cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Where, When and How to Teach Integrated Marketing Communications

Whether brought on by the splintering of markets, the rise of mass advertising rates, the proliferation of new media, or simply by the maturing of an industry growing in its level of complexity, there's no denying that professionals and academics alike from both the marketing and the communications disciplines are searching for a new approach to promotion. This movement has brought together many formerly distinct forms of promotion and communications under the rubric of Integrated Marketing Communications.
175 PREDICTORS OF MORTALITY AND POOR NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME IN INFANTS WITH CONGENITAL DIAPHRAGMATIC HERNIA REQUIRING EXTRACORPOREAL MEMBRANE OXYGENATION

Background Mortality in severe congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), defined as requirement for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), remains variable. Predictors of mortality and poor long-term neurodevelopmental outcome have not been well described. Objective To describe mortality and poor neurodevelopmental outcome in CDH-ECMO infants and identify associated risk factors pre-ECMO. Methods We retrieved data for CDH-ECMO infants at CHOA (1991-2004). Predictive risk factors included pre-ECMO birth weight (BW), gestational age (GA), pH, PaO2, PaCO2, oxygenation index (OI), mean airway pressure (MAP), prothrombin time (PT), and others. Chi square, Student t-test, and logistic regression were used when appropriate (significance: p Results Of 70 infants with CDH-ECMO, 12 (17.14%) were placed on venoarterial ECMO, 58 (82.85%) on venovenous ECMO (3 converted to arterial). GA was 38.2 ± 1.9 w; BW was 3160 ± 480 g. A total of 47 (67%) infants survived. There was no difference in pre-ECMO MAP (18.3 ± 3.9 CM H2O vs. 18.8 ± 4.7 CM H2O) or OI (54.6 ± 23.4 vs. 66.3 ± 32.9) between survivors and nonsurvivors. Before ECMO, nonsurvivors had a significantly higher PaCO2 (70 ≤ 24.2 vs. 57.9 ± 19.8 torr; p = .034), lower pH (7.17 ± 0.14 vs. 7.24 ± 0.14; p = .038) and higher PT (44.6 ± 6.2 vs. 18.7 ± 4.9; p = .042). A total of 23 (49%) survivors had neurodevelopmental evaluation (Bayley Scales of Infant Development) at 12 months and 18 (38%) at 24 months of age. At 12 months, mean Mental Developmental Index (MDI) was 84.77 ± 17.59 (50 to 107) and the Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) was 75.16 ± 21.29 (50 to 108). At 24 months, MDI was 84.23 ± 18.34 (50 to 115) and PDI was 71.58 ± 19.61 (50 to 103). At 12 and 24 months 13% of the infants had an MDI ≤ 70 and 38% had a PDI ≤ 70. A significantly higher OI pre-ECMO was predictive of MDI/PDI > 70 (59.1 ± 11.1 vs. 42.4 ± 15.6; p = .017). Conclusion In this population, 67% of infants CDH-ECMO survive to discharge. Higher PaCO2, lower pH, and higher PT pre-ECMO were significant predictors for mortality. CDH-ECMO survivors are at risk for cognitive delay and more severe neuromotor delay at 12 and 24 months of age. Higher OI pre-ECMO was a significant predictor for worse long-term outcome. Risk/benefit of using ECMO before prolonged hypercarbia, acidemia, coagulopathy, and high OI needs to be evaluated.
iVector-based Acoustic Data Selection

This paper presents a data selection approach where spoken utterances are selected in a sequential fashion from a large outof-domain data set to match the utterance distribution of an indomain data set. We propose to represent each utterance by its iVector [1], a low dimensional vector indicating the coordinate of that utterance in a subspace acoustic model. We show that the distribution of iVectors can characterize a data set and enables distinguishing subsets of utterances from different domains. Last, we present experimental speech recognition results based on a system trained on a data set constructed by the proposed algorithm and a comparison with random data selection.
Arrowheads, folklore, and documentary sources

Documentary sources, even some that appear to be eyewitness accounts of events and processes of interest to archaeologists, must be carefully evaluated. Some are infected by the folklore of the time, and some of this folklore has thus crept into archaeological “knowledge.” Our analysis of arrows and projectile points represents one example where traditional understandings derived from ethnographic sources and contemporary documents should be questioned.
The Normative Argument for an Unconditional Basic Income

This chapter critically discusses the justification of an unconditional basic income (UBI) from a normative perspective. It centers around the concept of “real freedom for all” by van Parijs (Real freedom for all. What (if anything) can justify Capitalism? Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1995) and its conclusion of paying the highest possible UBI to everyone in society. Although the discussion about basic income has a long tradition within the literature of political philosophy, van Parijs’ contribution is regarded as the most systematic work in this area. Following his line of reasoning, an UBI is the consequence of the claim to increase real freedom of the least-advantaged members of society while remaining neutral to their different life plans. While discussing van Parijs’ claim of an UBI to maximize real freedom, the focus shifts to Dworkin’s approach to resource egalitarianism that is central to this claim. It relies on a distribution of resources that is both ambition-sensitive and endowment-insensitive. Afterwards, ways of financing an UBI are studied from a normative perspective and the operationalization of this concept is discussed. The chapter ends by discussing frequent points of criticism against an UBI such as that an UBI involves and fosters exploitation, parasitism, and the loss of reciprocity.
Graph Theory Properties of Cellular Networks

The functionality of the living cell is enabled by an intricate network of biochemical, metabolic and information transporting processes. These processes are carried out by the different network systems that comprise the cell’s activity, among which are the transcriptional regulatory network, the protein–protein interaction network and the metabolic network. To understand the functional design of these complex systems, it is worth referring to their abstract representation as graphs, where the interacting components, be them proteins, metabolites or genes, are designated as nodes, and the interactions between them as edges. Once the graphical description has been established, the tools of graph theory can be utilized to analyze the networks and obtain a better understanding of their overall construction. This approach has led to several groundbreaking discoveries on the nature of networks, crossing fields of research from biology to social science and technology. In this chapter we present the basic tools and concepts brought forth by the graph theoretic approach, and show their application to biological networks. We especially focus on the universal appearance of various features, such as small-world topologies, scale-free degree distributions and hierarchical and modular structures. These recurring patterns in the structure of the cellular networks are key to understanding their evolution, their design principles, and, most importantly, the way they function.
The association of recent incarceration and health outcomes among HIV-infected adults receiving care in the United States

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe factors associated with incarceration as well as the association between recent incarceration and HIV-related sexual risk behaviors, access to insurance, healthcare utilization (emergency department (ED) and hospital use), antiretroviral therapy (ART) prescription, and viral suppression. Design/methodology/approach Using 2009-2010 data from a cross-sectional, nationally representative three-stage sample of HIV-infected adults receiving care in the USA, the authors assessed the demographic characteristics, healthcare utilization, and clinical outcomes of HIV-infected persons who had been recently incarcerated (detention for>24 hours in the past year) using bivariate analyses. The authors used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations of recent incarceration with insurance status as well as clinical and behavioral outcomes. Findings An estimated 22,949 (95 percent confidence interval (CI) 19,062-26,836) or 5.4 percent (CI: 4.7-6.1) of all HIV-infected persons receiving care were recently incarcerated. Factors associated with recent incarceration were age <50 years, being a smoker, having high school diploma or less, being homeless, income at or below the poverty guidelines, having a geometric mean of CD4 count <500 cells/ μL, and using drugs in the past 12 months. Results from multivariable modeling indicated that incarcerated persons were more likely to use ED services, and to have been hospitalized, and less likely to have achieved viral suppression. Originality/value Recent incarceration independently predicted worse health outcomes and greater use of emergency services among HIV-infected adults currently in HIV care. Options to improve the HIV continuum of care, including pre-enrollment for healthcare coverage and discharge planning, may lead to better health outcomes for HIV-infected inmates post-release.
Mercury(II) binds to both of chymotrypsin's histidines, causing inhibition followed by irreversible denaturation/aggregation.

The toxicity of mercury is often attributed to its tight binding to cysteine thiolate anions in vital enzymes. To test our hypothesis that Hg(II) binding to histidine could be a significant factor in mercury's toxic effects, we studied the enzyme chymotrypsin, which lacks free cysteine thiols; we found that chymotrypsin is not only inhibited, but also denatured by Hg(II). We followed the aggregation of denatured enzyme by the increase in visible absorbance due to light scattering. Hg(II)-induced chymotrypsin precipitation increased dramatically above pH 6.5, and free imidazole inhibited this precipitation, implicating histidine-Hg(II) binding in the process of chymotrypsin denaturation/aggregation. Diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC) blocked chymotrypsin's two histidines (his40 and his57) quickly and completely, with an IC50 of 35 ± 6 µM. DEPC at 350 µM reduced the hydrolytic activity of chymotrypsin by 90%, suggesting that low concentrations of DEPC react with his57 at the active site catalytic triad; furthermore, DEPC below 400 µM enhanced the Hg(II)-induced precipitation of chymotrypsin. We conclude that his57 reacts readily with DEPC, causing enzyme inhibition and enhancement of Hg(II)-induced aggregation. Above 500 µM, DEPC inhibited Hg(II)-induced precipitation, and [DEPC] > 2.5 mM completely protected chymotrypsin against precipitation. This suggests that his40 reacts less readily with DEPC, and that chymotrypsin denaturation is caused by Hg(II) binding specifically to the his40 residue. Finally, we show that Hg(II)-histidine binding may trigger hemoglobin aggregation as well. Based on results with these two enzymes, we suggest that metal-histidine binding may be key to understanding all heavy metal-induced protein aggregation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Systems Design and Economic Analysis of Direct Air Capture of CO2 through Temperature Vacuum Swing Adsorption Using MIL-101(Cr)-PEI-800 and mmen-Mg2(dobpdc) MOF Adsorbents

Direct air capture (DAC) removes CO2 from the atmosphere and can therefore address sizable nonpoint sources emissions of CO2 such as those from transportation. We propose a five-step temperature vacuum swing adsorption process for direct air capture using solid adsorbents coated as films on monolithic contactors using steam as the stripping agent during desorption. We perform a modeling study and economic assessment for DAC using two metal organic frameworks, MIL-101(Cr)-PEI-800 and mmen-Mg2(dobpdc), for which we have experimentally demonstrated film growth on monolith structures. The results indicate minimum energy requirements, and cost estimates are 0.145 MJ/mol-CO2 and $75–140/t-CO2 for MIL-101(Cr)-PEI-800, and 0.113 MJ/mol-CO2 and $60–190/t-CO2 for mmen-Mg2(dobpdc), respectively. The overall DAC cost is sensitive to adsorbent purchase cost and lifetime as well as cycle parameters such as adsorption and desorption times. We conclude that mmen-Mg2(dobpdc) has better performance compared to MIL-101(Cr)-...
Creep of Polycrystalline Tin

The creep rate of polycrystalline tin was studied as a function of temperature and stress in constant stress experiments. The temperature was varied from room temperature to almost the melting point of tin. Activation energies were calculated from tests run at the same stress. It was found that on a log creep rate vs inverse temperature plot the experimental points did not fall on one straight line but on a line which changed its slope in the 90° to 160°C region. Two activation energies for the creep of tin can be calculated from the data: ta value around 26,000 cal per mol at high temperatures and a value around 11,000 cal per mol at low temperatures. It is suggested that the discrepancies between the creep activation energies and those of self-diffusion can be accounted for if self-diffusion takes place predominately by Zener’s ring mechanism rather than through vacancy or interstitial movement.
Relationship between genetic markers and quality of life (QOL) in stage III colon cancer (CC) patients (pts) prior to adjuvant treatment (N0147).

3617 Background: In metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), previous studies suggested potential relationships between certain drug metabolizing (DM) genes (DPYD, ERCC2, GSTP1 and TYMS) and QOL prior t...
Enthalpies of mixing in the liquid silver halide-alkali halide mixtures

The enthalpies of mixing of the liquid silver chloride-alkali chloride binary mixtures have been determined by direct liquid-liquid calorimetric measurements at 810 °C (all systems) and at 663 °C (silver-lithium and silver-cesium chloride). The results are compared with data reported in earlier work and with corresponding data for the silver bromide-alkali bromide, silver nitrate-alkali nitrate, and for the binary alkali chloride and bromide systems. The results are discussed and interpreted in terms of the solution theory of Reiss, Katz, and Kleppa as modified by Davis and Rice.
Nest survival modelling using a multi-species approach in forests managed for timber and biofuel feedstock

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) intercropping is a novel forest management practice for biomass production intended to generate cellulosic feedstocks within intensively managed loblolly pine-dominated landscapes. These pine plantations are important for early-successional bird species, as short rotation times continually maintain early-successional habitat. We tested the efficacy of using community models compared to individual surrogate species models in understanding influences on nest survival. We analysed nest data to test for differences in habitat use for 14 bird species in plots managed for switchgrass intercropping and controls within loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations in Mississippi, USA. We adapted hierarchical models using hyper-parameters to incorporate information from both common and rare species to understand community-level nest survival. This approach incorporates rare species that are often discarded due to low sample sizes, but can inform community-level demographic parameter estimates. We illustrate use of this approach in generating both species-level and community-wide estimates of daily survival rates for songbird nests. We were able to include rare species with low sample size (minimum n = 5) to inform a hyper-prior, allowing us to estimate effects of covariates on daily survival at the community level, then compare this with a single-species approach using surrogate species. Using single-species models, we were unable to generate estimates below a sample size of 21 nests per species. Community model species-level survival and parameter estimates were similar to those generated by five single-species models, with improved precision in community model parameters. Covariates of nest placement indicated that switchgrass at the nest site (<4 m) reduced daily nest survival, although intercropping at the forest stand level increased daily nest survival. Synthesis and applications. Community models represent a viable method for estimating community nest survival rates and effects of covariates while incorporating limited data for rarely detected species. Intercropping switchgrass in loblolly pine plantations slightly increased daily nest survival at the research plot scale (0.1 km2), although at a local scale (50 m2) switchgrass negatively influenced nest survival. A likely explanation is intercropping shifted community composition, favouring species with greater disturbance tolerance.
The utility of the AC/TC ratio for watershed management: a case study

A human-impacted watershed was monitored during the dry summer seasons in 2002 and 2003 to investigate the impact of providing access to sewer mains to local village residences. Faecal coliform concentrations were monitored at select sites along the 30-mile stretch of creek, together with faecal streptococci, enterococci and total coliforms. Analysis of the results found that levels of faecal coliforms were inadequate at identifying significant known influxes of human and animal sewage established by sanitary survey. However, the bacterial ratio of atypical colonies to total coliform colonies (AC/TC), obtained from the total coliform membrane filter assay on m-Endo media, correctly indexed human faecal impact of inadequately sewered villages located along the creek. In addition, the AC/TC ratio correctly classified the predominant source of faecal runoff in the creek headwaters as agricultural, and indicated when aged agricultural faecal material was introduced by tributaries. An approach for watershed management that uses the AC/TC ratio in addition to levels of bacteria is proposed.
Exosomes Potentiate NF-κB Signaling, Tumor Progression, and Metastasis in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Worldwide, HCC is considered as one of the major cancer-related deaths. Tumor-derived exosomes play a potential role in HCC by mediating intracellular communication, immune responses, and antigen presentation. Exosomes communicate between the cells using proteins, mRNA, miRNA, lipids, and DNA present in their cargo. Increased understanding of exosomes and their role in cancer could lead to a powerful strategy for the treatment of HCC. In this chapter, we summarize the role of exosomes in cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis and in NF-κB through its miRNA. MiRNA derived from exosomes of HCC cells can enhance and modulate TAK1 and downstream signaling in recipient cells. Exosomes have a greater potential in the near future making it as prognostic biomarkers; they can serve in anticancer drug resistance and immunotherapy in the near future.
DDR and Peacebuilding: Implications for Peace and Security

This chapter examines the impact of DDR programme on peacebuilding, with a particular focus on implications for post-conflict security and violence in Nepal. The chapter argues that the Maoist ex-combatants should be viewed as a heterogeneous group in which different sub-groups respond in very different ways to the dynamics of insecurity and violence. Exploring the interface between various categories into which ex-combatants fall, their remobilisation vulnerability and the position of potential remobilising actors, it can be better predicted how and by what means ex-combatants are likely to be mobilised into violence. This chapter expands on the findings of how ex-combatant-led insecurity and direct violence, including petty crimes, have occurred increasingly at the micro-level. The macro-level threats at present are, however, limited to confrontational, disruptive and violent political actions by some ex-combatants and the different Maoist factions rather than remobilisation of ex-combatants in another insurgency.
Smoke Around the Rising Sun: An American Look at Tobacco Regulation in Japan

From an American perspective, the culture surrounding tobacco use in Japan today seems reminiscent of a generation past. Cigarette smoking is visible virtually everywhere in Japan, and restrictions on smoking, while on the increase, are still few in comparison with the U.S. Japan’s tobacco situation is exceptional among virtually all democratic industrialized nations in that it has the highest percentage of smokers amongst such nations while maintaining the most lax regulatory system.This article introduces the legal environment of tobacco regulation in Japan and explains how this environment facilitates Japan’s heavy tobacco habit. In pursuing this analysis, this article reviews the Tobacco Industry Law, including how this law fosters ties between the Ministry of Finance and the nation’s tobacco industry. Next, the article considers the failure of Japan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare to respond to the problem. Finally the article concludes with broader contemplations of the circumstances relating to tobacco in Japan.This SSRN posting includes an unpublished translation of the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan’s Tobacco Action Plan Working Group Report, dated March 29,1995.
A Framework for Teaching Business Ethics

What ethical framework should be used as a basis for teaching business ethics? Should business ethics be taught by ethicists in a separate course, by business faculty in business courses, or perhaps by both? These are some of the issues this paper will address. The paper begins with a review of the literature concerning approaches to teaching business ethics. Next, some ethical frameworks for teaching business ethics are considered. Finally, the paper proposes that students should apply their own personal values to business ethical issues in the classroom, thus providing future business leaders with a process for resolving ethical dilemmas.
Implementing a Standardized Order Set for Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Impact on Mortality and Cost

Article-at-a-Glance Background Order sets have shown some success in improving compliance with clinical guidelines, as well as patient and financial outcomes. Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) deployed a standardized adult pneumonia order set throughout its eight acute care hospitals in 2006. Methods All non–comfort care adult patients admitted with community-acquired pneumonia who met The Joint Commission definition of pneumonia and were discharged from an acute care BHCS hospital for a 30-month period (March 1, 2006–August 31, 2008) were included. Mortality, core measures compliance, and direct cost were compared for patients who did and did not receive the order set. Results Some 4,454 patients met study inclusion criteria. Significant variation in use between hospitals, however, persisted. Unadjusted analysis showed significant reductions in inhospital mortality, 30-day mortality, and direct cost and a significant increase in core measures compliance. Following risk adjustment, the difference in core measures compliance was retained (relative risk [95% confidence interval (C.I.)] 1.08 [1.03, 1.12]). Inhospital mortality and 30-day mortality reductions both approached significance (hazard ratios [95% C.I.] of 0.73 [0.51,1.02] and 0.79 [0.62, 1.00], respectively). Mean (standard error) benefits of order set use in in-hospital mortality and costs were estimated at 1.67 (0.62)% and $383 (207). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio point estimate was –$22,882 per life saved, with an upper 95% confidence limit of $1,278 per life saved. Discussion Widespread adoption of the order set was achieved, with use consistently at or above 75% across all BHCS acute care hospitals since February 2007. The reductions in mortality observed with order set use, in combination with the favorable estimate of cost-effectiveness, make standardized evidence-based order sets an attractive improvement methodology for improving quality of pneumonia care.
Chapter 18 The chemical analysis of fire debris for potential accelerants

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the chemical analysis of fire debris for potential accelerants. The chemical analysis of fire debris is complicated and fraught with unexpected surprises. In many ways, the final result is only as strong as the weakest link in the overall procedure. It is always necessary to improve instrumentation to make up for weaknesses in other parts of the analytical scheme. Advances in the quality of chromatographic separations and in mass spectral selectivity are certainly promising avenues. Moreover, advances in separations technology have briefly been discussed in the chapter dealing with chromatography. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (MS) detection has an almost unlimited potential to characterize the composition of complex samples. The chapter explains that improvements are also possible in mass spectrometry. As in GC, selectivity can be enhanced by adding another dimension. MS/MS is a technique in which mass spectrometry is carried sequentially. GC/MS/MS appears to be a very complicated process, and indeed, it is. It requires a suitable instrument that can perform sequential ionization and mass analysis.
The metabolism of valine and isoleucine in Escherichia coli XVII the role of induction in the depression of acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase

Abstract Under conditions that repress the formation of four of the five enzymes required for isoleucine and valine biosynthesis in Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium (growth in the presence of excess isoleucine, valine and leucine), the fifth enzyme, acetohydroxy acid isomeroreductase, is induced by its substrates, acetohydroxybutyrate and acetolactate. Substrate induction appears to be the major if not the only means for regulating the formation of the isomeroreductase in these organisms. The same process seems to occur in Aerobacter aerogenes .
The Question of Development

Development policies and accompanying theories were an integral part of postwar U.S. foreign policy, designed to deal with the challenges of decolonization and the emergence of independent Third Wo...
Building the Multidisciplinary Transition Team

A major challenge arises in adolescent patients because ongoing care needs when entering young adulthood can be complex and far-reaching. The patient with a congenital and long-term condition is on a lifelong journey, and their experiences in healthcare will play a large part in shaping their outcome. Effective transitional care is paramount and it is clear that seamless transition to adult healthcare with the inclusion of an effective multidisciplinary team carries considerable health benefits.
Multicultural Marketing Campaigns: Reaching the US Hispanic Market on Digital Media: An Abstract

Hispanics, a highly diverse population in terms of geographical origin, education level, and language usage, are the fastest-growing ethnic minority in the United States. As a result, their buying power is increasing. US Hispanics over-index in digital media usage, yet are largely underserved and ineffectively targeted. Utilizing both secondary data and interviews with Hispanic advertising/marketing industry experts, in this paper, we present an application of a strategic marketing process that takes into account the multiplicity of cultural factors that impact the success of a targeted marketing campaign.
Comparison response patterns on landline and cell phone in a call back survey: effects of demographic characteristics and lag days.

The Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS) is conducted after the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey by calling BRFSS respondents who reported ever being diagnosed with asthma. To find response patterns and increase ACBS response rates, we first examined whether obtaining consents during the BRFSS survey could increase call back response rates by reducing the refusal and break-off. Then, we assessed how the lag days between BRFSS and ACBS interviews affected response rates. BRFSS cell phone respondents agreed more often to being called back than did landline respondents (75.5 vs. 70.9 percent). However, when respondents were contacted for ACBS, the cell phone response rate was lower than landline response rate (43.4 vs. 47.0 percent), except among males aged 25–34 years, for which the cell phone response rate was 2.1 percent higher than the landline response rate. ACBS response rate for landline and cell phone response were highest if the callback was within 2 days of BRFSS interviews (92.3 vs. 88.8 percent). As lag days increased, the response rate decreased. The cell phone response rate showed a sharper drop; after 2 weeks, the response rate gap between landline and cell phone samples reached 17.3 percent.
Not Dead Yet: Political Learning from Newspapers in a Changing Media Landscape

Shrinking audiences and political coverage cutbacks threaten newspapers’ ability to inform the public about politics. Despite substantial theorizing and widespread concern, it remains unclear how much the public can learn from these struggling news sources. I link measures of the newspaper-produced information environment with large-scale surveys that capture the public’s awareness of their member of Congress. This shows the contemporary effects of newspapers on representative-specific awareness are one-half to one-third estimates from earlier eras. Despite this decline newspapers remain an important contributor to political awareness in a changing media landscape, even for those with limited political interest. These results establish broader scope conditions under which the public can learn from the media environment.
Abstract 229: TWEAK-Fn14 Axis: A Potential Therapeutic Target for Treating Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is a complex disease characterized by compromised cardiac structure and function. Previous work has identified a link between upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and HF. ...
Comparison of researchers' impact indices

Researchers contribute to the frontiers of knowledge by establishing facts and reaching new conclusions through systematic investigations, and by subsequently publishing the outcomes of their research findings in the form of research papers. These research publications are indicative of researchers' scientific impact. Different bibliometric indices have been proposed to measure the impact or productivity of a researcher. These indices include publication count, citation count, number of coauthors, h-index, etc. The h-index, since its inception, has been ranked as the foremost impact indicator by many studies. However, as a consequence of the various short comings identified in h-index, some variants of h-index have been proposed. For instance, one dimension which requires significant attention is determining the ability of exceptional performers in a particular research area. In our study, we have compared effectiveness of h-index and some of its recent variants in identifying the exceptional performers of a field. We have also found correlation of h-index with recently proposed indices. A high correlation indicates same effect of these indices as of h-index and low correlation means these indices make non-redundant contribution while ranking potential researchers of a field of study. So far, effectiveness of these indices has not been explored/validated on real data sets of same field. We have considered these variants/modifications of h-index along with h-index and tested on comprehensive data set for the field of Computer Science. The Award winners' data set is considered as the benchmark for the evaluation of these indices for individual researchers. Results show that there is a low correlation of these indices with h-index, and in identifying exceptional performers of a field these indices perform better than h-index.
Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals the Role of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Elasticity in Hypertension

The vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) mechanical properties not only provide intrinsic cellular functions, but also influence many vascular and circulation functions in physiology. In this report, the VSMCs of thoracic aorta from 16 week age Wistar-Kyoto normotensive rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were used as research subjects to reveal hypertension mechanism at a single cell level using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The apparent elastic modulus was significantly increased in VSMCs from SHRs compared to those from WKYs. Treatment with cytochalasin D (CD), ML7, Y27632 and lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) modulated VSMC stiffness of WKYs and SHRs. A spectral analysis approach was applied to further investigate the time- dependent change in VSMC elasticity of WKYs and SHRs. This report demonstrated the efficacy of real-time analysis of VSMC elasticity by AFM nano-indentation, and revealed real-time functional differences in biomechanical characteristics of VSMCs with drug treatments.
Ethics and competition in Bourdieusian studies of education

This conceptual article critiques a popular account of education grounded in Bourdieu’s social theories. Specifically, the article shows how Bourdieu overplays competition and underplays ethics, or...
Establishment of a lethal murine coronavirus pneumonia model and investigation of the effects of prior checkpoint inhibitor therapy on outcomes

Rationale: Immune stimulation with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has emerged as a highly effective treatment for several cancer types. Research also suggests these agents may be therapeutic for viral infections. However, by interrupting inhibitory signaling pathways, ICIs can cause immune-related adverse events including pneumonitis. A critical question during the present SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been whether prior ICI treatment aggravates or improves virus-associated lung injury. Methods: To address this question, we first developed a lethal coronavirus acute lung injury model in A/J mice by infecting them intratracheally (IT) with mouse hepatitis virus-1 (MHV-1), a betacoronavirus that can be studied at Biosafety Level-2 (Study-1). We then investigated the effects of anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody (anti-PD-L1mAb;clone 10F.9G2, Bio X Cell) pretreatment on outcomes with MHV-1 lung challenge (Study-2). Results: In Study 1 testing 8 increasing doses of virus [5 to 2000 plaque forming units (PFU)/mouse], IT administration of 12.5 (n=8), 25 (n=8), or 50 (n=16) PFU/mouse produced lethality rates closest to 50% (Figure A). At 14d, surviving mice receiving any of these three doses had decreased circulating lymphocyte and increased lavage lymphocyte percentages and protein concentrations compared to diluent-challenged control animals (p≤0.04 averaged across the three MHV doses). Experiments in noninfected animals showed that compared to isotype-mAb (control) treatment, 4 doses of anti-PD-L1mAb (300μg/mouse) administered intraperitoneally every 3d significantly reduced lung immune cell PD-L1 expression (normalized mean fluorescence intensity, p=0.04;Figure B) and produced anti-PD-L1mAb levels at 14d consistent with those measured in ICI-treated cancer patients ( 283.2 ± 112.4 ug/mL). Therefore, in Study 2, mice were treated with either isotype-mAb or anti-PD-L1mAb (300ug/mouse, every 3 days) starting 12d before and continuing until 3d after IT challenge with 25 or 50PFU/mouse of MHV-1 (Experiments 1 and 2 respectively). Compared to control animals [12 survivors of 12 total animals in Experiment 1 (100%), and 4 of 12 in Experiment-2 (33%)], survival was decreased with PD-L1-mAb in both experiments [11 of 12, (91%) and 2 of 12 (17%), respectively] but these survival differences were not significant (p>0.05) (Figure C). Conclusions: Intratracheal MHV-1 challenge in A/J mice produced lethality and late changes in circulating lymphocytes and lung lavage lymphocytes and protein that appear consistent with changes observed clinically with SARS-CoV2 infection. Prior treatment with anti-PD-L1mAb in this model did not improve and potentially aggravated the lethal effects of MHV-1, but requires further study.
Screening performance of the chest X-ray in adult blunt trauma evaluation: Is it effective and what does it miss?

Abstract Background Although chest x-ray (CXR) is often used as a screening tool for thoracic injury in adult blunt trauma assessment, its screening performance is unclear. Using chest CT as the referent standard, we sought to determine the screening performance of CXR for injury. Methods We analyzed data from the NEXUS Chest CT study, in which we prospectively enrolled blunt trauma patients older than 14 years who received chest imaging as part of their evaluation at nine level I trauma centers. For this analysis, we included patients who had both CXR and chest CT. We used CT as the referent standard and categorized injuries as clinically major or minor according to an a priori expert panel classification. Results Of 11,477 patients enrolled, 4501 had both CXR and chest CT; 1496 (33.2%) were found to have injury, of which 256 (17%) were classified as major injury. CXR missed injuries in 818 patients (54.7%), of which 63 (7.7%) were classified as major injuries. For injuries of major clinical significance, CXR had a sensitivity of 75.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 69.6–80.4%), specificity of 86.2% (95% CI 85.1–87.2%), negative predictive value of 98.3 (95%CI 97.9–98.6%), and positive predictive value of 24.7 (95%CI 22.9–26.7%). For any injury CXR had a sensitivity of 45.3% (95% CI 42.8–47.9%), specificity of 96.6% (95% CI 95.9–97.2%), negative predictive value of 78% (95% CI 77.2–78.8%), and positive predictive value of 86.9% (95% CI 84.5–89.0%). The most common missed major injuries were pneumothorax (30/185; 16.2%), spinal fractures (19/39; 48.7%), and hemothorax (8/70; 11.4%). The most common missed minor injuries were rib fractures (381/836; 45.6%), pulmonary contusion (203/462; 43.9%), and sternal fractures (153/229; 66.8%). Conclusions When used alone, without other trauma screening criteria, CXR has poor screening performance for blunt thoracic injury.
Notes from Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) telemetry: Synchronous tail replacement in prebasic molt and single-male nest provisioning

We tracked 47 Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) using radio telemetry over 2 breeding seasons in Virginia, USA. Here we present 2 noteworthy observations from this effort. First, we recorded one adult male with synchronous tail replacement in postbreeding molt during tracking from the early breeding season until the fall migration. Synchronous tail molt is seldom documented in Passeriformes and may have consequences for behavior and habitat use during this period of reduced mobility. Second, we recorded a widower male providing parental care by feeding young for nearly the entire nestling period. These observations highlight both the vulnerability of the Wood Thrush immediately following the breeding season and its potential reproductive resilience in the case of mate loss.
Genetic variants of SDCCAG8 and MAGI2 in mitosis-related pathway genes are independent predictors of cutaneous melanoma-specific survival.

Mitosis is a prognostic factor for cutaneous melanoma (CM), but accurate mitosis detection in CM tissues is difficult. Therefore, the 8th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system has removed the mitotic rate as a category criterion of the tumor T-category, based on the evidence that the mitotic rate was not an independent prognostic factor for melanoma survival. As single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been shown to be potential predictors for cutaneous melanoma-specific survival (CMSS), we investigated the potential prognostic value of SNPs in mitosis-related pathway genes in CMSS by analyzing their associations with outcomes of 850 CM patients from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in a discovery dataset and validated the findings in another dataset of 409 CM patients from the Harvard University Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. In both datasets, we identified two SNPs (SDCCAG8 rs10803138 G>A and MAGI2 rs3807694 C>T) as independent prognostic factors for CMSS, with adjusted allelic hazards ratios of 1.49 (95% confidence interval = 1.17-1.90, P = .001) and 1.45 (1.13-1.86, P = .003), respectively. Furthermore, their combined unfavorable alleles also predicted a poor survival in both discovery and validation datasets in a dose-response manner (Ptrend = .0006 and .0001, respectively). Additional functional analysis revealed that both SDCCAG8 rs10803138 A and MAGI2 rs3807694 T alleles were associated with elevated mRNA expression levels in normal tissues. Therefore, these findings suggest that SDCCAG8 rs10803138 G>A and MAGI2 rs3807694 C>T are independent prognostic biomarkers for CMSS, possibly by regulating the mRNA expression of the corresponding genes involved in mitosis.
MEF2D-NR4A1-FAM134B2-mediated reticulophagy contributes to amino acid homeostasis.

We recently identified FAM134B2, which is an N-terminal truncated reticulophagy receptor highly induced by starvation such as fasting of mice and treatment of mammalian cells with a starvation medium that does not contain amino acids, glucose and growth factors. However, which starvation signal mediates the induction of FAM134B2 is still obscure. In this study, we found that amino acid deficiency (AAD) could mimic the starvation condition to induce FAM134B2 expression. Unexpectedly, EIF2AK4/GCN2-mediated integrated signal response (ISR) and MTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase) signals, which constitute two major signaling pathways that respond to AAD, did not contribute to AAD-induced FAM134B2 induction. mRNA-seq and siRNA screenings identified two ISR-independent transcription factors, MEF2D (myocyte enhancer factor 2D) and NR4A1 (nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1), involved in AAD-induced FAM134B2 expression. AAD induces MEF2D, resulting in the induction of NR4A1, which in turn induces FAM134B2-mediated reticulophagy to maintain intracellular amino acid levels. In conclusion, the MEF2D-NR4A1-FAM134B2 cascade is a critical signal in amino acid homeostasis.
Benchmarking for observability: The case of diagnosing storage failures

Abstract Diagnosing storage system failures is challenging even for professionals. One recent example is the “When Solid State Drives Are Not That Solid” incident occurred at Algolia data center, where Samsung SSDs were mistakenly blamed for failures caused by a Linux kernel bug. With the system complexity keeps increasing, diagnosing failures will likely become more difficult. To better understand real-world failures and the potential limitations of state-of-the-art tools, we first conduct an empirical study on 277 user-reported storage failures in this paper. We characterize the issues along multiple dimensions (e.g., time to resolve, kernel components involved), which provides a quantitative measurement of the challenge in practice. Moreover, we analyze a set of the storage issues in depth and derive a benchmark suite called B u g B e n c h k . The benchmark suite includes the necessary workloads and software environments to reproduce 9 storage failures, covers 4 different file systems and the block I/O layer of the storage stack, and enables realistic evaluation of diverse kernel-level tools for debugging. To demonstrate the usage, we apply B u g B e n c h k to study two representative tools for debugging. We focus on measuring the observations that the tools enable developers to make (i.e., observability), and derive concrete metrics to measure the observability qualitatively and quantitatively. Our measurement demonstrates the different design tradeoffs in terms of debugging information and overhead. More importantly, we observe that both tools may behave abnormally when applied to diagnose a few tricky cases. Also, we find that neither tool can provide low-level information on how the persistent storage states are changed, which is essential for understanding storage failures. To address the limitation, we develop lightweight extensions to enable such functionality in both tools. We hope that B u g B e n c h k and the enabled measurements will inspire follow-up research in benchmarking and tool support and help address the challenge of failure diagnosis in general.
Ermittlung der Standardkosten und Analyse der Abweichungen

Standardkosten sind die pro Erzeugniseinheit geplanten Kosten; insbesondere die pro Erzeugniseinheit geplanten Herstellkosten (Rohstoff oder Einzelmaterial, Fertigungslohne und Fertigungsgemeinkosten). Da die Herstellkosten eines Produkts durch Summieren der fur die verschiedenen Arbeitsgange erforderlichen Kosten gebildet sind, stellen auch die pro Arbeitsgang geplanten Kosten Standardkosten dar. Ein Kilogramm Farbe zum Beispiel durchlauft in seiner Herstellung die Arbeitsgange Mischen (der Rohstoffe), Reiben, Verdunnen und Schattieren, Abfullen, Etikettieren und schlieslich Verpacken. Seine Herstellkosten sind die Summe der Herstellkosten fur diese einzelnen Arbeitvorgange. Standards sind z. B. 7 Stunden Standardzeit fur Mischen oder 11 Stunden Standardzeit fur Reiben, bezogen auf 1000 kg Farbe. Die Bewertung dieser Zeiten mit Standardpreisen oder Standardkostensatzen bildet die Summe dieser Standardkosten pro Arbeitsgang und, wenn errechnet uber alle Arbeitsgange, die das Produkt laut Produktionsplan zurucklegen mus, die Standardherstellkosten pro Stuck bzw. pro Erzeugniseinheit wie etwa hier pro 1000 kg Farbe.
Assessing health risks in the presence of variable exposure and uncertain biological effects.

The impact of water quality on human health is a longstanding concern. In the developing world pathogenic agents remain the principal issue, but in developed countries chemical contamination and the threat of chronic or delayed toxic response is the focus of public concern and regulatory activity. The nature of environmental exposures to chemicals and the population variability in response make it very difficult to determine population risks from traditional epidemiological studies. This has given rise to quantitative risk assessment, an activity which attempts to predict risk from secondary evidence concerning environmental transformation and transport, exposure mechanisms, and biological response probabilities. This process contains inherently uncertain and ambiguous elements which lead to conflict between scientists who become involved in legal or regulatory proceedings. The public, responding to the scientists’ and regulators’ inability to assure safety, has tended to lose confidence in governmental regulation of environmental health threats. New methods of measuring human exposure and preclinical response to chemicals may provide a renewed impetus to base risk assessments on epidemiological data rather than the unverifiable assumptions inherent in quantitative risk assessment as presently practiced. However, the political and legal aspects of risk acceptability are likely to continue to outweigh the technical dimensions of the problem.
“Like Straw”: Religion and Psychoanalysis

In describing the end of psychoanalysis as the arrival of the analysand at the point of “subjective destitution”, Lacan cites as an analogy the experience of Thomas Aquinas at the end of his life when he suddenly stopped writing, explaining to his secretary that he could no longer continue because everything that he had written up to then seemed to be “like straw”. In this essay, the writer attempts to discern the meaning of Thomas’s remark and evaluate the import of Lacan’s analogy. For Thomas, the remark suggests nothing of what Lacan calls the “destitution of the subject” but rather a “destitution” that follows upon the failure of the metaphysical structures of his rational synthesis to account in any adequate way for his own concrete (perhaps mystical) experience of the sacred. What appeared “like straw”, then, was the scaffolding that another language would call (properly or not) “onto-theo-logy”, which in turn is structured, psychoanalytically speaking, by the Lacanian categories of the symbolic and imaginary. Accordingly, what characterized Thomas’s experience would be the disillusionment with this symbolic/imaginary synthesis by reason of his encounter with what he called God in the real. Thus, religious “meaning” (e.g., the interpretation of human suffering in terms of union with the suffering Christ) need not be considered, as Lacan suggests, a repression of the real (of “what does not work”) but rather a way of confronting it.