cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
“I am a radioactive mutant”: Emergent biological subjectivities at Kazakhstan's Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site

The Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site in Kazakhstan was conceived as an experimental landscape where science, technology, Soviet Cold War militarism, and human biology intersected. As of 2015, thousands of people continue to live in rural communities in the immediate vicinity of this polluted landscape. Lacking good economic options, many of them claim to be “mutants” adapted to radiation, while outsiders see them as genetically tainted. In such a setting, how do post-Soviet social, political, and economic transformations operate with radioactivity to co-constitute a “mutant” subjectivity? Today, villagers think of themselves as biologically transformed but not disabled, showing that there is no uniform way of understanding the effects of radioactive pollution, including among scientists. [Kazakhstan, Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, subjectivity, toxic environments, low-dose radiation, nuclear testing]
Penrose tiling

In a previous paper I discussed the topic of aperiodic tiling for the plane (Glassner, 1998). This technique helps us create patterns with lots of theme and variation, like the leaves on a tree. I continue discussing the subject. The basic approach is to take a bunch of 2D shapes and impose rules on how they can connect, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
Case report venous thromboembolism in aids

Recently, the authors managed three patients with AIDS and venous thromboembolism. All three were active, ambulatory, and without known risk factors for pulmonary embolism or deep venous thrombosis. One patient had a low titer for IgG anticardiolipin antibody (1:13). Two had low normal values for free protein S, and the third patient had a very low value (5%). Clinicians caring for AIDS patients should be alert to the possibility that venous thromboembolism may complicate HIV infection.
Abstract 4081: In vivo effects of decitabine on global gene expression profiles in tumors from patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer

Deoxycytosine methylation of CpG islands within promoter regions of tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) plays a prominent role in the development and progression of drug-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer (OC). Recently, in a phase I/II trial of the DNA methylation inhibitor decitabine in combination with carboplatin in platinum-resistant OC patients (NCT00477386), we demonstrated that decitabine-altered DNA methylation resulted in platinum resensitization and significant clinical activity, with a response rate of 35% and median PFS of 10 months (ASCO abstract #79158). The objective of the current study was to investigate the molecular basis underlying the clinical response observed. For this, we compared differential gene expression in paired tumor biopsies and ascitic fluid collected before and one week after decitabine treatment. Of the 17 patients enrolled in NCT00477386, samples evaluable from 14 patients were subjected to global gene expression profiling using GeneChip Human Gene 1.0 St arrays, and selected genes were validated by quantitative RT-PCR. Data analysis was performed using significance of microarray analysis (SAM), clustering, functional pathway prediction using DAVID, gene ontology (GO), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). In the patients with progression free survival (PFS) greater than six months (n=6), 274 genes were uniquely upregulated by decitabine. Enriched signaling pathways included Hedgehog, focal adhesion, and gap junction. Specifically, genes upregulated (fold change >1.2, P 6 months compared to patients with PFS 6 months and decreased in patients with PFS 6 months, including 33 genes of the “stemness” and chemoresistance-associated Wnt pathway. Notably, underexpression of those 33 genes has been correlated with prolonged survival in previous ovarian cancer studies. In summary, these findings show that repetitive low-dose decitabine reactivates silenced genes and restores sensitivity to carboplatin, providing strong clinical and biological support for further study of hypomethylating agents in heavily pre-treated, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4081. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4081
On the Representation of Integers

Case 1. Suppose Ik Si is even. Since the lemma holds for m = k and k Si 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1 is even, hence the expression sk + Sk1 +?s1 assumes every even integer from 1s to 0. It follows that the expression Sk+ 1 + Sk + Sk1 + ?+ s assumes every even (odd) integer from S1+j si to (Sk+?1 Si), if 1 Si is even (odd). By assumption, (Sk+11 si) is an even integer less than 1, if Sk+1 is even. If Sk+1 is odd, then (Sk+1X ks) < 1.
Across-Document Neighborhood Expansion: UMass at TAC KBP 2012 Entity Linking.

Last year’s competition demonstrated that the NER context contains important information that should not be ignored in entity linking. State-of-the-art approaches anchor on unambiguous entities, look for overlap in categories, or approximate a joint model of candidate assignments, after Wikipedia candidates have been selected. Current candidate approaches, such as anchor text maps, are effective but may lead to very large candidate sets to be examined. UMass has two objectives for our TAC submission. First, we use cross-document context information to perform entity neighborhood expansion and estimate the importance of entity context using corpus-wide information. Second, we use probabilistic information retrieval that incorporates the neighborhood information to generate a ranked candidate set in a single step. The result is a small candidate set that even for less than 50 candidates contains the true answer in 95% of the cases, allowing for computationally intensive inference in the next phase. It turns out that our best performing run simply predicts the top candidate of the unsupervised candidate ranking, outperforming more than half of the contestants.
Psychosocial assessment and monitoring in the new era of non-interferon-alpha hepatitis C virus treatments

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global concern. With the 2014 Food and Drug Administration approvals of two direct-acting antiviral (DAA) regimens, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir regimen and the ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir regimen, we may now be in the era of all-pill regimens for HCV. Until this development, interferon-alpha along with Ribavirin has remained part of the standard of care for HCV patients. That regimen necessitates psychosocial assessment of factors affecting treatment eligibility, including interferon-alpha-related depressive symptoms, confounding psychiatric conditions, and social aspects such as homelessness affecting treatment eligibility. These factors have delayed as much as 70% of otherwise eligible candidates from interferon-based treatment, and have required treating physicians to monitor psychiatric as well as medical side effects throughout treatment. All-pill DAA regimens with the efficaciousness that would preclude reliance upon interferon-alpha or ribavirin have been anticipated for years. Efficacy studies for these recently approved DAA regimens provide evidence to assess the degree that psychosocial assessment and monitoring will be required. With shorter treatment timelines, greatly reduced side effect profiles, and easier regimens, psychosocial contraindications are greatly reduced. However, current or recent psychiatric comorbidity, and drug-drug interactions with psychiatric drugs, will require some level of clinical attention. Evidence from these efficacy studies tentatively demonstrate that the era of needing significant psychosocial assessment and monitoring may be at an end, as long as a manageable handful of clinical issues are managed.
Lack of relation between ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death in patients with chronic heart failure

Although both asymptomatic ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death are common in patients with chronic heart failure, there is little evidence that patients who have frequent or complex ventricular arrhythmias are at increased risk of sudden death. Two hypotheses may explain the lack of an arrhythmia-sudden death relation in this disorder. First, complex ventricular arrhythmias may be a nonspecific manifestation of a dying left ventricle rather than an indication of a specific arrhythmogenic substrate. In fact, during long-term follow-up, patients with mild heart failure who have nonsustained ventricular tachycardia are more likely to develop clinical progression of the disease rather than sudden death. Second, sudden death may be related to events other than a malignant ventricular arrhythmia. The most common myocardial ischemia, whereas the terminal event in patients with an idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is commonly a severe bradyarrhythmia or electromechanical dissociation. Neither outcome can be predicted by a prior history of ventricular arrhythmias on ambulatory electrocardiographic monitoring. If asymptomatic ventricular arrhythmias do not lead to sudden death, then there would appear to be little reason to expect that antiarrhythmic drugs could prevent cardiac arrest in patients with chronic heart failure. This may explain why drugs that suppress ambulatory arrhythmias do not prevent sudden death in these patients, whereas interventions may reduce the risk of unexpected circulatory collapse in this disorder without suppressing ventricular ectopic activity. To make matters more complicated, the desirable actions of antiarrhythmic drugs are attenuated and their negative inotropic and proarrhythmic actions are enhanced in patients with severe cardiac dysfunction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Testosterone and reproductive effort in male primates.

Considerable evidence suggests that the steroid hormone testosterone mediates major life-history trade-offs in vertebrates, promoting mating effort at the expense of parenting effort or survival. Observations from a range of wild primates support the “Challenge Hypothesis,” which posits that variation in male testosterone is more closely associated with aggressive mating competition than with reproductive physiology. In both seasonally and non-seasonally breeding species, males increase testosterone production primarily when competing for fecund females. In species where males compete to maintain long-term access to females, testosterone increases when males are threatened with losing access to females, rather than during mating periods. And when male status is linked to mating success, and dependent on aggression, high-ranking males normally maintain higher testosterone levels than subordinates, particularly when dominance hierarchies are unstable. Trade-offs between parenting effort and mating effort appear to be weak in most primates, because direct investment in the form of infant transport and provisioning is rare. Instead, infant protection is the primary form of paternal investment in the order. Testosterone does not inhibit this form of investment, which relies on male aggression. Testosterone has a wide range of effects in primates that plausibly function to support male competitive behavior. These include psychological effects related to dominance striving, analgesic effects, and effects on the development and maintenance of the armaments and adornments that males employ in mating competition.
Construction Industry collaboration challenges

The UK Construction Industry was quick to recognise the benefits of web based collaboration. Many ‘Extranet’ service providers emerged in the late 1990s and early 2000s, who in the main offered a shared service for user management, document management and a selection of project management tools to construction projects. Despite over five years of wide spread adoption, the impact has been largely restricted to controlled file sharing with little improvement in information sharing procedures or practice and also no discernable impact on integrated design. The collaborative services supply side of the industry is beginning to take note of the need to provide process management services as well as improve user engagement, but it is unlikely that collaborative service providers can resolve the challenge the industry faces in delivering concurrent design through an integrated supply chain. The pattern displayed in the UK is being mirrored in the United States where collaborative technology adoption is being limited to file sharing Extranets with little visible move to change work processes or adopt collaborative design through building information models or alternate object based design approaches.
p53 Proteoforms and Intrinsic Disorder: An Illustration of the Protein Structure–Function Continuum Concept

Although it is one of the most studied proteins, p53 continues to be an enigma. This protein has numerous biological functions, possesses intrinsically disordered regions crucial for its functionality, can form both homo-tetramers and isoform-based hetero-tetramers, and is able to interact with many binding partners. It contains numerous posttranslational modifications, has several isoforms generated by alternative splicing, alternative promoter usage or alternative initiation of translation, and is commonly mutated in different cancers. Therefore, p53 serves as an important illustration of the protein structure–function continuum concept, where the generation of multiple proteoforms by various mechanisms defines the ability of this protein to have a multitude of structurally and functionally different states. Considering p53 in the light of a proteoform-based structure–function continuum represents a non-canonical and conceptually new contemplation of structure, regulation, and functionality of this important protein.
Differential Prevalence of Anti-Heparin-Platelet Factor 4 Antibodies In Elderly Patients with Acute Hip Fracture Undergoing Orthopaedic Surgery and Anticoagulated with Unfractionated Heparin and Enoxaparin

Abstract 4217 Orthopaedic surgical interventions pose a high risk of thrombosis (up to 50%) and require prophylactic anticoagulation. Conventionally, UFH and LMWH (enoxaparin) are used for the prophylactic anticoagulation. Both of these agents are capable of generating anti-heparin-platelet factor 4 antibodies. However, the exact prevalence with their use in elderly patients is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of the generation of anti-heparin-platelet factor 4 antibodies in this population with reference to the differences between UFH and LMWH. This study was conducted as a sub-study of PK532, in which 341 patients were recruited with acute hip fracture requiring orthopaedic surgical intervention. Patients were randomized into two groups and received either UFH 5000 units BID or enoxaparin 40 mg OD. Blood samples were drawn the day prior to surgery and on post-op days 1, 3, 5, and 7. Citrated plasma samples were kept frozen at -70 degrees Celsius and were batch analyzed for the presence of anti-heparin platelet factor 4 antibodies using GTI (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and Aniara (Paris, France) methods. The sub-study was carried out on 94 patients representing 42 enoxaparin and 51 heparin anticoagulation. The prevalence of anti-heparin platelet factor 4 antibody was expressed in terms of antibody titer by measuring optical density in the ELISA method and by determining the positive patients using the criterions established by each kit. Of the 94 patients recruited in this study, both methods showed a progressive increase in optical density starting on post-op day 3 suggesting the generation of anti-heparin platelet factor 4 antibodies. The relative absorbance was lower in the Aniara method. Overall, across all study days, the prevalence of anti-heparin platelet factor 4 antibodies was found to be 18.09% and 10.64% in all patients using the GTI and Aniara methods, respectively. The heparin treated group showed a much higher prevalence (29.41% and 19.61% using GTI and Aniara, respectively) whereas the enoxaparin treated group exhibited a much lower prevalence (2.33% and 0% using the GTI and Aniara methods, respectively). The highest prevalence was found to be on post-op day 7. On post-op day 7, the heparin treated group exhibited 27.59% prevalence using the GTI method and 13.79% prevalence of anti-heparin platelet factor 4 antibodies using the Aniara method (p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Node.fz: Fuzzing the Server-Side Event-Driven Architecture

The importance of the Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) has never been greater. Web servers and the IoT alike have begun to adopt the EDA, and the popular server-side EDA framework, Node.js, boasts the world's largest package ecosystem. While multi-threaded programming has been well studied in the literature, concurrency bug characteristics and useful development tools remain largely unexplored for server-side EDA-based applications.We present the first (to the best of our knowledge) concurrency bug characteristic study of real world open-source event-driven applications, based in Node.js. Like multithreaded programs, event-driven programs are prone to concurrency bugs like atomicity violations and order violations. Our study shows the forms that atomicity violations and ordering violations take in the EDA context, and points out the limitations of existing concurrency error detection tools developed for client-side EDA applications.Based on our bug study, we propose Node.fz, a novel testing aid for server-side event-driven programs. Node.fz is a schedule fuzzing test tool for event-driven programs, embodied for server-side Node.js programs. Node.fz randomly perturbs the execution of a Node.js program, allowing Node.js developers to explore a variety of possible schedules. Thanks to its low overhead, Node.fz enables a developer to explore a broader "schedule space" with the same test time budget, ensuring that applications will be stable in a wide variety of deployment conditions. We show that Node.fz can expose known bugs much more frequently than vanilla Node.js, and that it can uncover new bugs.
Developmental Toxicology: Introduction and Historical Perspectives

The science of developmental toxicology , also commonly identified as teratology , seeks to identify and characterize the molecular, biochemical, and anatomical lesions in developing organisms that can lead to functional and structural birth defects. The history of developmental toxicology spans several millennia and includes a rich fabric of relics, writings, myths, and superstitions that persist even in the current age of modern experimental science. Contemporary research combines morphological, biochemical, molecular, and systems level investigation in several mammalian, fish and lower-order species to identify underlying mechanisms and develop predictive models. Human, mouse, zebrafish, and amphibian models are the most frequently used test organisms in modern laboratories. The incidence of functional and anatomical birth defects in humans has remained relatively unchanged over the past few decades, indicating that selective preventative interventions such as folic acid supplementation to prevent neural tube defects are still offset by a myriad of other genetic and environmental factors that lead to other malformations. Recognized periods of differing developmental sensitivity through the preimplantation, postimplantation (organogenesis), and fetal maturation stages of gestation make the identification and characterization of causes and mechanisms very complex and difficult. The identification and characterization of human chemical and biological teratogens such as Rubella virus, thalidomide, ethanol, valproic acid, phenytoin, diethylstilbestrol, retinoic acid, and many others, have helped to define probable mechanisms of action, but much remains unknown. The search for mechanisms of developmental toxicology using the reductionist tools of molecular biology have contributed greatly to our understanding of the highly complex and dynamic nature of normal development. Yet, focused molecular studies have failed provide a complete understanding of the whole, leading to an increased emphasis on systems developmental biology approaches in hopes of better elucidating the environmental and biologic contexts within which birth defects develop. New high-throughput and stem cell-based experimental models also show promise in providing a better understanding of mechanisms of toxicity and the ability to predict adverse developmental outcomes. For the developmental toxicologist, the challenges moving forward remain much the same as have been seen historically, drawing upon the resources of embryology and developmental sciences, but constantly seeking new ways to understand developmental signaling and regulation and their subtle mechanistic interactions while superimposing the effects of toxicological perturbations caused by various pathogens, chemicals, nutrients, and other environmental insults.
Physicochemical, Microbiological, and Sensory Properties of Pâté Elaborated from Whitemouth Croaker (Micropogonias furnieri) Muscle

ABSTRACTThe aim of this research was to formulate a unique product, croaker pâte, and to determine its physicochemical, microbiological, and sensorial characterization. Three formulations of pâte were elaborated. The pâtes fit in the stipulated regulations for the microbiological test. Regarding the texture, the pâtes presented a significant difference (p < 0.05) among each other. In the sensorial tests, the favorite pâte of the panel was formulation 3; in the acceptance test, it had higher levels of acceptance for color, flavor, and global acceptance in comparison with commercial pâte.
Should I stay or should I go? A prospective investigation examining individual factors impacting employment status among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).

BACKGROUND Rates of unemployment among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are as high as 80%. While several factors for such high rates of unemployment have been identified, they do not account for the majority of the variance. OBJECTIVE This study examines person-specific factors such as personality and coping, which may better account for individuals leaving the workforce. METHOD Forty individuals with MS (20 considering reducing work hours or leaving the workforce and 20 remaining employed) were matched on age, gender, education, disease duration, and disease course, and administered a comprehensive survey of factors purported to be related to employment status. RESULTS Based on multiple, logistic regression analyses certain disease factors and person-specific factors differentiate those who are considering leaving work or reducing work hours and those staying employed. In particular, those expressing the need to reduce work hours or leaving the workforce reported more fatigue, anxiety, depression, and use of behavioral disengagement as a means of coping. In contrast, those staying employed reported greater levels of extraversion, self-efficacy, and use of humor as a means of coping. Together, fatigue, use of humor, and use of behavioral disengagement as a means of coping were the most significant factors, accounting for 44% of the variance. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that greater consideration be given to these factors and that interventions tailored to address these factors may assist individuals with MS staying employed and/or making appropriate accommodations.
Approximations to galaxy star formation rate histories: properties and uses of two examples

Galaxies evolve via a complex interaction of numerous different physical processes, scales and components. In spite of this, overall trends often appear. Simplified models for galaxy histories can be used to search for and capture such emergent trends, and thus to interpret and compare results of galaxy formation models to each other and to nature. Here, two approximations are applied to galaxy integrated star formation rate histories, drawn from a semi-analytic model grafted onto a dark matter simulation. Both a lognormal functional form and principal component analysis (PCA) approximate the integrated star formation rate histories fairly well. Machine learning, based upon simplified galaxy halo histories, is somewhat successful at recovering both fits. The fits to the histories give fixed time star formation rates which have notable scatter from their true fixed time rates at final time, especially for quiescent and "green valley" galaxies, and more so for the PCA fit. For classifying galaxies into subfamilies sharing similar integrated histories, both approximations are better than using final stellar mass or specific star formation rate. Several subsamples from the simulation illustrate how these simple parameterizations can provide points of contact for comparisons between different galaxy formation samples, or more generally, models. As a side result, the halo masses of simulated galaxies with early peak star formation rate (according to the lognormal fit) lie on one of two tracks. The small fraction of galaxies with a lower halo mass at peak star formation rate appear to stall in their halo growth, even though they are central in their host halos.
Revealing how an adenylate cyclase toxin uses bait and switch tactics in its activation.

Dissecting how bacterial pathogens escape immune destruction and cause respiratory infections in humans is a work in progress. One tactic employed by microbes is to use bacterial adenylate cyclase toxins (ACTs) to disarm immune cells and disrupt cellular signaling in host cells, which facilitates the infection process. Several clinically significant pathogens, such as Bacillus anthracis and Bordetella pertussis, have ACTs that are stimulated by an activator protein in human cells. Research has shown that these bacterial ACTs have evolved distinct ways of controlling their activities, but our understanding of how the B. pertussis ACT does this is limited. In a recent study, O’Brien and colleagues provide new and exciting evidence demonstrating that the regulation of B. pertussis ACT involves conformational switching between flexible and rigid states, which is triggered upon binding the host activator protein. This study increases our knowledge of how bacterial ACTs are unique enzymes, representing a potentially novel class of drug targets that may open new pathways to combat reemerging infectious diseases.
Effectiveness of roadside vegetated filter strips and swales at treating roadway runoff: a tutorial review

Water leaving roadside ditches has the potential to affect the quality of downstream waters. Vegetated filter strips (VFS's) and grassed swales (GS's) are often used to manage roadside ditches for water quality protection. This paper summarized field data from relevant studies to determine the efficiency of these two best management practices (BMPs) in removing nutrients and trace metals from roadside ditches, and discussed implications for downstream water quality, as well as driving factors that influence the performance of roadside VFS's and GS's. The literature examined shows that roadside VFS's and GS's are quite effective at reducing total suspended solids (TSS), while a mixed performance was reported for metal and nutrient removal. Based on the data, VFS's and GS's appear to be more effective at removing particulate-bound than dissolved pollutants.
Split cGAL, an intersectional strategy using a split intein for refined spatiotemporal transgene control in Caenorhabditis elegans

Bipartite expression systems, such as the GAL4-UAS system, allow fine manipulation of gene expression and are powerful tools for interrogating gene function. Recently, we established cGAL, a GAL4-based bipartite expression system for transgene control in Caenorhabditis elegans, where a single promoter dictates the expression pattern of a cGAL driver, which then binds target upstream activation sequences to drive expression of a downstream effector gene. Here, we report a split strategy for cGAL using the split intein gp41-1 for intersectional control of transgene expression. Split inteins are protein domains that associate, self-excise, and covalently ligate their flanking peptides together. We split the DNA binding domain and transcriptional activation domain of cGAL and fused them to the N terminal of gp41-1-N-intein and the C terminal of gp41-1-C-intein, respectively. In cells where both halves of cGAL are expressed, a functional cGAL driver is reconstituted via intein-mediated protein splicing. This reconstitution allows expression of the driver to be dictated by two promoters for refined spatial control or spatiotemporal control of transgene expression. We apply the split cGAL system to genetically access the single pair of MC neurons (previously inaccessible with a single promoter), and reveal an important role of protein kinase A in rhythmic pharyngeal pumping in C. elegans. Thus, the split cGAL system gives researchers a greater degree of spatiotemporal control over transgene expression, and will be a valuable genetic tool in C. elegans for dissecting gene function with finer cell-specific resolution.
Evaluating the durability of brand alliances using Bayesian methods

This study examines the duration of brand alliances (or co-brands), a brand strategy in which two brands are offered as one joint product. Previous research has suggested these alliances are short-lived, but little empirical evidence exists to explore what may drive the longevity of such alliances. The study uses actual market data for 524 brand alliances in 83 product categories of consumer packaged goods during a 13-year period. Controlling for market share, several factors that might influence brand alliance duration are examined: type of alliance, ownership by the same parent company, and the number of relationships. Using a Bayesian hazard model to estimate duration, the results show a brand alliance lasts longer if it is an ingredient brand alliance (rather than licensed) and both brands are owned by the same parent company. Additionally, having more partnerships helps a brand alliance last longer, but too many alliances have a negative effect on staying in the marketplace. The findings suggest that brand managers looking to enter into a brand alliance can anticipate how long the product might last based on these partnership factors.
Der Dirichletsche Primzahlsatz

Wir haben bereits in § 7,5 den beruhmten Dirichletschen Satz von den Primzahlen in einer arithmetischen Progression erwahnt und dort von ihm vorubergehend Gebrauch gemacht, um das Legendresche Symbol als Funktion seines Nenners zu studieren.
On polynomial inequalities and extremal problems

We shall give an account of some of the fundamental results concerning critical points of polynomials as well as some of the developments concerning extremal properties of polynomials with an analysis of some inequalities for polynomials and their derivatives as well as their zeros. We provide a counterexample to a theorem of M. Marden concerning the zeros of certain composite polynomials.
Inferring Sub-Culture Hierarchies Based on Object Diffusion on the World Wide Web.

This paper presents our approach to inferring communities on the Web. It delineates the sub-culture hierarchies based on how individuals get involved in the dispersion of online objects. To this end, a relatedness function is chosen to satisfy a set of carefully defined mathematical conditions. The conditions are deduced from how people may share common interests through placing common objects on their homepages. Our relatedness function can infer much more detailed degree of relatedness between homepages than other contemporary methods.
Multimodality Therapy for Completely Resected (R0) Gastric Cancer (Excluding Japanese Trials)

In the United States, as in much of the Western world, the incidence of gastric cancer has fallen dramatically over the last half century. Whereas gastric cancer was the single most important cause of cancer death in the United States during the 1930s, it now ranks sixth or lower, with only 15000 to 30000 deaths per year due to this disease. In Japan more than half of those diagnosed with cancer of the stomach are permanently cured of their disease, but in the United States although the cure rate is slowly increasing it is only approaching 20%. In the United States and elsewhere in the West, as in Japan, the increase in the number of long-term survivors is due to diagnosing the disease at an earlier stage. The difference is that in Japan most patients with stomach cancer are diagnosed with disease still confined to the stomach, whereas in the United States flexible endoscopy has increased the incidence of stage I and stage II cancers from 1%–2% to a little more than 20%. For this reason the development of effective surgical adjuvant programs is a critical approach to enhancing the proportion of patients who might be cured of gastric cancer.
Assessment of Fissure Integrity in Patients With Intrabronchial Valves for Treatment of Prolonged Air Leak.

Background Intrabronchial valves (IBVs) are a treatment alternative for persistent air leak (PAL). However, there is a paucity of evidence regarding whether the absence of collateral ventilation (CV) can predict successful treatment of PAL with IBV placement. We assessed whether absence of CV measured by fissure integrity could predict successful resolution of PAL with IBV placement. Methods A multicenter, retrospective study was performed. Patients who underwent IBV placement for PAL were identified. Chest computed tomography analysis via VIDA Diagnostics was used to assess CV. CV was present if the treated lobe was adjacent to a fissure that was Results A total of 81 valves were placed in 26 patients (median, 3 per patient). A total of 16 patients without CV underwent IBV placement: 14 patients had complete resolution of PAL with a median time from IBV placement to air leak resolution of 4.5 days and 2 patients required subsequent procedures to manage the PAL. In a subset of patients without CV who underwent complete lobar occlusion with IBV (n = 8), median time to PAL resolution was 3 days, whereas in patients without CV who underwent incomplete lobar occlusion with IBV (n = 6), median time PAL resolution was 6.5 days (p = 0.045). All 10 patients with CV underwent IBV placement and complete lobar occlusion: 4 patients had complete PAL resolution with a median time from IBV placement to PAL resolution of 17.5 days and 6 patients required subsequent procedures to manage their PAL. Conclusions PAL treatment with IBV is more successful in patients without CV, especially when complete lobar occlusion with IBV is achieved.
Time to initial cancer treatment in the United States and association with survival over time: An observational study.

Background Delays in time to treatment initiation (TTI) for new cancer diagnoses cause patient distress and may adversely affect outcomes. We investigated trends in TTI for common solid tumors treated with curative intent, determinants of increased TTI and association with overall survival. Methods and findings We utilized prospective data from the National Cancer Database for newly diagnosed United States patients with early-stage breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, renal and pancreas cancers from 2004–13. TTI was defined as days from diagnosis to first treatment (surgery, systemic or radiation therapy). Negative binomial regression and Cox proportional hazard models were used for analysis. The study population of 3,672,561 patients included breast (N = 1,368,024), prostate (N = 944,246), colorectal (N = 662,094), non-small cell lung (N = 363,863), renal (N = 262,915) and pancreas (N = 71,419) cancers. Median TTI increased from 21 to 29 days (P<0.001). Aside from year of diagnosis, determinants of increased TTI included care at academic center, race, education, prior history of cancer, transfer of facility, comorbidities and age. Increased TTI was associated with worsened survival for stages I and II breast, lung, renal and pancreas cancers, and stage I colorectal cancers, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.005 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 1.002–1.008) to 1.030 (95% CI 1.025–1.035) per week of increased TTI. Conclusions TTI has lengthened significantly and is associated with absolute increased risk of mortality ranging from 1.2–3.2% per week in curative settings such as early-stage breast, lung, renal and pancreas cancers. Studies of interventions to ease navigation and reduce barriers are warranted to diminish potential harm to patients.
Response modes of erythrocytes in high-frequency oscillatory shear flows

Due to its capability of duplicating the deformation scenario of erythrocytes (red blood cells), in in vivo time scales, passing through interendothelial slits in the spleen, the understanding of the dynamic response of erythrocytes in oscillatory shear flows is of critical importance to the development of an effective in vitro methodology to study the mechanics, metabolism, and aging procedure in vivo [R. Asaro et al., “Erythrocyte aging, protection via vesiculation: An analysis methodology via oscillatory flow,” Front. Physiol. 9, 1607 (2018)]. Accordingly, we conducted a systematic computational investigation of the dynamics of erythrocytes in high-frequency oscillatory shear flows by using a fluid-cell interaction model based on the Stokes-flow framework and a multiscale structural depiction of the cell. Within the range of parameters we consider, we identify five different response modes (wheeling, tilted wheeling, tank treading mode 1, tank treading mode 2, and irregular). The occurrence and stability of these response modes depend on the frequency of the flow, the peak capillary number, the viscosity ratio, the initial orientation of the cell, and the stress-free state of the protein skeleton. Through long-term simulations [O(102) periods], mode switching events have been discovered, during which the cell transfers from one mode to another, often via an intermediate transient mode. The deformation of the skeleton and the contact stress between the skeleton and the lipid bilayer are computed since these are of direct importance to describing vital cell phenomena such as vesiculation by which the cell protects itself from premature elimination.
Multichannel Nerve Stimulation for Diverse Activation of Finger Flexors.

Objective: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is a common approach to restore muscle strength of individuals with a neurological injury but restoring hand dexterity is still a challenge. This study sought to quantify the diversity of finger movements elicited by a multichannel nerve stimulation technique. Methods: A 2 × 8 stimulation grid, placed on the upper arm along the ulnar and median nerves, was used to activate different finger flexors by automatically switching between randomized bipolar electrodes. The forces from each individual finger as well as the high-density electromyogram (HDEMG) of the intrinsic and extrinsic flexors were recorded. The elicited finger forces were categorized using hierarchical clustering, and the 2D correlation of the spatial patterns of muscle activation was also calculated. Results: A wide range of movement patterns were identified, including multi-finger and single-digit movements. Additionally, a number of electrode pairs elicited similar finger movements. The muscle activation patterns showed similar and distinct spatial patterns, signifying activation redundancy. Conclusion: These results revealed the diversity of elicitable finger movements and muscle activations. The system redundancy can be explored to compensate for system instability due to fatigue or electrode shift. The outcomes can also enable the development of an automatic calibration of the stimulation.
SURGICAL RISK STRATIFIED OUTCOMES IN CORONARY BYPASS VERSUS PERCUTANEOUS REVASCULARIZATION IN MULTIVESSEL CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

Outcomes following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery versus percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (MVCAD) stratified by Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) risk scores in contemporary practice is not completely understood. This was a
The potential for prebiotic synthesis in hydrothermal systems

Contemporary hydrothermal systems provide a reducing environment where organic compounds are formed and may react to generate the molecules used in the first living systems. The organic compounds percolate through mineral assemblages at a variety of temperatures so the proposed synthetic reactions are driven by heat and catalyzed by minerals (Ferris, 1992). Some examples of potential prebiotic reactions are discussed.
Adaptive automation and its health and safety challenges.

Abstract Introduction: This article is a short communique on the subject of Adaptive Automation. Autonomous systems function reliably and effectively, but are workers involved? …better protected? A discussion about when and how workers can, will and/or should integrate with adaptive automated and autonomous systems. Method: A partial literature review was conducted and it was coupled with the author’s thoughts and opinions on the concept and application of adaptive automation. The author’s research of the changing roles of humans in the control systems has been incorporated. Results and conclusions: Human error has driven us to explore automation. The expectation has been that with the human out of the loop, risk of error and injury will decline, however, it is not yet well understood what that decline in risk will look like or what the impact on worker health and safety will be, especially in individual cases. It is generally accepted that human involvement will become more critical, however, concern still exists around skill-decay type incidents when the worker is removed from the control loop and then has to rapidly rejoin the loop if and when something goes wrong. Practical Application: Adaptive automation responds to the engagement question essential to human–machine system performance and therefore, an understanding of the concept and application can be used to inform design decisions about function allocation as control systems are being designed and built.
Firearm Access and Suicide: Lethal Means Counseling and Safe Storage Education in a Comprehensive Prevention Strategy

Most firearm-related deaths are deaths by suicide, and approximately half of all suicide deaths involve a firearm 1 Recent research has identified a sustained risk of suicide by firearm for those who own handguns and has suggested that risk for suicide peaks just after an individual's first handgun purchase 2 During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the United States has seen record-breaking gun sales, and many purchasers are first-time owners, which may mean that a large section of the population is at newly elevated risk for suicide 3 Although policymakers tend to focus on certain laws to reduce gun violence, these laws are not sufficient to fully address suicide risk when an individual's risk is not apparent Extreme Risk Protection Order laws are intended to remove firearms from the home of someone at high risk for harming himself or herself or others Because suicide is often an impulsive act taken in response to acute stressors, it is not always possible to preemptively identify and act on risk of suicide 1 A person experiencing a transient crisis may not satisfy any statutory or other legal criteria prohibiting gun acquisition [ ]researchers should seek to evaluate similar interventions in other populations
The Ancient Egyptian Language: An Historical Study

1. Ancient Egyptian Part I. Phonology: 2. Coptic phonology 3. Coptic and Egyptian 4. Correspondents and cognates 5. Egyptian phonology Part II. Grammar: 6. Nouns, pronouns, and adjectives 7. Non-verbal predicates 8. Verbs 9. Verbs: Egyptian I 10. Verbs: Egyptian II 11. Verbs: Egyptian I-II 12. Subordination.
Curating to Remember Injustice: Exhibitions on Toyo Miyatake and Roger Shimomura

This chapter discusses the curating and programming of simultaneous exhibitions on Toyo Miyatake and Roger Shimomura at the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art in 2016. The exhibitions raised awareness about the mass relocation and imprisonment of American legal residents and citizens of Japanese descent in World War II concentration camps through visual art and oral histories. The curatorial team placed an emphasis on communicating research on the topic through forms engaging audiences in active participation and dialogue. These strategies draw from ideas in education, performance art, and socially engaged practices. They also echo recent initiatives in the visual art that propose artistic practice as a type of research method and knowledge as poly-vocal and collectively produced.
Outcome of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma: Focus on near-ETP phenotype and differential impact of nelarabine.

Early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (ETP-ALL/LBL) is characterized by a distinct immunophenotype (CD1a-negative, CD8-negative, CD5-negative or weak-positive <75%, myeloid/stem-cell markers positive) and poor clinical outcomes. Near-ETP ALL is transcriptionally similar to ETP-ALL but CD5 expression level is not low enough to meet the criteria of ETP immunophenotype. Outcomes of near-ETP ALL are not well characterized. We reviewed 171 patients with newly-diagnosed T-ALL/LBL. Patients were categorized into three groups; ETP (N = 27), near-ETP (N = 24), and non-ETP ALL/LBL (N = 120). ETP-ALL/LBL was associated with a significantly worse survival compared with non-ETP ALL/LBL: 5-year overall survival (OS) rates 32% versus 63% (p < .001). Outcome was similar between near-ETP and non-ETP ALL/LBL: 5-year OS rates 56% versus 63% (p = .543). Landmark analysis showed that allogeneic stem cell transplant (allo-SCT) in first remission was beneficial in ETP-ALL/LBL (5-year event-free survival rates 36% versus 18%, p = .030) but not in near-ETP or non-ETP ALL/LBL. Multivariate analysis selected the following as significant independent prognostic factors for OS: age ≥ 60 years (HR 3.11; p = .003); elevated WBC ≥100 × 109 /L (HR 2.60; p = .005); and ETP immunophenotype (HR 2.29; p = .010). A survival advantage with adding nelarabine to hyper-CVAD was observed in non-ETP ALL (5-year OS rates 83% versus 38% with hyper-CVAD plus neralabine versus hyper-CVAD, p = .003). In conclusion, outcome of ETP-ALL/LBL was poor and improved with allo-SCT; outcome of near-ETP ALL/LBL was similar to non-ETP ALL/LBL; the addition of nelarabine to hyper-CVAD improved the survival in non-ETP ALL only.
Utilizing technology to enhance laboratory-client interaction while encouraging best behavior.

As client interactions with veterinary diagnostic laboratories have evolved, so have client expectations: faster results, enhanced accessibility to cases, and more seamless data transfer from the l...
Mechanisms of Metabolic Reprogramming in Cancer Cells Supporting Enhanced Growth and Proliferation.

Cancer cells alter metabolic processes to sustain their characteristic uncontrolled growth and proliferation. These metabolic alterations include (1) a shift from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis to support the increased need for ATP, (2) increased glutaminolysis for NADPH regeneration, (3) altered flux through the pentose phosphate pathway and the tricarboxylic acid cycle for macromolecule generation, (4) increased lipid uptake, lipogenesis, and cholesterol synthesis, (5) upregulation of one-carbon metabolism for the production of ATP, NADH/NADPH, nucleotides, and glutathione, (6) altered amino acid metabolism, (7) metabolism-based regulation of apoptosis, and (8) the utilization of alternative substrates, such as lactate and acetate. Altered metabolic flux in cancer is controlled by tumor-host cell interactions, key oncogenes, tumor suppressors, and other regulatory molecules, including non-coding RNAs. Changes to metabolic pathways in cancer are dynamic, exhibit plasticity, and are often dependent on the type of tumor and the tumor microenvironment, leading in a shift of thought from the Warburg Effect and the “reverse Warburg Effect” to metabolic plasticity. Understanding the complex nature of altered flux through these multiple pathways in cancer cells can support the development of new therapies.