cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mucor Rot—An Emerging Postharvest Disease of Mandarin Fruit Caused by Mucor piriformis and other Mucor spp. in California

In recent years, an emerging, undescribed postharvest disease was observed on mandarin fruit after extended storage in California. We collected decayed mandarin fruit from three citrus packinghouses in the Central Valley of California in 2015 and identified this disease as Mucor rot caused by Mucor spp. Mucor rot occurred in 11 of the 15 grower lots sampled, and the percentage of Mucor rot in the total decayed fruit varied among affected grower lots, ranging from 3.3 to 93.1% with an average of 49.2%. In total, 197 isolates of Mucor spp. were obtained from decayed mandarin fruit and identified based on internal transcribed spacer sequence and morphological characteristics. Of the 197 isolates, 182 (92.4%) were identified as Mucor piriformis, 7 (3.6%) were M. circinelloides (6 M. circinelloides f. lusitanicus and 1 M. circinelloides f. circinelloides), 4 (2%) were M. racemosus f. racemosus, 3 (1.5%) were M. hiemalis, and 1 (0.5%) was M. mucedo. All species grew at 0 and 5°C, except M. circinelloides, which did not grow at 0°C. Mycelial growth was arrested at 27°C for M. piriformis; 35°C for M. racemosus f. racemosus, M. circinelloides f. lusitanicus, M. hiemalis and M. mucedo; and 37°C for M. circinelloides f. circinelloides. Optimal mycelial growth occurred at 20°C for M. piriformis and M. mucedo, 25°C for M. racemosus f. racemosus and M. hiemalis, 27°C for M. circinelloides f. lusitanicus, and 30°C for M. circinelloides f. circinelloides. M. piriformis grew significantly faster than the other four species at 5 and 20°C, and M. mucedo was the slowest in growth among the five species. Sporangiospores of M. piriformis, M. racemosus f. racemosus, and M. hiemalis germinated at both 5 and 20°C. M. circinelloides germinated at 20°C but did not germinate at 5°C after incubation for 48 h. All five Mucor spp. caused decay on mandarin fruit inoculated with the fungi, and the lesion size caused by M. piriformis was significantly larger than that caused by other species at both 5 and 20°C. Our results indicated that Mucor rot in mandarin fruit in California is caused by Mucor spp. consisting of M. piriformis, M. circinelloides, M. racemosus f. racemosus, M. hiemalis, and M. mucedo, with M. piriformis being the dominant and most virulent species. Previously, M. racemosus was reported on citrus. This is the first report of Mucor rot in citrus caused by M. piriformis, M. circinelloides, M. hiemalis, and M. mucedo.
Hyperactive Editing Domain Variants Switch the Stereospecificity of Tyrosyl-tRNA Synthetase.

d-Amino acids are excluded at three different steps during protein synthesis: the aminoacylation of tRNA, binding of aminoacyl-tRNAs to EF-Tu, and selection of the aminoacyl-tRNA by the ribosome. We previously altered the enantioselectivity of tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (TyrRS) by inserting the editing domain from phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (FRSed) between Gly 161 and Ile 162 in tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase (the editing domain hydrolyzes l-Tyr-tRNA but not d-Tyr-tRNA). In this paper, we test the hypothesis that the enantioselectivity of this TyrRS-FRSed chimera can be shifted further toward the formation of d-Tyr-tRNA by introducing activating mutations into the editing site. Yokoyama and colleagues previously identified six alanine substitutions in phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase that increase its editing activity.1 We have introduced these alanine substitutions into TyrRS-FRSed in various combinations, generating 14 different variants. To analyze their editing activity, we developed a continuous, spectrophotomet...
0076 Using child fatality reviews to change organisational policies in licensed child care settings in colorado

Statement of purpose The Colorado Child Fatality Prevention System (CFPS) reviews all sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) that occur in Colorado. Thirteen of the 263 Colorado SUIDs (4.9 %) from 2009–2013 occurred in a child care environment, including 84% (11) in licensed child care centres or homes. The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) endorses infant safe sleep recommendations to help reduce the risk of SUID. None of the deaths reviewed by CFPS from 2009–2013 met all of the AAP’s safe sleep recommendations. This presentation will highlight how the CFPS used this data to improve child care centre policies related to safe sleep. Methods/Approach State health department staff conducted a policy analysis to assess current rules that regulate licensed child care and determined they did not adhere to all the AAP recommendations. To reduce the risk of SUIDs in licensed child care, the CFPS issued a recommendation in the 2014 Legislative Report to “modify child care licensing regulations regarding infant safe sleep to better align with the AAP’s recommendations.” The CFPS capitalised on a window of opportunity presented by the media to implement this recommendation. CFPS worked with stakeholders to propose language for the updated rules and provided expert testimony at the rule hearing. Results State human services amended the rules to incorporate the language proposed by the CFPS regarding best practices for infant safe sleep environments. Approximately 6,000 licensed child care providers will be impacted by this rule-making in Colorado. Conclusions The CFPS will continue to monitor SUIDs in child care settings to understand the impact of the rule changes and to inform future prevention strategies. The CFPS will also collaborate with key partners to educate child care centres on the updated rules. Significance and contribution to the field This organisational policy change in licensed child care settings will improve adherence to the AAP recommendations. Public health practitioners can duplicate this process to influence organisational policies.
Analysis and Optimization of Flow Characteristics of Steam Turbine Valve

To solve the problems existing in the flow characteristics of turbine generator,and based on the analysis of steam distribution modes and influence of valve overlapping on the flow characteristics,this paper proposes a scheme of steps and methods for valve flow experiments of turbine generator,and optimizes the parameters.The results show that the linearity of load demand-flow function is good,the load and pressure are transiting smoothly through valve switchovering without obvious flow inflection points as well.The application of the scheme in several power plants shows that the proposed method can quite accurately fit the experiment data of valve flow characteristics,and thus it is feasible.
Cutaneous manifestations of dysproteinemias.

Specific and nonspecific cutaneous manifestations of benign and malignant plasma cell dyscrasias are discussed. Specific lesions, such as plasmacytomas, result from direct infiltration of the skin by plasma cells. Nonspecific lesions, such as amyloidosis, purpura, xanthomas, and angioedema, are caused by quantitative or immunologic effects of immunoglobulins. Histopathology and treatment are briefly reviewed.
Pathogenesis of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection

EHEC is an emergent pathogen which causes haemorrhagic colitis and complications of the potentially fatal HUS. The main virulence factors are the phage-encoded Shiga toxin and the intimate attachment to host cells. Shiga toxin affects cells not only by inhibiting protein biosynthesis but also through the induction of signalling cascades leading to apoptosis. The locus of enterocyte effacement (LEE) encodes a type III secretion system that translocates bacterial effector proteins into the host cell cytoplasm. Intimate attachment is mediated through interactions of the bacterial outer-membrane protein Intimin and the translocated intimin receptor (Tir) on the host cells. Recently, a very rare serogroup strain in humans of E. coli 0104, which carries a stx2a gene in a typical type of EAggEC, appeared in EU and caused a big outbreak of haemorrhagic colitis and HUS.
From City- to Health-Scapes: Multiscale Design for Population Health

Reconciling the growing proportion of the global population that lives in urban centers with the goal of creating healthy cities for all poses one of the major public health challenges of the 21st century. Genetics has accounted for only 10 % of diseases, and the remainder appears to be from the interaction of multiple socio-environmental causes that potentially determine epigenetic changes leading to diseases. Therefore, quantifying the dynamics of socio-environmental factors and the environment-disease linkages is extremely important for understanding, preventing and managing multiple diseases simultaneously considering population and individual biological information of exposed and non-exposed individuals. This is particularly important for the aim of reprogramming health-trajectories of populations and developing/managing cities with a quantitative health-based design. Here we show how complex systems models, and specifically, dynamic network factor analysis (DNF), and global sensitivity and uncertainty analysis can map the exposome-genome-diseasome network (i.e., the macrointeractome), determine network factor metrics useful for urban design, and assess probability distribution of comorbidities conditional to exposure in space and time, respectively. These probabilities are useful to make syndemic predictions by for design of socio-technical and ecological systems and intervention strategies in existing cities. As a case study, we use the SHIELD study in Minneapolis focused on measuring children’s exposures to multiple environmental stressors and related effects on respiratory health and learning outcomes. Results show the very high degree of directional interaction among exposure factors and their spatial heterogeneity coupled to bi-directionally interacting diseases. We find non-linear conditional probabilities of disease co-occurrence and context-dependent dose-response curves that manifest large health disparities in populations. We show that macro socio-environmental features are much more important than biomarkers in predicting disease patterns with a particular focus on respiratory diseases and learning outcomes. Urban texture results as the most important factors, thus, such metric should be clearly considered in the design of socio-environmental systems via a minimization of the systemic health risk.
Variability of the Erythropoietic Response in Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia: Analysis of 109 Cases

One hundred-nine cases of autoimmune hemolysis were reviewed to determine the frequency of reticulocytopenia, the state of the erythroid marrow in reticulocytopenic cases, and the course of reticulocyte production indices with time and glucocorticoid treatment. The mean hematocrit at presentation was 24 mL/dL, but 30% of cases had an initial hematocrit less than 20 mL/dL. Median reticulocyte percentage at diagnosis was 9%, and median reticulocyte production index was 2.8 times basal. Twenty percent of cases had an initial reticulocyte count less than 4%, and 37% had an initial reticulocyte production index less than 2.0 times basal. These reticulocytopenic patients were nearly evenly distributed between warm and cold antibody-mediated cases and between primary and secondary cases. Fifty-four percent of reticulocytopenic cases had a bone marrow examination during hospitalization. Three-fourths of these marrows showed erythroid hyperplasia, and erythroid hypoplasia was seen in only one case. Eighty-eight cases had serial reticulocyte measurements, and in only 15% of patients did the reticulocyte production index remain less than 2.0 times basal. Thus, in most cases, the initially low reticulocyte production index may represent a lag in marrow responsiveness to hemolytic stress. In cases with persistent reticulocytopenia, ineffective erythropoiesis is suggested by the frequency of marrow erythroid hyperplasia. In the cases that were initially reticulocytopenic and demonstrated an increase in reticulocyte production index, the magnitude of this increase was significantly greater in glucocorticoid-treated patients than in those not so treated, indicating that a glucocorticoid sensitive component exists in the marrow erythropoietic response to hemolysis. Awareness of the frequency of an initial reticulocytopenia in cases of autoimmune hemolysis may be important in initial diagnosis and treatment.
Blebbishields and mitotic cells exhibit robust macropinocytosis.

Cancer stem cells can survive and undergo transformation after apoptosis by initiating robust endocytosis. Endocytosis in-turn drives formation of serpentine filopodia, which promote construction of blebbishields from apoptotic bodies. However, the status and role of macropinocytosis in blebbishields is not known. Here, we show by scanning electron microscopy and by macropinocytosis assays that blebbishields exhibit robust macropinocytosis. Inhibiting dynamin-mediated endocytosis does not affect macropinocytosis in blebbishields or in mitotic cells. In addition, inhibiting macropinocytosis did not inhibit construction of blebbishields from apoptotic bodies. Thus, although apoptotic cancer stem cells exhibit robust macropinocytosis, macropinocytosis is not essential to generate blebbishields, although it may play other roles in blebbishield biology. © 2016 BioFactors, 2016
Causes and Cures X: Criminal justice approaches

Abstract The past several years have been a landmark moment for violence prevention, with renewed attention on the part of many international agencies, but especially the United Nations, with its adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The latter invites the world community to collaborate in an inclusive, long-ranging vision for the future, highlighting our interdependence and collective responsibility for humanity's future. A growing awareness that preventing violence does not just reduce death and disability but promotes creativity, economic growth, and general well-being is at the heart of this “movement”. An integration not only of the major disciplines but of various practical approaches is timely, and for this to occur, we require a broader overview of our existing societal structures. In this context, the remainder of this fifteen article series after a Global Health Studies course entitled, “Violence: Causes and Cures,” will review the mechanisms that society has used in an attempt to stem violence. This article, the tenth of the series, will briefly cover the criminal justice system in the United States and around the world. While the criminal justice system has played a major role in the effort to reduce violence, we learn that systemic failures and perceived injustices can diminish deterrent effect, while community-based intervention, individualized programs, and alternative justice approaches show greater promise. Similarly, punitive measures such as solitary confinement and the death penalty require reconsideration for reversing trends of self-defeating, irrational practices.
Teacher Blame and Corporate Gain: edTPA and the Takeover of Teacher Education

The chapter provides a critical socio-historical analysis of the introduction of edTPA. The authors set the current focus on nationalized teacher assessment against a growing syndicate of controlling interests in public education, as well as a concomitant and deliberate discourse of teacher demonization. As such, edTPA represents the final frontier of teacher performance assessment. The authors argue that current scrutiny and management of teacher education is the final stage of a decades-long process to wrest control of what happens in classrooms away from teachers and administrators and into the hands of private, corporate, and neo-liberal stakeholders. This shift has taken place with little interest in the actual improvement of K-12 education. The chapter traces these trends as corollaries in the authors’ own professional histories in teacher education.
Knot yet: minimum marriage age law, marriage delay, and earnings

Despite the historical highs for age at first marriage, little is known about the causal relationship between marriage delay and wages, and more importantly, the mechanisms driving such relationship. We attempt to fill the void. Building on an identification strategy proposed in Dahl (Demography 47:689–718, 2010), we first establish the causal wage effects of marriage delay. We then propose ways to distinguish among competing theories and hypotheses, as well as the channels through which marriage delay affects wages. Specifically, we take advantage of their different implications for causal relationship, across gender and sub-populations. We reach two conclusions. First, we find a positive causal impact of marriage delay on wages, with a larger effect for women. Comparison of IV and OLS estimates suggests that the observed relationship between marriage delay and wages is attributed to both selection in late marriages and true causal effects. Second, we find strong evidence that the positive, causal effects are almost exclusively through increased education for both men and women.
Late effects among young thyroid cancer survivors.

111Background: Thyroid cancer is the most rapidly increasing cancer with over 600,000 thyroid cancer survivors in the U.S. Thyroid cancer affects a young population and the 5-year survival rate is over 98%. There have been few studies on the late effects of thyroid cancer, especially in younger populations. The aim of this study was to examine if thyroid cancer survivors diagnosed 10 years after cancer diagnosis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with adjustment on matching factors, ra...
Abstract TP95: Hypothyroidism is Associated With Cerebral Aneurysms in Women

Background: Endocrine dysfunction, including thyroid function, has been known to affect cerebral vascular dysfunction. Hypothyroidism has been shown to cause mucopolysaccharide deposition which has...
Mov10 suppresses retroelements and regulates neuronal development and function in the developing brain.

Moloney leukemia virus 10 (Mov10) is an RNA helicase that mediates access of the RNA-induced silencing complex to messenger RNAs (mRNAs). Until now, its role as an RNA helicase and as a regulator of retrotransposons has been characterized exclusively in cell lines. We investigated the role of Mov10 in the mouse brain by examining its expression over development and attempting to create a Mov10 knockout mouse. Loss of both Mov10 copies led to early embryonic lethality. Mov10 was significantly elevated in postnatal murine brain, where it bound retroelement RNAs and mRNAs. Mov10 suppressed retroelements in the nucleus by directly inhibiting complementary DNA synthesis, while cytosolic Mov10 regulated cytoskeletal mRNAs to influence neurite outgrowth. We verified this important function by observing reduced dendritic arborization in hippocampal neurons from the Mov10 heterozygote mouse and shortened neurites in the Mov10 knockout Neuro2A cells. Knockdown of Fmrp also resulted in shortened neurites. Mov10, Fmrp, and Ago2 bound a common set of mRNAs in the brain. Reduced Mov10 in murine brain resulted in anxiety and increased activity in a novel environment, supporting its important role in the development of normal brain circuitry. Mov10 is essential for normal neuronal development and brain function. Mov10 preferentially binds RNAs involved in actin binding, neuronal projection, and cytoskeleton. This is a completely new and critically important function for Mov10 in neuronal development and establishes a precedent for Mov10 being an important candidate in neurological disorders that have underlying cytoarchitectural causes like autism and Alzheimer’s disease.
Stability of Guyed Towers

A method is presented for determining the lateral loading at which a multilevel guyed tower becomes unstable. The point in the load-displacement history at which a small increase in the applied load produces an inordinately large increase in displacements is interpreted as the point at which collapse occurs. The nonlinear algebraic equations governing the displacements of the tower are transformed into a set of nonlinear differential equations which are solved by matrix inversion and numerical integration. Instability occurs as the determinant of the stiffness matrix relating differentiated displacements approaches zero. Nonlinear effects considered include flexural contraction of the mast, continuous changes in the bending stiffness of the mast, and effects of wind on the cables. Numerical results are presented for the static stability analysis of a 1,100-ft, symmetrically loaded, three-level guyed tower. The effects of independently varying several parameters of the system, such as the moment of inertia of the mast and the pretensioning and areas of the guy cables, are demonstrated.
Analysis of stochastic logic circuits in unipolar, bipolar and hybrid formats

Implementations of polynomials and functions using stochastic logic have been of interest due to their low-area and high fault-tolerance properties. In stochastic logic, numbers are represented using unary bit streams where each bit is of same weight. If a number is represented in the range [0,1], the representation is referred to as unipolar. The representation is referred as bipolar if the number lies in the range [−1, 1]. Typically, inputs and outputs are in same format. However, sometimes the input and output may be in different formats; these are referred as circuits using hybrid formats. While analysis of unipolar stochastic logic circuits and bipolar logic circuits containing ex-or, ex-nor and multiplexors are well understood, the analysis of general bipolar stochastic logic circuits and hybrid logic circuits are not well understood. This paper presents general approaches to compute outputs of bipolar and hybrid stochastic logic circuits. It is shown that the analysis approach presented in this paper can form a basis for synthesis of stochastic logic circuits in bipolar and hybrid formats.
Real-time metabolite monitoring of glucose-fed Clostridium acetobutylicum fermentations using Raman assisted metabolomics

Data obtained from in situ Raman spectroscopy probes and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis were applied together with chemometrics to build partial least squares models of metabolite concentrations for the industrially relevant organism Clostridium acetobutylicum. Models were built for predominant products (acetic acid, butyric acid, and butanol) of C. acetobutylicum cultures grown on glucose as a substrate. The partial least squares models were then applied to a 3-day C. acetobutylicum culture for real-time, quantitative metabolite analysis. The predicted outcomes of new fermentation cultures were validated by analyzing HPLC data from corresponding experiments from these new fermentation cultures. Model predictions showed good correlation with measured data (goodness of fit [R2Y] values of 0.99, and goodness of prediction [Q2Y] values of 0.98 from agitated cultures. Predictive models based upon Raman spectral data are promising tools for characterization of synthetic organisms, guiding process control, and facilitating optimization of culture conditions.
Detecting Cell Surface Expression of the G Protein-Coupled Receptor CXCR4

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are cell surface receptors that relay extracellular signals to the inside of the cells. C-X-C chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) is a GPCR that undergoes receptor internalization and recycling upon stimulation with its cognate ligand, C-X-C chemokine 12 (CXCL12). Using this receptor/ligand pair we describe the use of two techniques, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometry, widely used to quantify GPCR internalization from the plasma membrane and its return to the cell surface by recycling.
SPARC/Osteonectin expression induces glioma invasion and survival under serum-free conditions

4899 Tumor invasion into normal brain is a major contributor to the failure of glioma treatment. Osteonectin, also known as secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), is overexpressed by gliomas at the tumor-brain interface, reactive astrocytes, and neoangiogenic vasculature implying a role in invasion. We have shown that the expression of osteonectin in human malignant glioma cell lines induces an invasive phenotype through extracellular matrix and into normal brain with expression of specific matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) [Rich JN, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 278: 15951-7, 2003]. Despite gaps in the understanding of the invasion process, specific cell signaling pathways have been linked to regulation of MMP expression and cellular invasion. We now show that treatment of malignant glioma cultures with exogenous osteonectin acutely induces phosphorylation of FAK, JNK, and Akt/PKB and increases activity of the small G-protein, Rac1. Glioma lines constitutively expressing osteonectin also have activation of these same pathways. As invading cells may experience restriction of nutrients relative to the primary tumor, we examined the survival of polyclonal glioma cultures expressing either vector alone or osteonectin under prolonged serum starvation. Cells expressing osteonectin did not differ from vector control in cell cycle fraction under normal serum conditions, but osteonectin expression dramatically lowered the level of apoptosis (4.91 ± 0.01% vs. 0.18 ± 0.02%) and increased G 2 cell cycle fraction (4.16 ± 1.70% vs. 51.85 ± 0.36%) with serum starvation. Combination treatment of serum starved glioma cultures with both serum and osteonectin induced an increase in the phosphorylation of both FAK and Akt suggesting cooperation between the mechanisms by which osteonectin and serum activate these pathways. Thus, glioma expression of osteonectin may promote tumor invasion through induction of cell motility and survival under stress through the activation of specific intracellular pathways involved in cell movement, protease expression, and cell survival.
Low-cost wearable human-computer interface with conductive fabric for STEAM education

There has been growing popularity in do-it-yourself (DIY) electronics for wearable computing and human-machine interaction. This has introduced exciting opportunities to promote science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) education that highlights the intersection of electronics, materials, and artistic expression. Here, we present a systematic guide to a low-cost (<$10 per student) outreach workshop on wearable electronics for middle school students (and potentially high school students with minor modifications) that is complementary to existing STEM outreach programs. In this workshop, students use basic craft skills to fabricate a wearable human-computer interface out of commercially available materials. The device is interfaced with a computer via open-source hardware and software, using the universal serial bus (USB) human interface device (HID) protocol. The workshop exposes students to wearable technologies, a rapidly growing and exciting sub-domain of the electronics industry, and provides a fun and engaging hands-on activity that draws connections between fashion, technology, and personal electronics.
Editors' Introduction: Reflections on the First Issue

We are happy to feature four invited submissions by Lisa Guenther, Kym Maclaren, Bonnie Mann, and Gayle Salamon, all of whom respond to the questions motivating our inaugural issue. Both Salamon and Maclaren offer a response to the question “What is critical phenomenology?” by exploring the productive relationship between critical theory and phenomenology. Salamon does this by tracing the history of the term critical phenomenology. Maclaren further explores the productive relationship between critical theory and phenomenology en route to her analysis of intimacy. Focusing on the phenomena of shame and long-term solitary confinement, Mann and Guenther take up that question by performing the work of critical phenomenology. Mann also offers suggestions regarding critical or, as she calls it, feminist phenomenology’s relation to the tradition—both of classical phenomenology and feminist philosophy. Guenther shows how the work of critical phenomenology is already at play in the practices of resistance among prisoners in the Security Housing Unit of Pelican Bay State Prison in California.
Neural Controls of Energy Homeostasis Caudal to the Forebrain

The forebrain, particularly the hypothalamus, has loomed large in our thinking about the neural control of motivational states, particularly the behavioral and autonomic responses of energy balance in mammals. This hypothalamic focus derives from a variety of experimental strategies including ablation, focal lesioning, brain stimulation, and single unit recording. Bard (1939, 1940) demonstrated that the hypothalamus is required for the hormonal control of sexual behavior. Genital stimulation elicited a stereotyped pattern of sexual consummatory behavior in the absence of hormones in spinal and decerebrated cats. At the hypothalamic level, however, these sexual consummatory acts became hormonally controlled — as they are in intact cats. Subsequently, hypothalamic control over most hormonal functions has been directly demonstrated. Neurons which manufacture polypetide hormones and releasing factors as well as neurons sensitive to humoral substances manufactored outside the brain have been localized within the hypothalamus (Pfaff et al., 1973; Hayward, 1977). A different methodology — electrical stimulation and lesions of diencephalic sites — had also focused attention on the hypothalamus. The studies of Hess (1958) demonstrated that a wide range of autonomic responses capable of altering energy homeostasis could be elicited by focal hypothalamic stimulation. Subsequent studies have continued to infer a role for the hypothalamus in autonomic response elicitation. The specific anatomical and physiological substrate of this control, however, has only begun to be elucidated (Norgren, 1976; Beckstead et al., 1980; Ciriello and Calaresu, 1980).
Childhood Cancer Survivorship and Substance Use Behaviors: A Matched Case-Control Study Among Hispanic Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract Purpose This case-control study compared substance use behaviors between Hispanic adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancers (cases) and a community sample of participants without cancer (controls). Methods A total of 100 cases were matched to controls (200 participants) one to one by ethnicity, age, and sex (mean age at survey 19.27, standard deviation = 1.92). Differences in self-reported previous 30-day use of tobacco, alcohol, binge drinking of alcohol, and marijuana were examined using conditional multivariable logistic regression. Results The odds of tobacco, alcohol, binge drinking, and marijuana use were significantly lower for cases than for controls (all p's Conclusions Lower levels of substance use among Hispanic adolescent and young adult survivors of childhood cancers (vs. controls) are most apparent at younger ages. Future work needs to examine a potential delay in initiation of use among survivors.
Tangent Recognition and Anomaly Pruning to TRAP Off-Topic Questions in Conversational Case-Based Dialogues

In any knowledge investigation by which a user must acquire new or missing information, situations often arise which lead to a fork in their investigation. Multiple possible lines of inquiry appear that the users must choose between. A choice of any one would delay the user’s ability to choose another, if the chosen path proves to be irrelevant and happens to yield only useless information. With limited knowledge or experience, a user must make assumptions which serve as justifications for their choice of a particular path of inquiry. Yet incorrect assumptions can lead the user to choose a path that ultimately leads to dead-end. These fruitless lines of inquiry can waste both time and resources by adding confusion and noise to the user’s investigation. Here we evaluate an algorithm called Tangent Recognition Anomaly Pruning to eliminate false starts that arise in interactive dialogues created within our case-based reasoning system called Ronin. Results show that Tangent Recognition Anomaly Pruning is an effective algorithm for processing mistakes when reusin case reuse.
PIM kinase inhibitor, AZD1208, inhibits protein translation and induces autophagy in primary chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells

The PIM1, PIM2, and PIM3 serine/threonine kinases play a role in the proliferation and survival of cancer cells. Mice lacking these three kinases were viable. Further, in human hematological malignancies, these proteins are overexpressed making them suitable targets. Several small molecule inhibitors against this enzyme were synthesized and tested. AZD1208, an orally available small-molecule drug, inhibits all three PIM kinases at a low nanomolar range. AZD1208 has been tested in clinical trials for patients with solid tumors and hematological malignancies, especially acute myelogenous leukemia. The present study evaluated the efficacy and biological actions of AZD1208 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. CLL cells had higher levels of PIM2 protein and mRNAs than did normal lymphocytes from healthy donors. Treatment of CLL lymphocytes with AZD1208 resulted in modest cell death, whereas practically no cytotoxicity was observed in healthy lymphocytes. To determine the mechanism by which AZD1208 inhibits PIM kinase function, we evaluated PIM kinase pathway and downstream substrates. Because peripheral blood CLL cells are replicationally quiescent, we analyzed substrates involved in apoptosis, transcription, and translation but not cell cycle targets. AZD1208 inhibited protein translation by decreasing phosphorylation levels of 4E-binding protein 1 (4E-BP1). AZD1208 induced autophagy in replicationally-quiescent CLL cells, which is consistent with protein translation inhibition. These data suggest that AZD1208 may elicit cytotoxicity in CLL cells through inhibiting translation and autophagy induction.
Designing networks with resiliency to edge failures using two-stage robust optimization

Abstract We study the design of resilient single-commodity flow networks that can remain robust against multiple concurrent edge failures. We model these failures as binary random variables, allowing us to formally formulate the network design problem as a two-stage robust optimization problem. With an objective of minimizing the overall cost of building and operating the network, the capacities of the edges are decided in the first stage, while the optimal flows are determined in the second stage once the uncertainty has been realized. We first examine the standard affine decision rules approach and show that it is not a viable approach when two or more edges are allowed to fail at the same time. We then propose a column and constraint generation algorithm that we tailor to this application. Since the problem does not satisfy the relatively complete recourse assumption, we employ an oracle with two subproblems : one to determine edge failure scenarios that render the required demand satisfaction infeasible, and if no such scenario exists, a second one to determine the flow rerouting plan of highest cost. Our column and constraint generation algorithm is applied to networks adapted from the Survivable Network Design Library. For each instance, we determine sequences of fully adaptive, robust optimal solutions for various levels of resiliency, identifying also the maximum number of concurrent edge failures that can be sustained by these networks. Finally, we demonstrate how our algorithm can be applied to a defender versus attacker context, via the use of a decision-dependent uncertainty set.
Epigenetics in Social Insects

Abstract Social insects enjoy great ecological success. The success of social insects stems from the remarkable levels of phenotypic plasticity displayed by colony members. This developmental plasticity is mediated by epigenetic inheritance. This review explores epigenetic inheritance and considers the function of epigenetic information systems in social insect taxa. Epigenetic information in eukaryotic organisms is passed across cell divisions through three major mechanisms: the methylation of DNA, the modification of histone proteins, and the activity of non-coding RNAs. Several studies have found that patterns of DNA methylation in social insects are widely conserved and that there are strong associations between levels of DNA methylation and gene function. Studies of histone proteins demonstrate the presence of conserved modifications associated with patterns of gene expression. Finally, preliminary research suggests that non-coding RNAs function within social insect genomes and can influence social insect phenotype. Overall, much remains to be learned about epigenetic inheritance in social insects. However, initial studies suggest that epigenetic mechanisms play a large role in the development of social insects and may help explain the success of insect societies.
Does race impact survival for patients with anal squamous cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Racial disparities are known to impact cancer outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess current racial disparities in outcomes of anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). METHODS The National Cancer Database was used to identify patients with anal SCC. The primary outcome was 5-year overall survival. RESULTS There were 32 255 (88.1%) White patients and 4342 (11.9%) Black patients identified with anal SCC. Compared to White patients, Black patients were more likely to be younger, have lower median income, and be insured with Medicaid (all P < .001). The 5-year overall survival of Black and White patients for stage I disease was 71.2% and 80.6% (P < .001), for stage II disease, was 64.6% and 69.3% (P = .001), for stage III disease was 50.9% and 58.1% (P < .001), and for stage IV disease was 22.1% and 21.9% (P = .20). In a cox regression analysis, Black race was associated with significantly worse survival in stage I (HR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.07-1.76, P = .01), stage II (HR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.14-1.48, P < .001), and stage III disease (HR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.16-1.47, P < .001) but not for stage IV disease (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.89-1.35, P = .41). CONCLUSIONS Black race is correlated with worse survival in patients diagnosed with anal SCC. This disparity in survival is likely multifactorial and requires further study.
Where the girls are: Examining and explaining the gender gap in the nursing major

The nursing major, at almost 90% female, has one of the largest gender gaps of any US college major. In trying to explain this gap, I sort through candidate explanations and show that nursing is an outlier on many dimensions. Relative to other majors, it has some of the slowest earnings growth, by far the highest occupational concentration, among the lowest penalties for part‐time work, among the lowest unemployment rates, and the highest level of job tasks focused on "helping others" and "interacting with people". These factors collectively account for most of nursing's huge gender gap. While I cannot determine causal mechanisms, a major's associated job tasks (especially "helping others") account for most (55%) of the variance in majors' gender composition, while nursing's low part‐time penalty is also important. Earnings growth, earnings variance, and the share of women out of the labor force from the major are less important, and academic factors like course requirements and test scores are unrelated to major gender gaps.
Collaborative Self-management of Depression

My dissertation focuses on the role of collaboration in depression self-management. Mental health self-management is often viewed as an individual activity, yet individual-focused solutions (e.g., self-tracking) often miss important support from social networks. My preliminary study investigated self-management of individuals with depression. Participants used a variety of technology channels to connect with others to express their moods and create solutions to challenges. However, these connections can also be a source of conflict. Next, I will investigate collaborations between individuals managing depression and their close ties to understand how these activities play out in-person and through technology.
Spectral methods for full-field micromechanical modelling of polycrystalline materials

Abstract Modelling the mechanical behavior of polycrystalline materials based on their evolving microstructure and the anisotropic properties of their constituent single crystal grains is nowadays an indispensable tool to establish physically-based relationships between processing, structure and properties of this ubiquitous type of materials. These models have found multiple applications in Material Science, Mechanics of Materials, and Earth Sciences. This article reviews the specialization to polycrystalline materials of a spectral formulation developed in the last two decades to efficiently solve the micromechanical behavior of heterogeneous materials. This review provides a consolidated account, using a unified notation, of the various numerical implementations of the spectral formulation for polycrystalline materials deforming in different constitutive regimes, each of which requires specific numerical strategies. Examples are given that illustrate these implementations for each constitutive behavior, as well as comparisons with other models, and applications to different materials, including the use of experimental data for input of the calculations and validation of the model predictions.
Direct solar-pumped lasers

The feasibility of direct solar pumping of an iodine photodissociation laser at lambda = 1.315 microns was investigated. Threshold inversion density and effect of elevated temperature (up to 670 K) on the laser output were measured. These results and the concentration of solar radiation required for the solar pumped iodine laser are discussed.
Start Somewhere Else.

The 1619 Project by The New York Times asks American History teachers to revise their history curriculum to recognize the influence of Blackness, and of slavery, as foundational to the development ...
3D Point Cloud Generation with Millimeter-Wave Radar

Emerging autonomous driving systems require reliable perception of 3D surroundings. Unfortunately, current mainstream perception modalities, i.e., camera and Lidar, are vulnerable under challenging lighting and weather conditions. On the other hand, despite their all-weather operations, today's vehicle Radars are limited to location and speed detection. In this paper, we introduce MILLIPOINT, a practical system that advances the Radar sensing capability to generate 3D point clouds. The key design principle of MILLIPOINT lies in enabling synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging on low-cost commodity vehicle Radars. To this end, MILLIPOINT models the relation between signal variations and Radar movement, and enables self-tracking of Radar at wavelength-scale precision, thus realize coherent spatial sampling. Furthermore, MILLIPOINT solves the unique problem of specular reflection, by properly focusing on the targets with post-imaging processing. It also exploits the Radar's built-in antenna array to estimate the height of reflecting points, and eventually generate 3D point clouds. We have implemented MILLIPOINT on a commodity vehicle Radar. Our evaluation results show that MILLIPOINT effectively combats motion errors and specular reflections, and can construct 3D point clouds with much higher density and resolution compared with the existing vehicle Radar solutions.
Isolated calcaneocuboid instability - A unique diagnostic modality and innovative surgical technique: A case report

Abstract A 13-year-old female competitive tap dancer with subacute on chronic lateral foot pain is diagnosed with calcaneocuboid instability and undergoes successful reconstruction. This case report supports the use of dynamic ultrasound evaluation of CC joint for the diagnosis of CC instability causing pain. We also provide an innovative surgical technique for CC ligament repair with an internal brace kit supplemented with periosteal augmentation.
Tympanic Membrane Pneumatocele from Auto-insufflation.

OBJECTIVE The differential of an external auditory canal mass is broad. One rare potential cause is a pneumatocele of the tympanic membrane, which has only been described 1 other time in the literature. This report serves to describe the second case of this pathology, including its unique presentation, and benign clinical course. METHODS Case report. RESULTS A case is discussed in which a pneumatocele of the tympanic membrane was incidentally identified during evaluation of contralateral otologic pathology. The etiology was suspected to be habitual auto-insufflation. After cessation of this practice, the pneumatocele was noted to resolve without further intervention. CONCLUSION A tympanic membrane pneumatocele represents a rare cause of an external auditory canal mass. The diagnosis can be made clinically via history, palpation, and otoscopy during auto-insufflation, potentially avoiding further diagnostic testing. Depending on the etiology, resolution can occur after lifestyle modification; however, further interventions may definitively treat the condition if so required.
The Effects of a Nutrition Education Program on Dietary Intake and Biomarkers in HIV+ Adults

Background. People living with HIV (PLWH) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Dietary behavior modification may assist in the treatment of CVD, but the optimal dose of nutrition ed...
Strategies for Practical Hybrid Attack Graph Generation and Analysis

As an analytical tool in cyber-security, an attack graph (AG) is capable of discovering multi-stage attack vectors on target computer networks. Cyber-physical systems (CPSs) comprise a special type of network that not only contains computing devices but also integrates components that operate in the continuous domain, such as sensors and actuators. Using AGs on CPSs requires that the system models and exploit patterns capture both token- and real-valued information. In this paper, we describe a hybrid AG model for security analysis of CPSs and computer networks. Specifically, we focus on two issues related to applying the model in practice: efficient hybrid AG generation and techniques for information extraction from them. To address the first issue, we present an accelerated hybrid AG generator that employs parallel programming and high performance computing (HPC). We conduct performance tests on CPU and GPU platforms to characterize the efficiency of our parallel algorithms. To address the second issue, we introduce an analytical regimen based on centrality analysis and apply it to a hybrid AG generated for a target CPS system to discover effective vulnerability remediation solutions.
“Cursed by Coal”: Climate Change and the Battle over Mining Limits in the Czech Republic

Global reliance on fossil fuels presents a significant obstacle to climate change mitigation. While numerous countries have committed to phasing out their reliance on fossil fuels, many have not fo...
The Spinal Motor Optimal Control System

It was previously noted that the function of biological systems would best be described from both functional and substrate perspectives. Let us begin the analysis from a functional point of view, so that we may reveal what the system must “be able to do.” We will then move on to the description of the substrates of biological systems with regard to neural networks, in order to consider how an actual system consisting of neurons that have specific functional properties might be constructed. Since this text is intended for biologists and physicians, there will be no mathematical formulas in this discourse. However, those who wish to explore some of the mathematics that provide the basis for the discourse to follow can find them in the Appendix (see also Baev and Shimansky 1992). The corresponding references to the Appendix are provided in the text to follow.