cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterizing ventricular mechanics and energetics following repeated coronary microembolization

Myocardial mechanics and energetics were investigated in an animal model of moderate chronic heart failure (CHF) created by repeated coronary microembolizations in six dogs. The final fractional area change was 34 +/- 4%. Hearts of these animals were isolated and cross-perfused, and balloons were placed in the left ventricle (LV). Chamber contractile state was markedly depressed in embolized hearts as assessed by the slope (Ees 2.74 +/- 0.49 vs. 4.00 +/- 1.18 mmHg/ml, P < 0.01) and volume axis intercept (V: 8.7 +/- 5.9 vs. 1.0 +/- 3.2 ml, P < 0.01) of end-systolic pressure-volume relation compared with a group of six normal dogs. The end-diastolic pressure-volume relation of embolized hearts was shifted to the right, indicating a dilation of the LV. However, systolic and diastolic stress strain relationships were similar in the two groups, suggesting that the average myocardial properties of the embolized hearts are similar to those of normal hearts. The relationship between oxygen consumption and pressure-volume area in embolized hearts had smaller intercept (2.98 +/- 0.44 vs 3.92 +/- 0.39 x 10(-2) ml O2.beat-1.100 g LV-1, P < 0.01) compared with the control group, with no change in the slope. These results contrast with previous findings in pacing CHF and serve as an important characterization of ventricular properties in this model of CHF from different etiology.
Lawrence and the ‘Jewish Problem’: Reflections on a Self-Confessed ‘Hebrophobe’

Over the centuries, the Jew has presented a ‘problem’ to be solved, a ‘question’ to be answered. The history of the Jewish people in Britain as connected to the concept of national identity will be explored in the next chapter. Suffice it to note here that England has the dubious distinction of being the home of the first charge of ritual murder against the Jews when, in 1144, a skinner’s apprentice was found dead; crucifixion by Jews ‘in mockery and scorn of the Lord’s passion’1 was ascribed as the cause of death. As well, England was the first country in Western Europe to banish Jews from the nation as a whole (as it was among the last in that area to accord them citizenship upon their return): in 1290, two centuries before the more infamous Spanish Expulsion, the Jews were ousted by Edward I and not authorized to enter the country again until the mid-seventeenth century.2 With only a few families staying behind after 16,000 Jews left in 1290, there was no organized Jewish community in England between that year and 1656.
Late Cenozoic climate changes

Major climatic oscillations that are characteristic of the Pleistocene actually begin far earlier, in the Late Cenozoic. Seasonality becomes more pronounced. Temperature and precipitation are no longer equably distributed throughout the year. Aridity increases, and tree cover is lost in many places. Plants that use the C 4 photosynthetic pathway (largely tropical grasses that can tolerate prolonged drought) spread very widely, heralding the shift to a “C 4 world” (Cerling & Ehleringer, 2000). This cooler and drier global climate foreshadows the outright appearance of continental glaciation during the Pleistocene. Geochemical signatures of atmospheric carbon dioxide have been followed over the last 20 million years using boron/calcium ratios from fossil foraminifera. During the Middle Miocene (14–10 mya), atmospheric carbon dioxide was roughly similar to that of the present, even though global temperatures were about 3–6 ° C warmer, and sea levels were about 25–40 m higher (Tripati et al ., 2009). A major Late Miocene land mammal extinction event termed the “Vallesian Crisis” occurred in Western and Central Europe at the end of the Vallesian Land Mammal Stage beginning 9.6 mya. Many rhinoceroses and tapirs disappeared, and pig diversity declined. A turnover occurred among the rodents. After the Vallesian Crisis, murid rodents, which include modern mice and rats, become the dominant rodents in Late Miocene communities. Atmospheric carbon dioxide fell during the Late Miocene. Ice sheets in West Antarctica and Greenland grew when atmospheric carbon dioxide fell significantly below modern levels. Glacial conditions thus intensify during the Late Miocene (after ~10 mya) and Late Pliocene (3.3–2.4 mya).
Optimized cross correlation waveforms for first order correlation loops

The phase-locked loop (PLL) architecture is studied extensively. It is demonstrated that PLLs are optimal structures in terms of minimizing steady-state mean square tracking error (MSE) at high signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). A closely related device, the delay-locked loop (DLL), is useful for estimating the time delay, or phase, of nonsinusoidal signals. Both PLLs and DLLs fall into the general class known as correlation-loop architectures. It is shown that the steady-state mean square tracking error of first-order correlation loops is minimized by varying the locally generated cross correlation function produced by the voltage controlled oscillator. This analysis assists in the design of modified first-order DLLs used for pseudonoise code synchronization in direct sequence spread-spectrum receivers. The optimization is performed for periodic, but otherwise arbitrary, transmitted signals, for systems operating at arbitrary SNR. The optimal reference waveform is produced by passing a replica of the transmitted signal through a linear time-invariant filter. >
Extrapolation and Interchangeability of Infliximab and Adalimumab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Infliximab and adalimumab biosimilars have been approved by the FDA and European Medicines Agency and have already been introduced to the international market. Availability into the US market is imminent. Biosimilars are highly similar to the reference biologic product but should not be referred to as, nor equated with, generic medications as no two biosimilars can ever be identical. Regulatory pathways for biosimilar approval consider the totality of evidence for biosimilar approvals, but the preponderance of development relies on analytic and functional testing and allows extrapolation between indications to reduce the financial burden of completing comparative clinical trials for each indication. Neither CT-P13 (infliximab biosimilar) nor ABP 501 (adalimumab biosimilar) was clinically tested in patients with inflammatory bowel disease prior to being submitted for approval by regulatory agencies. The body of available evidence suggests that these drugs will perform similarly to their originators. The pathway for interchangeability of biosimilars has yet to be clarified by federal regulators and currently remains determined by states within the USA. However, preliminary data suggests that switching from originator to biosimilar is safe with minimal differences in clinical efficacy.
Balloon enteroscopy versus spiral enteroscopy for small-bowel disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background and Aims Two novel enteroscopic procedures, balloon enteroscopy and spiral enteroscopy, have revolutionized the diagnostic and therapeutic approach to small-bowel disorders. These disorders that historically required surgical interventions are now investigated and managed nonsurgically. Only a few weakly powered studies have compared the outcomes of spiral enteroscopy and balloon enteroscopy. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare the efficacy and safety of these 2 procedures. Methods PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched for all studies published up to January 12, 2017 comparing the efficacy and safety of balloon enteroscopy (single or double) and spiral enteroscopy. Primary outcomes of interest were diagnostic and therapeutic success rates. Other outcomes included procedure length, depth of maximal insertion (DMI), rate of complete enteroscopy, and adverse events. We calculated Odds ratios (ORs) for categorical variables and mean difference (MD) for continuous variables. The Mantel-Haenszel method was used to analyze the data. Fixed and random effect models were used for 50% heterogeneity, respectively. Results Eight studies met the inclusion criteria for this meta-analysis. A total of 615 procedures were analyzed, which included 394 balloon enteroscopy and 221 spiral enteroscopy procedures. There were no significant differences in diagnostic and therapeutic success rates (OR, 1.27; 95% confidence interval [CI], .86-1.88; P = .22; and OR, 1.23; 95% CI, .82-1.84; P = .32, respectively) between the 2 procedures. Similarly, DMI was not significantly different between the 2 groups (MD, 26.29; 95% CI, 20.92-73.49; P = .28). However, the procedure time was significantly shorter for the spiral enteroscopy group compared with the balloon enteroscopy group (MD, 11.26; 95% CI, 2.72-19.79; P = .010). A subgroup analysis comparing double balloon enteroscopy with spiral enteroscopy yielded similar results. Conclusions Both procedures achieved similar diagnostic and therapeutic outcomes and with similar depth of insertion. Spiral enteroscopy has the benefit of shorter procedural time.
Cypraeoidea and Lamellarioidea (Mollusca: Gastropoda), From the Chipola Formation (Late Early Miocene) of Northwestern Florida

This contribution increases the number from eleven previously known species (six described from the Chipola Formation) to 20 species of Cypraeoidea and six of Lamellarioidea living in Florida during the late Early Miocene, a total that makes the Chipola assemblage the most diversified lower Miocene cypraeid fauna in the New World, second only to western Europe in the entire world. Siphocypraea chilona (Da11, 1900) is recognized from the Dominican Republic and from France, and is documented from the Aquitanian to the Tortonian. Talparia (Talparia) dominicensis (Gabb, 1873), Mauritia (Mauritia) campbelliana (Pilsbry, 1922), and Erronea (Adusta) spurcoides (Gabb, 1873), described from the Dominican Republic and also found in the Chipola Formation, have their geographic distribution expanded. The first of these is present in the Early Miocene of Aquitaine (France) and the second appears in the Late Oligocene of the same basin. These observations are the result of ongoing work on the cypraeid faunas of the Middle Tertiary of western Europe. Fourteen new species and one new subspecies are described, and their relationships are discussed. The genera Zoila (Southwestern Australian Province), Trona (West-African Province), Talparia (s.s.), Mauritia (s.s.), Erronea (s.l.), Lyncina, and Bistolida (Indo-Pacific Province), are noted for the first time in the New World. The genus Siphocypraea, the Ovulidae (with four species), and the Triviidae (with five species) enhance the essential components of the Recent Caribbean and Panamic Provinces. Numerous elements of this fauna, situated in a basin between the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Provinces, suggest a more than usual biogeographic interest.
Response times of ice-sheet surface heights to changes in the rate of Antarctic firn compaction caused by accumulation and temperature variations

Variations in accumulation rate A s(t) and temperature T s(t) at the surface of firn cause changes in the rate of firn compaction (FC) and surface height H(t) that do not involve changes in mass, and therefore need to be accounted for in deriving mass changes from measured H(t). As the effects of changes in A s(t) and T s(t) propagate into the firn, the FC rate is affected with a highly variable and complex response time. The H(t) during measurement periods depend on the history of A s(t) and T s(t) prior to the measurements. Consequently, knowledge of firn response times to climate perturbations is important to estimate the required length of the time series of A s(t) and T s(t) used in FC models. We use our numerical FC model, which is time-dependent on both temperature and accumulation rate, to examine the response times of both H(t) and the rates of change dH(t)/dt to variations in A s(t) and T s(t) using sample perturbations and climate data for selected sites in Antarctica. Our results show that the response times for dH(t)/dt, which are of particular interest, are much shorter than the responses of H(t). Typical response times of dH(t)/dt are from several years to <20 years. The response times are faster in warmer and higher-accumulation areas such as Byrd Station, West Antarctica (4 years), and slower in colder and lower-accumulation areas such as Vostok, East Antarctica (18 years). The response times to temperature are much faster (0.9 year at Byrd and 2.2 years at Vostok), but the corresponding height changes persist much longer. The associated variations in firn density are significantly preserved in the density–depth profiles. For typical fluctuations of surface weather, the T s(t) from satellite observations since 1982 and A s(t) from meteorological data since 1979 are essentially of sufficient length to correct for FC height changes for measurements beginning in 1992.
Explicit ions/implicit water generalized Born model for nucleic acids.

The ion atmosphere around highly charged nucleic acid molecules plays a significant role in their dynamics, structure, and interactions. Here we utilized the implicit solvent framework to develop a model for the explicit treatment of ions interacting with nucleic acid molecules. The proposed explicit ions/implicit water model is based on a significantly modified generalized Born (GB) model and utilizes a non-standard approach to define the solute/solvent dielectric boundary. Specifically, the model includes modifications to the GB interaction terms for the case of multiple interacting solutes—disconnected dielectric boundary around the solute-ion or ion-ion pairs. A fully analytical description of all energy components for charge-charge interactions is provided. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated by calculating the potential of mean force for Na+–Cl− ion pair and by carrying out a set of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations of mono- and trivalent ions interacting with DNA and RNA duplexes. The monovalent (Na+) and trivalent (CoHex3+) counterion distributions predicted by the model are in close quantitative agreement with all-atom explicit water molecular dynamics simulations used as reference. Expressed in the units of energy, the maximum deviations of local ion concentrations from the reference are within kBT. The proposed explicit ions/implicit water GB model is able to resolve subtle features and differences of CoHex distributions around DNA and RNA duplexes. These features include preferential CoHex binding inside the major groove of the RNA duplex, in contrast to CoHex biding at the “external” surface of the sugar-phosphate backbone of the DNA duplex; these differences in the counterion binding patters were earlier shown to be responsible for the observed drastic differences in condensation propensities between short DNA and RNA duplexes. MC simulations of CoHex ions interacting with the homopolymeric poly(dA·dT) DNA duplex with modified (de-methylated) and native thymine bases are used to explore the physics behind CoHex-thymine interactions. The simulations suggest that the ion desolvation penalty due to proximity to the low dielectric volume of the methyl group can contribute significantly to CoHex-thymine interactions. Compared to the steric repulsion between the ion and the methyl group, the desolvation penalty interaction has a longer range and may be important to consider in the context of methylation effects on DNA condensation.
Coupled EM-structural analysis in convected coordinates

The form of Maxwell's equations when expressed in material coordinates has been debated for decades. The most commonly accepted formulation is known to be inconsistent, even to first order approximation. It has been shown that self-consistent formulations are possible when convected coordinates are used. In this presentation, we review these formulations. We then demonstrate their use in solving for the coupled EM/Structural response of a simple parallel plate capacitor bent into an arc.
Number Theory: Fermat’s Last Theorem

On June 24, 1993, the New York Times ran a front-page story with the headline “At Last, Shout of ‘Eureka!’ In Age-Old Math Mystery.” The proverbial shout of “Eureka!” had echoed across the campus of Cambridge University, England, just the day before. At the end of a series of lectures at a small conference on the arcane subjects of “p-adic Galois Representations, Iwasawa Theory, and the Tamagawa Numbers of Motives,” Princeton mathematician Andrew Wiles mentioned, almost as an afterthought, that the results he had presented implied, as a corollary, that Fermat’s Last Theorem was true. Via telephone and electronic mail, the news of what many mathematicians called the most exciting event in twentieth-century mathematics spread around the globe almost instantly. We will return to these developments again at the end of this introductory section.
Microscopy tools for quantifying developmental dynamics in Xenopus embryos.

Early Xenopus embryos, and embryonic tissues isolated from them, are excellent model systems to study morphogenesis. Cells migrate, change shape and differentiate to form new tissues as embryos mature and recapitulate those same processes in tissue isolates. Both large-scale and small-scale cell and tissue movements can be visualized with a range of microscopy techniques. Furthermore, protein dynamics, fine scale cell movements, and changes in cell morphology can be observed simultaneously as multi-cellular structures are sculpted. We provide an overview of complementary methods for visualizing macroscopic tissue movements, cell shape changes and sub-cellular protein dynamics. Time-lapse imaging followed by quantitative image analysis aims to provide answers to some of the long standing questions in developmental biology: How do tissues form? How do cells acquire specific shapes? How do proteins localize to specific positions? To address these questions we suggest strategies 1) to visualize whole embryos and tissue isolates using stereoscopes and epifluorescence imaging techniques, and 2) to visualize cell shapes and protein expression using high resolution live imaging using confocal microscopy. These imaging approaches along with simple image analysis tools provide us with ways to understand the complex biology underlying morphogenesis.
Application of Polarized Nuclei to Fusion

It is shown that the D-T fusion reaction can be modified by polarizing the nuclear spins. The ways in which this improves reactor performance are mentioned and the feasibility of the process of spin polarization of magnetic fusion is discussed.
Plants: Gathering Energy from the Sun

When a lucky bacterium developed the first successful photosystem about a half billion years after the first cells arose, the organisms of the world were split into two distinct classes: providers and consumers. Until that time, all were consumers, fueling their metabolic processes with the geochemically formed organic and inorganic compounds then commonly found in the ocean. (These natural foods, provided by the earth, were used up in the early history of life. Today only a handful of organisms, such as the bacteria that utilize the hydrogen sulfide in hot springs and deep-sea hydrothermal vents, rely on them as a source of energy.) The perfection of a photosystem— a protein complex containing a series of light-absorbing chlorophyll molecules — allowed these new bacteria to create their own source of chemical energy from the inexhaustible source of the sun. The sharp division between provider and consumer has lasted to this day. Plants and photosynthetic bacteria create food out of thin air (and light). All other organisms eat plants, directly or a few steps removed.
Development of Communication in Animals

Research on the development of animal signals has been immensely influential on how we think about human speech and language development. Development of communication skills can be parsed into components of production, usage, and comprehension that may each have different developmental processes. Within a species different developmental processes may apply to different functional signals as well as to different components. In general, the greatest plasticity is found in development of comprehension and the least plasticity in signal production. More mobile species appear to have greater plasticity. Development of communication can be facilitated through subtle social cues or mere associational processes independent of more traditional rewards.
17-P: ANGIOTENSIN II TYPE 1 RECEPTOR SENSITIZATION IN LUNG TRANSPLANTATION

Aim Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) is found in lung alveolar epithelium, the stroma surrounding epithelial layer of small airways, fibroblasts, vessel smooth muscle and alveolar macrophages. While the impact of HLA antibody in lung rejection is increasingly recognized, this association has not been studied for non-HLA antibodies such as anti-AT1R antibodies. Methods We studied 112 patients who underwent lung transplantation in our center since the inception of the lung allocation score (LAS) in May 2005. Pre-transplant sera were screened for HLA and AT1R antibodies. 89 patients had clinical data available for analysis. AT1R antibody was tested on an ELISA platform while HLA antibody was defined using solid phase luminometric assays. AT1R levels were examined as continuous values. Test results were interpreted using a dichotomized cut-point of 17 U/ml as recommended by the manufacturer. Results AT1R antibodies were positive in 31(35%) and negative in 58(65%) patients. Gender was not associated with AT1R sensitization (p = 0.2). Donor HLA specific antibodies were found in 10(11%) patients who were excluded from lung function and survival analysis. AT1R sensitization was not a significant predictor for lung function at 48 hours (p = 0.07) or at 6 month (p = 0.9). Further, presence of AT1R antibodies did not correlate with one year patient survival by Kaplan-Meier method (p = 0.8). AT1R sensitization was not a risk factor for rejection within 1 year (p = 0.5) or >1 year (p = 0.7) post-transplant. Post-transplant acute kidney injury was not associated with presence of AT1R antibodies. Post-operative care was also similar between the two groups (median length of stay in ICU, p = 0.9; median total hospital length of stay, p = 0.6). Conclusions Our data show that AT1R sensitization does not correlate with early clinical outcomes in lung transplantation.
Immunosuppression and skin cancer.

Naturally occurring and iatrogenically induced states of depressed immunity are associated with an increased incidence of skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinoma is the predominant type of neoplasm in patients treated with immunosuppressive therapy; there is also an increased incidence of Kaposi‘s sarcoma in organ transplant recipients. Many of the squamous cell carcinomas are low grade malignancies, but almost 12 per cent of those seen in organ transplant recipients spread to regional nodes or cause distant metastases. Local disturbances of immunity may result in creation of immunologically privileged sites that may foster the growth of skin cancers, as is seen in old scars. The incidence of such cancers seems to be decreasing.
Stability of Transcendental Fractional Systems i

We investigate the stability of transcendental fractional systems, in which the transfer function of a system is given by a ratio of transcendental polynomials: polynomial-like functions with transcendental branch points on the real-axis. We derive root locus rules such as asymptote angles, centroid, number of branches, and arrival and departure angles to deduce the overall stability properties of such systems under feedback.
Higher education in the USA: memory, status, and trends

This article examines how and why Blacks continue to be severely underrepresented in United States colleges and universities. Longitudinal analysis of Black student enrollment and degree completion at public, four-year institutions reveals the proportion of Blacks in state populations is consistently below the proportion Blacks attending state universities. The number of African American students at flagships has declined; but more Black students attend Black- Serving institutions, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The theory and research of the great twentieth century intellectual W. E.B. DuBois helps to frame and explain the barriers to Black access and success in U. S. higher education.
Dissociated vacancies and screw dislocations in MgO and UO2: atomistic modeling and linear elasticity analysis

Understanding the effect of dislocations on the mass transport in ionic ceramics is important for understanding the behavior of these materials in a variety of contexts. In particular, the dissociated nature of vacancies at screw dislocations, or more generally, at a wide range of low-angle twist grain-boundaries, has ramifications for the mechanism of defect migration and thus mass transport at these microstructural features. In this paper, a systematic study of the dissociated vacancies at screw dislocations in MgO is carried out. The important role of stress migration in the atomistic modeling study is identified. Another aspect of the current work is a rigorous treatment of the linear elasticity model. As a result, good agreement between the atomistic modeling results and the linear elasticity model is obtained. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed vacancy dissociation mechanism can also be extended to more complicated ionic ceramics such as UO2, highlighting the generality of the mechanism.
Effects of Pharmacist-Conducted Medication Reconciliation at Discharge on 30-Day Readmission Rates of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Purpose:To analyze effect of pharmacist-conducted medication reconciliation on 30-day readmission rates in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and identify common medication errors among p...
Downregulation of TGF-β Signaling by Thrombin in Endothelial Cells.

Thrombin activates protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) on endothelial cells (ECs) and regulates many aspects of EC biology. A body of evidence has demonstrated that the thrombin-PAR1 pathway is critical for angiogenesis and vascular development. However, the mechanism underlying the proangiogenic effect of thrombin has not been elucidated yet. Here, we report the discovery of a novel functional link between thrombin-PAR1 and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling pathways. Using mass spectrometry, confocal immunofluorescence microscopy, cell surface ELISA and a phospho-specific antibody against the serine-phosphorylated endogin, we demonstrated for the first time that thrombin via PAR1 induced the internalization of endoglin and type-II TGF-β receptor (TβRII) but not the type-I receptors in primary human ECs. This effect was mediated by protein kinase C-ζ (PKC-ζ) that was rapidly activated by thrombin in ECs since specific inhibition of PKC-ζ caused aggregation of endoglin and TβRII on cell surface and blocked their internalization in response to thrombin. Furthermore, acute (30 min) and long-term (24 h) pretreatment of ECs with thrombin or PAR1 peptide agonist suppressed the TGF-β-induced serine phosphorylation of Smad2/3, the critical mediators of TGF-β signaling. Moreover, activation of PAR1 led to a profound clustering formation of Smad2/3 and a more spread cytosolic localization, which sequestered Smad2/3 from nucleus and prevented their nuclear translocation evoked by TGF-β. Since TGF-β and its receptors play a crucial role in the resolution phase of angiogenesis, the downregulation of TGF-β signaling by thrombin-PAR1 pathway may provide a new insight into the mechanism of the proangiogenic effect of thrombin.
Unemployment and Mental Health

Unemployment has long been considered a risk factor for mental illness. This article briefly reviews the historical development and theoretical basis of this field of research, and summarizes the scientific evidence that unemployment causes mental health problems. Heterogeneity of this relationship by demographic and macroeconomic characteristics is also explored. Overall, unemployment at either the individual or aggregate level predicts substantial increased risk for mental health problems, including depression, suicide, and substance abuse. The magnitude of the effect of unemployment varies by mental health outcome. Notably, the adverse psychological impact of unemployment extends not just to people who lose their jobs, but to their families and communities as well.
Dredging a data lake: decentralized metadata extraction

The rapid generation of data from distributed IoT devices, scientific instruments, and compute clusters presents unique data management challenges. The influx of large, heterogeneous, and complex data causes repositories to become siloed or generally unsearchable---both problems not currently well-addressed by distributed file systems. In this work, we propose Xtract, a serverless middleware to extract metadata from files spread across heterogeneous edge computing resources. In my future work, we intend to study how Xtract can automatically construct file extraction workflows subject to users' cost, time, security, and compute allocation constraints. To this end, Xtract will enable the creation of a searchable centralized index across distributed data collections.
Computations, optimization and tuning of deep feedforward neural networks

This article presents an overview of the generalized formulations of the computations, optimization, and tuning of a deep feedforward neural network. A small network has been used to systematically explain the computing steps, which were then used to establish the generalized forms of the computations in forward and backward propagations for larger networks. Additionally, some of the commonly used cost functions, activation functions, optimization algorithms, and hyper-parameters tuning approaches have been discussed.
Lessons for COVID-19 Immunity from Other Coronavirus Infections.

A key goal to controlling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is developing an effective vaccine. Development of a vaccine requires knowledge of what constitutes a protective immune response and also features that might be pathogenic. Protective and pathogenic aspects of the response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are not well understood, partly because the virus has infected humans for only 6 months. However, insight into coronavirus immunity can be informed by previous studies of immune responses to non-human coronaviruses, common cold coronaviruses, and SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Here, we review the literature describing these responses and discuss their relevance to the SARS-CoV-2 immune response.
Would eliminating differences in physician practice style reduce geographic variations in cataract surgery rates

This study uses Medicare physician-claims data to examine patient and physician contributions to variations in cataract surgery rates across U.S. metropolitan areas. Utilization is modelled as having two phases: the decision to seek an ophthalmologist's care, which is made by patients, and the decision to perform surgery on patients who seek care, which is partially controlled by ophthalmologists. Under this model, the effect of physician practice style on cataract surgery rates occurs through the influence of practice style on the second phase of utilization. Variation in patient care-seeking behavior contributed to the variation in the rate of cataract surgery. Moreover, multivariate regression analyses found that cataract surgery rates were influenced by economic and sociodemographic variables in predictable ways. Using the regression results, a "purged" cataract surgery rate that was free of any possible influence of physician practice style was calculated. Variation in the purged surgery rate was only slightly lower than variation in the observed surgery rate, suggesting that eliminating practice style as a factor in physician decision making (e.g., through practice guidelines) would reduce variations in cataract surgery rates by only a small amount.
The design risks framework: Understanding metacognition for iteration

Iteration is an important design process that novice designers struggle to follow. However, iteration is difficult to coach because we do not understand the underlying metacognitive knowledge required for effective iteration. We developed the Design Risks Framework, which helps researchers to identify the knowledge underlying three metacognitive processes that control iteration: focusing attention on key areas of the project, identifying project risks, and choosing iterative strategies to mitigate risks. We tested the framework over a 6-week period with 5 novice design teams and found that novices seemed to lack metacognitive knowledge of 49 criteria for identifying project risks. By using this framework to diagnose knowledge gaps and design coaching interventions, educators and managers can improve how novice designers iterate in design projects.
Identifying Developmental Language Disorder in School Age Bilinguals: Semantics, Grammar, and Narratives

Children with Developmental language disorder (DLD) have particular difficulty learning language despite otherwise general normal development. When school age bilingual children struggle with langu...
Advances in the chemistry and applications of alkali-metal–gas batteries

Rechargeable metal–gas batteries have the promise of exceeding the energy densities of Li-ion batteries. An archetypal metal–gas system is the nonaqueous lithium–oxygen (Li–O2) battery, which was developed with a view to deploying it in electric vehicles. However, operating this battery comes with substantial challenges that include parasitic chemical reactivity and degrees of electrochemical irreversibility, which contribute to poor charging and cycling. To address these challenges, researchers began exploring new nonaqueous metal–gas battery paradigms by manipulating the underlying O2 redox behaviour through electrolyte and materials design, using non-Li-metal anodes to change the nature of the solid discharge phase and improve reversibility, and using other gaseous reactants as the cathode. This Review presents the new understanding of nonaqueous gas-to-solid electrochemistry that has emerged from these concerted efforts, along with new hurdles that have been revealed as cells have gradually been reformulated. The ultimate impact of new metal–gas batteries needs to be re-examined for applications beyond electric vehicles that are more amenable to the individual chemistries and performance characteristics. Demand for energy-dense electrochemical storage systems has drawn increasing focus to metal–gas batteries. This Review describes the chemistry of these batteries and the underlying trade-offs between energy density and electrochemical reversibility.
Diagnostic test accuracy of the initial electrocardiogram after resuscitation from cardiac arrest to indicate invasive coronary angiographic findings and attempted revascularization: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract Aim Conduct a diagnostic test accuracy systematic review and meta-analysis of the post-return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) electrocardiogram (ECG) to indicate an acute-appearing coronary lesion and revascularization. Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science through February 18, 2020. Two investigators screened titles and abstracts, extracted data, and assessed risks of bias using QUADAS-2. We estimated sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp), and likelihood ratios (LR) for all reported ECG features to indicate all reported reference standards. Random-effects meta-analysis pooled comparable studies without critical risk of bias. GRADE methodology evaluated the certainty of evidence. Results Overall, 48 studies reported 94 combinations of ECG features and reference standards with wide variation in their definitions. Most studies had risks of bias from selection for coronary angiography and blinding to the ECG and/or reference standard. Meta-analysis combined 6 studies for STE and acute coronary lesion (Sn 0.70 [95% CI 0.54-0.82]; Sp 0.85 [95% CI 0.78-0.90]; LR + 4.7 [95% CI 3.3-6.7]; LR- 0.4 [95% CI 0.2-0.6]) and 4 studies for STE and revascularization (Sn 0.53 [95% CI 0.47-0.58]; Sp 0.86 [95% CI 0.80-0.91]; LR + 3.9 [95% CI 2.8-5.5]; LR- 0.5 [95% CI 0.5-0.6]). Overall certainty of evidence was low with substantial heterogeneity. Conclusions Based on low certainty evidence, STE had good classification for acute coronary lesion and fair classification for revascularization. STE was more specific than sensitive for these outcomes and no single ECG feature excluded them. Uniform definitions and terminology would greatly facilitate the interpretation of subsequent studies.
How the Chinese System of Charges and Subsidies Affects Pollution Control Efforts by China's Top Industrial Polluters

China's unique combination of emissions charges and pollution abatement subsidies has given China's most heavily polluting industrial firms incentive to invest in pollution abatement. There have been extensive theoretical studies of firms' responses to environmental regulations and enforcement but few empirical analyses of firms expenditures on pollution abatement in response to different regulations and enforcement strategies. Wang and Chen empirically analyze the pollution abatement efforts of Chinese industrial firms under a system combining pollution charges and abatement subsidies. Using data on China's top industrial polluters and on regional development in China, they find that the combination of charges and subsidies used in China has provided effective incentives for the most heavily polluting industrial firms to abate pollution. Chinese industries operate under a unique pollution control system, a market-based instrument combining emissions charges and abatement subsidies. This combination of charges and subsidies has given firms incentive to invest in wastewater treatment facilities. The pollution levy, although low, has significantly improved investments in abatement. Wang and Chen found that the more pollution a firm generates, the more likely it is to invest in pollution abatement. This study was only of top polluters, which are closely monitored by environmental agencies, so the results may not be valid for other sources of industrial pollution. This paper - a product of Infrastructure and Environment, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to identify appropriate policies for environmental regulation in developing countries. Hua Wang may be contacted at hwang1@worldbank.org.
Microfilm Collection Condition Assessment: An Experiential Report

Lauded for providing equitable access to rare and unique materials that previously required significant resources to view, microfilm collections quickly became an intrinsic part of any academic lib...
Serum programmed cell death proteins in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Abstract Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multifactorial, multisystem pro-inflammatory neuromuscular disorder. Activation of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), and its ligands, programmed cell death-ligand 1 and 2 (PD-L1/L2), leads to immune suppression. Serum soluble forms of these proteins, sPD-1/sPD-L1/sPD-L2, inhibit this suppression and promote pro-inflammatory responses. The purpose of this study was to determine if sPD-1, sPD-L1, and sPD-L2 were increased in sera of patients with ALS. sPD-1 and sPD-L2 were elevated in sera of patients and accurately reflected patients’ disease burdens. Increased sera levels of programmed cell death proteins reinforce the concept that peripheral pro-inflammatory responses contribute to systemic inflammation in patients with ALS.
The Transmutation of Disability to Disease: The Ethics of Autism Research

This paper will look at the ethics of research and treatment of autism, and how history and disability justice movements may inform our ethical stance as physicians. For this paper I will use autistics to refer to people with autism as this is the preferred language from those in the disability movement I will be citing. The central question, which may never be answered, is how can physicians ethically wield the power of pathologization in a society with rapidly advancing assistive technologies that throw into question what is and is not disability. Central to this presentation with be Georges Canguilhem’s writing in On The Normal and The Pathological, specifically his assertion that “health is life in the silence of the organs.” What does it mean when the organs, understood broadly as the body, “speak” to the individual but their presence as difference and even as disability does not translate to the patient as disease? The specific case I will look at is the engineering and testing of oxytocin nasal sprays on young children with autism (Kong, Lu 2020). Literature already exists critiquing medical institutions and health practitioners use of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in the “treatment” of autism, as this form of therapy can be experienced by the participant as coercive, traumatic, and even violent (Yergeau 2018). Where this paper adds to the discussion is to further question the ethics of autism research even in cases where the proposed intervention, oxytocin nasal spray, poses minimal physical harm to the child. In medical ethics, is there a place for the historical abuses of autistics to inform our current practices? And furthermore is it the person/patient or the doctor who interpolates the person into the role of the patient? I will briefly engage with the debate concerning the dichotomization of the social and the medical model, critiqued by sociologist Tom Shakespeare, only insomuch as this paper is not arguing about the validity of those models but about how the medical model comes to be invoked and how the “patient” is produced.
Are Latinx youth getting in the game? The effects of gender, class, ethnicity, and language on Latinx youth sport participation

Within the United States, sport has historically been a site for public struggles about equality. Despite the benefits of athletics, US Latinx youth (especially teenage girls) are less likely than other ethnoracial groups to participate in sports. Previous research has shown that gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and language affect sport participation. This study examines those influences on Latinx sport involvement and explores how those factors differ for boys and for girls. Data on sport participation was collected for a subset of eighth and tenth graders (n = 15,766) that participated in the Monitoring the Future study. Regression analysis shows that boys were more likely than girls to play sports and that the influence of socioeconomic status was slightly stronger among girls. Sport participation was higher in native-English-speaking girls than among girls who learned English as a second language. These findings have implications for professionals who work with Latinx adolescents.
Adaptive Trajectory Tracking for Car-like Vehicles with Input Constraints

This paper proposes an adaptive trajectory tracking control scheme for low-speed car-like vehicles with less efforts in tuning of the control gains. An interesting way of integrating adaptive control gains with consideration of steering saturation by using the backstepping technique is designed to enhance trajectory tracking while ensuring the commanded inputs within the input boundaries. The design of such adaptive control gains is also based on enhancing the convergence rate of tracking errors, especially for lateral deviation from the reference trajectory. It is further theoretically proven that, even under the influence of steering saturation, the proposed controller can make the closed-loop system approximately globally asymptotically stable at zero errors. Comparative MATLAB/ Simulink simulations and experimental tests based on Quanser latest self-driving car (QCar) have been conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme in accurate tracking without violating the input constraints.
Building Code, Wind Contours, and House Prices

A hedonic pricing model estimates the effect on house prices of the stricter 2002 Florida Building Code for three geographical areas with varying degrees of risk exposure in the Jacksonville, Florida area. Results show that houses built under the new, stricter code sold for an average premium of 12.33% relative to houses built under the less-strict code. Results also show that new-code properties in the riskiest Windborne Debris Region sold for about 4.7% more than houses built under the older, less strict code. The interior zones show that houses built under the stricter code sold for greater premiums. The post-catastrophe variables show that the two consecutive seasons of devastating hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 had an effect on buyer behavior and generally increased the building code premium.
Life Cycle Feeding of Dairy Cattle

The title of this paper, “Life Cycle Feeding of Dairy Cattle,” implies that a total course or textbook on dairy feeding can be summarized in a few pages. Likewise, the time allotted on the program would indicate that the total subject of dairy feeding is going to be covered in less than one hour. The major objective must be simply a summary of major points in feeding dairy animals of different ages and different stages of production and reproduction. Primarily then, this discussion could be called thumb rules for feeding. The discussion will largely be devoted to those thumb rules that are either changed, emphasized or developed because of new research or observations.
Comment on “A Gibbs Sampler for a Class of Random Convex Polytopes”

We thank the authors for this work and the editors for the chance to participate in a discussion about it. Dempster-Shafer theory is an intriguing but difficult topic. Our interest has been driven ...