cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancing Informed Consent for Physician Aid in Dying: Potential Role of Handout on Possible Benefits of Palliative Care.

In the United States, physician aid in dying (PAD) is now legal in several states. However, neither a requirement for a palliative care (PC) consultation nor a defined education in PC exists for physicians participating in PAD or patients requesting assistance. Patients with advanced chronic and serious illness often experience complex physical, psychosocial, and spiritual distress. PC focuses on relieving this distress and improving patient quality of life through early identification and intervention in all domains of suffering, including physical, psychological, social, and spiritual. Ideally, we would recommend a PC consult, but unfortunately, PC is not readily available or offered at this time to all those who might benefit from it. We present a case for providing an educational handout to patients who inquire about PAD. This handout explains the potential benefits of PC as an additional procedural safeguard to existing regulations. Such information would help to ensure the integrity of the informed ...
Dynamic Scheduling for Veterans Health Administration Patients using Geospatial Dynamic Overbooking.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is plagued by abnormally high no-show and cancellation rates that reduce the productivity and efficiency of its medical outpatient clinics. We address this issue by developing a dynamic scheduling system that utilizes mobile computing via geo-location data to estimate the likelihood of a patient arriving on time for a scheduled appointment. These likelihoods are used to update the clinic’s schedule in real time. When a patient’s arrival probability falls below a given threshold, the patient’s appointment is canceled. This appointment is immediately reassigned to another patient drawn from a pool of patients who are actively seeking an appointment. The replacement patients are prioritized using their arrival probability. Real-world data were not available for this study, so synthetic patient data were generated to test the feasibility of the design. The method for predicting the arrival probability was verified on a real set of taxicab data. This study demonstrates that dynamic scheduling using geo-location data can reduce the number of unused appointments with minimal risk of double booking resulting from incorrect predictions. We acknowledge that there could be privacy concerns with regards to government possession of one’s location and offer strategies for alleviating these concerns in our conclusion.
High-Strain Rate Compressive Behavior of a “Natural Soil” Under Uniaxial Strain State

Dynamic compressive behavior of a synthetic “natural soil” was investigated on an 85-ft split Hopkinson pressure bar. The “natural soil” was prepared by mixing a sorted dry clay and assorted dry Mason sand. The as-received moist clay (obtained from Boulder, Colorado) was first pulverized into powders, which were subsequently dried in oven at 105 °C for 2 days. The as-received Colorado Mason sand was dried under the same conditions. Then the clay was sieved to powers with dimensions smaller than #50 (0.3 mm) using ASTM E-11 standard sieves. The “natural soil” was obtained by mixing at different ratios of clay and sand at 5:100, 10:100, 20:100, 100:100 weight ratios. The mixed soil was capped inside a hardened steel tube, by two tungsten carbide rods at both ends in contact with the bars. This assembly was subjected to repetitive shaking to consolidate the soil to attain a desired bulk mass density; it was then placed between the incident steel bar and the transmission bar for dynamic compression. Through measurements of both axial and transverse responses of the cylindrical soil sample under confinement, both volumetric and deviatoric responses were determined. Both dry and water-saturated soil samples were characterized at high strain rates. The effects of different mixed ratio of clay/sand, and the water-saturation on the compressive behavior were investigated. The compressibility as a function of axial stress was determined. These results are compared with pure clay and sand samples.
Don't Tell Me What to Think: Comparing Self- and Other-Generated Distraction Methods for Controlling Intrusive Thinking.

Cognitive control is central to the phenomenon of intrusive thinking in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. The current study tested how attempts at cognitive control are impacted by self- vs. other-generated distractor thoughts. Participants (N=1913) were randomly assigned to suppress or monitor an intrusive thought and also randomly assigned to: a) self-generate a distractor, b) receive a distractor, or c) receive no distractor guidance. Participants reported subsequent thought recurrences, perceived success and effort keeping the thought out of mind, and positive and negative affect during a one-minute thinking period and a one-minute monitoring period. During the first thinking period only, self-generated distractors resulted in greater perceived control (p .10). These findings suggest that the source of distractors may inform when attempts to control intrusive thinking will be helpful versus harmful.
Tension cable distribution of a membrane antenna frame based on stiffness analysis of the equivalent 4-SPS-S parallel mechanism

Abstract Stiffness has significant influence on the surface accuracy of reflector of membrane antennas. This paper proposes a method to analyze the stiffness of a membrane antenna frame supported by compliant booms and tensioned with cables. An equivalent 4-SPS-S parallel mechanism of the membrane antenna frame is established. Velocity Jacobian matrix is obtained through kinematic analysis. Stiffness of the actuating SPS branches and the constrained central strut is constructed. Based on the force-equilibrium equation and the principle of virtual work, total stiffness matrix of the mechanism, which has been decomposed into the SPS branches stiffness matrix and the central strut stiffness matrix, is derived. Influences of cable distribution and platform pose on stiffness are identified by using the stiffness index – the reflector surface accuracy and the minimal eigenvalue. Accuracy of the proposed approach is evaluated. On account of stiffness, numerical simulations have been performed for acquiring the optimal distribution of tension cables and pose of the platform in the design of antennas.
CRT-100.82 Impact of Increasing Body Mass Index on Physician Radiation Exposure During Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Considering that obese patients emit greater amounts of scatter radiation during fluoroscopic procedures, it is possible that the growing obesity epidemic could adversely affect the occupational health of physicians performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study was performed to
The effect of edge compliance on the adhesive contact between a spherical indenter and a quarter-space.

Abstract In this work, the effect of the edge compliance on the adhesive, frictionless contacts near the edge of a quarter-space is analyzed in terms of stress, deformation, and contact stiffness. The study relies on the numerical implementation of the conjugate gradient method (CGM) to adhesive contacts near the edge of a quarter-space. It extends the previous CGM developed for contact analysis of non-adhesive and adhesive contacts on half-space to the matrix formulation of the quarter-space problem. The considered adhesive contact interaction is in terms of the Maugis–Dugdale model to provide insight into the transitional behavior from non-adhesive to various type of contact adhesive regimes. It is found that the edge compliance affects the contact mechanics of adhesive contacts as a function of position, applied force, and adhesive parameter. The analysis provides calculations for quantities like depth indentation and contact stiffness that can be found directly in indentation-type experiments performed on samples with edge geometries. Such understanding and characterization of edge contacts can be used to unambiguously account for the mechanical response of nanoscale structures near their edges and detect possible mechanical variability introduced by fabrication and processing.
Challenges and Innovations in Food Waste-to-Energy Management and Logistics

Abstract Food waste-to-energy challenges require technological solutions, in addition to design and operations solutions addressing food waste management and logistics. This chapter provides an overview of the integrated processes governing logistics systems required for food waste management, from source generation to waste-to-energy facilities. We consider the unique aspects of food waste management and logistics in comparison to other analogous waste systems. We begin by summarizing management requirements for this complex system, discussing challenges in operations, and finish with innovative directions in system design. The growing interest in the sustainability of food waste management for commercial, residential, and, to a lesser extent, industrial food waste policymaking contexts motivates this chapter's emphasis on the collection, transportation, and coordination requirements for food waste management and logistics.
Quantification of seven novel synthetic opioids in blood using LC–MS/MS

The objective of this study was to develop, optimize, and validate a method for the simultaneous quantification of U-47700, AH-7921, U-49900, U-50488, MT-45, W-18, and W-15 in whole blood using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). Blood samples (500 µL) were fortified with mixed calibrator or quality control (25 µL) and internal standard (10 µL) solutions. Analytes were isolated via a solid-phase extraction procedure. Analysis was performed using an Agilent 1290 Infinity II liquid chromatograph coupled to an Agilent 6470 triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The method was validated in accordance with Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) standard practices for method validation in forensic toxicology and applied to the analysis of postmortem blood specimens. Lower limits of quantification were 0.25–1 ng/mL and the upper limits of quantification were 100 ng/mL. The coefficients of determination (R2) for the calibration curves were > 0.99. Analytical bias, within-run imprecision, and between-run imprecision were within ± 15%, ≤ 16%, and ≤ 17%, respectively. All analytes were found to be stable at room temperature for 24 h, refrigerated (4 °C) for 72 h, and in the autosampler (4 °C) for 72 h. Authentic blood samples (n = 30) were analyzed using the validated method. Mean (range) U-47700 concentrations were 214 (3.2–1448) ng/mL in 15 cases. A quantification method for seven synthetic opioids (U-47700, AH-7921, U-49900, U-50488, MT-45, W-18, and W-15) in whole blood was developed, optimized, and validated in accordance with SWGTOX standard practices for method validation in forensic toxicology. This sensitive method was successfully applied to postmortem casework.
Measuring Step Gauges Using the NIST M48 CMM

The Moore M48 coordinate measuring machine (CMM) has provided the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) with flexible measurement capabilities for many years. The machine's state of...
Verifiable Outsourced Computation with Full Delegation

With the development of cloud computing, verifiable computation (VC) has attracted considerable attentions due to its importance. However, the existing VC schemes suffer from two substantial shortcomings that limit their usefulness: (i) they have to invest expensive computational tasks in the preprocessing stage, which has exceeded the available computation capacity of the client, and (ii) they do not support frequent updates, so that each update needs to perform the computation from scratch. To resolve these problems, we propose a novel primitive called verifiable outsourced computation with full delegation (FD-VC), which greatly reduces the computation cost of the client by delegating the preprocessing to the cloud. During this phase, the cloud cannot obtain any knowledge of the verification key. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first VC scheme not only supporting full delegation but also supporting dynamic update. The highlight of our scheme is that verification and update cost are constant and independent of the degree of the polynomial. Our scheme is provably correct and secure based on bilinear pairing and the hardness assumption of Bilinear Diffie-Hellman Exponent problem, and our analyses show that our scheme is very practical and suitable for the real world applications.
Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS)

A 23-year-old male with a history of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) comes for an initial visit for obesity management. His parents, who accompany him, report that the patient is now at his highest weight, after a failed attempt to live in a group home where his food intake was not being closely monitored. Three years ago, while living at home, he achieved his lowest adult weight, at 95 kg, through a rigorous regime including a low-calorie diet and physical activity, closely monitored by his parents. However, as the patient became increasingly aggressive and oppositional due to his uncontrollable hyperphagia and behavioral issues, his parents decided he should live in a group home. After 6 months in the group home, the patient reached his highest adult weight, at 130 kg, and developed prediabetes, with a hemoglobin A1c of 5.9%. His height is 5′7″ and his BMI is 45. He also has mild hypertension and sleep apnea. The patient now is back at home, living with his parents, and with the help of an aide, they have been able to restrict his access to food. The patient is described as having an uncontrollable appetite, and if his parents and caretaker forget to lock the refrigerator and kitchen cabinets, the patient will eat all edibles in sight. He has been calmer on the current medications but still grows frustrated with being hungry “all the time.” The patient also displays significant skin picking. In terms of his past medical history, he had hypotonia, feeding difficulties, and failure to thrive during infancy. He walked at 12 months and had normal verbal development. He rapidly gained weight after age 4 and was already obese by age 8. As a teenager, he started to display aggressive behaviors, growing defiant and at times physically threatening when told he could not eat. He developed more severe obesity after being started on antipsychotics and mood stabilizers for behavioral problems. Testing at age 17 revealed an IQ of 70. Surgical history includes orchidopexy at 18 months of age. His current medications include metformin, aripiprazole, fluoxetine, propranolol, and testosterone gel. His parents heard of other patients with PWS being treated with a GLP-1 agonist and would like to consider that option for their son. The patient is an only child.
Diversity of intervention effects: Unifying three Mandarin Chinese dou constructions

I propose a novel and principled way to combine Hamblin/Kratzer- Shimoyama style question semantics and Rooth’s focus semantics and show that it provides a unified semantic account of the seemingly idiosyncratic ordering re- strictions in three Mandarin constructions with the preverbal focus-sensitive particle dou, in terms of various intervention effects.
Police officers killed on duty: Comparing the influence of social investment on line of duty deaths of men and women officers in the United States:

In a unique exploration of line of duty police deaths, Kachurik and colleagues found that police officers in the USA with greater social investment (i.e., officers who were married and had children...
Verification Logics for Quantum Programs

We survey the landscape of Hoare logics for quantum programs. We review three papers: "Reasoning about imperative quantum programs" by Chadha, Mateus and Sernadas; "A logic for formal verification of quantum programs" by Yoshihiko Kakutani; and "Floyd-hoare logic for quantum programs" by Mingsheng Ying. We compare the mathematical foundations of the logics, their underlying languages, and the expressivity of their assertions. We also use the languages to verify the Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm, and discuss their relative usability in practice.
Downstaging Locally Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma Pre-Liver Transplantation: A Prospective Pilot Study.

Abstract Background Orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) after neoadjuvant therapy (NT) in well-selected patients with unresectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) achieves excellent recurrence-free survival. Current criteria for NT-OLT exclude patients with locally advanced hilar and intrahepatic CCA from potential cure. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of NT in downstaging locally advanced CCA, and examine outcomes after OLT. Methods Among 24 patients referred for unresectable hilar and intrahepatic CCA from January 2013 through August 2017, 18 met center-specific inclusion criteria for the NT-OLT treatment protocol: hilar tumor size ≤3.5 cm or intrahepatic ≤8 cm, and regional lymphadenopathy but without distant metastasis. Median follow-up was 22.1 mo from diagnosis. Results Of 18 patients who initiated NT, 11 were removed from the protocol due to tumor progression (n = 6) or uncontrolled infection and failure-to-thrive (n = 5). Median NT duration tended to be shorter for patients progressing to dropout than for those surviving to OLT (5.5 versus 13.5 mo, P = 0.109). Among five patients who received OLT, 1-y post-OLT patient survival was 80%: three survive recurrence-free (14.5-29.2 mo post-OLT); one developed an isolated tumor recurrence in a single portacaval lymph node at 12 mo post-OLT; and one experienced non-tumor-related death. All dropout patients died at a median of 14.4 mo after diagnosis. Conclusions This is the first prospective study to show successful NT downstaging of unresectable locally advanced hilar and intrahepatic CCA before OLT. NT-OLT for select patients with locally advanced hilar and intrahepatic CCA achieved acceptable short-term recurrence-free survival.
Recreational sector is the dominant source of fishing mortality for oceanic fishes in the Southeast United States Atlantic Ocean

Recreational fishing is increasingly recognised as an important source of mortality for marine fish populations. In the United States, estimates of marine recreational catch and effort were recently revised for the time period 1981 and beyond, and for many species, the revised estimates were substantially higher than the original values. Here, the proportion of total landings that came from the recreational sector in the Southeast US Atlantic was quantified. The proportions for 22 oceanic species and for all species combined were computed, using a full time series of landings (1981–2016) and a more recent time series (1999–2016). For the full and recent time series, landings of most species (15/22 and 17/22, respectively) were dominated by the recreational sector. For all species combined, 71% of landings in the full time series were from the recreational sector, and 76% in the recent time series. Trend analysis indicated that most species had a stable or increasing proportion of landings from the recreational sector. In addition, stock assessments were conducted on four species, and the catch revisions increased the estimated scale of abundance and, in some cases, affected stock or fishery status. This work underscores the importance of recreational fishing for marine resource management.
Active Faults of the World

Providing the first worldwide survey of active earthquake faults, this book focuses on those described as 'seismic time bombs' – with the potential to destroy large cities in the developing world such as Port au Prince, Kabul, Tehran and Caracas. Leading international earthquake expert, Robert Yeats, explores both the regional and plate-tectonic context of active faults, providing the background for seismic hazard evaluation in planning large-scale projects such as nuclear power plants or hydroelectric dams. He also highlights work done in more advanced seismogenic countries like Japan, the United States, New Zealand and China, providing an important basis for upgrading building standards and other laws in developing nations. The book also explores the impact of major quakes on social development through history. It will form an accessible reference for analysts and consulting firms, and a convenient overview for academics and students of geoscience, geotechnical engineering and civil engineering, and land-use planning.
Is Implied Taylor Rule Interest Rate Applicable as a Carry Trade Strategy

This paper evaluates the performance of carry trade strategies with implied Taylor rule interest rate differentials and compares the performance statistics of them over the naive carry trade strategy with actual interest rates. Carry trade, a currency speculation strategy, between high-interest rate and low-interest rate currencies generates high payoff on average and has a possibility of crash risk. I argue that the crash risk is reduced with implied Taylor rule interest rate differentials as a trading strategy in Yen and Franc trades for the whole sample period. During the recent financial crisis, the carry trading strategies with Taylor rule perform best in terms of mean returns, risk adjusted returns and downside risk.
Implementing Follow-Along Physical Activity Videos with People Living With Chronic Conditions: A Feasibility Study.

Background Compelling evidence supports multiple benefits of physical activity (PA) even in small bursts. Less than 50% of Americans achieve recommended PA levels, lower still for individuals living with chronic illness or disease. Purpose The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the feasibility and preliminary effects of 3-min follow-along video scenarios to promote brief episodes of low-moderate levels of PA among individuals with chronic diseases. Methods Guided by our previous studies and self-efficacy theory, the program (WellMe in 3© for Patients) was modeled after another program developed for healthcare staff. An advisory panel and a health and fitness expert guided the creation of twelve 3-min video scenarios that included two individuals living with chronic illness and a fitness leader who guided the PA scenarios and how to adapt them based on limitations. The 12 scenarios included 3 min of aerobic activities, stretching, or balance. Preliminary pilot effects were measured among 39 patients living with chronic conditions for one month. Standardized instruments were used to measure PA levels, PA self-efficacy (SE), and quality of life (QoL); usability and satisfaction were assessed using researcher-developed tools. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to evaluate change over time. Results Twelve video scenarios were created tailored to persons with chronic illness. Thirty-nine participants piloted the program, reporting an average of two chronic conditions. Baseline QoL scores were lower than normative data, self-efficacy scores were low-to-moderate, and PA levels were very low. Participants averaged using one video per day. 62% of participants provided complete self-reported pre- and post-QoL and SE data and 41% provided pre- and post-PA (accelerometer) data. Significant improvements were found for general health and energy scores, and trends were found for self-efficacy scores. PA levels were highly variable with nonsignificant increases from baseline. Effect sizes were low-moderate for several measures. About 79% of participants rated program "Very good"; all recommended the program. Linking evidence to action Physical activity has multiple health benefits for all people including those living with chronic conditions. Even short bouts of physical activity have health benefits. A program of 3-min follow-along PA videoclips for individuals living with chronic disease holds promise for clinicians and researchers.
Pesticide Contamination and Archaeological Collections: Contextual Information for Preparing a Pesticide History

The issue of pesticide-contaminated archaeological collections has generated concern among staff in collecting institutions. Pesticides have long been used, but the awareness of their unseen persistence and their potential as a human health hazard is a new aspect of preventive conservation. Background information and guidelines for developing a pesticide history are provided for repositories, museums, cultural resource management companies in the private and public sectors, academia, and other public collections.
Neural Network for Optical Pathlength Demodulation in Wavelength Shifting Interferometry

Current demodulation algorithms in wavelength shifting interferometry fail to reach the theoretical sensitivity limit set by the Cramer-Rao bound. Simulations show that neural networks improve upon existing techniques and approach this limit.
Outcomes After Left Ventricular Outflow Tract Reconstruction With a Tube Graft for Annular Erosion.

Background Aortic annular erosion is a serious complication of aortic valve endocarditis or previous aortic valve replacement. This study examined the outcomes of a technique for left ventricular outflow tract reconstruction using a polyester tube graft, followed by translocation of the aortic valve and coronary arteries. Methods A total of 23 patients with extensive annular erosion resulting from endocarditis or previous aortic valve replacement with or without pseudoaneurysm formation, or occurring after excision of the native valve, underwent suture of a polyester tube graft in the left ventricular outflow tract below the annulus, replacement of the aortic valve and proximal ascending aorta with a composite graft, and reimplantation of the coronary arteries with the use of interposition polyester grafts. The mean age of the patients was 50 years, and 57% were men. Results There were no hospital deaths. The mean duration of follow-up was 6.5 years and extended to 16 years. Actuarial survival at 1, 5, and 10 years was 86.7%, 82.2%, and 62.6%, respectively. Two patients required reoperation for a graft-graft pseudoaneurysm and for degeneration of a porcine bioprosthesis. Echocardiograms obtained at a mean of 75 months postoperatively in 15 of the 23 patients demonstrated normal left ventricular outflow tract dimensions and velocities and a mean effective valve orifice area of 1.07 cm2/m2. All coronary artery grafts were patent on angiography a mean of 40 months postoperatively in 13 patients. Conclusions Extended experience with this technique confirms its safety and effectiveness for patients with extensive destruction of the aortic annulus. It represents a suitable alternative to other currently used techniques.
Direct Molecular Simulation of Nitrogen Dissociation Under Adiabatic Postshock Conditions

Direct molecular simulations (DMS) of nitrogen dissociation in adiabatic reservoirs covering a wide enthalpy range are presented. These conditions more realistically reproduce the gas state in a hy...
Dynamic Modeling of In-Event Interdependencies in Community Resilience

AbstractA simulation-based model designed to conduct in-event simulation for the assessment and quantification of seismic resilience of communities is presented. The proposed simulation approach em...
The effects of genetic background on exercise performance in Drosophila

The use of the Drosophila model for studying the broad beneficial effects of exercise training has grown over the past decade. As work using Drosophila as an exercise model becomes more widespread, the influence of genetic background on performance should be examined in order to better understand its influence on assessments used to quantitatively measure and compare exercise phenotypes. In this article, we review the various methods of exercise training Drosophila, and the performance of different wild-type Drosophila strains on various physiological assessments of exercise response. We conclude by summarizing the performance trends of commonly used strains.
Body condition of phocid seals during a period of rapid environmental change in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Abstract A warming climate has driven rapid physical changes in the Arctic environment, particularly in the Bering Sea. Biological changes are also increasingly evident in the Bering Sea and adjacent waters. The ecological results have been profound and relatively well documented for fishes and lower trophic levels. Upper trophic predators such as marine mammals, however, have been underrepresented in ecosystem surveys, models, and efforts to practice ecosystem-based fisheries management. We used multiple linear regression to model body condition (mass/length) as a function of species, age class, sex and year for ribbon and spotted seals in the Bering Sea, and harbor seals in the Aleutian Islands, from 2007 to 2018, for evidence of recent trends that might reflect trophic or bottom-up changes in the ecosystem. Model-averaged coefficients (in kg cm−1, relative to the overall mean) indicated that body condition was lower for subadults (−0.063; 95% CI: −0.074 – −0.051) and pups (−0.120; 95% CI: −0.129 – −0.112) than for adults (0.183, the negative sum of the subadults and pups coefficients). Body condition for males (0.010; 95% CI: 0.002–0.019) was higher than for females (−0.010). Overall, body condition declined annually (−0.014 per year; 95% CI: −0.025 – −0.004), and there was an additive annual decline in body condition of seal pups across all species and sexes (−0.020; 95% CI: −0.030 – −0.011). An additive annual increase in body condition of spotted seals across all sexes and age classes (0.013; 95% CI: 0.004–0.022) mitigated the annual declines for this species. Model-averaged fitted values therefore indicated annual declines in body condition for ribbon and harbor seals of all sex and age classes, and for spotted seal pups. We relate these declines to the trend in Bering Sea ice extent and to recent, rapid changes brought on by the significant Northeast Pacific marine heat wave of 2014–2016 and its lingering effects through 2018 and 2019. The results indicate that these typically resilient, long-lived, generalist predators can be impacted by bottom-up forcing.
Race and The Cycles of Constitutional Time

My 2020 book, The Cycles of Constitutional Time, argues that we can understand American constitutional development in terms of three different kinds of cycles. The first is the rise and fall of political regimes featuring dominant political parties. The second is a very long cycle of polarization and depolarization that stretches from the Civil War through the present. The third cycle is a series of episodes of constitutional rot and constitutional renewal. This essay shows how each of these cycles has deep connections to successive political struggles over race and racial equality in the United States. Each regime’s winning coalition is shaped by the politics of slavery (in the antebellum period) or race (after the Thirteenth Amendment). In several cases, the dominant coalition eventually breaks down because of disputes about slavery or race. The cycle of polarization is also highly correlated with attempts by politicians to make race, and more generally, identity, the central questions that divide the two major political parties. Finally, polarization over race and identity-- along with increasing income inequality--has been an important factor in each period of constitutional rot in the country's history. I do not claim that race is either the sole or the dominant explanation for the cycles of constitutional time in the United States. Nevertheless, race is a powerful factor, and the politics of race are an important driver of the cycles of regimes, polarization, and rot described in the book. My purpose in this Article is to highlight the role that racial politics plays in the transformations described in The Cycles of Constitutional Time, and to show how questions of race are important at each stage of the story.
A Structured Grid Solver with Polyhedral+Dataflow Representation

Proto is a C++ embedded Domain Specific Library for stencil-based computations. Proto is augmented in this work with a polyhedral dataflow intermediate representation (IR). The IR exposes several promising transformations. Each IR instances produces a performance model, and source code in C++. Generated code is annotated with OpenMP or OpenACC pragmas for shared-memory or accelerator parallelism. Performance is measured on modern multicore CPU and GPU platforms.
Orc6 at replication fork enables efficient mismatch repair

In eukaryotes, the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC) is required for the initiation of DNA replication. The smallest subunit of ORC, Orc6, is essential for pre-replication complex (pre-RC) assembly and cell viability in yeast and for cytokinesis in metazoans. However, unlike other ORC components, the role of human Orc6 in replication remains to be resolved. Here, we identify an unexpected role for hOrc6, which is to promote S-phase progression post pre-RC assembly and DNA damage response. Orc6 localizes at the replication fork and is an accessory factor of the mismatch repair (MMR) complex. In response to oxidative damage during S-phase, often repaired by MMR, Orc6 facilitates MMR complex assembly and activity, without which the checkpoint signaling is abrogated. Mechanistically, Orc6 directly binds to MutS and enhances the chromatin-association of MutL, thus enabling efficient mismatch repair. Based on this, we conclude that hOrc6 plays a fundamental role in genome surveillance during S-phase. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=196 SRC="FIGDIR/small/443400v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (54K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@bfdaa8org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1ac791dorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@436d1corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b07689_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LIHuman Orc6 is dispensable for G1 licensing, but required for S-phase progression C_LIO_LIHuman Orc6 at the replication fork is an accessory factor for MMR complex C_LIO_LIDepletion of hOrc6 sensitizes cells to DNA damage and impairs ATR activation C_LIO_LIHuman Orc6 regulates MMR complex assembly and activity C_LI
A comparison of statistical relational learning and graph neural networks for aggregate graph queries

Statistical relational learning (SRL) and graph neural networks (GNNs) are two powerful approaches for learning and inference over graphs. Typically, they are evaluated in terms of simple metrics such as accuracy over individual node labels. Complex aggregate graph queries (AGQ) involving multiple nodes, edges, and labels are common in the graph mining community and are used to estimate important network properties such as social cohesion and influence. While graph mining algorithms support AGQs, they typically do not take into account uncertainty, or when they do, make simplifying assumptions and do not build full probabilistic models. In this paper, we examine the performance of SRL and GNNs on AGQs over graphs with partially observed node labels. We show that, not surprisingly, inferring the unobserved node labels as a first step and then evaluating the queries on the fully observed graph can lead to sub-optimal estimates, and that a better approach is to compute these queries as an expectation under the joint distribution. We propose a sampling framework to tractably compute the expected values of AGQs. Motivated by the analysis of subgroup cohesion in social networks, we propose a suite of AGQs that estimate the community structure in graphs. In our empirical evaluation, we show that by estimating these queries as an expectation, SRL-based approaches yield up to a 50-fold reduction in average error when compared to existing GNN-based approaches.
Hydrothermal pretreatment for valorization of genetically engineered bioenergy crop for lipid and cellulosic sugar recovery.

Abstract Lipids accumulated in the vegetative tissues of cellulosic feedstocks can be a potential raw material for biodiesel and bioethanol production. In this work, bagasse of genetically engineered sorghum was subjected to liquid hot-water pretreatment at 170, 180, and 190 °C for different reaction time. Under the optimal pretreatment condition (170 °C, 20 min), the residue was enriched in glucan (57.39 ± 2.63 % w/w) and xylan (13.38 ± 0.49 % w/w). The total lipid content of the pretreated residue was 6.81% w/w, similar to that observed in untreated bagasse (6.30% w/w). Pretreatment improved the enzymatic digestibility of bagasse, allowing a recovery of 79% w/w and 86% w/w of glucose and xylose, respectively. The pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification resulted in a 2-fold increase in total lipid in enzymatic residue compared to the original bagasse. Thus, pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis enabled high sugar recovery while concentrating triglycerides and free fatty acids in the residue.
Effect of progestin therapy on steroid receptor status and cellular proliferation in low-grade endometrial adenocarcinoma

Objectives: Low grade endometrioid endometrial cancer is a hormone sensitive disease however little is known about the role of steroid receptors in the development or treatment of disease. Our objective was to determine if steroid receptor status, or change in receptor status, predicts response to progesterone therapy in women with early stage, low grade endometrial cancer. Methods: A retrospective cohort of women was identified who underwent primary progesterone therapy for treatment of grade 1 endometrial adenocarcinoma. Steroid receptor (SR) status as well as Ki-67 expression was assessed with immunohistochemistry on pre- and post-treatment formalin fixed paraffin embedded biopsy specimens. Automated image analysis on digitized immunostained slides was performed. Estrogen Receptor (ER), Progesterone Receptor (PR), Androgen Receptor (AR) and Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) were scored with an H-score and Ki-67 was reported as percent positive. Clinical and pathologic variables, including response to progesterone therapy were collected. SR levels and clinical characteristics were compared using paired t- and Fischer exact tests. Results: Fourteen women were included in this analysis, the majority of whom (13/14) had a progestin IUD for treatment of their carcinoma and the majority (9/14) were non-surgical candidates due to medical co-morbidities. Eight women had resolution of adenocarcinoma and six women did not have a response to therapy. Median treatment duration was 4.8 months (range 3.3 – 9.3). Responders were more likely to be younger and pre-menopausal. Two patients had mismatch repair deficient tumors, neither responded to progestin therapy. Both ER and PR declined significantly after progestin treatment (median H-score pre vs post for ER 183 vs 104, p=0.013; PR 110 vs 40, p Conclusions: Both ER and PR levels declined during progestin treatment in primary low grade endometrial adenocarcinoma suggesting a negative feedback loop from PR to ER signaling at the level of protein expression. Neither pre-treatment SR levels, nor change in SR receptor status predicted a response to progestin therapy which suggests more complex context-specific interactions of SRs and their ligands. Pre-treatment cellular proliferation as a biomarker for response to hormonal therapy warrants further study.
The Association of Anxiety Severity With Health Risk Behaviors in a Large Representative Sample of Korean Adolescents.

Objectives Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorders in adolescents and seem to occur the earliest among all forms of psychopathology. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of anxiety severity with health risk behaviors and mental health in adolescents. Methods Data from the 2020 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey were analyzed. A total of 54948 adolescents responded to the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) for the assessment of their anxiety severity as well as to the mental health and health risk behavior survey. Logistic regression analysis, t tests, and variance analysis of a complex sample general linear model were used to examine the association of anxiety severity with health behaviors and mental health. Results After statistical adjustment for sociodemographic characteristics, the subjects in the severe anxiety group were significantly more likely to be current smokers (odds ratio [OR]: 2.08, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.72-2.50), current drinkers (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.67-2.19), experience habitual substance use (OR: 10.89, 95% CI: 8.22-14.42), have sexual intercourse (OR: 2.10, 95% CI: 1.76-2.51), and have unprotected intercourse (OR: 2.21, 95% CI: 1.67-2.92) than those in the normal group. Anxiety severity negatively correlated with sleep satisfaction and happiness, but positively correlated with stress perception, loneliness, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Conclusion Adolescent anxiety is associated with health risk behaviors and poor mental health. Thus, early screening and intervention for anxiety in adolescents could contribute to the management and coping of youth health risk behaviors in the community.
Malignant melanotic nerve sheath tumor in pleural effusion: Deceitful cytology with significant repercussions.

Malignant melanotic nerve sheath tumor (MMNST) is an exceedingly rare and aggressive neoplasm of Schwann cell origin that has seldom been described in the cytopathology literature. Herein we present a case of a 60-year-old female with a 3.8 cm presacral mass that was diagnosed as a MMNST. A molecular workup demonstrated TERT promoter -124C > T and TET2 Q891* gene mutations. Within 2 years of her initial diagnosis, she had developed widespread metastasis and pleural effusions. A cytologic workup of the pleural fluid revealed clusters of vacuolated epithelioid cells with enlarged nuclei, prominent nucleoli, and occasional multinucleation. The lesional cells were positive for SOX10, S100-protein, Melan-A, and HMB45, while negative for Calretinin, MOC31, and monoclonal CEA. In this clinicopathologic context, a diagnosis of metastatic MMNST was rendered. Awareness of this entity and its clinical presentation, along with a critical understanding of its molecular findings and that of imitators, is crucial in achieving an accurate diagnosis.
Tensions, Traumas, and Triumphs: Exploring Compassion-Centric Approaches to Teaching in Times of Crisis

In this chapter, three education professionals—two located in the United States and one located in Japan—discuss tensions that arise when enacting multiple roles during a crisis. Through a process of interviewing one another and co-constructing a narrative, the authors explore their pandemic-influenced experiences with specific attention to how they developed as compassion-centric educators throughout the spring and summer of 2020. Thematic interview analysis revealed that the authors viewed their competing roles as mutually informative. Additional themes revealed emergent tensions of student-centered learning as both a priority and concern, community building and resistance, and technology as both a connector and barrier. Although the pandemic has amplified tensions between dual and competing roles, the authors identified an intensified need for self-, student-, and colleague-centric compassion amid crisis.
Fractured intracardiac transvenous pacemaker catheter. An unusual cause of pacemaker failure.

Abstract Disruption of a permanent transvenous catheter within cardiac chambers is an unusual cause of pacemaker failure. The use of open cardiotomy for removal of the fractured catheter avoids the potential complications seen in the case reported, namely dislodgement of thrombi, and tricuspid valve damage secondary to fibrous tissue fixation of the fractured transvenous pacing catheter to the tricuspid valve. Disruption of a permanent transvenous electrode catheter can occur even if the stainless steel stylet, used for positioning, has been removed.
Adhesive enabling technology for directly plating metal on molding compound

This paper introduces a new wet chemical surface preparation process for plating on molding compound. The approach is based on an innovative combination of mechanical anchoring by selective etching and chemical adhesion. Plating on molding compound substrates is a relatively new field with many possible applications. One major application is magnetic or electrical magnetic shielding of active components (Conformai Self EMI/RFI Shielding). This is traditionally achieved by metallic cans. However, this technique increases height and foot print which reduces the flexibility of component layout — and is often unsuitable for handheld products. A second major application interest is the formation of build-up circuits on embedded components. This would simplify the process of forming 3D fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP). Established methods to provide a metallic seed layer for Conformai Self EMI/RFI Shielding is sputtering or conductive paste application. However, in order to make the process more cost effective and feasible for mass production, there is a need for classical electroless metallization along with an adhesion enhancement process as molding resins do not typically lend themselves to wet-chemical metallization. In this paper we will present a new approach, where components encased by molding compounds are directly coated with an electroless copper or nickel layer. By this method spatial requirements are minimized and also shielding effectiveness targets are met. Furthermore, this process fits into the existing PCB industry infrastructure. This technology can be also extended to 3D FOWLP for "direct circuit formation" on the molding compound surface. It would eliminate the typical insulation layer beneath the redistribution layer (RDL) and therefore has the merit of being comparatively cost effective. However, there are a few challenges in wet chemical processing of molding compound. Firstly, molding compound has a high filler content (80–90% wt.) with a wide size distribution ranging from a few nm to tens of μm. The roughness created by the large filler sizes is often incompatible with finer line applications. Secondly, molding compound, unlike build-up resins has not been optimized for adhesion to plated metal and even contain waxy release agents which counteract adhesion. For this reason, classical desmear followed by electroless seeding can get a maximum adhesion of up to 1.5–2.5N/cm on typical molding compound. This adhesion appears to be insufficient to prevent delamination in the subsequent process steps. However, with the new wet chemical approach presented in this paper, we are able to get up to 5N/cm of peel strength without any blistering. The plated layer stands up well to reflow shock (260°C) and HAST without significant loss of adhesion.
Focused concept formation

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the incremental concept formation systems COBWEB (Fisher, 1987) and CLASSIT (Gennari, Langley L. Fisher), and also CLASSIT-2. For COBWEB and CLASSIT, recognition of an instance occurred when all available attributes were used to classify the instance into some category. A better approach would be to recognize an instance based on only a small number of attributes. Additionally, a clustering system should be able to focus attention on some subset of attributes that are most salient for a given classification problem. These attributes should be inspected in sequence. The incremental algorithm used by both COBWEB and CLASSIT is only a partial specification of the clustering method. CLASSIT-2 extends the framework of incremental concept formation to include a mechanism for attention. This extension is well-integrated with the existing framework. The ability to focus attention on selected attributes of an instance is both an important step toward a model of human concept formation, and a useful method for improving efficiency without losing predictive ability.