cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MYC Translocations Are Associated with Poor Overall Survival in DLBCL Patients in Both the Chemotherapy and Immunochemotherapy Eras.

Abstract 443 Background: MYC translocations have been reported to have inferior outcome in aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Here we present MYC translocation prevalence and outcome from two cohorts of newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated in the chemotherapy (C) and immunochemotherapy (IC) eras. Methods: Tissue microarrays were created from 302 newly diagnosed DLBCL patients evaluated at the Mayo Clinic with availabel paraffin tissue. 233 DLBCL patients first diagnosed from March 1986-July 2001 were retrospectively identified based on a diagnosis of DLBCL and treatment with anthracycline-based chemotherapy. 69 DLBCL patients diagnosed from March 2002-October 2005 and treated with immunochemotherapy were prospectively enrolled in the University of Iowa / Mayo Clinic Lymphoma SPORE Molecular Epidemiology Resource. Central pathology review was performed on all samples to confirm the diagnosis of DLBCL. Interphase FISH was performed using a breakapart strategy for MYC and BCL6 gene regions and a dual fusion strategy for t(14;18)( IGH&/BCL2 ). Results: Chemotherapy (C) era patients were primarily treated with CHOP (88%); immunochemotherapy (IC) era patients were all treated with an R-CHOP based regimen. The median age at diagnosis was 65 years (range, 22-92) for C patients and 65 years (range, 20-82) for IC patients. Median follow-up for C patients was 11.3 years (range, 2.7-21.3) with 145 (62%) deaths; for IC patients, the median follow-up was 5.0 years (range, 2.1-6.4) with 17 deaths (25%). FISH was successful in 195 of 302 patients (65%). MYC translocations were identified in 6 of 141 C patients (4%) and 3 of 54 IC patients (6%). MYC translocations were associated with inferior overall survival in the C patients (p=0.001), the IC patients (p=0.04), and in the combined group (p≤0.001). Median survival of patients with MYC translocations was 19 months and 16 months for C and IC respectively, compared to 112 months (C) and unreached (IC) for DLBCL patients without MYC translocations. 4 of the 9 MYC translocation patients had a double hit (2 with both MYC and BCL2 translocations and 2 with translocations of MYC, BCL2 , and BCL6 ). Associations of MYC and outcome remained significant in all patients after adjusting for treatment and IPI (p Conclusions: MYC translocations are present in approximately 5% of DLBCL patients and are associated with poor outcome in patients treated with C or IC. New treatment approaches are needed for DLBCL patients with MYC translocations. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
America's First Intercollegiate Sport: The Regattas from 1852 to 1875

Abstract The pastime of boating became America's first intercollegiate sport, and after both the college students and public accepted the outcome of the competitive events as the measure of an institution's prestige, it emerged as the first collegiate spectacle. Effective organizations and training procedures were instituted at most of the institutions. In many cases, administrators assisted the students inr efforts to produce victorious crews. Graduate gifts and student subscriptions financed the purchase of improved equipment and the construction of facilities. Representatives of the colleges formed associations to promote the sport, ensure the best possible finanicial arrangements with the public and private groups that wished to sponsor the attraction, and mediate disputes over eligibility, professionalism, and fouls. The intercollegiate regatta became the leading event of the day and the values and practices which accompanied its growth were in most respects the precursors of all that was to follow i...
The Immunologic Effects of Husband’s Semen on Donor Spermatozoa During Mixed Insemination

Artificial insemination was performed on four women with the husband's and donor's semen mixed. No pregnancies resulted after several inseminations. One woman also received artificial donor insemination without success. Seminal plasmas from the husbands were allowed to react with donor semen and were observed to produce immobilization and agglutination of the donor's spermatozoa. Two of the husbands' seminal plasmas had high levels of immunoglobulin A, and all contained complements C-3 and C-4, which suggests that the mechanism is immunologic. Artificial donor inseminations were performed, and in addition the couples were advised to refrain from sexual intercourse for 2 days prior to insemination, in order to eliminate the risk of husband's seminal plasma being on the wife's cervix. Within 1 month, three of the four women became pregnant. As a practical measure, it is proposed that the effect of husband's semen on donor spermatozoa be determined prior to performing mixed inseminations and that couples refrain from sexual intercourse for 2 days prior to donor inseminations.
Update on Resistance among Respiratory Tract Pathogens: Results of the Antimicrobial Resistance Management Program

Purpose: This update from the Antimicrobial Resistance Management (ARM) Program reports surveillance data for Streptrococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae isolates from 1994 to 2002. Methods: Antibiograms and sensitivity reports submitted to the ARM program database were reviewed for resistance to commonly prescribed antibiotics Results: Nationally, S. pneumoniae resistance to penicillin was 37.4% (n = 37,688); to erythromycin, 29.6% (n = 18,774); and to clindamycin, 9.9% (n = 5510). Resistance to cefotaxime was 25.5% (n = 10,527) and 16.8% to ceftriaxone (26,594). For H. influenzae, resistance to cefotaxime was 4.3% (n = 4,927) and to ceftriaxone 1 % (n = 10,353), a difference seen largely in the Northeast. Conclusions: Resistance to penicillin appears to have reached a plateau above 40%; however, sparing of beta-lactam antibiotics may occur at the expense of other agents (ie, macrolides). Clindamycin remains active against penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae (PRSP), but use of agents with antianaerobic properties is discouraged. The ARM program suggests important differences between cefotaxime and ceftriaxone.
Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance in the Food Supply Chain and Its Implications for FDA Policy Initiatives

In response to concerning increases in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided to increase veterinary oversight requirements for antimicrobials and restrict their use in growth promotion. Given the high stakes of this policy for the food supply, economy, and human and veterinary health, it is important to rigorously assess the effects of this policy. We have undertaken a detailed analysis of data provided by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). We examined the trends in both AMR proportion and MIC between 2004 and 2012 at slaughter and retail stages. We investigated the makeup of variation in these data and estimated the sample and effect size requirements necessary to distinguish an effect of the policy change. Finally, we applied our approach to take a detailed look at the 2005 withdrawal of approval for the fluoroquinolone enrofloxacin in poultry water. Slaughter and retail showed similar trends. Both AMR proportion and MIC were valuable in assessing AMR, capturing different information. Most variation was within years, not between years, and accounting for geographic location explained little additional variation. At current rates of data collection, a 1-fold change in MIC should be detectable in 5 years and a 6% decrease in percent resistance could be detected in 6 years following establishment of a new resistance rate. Analysis of the enrofloxacin policy change showed the complexities of the AMR policy with no statistically significant change in resistance of both Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli to ciprofloxacin, another second-generation fluoroquinolone.
Integrative Review: Delivery of Healthcare Services to Adolescents and Young Adults During and After Foster Care

The purpose of this integrative review is to summarize evidence describing delivery of healthcare services to adolescents while in foster care and to young adults after they exit foster care. The long-term, deleterious effect of abuse and/or neglect by caregivers among youth who have been placed in foster care is grounded in empirical evidence demonstrating the relationship between long-term health needs and exposure to trauma in childhood. Evidence is needed to provide culturally-specific care and also to identify knowledge gaps in the care of adolescents and young adults who have been in the foster care system. Peer-reviewed research studies published between 2004 and 2014 that include samples of youth 12 to 30 years of age are included in the review. Eighteen studies met inclusion criteria for the review. Physical and behavioral healthcare needs among youth with foster care experience are significant. The ability to adequately meet health needs are inextricable from the ability to negotiate resources and to successfully interact with adults. Challenges that youth with foster care histories experience when transitioning into young adulthood are comparable to other populations of vulnerable youth not in foster care. Nurses must use each healthcare encounter to assess how the social determinants of health facilitate or impede optimal health among youth with foster care experience. The development of integrated intervention strategies to inform best practice models is a priority for current and former foster care youth as they transition into young adulthood.
From Scattershot to Strategy: Targeted Social Marketing Efforts through the Use of Secondary and Syndicated Research:

Product and service marketers traditionally use secondary and syndicated research to guide creation and placement of advertising and promotion. Social marketers are lead to wonder to what extent th...
Dynamic scaling of the restoration of rotational symmetry in Heisenberg quantum antiferromagnets

We apply imaginary-time evolution with the operator ${e}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\tau}H}$ to study relaxation dynamics of gapless quantum antiferromagnets described by the spin-rotation-invariant Heisenberg Hamiltonian $H$. Using quantum Monte Carlo simulations to obtain unbiased results, we propagate an initial state with maximal order parameter ${m}_{s}^{z}$ (the staggered magnetization) in the $z$ spin direction and monitor the expectation value $\ensuremath{\langle}{m}_{s}\ensuremath{\rangle}$ as a function of imaginary time $\ensuremath{\tau}$. Results for different system sizes (lengths) $L$ exhibit an initial essentially size independent relaxation of $\ensuremath{\langle}{m}_{s}\ensuremath{\rangle}$ toward its value in the infinite-size spontaneously symmetry broken state, followed by a strongly size dependent final decay to zero when the $\mathrm{O}(3)$ rotational symmetry of the order parameter is restored. We develop a generic finite-size scaling theory that shows the relaxation time diverges asymptotically as ${L}^{z}$, where $z$ is the dynamic exponent of the low-energy excitations. We use the scaling theory to develop a practical way of extracting the dynamic exponent from the numerical finite-size data, systematically eliminating scaling corrections. We apply the method to spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg antiferromagnets on two different lattice geometries: the standard two-dimensional (2D) square lattice and a site-diluted 2D square lattice at the percolation threshold. In the 2D case we obtain $z=2.001(5)$, which is consistent with the known value $z=2$, while for the site-diluted lattice we find $z=3.90(1)$ or $z=2.056(8){D}_{f}$, where ${D}_{f}=91/48$ is the fractal dimensionality of the percolating system. This is an improvement on previous estimates of $z\ensuremath{\approx}3.7$. The scaling results also show a fundamental difference between the two cases; for the 2D square lattice, the data can be collapsed onto a common scaling function even when $\ensuremath{\langle}{m}_{s}\ensuremath{\rangle}$ is relatively large, reflecting the Anderson tower of quantum rotor states with a common dynamic exponent $z=2$. For the diluted 2D square lattice, the scaling works well only for small $\ensuremath{\langle}{m}_{s}\ensuremath{\rangle}$, indicating a mixture of different relaxation-time scalings between the low-energy states. Nevertheless, the low-energy dynamic here also corresponds to a tower of excitations.
The Big Ditch: The Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project

The Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project, commonly referred to as the "Big Ditch," protects Wichita from flooding by the Arkansas River, the Little Arkansas River, and Chisholm Creek. The name "Big Ditch" was originally derisive and started with farmers opposed to the project. The farmers, some of whom were losing their land to the federal project, saw the floodway as an example of federal Big Brother-style interference with local affairs. Years passed and the opposition faded, but the name outlived the controversy. The Big Ditch is eighteen miles long and has fifty miles of connecting channels, one hundred miles of levees, and one hundred fifty control structures, making it one of the largest water diversion projects in the United States. The Army Corp of Engineers constructed the floodway between 1950 and 1959 at the cost of $20 million. By 1975, the total amount of flood damage prevented by the project was estimated at over $33 million. While the Wichita-Valley Center Flood Control Project originally faced opposition, the results have proven that the money spent on the project was justified.1
Generating Code Using Attributes

In a system to support interactive program development, testing, and debugging, it is desirable to provide the ability to initiate execution at any time and have the program begin executing immediately, with no delay for compilation. Such a system should maintain the program in executable form at all times and update the program’s object code in accordance with changes to the program’s source code. The task of an incremental compiler in such a system would be to update the target code after a modification to the program, re-using as much old code as possible.
A graphical user interface for RAId, a knowledge integrated proteomics analysis suite with accurate statistics

RAId is a software package that has been actively developed for the past 10 years for computationally and visually analyzing MS/MS data. Founded on rigorous statistical methods, RAId’s core program computes accurate E-values for peptides and proteins identified during database searches. Making this robust tool readily accessible for the proteomics community by developing a graphical user interface (GUI) is our main goal here. We have constructed a graphical user interface to facilitate the use of RAId on users’ local machines. Written in Java, RAId_GUI not only makes easy executions of RAId but also provides tools for data/spectra visualization, MS-product analysis, molecular isotopic distribution analysis, and graphing the retrieval versus the proportion of false discoveries. The results viewer displays and allows the users to download the analyses results. Both the knowledge-integrated organismal databases and the code package (containing source code, the graphical user interface, and a user manual) are available for download at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Yu/downloads/raid.html .
Creeping flow of a wormlike micelle solution past a falling sphere: Role of boundary conditions

Abstract Creeping flow of a wormlike micelle solution past a falling sphere with varying surface roughness is considered. A combination of particle tracking velocimetry, particle image velocimetry and microscopy is used to obtain detailed information on the flow of the wormlike micelle solution based on CTAB/NaSal (9 mM/9 mM) around the falling spheres. We find that the surface roughness strongly affects the dynamics of the sphere motion in wormlike micelles such that roughened spheres fall with higher terminal velocities than smooth spheres. In addition, for the roughened spheres the stagnation point is closer to the sphere center of mass, and the magnitude of the negative wake is stronger. We also report, for the first time, formation of micron-size air bubbles at the surface of roughened spheres that are responsible for these unusual results. When these microbubbles are removed, roughened spheres fall with similar velocities as smooth spheres. The latter result may be considered as indirect evidence for no-slip boundary conditions in this CTAB/NaSal system. This hypothesis is further validated with local velocity profile measurements for the wormlike micelle solution sheared in a custom built Taylor–Couette geometry.
First-person indoor navigation via vision-inertial data fusion

In this paper, we aim to enhance the first-person indoor navigation and scene understanding experience by fusing inertial data collected from a smartphone carried by the user with the vision information obtained through the phone's camera. We employed the concept of vanishing directions together with the orthogonality constraints of the man-made environments in an expectation maximization framework to estimate person's orientation with respect to the known indoor coordinates from video frames. This framework allows to include prior information about camera rotation axis for better estimations as well as to select candidate edge-lines for estimation of hallways' depth and width from monocular video frames, and 3D modeling of the scene. Our proposed algorithm concurrently combines the vision-based estimated orientation with the inertial data using a Kalman filter in order to refine estimations and remove substantial measurement drift from inertial sensors. We evaluated the performance of our vision-inertial data fusion method on an IMU-augmented video recorded from a rotary hallway in which a participant completed a full lap. We demonstrated that this fusion provides virtually drift-free instantaneous information about the person's relative orientation. We were able to estimate hallways' depth and width, and generate a closed-path map from the rotary hallway over a roughly 60-meter lap.
Complicating Blackness: Black Immigrants & Racial Positioning in U.S. Higher Education

This paper critically analyzes the racial positioning of Black immigrant collegians and faculty within race-based policies, practices, and discourse in U.S. higher education; illustrates how traditional constructs of race are complicated by globalization, migration, and the growing population of Black immigrants in the United States; and extends discourse on Black heterogeneity in higher education. I utilize the dual purposes of affirmative action – 1) redressing past wrongs and 2) diversity and inclusion – as frameworks to analyze the racial positioning of Black immigrants in higher education. Using this framework I compare two positions: 1) Black immigrants wrongly benefit from higher education initiatives created to redress past wrongs against Blacks who are the descendants of U.S. slaves (Graham, 2002); and 2) Campus racial diversity and multiculturalism are enhanced by the presence of Black immigrant collegians (Wilcher, 2011). Detailed analysis of the literature illustrate that the race of Black immigrants is often positioned the same as that of African Americans in higher education due to lack of disaggregation of Black student/faculty data by ethnicity, nativity, and generational status and lack of acknowledgement of Black within-group diversity. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of recognizing the complexities around definitions and perceptions of Blackness that exists on today’s college campuses.
Deterministic dynamic element matching: an enabling technology for soc built-in-self-test

The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is a key building block of today's high-volume systems-on-a-chip (SoCs). Built-in-self-test (BIST) is the most promising solution to testing deeply-embedded ADCs. Cost-effective stimulus source with on-chip integrability has been viewed as the bottleneck of ADC BIST, and consequentially the bottleneck of SoC BIST and BIST-based self-calibration. The deterministic dynamic element matching (DDEM) technique has been proposed as a solution to this problem. In this work, rigorous theoretical analysis is presented to show the performance of a DDEM digital-to-analog converter (DAC) as an ADC linearity test stimulus source. Guided by the insight obtained this analysis, a systematic approach for cost-effective DDEM DAC design is proposed. Two generations of DDEM DACs have been designed, fabricated, and measured. 12-bit equivalent linearity was achieved from the first DDEM DAC with 8-bit apparent resolution and less than 5-bit raw linearity after systematic error compensation. The achieved 12-bit linearity outperforms any on-chip stimulus source in literature. Based on the first design, a new DDEM DAC with 12-bit apparent resolution, 10-bit raw linearity, and 9-bit DDEM switching was designed with improved design technique. This DAC was fabricated in standard 0.5-pm CMOS technology with a core die area of 2 mm2. Clear ramp signals could be observed on an oscilloscope when the DDEM DAC was clocked at 100 MHz. Laboratory testing results confirmed that the new DDEM DAC achieved at least a 16-bit equivalent linearity; this was limited by the available instrumentation, which has 18-bit linearity. It outperforms any previously reported on-chip stimulus source in terms of ADC BIST performance by 5 bits. The robust performance, low cost, and short design cycle for on-chip implementation make DDEM an enabling technology for SoC BIST and self-calibration. Two new approaches based on DDEM are developed to further boost the die area efficiency, improving the basic DDEM approach. The first is termed segmented DDEM, and the second is dither-incorporated DDEM (DiDDEM). It has been shown through mathematical analysis and simulation that these can maintain the performance of the basic DDEM approach while greatly reducing the implementation cost.
Basic Statistics and Numerical Analysis

Statistical and numerical analysis are among the most important applications in scientific and engineering programming. This chapter describes algorithms for basic descriptive statistics and for some standard problems in numerical analysis, including: mean, standard deviation, and linear regression (Section 9.2) numerical differentiation and integration (Sections 9.3 and 9.4) solving systems of linear equations (Section 9.5) finding the roots of an equation (Section 9.6) numerical solutions to differential equations (Section 9.7)
The Daxx enigma.

Several reports describing Daxx and its putative role have emerged without a unifying theme. While Daxx has been implicated in apoptosis, it remains unclear whether Daxx is pro- or anti-apoptotic, and whether its role in apoptosis is direct or indirect. Moreover, whether Daxx plays alternative or additional roles in regulating transcription, centromere binding or any number of other activities within the cell, is uncertain. The ability of Daxx to interact with a wide variety of molecules in yeast-interaction trap systems (Table 1) has allowed for this range of speculation. The fact that Daxx contains no significant homology to other known proteins has rendered its study all the more challenging.
Adenovirus-A Deadly Disease in the Solid Organ Transplant Population: Risk Factors and Outcomes.

Abstract Background The importance of adenoviruses (AdV) in the immunocompromised population has been more recognized in recent decades. We aimed to assess the risk factors and outcomes associated with AdV in solid organ transplant recipients. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of solid organ transplant recipients who tested positive for AdV between January 1, 2004, and March 12, 2014. The subjects were divided in 2 groups: AdV asymptomatic infection and AdV disease. The characteristics and outcomes of the groups were compared using Wilcoxon rank-sum and Fisher exact tests; logistic regression was performed to evaluate risk factors. Results A total of 125 patients were included with a mean (SD) age of 9.79 years (16.54); 49.6% were male, and 20.8% had AdV disease. No significant risk factors were found for AdV disease by univariate analyses. Comparing patients with disease and with asymptomatic infection, rejections during the first year after testing positive for AdV were 7 (26.92%) vs 17 (17.17%); mortality at 1 year post-transplantation was 26.92% vs 6.06% (P = .006), respectively, and at 1 year after testing positive for AdV was 38.46% vs 11.11% (P = .002), respectively. Conclusion No independent risk factor for AdV disease was identified, but patients with AdV disease had a significantly higher mortality compared with those with asymptomatic infection.
Towards a science of global health delivery: A socio-anthropological framework to improve the effectiveness of neglected tropical disease interventions

Background Over the last decade, implementation research and a science of global health delivery have emerged as important vehicles to improve the effectiveness of interventions. Efforts to control neglected tropical diseases (NTD) operate in challenging circumstances and with marginalized populations, making attention to context-specific details particularly relevant. Socio-anthropological insights have much to offer a science of NTD delivery. In this paper, an accessible and actionable framework for understanding NTD intervention effectiveness, based on socio-anthropological research, is presented and its utility for program planning and monitoring and evaluation is outlined. Methodology/Principal findings The framework was developed inductively by comparatively analyzing three rapid ethnographic studies undertaken in Eastern Africa (2010–2013) on three different large-scale NTD interventions: rabies elimination in Tanzania, sleeping sickness control in Uganda and the prevention of parasitic worms in Zambia. The framework includes five “intervention domains” where the effectiveness of these interventions was negotiated and determined at the local level. This involves: 1) the terrain of intervention (including seasonality and geographical variability); 2) community agency (including local knowledge, risk perceptions, behaviors, leadership and social pressure); 3) the strategies and incentives of field staff (skills, motivations, capabilities and support); 4) the socio-materiality of technology (characteristics of intervention tools and the adoption process itself); and 5) the governance of interventions (policy narratives, available expertise, bureaucracy, politics and the utilization of knowledge). The paper illustrates the importance of each of these domains by drawing on the case study research, presenting lessons learnt and practical recommendations for how such insights could improve intervention delivery. Conclusions/Significance To help close the gap between efficacy and effectiveness in NTD programs, it is important that field staff: 1) generate meaningful knowledge about contextual factors; 2) use this knowledge to tailor field strategies; and 3) create routine mechanisms to account for the dynamic process of implementation itself. The framework presented here offers a simple analytical tool to strengthen these knowledge-to-action relationships existing project planning tools, drawing on the insights of socio-anthropology.
Advanced Data Mining (Cloning) of Predicted Climate-Scapes and Their Variances Assessed with Machine Learning: An Example from Southern Alaska Shows Topographical Biases and Strong Differences

Climate models are globally employed for addressing climate and climate change questions across a variety of landscapes. However, on a smaller pixel and temporal scale these ‘climate-scapes’ are often less studied, are poorly understood and assessments are lacking. The accuracy of climate-scapes is often affected by local topography and wider couplings. The science of local climate-scapes is still in its infancy, so are the methods of inquiry and inference for ‘weather’. This chapter presents an example for southern Alaska on how differences between regionalized IPCC and other widely used climate models can be data mined, described, assessed and predicted for a better and more informative outcome of climate-scapes. The approach presented here is based on a TreeNet machine learning algorithm using Salford Predictive Modeler Suite 8 (SPM8). These methods allow to locate disagreements in models beyond ‘just’ the means. The models are primarily based on elevation and slope; however other covariates are important such as month (July/January), landcover (shrub and closed mixed forest), aspect, proximity to roads and rivers, and coastal islands. Based on these findings thorough but rapid assessment of ‘climate-scapes’ and their models’ performances and error patterns (explicit in space and time) are recommended for an improved understanding and repeatable and transparent science, its methodology and inference. These methods also enable the ability to address key questions of whether climate and local weather are affected by large-scale macro patterns or regionally driven (bottom-up).
Holantarctic diversity varies widely among genetic loci within the gametophytically allotriploid peat moss Sphagnum × falcatulum.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY The traditional approach used in analyses of population genetic data for historical inference is to average across multiple marker loci, but averaging conflates the different evolutionary signals provided by stable vs. labile markers. METHODS We used a battery of microsatellites with a wide range of mutation/substitution rates, grouping them into two sets (stable and hypervariable) to provide a more nuanced reconstruction of the population genetics and evolutionary history of the allotriploid peat moss Sphagnum × falcatulum across three disjunct regions. KEY RESULTS Shannon diversity translation analyses show that the relative apportionment of total within-species allelic diversity (∆WS ) within and among strata ranges widely, both between the two sets and within and among regions. The majority of diversity in the stable set was inherited directly from the ancestors of this genetically complex allopolyploid, but most of the diversity in the hypervariable set has developed post-hybrid-origin. CONCLUSIONS It is useful to group markers into sets having similar evolutionary lability, with each set being analyzed separately, particularly for allopolyploids. A methodology for determining how to group markers into such sets is presented, which can be applied to the requirements of other studies. Within-individual allelic diversity (ΔWI ) should be addressed in genetic studies on allopolyploids. Allotriploid haplotypes based on a set of nine highly stable microsatellites appear to serve as a clonal-detection set for S. × falcatulum. An additive "allele-metric" diversity approach is introduced, which facilitates a direct comparison of within- and among-stratum diversity components at all levels of diversity.
Salinity, pH, and temperature controls on fracture mechanical properties of three shales and their implications for fracture growth in chemically reactive fluid environments

Abstract Using the double torsion method, we investigated the fracture mechanical properties of clay-rich Woodford and Mancos Shales, and carbonate-rich Marcellus Shale under conditions of varying fluid salinity, pH, and temperature. Both fracture toughness and subcritical fracture growth properties for clay-rich Woodford and Mancos Shales are sensitive to fluid salinity but not sensitive to pH. With increasing salinity, mean fracture toughness increased up to 34% and 39% for Woodford and Mancos Shale, respectively, and mean subcritical fracture growth index increased up to 99% for Woodford Shale. In contrast, fracture toughness for carbonate-rich Marcellus Shale is unaffected by fluid chemistry, but subcritical fracture growth index increases with increasing pH. Subcritical fracture growth index is reduced by 51% with a decrease in pH from 7 to 1.2. Clay–water interaction is identified as the mechanism for enhanced subcritical fracture growth in clay-rich Woodford and Mancos Shales while enhanced calcite dissolution is accountable for the positive correlation between pH and subcritical fracture growth index in carbonate-rich Marcellus Shale. Increasing solution temperature from 23 °C to 63 °C shifts the K–V curves toward lower stress intensity and amplifies the salinity dependence in the shift of the K–V curves for Woodford Shale. The increase in subcritical fracture growth rate at elevated temperature observed in both clay-rich and carbonate-rich shales is interpreted to reflect faster diffusion rates of fluid from the propagating fracture into the matrix at elevated temperature. Our results emphasize the dependence of critical and subcritical fracture behavior on fluid chemical environment with implications for hydraulic fracture growth in shale reservoirs, and for caprock integrity of wastewater and CO2 storage reservoirs. In these applications, fluid chemistry can both strengthen and weaken caprocks depending on caprock lithology and induced changes in formation water chemistry.
Foreign Object Detection in Inductive Charging Systems Based on Primary Side Measurements

A foreign object detection (FOD) method for inductive charging systems is introduced in this article. The proposed FOD only requires primary side measurements, i.e., primary resonant current and resonance frequency deviation. The proposed FOD incorporates a mechanism for effective discrimination of foreign object intrusion, horizontal and vertical alignment variations of the transmitter and receiver magnetic pads. Alignment variations of primary and secondary magnetic pads as well as intrusion of conductive/magnetic foreign object both impact electromagnetic characteristics, consequently the resonant frequency. FOD for large size objects works properly based on resonance frequency deviation, however, there is the need for discrimination between the FOD for small objects and misalignment. Thereby, both disturbances can be detected by online monitoring of the resonance frequency deviation, and be discriminated from each other by real-time measurement of the primary current. The proposed FOD technique can be added as a protection scheme to the self-tuning controllers of inductive power transfer (IPT) systems operating off its resonance frequency. Finite element analysis along with theoretical formulation of the studied IPT circuit is presented using the proposed method. Conductive FOD method based on frequency deviation and discrimination method using primary resonance current are implemented on an IPT setup, and the experimental results verify its effectiveness in both standby and full-power modes. The test results show that the frequency deviation based FOD method has a high speed in detection of even small scale objects such as a coin.
Physical geography contributes

Physical geography is a process, conducted by people, of integration and synthesis of ideas and observations to advance scientific understanding of Earth’s surface and atmosphere and to apply this ...
Rapid detection of concrete joint activation using normalized shear wave transmission energy

A rapid and reliable method to detect the activation of contraction joint cracks is needed to assess the effectiveness of sawcut depth and timing on new concrete pavements and for forensic investig...
Were They Really Mrs. Consumers

Analyzing the words of everyday Italian women as represented in memoirs and oral histories, the chapter answers the question: Did Italian women become the American Mrs. Consumer? By highlighting the women’s experiences with topics discussed in the previous chapters, this chapter evaluates the extent to which American consumer culture models influenced and changed their everyday lives, and affected how these women identified themselves. Harris reveals that while the women testify to the fact that they were attracted by and engaged in the new culture, they did not become American Mrs. Consumers. Instead, they adapted certain aspects of American consumer culture while maintaining their own culture, in effect becoming Italian Mrs. Consumers.
Arbitrary-Order Derivatives of Quantum Chemical Methods via Automatic Differentiation.

Herein, we present for the first time a general methodology for obtaining arbitrary-order nuclear coordinate derivatives of electronic energies derived from quantum chemistry methods. By leveraging modern advances in automatic differentiation software, we demonstrate that exact derivatives can be obtained for any method. This innovation completely bypasses the issues associated with the computational stability of applying numerical differentiation methods and dispenses the need to derive challenging formulae for analytic energy derivatives. We describe a freely available and open-source software implementation of our scheme and demonstrate its use in obtaining exact nuclear derivatives of energies from Hartree-Fock theory, second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2), and coupled cluster theory with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations [CCSD(T)]. Our sample computations include up to sextic derivatives and span a variety of test systems with up to 100 basis functions, confirming the viability of this scheme for a wide range of applications. Many of the results obtained have hitherto been unobtainable by exact means due to a lack of higher-order derivative formulae. The details of our implementation and possible further developments are discussed.
On Finite Mixture Modeling of Change-point Processes

Change point estimation in standard process observed over time is an important problem in literature with applications in various fields. We study this problem in a heterogeneous population. A model-based clustering procedure relying on skewed matrix-variate mixture is proposed. It is capable of capturing the heterogeneity pattern and estimating change points from all data groups simultaneously. The appeal of such approach also lies in its flexibility to model the skewness and dependence in data with good interpretability. Two novel algorithms called matrix power mixture with abrupt change model and matrix power mixture with gradual change model are developed. The approaches are illustrated by simulation studies across a variety of settings. The models are then tested on the US crime data with promising results.
Combination plate and band fixation for primary closure in bilateral lung transplantation.

BACKGROUND Sternal complications are common following transverse thoracosternotomy in patients undergoing bilateral lung transplantation. We present a single-institution experience using a next generation rigid fixation system for primary sternal closure following transverse sternotomy for bilateral lung transplantation. METHODS Retrospective review was performed on all patients who had bilateral sequential lung transplants utilizing a transverse thoracosternotomy from 2016 to 2020. Demographics, baseline characteristics, peri-operative data, and outcomes were collected, reviewed and summarized. Two groups of patients were identified: wire cerclage (Group A), combination plate-and-band rigid fixation (Group B). The primary outcome was sternal complications, which were divided into mechanical and non-mechanical. RESULTS Twenty-two patients met inclusion criteria. Three patients (13.6%) were in Group A, nineteen patients (86.4%) in Group B. Two patients in each Group A (66.6%) and Group B (10.5%) experienced a sternal complication. Sternal complications included sternal dehiscence (2), sternal malunion (1), and surgical site infection (1). One patient with plate-and-band fixation (5.2%) had a mechanical sternal complication. Three patients required reoperation secondary to sternal complication. CONCLUSIONS The utilization of a combination plate-and-band rigid fixation system for primary closure is safe and may be an effective method to reduce sternal complications following transverse thoracosternotomy for lung transplantation.
Role of 5-HT1A Receptor in Vilazodone-Mediated Suppression of L-DOPA-Induced Dyskinesia and Increased Responsiveness to Cortical Input in Striatal Medium Spiny Neurons in an Animal Model of Parkinson's Disease.

L-DOPA therapy in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is limited due to emerging L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia. Research has identified abnormal dopamine release from serotonergic (5-HT) terminals contributing to this dyskinesia. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) or 5-HT receptor (5-HTr) agonists can regulate 5-HT activity and attenuate dyskinesia, but they often also produce a loss of the antiparkinsonian efficacy of L-DOPA. We investigated vilazodone, a novel multimodal 5-HT agent with SSRI and 5-HTr1A partial agonist properties, for its potential to reduce dyskinesia without interfering with the prokinetic effects of L-DOPA, and underlying mechanisms. We assessed vilazodone effects on L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (abnormal involuntary movements, AIMs) and aberrant responsiveness to corticostriatal drive in striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) measured with in vivo single-unit extracellular recordings, in the 6-OHDA rat model of PD. Vilazodone (10 mg/kg) suppressed all subtypes (axial, limb, orolingual) of AIMs induced by L-DOPA (5 mg/kg) and the increase in MSN responsiveness to cortical stimulation (shorter spike onset latency). Both the antidyskinetic effects and reversal in MSN excitability by vilazodone were inhibited by the 5-HTr1A antagonist WAY-100635, demonstrating a critical role for 5-HTr1A in these vilazodone actions. Our results indicate that vilazodone may serve as an adjunct therapeutic for reducing dyskinesia in patients with PD.
The Sexual Experience of Afro-American Women

Documentation of sexual behavior in America was left to personal accounts, fantasy, and imagination until 25 years ago, when Kinsey and his research group published the shocking findings that 1 out of 2 married women in their sample of 6,000 reported having had intercourse before marriage (1953). These studies supported other evidence that premarital sex had been established as a trend in sexual behavior since the 1920s (Terman, 1938; Burgess & Wallin, 1953). Masters and Johnson (1966, 1970) pioneered a more in-depth examination of the physiology of human sexuality and the incidence of sexual dysfunctions. More contemporary research has documented the variety of female sexual behaviors (Hite, 1976). However, most of these studies are limited to white, highly educated samples from the urban northeastern part of the United States. With the exception of some data by the Kinsey research group, minority groups, teenagers, and geriatric populations were excluded from these landmark studies of sexual behavior.
Global Climate Data and Models: A Reconciliation

The debate over the existence of global warming and climate change has been muddled because of satellite data showing a cooling trend in Earth's troposphere. This apparent cooling is in disagreement with measurements at surface stations and with climate models. In their Perspective, Hansen et al . discuss a correction to the satellite data published by Wentz and Schabel in Nature that may have profound implications for discussions of climate change. Wentz and Schabel discovered that the original satellite data, published in 1995, was not adjusted for the natural decay of spacecraft altitude caused by atmospheric drag. When this adjustment is made, the satellite data agree with both surface data and model calculations. The authors of the Perspective conclude that the question now is not whether global warming exists--it clearly does--but what should be done about it.
Hepatic Fibrosis: Emerging Therapies

There has been tremendous progress made in understanding the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis, which has created new opportunities for the treatment of this condition. Clinical evidence of fibrosis reversibility has established that the liver has the capacity to resorb scar tissue, and future therapies will be based in part on this insight. Additionally, the paradigm of hepatic stellate cell activation provides an important template for defining targets of antifibrotic therapy. Opportunities abound to accelerate drug approvals once biomarkers are improved and endpoints of clinical trials are better defined. Overall, there is heartening evidence that fibrosis is a tractable consequence of chronic liver disease that will be amenable to therapy even when the underlying disease has not been cured.
Using course-level factors as predictors of online course outcomes: a multi-level analysis at a US urban community college

Research has documented lower retention rates in online versus face-to-face courses. However, little research has focused on the impact of course-level characteristics (e.g. elective versus distributional versus major requirements; difficulty level; STEM status) on online course outcomes. Yet, focusing interventions at the course level versus the student level may be a more economical approach to reducing online attrition. This study used multi-level modeling, and controlled for the effects of both instructor-level and student characteristics, to measure the relationship of course-level characteristics with successful completion of online and face-to-face courses. Elective courses, and to a lesser extent distributional course requirements, were significantly more likely to have a larger gap in successful course completion rates online versus face-to-face, when compared with major course requirements. Upper level courses had better course completion rates overall, but a larger gap in online versus face-to-...
Interleukin‐6 Enhances the Fertilizing Capacity of Human Sperm by Increasing Capacitation and Acrosome Reaction

The effects of human recombinant interleukin-6 (IL-6) on human sperm penetration of zona-free hamster ova (SPA) and human sperm cell capacitation and acrosome reaction were investigated. IL-6 at higher concentrations (60-600 pg/100 microliters) significantly (P < 0.001) increased rather than decreased the human sperm penetration rates in SPA. The effects were specific because immunoadsorption with the specific neutralizing antibody completely abolished the enhancing effects of IL-6. At the same concentrations, IL-6 also significantly enhanced spontaneous as well as calcium ionophore-induced acrosome reaction and release of acrosin from the human sperm cells. There was no effect of IL-6 on percent sperm motility, although it significantly affected various motility characteristics such as velocity, linearity, amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH), and beat frequency of sperm cells--the motility parameters involved in hyperactivation phenomenon of sperm cells. These results demonstrate for the first time that IL-6 provides a positive signal in enhancing fertilizing capacity of human sperm by increasing capacitation leading to acrosome reaction, and thus it may have clinical applications in the treatment of male infertility in humans.