampling of multiple thyroid nodules by fine‐needle aspiration

BACKGROUND Recommendations regarding how many nodules to biopsy with thyroid fine-needle aspiration vary. METHODS The authors reviewed fine-needle aspiration specimens of 12,763 nodules from 10,506 patients and correlated them with the number of nodules biopsied. RESULTS Compared with patients in whom only a single nodule was biopsied, patients in whom multiple nodules were biopsied were found to be significantly younger, more likely female, and to have larger tumors, and those tumors were more often papillary (all P<.001). On fine-needle aspiration, patients who had multiple nodules biopsied were more often diagnosed with benign findings (P<.001), but usually had no significant difference in the risk of malignancy associated with any cytologic diagnosis. Performing biopsy in 3 nodules detected all carcinomas in the current series. Combining all cases in the literature demonstrated that performing only 3 biopsies in a patient with at least 4 suspicious nodules had a risk of malignancy of 1.2%. CONCLUSIONS Biopsy of 3 different nodules in patients with multiple nodules appears to lower the risk of malignancy to that of a benign fine-needle aspiration specimen. Although exceptions can occur, cytologists may be able to improve the accuracy of their diagnoses by focusing predominantly on identifying papillary carcinoma after the first 2 nodules have been biopsied. Cancer Cytopathol 2017;125:848–53. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
Intraabdominal Hypertension, Abdominal Compartment Syndrome, and the Open Abdomen

Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) is the end point of a process whereby massive interstitial swelling in the abdomen or rapid development of a space-filling lesion in the abdomen (such as ascites or a hematoma) leads to pathologically increased pressure. This results in so-called intraabdominal hypertension (IAH), causing decreased perfusion of the kidneys and abdominal viscera and possible difficulties with ventilation and maintenance of cardiac output. These effects contribute to a cascade of ischemia and multiple organ dysfunction with high mortality. A few primary disease processes traditionally requiring large-volume crystalloid resuscitation account for most cases of IAH and ACS. Once IAH is recognized, nonsurgical steps to decrease intraabdominal pressure (IAP) can be undertaken (diuresis/dialysis, evacuation of intraluminal bowel contents, and sedation), although the clinical benefit of such therapies remains largely conjectural. Surgical decompression with midline laparotomy is the standard ultimate treatment once ACS with organ dysfunction is established. There is minimal primary literature on the pathophysiological underpinnings of IAH and ACS and few prospective randomized trials evaluating their treatment or prevention; this concise review therefore provides only brief summaries of these topics. Many modern studies nominally dealing with IAH or ACS are simply epidemiologic surveys on their incidence, so this paper summarizes the incidence of IAH and ACS in a variety of disease states. Especially emphasized is the fact that modern critical care paradigms emphasize rational limitations to fluid resuscitation, which may have contributed to an apparent decrease in ACS among critically ill patients.
Vineberg v. Bissonnette

In Vineberg v. Bissonnette, trustees of art dealer Max Stern’s estate sought to recover a painting the Nazis had forced Stern to sell along with the rest of the inventory of his Dusseldorf gallery in 1937. This chapter examines the adjudication of the case, which resulted in an order returning the painting to the estate, marking what to date is the only final judgment on the merits of a Nazi-era art restitution claim.
Parametric Analysis of Renal Failure Data using the Exponentiated Odd Weibull Distribution

In this article, we analyze renal failure data from patients with mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) which was modeled by [1] non-parametrically using the Kaplan-Meier curve. In their work, they showed that the clinical variables, large increase serum creatinine (LISC) and systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg (SBP>160), and morphological variables, benign nephrosclerosis present (BNP) and interstitial score group 5-6 (IS5-6) were part of the variables which indicated progression to end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Though survival curves associated with these variables may be difficult to model by existing parametric distributions in literature. Therefore, we introduce a four-parameter Odd Weibull extension, the exponentiated Odd Weibull (EOW) distribution which is very versatile in modeling lifetime data that its hazard function exhibits ten different hazard shapes as well as various density shapes. Basic properties of the EOW distribution are presented. In the presence of random censoring, a small simulation study is conducted to assess the coverage probabilities of the estimated parameters of the EOW distribution using the maximum likelihood method. Our results show that the EOW distribution is very convenient and reliable to analyze the MPGN data since it provides an excellent fit for the variables LISC, SBP>160, BNP, and IS5-6. Furthermore, advantages of using the EOW distribution over the Kaplan-Meier curve are discussed. Comparisons of the EOW distribution with other Weibull-related distributions are also presented.
1.08 – Consolidation Techniques

Sintering and related hot consolidation processes, including hot pressing, spark sintering, hot isostatic pressing (HIP), and sinter-HIP, are the mainstay for component fabrication in hard materials. These processes start with shaped, mixed powders and end with densified, complex-shaped, high-performance components. The surface energy and the associated capillary stress from curved surfaces drive sintering. Since the capillary stress is low, external pressure enables sintering to full density. Sintering rates depend on atomic motion, and an especially important effect is from liquid phases that accelerate densification. Sintered properties derive from kinetic, thermodynamic, and composition factors. Linkages are given between process parameters, sintered density, microstructure, and properties.
Oh! Are You My Type?

A 22-year-old man is brought into the emergency department (ED) after sustaining trauma resulting in a fracture of the right femur sustained during a skiing accident. An ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) anticoagulant sample is submitted to the blood bank for type and screen and crossmatch of four red blood cell (RBC) units. No transfusion history is given.
Determination of binding affinities using hyperpolarized NMR with simultaneous 4-channel detection.

Abstract Dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (D-DNP) is a powerful technique to improve NMR sensitivity by a factor of thousands. Combining D-DNP with NMR-based screening enables to mitigate solubility or availability problems of ligands and target proteins in drug discovery as it can lower the concentration requirements into the sub-micromolar range. One of the challenges that D-DNP assisted NMR screening methods face for broad application, however, is a reduced throughput due to additional procedures and time required to create hyperpolarization. These requirements result in a delay of several tens of minutes in-between each NMR measurement. To solve this problem, we have developed a simultaneous 4-channel detection method for hyperpolarized 19F NMR, which can increase throughput fourfold by utilizing a purpose-built multiplexed NMR spectrometer and probe. With this system, the concentration-dependent binding interactions were observed for benzamidine and benzylamine with the serine protease trypsin. A T2 relaxation measurement of a hyperpolarized reporter ligand (TFBC; CF3C6H4CNHNH2), which competes for the same binding site on trypsin with the other ligands, was used. The hyperpolarized TFBC was mixed with trypsin and the ligand of interest, and injected into four flow cells inside the NMR probe. Across the set of four channels, a concentration gradient was created. From the simultaneously acquired relaxation datasets, it was possible to determine the dissociation constant (KD) of benzamidine and benzylamine without the requirement for individually optimizing experimental conditions for different affinities. A simulation showed that this 4-channel detection method applied to D-DNP NMR extends the screenable KD range to up to three orders of magnitude in a single experiment.
Hypogammaglobulinemia and bacterial infections following pediatric post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder in the rituximab era.

INTRODUCTION Treatment of PTLD using immune-depleting agents such as RTX may be associated with increased risk of infections. The aim of this report was to describe the incidence of hypogammaglobulinemia and bacterial infections in children with PTLD after SOT at a single center since the introduction of RTX. METHODS A retrospective review was conducted over a study period of 2000-2016 in pediatric patients diagnosed with biopsy-proven PTLD based on the WHO histologic criteria. Hypogammaglobulinemia was defined by serum IgG <4 g/L; CPBI was defined by clinically significant infection by an identified pathogenic bacteria isolated from a normally sterile body site. RESULTS Twenty-eight patients were included, comprising 16 LTx and 12 ITx patients, and 17 patients received RTX therapy. Total of 31 episodes of CPBI occurred in 16 patients. Incidence of CPBI was 31.4 infections per 100 patient-years in RTX-treated patients, as compared to 8.4 infections per 100 patient-years in non-RTX-treated patients (P < 0.001). Hypogammaglobulinemia was significantly more prevalent after 6 months (P = 0.001) and 2 years (P = 0.005) in RTX-treated patients, as compared to none in the group that did not receive RTX. Hypogammaglobulinemia (P = 0.047), ITx (P = 0.027), and monomorphic PTLD (P = 0.024) were significantly associated with recurrent (≥2) CPBI and/or CPBI-related deaths within the first year post-PTLD. CONCLUSION While RTX is an effective treatment for PTLD, hypogammaglobulinemia can persist for up to 2 years following RTX therapy, which may be associated with the higher cumulative rates of CPBI observed in RTX-treated patients.
Chemical and Biological Approaches to Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

The loss or failure of an organ or tissue is one of the most frequent, devastating, and costly problems in human healthcare. The areas of regenerative medicine and tissue engineering apply the prin...
Ready to Respond: A Survey of Interdisciplinary Health-Care Students and Administrators on Disaster Management Competencies.

Background: A sense of competency and confidence in disaster management is linked to response willingness and efficacy. This study assessed current health-care student disaster competency curricula and resultant confidence. Methods: A survey was sent to students and administrators in nurse practitioner (NP), master of public health (MPH), and medical/osteopathic schools (MD/DO), assessing curriculum coverage of 15 disaster management competencies (1-4, total 15-60), and confidence in performing 15 related behaviors (1-7, total 15-105). One-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s post-hoc and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to examine group differences. Results: A total of 729 students and 72 administrators completed the survey. Low coverage of all topics was reported by both students and administrators (mean 24.4; SD 9.6). Among students, NP students (21.66 ± 8.56) scored significantly lower than MD/DO (23.32 ± 8.19; P < 0.001) and MPH students (26.58 ± 9.06; P < 0.001) on curriculum coverage. Both administrators and students expressed low confidence in competence, with students significantly lower (P < 0.001). NP students scored higher (63.12 ± 20.69; P < 0.001) than both MPH (54.85 ± 17.82) and MD/DO (51.17 ± 19.71; P < 0.001) students. Conclusions: Health-care students report low coverage of topics considered to be necessary disaster response competencies, as well as their confidence to execute functions. This may negatively impact willingness and ability of these professionals to respond effectively in a disaster.
Minimal quadrangulations of orientable surfaces

Abstract Quadrangular embeddings of the general octahedral graph and the complete graph K n for n ≡ 5 (mod 8) into orientable surfaces are constructed. These embeddings determine polyhedra with a minimal number of quadrangles.
Measuring frequently during peak soil N 2 O emissions is more important than choosing the time of day to sample

Abstract. Manual gas sampling from static soil chambers is commonly used to measure the flux of nitrous oxide (N2O) from soil. Because manual sampling is labour intensive, sampling frequencies are often insufficient to fully capture daily variability of N2O soil flux, which compromises the accuracy of estimates of daily and cumulative emissions. Knowledge of the diurnal fluctuation of N2O flux has been used to choose a flux sampling time that maximizes the accuracy of N2O flux estimates and thereby reduces the required frequency of flux measurements, but results of previous studies have been inconsistent. We analysed N2O soils emissions measured quasi-continuously over three years from a highly fertilized (> 200 kg N ha−1) maize system grown in southern Wisconsin, USA. This is the first study of N2O flux temporal variability that includes multiple difficult-to-measure peak emission events ( hot moments ) and estimates the relative contribution of hot moments to cumulative emissions. Analysis of diurnal fluctuation in N2O flux was performed using all measured data (≈ 22 000 fluxes) as well as using subsets of the data grouped by flux magnitude. The relationship between the observed hourly average flux and the mean daily flux was assessed using linear regression. Results show that diurnal variation in N2O soil flux was closely associated with normalized flux size. During low emission periods, N2O soil fluxes exhibited a diurnal pattern such that N2O flux measured at particular times of day, Preferred Measuring Times (PMTs), were not significantly different from the mean daily flux. During high emissions periods N2O flux did not exhibit a diurnal pattern and there was no PMT. High emissions periods included difficult-to-measure hot moments that did not exhibit a PMT and contributed up to 50 % of the cumulative emissions. We conclude that in order to accurately measure soil N2O flux in this type of system, it is necessary to sample frequently, particularly during peak flux events, and that constraining sampling to particular times of day provides little benefit.
RE: An alternate characterization of hazard in occupational epidemiology: years of life lost per years worked. Am J Ind Med 42:1–10, 2002

To the Editor: We thank Dr. Morfeld for his interest and appreciate the careful and detailed effort that he has undertaken in analyzing our recent study on work-related years of potential life lost [Park et al., 2003]. Dr. Morfeld is concerned that our approach, while "attractive in its simplicity," may suffer from several sources of bias. However, upon examination, his specific example appears to us to be inappropriate. A key element in Dr. Morfeld's argument for two of the sources of bias is a hypothetical population in which deaths resulting from an exposure are arbitrarily postulated to have been moved forward in time by 5 years. This stipulation was not derived from empirical evidence or a failure-time model, and ignores the reference population's survival characteristics as summarized in a relevant life-table.
The Politics of Covert Activity

This chapter presents three narratives often deployed to “rescue the state” from charges that it itself is queer—through deflecting the charges to another actor. Narrative One posits that states sometimes engage in covert activity/queer foreign policy (on the down low), but that doesn’t make them queer; other states in the international community collude to pretend they don’t notice such queer behavior—adopting a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to state’s queer behavior. The second narrative suggests that the state’s policy appears queer only because the president, independently, behaved queerly and such behavior is therefore not indicative of the state’s identity. The third narrative suggests that while the IC sometimes oversteps its role and ends up making alternate foreign policy, this is due to an agency refusing to perform its expected role, rather than because the state itself is queer.
Fungal Peptic Ulcer Disease in an Immunocompetent Patient.

The lifetime prevalence of peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is 5-10%. While PUD in immunocompetent patients is most commonly associated with Helicobacter pylori infection or the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), other common causes of PUD must also be considered in the differential diagnosis. We describe a case of endoscopic and histological resolution of PUD related to Candida infection in a healthy, immunocompetent woman. LEARNING POINTS Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) can be secondary to fungal infections, even in immunocompetent patients.A higher index of suspicion needs to be maintained for fungal causes of PUD, particularly if symptoms do not improve.Recognizing fungal causes of PUD may lead to faster diagnosis and treatment.
Stability of multidimensional viscous shocks for symmetric systems with variable multiplicities

We establish long-time stability of multidimensional viscous shocks of a general class of symmetric hyperbolic-parabolic systems with variable multiplicities, notably including the equations of compressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) in dimensions d≥2. This extends the existing result established by Zumbrun for systems with characteristics of constant multiplicity to the ones with variable multiplicity, yielding the first such stability result for (fast) MHD shocks. At the same time, we are able to drop a technical assumption on the structure of the so-called glancing set that was necessarily used in previous analyses. The key idea to the improvements is to introduce a new simple argument for obtaining an L1→Lp resolvent bound in low-frequency regimes by employing the recent construction of degenerate Kreiss symmetrizers by Gues, Metivier, Williams, and Zumbrun. Thus, at the low-frequency resolvent bound level, our analysis gives an alternative to the earlier pointwise Green-function approach of Zumbrun. High-frequency solution operator bounds have been previously established entirely by nonlinear energy estimates
The Ethics of Extrapolation: Science Fiction in the Technical Communication Classroom

This article argues that science fiction is a powerful tool for teaching ethics in the technical communication classroom. As a literary genre, science fiction is uniquely situated to critique the s...
A cluster-control approach to a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak on a stroke ward with infection control considerations for dementia and vascular units.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to contain a healthcare-associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, to evaluate contributory factors, and to prevent future outbreaks. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental cluster-control outbreak evaluation. METHODS: All patients and staff on the outbreak ward (case cluster), and randomly selected patients and staff on COVID-19 wards (positive control cluster) and a non-COVID-19 wards (negative control cluster) underwent reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. Hand hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) compliance, detection of environmental SARS-COV-2 RNA, patient behavior, and SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody prevalence were assessed. RESULTS: In total, 145 staff and 26 patients were exposed, resulting in 24 secondary cases. Also, 4 of 14 (29%) staff and 7 of 10 (70%) patients were asymptomatic or presymptomatic. There was no difference in mean cycle threshold between asymptomatic or presymptomatic versus symptomatic individuals. None of 32 randomly selected staff from the control wards tested positive. Environmental RNA detection levels were higher on the COVID-19 ward than on the negative control ward (OR, 19.98; 95% CI, 2.63-906.38; P < .001). RNA levels on the COVID-19 ward (where there were no outbreaks) and the outbreak ward were similar (OR, 2.38; P = .18). Mean monthly hand hygiene compliance, based on 20,146 observations (over preceding year), was lower on the outbreak ward (P < .006). Compared to both control wards, the proportion of staff with detectable antibodies was higher on the outbreak ward (OR, 3.78; 95% CI, 1.01-14.25; P = .008). CONCLUSION: Staff seroconversion was more likely during a short-term outbreak than from sustained duty on a COVID-19 ward. Environmental contamination and PPE use were similar on the outbreak and control wards. Patient noncompliance, decreased hand hygiene, and asymptomatic or presymptomatic transmission were more frequent on the outbreak ward.
Testing the Theory of Trade Policy: Evidence from the Abrupt End of the Multifiber Arrangement

Abstract Quota restrictions on United States imports of apparel and textiles under the multifiber arrangement (MFA) ended abruptly in January 2005. This change in policy was large, predetermined, and fully anticipated, making it an ideal natural experiment for testing the theory of trade policy. Prices of quota-constrained categories from China fell by 38% in 2005, with smaller declines from other exporters. Prices in unconstrained categories from all countries changed little. We also find substantial quality downgrading in imports from China in previously constrained categories. The annual cost of the MFAto U.S. consumers was $63 per household.
SLC6A14 deficiency is linked to obesity, fatty liver, and metabolic syndrome but only under conditions of a high-fat diet.

Abstract SLC6A14 is a Na+/Cl−-coupled transporter for neutral/cationic amino acids, expressed in ileum and colon. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs2011162 (−22,510C > G), in SLC6A14 coding for the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR) is associated with obesity in humans. But the impact of this polymorphism on the transporter expression and its connection to obesity are not known. Our objective was to address these issues. The impact of rs2011162 (−22,510C > G) on SLC6A14 expression was monitored using a luciferase reporter. The link between Slc6a14 and obesity was investigated in wild type and Slc6a14−/− mice when fed a normal diet or a high-fat diet. The obesity-associated 3′-UTR polymorphism reduced SLC6A14 expression. With a high-fat diet, Slc6a14−/− mice gained more weight than wild type mice. With normal diet, there was no difference between the two genotypes. The gain in body weight with the high-fat diet in Slc6a14−/− mice was accompanied with metabolic syndrome. With the high-fat diet, Slc6a14−/− mice showed increased food intake, developed fatty liver, and altered plasma amino acid profile. The high-fat diet-associated hepatic steatosis in Slc6a14−/− mice showed male preponderance. We conclude that the 3′-UTR SNP in SLC6A14 associated with obesity decreases the expression of SLC6A14 and that the deficiency of SLC6A14 is linked to obesity. This is supported by the findings that Slc6a14−/− mice develop obesity, fatty liver, and metabolic syndrome. This connection is evident only with a high-fat diet. Therefore, dietary/pharmacologic interventions that induce SLC6A14 expression in the intestinal tract might have potential for obesity prevention. 1
Over-Generalizing About GC (Hypoxia): Pitfalls of Limiting Breadth of Experimental Systems and Analyses in Framing Informatics Conclusions.

Accumulating evidence suggests that many immune responses are influenced by local nutrient concentrations in addition to the programming of intermediary metabolism within immune cells. Humoral immunity and germinal centers (GC) are settings in which these factors are under active investigation. Hypoxia is an example of how a particular nutrient is distributed in lymphoid follicles during an antibody response, and how oxygen sensors may impact the qualities of antibody output after immunization. Using exclusively a bio-informatic analysis of mRNA levels in GC and other B cells, recent work challenged the concept that there is any hypoxia or that it has any influence. To explore this proposition, we performed new analyses of published genomics data, explored potential sources of disparity, and elucidated aspects of the apparently conflicting conclusions. Specifically, replicability and variance among data sets derived from different naive as well as GC B cells were considered. The results highlight broader issues that merit consideration, especially at a time of heightened focus on scientific reports in the realm of immunity and antibody responses. Based on these analyses, a standard is proposed under which the relationship of new data sets should be compared to prior "fingerprints" of cell types and reported transparently to referees and readers. In light of independent evidence of diversity within and among GC elicited by protein immunization, avoidance of overly broad conclusions about germinal centers in general when experimental systems are subject to substantial constraints imposed by technical features also is warranted.
CAR T-Cell Therapies in Mantle Cell Lymphoma, Hints of Cure

Introduction Therapy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has evolved from chemotherapy to targeted therapy, and most recently to CAR T-cell therapies. CAR T-cell therapy began in 1993 with the first generation of CAR T-cells developed in Israel. Later, in 2002 the second-generation CAR T-cells were developed against prostate cancer cells in the laboratory. The following year, second generation CAR T-cells were tested against leukemia cells using a mouse model where CD19 proved to be an effective target. Eleven years later, FDA grants breakthrough therapy designation to CD19-directed CAR T-cells. Finally, in 2017, the FDA approved the first CAR T-cell therapy in large cell lymphoma.
Mechanisms of cAMP compartmentation in cardiac myocytes: experimental and computational approaches to understanding.

The small diffusible second messenger 3',5'-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is found in virtually every cell in our bodies, where it mediates responses to a variety of different G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). In the heart, cAMP plays a critical role in regulating many different aspects of cardiac myocyte function, including gene transcription, cell metabolism, and excitation-contraction coupling. Yet, not all GPCRs that stimulate cAMP production elicit the same responses. Subcellular compartmentation of cAMP is essential to explain how different receptors can utilize the same diffusible second messenger to elicit unique functional responses. However the mechanisms contributing to this behavior and its significance in producing physiological and pathological responses are incompletely understood. Mathematical modeling has played an essential role in gaining insight into these questions. This review discusses what we currently know about cAMP compartmentation in cardiac myocytes and questions that are yet to be answered. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
VIRTUAL LEARNING AFFORDANCES AND IDENTITY: A CASE STUDY

This case study pairs a walkthrough analysis of two popular virtual learning environments (VLEs) (Zoom and WebEx) with undergraduate responses (n=250) to an open-ended survey to investigate how VLE affordances impact student identifications and quality of learning. Previous research has found that interaction and social presence are necessary for learning online, but professors find these relationships difficult to achieve when students will not, or cannot, turn on their cameras. Preliminary findings include three main themes. First, students find Zoom more user-friendly because it is designed to look like popular social media apps, yet they are still not comfortable being visible. Second, many students are concerned about their classmates and professors seeing their physical backgrounds, particularly those who reported having family incomes below $50,000. Subsequently, they rarely turn on their cameras. Third, BIPOC who identify as women fear being judged based on their physical appearance and also choose to rarely turn on their cameras. This study is one of the first to explore VLE affordances and their impact on identities. Early analyses point to already marginalized groups feeling the pains that came with the shift to online learning more acutely. Professors and universities should provide training for identity personalization and find ways to invite students to participate that do not include mandatory cameras.
Deep Multimodal Learning From MRI and Clinical Data for Early Prediction of Neurodevelopmental Deficits in Very Preterm Infants.

The prevalence of disabled survivors of prematurity has increased dramatically in the past 3 decades. These survivors, especially, very preterm infants (VPIs), born ≤ 32 weeks gestational age, are at high risk for neurodevelopmental impairments. Early and clinically effective personalized prediction of outcomes, which forms the basis for early treatment decisions, is urgently needed during the peak neuroplasticity window – the first couple of years after birth – for at-risk infants, when intervention is likely to be most effective. Advances in MRI enable the noninvasive visualization of infants' brains through acquired multimodal images, which are more informative than unimodal MRI data by providing complementary/supplementary depicting of brain tissue characteristics and pathology. Thus, analyzing quantitative multimodal MRI features affords unique opportunities to study early postnatal brain development and neurodevelopmental outcome prediction in VPIs. In this study, we investigated the predictive power of multimodal MRI data, including T2-weighted anatomical MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, resting-state functional MRI, and clinical data for the prediction of neurodevelopmental deficits. We hypothesize that integrating multimodal MRI and clinical data improves the prediction over using each individual data modality. Employing the aforementioned multimodal data, we proposed novel end-to-end deep multimodal models to predict neurodevelopmental (i.e., cognitive, language, and motor) deficits independently at 2 years corrected age. We found that the proposed models can predict cognitive, language, and motor deficits at 2 years corrected age with an accuracy of 88.4%, 87.2%, and 86.7%, respectively, significantly better than using individual data modalities. This current study can be considered as proof-of-concept. A larger study with external validation is important to validate our approach to further assess its clinical utility and overall generalizability.
INELASTIC STRUCTURAL RESPONSE TO 2D GROUND MOTION

According to current seismic design philosophy, structures are allowed, for economic reasons, to undergo deformations well into the inelastic range when subjected to a strong motion earthquake. Results presented show that the simultaneous action of both horizontal components of ground motion produces significantly larger displacements than those produced by a single component for stiff structures proportioned according to the Uniform Building Code. The magnification of response due to biaxial motion depends primarily on the initial fundamental elastic period of the structure and on the amount of inelastic deformation which a single component of ground motion would produce. The interaction of gravity loads with these increased displacements can cause the gravity effect to be more critical than for one-dimensional ground motion. The numerical results presented are for a series of single and three-story structures with elastoplastic uniaxial restoring force characteristics.
Naltrexone fails to block shock-induced deficits in an appetitive discrimination task

Acute stress has been shown to induce analgesia-like effects in animals. However, little attention has been paid to other effects of these stressors, for example those on complex learned behaviors. Therefore, we assessed the effects of shock-induced stress on discrimination performance in rats and established whether any of the effects were opioid mediated. Rats were first trained in a two-lever, discrete-trial procedure in which brief light presentations were discriminative stimuli for food-reinforced leverpresses. After stable accuracy levels were achieved, the animals were injected (SC) with saline or the narcotic antagonist naltrexone (NALT) (5.0 or 20.0 mg/kg), exposed to footshock (2.5 mA for 30 sec), and then tested immediately afterward. Footshock significantly disrupted accuracy and increased choice and food-retrieval latencies. The accuracy deficits were found to be independent of the alterations in choice latencies. NALT failed to attenuate the accuracy deficits and accentuated the performance deficits. We proposed that some forms of acute shock exert nonopioid mediated dissociative effects that occur in conjunction with, and may be confounded with, alterations in nociceptive processes.
In-House Heart-Brain Clinics to Reduce Alzheimer's Disease Incidence

The incidence rate in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is expected to quadruple worldwide by 2050. To limit this impending socio-medical calamity, a fulcrum change from how AD is presently managed is crucial. The present approach has not averted the stress of AD on medical resources nor reduced the already cost-strained government health care programs. Since substantial evidence indicates that sporadic AD is directly associated with vascular risk factors, a strategic plan is proposed to target this association and markedly reduce the onset of AD. This plan would establish in-house heart-brain clinics devoted to identifying, detecting, and preventing the progression of vascular risk factors that predispose to cognitive impairment and development of AD. The heart-brain clinics would be staffed with a multidisciplinary group of neurologists, psychologists, neuroradiologists, cardiovascular specialists, and technical personnel Their goal would be to apply and interpret non-invasive, cost-effective multidiagnostic testing of heart and brain function in outpatient asymptomatic and symptomatic patients at risk of dementia. Multidiagnostic testing would permit better risk stratification, medical decision-making, and a tailored intervention of patients at-risk of dementia than the present monotherapeutic approach. Personalized intervention, moreover, should achieve better patient compliance and outcome through periodic follow-up visits to the clinics where the medical plan of action could be monitored and modified as needed. Multidisciplinary heart-brain clinics will be costly at first but eventually should become cost-effective while providing an invaluable medical service to an aging population and possibly extending years of full-health lived in those at risk of dementia.
Astronomía doméstica: Luoisiana Museum, Humlebæk, Dinamarca. Philippe Rahm architectes. 2009

espanolEl aire frio desciende y el aire calido se eleva. En base a este principio, Astronomia Domestica propone reordenar el interior de una casa segun las temperaturas que cada uso requiere, evitando asi la subdivision fisica de los recintos (muros y puertas). De esta forma seran los flujos de aire los que determinen las funciones, permitiendo que el confort termico no nos obligue a sacrificar la fluidez espacial tan propia de la arquitectura moderna. EnglishCold air sinks and hot air rises. Based on this principle, Domestic Astronomy proposes rearranging the interior of a home according to the temperatures required by each use, thus avoiding the physical subdivision of the spaces (walls and doors). This way it will be the airflows that determine functions so that thermal comfort does not force us to sacrifice the spatial fluidity so characteristic of modern architecture.
A UNIFIED CORPS OF FEDERAL ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES IS NOT NEEDED

Introduction of bills to establish a nationwide Corps of Federal Administrative Law Judges· has rekindled debate over the efficacy of, and need for, the sweepiilg changes which apparently will attend enactment. The bills are endorsed by the Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference (FAUC), a professional association which represents, and admits to membership, all federally-employed ad­ miilistrative law judges.2 Many of the affected judges believe that no cogent reasons have been advanced that demonstrate a need to establish such a COrpS.3 Principally, the bills are designed to iilsure administrative law judges' decisional iildependence.4 It is asserted, however, that the existiilg statutes and judicial perception of federal administrative law
Heregulin: A novel modulator of telomere length maintenance via regulation of the Telomere Repeat-binding Factor (TRF-2)

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 4988 The growth factor Heregulin (HRG) actively promotes breast cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis, whilst it differentially modulates breast cancer cell responses to DNA-damaging drugs. HRG overexpression induces hypersensitivity to doxorubicin whereas it promotes resistance to cisplatin. An attractive molecular candidate underlying these HRG’s counterintuitive effects is the telomere and more specifically, its end-capping function: a. ) Depending on their length, telomeres serve to suppress or promote malignant transformation, and b. ) the inhibition of telomere maintenance acts to chemosensitize cancer cells to double-stranded DNA breaks inducers ( e.g ., doxorubicin), whereas long telomeres are good targets for drugs preferentially targeting the G-rich telomeric sequence ( e.g ., cisplatin). We herein characterized the ability of HRG to regulate telomere length and/or function in breast cancer cells. MCF-7-derived T6 and T7 clones stably expressing the human full-length HRG cDNA exhibited shorter telomeres (≤ 1.3 Kb shortening) relative to control cells. HRG-overexpressing MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T cells stably transfected with an anti-sense (AS)-HRG cDNA displayed longer telomeres (≥ 3.0 Kb lengthening) when compared to control cells. While no significant HRG-related differences in telomerase activity were observed, HRG-overexpressing MCF-7/T clones markedly exhibited higher levels of telomeric repeat binding factor-2 (TRF2) expression as compared to matched control cells, whereas TRF2 expression was knocked-down in AS-HRG clones. Exogenous supplementation with recombinant HRG up-regulated TRF2 expression in MCF-7 cells while it partially rescued TRF2 expression levels in AS-HRG clones. An up to 75% reduction in the amount of TRF2 protein was achieved 72 hours after transfection with HRG-specific small interference RNAs (siRNAs). These findings strongly suggest that HRG is a previously unrecognized modulator of telomere function in breast cancer cells by virtue of its ability to regulate TRF2, a specific telomeric-protein playing an essential role in protecting telomeric integrity.