cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impact parenting behaviors have on recent alcohol use and binge drinking among adolescents based on age

Adolescent alcohol use is a persistent problem in the United States. Despite numerous prevention efforts, alcohol still remains the most commonly used substance among youth. The primary aim of this study was to determine the impact parenting behaviors have on adolescent recent alcohol use and binge drinking among youth aged 12–13 years, 14–15 years, and 16–17 years. For the study purpose, recent alcohol use was defined as drinking alcohol in the past 30 days and binge drinking was defined as consuming five or more alcoholic beverages in a row on the same occasion in the past 30 days of taking the survey. A secondary data analysis of the 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health was conducted and included a national sample of 17,399 adolescents. To determine the impact parenting behaviors have on adolescent alcohol use at the varying age ranges, logistic regression analyses were performed. All statistically significant results were retained and subsequent logistic regression analyses were completed to ex...
CTH08-1: Construction of High Performance and Efficiently Encodable Nonbinary Quasi-Cyclic LDPC Codes

This paper presents a general and three specific algebraic methods for constructing efficiently encodable non-binary quasi-cyclic LDPC codes. Three classes of quasi-cyclic LDPC codes over nonbinary finite fields are constructed. codes constructed perform very well over the AWGN channel with iterative decoding and achieve large coding gains over the Reed-Solomon codes of the same parameters. Nonbinary LDPC codes may be used to replace Reed-Solomon codes in some communication environments or storage systems for combating mixed types of noises and interferences.
Characteristics of Renal Cystic and Solid Lesions Based on Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography of Potential Kidney Donors

Background The presence of a few renal cysts is considered of little relevance in healthy adults, although acquired renal cystic disease occurs in advanced kidney failure. The objective of this study was to detail renal cystic and solid lesions and identify any association with clinical characteristics. Study Design Clinical-pathologic correlation. Setting & Participants Potential kidney donors undergoing a standardized evaluation at the Mayo Clinic in 2000-2008. Predictors Age, kidney function, and chronic kidney disease risk factors. Measurements Renal cystic and solid lesions by contrast-enhanced computed tomographic images. Outcomes Cyst number, diameter, and location. Results After excluding 8 with cystic disease, 7 of whom had autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, there were 1,948 potential kidney donors (42% men; mean age, 43 years). A cortical, medullary, or parapelvic cyst ≥5 mm was present in 12%, 14%, or 2.8%. For ages 19-49 years, 39%, 22%, 7.9%, and 1.6% had a cortical or medullary cyst ≥2, ≥5, ≥10, and ≥20 mm in diameter. For ages 50-75 years, 63%, 43%, 22%, and 7.8% had a cortical or medullary cyst ≥2, ≥5, ≥10, and ≥20 mm in diameter. The 97.5th percentile for number of cortical and medullary cysts ≥5 mm increased with age (10 for men and 4 for women in the 60- to 69-year group). After age and sex adjustment, cortical and medullary cysts ≥5 mm were associated with higher 24-hour urine albumin excretion, as well as increased body surface area, hypertension, and higher glomerular filtration rate in some analyses. Angiomyolipomas, hyperdense cysts, and enhancing masses or cysts with concerning features for malignancy occurred in 2.2%, 1.2%, and 0.6% and were associated with older age ( P ≤ 0.05 for each). Limitations Persons with known chronic kidney disease were excluded. Conclusions Renal cysts are common, particularly in older men, and may be a marker of early kidney injury because they associate with albuminuria, hypertension, and hyperfiltration.
How Often Do Neuroradiologists Perform Sonography of the Carotid Arteries? A Survey of Academic and Nonacademic Radiology Practices, with Implications for Fellowship Training

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Debate in the neuroradiology community surrounds the amount of formal training in sonography of the carotid arteries that should be provided to fellows. This study was designed to assess current practice patterns at both academic and nonacademic practices regarding the performance of carotid sonography. METHODS: A neurovascular radiology survey was sent to all 102 program directors of neuroradiology fellowships in the United States and Canada (academic practices). The survey was also sent to 146 randomly selected senior members of the ASNR (three per state, except one each for Alaska and Vermont) who were not affiliated with fellowship programs (nonacademic practices). RESULTS: Fifty-seven surveys from academic practices and 70 surveys from nonacademic practices were returned. Radiologists at academic practices performed approximately 42% of studies (general radiologists or sonography specialists, 36%; neuroradiologists, 5%; cardiovascular radiologists, 1%). Nonradiologists performed approximately 58% of studies (vascular surgeons, 47%; neurologists, 10%; cardiologists, 1%; neurosurgeons, <1%). Neuroradiologists performed carotid sonography at 11% (6/57) of academic practices. On average, radiologists at nonacademic practices performed approximately 62% of studies (general radiologists or sonography specialists, 38%; neuroradiologists, 15%; cardiovascular radiologists, 9%). Nonradiologists performed approximately 38% of studies (vascular surgeons, 25%; neurologists, 6%; cardiologists or internists, 6%). Neuroradiologists performed carotid sonography at 53% (37/ 70) of nonacademic practices. CONCLUSION: At most academic practices, neuroradiologists do not perform sonography of the carotid arteries. This may explain the reluctance of some fellowships to provide formal training in this technique. In contrast, although neuroradiologists perform carotid sonography at a majority of the nonacademic practices, the percentage of studies that they perform is small; moreover, neuroradiologists perform far fewer studies than do general radiologists or sonography specialists.
First use of a 5 french diagnostic catheter as a guiding catheter for percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty

We report the first use of a 5 French thin-wall, large-lumen diagnostic angiographic catheter as a guiding catheter for emergency angioplasty with an angioplasty balloon on a wire (PROBE™) for patients with acute circumflex coronary occlusion and hemodynamic compromise.
Small intestine lamina propria dendritic cells promote de novo generation of Foxp3 T reg cells via retinoic acid

To maintain immune homeostasis, the intestinal immune system has evolved redundant regulatory strategies. In this regard, the gut is home to a large number of regulatory T (T reg) cells, including the Foxp3+ T reg cell. Therefore, we hypothesized that the gut environment preferentially supports extrathymic T reg cell development. We show that peripheral conversion of CD4+ T cells to T reg cells occurs primarily in gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) after oral exposure to antigen and in a lymphopenic environment. Dendritic cells (DCs) purified from the lamina propria (Lp; LpDCs) of the small intestine were found to promote a high level of T reg cell conversion relative to lymphoid organ–derived DCs. This enhanced conversion by LpDCs was dependent on TGF-β and retinoic acid (RA), which is a vitamin A metabolite highly expressed in GALT. Together, these data demonstrate that the intestinal immune system has evolved a self-contained strategy to promote T reg cell neoconversion.
Bone Mass, Depressive, and Anxiety Symptoms in Adolescent Girls: Variation by Smoking and Alcohol Use

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the study was to examine (a) the association between depressive and anxiety symptoms with bone health, (b) the association of smoking or alcohol use with bone health, and, in turn (c) whether the association between depressive and anxiety symptoms with bone health varied by smoking or alcohol use individually or by combined use. Bone health included total body bone mineral content (TB BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck. Previously published data have not examined these issues in adolescence, a period when more than 50% of bone mass is accrued. Methods An observational study enrolled 262 healthy adolescent girls by age cohort (11, 13, 15, and 17 years). Participants completed questionnaires and interviews on substance use, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. BMC and BMD were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results Higher depressive symptoms were associated with lower TB BMC and BMD (total hip, femoral neck). Those with the lowest level of smoking had higher BMD of the hip and femoral neck, whereas no main effect differences were noted by alcohol use. Regular users of both cigarettes and alcohol demonstrated a stronger negative association between depressive symptoms and TB BMC as compared with nonusers/experimental users and regular alcohol users. Findings were parallel for anxiety symptoms. Conclusion Depressive and anxiety symptoms may negatively influence bone health in adolescent girls. Consideration of multiple substances, rather than cigarettes or alcohol separately, may be particularly informative with respect to the association of depression with bone health.
Francisella tularensis invasion of lung epithelial cells.

Francisella tularensis, a gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterial pathogen, causes disseminating infections in humans and other mammalian hosts. Macrophages and other monocytes have long been considered the primary site of F. tularensis replication in infected animals. However, recently it was reported that F. tularensis also invades and replicates within alveolar epithelial cells following inhalation in a mouse model of tularemia. TC-1 cells, a mouse lung epithelial cell line, were used to study the process of F. tularensis invasion and intracellular trafficking within nonphagocytic cells. Live and paraformaldehyde-fixed F. tularensis live vaccine strain organisms associated with, and were internalized by, TC-1 cells at similar frequencies and with indistinguishable differences in kinetics. Inhibitors of microfilament and microtubule activity resulted in significantly decreased F. tularensis invasion, as did inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and tyrosine kinase activity. Collectively, these results suggest that F. tularensis epithelial cell invasion is mediated by a preformed ligand on the bacterial surface and driven entirely by host cell processes. Once internalized, F. tularensis-containing endosomes associated with early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1) followed by lysosome-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP-1), with peak coassociation frequencies occurring at 30 and 120 min postinoculation, respectively. By 2 h postinoculation, 70.0% (± 5.5%) of intracellular bacteria were accessible to antibody delivered to the cytoplasm, indicating vacuolar breakdown and escape into the cytoplasm.
Mid-Continent Earthquakes as a Complex System

Niels Bohr once observed: “How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.” This situation is happening in the long-frustrating effort to understand large earthquakes in continental interiors. The paradox arises from a series of GPS studies across the New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ). Large (magnitude >7) earthquakes felt across the Midwest occurred here in 1811 and 1812, small earthquakes occur today, and paleoseismic records show evidence of large earthquakes about 500 years apart in the past 2,000 years. We thus expected to see strain building up for a future large earthquake, but found none. Successive studies confirm this surprising result with progressively higher precision. The most recent analysis shows that present-day motions within 200 km of the NMSZ are indistinguishable from zero and less than 0.2 mm/yr (0.2 mm is the thickness of a piece of fishing line). The NMSZ is thus deforming far more slowly—if at all—than expected if large earthquakes continue to occur as they have. Hence the high strain rates required by paleoearthquakes in the NMSZ must have been transient and have ended. This observation is consistent with the absence of fault-related topography, the small deformation that has accumulated over the fault system's long life, and the jagged nature of the faults thought to have broken in 1811 and 1812. All of these indicate that the cluster of large-magnitude events in the past few thousand years does not reflect the faults' long-term behavior. Such variable fault behavior is being widely recognized in continental interiors. In many places large earthquakes cluster on specific faults for some time and then migrate to others. Some faults that appear inactive today, such as the Meers fault in Oklahoma, appear to have been active within the past few thousand years. Thus mid-continental faults …
CO (J = 7 → 6) Observations of NGC 253: Exited Molecular Gas in the Nucleus

We report observations of the CO J = 7 → 6 transition toward the starburst nucleus of NGC 253. This is the highest-excitation CO measurement in this source to date, and allows an estimate of the molecular gas excitation conditions. We find that the bulk of the 2-5×107 M⊙ of molecular gas in the central 180 pc is highly excited. The inferred mass of warm, dense molecular gas is 10-30 times the atomic gas mass as traced through its [C II] and [O I] line emission. This large mass ratio is inconsistent with photodissociation region models where the gas is heated by far-UV starlight. It is also not likely that the gas is heated by shocks in outflows or cloud-cloud collisions given the lack of evidence for substantial heating in fast shocks. We propose two mechanisms for heating the molecular gas: cosmic rays ionization and dissipation of supersonic turbulence, both of which which provide a natural means of uniformly heating the full volume of molecular clouds, and provide a good match to the cooling observed in the CO lines.
Comparative Testing and Evaluation of Conformal Coating Materials and Process

Conformal coating materials and processes were comparatively tested and evaluated for protection of electronic equipment. An extensive literature search was conducted for various generic types of conformal coating materials and processes. Testing and evaluation of candidate coating systems were accomplished using printed circuitry coupons, critical components, electronic assemblies, and flexible printed wiring circuitry to determine retention of electrical properties after temperature and humidity conditioning.
A One‐Dimensional Model of Stretching Float Glass

One of the important steps in the manufacture of glass by the float process is the control of glass thickness by stretching the ribbon. The first step in a program to model the stretching of float glass is discussed. A simple, 1-dimensional analysis is presented for the mechanics of stretching a free ribbon, i.e. one without edge constraints in the stretching region. For the case of a stiff (“cold”) ribbon, the present analysis yields closed-form solutions which are generally valid but do not encompass all phenomena of interest. The stretching of a “hot” ribbon is, therefore, treated quantitatively by computer simulation. This approach is used to illustrate the differential attenuation of the width and thickness of hot ribbons. In another numerical example, the caculated width attenuation is compared with the results of in-plant measurements.
Switching to anidulafungin from caspofungin in cancer patients in the setting of liver dysfunction is associated with improvement of liver function tests

BACKGROUND Anidulafungin does not undergo hepatic metabolism like the other echinocandins. Therefore, there is a perception that anidulafungin may be less hepatotoxic or less likely to exacerbate existing liver damage. This has not been substantiated in the literature. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed all cancer patients in whom anidulafungin treatment was immediately preceded by treatment with caspofungin and there existed clinical or laboratory evidence of hepatic damage or dysfunction at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from January 2010 to December 2013. RESULTS Sixty-one patients were included in the study. Most patients had haematological malignancies (58, 95%), and the patients were administered hepatotoxic agents such as chemotherapeutic agents (47, 77%) and other medications (38, 62%) simultaneously. There were significant decreases in AST and ALT (P < 0.029 and P < 0.0017, respectively) between two timepoints (switch from caspofungin to anidulafungin and end of anidulafungin therapy). The median changes in AST, ALT and total bilirubin during anidulafungin therapy were -43 IU/L, -25 IU/L and -0.15 mg/dL, respectively. Over 70% of patients had favourable changes in hepatic enzymes or function, and values were stable and decreased at the end of anidulafungin therapy. On average, the percentage of patients with laboratory results meeting common terminology criteria for adverse events (CTCAE) grade ≥2 at the time of switching to anidulafungin was decreased at the end of treatment. CONCLUSIONS Median serum values and trajectory of hepatic enzymes and hepatotoxicity usually decreased after switching to anidulafungin treatment in patients with abnormal liver function tests. Anidulafungin could be useful in the management of cancer patients with hepatotoxicity occurring during caspofungin therapy.
Abstract 2050: Plk1 phosphorylation of Orc2 promotes DNA replication under conditions of stress

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1) plays pivotal roles in mitosis, however, little is known about its function in S phase. In this study, we show that inhibition of Plk1 impairs DNA replication and results in slow S-phase progression in cultured cancer cells. We have identified Origin Recognition Complex 2 (Orc2), a member of the DNA replication machinery, as a Plk1 substrate and have shown that Plk1 phosphorylates Orc2 at Ser188 in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, Orc2-S188 phosphorylation is enhanced when DNA replication is under challenge induced by UV, hydroxyurea, gemcitabine, or aphidicolin treatment; cells expressing the unphosphorylatable mutant (S188A) of Orc2 had defects in DNA synthesis under stress, suggesting that this phosphorylation event is critical to maintain DNA replication under stress. To dissect the mechanism pertinent to this observation, we showed that Orc2-S188 phosphorylation associates with DNA replication origin and that cells expressing Orc2-S188A mutant fail to maintain the functional pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) under DNA replication stress. Furthermore, the intra-S phase checkpoint is activated in Orc2-S188A-expressing cells to cause delay of S-phase progress. Our study suggests a novel role of Plk1 in facilitating DNA replication under conditions of stress to maintain genomic integrity. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2050. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2050
NISP vs. MNI in Quantification of Body-Part Representation

In an effort to understand the relative advantages and drawbacks of the minimum number of individuals (MNI) and number of identifiable specimens (NISP) for quantifying body-part representation in faunas from archaeological sites, we analyzed relations among NISP, MNI, fragmentation, and bulk density in the fauna from Ngamuriak, a Kenyan pastoral Neolithic site. Our findings suggest that MNI is at least as sensitive as NISP to effects of fragmentation. While MNI decreases with increasing fragmentation, NISP moves in two directions with fragmentation, increasing at low levels of fragmentation and decreasing at high levels of fragmentation. In addition, MNI appears more sensitive than NISP to the relative identifiability of different body parts. We believe MNI may be a less representative descriptor of relative element frequency than NISP in highly fragmented assemblages.
Recent Efforts to Broaden Formal Computer Science Education at the K-12 Level

This chapter discusses efforts to improve and enhance the teaching of computer science at the K-12 level. It begins with an account of the CS10K vision of having 10,000 trained teachers in 10,000 schools teaching substantive courses in computer science. The chapter then turns to how various projects and organizations have engaged the components of the CS10K goal: building a new curriculum (the Exploring Computer Science and Computer Science Principles projects), creating a community of practice so that these teachers can carry out their educational work in a professional way (the Computer Science Teachers Association and the online CS10K Community), and carrying out policy work to persuade decision-making bodies in all 50 states and thousands of local communities to support computer science as a core element of high school education (the ACM Education Policy Committee, the Computing in the Core Coalition, and the Computer Science Teachers Association). The chapter ends with an account of the recently established organization, Code.org, which is engaging in multiple activities to create formal computing education at the K-12 level
Encoded Silicon-Chip-Based Platform for Combinatorial Synthesis and Screening

Solid-supported chemical libraries have proven useful for the rapid and cost-effective discovery of bioactive compounds. However, traditional on-bead screening involves time-intensive chemical characterization of hit compounds and high false positive rates. Herein, we report a new platform for encoded chemical synthesis and solid-supported screening using p-Chips, microsized silicon microtransponders capable of storing and emitting unique numerical identifiers (IDs). By encoding the structures of library members using p-Chip IDs, we can track compound identities throughout both split-and-pool synthesis and protein binding assays without destructive cleavage. Thanks to the numerical IDs, our p-Chip platform can provide binding constants for library members simply by stripping and reprobing with different protein concentrations, unlike traditional on-bead assays. To showcase these features, we synthesized a library of 108 hemagglutinin (HA) peptide variants using split-and-pool approach, and measured EC50s ...
Mexico’s Liberalization–Democratization in Context

This book studies the causes of political killings in Mexico’s liberalization–democratization during the post-1988 period within the larger context of political repression. Mexico’s democratization process has entailed a little known but highly significant cost of human lives in pre- and postelection violence: over 662 PRD members fell as victims of political killings in the post-1988 period (PRD – Partido de la Revolucion Democratica–Commission on Human Rights 1994 – [herewith CHR 1994]; Global Exchange 2000; Tierra Noticias 10/27/01; Ofrenda en Memoria 2009).Many of these politically related homicides occurred while a party member was engaged in a legal activity such as organizing a political meeting, attending an electoral fraud protest, guarding the security offices of a political party, or conducting “get out the vote” preelection campaign propaganda (CHR 1994). Other homicides took place when a party militant was engaged in extralegal activities. These could include peasant-based land invasions, the possession of municipal offices, and the destruction of municipal property that occurred in the context of disputed election outcomes.
Global Health Promotion on College Campuses: Considerations for Use of eHealth and mHealth Self-monitoring Applications with Nutritional Food Labeling Features

ABSTRACTBackground: College students have been a difficult population to reach in extant health promotion initiatives that strive to prevent the development of lifelong disordered eating patterns. Incorporating electronic and mobile health (eHealth, mHealth) technologies within these efforts may be an effective means of reaching students. Purpose: This commentary discusses how dietary self-monitoring by means of eHealth/mHealth applications that incorporate nutritional food labeling features can be used to target this population. Discussion: Considerations for use of these technologies in college health promotion efforts relative to the global, physical and mental, health of students are discussed. The role of professionals working in college health is examined.
Phosphotyrosine-Mediated Regulation of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli Virulence

ABSTRACT Enteric pathogens with low infectious doses rely on the ability to orchestrate the expression of virulence and metabolism-associated genes in response to environmental cues for successful infection. Accordingly, the human pathogen enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) employs a complex multifaceted regulatory network to link the expression of type III secretion system (T3SS) components to nutrient availability. While phosphorylation of histidine and aspartate residues on two-component system response regulators is recognized as an integral part of bacterial signaling, the involvement of phosphotyrosine-mediated control is minimally explored in Gram-negative pathogens. Our recent phosphotyrosine profiling study of E. coli identified 342 phosphorylated proteins, indicating that phosphotyrosine modifications in bacteria are more prevalent than previously anticipated. The present study demonstrates that tyrosine phosphorylation of a metabolite-responsive LacI/GalR family regulator, Cra, negatively affects T3SS expression under glycolytic conditions that are typical for the colonic lumen environment where production of the T3SS is unnecessary. Our data suggest that Cra phosphorylation affects T3SS expression by modulating the expression of ler , which encodes the major activator of EHEC virulence gene expression. Phosphorylation of the Cra Y47 residue diminishes DNA binding to fine-tune the expression of virulence-associated genes, including those of the locus of enterocyte effacement pathogenicity island that encode the T3SS, and thereby negatively affects the formation of attaching and effacing lesions. Our data indicate that tyrosine phosphorylation provides an additional mechanism to control the DNA binding of Cra and other LacI/GalR family regulators, including LacI and PurR. This study describes an initial effort to unravel the role of global phosphotyrosine signaling in the control of EHEC virulence potential. IMPORTANCE Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) causes outbreaks of hemorrhagic colitis and the potentially fatal hemolytic-uremic syndrome. Successful host colonization by EHEC relies on the ability to coordinate the expression of virulence factors in response to environmental cues. A complex network that integrates environmental signals at multiple regulatory levels tightly controls virulence gene expression. We demonstrate that EHEC utilizes a previously uncharacterized phosphotyrosine signaling pathway through Cra to fine-tune the expression of virulence-associated genes to effectively control T3SS production. This study demonstrates that tyrosine phosphorylation negatively affects the DNA-binding capacity of Cra, which affects the expression of genes related to virulence and metabolism. We demonstrate for the first time that phosphotyrosine-mediated control affects global transcription in EHEC. Our data provide insight into a hitherto unexplored regulatory level of the global network controlling EHEC virulence gene expression.
Thiols, Disulfides, and Thioesters

The thiol group is among the chemically most reactive functions occurring within the cell. This versatile and important function is centrally involved in enzymatic processes and cellular structure. The biochemistry of few other functions expresses so well our understanding of the underlying chemistry. As a result, model chemical reactions for thiols have been evolved that explain much of the biochemistry of this ubiquitous function. Thiols, responsible for the odor that has uniquely associated sulfur-containing compounds with Lucifer and his works (e.g., Tennyson: “... near me stood, in fuming sulphur blue and green, a fiend...”), have helped demystify the processes of life.
The Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease

The great majority of Alzheimer investigators seems to be convinced that the deposition of β-amyloid lies at the heart of the pathogenetic problem. More than 2,500 papers have been published in the last 15 years concerning this Alzheimer amyloid (Aβ), and that is more publications than on almost any other protein. While we know an enormous amount of detail about this amyloid-its origin, anabolism, catabolism, configuration, in vitro function, etc., there remains a number of reasons why its primary, causal significance in Alzheimer disease must be regarded with some skepticism.
Neutronics Characteristics and Shielding System for ARIES-ACT1 Power Plant

AbstractThe integration of nuclear assessment (neutronics, shielding, and activation) is an essential element to the success of any fusion design and represents a major issue for power plant studies in particular. High fidelity in nuclear results mandates performing state-of-the-art nuclear analyses. This has been achieved in recent years through coupling the computer-aided-design system directly with three-dimensional neutronics codes to preserve all geometrically complex design elements and speed up feedback and iterations. This paper outlines several major nuclear issues addressed for the recently completed ARIES-ACT1 tokamak conceptual power plant study. An integral nuclear approach was deemed necessary to deliver an optimal design. This approach considered the overall configuration, design requirements (including tritium self-sufficiency), smart selection of low-activation material for all components, radial build optimization and definition, and safety and environmental concerns. This paper reports ...
Unraveling Cotton Fiber Development Using Fiber Mutants in the Post-Genomic Era

Cotton (Gossypium spp.) fibers are unicellular trichomes that differentiate from ovule epidermal cells. Cotton fiber development is divided into four distinct yet overlapping stages: initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall (SCW) biosynthesis, and maturation. There are numerous naturally occurring and man-made fiber mutants that display aberrant phenotypes ranging from fiberless to extremely short fiber, and to immature fiber. These mutants have provided cotton researchers an excellent model system to study fiber growth and development. During the past two decades, much advancement in the understanding of fiber development has been achieved through comparative analyses of fiber mutants and wild-type cotton lines using a variety of technologies such as transcriptomic analysis and genetic mapping. The causative genes of five mutations related to fiber initiation, elongation, or SCW assembly have been identified. Lint and fuzz fiber initiations are regulated by MYBMIXTA-like transcription factors along with many other genes. Cytoskeleton actins play a critical role in fiber elongation. Genes that are involved in biological processes such as transporting osmoticum or loosening cell walls are highly expressed during the elongation stage. Production of large amounts of cellulose at the SCW stage requires a sustainable supply of energy and carbohydrate precursors. Plant hormones affect fiber development. In this paper, we review progress in the elucidation of fiber development mechanisms based on analyzing fiber mutants and summarize genes and mechanisms that are critical to fiber development. We identify research gaps that should be future research priorities and provide a future perspective.
‘Coxa de Nascença’: Misconceptions, Normalcy and the Aesthetics of Difference in Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas by Machado de Assis.

This article analyzes a short yet significant episode in Machado de Assis’s novel Memorias Postumas de Bras Cuba in which the main protagonist-narrator describes the recollections of an amorous encounter with a young girl Eugenia who had the misfortune of being born lame. Theoretically informed by the work of Lennard Davis, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson and Mark Osteen, among others, in the field of Disability Studies, this study engages with prior readings of Memorias Postumas to discuss the embodied experience of disability at the intersection of the aesthetics of beauty and social acceptance within the context of the Brazilian nineteenth century.
Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy. By Elaine Tyler May. (New York, NY: Basic Books, 2017. Pp. 247. $30.00.)

As its alarming title indicates, Fortress America: How We Embraced Fear and Abandoned Democracy portrays the United States as a scared and suspicious society. The author, Elaine Tyler May, traces t...
Comparative effectiveness of pharmacist care delivery models for hepatitis C clinics.

Purpose The optimal health care delivery models for providing services to patients with infections caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) remain unknown. Pharmacist involvement may be a key component of optimal HCV care delivery. We examined the comparative effectiveness of a pharmacist-managed HCV clinic versus a pharmacist-assisted HCV clinic. Methods This retrospective cohort study used electronic health record data on patients ≥18 years old initiating HCV treatment at a pharmacist-managed clinic or a pharmacist-assisted clinic within a single health-system between January 2015 and June 2017. Outcomes included treatment completion, sustained virologic response 12 weeks following treatment completion (SVR-12), and dispensation of direct-acting antiviral agents at the institution-based specialty pharmacy. Inverse probability of treatment-weighted (IPTW) logistic regression models were used to compare outcomes between the 2 clinic models. Results A total of 127 patients initiated HCV treatment therapy: 64 patients from the pharmacist-managed clinic and 63 patients from the pharmacist-assisted clinic. The cohort had a mean age of 55 years, was 51% male, and 68% white. In IPTW analyses, there was no difference in treatment completion (odds ratio [OR], 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.1-13.8; p = 0.93), achievement of sustained virologic response at 12 months (SVR-12) (OR, 1.0; 95% CI, 0.2-4.5; p = 0.62), or use of institution-based specialty pharmacy (OR, 0.6; 95% CI, 0.2-1.7; p = 0.33) between pharmacist-managed and pharmacist-assisted clinics. Conclusion There were no significant differences in outcomes between patients receiving care at the pharmacist-managed HCV clinic and the pharmacist-assisted clinic. Given the frequency of SVR-12 achieved in both groups, both pharmacist-managed and pharmacist-assisted clinic models may be reasonable alternatives for providing outpatient HCV care.
Lisbon as Seen from China: Conundrums Posed by a Set of Lacquered Nesting Tables

On September 27, 1862, the King of Portugal, D. Luis I married by proxy the Italian princess D. Maria Pia de Saboia, at that time living in Turin. When the Queen arrived in Lisbon, on 5 October 186...
Etiologies of simultaneous cerebral infarcts in multiple arterial territories: A simple literature-based pooled analysis

Introduction: Acute multiple infarcts in multiple cerebral circulations are thought to suggest the presence of cardioembolic sources. However, several studies have shown other etiologies for simultaneous cerebral infarcts in multiple arterial territories. Methods: We conducted a systematic review of the literature using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Clinicaltrial.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP), and Cochrane library. Studies reporting multiple acute strokes in more than one arterial territory based on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) findings were reviewed and included. Studies were excluded if they had limited inclusion criteria, performed limited subgroup analysis, did not use diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), and were not published in English. Results: Out of 15056 stroke patients from 21 studies included in this study, 1914 (13%) patients had acute multiple infarcts in multiple cerebral circulations. One hundred and ninety-nine patients were excluded as their workup and diagnosis were not reported. Out of 1715 patients, 472 (27.6%) patients had an undetermined etiology. Cardioembolism was the most common cause of stroke in multiple arterial territories [37.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 36–40%] followed by large artery atherosclerosis including aortic arch atheroma (25.7%, 95% CI: 21–25%). Hematological disorders were found to be the cause of cerebral infarcts in 36 (2.1%, 95% CI: 2–4%) patients. Other etiologies for stroke in multiple arterial territories were small vessel pathologies and intracranial small vessel atherosclerosis (1.8%), inflammatory disorders such as vasculitis and infection (0.2%), and iatrogenic causes (0.1%). Conclusion: Acute multiple infarcts in multiple cerebral circulations occur among 13% of stroke patients. Although cardioembolism is the most common cause, there are several other etiologies that require a different workup and secondary prevention strategy.
Salivary and serum biomarkers of inflammation in a man with metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma and hyperreactive gingiva: a fourteen year odyssey.

A peripheral (gingival) fibroma, a gingival cyst and hyperplastic gingivitis occurred simultaneously in a man with metastatic medullary thyroid carcinoma (MCT). The gingival growths and hyperplasia...
Singular-unbounded random Jacobi matrices

There have been several recent proofs of one-dimensional Anderson localization based on positive Lyapunov exponent that hold for bounded potentials. We provide a Lyapunov exponent based proof for unbounded potentials, simultaneously treating the singular and unbounded Jacobi case by extending the techniques in a recent work by Jitomirskaya and Zhu.
Querying to Find a Safe Policy under Uncertain Safety Constraints in Markov Decision Processes

An autonomous agent acting on behalf of a human user has the potential of causing side-effects that surprise the user in unsafe ways. When the agent cannot formulate a policy with only side-effects it knows are safe, it needs to selectively query the user about whether other useful side-effects are safe. Our goal is an algorithm that queries about as few potential side-effects as possible to find a safe policy, or to prove that none exists. We extend prior work on irreducible infeasible sets to also handle our problem's complication that a constraint to avoid a side-effect cannot be relaxed without user permission. By proving that our objectives are also adaptive submodular, we devise a querying algorithm that we empirically show finds nearly-optimal queries with much less computation than a guaranteed-optimal approach, and outperforms competing approximate approaches.
A phase I trial of surgical resection with Gliadel Wafer placement followed by vaccination with dendritic cells pulsed with tumor lysate for patients with malignant glioma

Abstract High grade gliomas are associated with poor prognosis and high mortality. Conventional treatments and management of high grade gliomas have shown little improvement in 5-year overall survival. This phase I trial evaluated the safety, immunogenicity, and potential synergy of surgical resection with Gliadel Wafer implantation, followed by autologous tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cell (DC) vaccine in patients with malignant glioma. Primary end points of this study were safety and surrogate markers of immunogenicity, overall survival, and progression free survival. Following surgical resection, Gliadel Wafers were placed along the resection cavity. Patients subsequently received intradermal injections of autologous tumor lysate-pulsed DC vaccines 3 times at 2 week intervals. Treatment response was evaluated clinically and through MRI at regular intervals. Twenty-eight patients received Gliadel Wafers and DC vaccination: 11 newly diagnosed (8 glioblastoma [GBM], 2 anaplastic astrocytoma [AA], and 1 anaplastic oligodendroglioma [AO]) and 17 recurrent (15 GBMs, 1 AA, and 1 AO) high grade gliomas. Immunogenicity data was collected for 20 of the 28 patients. Five of 20 patients showed elevated IFN-γ responses following vaccination. Median progression-free survival and overall survival for all GBM patients in the trial from the start of vaccination were 3.6 months and 16.9 months respectively. Comparisons between vaccine responders and non-vaccine responders were not statistically significant. Adjuvant autologous dendritic cells pulsed with tumor-lysate following resection and Gliadel Wafer placement is safe, elicits modest immunogenicity and shows similar clinical outcomes in patients who had DC vaccination in previous studies.
Multibody Simulation of REMORA CubeSat Docking to and Pushing a Spent Rocket Booster

This paper details the multibody simulation of three phases of critical importance to the feasibility of the REMORA CubeSat space debris mitigation concept: the final approach of the CubeSat to a spent rocket booster; the grappling of the spent rocket booster using a robotic arm; and the pushing of the spent rocket booster to divert its course from another on-orbit asset. The extension of a robotic mobility and manipulation modeling toolkit (M3TK) from multibody dynamics simulation of manipulators and ground vehicles to simulation of orbital robotics is outlined. This includes the identification of the appropriate parameters required to concisely and generically describe thruster loads, thruster mixing, spacecraft control, and spacecraft navigation for the purpose of on-orbit robotics simulation. A high-level spacecraft navigator commands maneuvers to target spacecraft states. A PID spacecraft controller takes the target states and calculates desired forces and torques. A thruster mixer solves a quadratic program to determine the optimal thruster firing times for the propulsion system. Pulse width modulated actuation of eight canted cold gas thrusters is used in the simulated approach to a rocket nozzle from a distance of 200 m. A five degree of freedom robotic arm is controlled to position a pair of pincers to grasp the rocket nozzle. Contact dynamics are used to accurately simulate the grasping of the rocket nozzle by the pincers. A similar, but separate simulation is performed to assess the ability of the REMORA CubeSat to push the large spent rocket booster. This diversion maneuver makes use of an additional, larger thruster, and pushes the rocket booster in excess of 400 m. Appropriate motor control gains on the robotic arm are found to be higher during the pushing phase than those which are appropriate during free motion; this increase promotes rigidity of the arm and allows it to properly direct the pushing force. Challenges encountered in time step selection for numerical stability of the simulation are also discussed.
Effects of Implementing a Simulation-Learning Based Training Using a Train-The-Trainer Model on the Acquisition and Retention of Knowledge about Infant Safe Sleep Practices Among Licensed Nurses

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of a simulation-learning based training using a train-the-trainer model on the acquisition and retention of knowledge about infant safe sleep practices among nursing staff employed at a women's and children's hospital. Design and methods This was a two-phase, quasi-experimental study with repeated measure in a women's and children's hospital in Southwest XXXX. A total of 120 nurses completed phase I of the study, while 74 completed phase II. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory and Observational Experiential Theory were used to guide the development of the methods and research question. Results Overall, there was statistically significant (p Conclusions A train-the-trainer program in simulation and infant safe sleep can positively affect nurses' knowledge about safe sleep and SUID. Future research should include longer follow-up assessments to better determine long-term impact.
Stop 'controlling' for sex and gender in global health research.

### Summary box If you read any global health publication—whether it be about injury prevention, non-communicable diseases or vaccines—you are likely to find a footnote in a table or a sentence in the statistical methods section indicating that the results were ‘controlled’ for sex or gender. Although the terms sex and gender are often used interchangeably in the literature, the distinction between them is important. Sex, or the biological differences between males and females, is based on the sex chromosome complement, reproductive tissues and sex steroid concentrations. In contrast, gender is based on behaviours, occupations and activities defined by social or cultural norms, and can refer to differences among men, women and gender minorities. There is ample evidence that both sex and gender contribute meaningfully to global health outcomes. In this article, we explore what it means when we ‘control’ for sex or gender, and whether this practice can have unintended outcomes. Statistically, we seek to …
When Do Polyelectrolytes Entangle

Entanglements in polyelectrolyte solutions are a controversial issue in polymer science. Experimental studies during the last 20 years have raised doubts about the applicability of the concept of e...
The Case for Banning (and Mandating) Ransomware Insurance

Ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly pervasive and disruptive. Not only are they shutting down (or at least “holding up”) businesses and local governments all around the country, they are disrupting institutions in many sectors of the U.S. economy — from school systems, to medical facilities, to critical elements of the U.S. energy infrastructure as well as the food supply chain. Ransomware attacks are also growing more frequent and the ransom demands more exorbitant. Those ransom payments are increasingly being covered by insurance. That insurance offers coverage for a variety of cyber-related losses, including many of the costs arising out of ransomware attacks, such as the costs of hiring expert negotiators, the costs of recovering data from backups, the legal liabilities for exposing sensitive customer information, and the ransom payments themselves. Some commentators have expressed concern with this market phenomenon. Specifically, the concern is that the presence of insurance is making the ransomware problem worse, on the following theory: Because there is ransomware insurance that covers ransom payments, and because paying the ransom is often far cheaper than paying the restoration costs and business interruption costs also covered under the policy, there is an increased tendency to pay the ransom — and a willingness to pay higher amounts. This fact, known by the criminals, increases their incentive to engage in ransomware attacks in the first place. And the demand for insurance increases; and the cycle continues. This Article demonstrates that the picture is not as simple as thi story would suggest. Insurance offers a variety of pre-breach and post-breach services that are aimed at reducing the likelihood and severity of a ransomware attack. Thus, over the long-term, cyber insurance has the potential to lower ransomware-related costs. But we are not there yet. This Article discusses ways to help ensure that ransomware insurance is a force for good. Among our suggestions are a limited ban on indemnity for ransomware payments with exceptions for cases involving threats to life and limb, coupled with a mandate that property/casualty insurers provide coverage for the other costs of ransomware attacks. We also explain how a government regulator could serve a coordinating function to help cyber insurers internalize the externalities associated with the insurers’ decisions to reimburse ransomware payments, a role that is played by reinsurers in the context of Kidnap-and-ransom insurance.