cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Traditional Breast Cancer Risk Factors in Filipina Americans Compared with Chinese and Japanese Americans in Los Angeles County.

Background: Filipina Americans have one of the highest breast cancer incidence rates among Asian Americans for poorly understood reasons. Methods: Breast cancer risk factors were investigated in a population-based study of Filipina (790 cases, 587 controls), Japanese (543 cases, 510 controls), and Chinese (913 cases, 904 controls) Americans; cases were identified by the Los Angeles County Cancer Surveillance Program and controls were matched to cases on age, ethnicity, and neighborhood. Multivariable conditional logistic regression was performed by Asian ethnicity. Results: In Filipina, Chinese, and Japanese Americans, breast cancer risk decreased significantly with increasing parity (all P trends <0.0001). Breast cancer risk increased with increasing quartiles of cumulative menstrual months in premenopausal (P trend =0.019) and postmenopausal Filipina (P trend=0.008), in premenopausal (P trend=0.0003) but not postmenopausal Chinese (P trend=0.79), and in neither premenopausal (P trend=0.092) nor postmenopausal (P trend=0.75) Japanese Americans. For postmenopausal Filipina and Japanese, greater weight gain since age 18 (P trend =0.019 and 0.053 respectively), high current body mass index (both P trend<0.01), and greater waist circumferences (both P trend <0.04) were statistically significant; these associations were weaker for postmenopausal Chinese women. Conclusions: Cumulative menstrual months and body size factors were statistically significant risk factors for Filipina. Total menstrual months were associated with breast cancer among Chinese but not for Japanese, while body size factors were significantly associated with risk among Japanese but not among Chinese. Impact: Characterization of breast cancer risk factors in Filipina will help to generate hypotheses for their high breast cancer incidence.
Exploring the overlap between individualistic and collective crime prevention

Crime prevention behaviors range from private-minded or individualistic actions citizens take to protect themselves from crime, to public-minded or collective behaviors aimed at protecting entire neighborhoods. Although these behaviors may be overlapping, few studies have examined the extent to which citizens engage in individualistic and collective crime prevention simultaneously. This study examines the co-occurrence and predictors of crime prevention behaviors with data from Canada’s General Social Survey. Results indicate that citizens who engage in individualistic crime prevention behaviors are somewhat likely to engage in collective ones. But when looking at the etiology of these behaviors, individualistic behaviors are largely influenced by concerns about victimization, while collective behaviors are driven more by concerns with neighborhood conditions.
Introduction: Mycorrhizas and Soil Structure, Moisture, and Salinity

Soil structure, soil salinity, and soil water-holding capacity are tightly interconnected traits, all of which can be influenced by mycorrhizal fungi. This introduction reviews basic information about these three soil properties and their importance in a changing world. It sets the stage for subsequent chapters that consider the interrelationships among arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal fungi, plants, and soil structure, salinity, and moisture.
Nasca Lines: Space Tracking of Vandalism

The Nasca Lines are one of the most impressive examples of cultural heritage throughout the entire world. Their exposure to damage and overall vulnerability are very high, much more than any other elements of cultural heritage, due to their intrinsic fragility and also because they are strongly threatened by several anthropogenic factors such as vandalism, ignorance, and urban sprawl. Moreover they are sparsely spread over large areas with easy and general access, which make their destruction almost effortless and their protection very challenging. This chapter is focused on the capability of remote-sensing technology capability for identifying and quantifying spatially-distributed damage to the geoglyphs, primarily caused by vandalism.
Biochemical effects of pollutant exposure in fish from urban creeks in Greenville, SC (USA)

The city of Greenville, SC is a rapidly expanding urban area located on the Reedy River in the upstate of South Carolina. Historical and current point-source pollutants and runoff from impermeable surfaces have resulted in a contaminated river environment, which through previous studies was demonstrated to be reflected in biological effects in fish species in the river. Because it was not known how much smaller tributaries in the urbanized area were contributing to the pollution of the main stem of the Reedy River, we collected fish (bluehead chub (Nocomis leptocephalus), creek chub (Semotilus atromaculatus), bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), and redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auritus)) from five smaller urban creeks in the Greenville area and measured several biomarkers of exposure in these animals. Enzymatic activities of cytochrome P450-1A (CYP1A) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were measured, and bile samples were analyzed for fluorescence caused by polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and for excreted estrogenic compounds. The results show that some creeks triggered significant biomarker responses in collected fish, while others were relatively clean. In particular, PAHs appear to be prevalent and caused biochemical effects, while estrogenic compounds were not significantly increased in the bile of fish from these urban creeks. A striking observation was the difference in enzyme activities in chub species compared to sunfish species; sunfish had up to five times higher CYP1A activities than chubs, while the chubs had significantly higher GST activity than sunfish. These species differences should be taken into account when they are incorporated in environmental risk assessment and biological effect monitoring programs.
Local Ancestry and Clinical Cardiovascular Events Among African Americans From the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study.

Background Local ancestry in relation to clinical cardiovascular events (CVEs) among African Americans can provide insight into their genetic susceptibility to the disease. Methods and Results We examined local European ancestry (LEA) association with CVEs among 3000 African Americans from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC). We estimated LEA using L ocal A ncestry Inference in ad M ixed P opulations using L inkage D isequilibrium (LAMP‐LD) and examined its association with myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary heart disease and its composite and cardiovascular disease composite using logistic regression. Genome‐wide significance was achieved by 121 LEA regions in relation to myocardial infarction and 2 in relation to the cardiovascular disease composite. The LEA region downstream of 4q32.1 was significantly associated with 2 times higher odds of myocardial infarction ( P =1.45×10 −6 ). The LEA region upstream of 6q11.1 was associated with 0.37 times lower odds of fatal coronary heart disease ( P =7.34×10 −4 ), whereas the LEA region downstream of 21q21.1 was associated with 1.55 times higher odds of composite coronary heart disease ( P= 3.45×10 −4 ). Association of LEA with stroke was observed in the region upstream of 6p22.3 with a 1.57 times higher odds of stroke ( P =9.69×10 −4 ). Likewise, the LEA region on 4q32.3 was associated with a 1.53 times higher odds of composite cardiovascular disease ( P= 3.04×10 −4 ). We also found 20 of the LEA regions at previously significant cardiovascular disease single‐nucleotide polymorphisms to be associated with CVE in our study. Conclusions Future studies are needed to replicate and/or determine the causal variants driving our associations and explore clinical applications for those consistently associated with CVEs.
Aristotle’s Interactionism and Its Transformations by Some 20th Century Writers

The thought of Aristotle as probably the first philosopher who put all of his thinking into the context of the organism-environment relation is examined with respect to generation and growth, initiation and direction of behavior, the higher capacities of sensation and thought, and man’s interaction with his social environment. This is followed with a consideration of the “sociological metaphysics” of Alfred North Whitehead in which the universe is conceived as primarily a society. Finally, brief consideration is given to Buber’s philosophy of the “between,” considered here to be the highest expression of “contextual interactionism.”
Gerhart Hauptmann: Obscured by Mislabeling

We obscure the interpretation of Hauptmann's early plays by citing them as typical examples of naturalism. Hauptmann was neither a doctrinaire naturalist nor a writer of Ibsenesque thesis drama.
Deposit Windfalls and Bank Reporting Quality: Evidence from Shale Booms

This paper investigates how depositor information problems affect bank reporting quality. Using plausibly exogenous deposit windfalls coming from shale and oil leases, I find that banks exposed to shale booms provide higher reporting quality, measured as loan loss provision timeliness, compared to other banks. Improved loan provisioning timeliness is concentrated in banks with stronger incentives to attract deposits–smaller banks and banks with fewer uninsured deposits. Moreover, banks that improve the most tend to experience a larger increase in their subsequent deposit levels, suggesting that depositors value timely information. Collectively, my results suggest that information asymmetry between depositors and banks is an important determinant of banks’ reporting incentives.
Chapter 34: the history of sleep medicine.

Publisher Summary Sleep medicine has become a well-recognized subspecialty and has now joined the mainstream of medicine. This chapter reviews the fundamental events that have established the modern field of sleep medicine. The focus on sleep medicine allowed the creation of a small clinical unit to monitor patients with different cardiac, respiratory, and metabolic diseases during sleep. It was the first unit entirely devoted to the field of sleep medicine with a focus that extended beyond electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring. The usage of polygraphic recording during sleep led to a new understanding of syndromes during sleep. During the test, the patient fell asleep and had episodes of “periodic breathing” with intermittent absence of airflow and associated changes in heart rate. The first “polysomnogram” was recorded during a daytime nap. The patients “fell asleep repetitively” with a drop in oxygen saturation (SaO 2 ) and a change in heart rate. The sleepiness of these Pickwickian patients was attributed to carbon dioxide “poisoning” with periodic alterations of consciousness.
Comets - Nature, evolution and decay

A brief summary is given of the current concepts of the icy conglomerate cometary nucleus and of the origin of comets. Evidence that the cores of comets may contain less than average volatile material, whether in formation or by radiative heating, raises the question of why at least two very faint short-period comets suddenly experienced violent outbursts (about 4,000 times in brightness). A preliminary study of close double comet nuclei as affected by differential nongravitational forces shows that a collision of a cometary satellite with its primary is a likely outcome. Thus double nuclei may possibly explain these rare but extreme outbursts. Statistics suggest, however, that most comet splitting and comet outbursts represent intrinsic activities in extremely nonhomogeneous nuclei.
Vasopressors During CPR

Epinephrine has been the mainstay of drug therapy during advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation for many years. The rationale for its administration during cardiac arrest is its vasoconstrictive (α) effect, which could improve both coronary and cerebral perfusion pressure by increasing diastolic arterial pressure. However, epinephrine has also side effects, as a β-mediated increase of myocardial oxygen consumption and a potential α1-mediated interference with cerebral microcirculation. Recent interventional and observational human studies suggest that epinephrine does not increase survival to hospital discharge and may be associated to worse neurological outcomes. Vasopressin, a pure vasopressor with no α or β effects, has been evaluated as a potential alternative to epinephrine in several experimental and human studies. However, results show that vasopressin have no special advantages over epinephrine. The role of vasopressors during CPR needs to be further investigated.
Lebenstechnik Und Essen: Toward a Technological Ethics after Heidegger

For some students of his writings, Martin Heidegger’s alarming accounts of technology are difficult, if not impossible, to square with his denial of having anything against technology.1 Heidegger himself fended off such criticism by insisting on a distinction between technology and its essence, “essence” not in the sense of a genus, but rather in the sense of something that presents itself as the pervading and perduring way in which things unfold. Already in the Overturning of Metaphysics he told his readers that he was not employing “Technik” for “the separate regions of mechanized production and equipment,” but rather as a term encompassing “all the regions of particular beings which outfit the entirety of beings: the objectified nature, the managed culture, the manufactured politics, and the superstructure of ideals.”2 In The Question Concerning Technology the distinction between technology and its essence is made explicit: “What is dangerous is not technology. There is no technological demon, but there is a secret to the essence of technology. The danger is the essence of technology as a fate of revealing.”3
Serine Integrase attP Binding and Specificity.

Abstract Serine integrases catalyze the site-specific insertion of viral DNA into a host's genome. The minimal requirements and irreversible nature of this integration reaction have led to the use of serine integrases in applications ranging from bacterial memory storage devices to gene therapy. Our understanding of how the integrase proteins recognize the viral (attP) and host (attB) attachment sites is limited, with structural data available for only a Listeria integrase C-terminal domain (CTD) bound to an attP half-site. Here we report quantitative binding and saturation mutagenesis analyses for the Listeria innocua prophage attP site and a new 2.8-A crystal structure of the CTD•attP half site. We find that Int binds with high affinity to attP (6.9 nM), but the Int CTD binds to attP half-sites with only 7- to 10-fold lower affinity, supporting the idea that free energy is expended to open an Int dimer for attP binding. Despite the 50-bp Int–attP interaction surface, only 20 residues are sensitive to mutagenesis, and of these, only 6 require a specific residue for efficient Int binding and integration activity. One of the integrase DNA-binding domains, the recombinase domain, appears to be primarily non-specific. Several substitutions result in an improved attP site, indicating that higher-efficiency attachment sites can be obtained through site engineering. These findings advance our understanding of serine integrase function and provide important data for efforts towards engineering this family of enzymes for a variety of biotechnology applications.
A Clutch of Instruments

Musical instruments can be found among the earliest surviving traces of human civilizations, mostly in various types of bone flutes. Additionally, images of instruments adorn caves, amulets, and pottery from millennia ago. As Western technology developed, so did musical instruments. String instrument manufacturing reached a Golden Age in Cremona, Italy during the early seventeenth century. And thanks to the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth, new technologies such as pistons and valves and developments in metallurgy allowed wind instrument makers to improve their products. Five noted instrumentalists—violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter, ’cellist Steven Isserlis, flutist Eugenia Zukerman, guitarist Christopher Parkening, and horn player Barry Tuckwell—offer insights into the histories, performance practices, and repertories of their respective instruments, and to works they’ve performed with contemporary composers.
History, Manufacturing Techniques, and Preservation of Decals:

Decals, also known as decalcomania or transfer prints, were invented in England and flourished between the 1850s and 1970s, although they are still used today. Applied to a wide variety of material...
El « abolengo festivo » de la Pícara Justina: La burla genealógica

Resumen El tema del linaje adquirio capital importancia en la sociedad espanola de los siglos XVI y XVII. Los espanoles se dividieron en aquellos que descendian de cristianos y aquellos cuyos antepasados eran judios o musulmanes. El estamento nobiliario se invento origenes biblicos, romanos y visigoticos para establecer su superioridad social. Los bufones y la novela picaresca se burlaron de esta mania nobiliaria de sus contemporaneos y crearon personajes que se enorgullecian del manchado origen de sus progenitores. Lopez de Ubeda, bufon de don Rodrigo Calderon, se burlo de su senor caricaturizando a los antepasados conversos de su protagonista y sus ridiculas muertes.
Weekly Drinking and Binge Drinking Mediate the Association Between Drinking Location and Sexual Coercion.

It has been well documented that alcohol use is a risk factor for sexual assault. However, few studies have examined how alcohol use is associated with sexual coercion experiences. Furthermore, off...
CELLULAR RESOLUTION IMAGING OF NEURONAL ACTIVITY ACROSS SPACE AND TIME IN THE MAMMALIAN BRAIN.

Abstract The action potential has long been understood to be the fundamental bit of information in brain, but how these spikes encode representations of stimuli and drive behavior remains unclear. Large-scale neuronal recordings with cellular and spike-time resolution spanning multiple brain regions are needed to capture relevant network dynamics that can be sparse and distributed across the population. This review focuses on recent advancements in optical methods that have pushed the boundaries for simultaneous population recordings at increasing volumes, distances, depths, and speeds. The integration of these technologies will be critical for overcoming fundamental limits in the pursuit of whole brain imaging in mammalian species.
Classical music, educational learning, and slow wave sleep: A targeted memory reactivation experiment.

Abstract Poor sleep in college students compromises the memory consolidation processes necessary to retain course materials. A solution may lie in targeting reactivation of memories during sleep (TMR). Fifty undergraduate students completed a college-level microeconomics lecture (mathematics-based) while listening to distinctive classical music (Chopin, Beethoven, and Vivaldi). After they fell asleep, we re-played the classical music songs (TMR) or a control noise during slow wave sleep. Relative to the control condition, the TMR condition showed an 18% improvement for knowledge transfer items that measured concept integration (d = 0.63), increasing the probability of “passing” the test with a grade of 70 or above (OR = 4.68, 95%CI: 1.21, 18.04). The benefits of TMR did not extend to a 9-month follow-up test when performance dropped to floor levels, demonstrating that long-term-forgetting curves are largely resistant to experimentally-consolidated memories. Spectral analyses revealed greater frontal theta activity during slow wave sleep in the TMR condition than the control condition (d = 0.87), and greater frontal theta activity across conditions was associated with protection against long-term-forgetting at the next-day and 9-month follow-up tests (rs = 0.42), at least in female students. Thus, students can leverage instrumental music—which they already commonly pair with studying—to help prepare for academic tests, an approach that may promote course success and persistence.
Tracking of Multiple Targets Across Distributed Platforms with FOV Constraints

This paper considers the scenario of tracking multiple moving targets across spatially distributed sensors with limited dynamic range. The targets considered are indistinguishable based on signal return or appearance, therefore, utilizing all available information across operating sensors is paramount for reducing target distribution uncertainty. Previous work has used the FOV limitations to utilize absent detection’s of non responding sensors to improve posterior probability estimation. For the measurement to target assignment problem, the Joint Probabilistic Data Association particle filter is used for tracking targets from several aerial platforms with nadir cameras. The estimator continuously updates target position states while obtaining direct measurement of the targets or non-observations. In addition to modeling dynamic range constraints, it is also assumed there is a known probability of detection which will be implemented in addition to the field of view limitations to derive the likelihood function for the particle filter. It is shown that non-observations of the target improves the posterior target distribution, lowering the uncertainty when the target cannot be directly observed. In addition to presenting a filter that performs data association and tracking, a track-health monitoring scheme is proposed that monitors system performance.
Ipsilateral and Concurrent Breast Cancer and Atypical Ductal Hyperplasia: Does Atypia Also Need Surgical Excision?

Standard-of-care management of atypical ductal hyperplasia (ADH) is surgical excision. Multiple studies have identified features of ADH in patients at low risk for upgrade who may benefit from omission of surgical excision. Patients with an ipsilateral breast cancer have been excluded from studies investigating observation for the management of ADH. This was a retrospective review of women with both a breast cancer and an ipsilateral separate site of ADH diagnosed on percutaneous biopsy, who underwent excision of both sites from 2008 to 2018. Radiographic and pathologic features of ADH and cancer were analyzed, including imaging size, biopsy modality, distance between sites, cancer subtype, grade, prognostic markers, ADH foci, and presence of necrosis or micropapillary features. Final pathology at the ADH site was used to determine upgrade. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify variables significantly associated with ADH upgrade to malignancy. Among 62 women meeting the inclusion criteria, 11 (17.7%) upgraded to malignancy [9 ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), 2 invasive cancer] at the site of ADH. Upgrade was significantly higher with ipsilateral DCIS (p = 0.03), ultrasound biopsy at the ADH site (p = 0.01), and ADH with necrosis (p = 0.04). The group at lowest risk for upgrade had stereotactic biopsy and ADH without necrosis (0% upgrade). The presence of breast cancer does not significantly increase the likelihood for upgrade at a separate site of ipsilateral concurrent ADH above contemporary reported upgrade rates of ADH alone (10–30%). When considering breast conservation for breast cancer, omitting excision of the site of ADH can be considered when low-risk features are present.
The Use of DMO-2-C14 (5, 5 -Dimethyl- 2, 4-Oxazolidinedione-2-C14) and Inulin-Carboxyl-C14 for Measurement of Intracellular pH

One of the chemical characteristics of the intracellular water that is of the greatest interest is its pH value. Since numerous biochemical reactions involve the transfer of protons, or are influenced by the availability of protons, it is evident that no adequate study of such reactions can be made without knowledge of the chemical potential of the proton, of which pH is an index. Many assumptions have been made concerning the pH of intracellular water and many attempts have been made to measure it, but actual knowledge of the intracellular pH of mammalian cells has been meager and unsatisfactory.
Environmental cleaning and disinfection of hospital rooms: A nationwide survey.

Background As an important reservoir for hospital-acquired infections, environmental surfaces have long been targeted by interventions to improve cleaning and disinfection. Differences in disinfection practices across US hospitals, however, are still unclear. Methods We conducted a nationwide survey of environmental services (EVS) personnel in the United States regarding their environmental surface disinfection practices from January 2019 to June 2019. We developed and pilot tested the survey in conjunction with EVS specialists. Survey questions inquired about choices of disinfectants and cleaning equipment during daily and terminal disinfection of both contact isolation and non-contact isolation rooms. We contacted 273 EVS personnel by phone and email to participate in the survey. Results Fourty-seven EVS personnel representing different hospitals from 26 US states were included in the analysis. Hypochlorite (bleach) and quaternary ammonium compounds were the most frequently used disinfectants. Most respondents reported using microfiber-based cloths and mops to carry out disinfection. High-touch surfaces in contact isolation rooms were frequently disinfected using bleach (81%, n = 38); floors, however, were not disinfected as frequently in patient rooms. The vast majority of respondents reported use of sporicidal disinfectants for contact isolation rooms but not regular rooms. Conclusions While frequently used to disinfectant contact isolation rooms, sporicidal agents are rarely used to disinfect regular rooms. Patient room floors are inconsistently disinfected compared to high-touch surfaces.
Autoinhibitory elements of the Chd1 remodeler block initiation of twist defects by destabilizing the ATPase motor on the nucleosome.

Chromatin remodelers are ATP (adenosine triphosphate)-powered motors that reposition nucleosomes throughout eukaryotic chromosomes. Remodelers possess autoinhibitory elements that control the direction of nucleosome sliding, but underlying mechanisms of inhibition have been unclear. Here, we show that autoinhibitory elements of the yeast Chd1 remodeler block nucleosome sliding by preventing initiation of twist defects. We show that two autoinhibitory elements—the chromodomains and bridge—reinforce each other to block sliding when the DNA-binding domain is not bound to entry-side DNA. Our data support a model where the chromodomains and bridge target nucleotide-free and ADP-bound states of the ATPase motor, favoring a partially disengaged state of the ATPase motor on the nucleosome. By bypassing distortions of nucleosomal DNA prior to ATP binding, we propose that autoinhibitory elements uncouple the ATP binding/hydrolysis cycle from DNA translocation around the histone core.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Worsening of Diabetic Ketoacidosis Presentation in Youth

The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a substantial impact on healthcare systems across the world. Initiatives such as social distancing and limitations of non-essential services, including conversion of in-person well-child visits to telehealth visits, were put in place to reduce the transmission of the virus[1, 2].
Initiating buprenorphine to treat opioid use disorder without prerequisite withdrawal: a systematic review.

Background Opioid withdrawal symptoms prior to buprenorphine initiation may be intolerable and as a result, alternative strategies have emerged. We aim to systematically review the efficacy and safety of buprenorphine initiation that aims to omit prerequisite withdrawal. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search of MEDLINE and CENTRAL from 1996 through April 10, 2020, augmented with searches in Google Scholar and www.clinicaltrials.gov . A study was included if it was in patients with substance use disorder or chronic pain that were taking a full mu opioid agonist and transitioning to buprenorphine without preceding withdrawal, and reported withdrawal during initiation as an outcome. Two investigators independently screened citations and articles for inclusion, collected data using a standardized data collection tool, and assessed study risk of bias. Results We included 15 case reports/series, reporting 24 unique cases, in our qualitative synthesis. No controlled studies were identified. Microdosing and bridging with a buprenorphine patch were the most common strategies reported. Transition to buprenorphine with complete cessation of opioid agonists was achieved in 87.5% (n = 21) of cases. Withdrawal during initiation occurred in 58.3% (n = 14) of cases, two of which were at least moderate in severity. Conclusion Buprenorphine initiation strategies that omit prerequisite withdrawal have emerged. Low quality evidence from case reports suggests withdrawal during initiation is common but most often mild in severity. There is an unmet need for controlled studies to inform their efficacy and safety compared with traditional strategies, including outcomes during initiation and in the long-term.
Effects of Elk and Bison Herbivory on Narrowleaf Cottonwood

Ungulate browsing influences the structure and composition of woody plant communities, including species composition and biomass production as well as age distribution, recruitment, and mortality. We evaluated effects of elk and bison herbivory on narrowleaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) communities in a semiarid ecosystem in southern Colorado. Cottonwoods in this ecosystem have been aged at ≥300 years old and are among the oldest cottonwood trees in North America. We compared browsing intensity and structural and productivity responses of cottonwood to ungulate herbivory. We compared responses in sites with elk and bison, sites with elk but no bison, and sites where both ungulates were excluded. We found that the majority of browsing on cottonwood occurred during summer in this high desert ecosystem. Areas with both elk and bison had higher browse utilization than areas with only elk, but diet data indicated that elk consumed a much greater proportion of cottonwood than bison. Overall, browse utilization observed in this study was low to moderate compared to other studies, and our results may not be representative of sites experiencing intense year-round herbivory. Removal of all ungulate herbivory led to taller and denser cottonwood suckers; however, other environmental factors, in addition to herbivory, still strongly limit cottonwood growth and recruitment in this ecosystem.
Abstract 2089: Epigenetic regulation of sprouty2 in colorectal cancer

Background: The specific role of Sprouty-2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) as either a tumor suppressor or an oncogene is unclear. This is further obscured by the fact that no known driver mutations of Sprouty-2 have been reported. Therefore, for the first time, alterations of DNA 5-methylcytosine (5mC) and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) were investigated to better understand the regulation of Sprouty-2 in CRC. Methods: Sprouty-2 transcript expression was evaluated in CRC patient samples and Sprouty-2 protein expression was evaluated in CRC cells. The DNA methylation status spanning Sprouty-2 gene was evaluated using combined bisulfite restriction analysis (COBRA). The 5hmC status in the Sprouty-2 gene body and promoter was analyzed using previously performed nano-hmC-seal data from colon cancers and adjacent normal colonic mucosa. Publicly available RNA-seq and methylation data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) were extracted from tumors from CRC patients. Results: Variable Sprouty-2 mRNA expression was observed among CRC patient tumors compared to adjacent normal appearing colonocytes. For the first time, differential methylation between adjacent normal colon and CRC samples was identified in 2 CTCF binding sites and in the promoter near the Transcriptional Start Site (TSS) of Sprouty-2, where the 5mC status in 1 of the CTCF binding sites correlated with transcript abundance. In CRC, this is the first study to reveal increases of 5hmC deposition in the gene body and promoter region of Sprouty-2 compared to normal colon. In metastatic CRC, an inverse correlation of increased Sprouty-2 promoter 5mC and decreased mRNA expression was found in patients registered in TCGA. Conclusions: In terms of tumor growth, epigenetic aberrations including Sprouty-2 promoter hypomethylation and increased 5hmC may play a prominent role in positive regulation of Sprouty-2 in CRC. In metastatic stages of CRC, increases in Sprouty-2 promoter 5mC may downregulate Sprouty-2 expression, which may ultimately label Sprouty-2 as a tumor suppressor in CRC. Citation Format: Alexei Stuckel, Sharad Khare. Epigenetic regulation of sprouty2 in colorectal cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2089.
Language and Ethnicity

What is ethnicity? Is there a 'white' way of speaking? Why do people sometimes borrow features of another ethnic group's language? Why do we sometimes hear an accent that isn't there? This lively overview, first published in 2006, reveals the fascinating relationship between language and ethnic identity, exploring the crucial role it plays in both revealing a speaker's ethnicity and helping to construct it. Drawing on research from a range of ethnic groups around the world, it shows how language contributes to the social and psychological processes involved in the formation of ethnic identity, exploring both the linguistic features of ethnic language varieties and also the ways in which language is used by different ethnic groups. Complete with discussion questions and a glossary, Language and Ethnicity will be welcomed by students and researchers in sociolinguistics, as well as anybody interested in ethnic issues, language and education, inter-ethnic communication, and the relationship between language and identity.
Not Simply “In Their Heads”: Individual Differences Associated With Victimization and Health

Research has not examined whether victimization predicts health after controlling for personality differences associated with victimization and health. In Study 1, college students (N = 1182) completed surveys assessing victimization, health, and personality. In Study 2, college students (N = 69) participated in a short-term longitudinal study that examined whether (a) victimization would predict health changes; (b) increases in victimization would lead to increased health problems; and (c) fall health would predict spring victimization when personality was considered. After controlling for individual differences, we found victimization predicted health outcomes (Study 1) and health problems over time (Study 2). These findings suggest the victimization–health link may occur because of physiological changes, rather than personality differences associated with victimization and health.
Progress in $\hbox{Nb}_{3}\hbox{Sn}$ RRP Strand Studies and Rutherford Cable Development at FNAL

A strong push to Nb3Sn conductor development in the U.S. as well as in Europe has been driven by the development of Nb3Sn dipoles and quadrupoles for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) luminosity upgrades. Rutherford cables with high aspect ratio are used for these magnets to achieve large fields and gradients at relatively low currents. At Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), 40-strand keystoned cables with and without a stainless steel core were developed and produced using 0.7-mm Nb3Sn strands made by Oxford Superconducting Technology with 127 and 169 restacks using the Restacked Rod Process with either NbTa alloy or Ti doping. The performance and properties of such strands and cables were studied to evaluate possible candidates for the production magnets of the LHC upgrades. The electrical performance was first compared for wires under flat-rolling deformation and then in cables made with different processes and geometries. The round wires are also compared under tensile and compressive strain using a Walters' spring variable-temperature probe that was recently commissioned at FNAL. Finally, cable test results obtained with a 14 T/16 T Rutherford cable test facility with a bifilar sample and a superconducting transformer are shown.
A Flexible, metallic electrospray emitter with embedded flow homogenizer

This work reports a novel design and batch fabrication method of an electrospray emitter suitable for space propulsion. Our device only involves two-step photolithography and electroplating processes, in sharp contrast to traditional SiO 2 /based out-of-plane design and labor-intensive fabrication process. In-plane metallic emitter nozzles with 100 times longer effective nozzle length were fabricated consistently with high aspect ratio post arrays embedded within the nozzle as a flow homogenizer. The novelty of this work lies in that this integrated thruster/actuator provides a compact, reliable propulsion subsystem with the feasibility of thrust vectoring.
In Memoriam: Rosalind Cassidy 1895–1980

(1981). In Memoriam: Rosalind Cassidy 1895–1980. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 26-26.
A Unified Theory of Party Competition: A Cross-National Analysis Integrating Spatial and Behavioral Factors

1. Modeling party competition 2. How voters decide: the components of the unified theory of voting 3. Linking voter choice to party strategies: illustrating the role of non-policy factors 4. Factors influencing the link between party strategy and the variables 5. Policy competition under the unified theory: empirical applications to the 1988 French Presidential Election 6. Policy competition under the unified voting model: empirical applications to the 1989 Norwegian parliamentary election 7. The threat of abstention: candidate strategies and policy representation in US presidential elections 8. Candidate strategies with voter abstention in US presidential elections: 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000 9. Policy competition in Britain: the 1997 general election 10. The consequences of voter projection: assimilation and contrast effects 11. Policy-seeking motivations of parties in two-party elections: theory 12. Policy-seeking motivations of parties in two-party elections: empirical analysis 13. Concluding remarks.
Distributed impedance matching with Foster and Non-Foster elements

A systematic approach for the design of a matching network distributed along the antenna structure, including the feed point, is discussed. This scheme, based on the Method of Characteristic Modes, is much more general than the traditional impedance matching methods that only consider a network at the feed point. The loads can be Foster or Non-Foster elements. A summary of Non-Foster circuit topologies will also be given, especially the issue of stability.
Robust Control of Robotic Manipulators

This paper introduces a new control system design methodology that allows the use of linearly controlled manipulators in fast, more complex maneuvers. This is made possible by guaranteeing a prescribed degree of relative stability while constraining the system state variables and inputs. The closed-loop linear system is also assigned desirable eigenvectors. The robustness of the system is evaluated using a new measure of robustness. The design methodology is applied to a 2-D.O.F. robotic manipulator. Simulation results demonstrate that the final design must be a compromise between robustness, relative stability, and other considerations.
Microwave laminate PCB compatible RF MEMS technology for wireless communication systems

The paper introduces state of the art microwave laminate printed circuit board (PCB) compatible RF MEMS technology for wireless communication systems. This technology is novel in that RF MEMS components, particularly RF MEM switches, can be fabricated on any PCB substrate and they can be monolithically integrated with antenna elements on the same substrate offering adaptability and reconfigurability features to the communication systems. The advantages of this technology in terms of overcoming critical drawbacks of existing RF MEMS technology are described. A three-element diversity antenna monolithically integrated with RF MEM switches on RT/Duroid5880 PCB is provided to establish a proof of concept for this technology. Results are presented and discussed.
Placement of thoracolumbar pedicle screws using three-dimensional image guidance: experience in a large patient cohort

Object The goal of this study was to analyze the placement accuracy and complications of thoracolumbar pedicle screws (PSs) inserted using 3D image guidance in a large patient cohort. Methods The authors reviewed the charts of 220 consecutive patients undergoing posterior spinal fusion using 3D image guidance for instrumentation placement. A total of 1084 thoracolumbar PSs were placed using either the BrainLAB Vector Vision (BrainLAB, Inc.) or Medtronic StealthStation Treon (Medtronic, Inc.) image guidance systems. Postoperative CT scanning was performed in 184 patients, allowing for 951 screws to be graded by an independent radiologist for bone breach. All complications resulting from instrumentation placement were noted. Using the intraoperative planning function of the image-guided system, the largest diameter screw possible in each particular case was placed. The screw diameter of instrumentation placed into the L3–S1 levels was noted. Results No vascular or visceral complications occurred as a result...
A feasibility study of microjets applied to breast cancer detection

The feasibility of detecting small tumors of diameter 0.5mm inside a human breast is demonstrated using microjets. Microjets are photonic nanojets scaled to microwave frequencies wherein a plane-wave-illuminated dielectric sphere produces a high-intensity, narrow beam of light extending from the shadow-side surface. Contrasting electromagnetic properties (permittivity and conductivity) of normal and malignant breast tissue are the basis for the detection via a simple image processing approach to extract the backscattering from the tumor. Simple proof-of-concept simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the new approach.
No association between the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) gene and late-onset Alzheimer's disease in a community-based sample.

Abstract It is now commonly known that possession of the ϵ 4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene confers an increased risk for both familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), in a dose-dependent way. Other genes that may play a role in AD, either through independent association with the disease or through modification of the existing APOE risk, have been reported with conflicting results. One such gene, the low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP) gene, was recently reported by two groups to be associated with AD, although the groups identified different risk-conferring alleles. Both studies were based on clinic-derived AD populations (one American, one French), and both reported only marginally significant results. We have genotyped a community-based AD and control population at this LRP polymorphism and find no association between the variants at that polymorphism and the occurrence of AD. Further, despite the biochemical relationship between LRP and the ApoE protein, we find no significant statistical interaction between the alleles at these loci.
Dependence of axon initial segment formation on Na+ channel expression.

Spinal motor neurons were isolated from embryonic rats, and grown in culture. By 2 days in vitro, the axon initial segment was characterized by colocalization and clustering of Na + channels and ankyrin G . By 5 days, NrCAM, and neurofascin could also be detected at most initial segments. We sought to determine, as one important aim, whether Na + channels themselves played an essential role in establishing this specialized axonal region. Small hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) were used to target multiple subtypes of Na + channels for reduced expression by RNA interference. Transfection resulted in substantial knockdown of these channels within the cell body and also as clusters at initial segments. Furthermore, Na + currents originating at the initial segment, and recorded under patch clamp, were strongly reduced by shRNA. Control shRNA against a nonmammalian protein was without effect. Most interestingly, targeting Na + channels also blocked clustering of ankyrin G , NrCAM, and neurofascin at the initial segment, although these proteins were seen in the soma. Thus, both Na + channels and ankyrin G are required for formation of this essential axonal domain. Knockdown of Na + channels was somewhat less effective when introduced after the initial segments had formed. Disruption of actin polymerization by cytochalasin D resulted in multiple initial segments, each with clusters of both Na + channels and ankyrin G . The results indicate that initial segment formation occurs as Na + channels are transported into the nascent axon membrane, diffuse distally, and link to the cytoskeleton by ankyrin G . Subsequently, other components are added, and stability is increased. A computational model closely reproduced the experimental results.
Lithium in staurolite and its petrologic significance

Natural metapelitic staurolites contain appreciable amounts of lithium. Lithium contents were determined by ion microprobe with concentrations of representative samples independently analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry for calibration. Seventy-one percent of the analyzed staurolites contain >0.1 wt.% Li2O, although the distribution is skewed to values less than 0.3 wt.%.
Does intravascular ultrasound accelerate atherosclerosis progression in native nontransplant coronary arteries

Does intravascular ultrasound accelerate atherosclerosis progression in native nontransplant coronary arteries?
Anxiety, social deficits, and loneliness in youth with autism spectrum disorders.

The purpose of this study was to explore relationships among anxiety, loneliness, and degree of social skill deficit in a sample of youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Participants (N = 20) were between 7 and 14 years of age, verbal, and had low average or higher assessed intelligence (average IQ = 92 ± 14.41). Youth who self-reported elevated levels of anxiety reported greater feelings of social loneliness. Those participants earning above average total anxiety scores reported significantly more loneliness than those with less anxiety (F = 6.60, p < .05). A significant relationship between parent-reported child withdrawal and depression and social disability also was found. Recommendations for assessment of co-occurring psychiatric problems in youth with ASD are offered.
Managing Occlusal Surfaces of Young Permanent Molars

The practice of restoring occlusal surfaces of young permanent teeth with just amalgam or waiting and watching for caries to occur is outdated. Today, there are several treatment options.