cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP IN ADULT SURVIVORS OF PULMONARY ATRESIA WITH INTACT VENTRICULAR SEPTUM

Background: Early childhood palliation for pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PA-IVS) can range from biventricular repair to single ventricle palliation. This study aims to evaluate the need for additional interventions long-term in a survivor cohort of adult PA-IVS patients following
Biological effects of urban air pollution. V. A study of effects of Los Angeles atmosphere on laboratory rodents.

Rodents exposed to the ambient atmosphere of Los Angeles throughout their lives have been studied in comparison with animals maintained in smog-filtered atmospheres. In aging inbred mice of certain...
Modification of Membrane and Organelle Proteins by Short-chain Poly-(R)-3-hydroxybutyrates

cPHB-modified proteins are found in all organisms – prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The presence of cPHB can be determined by analysis of the protein, isolated from cells or tissues, via a chemical assay [2], an antibody assay [3] or mass spectroscopy [4]. If cPHB is found, all further studies of the folding and function(s) of the protein should also be conducted with protein isolated from cells or tissues and not with protein obtained by overexpression, since post-translational modifications by cPHB may be absent or incomplete in the overexpressed protein.
Plato on the Value of Philosophy: The Art of Argument in the Gorgias and Phaedrus

Plato was the first philosopher in the western tradition to reflect systematically (and often critically) on rhetoric. In this book, Tushar Irani presents a comprehensive and innovative reading of the Gorgias and the Phaedrus, the only two Platonic dialogues to focus on what an 'art of argument' should look like, treating each of the texts individually, yet ultimately demonstrating how each can best be understood in light of the other. For Plato, the way in which we approach argument typically reveals something about our deeper desires and motivations, particularly with respect to other people, and so the key to understanding his views on the proper practice of argument lies in his understanding of human psychology. According to this reading, rhetoric done well is simply the practice of philosophy, the pursuit of which has far-reaching implications for how we should relate to others and how we ought to live.
Nonlinear Feature Normalization in Steganalysis

In this paper, we propose a method for normalization of rich feature sets to improve detection accuracy of simple classifiers in steganalysis. It consists of two steps: 1) replacing random subsets of empirical joint probability mass functions (co-occurrences) by their conditional probabilities and 2) applying a non-linear normalization to each element of the feature vector by forcing its marginal distribution over covers to be uniform. We call the first step random conditioning and the second step feature uniformization. When applied to maxSRMd2 features in combination with simple classifiers, we observe a gain in detection accuracy across all tested stego algorithms and payloads. For better insight, we investigate the gain for two image formats. The proposed normalization has a very low computational complexity and does not require any feedback from the stego class.
SharP Hash: A High-Performing Distributed Hash for Extreme-Scale Systems

A high-performing distributed hash is critical for achieving performance in many applications and system software using extreme-scale systems. It is also a central part of many Big-Data frameworks including Memcached, file systems, and job schedulers. However, there is a lack of high-performing distributed hash implementations. In this work, we propose, design, and implement, SharP Hash, a high-performing, RDMA-based distributed hash for extreme-scale systems. SharP Hash's high performance is obtained through the use of high-performing networks and one-sided semantics. We perform an evaluation of SharP Hash and demonstrate its performance characteristics with a synthetic micro-benchmark and implementation of a Key Value (KV) store, Memcached.
Inspired Translation: Synthesizing Qualitative Research and Boot Camp Translation to Achieve Meaningful Community Engagement.

In “Beyond Consent,” Kraft and colleagues reach several conclusions regarding diverse community perspectives on trust and participation in precision medicine research based on qualitative research ...
A Cloud Evolution Based Handoff Decision Scheme with ABC Supported

With wireless access technologies maturing, the wireless network environments have a characteristic of multiple networks overlapping, called heterogeneous wireless networks. As a key procedure of the always best connected (ABC) concept, handoff decision schemes need to consider with plenty of factors. Based on the game analysis and a cloud evolution algorithm, it is proposed that a cloud evolution-based handoff decision scheme with ABC supported to maximize user utility and network provider utility. Simulation results show that this scheme can search the optimal solution efficiently and has good performance.
Stage T1 Bladder Cancer: Grade is the Primary Determinant for Risk of Muscle Invasion

AbstractTumor characteristics believed to predict for deep muscle invasion after transurethral resection of superficial bladder cancer alone were analyzed in 51 patients with stage T1 (stage A) transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. All patients were treated at Stanford University Medical Center and none had intravesical chemotherapy at any time during the median followup of 78 months. No patient had carcinoma in situ. A total of 14 patients (27%) had deep muscle invasion. None of the patients with grade 1, 5 (22%) with grade 2 and 9 (50%) with grade 3 to 4 tumors had deep muscle invasion. Comparison of the risk of muscle invasion using pathological tumor grade at diagnosis, highest grade at any cystoscopic biopsy before the diagnosis of muscle invasion or highest grade at cystoscopic biopsy immediately antecedent to the cystoscopy at which muscle invasion was diagnosed all showed similar probability of muscle invasion. Mean interval to development of muscle invasion was 6 and 12 months in the grades...
Monoclonal antibody therapy

Monoclonal antibodies were the first successful targeted anti-cancer therapeutics in the modern era. In the 1970s elucidation of hybridoma and molecular biology technologies established mechanisms to produce and modify monoclonal antibodies with therapeutic anti-cancer potential. In the 1980s early investigation with murine monoclonal antibodies in animal models and patients established most of the principles of antibody therapy including immunologic and regulatory mechanisms of anti-cancer effects, and the use of immunoconjugates in which antibodies act as carriers. These early studies also showed that most of the toxicities associated with monoclonal antibodies relate to the target antigen, and less often immune interactions with the antibody itself. In 1997 the United States Food and Drug Administration approved rituximab (Rituxan) for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma, making it the first monoclonal antibody to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of human malignancy. As of early 2008, there were six commercially available unconjugated monoclonal antibodies with marketing indications for treatment of human malignancy. In addition to rituximab for B cell malignancies, this list includes alemtuzumab (Campath) for B and T cell malignancies, trastuzumab (Herceptin) which inhibits Her-2 overex-pressing breast cancers, anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) antibodies cetuximab (Erbitux) and panitumumab (Vectibix) which inhibit various epithelial solid tumors including colorectal cancer, and bevacizumab (Avastin) which binds to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and is probably useful to treat most malignancies, including colorectal, lung, and breast cancers. These products have been most useful when combined with chemotherapy because of additive or synergistic anti-tumor effects.
The influence of polymer blend composition on the degradation of polymer/hydroxyapatite biomaterials.

The in vitro degradation of biodegradable polymer/ceramic composites was assessed in two different environments under both static and pseudodynamic conditions. The blends, consisting of polycaprolactone, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), and hydroxyapatite, have potential use in bone tissue engineering applications, thus it is essential to establish a standardized method of characterizing the degradation of new biomaterials. In this study, the variation in polymer blend ratio was examined to observe a change in degradation rate. The porous blends were degraded in water and serum-containing media. A previous study examined in vitro degradation in serum-free buffer. Molecular weight loss, gravimetric weight loss, pH changes and morphological changes were evaluated. The changes in porosity were observed with scanning electron microscopy and quantitatively assessed using image analysis. There was a significant difference in molecular weight loss and gravimetric weight loss between the blends after 10 weeks in vitro. Blends containing the greatest amount of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) degraded most rapidly. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers
Giant cell arteritis of the occipital arteries--a prospective color coded duplex sonography study in 78 patients.

Context: Occipital headache and nuchal pain may indicate the involvement of the occipital arteries (OCCA) in temporal arteritis (TA). Recently high resolution color coded sonography (CCDS) has greatly improved the imaging of small lumen arteries. Objective: The aim of the present study was the demonstration of TA , of the OCCA in comparison with the superficial temporal artery (STA) by means of CCDS in patients with nuchal and occipital pain suspected of suffering from TA. Design: Prospective study of 78 patients comparing CCDS findings of the OCCA and of the STA with the clinical diagnosis and the biopsy results. Results: 27 patients received the diagnosis TA; there were 51 other diagnoses. CCDS of the OCCA reached a sensitivity in diagnosis of 63 % and a s pecificity of 100 % and in hist ology of 65 % and 100% respectively. CCDS of the STA reached a diagnostic sensitivity of 78 % and a specificity of 94% and of a histological sensitivity of 77 % and specificity of 82 %. Reversibility of CCDS abnormalities was monitored in 5 patients over a period of 13 to 42 days. Conclusions: Involvement of the OCCA in TA patients is a frequent finding and may be the only pathological phenomenon in some patients with nuchal pain, occipital headache and occipital scalp tenderness. CCDS of the STA and OCCA contributed to the diagnosis of TA with a high rate of perivascular hypoechogenic abnormalities (stenoses and occlusions) and a low rate of these abnormalities in the control patients. However, CCDS cannot differentiate between inflammatory and degenerative artery disease and has limitations concerning spatial resolution. Before CCDS may replace biopsy in clinical practice the accuracy of the criteria recommended above should be tested in larger groups of patients.
Scholarly Success of Orthopaedic Surgeons Participating in the Clinician Scholar Career Development Program.

BACKGROUND A concern exists about the decline in young orthopaedic surgeons pursuing careers as clinician-researchers. One program designed to address this concern is the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons/Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation/Orthopaedic Research Society (AAOS/OREF/ORS) Clinician Scholar Career Development Program (CSCDP). The aims of this study were to better understand the characteristics of CSCDP participants and how the experience effects involvement in career-impacting opportunities and scholarly activity. METHODS This study was a retrospective analysis. CSCDP participants from 2003 to 2014 were recorded, and demographic information was collected. An Internet search was utilized to determine each surgeon's current practice environment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) database was used to track NIH funding. The OREF and its web site were used to query OREF grant funding. American Orthopaedic Association (AOA) Traveling Fellowship awardees were recorded from the AOA web site. Specialty-specific traveling fellowship awardee information was collected via organization web sites, and direct-contact, scholarly activity, and impact were determined using the Scopus database Hirsch index (h-index). RESULTS Two hundred and thirty-two individuals (229 confirmed current orthopaedic surgeons) participated in the CSCDP. Fifteen (6.6%), 41 (17.9%), 20 (8.7%), and 17 (7.4%) former CSCDP participants have been awarded NIH funding, OREF grant support, AOA Traveling Fellowships, and/or specialty-specific traveling fellowships, respectively. Those involved in any of the career-impactful opportunities post-CSCDP have had higher scholarly activity and impact compared with those who were not involved in the career-impactful opportunities (h-index: 15.9 [standard deviation (SD), 8.1] versus 10.0 [SD, 5.7], p < 0.0001). No scholarly activity and impact differences existed between orthopaedic subspecialties (p = 0.077). CONCLUSIONS The CSCDP appears to play an important role in promoting clinician-researcher careers in orthopaedic surgery. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The CSCDP must continue to adapt to the surrounding health-care landscape to achieve an even better success rate in creating clinician-researchers who will further advance musculoskeletal health and discovery for the betterment of the patients and the profession.
Exploring Advanced Mathematics Courses and Content for Secondary Mathematics Teachers

Over the past century, mathematicians and mathematics educators have explored various ways in which abstract algebra is related to school mathematics. These have included Felix Klein's work as a mathematician—in which his synthesis of the study of geometry through abstract algebraic structures has proved influential on our approach to teaching secondary students geometry even today; his work as a mathematics teacher educator—famous for his observation of the ``double—discontinuity'' that secondary teachers face in their mathematical preparation; the provocative and controversial New Math curricular reforms in the 1960s in the USA, which reorganized and restructured the content of school mathematics to be more in accord with formal set theory and the study of algebraic structures; and various studies about, and investigations of, teachers' (advanced) mathematical knowledge in relation to their practices in the classroom and their student's outcomes. These efforts, and others, have considered the connection between school mathematics and the study of the abstract algebra structures they comprise.
Functional multipotency of stem cells: Biological traits gleaned from neural progeny studies.

Abstract In this review, a stem cell concept, initially defined by the author more than 10 years ago focusing on neural stem cells, has been systematically refined and updated. Relative to the conventional view which touched principally on the totipotency, pluripotentcy and multipotency of cell lineage differentiation (e.g., the ability of neural stem cells to grow into all three types of neural cells), accumulated data obtained by other researchers and my own team promoted me and my colleagues to propose and establish a new biological concept: Functional Multipotency of Stem Cells. The goal is to recognize the biofunctional multipotency of the stem cell to mediate homeostasis during development and adulthood. Under this academic context, an enriched repertoire of signaling, epigenetic and genetic events has been revealed. Such insight has enabled appreciation of the wide range of molecular tactics the stem cell can use at each developmental or adult stage. The multifunctionality allows stem cells to properly migrate, differentiate, and integrate into as well as prepare, influence, and repair the neighboring cells to steer the micro- and macro-environment towards the formation and self-maintenance of a physiological organ and system. It has been demonstrated that embracing this concept of the stem cell’s “functional multipotency” is pivotal for correctly, efficiently, and optimally investigating stem cells to advance fundamental biology and therapeutic translation.
Anesthetic considerations for lung resection: preoperative assessment, intraoperative challenges and postoperative analgesia

This article is intended to provide a general overview of the anesthetic management for lung resection surgery including the preoperative evaluation of the patient, factors influencing the intraoperative anesthetic management and options for postoperative analgesia. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among cancer patients in the United States. In patients undergoing lung resection, perioperative pulmonary complications are the major etiology of morbidity and mortality. Risk stratification of patients should be part of the preoperative assessment to predict their risk of short-term vs. long-term pulmonary complications. Improvements in surgical technique and equipment have made video assisted thoracoscopy and robotically assisted thoracoscopy the procedures of choice for thoracic surgeries. General anesthesia including lung isolation has become essential for optimizing visualization of the operative lung but may itself contribute to pulmonary complications. Protective lung ventilation strategies may not prevent acute lung injury from one-lung ventilation, but it may decrease the amount of overall lung injury by using small tidal volumes, positive end expiratory pressure, low peak and plateau airway pressures and low inspired oxygen fraction, as well as by keeping surgical time as short as possible. Because of the high incidence of chronic post-thoracotomy pain syndrome following thoracic surgery, which can impact a patient’s normal daily activities for months to years after surgery, postoperative analgesia is a necessary part of the anesthetic plan. Multiple options such as thoracic epidural analgesia, intravenous narcotics and several nerve blocks can be considered in order to prevent or attenuate chronic pain syndromes. Enhanced recovery after thoracic surgery is a relatively new topic with many elements taken from the experience with colorectal surgery. The goal of enhanced recovery is to improve patient outcome by improving organ function and decreasing postoperative complications, and therefore decreasing length of hospital stay.
Technical keys in maximizing finger proximal interphalangeal joint motion after vascularized toe joint transfers

Vascularized toe joint transfers to the fingers have been performed for more than four decades, but their outcomes are not comparable with implant arthroplasty. Limited range of motion and extensor deficits of about 30° remain major problems with the constructed joints. We observed that the central extensor tendon of the toe is often attenuated proximally in its course on the dorsum of the proximal interphalangeal joint. A tight repair of the toe extensors to finger extensors limits joint motion. We reviewed our surgical techniques with this consideration. Thirty-eight fingers that we followed for 6 to 123 months had active range of motion of the reconstructed proximal interphalangeal joint in the finger of 58° (range 17°-76°) with an extensor deficit of 18° (range 0°-30°). We consider that the extensor mechanism and central slip insertion to the middle phalanx must be reconstructed meticulously to improve joint motion and decrease extension lag, and design of a lateral skin flap paddle to better cover vessels and allow extensor repairs.
Newborn Screening Quality Improvement Project

Background: The New York Newborn Screening Program is designed to help screen newborns for 58 different conditions. Pediatricians are responsible for reviewing the results of newborn screen (NBS), notifying families, and referring to appropriate providers when necessary. At Stony Brook Pediatric Children’s Services, NBS documentation occurs only 30% of the time within the 2 week - 4 month well child …
NSL complex acetylates Lamin A/C.

The non-specific lethal (NSL) complex is a highly conserved MOF acetyltransferase-containing complex. A recent study now shows that the NSL complex acetylates a new non-histone target, Lamin A/C and reveals the NSL complex as a crucial factor in maintaining nuclear architecture and genome integrity.
Dynamic Activation Patterns of the Motor Brain Revealed by Diffuse Optical Tomography

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT), a subset of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), is a noninvasive functional imaging modality for studying the human brain in normal and diseased conditions. It measures changes in concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (Hb) in the blood vasculature of the brain. In contrast to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the gold standard in human brain imaging, DOT offers the advantage of higher temporal resolution, portability, lower cost, multiple contrasts and usability for persons who cannot otherwise utilize MRI-based imaging modalities, including bedridden patients and infants, etc. The goal of the present study was to evaluate performance of a DOT method in studying dynamic patterns of brain activations involving motor control. CW-fNIRS data were acquired in four sessions from a healthy male participant when he performed a motor task in a block-design experiment. Results from experimental data showed pronounced activity in the primary motor cortex (M1), contralateral to the clenching hand. It was further observed that the M1 activity was consistent over four sessions. Furthermore, temporal dynamics of motor activity at each session further revealed well-sequenced activation patterns among M1, premotor cortex (PMC), and supplementary motor area (SMA). Timed ipsilateral motor activity suppression was also observed several seconds after the onset of contralateral M1 activity. More importantly, these temporal dynamics were similarly observed in all four sessions. These preliminary results suggest that the DOT method has the sensitivity, reliability, and spatio-temporal resolutions to study activities originated from the motor cortices. A full-scope evaluation and validation in more participants on the motor system can establish it as a promising neuroimaging tool to study, such as, infants at the risk of cerebral palsy or elders with Parkinson’s due to its portability and usability in clinical environments.
Clinical and genetic risk factors for aromatase inhibitor-associated arthralgia in breast cancer survivors.

Abstract Background Arthralgia is a common and debilitating toxicity of aromatase inhibitors (AI) that leads to premature drug discontinuation. We sought to evaluate the clinical and genetic risk factors associated with AI-associated arthralgia (AIAA). Methods We performed a cross-sectional study among postmenopausal women with stage 0-III breast cancer who were prescribed a third-generation AI for adjuvant therapy. The primary outcome was patient-reported AIAA occurrence. We extracted and assayed germline DNA for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of genes implicated in estrogen and inflammation pathways. Multivariable logistic regression models examined the association between demographic, clinical, and genetic factors and AIAA. Analyses were restricted to White participants. Results Among 1049 White participants, 543 (52%) reported AIAA. In multivariable analyses, women who had a college education [Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) 1.49, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.00–2.20], had a more recent transition into menopause ( Conclusions Time since menopause and start of AIs, prior chemotherapy, and SNP rs11648233 within the HSD17B2 gene in the estrogen pathway were significantly associated with patient-reported AIAA. These findings suggest that clinical and genetic factors involved in estrogen withdrawal increase the risk of AIAA in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors.
XIPP: multi-dimensional NMR analysis software

Here we present the XIPP (eXtensible Interactive Peak Picker) NMR software for analyzing multidimensional NMR data of proteins, DNA, RNA and protein-nucleic acid complexes. XIPP organizes experiments into pre-defined studies and replaces our original PIPP software suite which is no longer supported. Default study types exist for backbone assignment, sidechain assignment, NOE assignment and several relaxation series experiments, used in solution NMR studies. XIPP is written in Java and Jython. The default study types are defined in Jython which can be modified and extended to create new types of studies.
Smartly Handling Renewable Energy Instability in Supporting A Cloud Datacenter

The size and energy consumption of datacenters have been increasing significantly over the past years. As a result, datacenters’ increasing electricity monetary cost, energy consumption and energy harmful gas emissions have become a severe problem. Renewable energy supply is widely seen as a promising solution. However, the instability of renewable energy brings about a new challenge since insufficient energy supply may lead to job running interruptions or failures. Though previous works attempt to more accurately predict the amount of produced renewable energy, due to the instability of its influencing factors (e.g., wind, temperature), sufficient renewable energy supply cannot be always guaranteed. To handle this problem, in this paper, we propose allocating jobs with the same service-level-objective (SLO) level to the same physical machine (PM) group, and power each PM group with renewable energy generators that have probability no less than its SLO to produce the amount no less than its energy demand. It ensures that insufficient renewable energy supply will not lead to SLO violations. We use a deep learning technique to predict the probability of producing amount no less than each value of each renewable energy source and predict the energy demands of each PM area. We formulate an optimization problem: how to match renewable energy resources with different instabilities to different PM groups as energy supply in order to minimize the number of SLO violations (due to interruption from insufficient renewable energy supply), total energy monetary cost and total carbon emission. We then use reinforcement learning method and linear programming method to solve the optimization problem. The real trace driven experiments show that our method can achieve much lower SLO violations, total energy monetary cost and total carbon emission compared to other methods.
Low prevalence (0.13%) of COVID-19 infection in asymptomatic pre-operative/pre-procedure patients at a large, academic medical center informs approaches to perioperative care.

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in reduced performance of elective surgeries and procedures at medical centers across the United States. Awareness of the prevalence of asymptomatic disease is critical for guiding safe approaches to operative/procedural services. As COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing has been limited largely to symptomatic patients, health care workers, or to those in communal care centers, data regarding asymptomatic viral disease carriage are limited. Methods In this retrospective observational case series evaluating UCLA Health patients enrolled in pre-operative/pre-procedure protocol COVID-19 reverse transcriptase (RT)–PCR testing between April 7, 2020 and May 21, 2020, we determine the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in asymptomatic patients scheduled for surgeries and procedures. Results Primary outcomes include the prevalence of COVID-19 infection in this asymptomatic population. Secondary data analysis includes overall population testing results and population demographics. Eighteen of 4,751 (0.38%) patients scheduled for upcoming surgeries and high-risk procedures had abnormal (positive/inconclusive) COVID-19 RT-PCR testing results. Six of 18 patients were confirmed asymptomatic and had positive test results. Four of 18 were confirmed asymptomtic and had inconclusive results. Eight of 18 had positive results in the setting of recent symptoms or known COVID-19 infection. The prevalence of asymptomatic COVID-19 infection was 0.13%. More than 90% of patients had residential addresses within a 67-mile geographic radius of our medical center, the median age was 58, and there was equal male/female distribution. Conclusion These data demonstrating low levels (0.13% prevalence) of COVID-19 infection in an asymptomatic population of patients undergoing scheduled surgeries/procedures in a large urban area have helped to inform perioperative protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing protocols like ours may prove valuable for other health systems in their approaches to safe procedural practices during COVID-19.
Investigation of fouling mechanisms for diesel engine exhaust heat recovery

Abstract The effect of diesel engine exhaust fouling on heat and mass exchangers for waste heat recovery is investigated. Experiments are conducted for a range of operating conditions relevant to the use of the waste heat from a diesel engine for powering a 2.71 kW capacity absorption heat pump. Thermal resistances of fouling layers as well as their effects on pressure drop are determined, and the underlying mechanisms for deposition and removal are investigated. Fouling layer effects are most severe for the lowest coolant temperatures and 100% generator load. At these conditions, the fouling thermal resistance is approximately 70% of the total resistance, and the ratio of the steady-state pressure drop to the baseline pressure drop is 3.25. Flow induced shear is found to be the primary growth inhibiting mechanism at high exhaust velocities. Results from this study can guide heat exchanger design for a variety of waste heat recovery systems.
The Gift of Embracing Risk: Responsibility as Practice in Aerial Dance

This article contributes to an emerging academic dialogue about teaching aerial dance. As aerial dance in higher education has become more widespread, institutions and instructors must evaluate bot...
Caspases switch off m6A RNA modification pathway to reactivate a ubiquitous human tumor virus

The methylation of RNA at the N6 position of adenosine (m6A) orchestrates multiple biological processes to control development, differentiation, and cell cycle, as well as various aspects of the virus life cycle. How the m6A RNA modification pathway is regulated to finely tune these processes remains poorly understood. Here, we discovered the m6A reader YTHDF2 as a caspase substrate via proteome-wide prediction, followed by in vitro and in vivo validations. We further demonstrated that cleavage-resistant YTHDF2 blocks, while cleavage-mimicking YTHDF2 fragments promote, the replication of a common human oncogenic virus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Intriguingly, our study revealed a feedback regulation between YTHDF2 and caspase-8 via m6A modification of CASP8 mRNA and YTHDF2 cleavage during EBV replication. Further, we discovered that caspases cleave multiple components within the m6A RNA modification pathway to benefit EBV replication. Together, our study establishes that caspase disarming of the m6A RNA modification machinery fosters EBV reactivation.
Why the Police Should See the ‘Defund’ Movement as a Golden Opportunity

Calls to "defund" police echo through the country, many of them intended to be aggressive taunts. But the police ought to ignore the insult and take the "defund" movement as a golden opportunity to shed the many responsibilities that have distracted them from their primary mission of fighting crime. Over the years "mission creep" has brought police a host of responsibilities that only make their job more difficult and in fact call for a very different kind of expertise and training. Further, many of these activities, such as giving tickets, performing evictions, dealing with homelessness, mental illness, alcoholism, etc. are "no-win" activities for the police. The public will not appreciate their work as they would a criminal stopped or a victim saved. Police should take the opportunity to support this "revolutionary" movement that will do what lots of police chiefs have been urging for years.
WIP: Undergraduate Academic Probation First Semester and Subsequent Academic Performance

This Works-in-Progress research explored academic probation inequity among undergraduate engineers. This study builds off the descriptive research, detailing the gradual increase in academic probation standards through increasing the cut off point in semester grade point average (GPA) across nine institutions with engineering programs [1]. We also know from a state-wide study in Oklahoma that a disproportionate percentage of Black students were put on probation following an increase in standards over a three-year period, 1990-1993 [2]. Accordingly, I posed the research question of whether increasing academic probation standards differentially impacted minoritized student outcomes such as academic performance the following semester.My framework to dissect any academic probation differential impact on minoritized populations was based on Eccles’ (1983) Expectancy-Value Theory (EVT) [3]. My multilevel modeling study, utilizing the Multi-Institutional Database for the Investigation of Engineering Development (MIDFIELD), included 19 institutions with engineering undergraduate programs and analyzed the relationship between first semester probation and non-probation students and subsequent performance after probation (EVT’s socializer’s beliefs and behaviors), controlling for student sex/ethnicity (EVT’s cultural milieu) and past performance (EVT’s achievement-related past experience). One important finding was Black males not put on probation with the same first semester grade point average (GPA) did subsequently better than Black males put on probation.My recommendations were rooted in EVT and followed the recommendations of Critical Race Theory (CRT) experts who expect more research to utilize the critical paradigm, especially in quantitative research [4]- [5]. I critique institutional power and policies themselves and avoided placing blame on minoritized student groups as ill-prepared or requiring remediation. Administrators should consider placing substantial time and effort addressing stereotype threat and continue to research the subgroups differentially impacted at their own institution over time.
"Where does that module live?" The difficulty of extending SOSA into smaller, expendable applications

The Sensor Open Systems Architecture™ (SOSA) Consortium seeks to decrease costs and increase performance of large-scale, standalone sensor systems like multi-sensor Electro-Optical Infrared (EO/IR) or Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR), typically hosted on manned aircraft platforms. However, the greatest benefit of the SOSA Reference Architecture—interoperability—could also fuel the future of small, expendable systems such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and wearables. Not surprisingly, a sensor architecture crafted for large systems can be a challenge to host on small or distributed hardware. This paper presents three examples of the appeal and challenges inherent in defining an open architecture for the world of small sensors by asking, “Where does that module live?” The first example presents the case of sensors on small UAVs; for this case, the SOSA Technical Standard defines classes of connectors, in the vein of SAE AS6169™A, as well as mechanical interfaces. Interoperability and standardized interfaces would make sensors for UAVs easier and cheaper to assemble and deploy. However, the current SOSA Components and Modules definitions can be awkward for small UAV sensors. For instance, a small sensor may not contain a processor for hosting Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) on the sensor, but instead the platform may contain that processor, hence distributing the SOSA Modules onto different hardware elements on and off the host platform. The second example presents the case of using VITA 74.0-complaint hardware (VNX) for wearable sensor applications. It is appealing to apply the SOSA Reference Architecture to this new paradigm, but this tiny form factor as a part of the Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) may require a new contextualization of the boundaries of a reference architecture that includes distributed composable hardware elements. The third and last example presents the case of a swarm of sensor-enabled UAVs. The swarming sensor concept encourages yet a further reconceptualization of the SOSA Reference Architecture boundaries and the SOSA Data Model. As an open architecture originally intended for standalone systems and sensors, the SOSA Reference Architecture naturally assumes a sensor communicates primarily to the platform and never directly to other sensors. However, in order for a swarm of UAV-based sensors to reach maximum effectivity, the SOSA Reference Architecture could potentially extend its scope to include a swarm class with SOSA Modules that might not live either on the platform nor in a single sensor—they could be shared entities or organized in a hierarchy. These three examples illustrate how a forward-looking sensor open architecture can evolve to drive the future of smaller applications by expanding into these novel realms to provide a smart, flexible, small-form factor architecture.
The Economics of Consumer-Directed Health Care

This paper presents a model of consumer directed health care, high deductible insurance plans. Insurance companies in a competitive market offer such plans; higher deductibles result in lower premiums. Such changes affect consumers’ decisions on preventive care. I show that preventive care may or may not increase when consumers face more risk and lower premium. Furthermore, I look at selection and cross subsidization when insurance firms offer both conventional, low-deductible plans and high-deductible plans. The extent of cross subsidization may be reduced. I also examine the moral hazard effect of higher deductible plans. Consuming more health care early within a fiscal year carries an option value. Once the deductible is reached, consumers’ out-of-pocket prices are significantly lowered. Consumers have an incentive to consume more because of the option value of reduced prices later within a fiscal year. The paper also contains a survey of recent empirical findings on consumer directed health care.
Adolescence and sexuality

Adolescence is an almost universal stage of development, beginning with the capability to beget children and ending with marriage or a prior stage, such as youth. Cultural control of adolescent sexuality has shifted from prohibition to permission in most industrialized nations. The biological urge for sexual intercourse is restricted to various degrees by cultural customs. Cultural attitudes vary greatly toward both sexual intercourse and homosexual behavior. Romantic love is especially prominent in contemporary industrialized nations. Keywords: homosexuality; permissiveness; prohibition; sexual intercourse
Cyclical Psychodynamics and the Contextual Self: The Inner World, the Intimate World, and the World of Culture and Society

Part I: Psychotherapy, Personality Dynamics, and the World of Intersubjectivity.Cyclical Psychodynamics: An Integrative, Relational Point of View. The Good News: To Mess up Your Life You Need Accomplices The Bad News: They Are Very Easy to Recruit. The "Inner" and "Outer" Worlds and Their Link Through Action. Attachment in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy: A Two-Person, Cyclical Psychodynamic Approach. The Surface and the Depths: Reexamining the Metaphor of Depth in Psychoanalytic Discourse. Repression, Dissociation, and Self-Acceptance: Reexamining the Idea of "Making the Unconscious Conscious". Active Intervention, Psychic Structure, and the Analysis of Transference.Beyond Eclecticism: Toward a More Clinically Seamless Integration in Therapeutic Practice. Thinking about Resistance: Affect, Cognition, and Corrective Emotional Experiences. Should Psychoanalytic Training Be Training to Be a Psychoanalyst? Epistemological Foundations of Psychoanalysis: Science, Hermeneutics, and the Vicious Circles of Adversarial Discourse. Part II: Race, Class, Greed, and the Social Construction of Desire. Psychoanalysis, Everyday Unhappiness, and the World of Cultural Constructions. Full Pockets, Empty Lives: Probing the Contemporary Culture of Greed. Greed as an Individual and Social Phenomenon. From Therapy to Social Justice: Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, and Divisions of Race and Class. The Vicious Circles of Racism: A Cyclical Psychodynamic Perspective on Race and Race Relations.
Heidegger, Misch, and the Origins of Philosophy

I explore how Heidegger and his successors interpret philosophy as an Occidental enterprise based on a particular understanding of history. In contrast to the dominant monistic paradigm, I return to the plural thinking of Dilthey and Misch, who interpret philosophy as a European and a global phenomenon. This reflects Dilthey's pluralistic understanding of historical life. Misch developed Dilthey's insight by demonstrating the multiple origins of philosophy as critical life-reflection in its Greek context and in the historical matrices of ancient India and China. Misch's approach to Confucius and Zhuangzi reveals a historically informed, interculturally sensitive, and critically oriented life-philosophy.
Parametric Adaptive Identification and Kalman Filter

In this article, a survey of results on adaptive parametric identification and Kalman filtering is presented. Fundamental notions and definitions in parametric estimation are provided. Basic Kalman filter design is demonstrated for linear dynamical systems. Additionally, a list of references for further reading is provided at the end of the article. Keywords: Kalman filter; identification; estimation; parametric; adaptive
Multistability of cognitive maps in the hippocampus of old rats

Hippocampal neurons provide a population code for location. In young rats, environments are reliably 'mapped' by groups of neurons that have firing locations ('place fields') that can be stable for several months. Old animals exhibit deficits in spatial memory, raising the question of whether the quality or stability of their hippocampal 'cognitive maps' is altered. By recording from large groups of neurons, we observed the hippocampal spatial code to be multistable. In young rats, the place field maps were reliable both within and between episodes in a familiar environment. In old rats, place field maps were accurate and stable during an episode, but frequently exhibited complete rearrangements between episodes. In a spatial memory task, both young and old rats exhibited bimodal performance, consistent with map multistability early in training. However, the performance of young rats became almost unimodal with further training, whereas that of old rats remained markedly bimodal. The multistability of the hippocampal map provides an insight into the dynamics of neural coding in high-level cortical structures and their changes during ageing, and may provide an explanation for the frequent failure of place recognition in elderly humans.
An adaptive location registration scheme with dynamic mobility classification

An adaptive location registration scheme is proposed for wireless cellular networks. A high speed mobile on a highly directed path does not need to update its location as long as the mobile maintains its speed and direction since the network can predict the location of the mobile using the mobile's speed and direction information. On the other hand, for a mobile doing a random walk, the location prediction using the speed and direction information is inefficient in terms of the signaling cost and prediction accuracy. With this observation, we dynamically classify mobiles based on the predictability of their trajectory. A mobile with predictable trajectory is prescribed a predictive distance-based location update scheme and a mobile with random trajectory is prescribed a (non-predictive) distance-based location update scheme. The performance of the adaptive scheme is compared with the predictive and non-predictive schemes.
Hepatocyte-Like Cells Derived from Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract Landmark discoveries during the last decade have shown that the so-called “terminally differentiated” somatic cells can transition to more primitive progenitor cells. On the other hand, directed differentiation of embryonic stem cells, as well as pluripotent stem cells obtained by reprogramming of somatic cells (induced pluripotent stem cells, iPSCs) has enabled the generation of differentiated cells belonging to each of the three germ layers. These studies continue to provide novel insights into the basic mechanisms of cell plasticity underlying the transition of cells to various cell types. Furthermore, the ability to differentiate iPSCs to various cell types, including hepatocyte-like cells (iHep) has initiated the translational application of such cells in disease modeling, pharmacological testing, and regenerative medicine. Despite these developments, currently available methods do not yield cells that fully resemble adult primary hepatocytes in the qualitative and quantitative gene expressions. Generating hepatocytes from iPSCs remains a work in progress. In addition to describing these exciting developments, this review will discuss some emerging new approaches to generate iPSCs, improving their differentiation to iHeps and maintaining them in culture for longer duration and with improved function.
Facilitating Student Participation in Individualized Education Programs through Motivation Strategy Instruction

Public Law 101–467, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990, specifies that students with disabilities, especially secondary-level students, should have an opportunity to participate in IEP conferences. This study investigated the effectiveness of strategy instruction designed to foster students' active participation in IEP conferences. High school students with learning disabilities and their parents participated in either strategy instruction or an orientation lecture/discussion. Results indicate that strategy-instructed students identified more goals and communicated more effectively during their conferences than did the contrast students.
Factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents (LSAS-CA). The LSAS-CA was administered to 225 children and adolescents as a component of various clinical studies. In addition, other measures of psychopathology and impairment were administered to a subgroup of the sample. Confirmatory factor analyses of the social interaction and performance subscales for the anxiety and avoidance ratings yielded poor fit indices. Exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor solution with a higher order factor for the LSAS-CA anxiety and avoidance ratings. Based on item content, factors were named Social and School Performance. The internal consistency of the factors was high and the convergent and divergent validity was supported vis-a-vis correlations with measures of depression and social anxiety, and clinician ratings of impairment and functioning. Findings suggest that the anxiety and avoidance ratings are best explained by a two-factor solution that measures social anxiety and avoidance in social and school performance interactions. This factor structure appears to be a reliable and valid framework for assessing childhood social phobia.