cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Decision Not to Act: Proposed UN Secure Humanitarian Areas in Rwanda

From April to July 1994, between 500,000 and 800,000 persons, mostly Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus, were massacred in Rwanda in a genocide organized and perpetrated by Hutu extremists who took control of the Rwandan government and armed forces. Unlike in Iraq and Bosnia where international humanitarian involvement was mobilized with relative speed, the state response to genocide in Rwanda was so inadequate and sluggish as to be almost insignificant in terms of the course of the genocide and the protection of targeted civilians. Nonetheless, the Security Council did eventually authorize a more vigorous military humanitarian operation in Rwanda. Safety zones again featured prominently as a possible means to guarantee the protection of a threatened civilian population. Security Council Resolution 918 of 17 May 1994, which authorized the expansion of UNAMIR from 270 to 5,500 troops, mandated the peacekeeping force to ‘contribute to the security and protection of displaced persons, refugees and civilians at risk in Rwanda, including through the establishment and maintenance, where feasible, of secure humanitarian areas (SHAs)’. Since the UN Secretary-General was unable to find enough troops for this force until August after the genocide was over, such SHAs were never created, although it might be possible to consider the Amahoro Stadium location as a de facto prototype.
Moral distress in critical care nursing: The state of the science:

Background Moral distress is a complex phenomenon frequently experienced by critical care nurses. Ethical conflicts in this practice area are related to technological advancement, high intensity work environments, and end-of-life decisions. Objectives An exploration of contemporary moral distress literature was undertaken to determine measurement, contributing factors, impact, and interventions. Review methods This state of the science review focused on moral distress research in critical care nursing from 2009 to 2015, and included 12 qualitative, 24 quantitative, and 6 mixed methods studies. Results Synthesis of the scientific literature revealed inconsistencies in measurement, conflicting findings of moral distress and nurse demographics, problems with the professional practice environment, difficulties with communication during end-of-life decisions, compromised nursing care as a consequence of moral distress, and few effective interventions. Conclusion Providing compassionate care is a professional nursing value and an inability to meet this goal due to moral distress may have devastating effects on care quality. Further study of patient and family outcomes related to nurse moral distress is recommended.
A short discourse on reflexives: a reply to Cunnings (2016)

In his article, Parsing and working memory in bilingual sentence processing, Cunnings invites us to consider the hypothesis that important differences in how L1 and L2 populations process sentences stem from differences in how these speakers store and retrieve linguistic encodings in memory during the course of sentence comprehension (Cunnings, 2016). Specifically, he proposes that L2 speakers are more susceptible to similarity-based retrieval interference than their L1 counterparts, and L2 speakers weight discourse cues more heavily than syntactic cues when resolving open linguistic dependencies via memory retrieval. I find these to be interesting hypotheses that merit further investigation, especially in light of the prominence that these issues currently enjoy in L1 processing research. Nonetheless, I sound a note of caution: these claims go quite a bit beyond what is currently known, either theoretically or empirically. This makes support for these claims weak at present, but happily, this state of affairs offers clear directions for future research.
The NCHHSTP 2010-2015 strategic plan and the pursuit of health equity: a catalyst for change and a step in the right direction.

On October 19, 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) held its Health Equity Symposium entitled “Establishing a Holistic Framework to Reduce Inequities in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and Tuberculosis (TB) in the United States.” For those of us working on health equity issues at the state level, it was an honor to participate in such an important national event with distinguished colleagues Paula Braveman, MD, and Scott Burris, JD, who offered perspectives on some of the most pressing issues relating to health equity based on specific aspects of the NCHHSTP Strategic Plan.1 Overcoming health inequities in the United States is entirely possible by changing the way we define, think, and address the problem. The preceding statement is meant to challenge public health professionals to champion effective health equity strategies in public health systems. We hope the following thoughts will compel you to seize opportunities to address health inequities using a holistic framework, even when it may be unpopular or uncomfortable to do so.
Prognostic Impact of CD5 Expression in Diffuse Large B‐cell Lymphoma in Patients Treated with Rituximab‐EPOCH

Objectives CD5-positive (CD5+) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) represents 5%-10% of all DLBCL cases, which has been associated with a poorer prognosis in patients treated with R-CHOP. Prognostic impact of CD5 expression in patients with DLBCL treated with R-EPOCH has not been evaluated. Methods We studied 130 patients with de novo DLBCL who received frontline R-EPOCH therapy. The clinicopathologic features and overall survival (OS) were compared between patients with CD5+ and CD5- DLBCL. MYC, BCL2, and BCL6 rearrangements were examined by fluorescent in situ hybridization. Results Sixteen (12.3%) of 130 DLBCLs were CD5+. Most clinicopathologic features including cell of origin and frequency of MYC, BCL2, and BCL6 rearrangements were similar between CD5+ and CD5− groups. Patients with CD5+ DLBCL, however, showed higher rate of central nervous system relapse (33.3% vs 15.6%; P<.01) and a higher Ki67 proliferative index compared with CD5- patients. The median OS was significantly worse in CD5+ than CD5- patients (28.13 months vs not reached, P=.006). CD5 expression was an independent prognostic factor for OS in multivariate analysis. Conclusions R-EPOCH therapy does not seem to impact the known poorer prognosis of patients with de novo CD5+ DLBCL, and CD5 expression was still an independent prognostic factor in R-EPOCH-treated patients with DLBCL.
Peptide Conjugates of Benzene Carboxylic Acids as Agonists and Antagonists of Amylin Aggregation.

Human islet amyloid polypeptide (hIAPP), also known as amylin, is a 37 residue peptide hormone that is stored and co-secreted with insulin. hIAPP plays a pivotal role in type 2 diabetes and is the major component of amyloid deposits found in the pancreas of patients afflicted with the disease. The self-assembly of hIAPP and the formation of amyloid is linked to the death of insulin producing β-cells. Recent findings suggest that soluble hIAPP oligomers are the cytotoxic species responsible for β-cell loss whereas amyloid fibrils themselves may indeed be innocuous. Potential avenues of therapeutic intervention include the development of compounds that prevent hIAPP self-assembly as well as those that reduce or eliminate lag time and rapidly accelerate the formation of amyloid fibrils. Both of these approaches minimize temporal exposure to soluble cytotoxic hIAPP oligomers. Toward this end our laboratory has pursued an electrostatic repulsion approach to the development of potential inhibitors and modulator...
Legionnaire's Disease: Cardiac Manifestations

Most cardiac infections with Legionella are secondary to bacteremias arising from a pulmonary focus. Other possible sites of origin are infected sternotomy wounds or equipment contaminated by Legionella spp. Legionella endocarditis is truly a "stealth" infection, with almost no hallmarks of bacterial endocarditis. The key step in making the diagnosis of Legionella endocarditis is for the physician to be aware of the clinical causes of culture-negative infective endocarditis and to include Legionella cardiac involvement in this differential. Many times the issue of endocarditis arises only on examination of resected valvular material.
NOVEL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC VARIABLES IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF ACUTE PULMONARY EMBOLISM

Background: The contemporary role of echocardiography in the diagnostic algorithm for acute pulmonary embolism (APE) is largely supportive. This pilot study explored the utility of novel echocardiographic variables for the diagnosis of APE. Methods: A retrospective analysis of massive/sub-massive
Robotic-assisted single-port donor nephrectomy using the da Vinci single-site platform.

Abstract Background Although single-port donor nephrectomy offers improved cosmetic outcomes, technical challenges have limited its application to selected centers. Our center has performed over 400 single-port donor nephrectomies. The da Vinci single-site robotic platform was utilized in an effort to overcome the steric, visualization, ergonomic, and other technical limitations associated with the single-port approach. Materials and methods Food and Drug Administration device exemption was obtained. Selection criteria for kidney donation included body mass index Results Three cases were performed using the robotic single-site platform. Average total operative time was 262 ± 42 min including 82 ± 16 min of robotic use. Docking time took 20 ± 10 min. Blood loss averaged 77 ± 64 mL. No intraoperative complications occurred, and all procedures were completed with our standard laparoscopic single-port approach. Conclusions This is the first clinical experience of robotic-assisted donor nephrectomy utilizing the da Vinci single-site platform. Our experience supported the safety of this approach but found that the technology added cost and complexity without tangible benefit. Development of articulating instruments, energy, and stapling devices will be necessary for increased application of robotic single-site surgery for donor nephrectomy.
Where Movements Matter: Examining Unintended Consequences of the Pain Management Movement in Medical, Criminal Justice, and Public Health Fields

Social movement scholars have rarely considered professional fields as sites of social movement consequences and have overlooked how social movement consequences traverse field boundaries. This research examines where movements matter by examining unintended consequences across professional fields. Drawing on a case study of the pain management movement, this study asks (1) under what conditions do movements targeting a focal professional field create consequences in adjacent fields; (2) what factors affect how adeptly the adjacent field responds; and (3) how do social movement impacts on adjacent fields affect the focal field? Findings demonstrate how the success of the pain management movement in medicine helped to fuel the opioid epidemic, which detrimentally affected the adjacent fields of criminal justice and public health. These adjacent fields' strategies for curbing spillover, in turn, created a new set of consequences for medicine. Their responses depended on material and moral resources and authority structures that differed significantly across the two adjacent fields. This article concludes with a discussion of factors that may facilitate or deter cross‐field contagion effects and offers suggestions for future research.
Behavioral/Emotional Problems of Children with Serious Emotional Disturbances and Learning Disabilities

This study tested the discriminative validity of two empirically based rating scales for differentiating children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) from children with learning disabilities (...
Use of a depression and sleep impairment treatment guideline to improve quality of life for patients with sickle cell disease.

Background: Pain in sickle cell disease (SCD) is often joined by other affective disorders such as depression and/or sleep impairment that can impact pain levels and quality of life (QoL). Aim: To ...
“Sometimes da #beachlife ain't always da wave”: Understanding People’s Evolving Hurricane Risk Communication, Risk Assessments, and Responses Using Twitter Narratives

AbstractThis article investigates the dynamic ways that people communicate, assess, and respond as a weather threat evolves. It uses social media data, which offer unique records of what people convey about their real-world risk contexts. Twitter narratives from 53 people who were in a mandatory evacuation zone in a New York City neighborhood during Hurricane Sandy in 2012 were qualitatively analyzed. The study provides rich insight into the complex, dynamic information behaviors and risk assessments of people at risk, and it illustrates how social media data can be collected, sampled, and analyzed to help provide this understanding. Results show that this sample of people at significant risk attended to forecast information and evacuation orders as well as multiple types of social and environmental cues. Although many tweeted explicitly about the mandatory evacuation order, forecast information was usually referenced only implicitly. Social and environmental cues grew more important as the threat approac...
Transient Measurements of Insulation Materials

Several transient techniques were used for measuring the thermal diffusivities of fibrous insulating materials. The transient techniques used in the present study included the constant temperature plate method and the undetermined heat flux method.
Efficient Monomer-Based Quantum Chemistry Methods for Molecular and Ionic Clusters

Abstract Fragment-based quantum chemistry is an increasingly popular means to extend electronic structure theory to large systems. A variety of fragment-based approaches exist, and we provide an overview of several that we have developed recently. Our goal is not only to extend quantum chemistry calculations to large clusters and molecular liquids, but also to achieve “chemical” accuracy of ≲ 1 kcal/mol with respect to the best available ab initio benchmarks. We outline several routes to achieving this level of accuracy. The first is a generalization of the traditional many-body expansion to include situations where the monomer units overlap, which provides good accuracy for clusters of polar monomers even when the many-body expansion is truncated at the two-body level. A second method generalizes the technique of symmetry-adapted perturbation theory to many-body clusters and works especially well when combined with empirical dispersion potentials. Each of these methods is embarrassingly parallelizable and thus amenable to sizable clusters.
Chapter 3 - A Uniform GTD Approach to EM Scattering and Radiation

In recent years the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD) has developed rapidly as a practical tool for calculating the radiation from complex shapes. At the present time it has progressed beyond the treatment of simple examples to the construction of user-oriented computer programs for antenna and scattering problems of engineering interest.
Microsatellite Variation in Two Populations of Free-Ranging Yellow Baboons ( Papio hamadryas cynocephalus )

We investigated genetic variation at six microsatellite (simple sequence repeat) loci in yellow baboons (Papio hamadryas cynocephalus) at two localities: the Tana River Primate Reserve in eastern Kenya and Mikumi National Park, central Tanzania. The six loci (D1S158, D2S144, D4S243, D5S1466, D16S508, and D17S804) were all originally cloned from and characterized in the human genome. These microsatellites are polymorphic in both baboon populations, with the average heterozygosity across loci equal to 0.731 in the Tana River sample and 0.787 in the Mikumi sample. The genetic differentiation between the two populations is substantial. Kolmogornov–Smirnov tests indicate that five of the six loci are significantly different in allele frequencies in the two populations. The mean F ST across loci is 0.069, and Shriver's measure of genetic distance, which was developed for microsatellite loci (Shriver et al., 1995), is 0.255. This genetic distance is larger than corresponding distances among human populations residing in different continents. We conclude that (a) the arrays of alleles present at these six microsatellite loci in two geographically separated populations of yellow baboons are quite similar, but (b) the two populations exhibit significant differences in allele frequencies. This study illustrates the potential value of human microsatellite loci for analyses of population genetic structure in baboons and suggests that this approach will be useful in studies of other Old World monkeys.
Micro-determination of zirconium-hafnium ratios in zircons by proton induced X-ray emission

The zirconium/hafnium ratios of zircons are determined using proton induced X-ray emission. Submilligram samples, imbedded in a starch layer and deposited on a 50 μg/cm2 polystyrene carrier, are irradiated for 10–20 min with a 5 nA beam of 3.7 MeV protons, while the Hf-Lβ and Zr-Kα X-rays are counted with a Si(Li) detector. The standard deviation per analysis is in the 3–6 % range. Only few interferences are possible. To eliminate errors due to absorption effects the zircon layer thickness should be above 40 μm or reproducibly thin samples should be employed. Measuring the Hf-Lβ/Hf-Lα ratio for samples and standards might provide a practical check for the absence of absorption errors. The sensitivity is so favourable that, in practice, the minimal sample size is only limited by the minimal amount that can be handled properly.
Phytosomal curcumin causes natural killer cell-dependent repolarization of glioblastoma (GBM) tumor-associated microglia/macrophages and elimination of GBM and GBM stem cells.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a primary brain tumor with a 5-year survival rate of ≤5%. We have shown earlier that GBM-antibody-linked curcumin (CC) and also phytosomal curcumin (CCP) rescue 50–60% of GBM-bearing mice while repolarizing the tumor-associated microglia/macrophages (TAM) from the tumor-promoting M2-type to the tumoricidal M1-type. However, systemic application of CCP yields only sub-IC50 concentrations of CC in the plasma, which is unlikely to kill GBM cells directly. This study investigates the role of CC-evoked intra-GBM recruitment of activated natural killer (NK) cells in the elimination of GBM and GBM stem cells. We have used an immune-competent syngeneic C57BL6 mouse model with the mouse-GBM GL261 cells orthotopically implanted in the brain. Using immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry, we have quantitatively analyzed the role of the intra-GBM-recruited NK cells by (i) injecting (i.p.) the NK1.1 antibody (NK1.1Ab) to temporarily eliminate the NK cells and (ii) blocking NK recruitment by injecting an IL12 antibody (IL12Ab). The treatment cohorts used randomly-chosen GL261-implanted mice and data sets were compared using two-tailed t-test or ANOVA. CCP treatment caused the GBM tumor to acquire M1-type macrophages (50–60% of the TAM) and activated NK cells. The treatment also elicited (a) suppression of the M2-linked tumor-promoting proteins STAT3, ARG1, and IL10, (b) induction of the M1-linked anti-tumor proteins STAT1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase in the TAM, (c) elimination of CD133(+) GBM stem cells, and (d) activation of caspase3 in the GBM cells. Eliminating intra-GBM NK cell recruitment caused a partial reversal of each of these effects. Concomitantly, we observed a CCP-evoked dramatic induction of the chemokine monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1) in the TAM. The recruited NK cells mediate a major part of the CCP-evoked elimination of GBM and GBM stem cells and stabilization of the TAM in the M1-like state. MCP-1 is known to activate peripheral M1-type macrophages to secrete IL12, an activator of NK cells. Based on such observations, we postulate that by binding to peripheral M1-type macrophages and IL12-activated NK cells, the brain-released chemokine MCP-1 causes recruitment of peripheral immune cells into the GBM, thereby causing destruction of the GBM cells and GBM stem cells.
The Developing Theory of Mental State Control: Changes in Beliefs about the Controllability of Emotional Experience from Elementary School through Adulthood

ABSTRACTIn everyday life, we use folk theories about the mind and behavior to understand ourselves and others. An important part of our folk theory of mind is our intuitions about the role of the self in mental functioning—namely, whether the self is able to control each mental operation. The current study explored beliefs about the nature of control over emotional aspects of mental experience from middle childhood through adulthood. Elementary school children (n = 46), middle schoolers (n = 46), 18-year-olds (n = 46), and adults (n = 104) were presented with vignettes depicting characters experiencing negative emotions. Participants evaluated the intentionality, changeability, and chronicity of the characters’ responses. Results showed that by elementary school, children share adults’ view that emotions are largely outside of volitional control. However, beliefs about the changeability and chronicity of emotions mature beyond middle childhood. Between elementary school and adulthood, participants decreas...
Greater neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits after single closed head traumatic brain injury in adolescent vs adult mice

IntroductionTraumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health concern affecting 2.8 million people per year, of which about 1 million are children under 19 years old. Animal models of TBI have been developed and used in multiple ages of animals, but direct comparisons of adult and adolescent populations are rare. The current studies were undertaken to directly compare outcomes between adult and adolescent mice, using a closed head, single impact model of TBI.nnMethodsSix-week-old adolescent and 9-week-old adult male mice were subjected to TBI using a closed head weight drop model. Histological measures for neurodegeneration, gliosis, and microglial neuroinflammation, and behavioral tests of locomotion and memory were performed.nnResultsAdolescent TBI mice have increased mortality (X2= 20.72, p < 0.001) compared to adults. There is also evidence of hippocampal neurodegeneration in adolescents, but not adults. Presence of hippocampal neurodegeneration correlates with histologic activation of microglia, but not with increased markers of astrogliosis. Adults and adolescents have similar locomotion deficits after TBI that recover by 16 days post-injury. Adolescents have memory deficits as evidenced by impaired novel object recognition performance 3 and 16 days post injury (F1,26 = 5.23, p = 0.031) while adults do not.nnConclusionsAdults and adolescents within a close age range (6-9 weeks) respond to TBI differently. Adolescents are more severely affected by mortality, neurodegeneration, and inflammation in the hippocampus compared to adults. Adolescents, but not adults, have worse memory performance after TBI that lasts up to 16 days post injury.
Mass accommodation at a high-velocity water liquid-vapor interface

We use molecular dynamics to determine the mass accommodation coefficient (MAC) of water vapor molecules colliding with a rapidly moving liquid-vapor interface. This interface mimics those present in collapsing vapor bubbles that are characterized by large interfacial velocities. We find that at room temperature, the MAC is generally close to unity, and even with interfaces moving at 10 km/s velocity, it has a large value of 0.79. Using a simplified atomistic fluid model, we explore the consequences of vapor molecule interfacial collision rules on pressure, temperature, and density of a vapor subjected to an incoming high-velocity liquid-vapor interface.
Insights on current and novel antipsychotic mechanisms from the MAM model of schizophrenia

Current antipsychotic drugs (APDs) act on D2 receptors, and preclinical studies demonstrate that repeated D2 antagonist administration downregulates spontaneously active DA neurons by producing overexcitation-induced inactivation of firing (depolarization block). Animal models of schizophrenia based on the gestational MAM administration produces offspring with adult phenotypes consistent with schizophrenia, including ventral hippocampal hyperactivity and a DA neuron overactivity. The MAM model reveals that APDs act differently in a hyperdopamineregic system compared to a normal one, including rapid onset of depolarization block in response to acute D2 antagonist administration and downregulation of DA neuron population activity following acute and repeated D2 partial agonist administration, none of which are observed in normal rats. Novel target compounds have been developed based on the theory that glutamatergic dysfunction is central to schizophrenia pathology. Despite showing promise in preclinical research, none of the novel drugs succeeded in clinical trials. However, preclinical research is generally performed in normal, drug-naive rats, whereas models with disease-relevant pathology and prior APD exposure may improve the predictive validity of preclinical research. Indeed, in MAM rats, chronic D2 antagonist treatment leads to persistent DA supersensitivity that interferes with the response to drugs that target upstream pathology. Moreover, MAM rats revealed that the peri-pubertal period is a stress-sensitive window that can be targeted to prevent the development of MAM pathology in adulthood. Neurodevelopmental models, such as the MAM model, can thus be used to test potential pharmacotherapies that may be able to treat schizophrenia in early stages of the disease. This article is part of the issue entitled 'Special Issue on Antipsychotics'.
Nickel-Pincer Nucleotide Cofactor-Containing Enzymes

Abstract A recently discovered nickel-containing, dithioacid-modified pyridinium mononucleotide, termed the nickel-pincer nucleotide (NPN) cofactor, is present in microbial lactate racemase (LarA). Three enzymes synthesize NPN from nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide: LarB carboxylates the pyridinium ring and hydrolyses the phosphoanhydride, LarE converts the two carboxylates on the pyridinium ring to thiocarboxylates, and LarC inserts the nickel ion. After providing an overview of known racemase and epimerase mechanisms, this article describes the structure and proton-coupled hydride transfer mechanism of LarA, the unique properties of the NPN biosynthetic enzymes, and the potential use of the NPN cofactor in enzymes other than lactate racemase.
Single Port Robotic Extra-peritoneal Dual Kidney Transplantation: Initial Preclinical Experience and Description of the Technique

Abstract Objective To describe the surgical technique for single-port robotic extraperitoneal dual kidney transplantation (DKT) using the SP surgical system (Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) in a preclinical model. Methods In 1 male cadaver, the SP Surgical System was used to perform an extraperitoneal DKT. Kidney grafts were obtained from the local organ procurement organization, after being declined by all transplant centers. Kidneys were benched and wrapped in cold sponges. A periumbilical midline incision was performed. A kidney-shaped balloon was inserted through the incision to create the extraperitoneal space. SP robot was docked followed by dissection of iliac vessels bilaterally. The robot was undocked and the first graft was inserted through the wound retractor. The robot was re-docked and the renal vein anastomosis to external iliac vein was performed followed by renal artery anastomosis to external iliac artery using 5-0 monofilament sutures. Ureteroneocystostomy was performed using the Lich-Gregoir technique over a trasplant stent. Same steps were replicated for the left kidney transplant. Once procedures were done, kidneys were then harvested with the iliac vessels to examine the quality of the anastomosis. Results The surgical procedure was completed successfully without the need of additional port or conversion to standard approach. Total bench kidney time was 30 minutes with overall transplantation time of 130 and 115 minutes of the right and left kidney, respectively. Conclusion We demonstrated the feasibility of single-port extraperitoneal DKT using the novel SP robotic platform. Limitations include the preclinical model. Further assessment is necessary in a truly clinical setting.
C-GeM: Coarse-Grained Electron Model for Predicting the Electrostatic Potential in Molecules

We have developed a new coarse-grained electron model, C-GeM, in which atoms are represented by a positive core and an electron shell described by Gaussian charge distributions, with the interactio...
Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD) after HLA-Mismatched Haploidentical Transplantation with Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide Compared to Matched Unrelated Donor: Incidence, Distribution and Response to Therapy

Unmanipulated T-cell replete HLA-mismatched haploidentical transplantation (haplo) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCY) is now widely used for patients lacking a suitably matched donor. The use of PTCY post haplo results in lower chronic GVHD rates compared to match unrelated donors (MUD) without PTCY. GVHD after PTCY in the haplo setting may have different presentation, response to treatment and impact on survival endpoints compared to a standard GVHD prophylaxis of calcineurin inhibitor plus MMF or methotrexate for MUD patients. To check for differences in GVHD presentation and response to treatment between MUD and haplo with PTCY, we assessed 394 consecutive patients who developed acute or chronic GVHD after receiving their first allogeneic transplantation (HCT) from a 10/10 HLA MUD (n=179) or a haplo (n=215) at our center between 2008 and 2017. Median follow up for survivors was 52.5 months. Our institution has prospectively documented onset, grading and therapy of patients with GVHD using a single dedicated practitioner since 2005. All haplo patients received standard GVHD prophylaxis of tacrolimus (days 5-180), MMF (stop day 35) and PTCY at 50mg/kg on days 3 and 4. Most commonly used GVHD prophylaxis for MUD patients were tacrolimus/methotrexate (68%) and tacrolimus/MMF (26%). MUD recipients were older (median age 56 vs 53 years, p=0.007), were more likely to be white (93% vs 58%, p =55), gender, race, diagnosis, regimen intensity, graft source (BM, PBSC), disease risk index (low/intermediate, high/very high), CIBMTR risk (low, intermediate, high), HCT-CI (0-2, >=3), CMV status, year of transplantation (2008-2012, 2013-2015, 2016-2017). The following variables were evaluated as time-dependent covariates in Cox models: all-grade cGVHD, moderate-severe cGVHD, severe cGVHD, grade 2-4 aGVHD, grade 3-4 aGVHD. Variables were selected if p values were less than 0.05. Developing grade 3-4aGVHD and severe chronic GVHD were both associated with worse OS, DFS and TRM (table 2). Both aGVHD and cGVHD were not significant factors for relapse. Our analysis reveals that compared to MUD, haplo transplant results in significantly lower incidence of moderate-severe chronic GVHD, faster cGVHD onset, different organ distribution and a higher chance of coming off immunosuppression. This data, added to prior publications from our center and others showing similar OS and DFS between MUD and haplo, enforces the notion that haplo transplant with PTCY is at least equivalent to MUD transplant. An ongoing BMTCTN 1702(CTRL-ALT-D) study will help answer assess this in a prospective fashion. figure 1: Chronic GVHD patients who are Immunosuppression free at 2 years Table 1: Organ Distribution of Chronic GVHD by Donor Type Download : Download high-res image (488KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
The adherence to The American Association for The Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) guidelines in treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: Institutional experience.

496Background: The American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) guidelines outline an algorithm regarding the treatment modality of choice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma ...
Axial Vector Form Factors from Lattice QCD that Satisfy the PCAC Relation

Previous lattice QCD calculations of axial vector and pseudoscalar form factors show significant deviation from the partially conserved axial current (PCAC) relation between them. Since the original correlation functions satisfy PCAC, the observed deviations from the operator identity cast doubt on whether all of the systematics in the extraction of form factors from the correlation functions are under control. We identify the problematic systematic as a missed excited state, whose energy as a function of the momentum transfer squared ${Q}^{2}$ is determined from the analysis of the three-point functions themselves. Its energy is much smaller than those of the excited states previously considered, and including it impacts the extraction of all of the ground state matrix elements. The form factors extracted using these mass and energy gaps satisfy PCAC and another consistency condition, and they validate the pion-pole dominance hypothesis. We also show that the extraction of the axial charge ${g}_{A}$ is very sensitive to the value of the mass gaps of the excited states used, and current lattice data do not provide an unambiguous determination of these, unlike the ${Q}^{2}\ensuremath{\ne}0$ case. To highlight the differences and improvement between the conventional vs the new analysis strategy, we present a comparison of results obtained on a physical pion mass ensemble at $a\ensuremath{\approx}0.0871\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fm}$. With the new strategy, we find ${g}_{A}=1.30(6)$ and axial charge radius ${r}_{A}=0.74(6)\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{fm}$, both extracted using the $z$ expansion to parametrize the ${Q}^{2}$ behavior of ${G}_{A}({Q}^{2})$, and ${g}_{P}^{*}=8.06(44)$, obtained using the pion-pole dominance ansatz to fit the ${Q}^{2}$ behavior of the induced pseudoscalar form factor ${\stackrel{\texttildelow{}}{G}}_{P}({Q}^{2})$. These results are consistent with current phenomenological values.
The Influence of Nucleophilic and Redox Pincer Character as well as Alkali Metals on the Capture of Oxygen Substrates: The Case of Chromium(II).

Dimeric [CrL]2 , where L is the conjugate base of bis-pyrazolyl pyridine, is evaluated for its ability to undergo inner sphere and outer sphere redox chemistry. It reacts with Cp2 Fe+ to give [Cr4 (HL)4 (μ4 -O)]2+ , still containing divalent Cr. Reduction (KC8 ) of [CrL]2 by two electrons gives [K2 (THF)3 Cr3 L3 (μ3 -O)], and by four electrons gives [K4 (THF)10 Cr2 L2 (μ-O)], each of which has scavenged (hydr)oxide from glass surface because of the electrophilicity of the underligated Cr. [K4 (THF)10 Cr2 L2 (μ-O)], is shown by comprehensive DFT calculations and analysis of intra-ligand bond lengths to contain a pyridyl radical L3- and CrII , illustrating that this pincer is proton-responsive, redox active, and a versatile donor to associated K+ ions here. The K+ electrophiles interact with electron-rich oxo, but do not significantly (>5 kcal mol-1 ) alter spin state energies. Inner sphere oxidation of [CrL]2 with a quinone gives [Cr2 L2 (semiquinone)2 ], while pre-reduced [CrL]22- reacts with quinone to give [K3 (THF)3 Cr2 L2 (catecholate)2 (μ-OH)], a product of capture of two undercoordinated LCr(catecholate)1- by hydroxide.
Cofilin is required for polarization of tension in stress fiber networks during migration.

Cell migration is associated with the establishment of defined leading and trailing edges, which in turn requires polarization of contractile forces. While the actomyosin stress fiber (SF) network plays a critical role in enforcing this polarity, precisely how this asymmetry is established remains unclear. Here, we provide evidence for a model in which the actin-severing protein cofilin participates in symmetry breakage by removing low-tension actomyosin filaments during transverse arc assembly. Cofilin knockdown (KD) produces a non-polarized SF architecture that cannot be rescued with chemokines or asymmetric matrix patterns. Whereas cofilin KD increases whole-cell prestress, it decreases prestress within single SFs, implying an accumulation of low-tension SFs. This notion is supported by timelapse imaging, which reveals weakly contractile and incompletely fused transverse arcs. Confocal and superresolution imaging further associate this failed fusion with the presence of crosslinker-rich, tropomyosin-devoid nodes at the junctions of multiple transverse arc fragments and dorsal SFs. These results support a model in which cofilin facilitates the formation of high-tension transverse arcs, thereby promoting mechanical asymmetry.
Evaluation of the role of kras gene in colon cancer pathway using string and Cytoscape software

Introduction: cancer is one of the top three most commonly occurring cancer worldwide with more than 1.8 million cases in 2018. In Malaysia, cancer is the most common cancer in males and the second most common cancer in females. Albeit being the second most common form of cancer in Malaysia, there is a lack of informal or structured national cancer screening program in Malaysia and it remains a low priority in healthcare planning and expenditure. The risk of developing colon cancer is greatly influenced by factors such as lifestyle habits, genetic inheritance, diet, weight, and exercise. KRAS, the most frequently mutated oncogene in cancer, occurs in about 50 percent of cancers. This study maps the KRAS gene involved in colon cancer pathway using applications such as STRING version 11.0 and version 3.7.0 to provide a clear visualization of all the related and involved proteins and genes that interact with KRAS gene in the pathway. Methods: Using KRAS as a seed, a protein-protein interaction network was constructed with 3391 interactions which were retrieved from the STRING version 11.0 database. The protein network interaction was further grouped into 6 clusters using the MCODE application. Molecular function and biological processes of the genes involved in the KRAS protein network were determined using Biological Networks Gene Ontology (BiNGO). Results: According to the resulting protein-protein network interaction map, it revealed that KRAS mechanism and co-expressed genes interconnected with protein or enzyme binding, receptor signaling protein activity and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 2 binding. Conclusion: Understanding these protein-protein interactions provide insight into cellular activities and thus aid in the understanding of the cause of disease.
Why R-CHOP + X is not enough: lessons learned and next steps in the mission to improve frontline therapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Two-thirds of newly diagnosed cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) are cured with R-CHOP, an immunochemotherapy regimen that has been the standard of care for almost two decades. Ongoing molecular characterization of DLBCL has revealed a heterogeneous disease comprised of multiple subtypes based on putative cell of origin or somatic mutations with unique oncogenic signaling pathways. The door has been opened to the use of novel agents that target the specific molecular vulnerabilities of DLBCL, but despite this, multiple randomized studies have not identified a suitable drug 'X' to combine with R-CHOP. This report will review recent attempts to add individual novel agents to R-CHOP in the mission to improve frontline treatment for DLBCL and discuss promising ongoing studies. It will offer potential strategies to explore when designing future clinical trials, including exploiting synergy between multiple novel agents.
Tibetan Healing Traditions, Scientific Commodification, and Cultural Identity

Throughout several years, Tibetan medical establishments (medical schools and hospitals) have been undergoing state efforts to make Tibetan medicine not just more scientific, but also commodified in the eyes of local Chinese customers-tourists and for the global markets. However, local Tibetan communities have persistently preserved their traditional healing traditions by practicing a kind of integrative method and utilizing a pluralistic system of healing. This paper will explore the tension between commodification and cultural preservation in terms of Tibetan medicine and local healing beliefs.
Dual-Band, Two-Layer Millimeter-Wave Transceiver for Hybrid MIMO Systems

This article presents a two-layer low-complexity fully connected (FC) RF/analog weighting multi-input-multi-output (MIMO) transceiver comprising an RF weight layer and an analog-baseband weight layer. The transceiver can serve as a small-scale MIMO system by itself and can serve as the building block in a larger hybrid MIMO system. The architecture mitigates the complexity versus spectral-efficiency tradeoffs of existing MIMO architectures and enables MIMO stream/user scalability, superior energy efficiency, and spatial-processing flexibility. A compact, reconfigurable bidirectional circuit architecture is introduced, including a new Cartesian-combining/splitting beamforming receiver/transmitter, dual-band bidirectional beamforming network, dual-band frequency translation chains, and baseband Cartesian beamforming with an improved programmable gain amplifier design. A 28-/37-GHz band, two-layer, eight-element, four-stream hybrid MIMO transceiver prototype is designed in 65-nm CMOS to demonstrate the above features. The prototype achieves accurate beam/null-steering capability, excellent area/power efficiency, and state-of-the-art TX/RX mode performance in two simultaneous bands while demonstrating multi-antenna (up to eight) multi-stream (up to four) over-the-air spatial multiplexing operation using the proposed energy-efficient two-layer hybrid beamforming scheme.
Promotion and Tenure Perceptions of University Aviation Association (UAA) Collegiate Aviation Administrators and Faculty

This article reports on an online survey study of collegiate aviation administration and faculty perceptions about promotion and tenure workload components. These components include the importance, or value of specific workload components taken into consideration during the promotion and tenure process for probationary faculty members. The authors report on their literature review which focused on teaching, scholarship, and service, the traditional “three pillars” of academe. They conducted an online survey that featured 20 multiple-choice questions with space for additional comments. Participants were 220 professional members of the University Aviation Association (UAA); 87 people responded (39.5%). The survey respondents represent a cross-section of 4-year collegiate aviation institutions and faculty. Seventy-eight of the survey respondents were faculty members of all ranks. From this quantitative/descriptive research study the authors found data to re-affirm the notion that perceptions of workload items used to determine fitness for promotion and tenure are not uniform throughout collegiate aviation. One constant perception was that the “three pillars” (scholarship, teaching and service) maintain some degree of importance in the promotion and tenure process. The authors conclude by suggesting future research that would compare the perceptions of administrators versus that of faculty on the topic of promotion and tenure. The survey instrument is included as an appendix to the article.
The “Knowledge City” and the “Experience City”: the Main, Mediating, and Moderating Effects of Education on Income and Economic Inequality

The new knowledge economy and the experience economy are the two most recent techno-economic paradigms that appear to guide business executives and economic development practitioners and that frame the research of management and economic development academics. In this paper, we distinguished between knowledge cities and experience cities, and we performed a preliminary study of the association and alternative roles of education with income and inequality within urban areas. Specifically, we analyzed a number of competing models that investigate the main, mediating, and moderating effects of education on income and inequality in urban areas in the USA. Our findings suggest that education has a positive role in increasing income and, more importantly, in reducing inequality when we account for the concentration of knowledge and experience-based industries in the city. Distinctively, it is the knowledge-based sector that contributed significantly to this result.
Aggregate Stabilization of Volcanic Ash and Soil During Microbial Degradation of Straw

Bacterial and fungal colonists of straw in soil promoted aggregate stabilization of volcanic ash and soil.
Bayesian meta‐analysis of coefficient alpha

The current paper describes and illustrates a Bayesian approach to the meta-analysis of coefficient alpha. Alpha is the most commonly used estimate of the reliability or consistency (freedom from measurement error) for educational and psychological measures. The conventional approach to meta-analysis uses inverse variance weights to combine information from independent studies to provide an overall estimate. The Bayesian approach provides similar estimates to the conventional approach if a diffuse prior is used. However, the Bayesian approach also provides ‘shrunken’ local estimates of reliability in each context. The amount of shrinkage depends upon both the variability in the underlying populations and the sampling variance of the local estimates. Advantages of the approach are the estimation of individual studies adjusted for sampling error and the application of meta-analytic results to new local studies in which the local study ‘borrows strength’ from the meta-analysis. The ability to borrow strength for the new local studies is particularly useful in applied work in which the estimate of the local parameter is of primary interest. The approach is illustrated by the analysis of studies of the reliability of the General Ethnicity Questionnaire – Abridged, a measure of identification with the culture of one's heritage and the culture of one's host country. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Biochemistry of DNA-defective mutants of bacteriophage T4. Thymine nucleotide pool dynamics.

Abstract A previous paper in this series (C. K. Mathews, (1972) J. Biol. Chem. 247 , 7430) showed that deoxynucleoside triphosphate pools expand manyfold when DNA synthesis is blocked genetically in infection by bacteriophage T4. This paper describes a more detailed analysis of this phenomenon. The key approach involves labeling with thymine or thymidine under conditions of infection where both phage and host bear mutations that inactivate thymidylate synthetase. Principal findings include the following: (1) Nucleotides in the expanded pools are derived in roughly equal measure from breakdown of host cell DNA and from nucleotide synthesis de novo after infection. (2) Thymidine diphosphate pool expansion is comparable, in rate and extent, to thymidine triphosphate pool expansion, but thymidine monophosphate pools accumulate much less. (3) The rate of expansion of the total thymine nucleotide pool following temperature upshift in infection by a temperature-sensitive gene 45 mutant is approximately equal to the rate of thymine incorporation into DNA immediately preceding the upshift. (4) Similarly, when DNA synthesis is restored by a downshift, the total thymine nucleotide pool drains at a rate commensurate with that of thymine incorporation into DNA. (5) Under these latter conditions the dTTP pool begins to drain earlier than the dTDP pool, suggesting that dTTP is the more proximal DNA precursor in this system.