cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Missing-partition dynamic voting scheme for replicated database systems

A replication control protocol utilizing dynamic voting is presented for ensuring database correctness so that the system behaves like a one-copy database to the users. The protocol dynamically adjusts vote assignment of data items in response to failures and recoveries, thus maintaining higher data availability than static voting schemes in the event of network partitioning. Unlike existing dynamic voting schemes, it supports inexpensive read operations which access one copy, rather than all copies, of each data item read. Since read operations outnumber write operations in most applications, this protocol enjoys better performance. With this protocol, transactions run in one of three modes: normal mode, missing-partition mode, or pseudo-normal mode. Because a partition number and a last current copy cardinality are associated with each copy, read operations only require one copy of a data item when run in the normal mode. >
Spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma diagnosed by point-of-care ultrasonography

Spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma is an uncommon condition that can mimic other conditions associated with an acute abdomen. We report the case of a patient with a spontaneous rectus sheath hematoma due to a ruptured inferior epigastric artery pseudoaneurysm who presented with hypotension and severe abdominal pain and was diagnosed using emergency department point-of-care ultrasonography. Point-of-care ultrasonography has been increasingly used in the evaluation of emergency department patients with acute abdomen and hypotension to expedite the diagnosis and management of aortic aneurysm and intraperitoneal bleeding. Resuscitation and urgent surgical and interventional radiology consultations resulted in the successful embolization of a branch of the inferior epigastric artery and a good outcome.
Plasmonic and Catalytic AuPd Nanowheels for the Efficient Conversion of Light into Chemical Energy

Reinventing the wheel: Bimetallic AuPd nanowheels, a freestanding form of 2D AuPd nanostructures, were synthesized in a one-pot process. The well-defined and tunable surface plasmon resonance displayed by these nanowheels was exploited in a unique catalytic process in which light energy was used to drive catalytic reactions, such as the Suzuki coupling, with much higher efficiency than that of the conventional heating process.
Antitakeover Statutes and Internal Corporate Governance: Antitakeover Statutes and Corporate Governance

Manuscript Type Empirical Research Question/Issue This paper examines the relation between internal corporate governance and the market for corporate control by analyzing how firms' internal governance mechanisms are related to states' antitakeover statutes (ATS). Specifically, we test two competing hypotheses concerning the effect of ATS on internal governance: the substitution hypothesis and the complementarity hypothesis. Research Findings/Insights We provide evidence that is consistent with the complementarity hypothesis that exposure to a possible takeover increases rather than decreases the need for better internal governance mechanisms. Specifically, firms that are exposed to takeover threats (i.e., firms in states without ATS or firms that opt out of states' ATS) have stronger internal governance mechanisms (i.e., adopt a greater number of governance standards) than do firms that are not exposed to takeover threats (i.e., firms in states with ATS). In a similar vein, firms adopt more internal governance standards when states abolish existing ATS. Theoretical/Academic Implications Although prior research suggests that exposure to takeover threats reduces managerial entrenchment through its disciplinary effect, our study provides evidence that exposure to a possible takeover could exacerbate the managerial myopia problem and that firms mitigate this problem through internal governance mechanisms. The results of the present study suggest that certain governance mechanisms (e.g., state-level ATS) are more effective in addressing the agency problem in the presence of other complementary governance mechanisms (e.g., firm-level governance standards), contributing to the growing literature that calls attention to the importance of viewing various governance mechanisms from a bundle perspective. In addition, our study contributes to the literature with a new identification strategy. Our identification strategy makes use of the fact that firms would not be subject to the same shock from the abolition of ATS if they had already opted out, which enables us to analyze the relation between ATS and internal governance mechanisms more accurately. This identification strategy may benefit future studies that consider state-level changes in ATS to be exogenous shocks. Practitioner/Policy Implications Our study provides empirical evidence concerning the complex ramifications of states' antitakeover statutes for corporate governance that policymakers and market regulators should consider in their decision-making. The complementarity, particularly between state-level laws and firm-level board functions, may deserve better attention from policymakers, regulators, and corporate managers.
Wastewater infrastructure: Challenges for the Sustainable City in the New Millennium

Abstract Aspects of the technologies that might be employed in the wastewater infrastructures of cities in the longer-term future are discussed. For this purpose a wastewater infrastructure is defined as the string of unit process technologies used to recycle and return the waterborne residuals of a city to its surrounding environment. In the cities of Europe and North America, for example, this infrastructure conventionally comprises the urban sewer network, wastewater treatment plant, and receiving water body. To provide context and direction for the discussion, the impact of the city and its wastewater infrastructure on the surrounding environment is reviewed over a time-scale of centuries. Two analogies are employed in order to illustrate this impact: the concept of a city's ‘metabolism’ within the global cycling of materials; and the notion of gauging the ‘health’ of the system through something akin to measuring the ‘pulse-rate’ of an organism. Three scenarios are drawn for the possible pattern of adaptation and more radical change in the technological composition of the city's future wastewater infrastructure. These may culminate in a structure altogether different from that with which we are familiar today, i.e. a decentralised, highly segregated system in which control and manipulation of the composition of any residual at its source is maximised. Further, it is argued that the issue of reliability of performance may be a critical (technological) factor in choosing a preferred form of wastewater infrastructure. We do not discuss the economic, social or cultural dimensions of our subject; we acknowledge that these are likely to be decisive considerations, the seeming technological attraction of any option notwithstanding.
Roper v. Simmons and the Limits of the Adjudicatory Process

In Roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court held that executing juvenile offenders is cruel and unusual punishment. The opinion's analysis borrows much from Atkins v. Virginia, where the Court barred executions of mentally retarded offenders. But Roper seems vulnerable as an exemplification of judicial fiat, since what we have in Roper is a rather crude basis for categorically exempting a class of offenders from capital punishment. The lasting legacy of Roper rests with the way the Eighth Amendment embraces a risk assessment of the adjudicatory process, which puts Roper in the company of Miranda and Gideon, where a similar sort of risk assessment takes place. Roper ultimately is a case about the limits of the adjudicatory process, and that reading of Roper may point the way to the ultimate undoing of capital punishment.
Manifestations of Combustion Instability in a Multi-swirl Stabilized Gas Turbine Combustor

This paper is on study of manifestations of combustion instability in a multiple swirl low emission gas turbine combustor. Unstable combustion was investigated in different combustor setup, including with or without premixing section, and with gaseous and liquid fuel via measurement of dynamics of pressure, flame, and radical emissions. A set of four optical fibers integrated inside the multiple swirler fuel injector assembly monitored the local active radical emissions to provide phase information on unsteady flame dynamics. The acoustic pressure signal from a microphone is conditioned as the trigger signal for phaselocked OH* chemiluminescene imaging of the global flame. The flame dynamics are shown to be in different format for different geometries and types of fuel. The motions of flame front are shown to be closely related to the combustion instability driving mechanism, either periodic large flow structures or pulsation in fuel line. Analysis on transition from unstable to stable combustion reveals that the advantage of better mixing with gaseous fuel is offset by the faster growth rate of pressure oscillation. It was also found in this paper that the oscillations of pressure lead flame in both gaseous fuel and spray combustions when unstable combustion takes place.
The Good Christian's Come and Gone: The Shifting Role of Christianity in August Wilson Plays

The center of African American playwright August Wilson's growing theatrical universe is conspicuously occupied by African American men. They are the thinkers, the doers, the dreamers. Revolving around them in seemingly expendable supporting roles are wives, mistresses, sisters, children and other relatives. As characters such as Levee (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), Troy Maxson (Fences), Herald Loomis (Joe Turner's Come and Gone), and Boy Willie (The Piano Lesson), impose their authority, they overshadow the concerns of others.1 Most noticeable in their blind quest for omnipotence and wealth is that they place no stock in Christian dogma, adapting instead a purely secular ideology. Consequently, what emerges from their abandonment of Christianity is a more convenient, self-serving religion-one totally unaligned with the cultural reservoir provided by what many African Americans have traditionally referred to as "good old-fashioned religion." While this good old-fashioned religion has, for centuries, provided inspiration, strength and moral principles for African Americans, Wilson's men affirm that it has not and will not suit their needs. Therefore, they demonstrate their disavowal by challenging and withdrawing from the religion of their ancestors. August Wilson has apparently chosen to focus on the African American man's oppression in this country to symbolize the collective struggles of all African Americans. Since the early 1980s, Wilson has committed himself to writing ten plays chronicling the history of his people in each decade of their existence in the United States. Often depicted on the verge of an emotional breakdown, Levee, Herald Loomis, Troy Maxson, and Boy Willie dominate center stage and become Wilson's primary spokesmen. Although the African American woman appears in various supporting roles-devoted wife and mother, cranky blues singer, docile sex object, stubborn sister, etc.the actions of the African American man clearly convey the themes of each of the four plays Wilson has completed toward his ten-play mission.
Theory of magnon motive force in chiral ferromagnets

We predict that magnon motive force can lead to temperature dependent, nonlinear chiral damping in both conducting and insulating ferromagnets. We estimate that this damping can significantly influence the motion of skyrmions and domain walls at finite temperatures. We also find that in systems with low Gilbert damping moving chiral magnetic textures and resulting magnon motive forces can induce large spin and energy currents in the transverse direction.
Survey of Food Hygienic Status in Private Kindergartens

Objective In order to know the current states of food hygiene in private kindergartens,to provide the instructive basis to implement corresponding strategy.Method 32 private kindergartens in Zhongyuan district were randomly investigated.Results 68.75% kindergartens have health license,and only 68.83% employees have certificate of physical examination and training.The qualified rates of tableware of kindergartens were lower in countryside and "village in city",and compare with those kindergartens in city or big ones,the difference has statistical significance(χ2=51.45,P0.01;χ2=50.47,P0.01).The food hygienic situation of private kindergartens was poor,and the equipment of hygienic facilities was deficient.The qualified rate of hygienic knowledge inspection of employee was lower,and hygienic management in city was better than those in village city,and the big ones were better than small ones.The private kindergartens have hidden troubles of food-borne disease and food poisoning.Conclusion It was suggested that supervision of private kindergartens should be strengthen,and the illegal operators should be suppressed
Endogenous BK stimulates ischemically sensitive abdominal visceral C fiber afferents through kinin B2 receptors.

Abdominal ischemia and reperfusion reflexly activate the cardiovascular system. In the present study, we evaluated the role of endogenously produced bradykinin (BK) in the stimulation of ischemically sensitive visceral afferents. Single-unit activity of abdominal visceral C fiber afferents was recorded from the right thoracic sympathetic chain of anesthetized cats during 5 min of abdominal ischemia. Abdominal ischemia increased the portal venous plasma BK level from 49 +/- 10 to 188 +/- 66 pg/ml (P < 0.05). Injection of BK (1 microgram/kg ia) into the descending aorta significantly increased impulse activity (0.88 +/- 0.16 impulses/s) of 10 C fibers, whereas a kinin B1-receptor agonist, des-Arg9-BK (1 microgram/kg), did not alter the discharge rate. Inhibition of kininase II activity with captopril (4 mg/kg i.v.) potentiated impulse activity of 14 ischemically sensitive C fibers (0.44 +/- 0.09 vs. precaptopril, 0.33 +/- 0.08 impulses/s; P < 0.05). In addition, a kinin B2-receptor antagonist (NPC-17731; 40 micrograms/kg i.v.) attenuated activity of afferents during ischemia (0.39 +/- 0.08 vs. pre-NPC-17731, 0.72 +/- 0.13 impulses/s; P < 0.05) and eliminated the response of 10 C fibers to BK. Another kinin B2-receptor antagonist, Hoe-140 (30 micrograms/kg iv), had similar inhibitory effects on six other ischemically sensitive C fibers. In 15 separate cats treated with aspirin (50 mg/kg i.v.), Hoe-140 (30 micrograms/kg i.v.) attenuated impulse activity of only 3 of 16 ischemically sensitive C fibers. These data suggest that BK produced during abdominal ischemia contributes to the stimulation of ischemically sensitive visceral C fiber afferents through kinin B2 receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Herpes Simplex Virus Lymphadenitis and Varicella-Herpes Zoster Lymphadenitis

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a common mucocutaneous infection that has worldwide distribution and primarily spreads from person to person by direct contact with infected secretions. HSV is an α herpesvirus and includes types 1 and 2. The virus has a double-stranded DNA that encodes more than 80 proteins. Primary infection with HSV type 1 occurs mostly among children and adolescents, commonly spreads mouth to mouth, and is commonly associated with gingivostomatitis. Recurrences more often present as herpes labialis, however, the infection can become systemic. HSV type 2 occurs most often in adults, commonly spreads through sexual contact, and is associated with genital ulcers. These patterns of presentation and disease manifestations, however, may overlap. Most primary HSV infections are asymptomatic, and disease is commonly first noticed on reactivation. Serologic testing has shown that infection is more common among persons with multiple sex partners.
Human Resources in Initial Public Offering Firms: Do Venture Capitalists Make a Difference?

Venture capitalists’ preference for complete, well-balanced founding teams is well established. In addition, the strategic human resource management literature posits that superior performance migh...
Methods and a First Look at Speech Rate and Pause

Here I present the first of several empirical investigations into speech rate and pause variation. In this first view, I examine a small experimental dataset drawing from read speech from three regions of the US. These data consist of recordings of a short reading passage read by 14 talkers from Memphis, Tennessee (the South), 14 talkers from Oswego, New York (Labov et al.’s 2006 Inland North), and 14 talkers from Reno, Nevada (the West). The talkers are all natives of their respective larger dialect regions, are European Americans, and are adults in the 18–30- year-old range. The data are drawn from research with Valerie Fridland (Kendall and Fridland 2012, Fridland and Kendall 2012).1 Unlike the data from the remaining chapters, which all come from SLAAP’s archives, the recordings examined here are stored in OSCAAR, the web-based speech resource archive housed at Northwestern University, which was introduced briefly in §3.4.
Management of Cardiac/ECG Complications of Stroke

This chapter reviews the management of cardiac/electrocardiography (ECG) complication of stroke. Ischemic heart and cerebrovascular diseases frequently coexist in the same patient and they share similar risk factors. Most studies that investigated the precise frequency of cardiac complications after stroke failed to take this into account by not controlling for coexisting coronary artery disease. Forty-four percent of ischemic stroke patients showed either a recent onset ischemia pattern ECG or a cardiac arrhythmia. If stroke-induced electrocardiographic effects lead to an increase in the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias, then the prognosis should be adversely affected by their presence. Those patients who develop new or evolving ECG changes after stroke or have classical repolarization abnormalities including neurogenic T waves and prolongation of the QT interval may also pose a special risk. Such patients should be referred for continuous cardiac monitoring and followed closely in an intensive care setting for at least 3 days. Treatment of frequent runs of malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmia may even require the placement of an implantable defibrillator. Each patient causing cardiac concern should be evaluated by a cardiologist prior to the institution of therapy.
Characterizing diverse handheld apps for customized hardware acceleration

Current handhelds incorporate a variety of acceler-ators/IPs for improving their performance and energy efficiency. While these IPs are extremely useful for accelerating parts of a computation, the CPU still expends a significant amount of time and energy in the overall execution. Coarse grain customized hardware of Android APIs and methods, though widely useful, is also not an option due to the high hardware costs. Instead, we propose a fine-grain sequence of instructions, called a Load-to-Store (LOST) sequence, for hardware customization. A LOST sequence starts with a load and ends with a store, including dependent instructions in between. Unlike prior approaches to customization, a LOST sequence is defined based on a sequence of opcodes rather than a sequence of PC addresses or operands. We identify such commonly occurring LOST sequences within and across several popular apps and propose a design to integrate these customized hardware sequences as macro functional units into the CPU data-path. Detailed evaluation shows that such customized LOST sequences can provide an average of 25% CPU speedup, or 12% speedup for the entire system.
The role of lone pair and dipolar interactions in the non-planarity of 1,3-dioxolane and 1,3-dioxole

1,3-Dioxole has been shown to be non-planar by infrared and Raman spectroscopy. An MM3 study of this molecule enabled the investigators to suggest that this non-planarity was due to the anomeric effect. Subsequently, an ab initio theoretical study of this molecule was performed, which also concluded that the non-planarity of 1,3-dioxole was due to the anomeric effect and not to dipole–dipole interactions. Neither study used rigorous methods for assessing the role of dipolar interactions in the geometry of 1,3-dioxole. A new study of 1,3-dioxole, 1,3-dioxolane, tetrahydrofuran, cyclopentane, and some related molecules using the new QVBMM (molecular mechanics) force field shows conclusively that the non-planarity of 1,3-dioxole and 1,3-dioxolane is due primarily to torsional and dipolar effects, and not secondary molecular orbital overlap interactions.
Renal progenitor and stem cell biology and therapy

Abstract: In this chapter we will focus on the role of resident renal progenitor cells and non-renal derived stem/progenitor cells in renal regeneration as a platform for cell-based therapy. We will also discuss renal developmental studies, as they improve our understanding of the cellular biology and molecular cues involved in renal regeneration, which may assist in the development of new approaches for treatment of chronic kidney disease.
Cytotoxic Effector Mechanisms Involved in the Immunity Against Mammary Tumors

There is considerable evidence that the initiation and growth of tumor masses can be modulated by the immune system. This influence not only applies to the primary tumor burdens, but is also apparent in the establishment and development of metastases. Several immunologic components are involved in these processes, however, the relevance of the cell-mediated compartment has been amply documented. The interactions among regulatory, helper, and effector cells are undeniably important, however, in many instances, the direct actions of several types of immune cells with lytic potential represent an important aspect of tumor immunology. Using animal models of breast cancer and, on a smaller scale, clinical experimentation, much information has been generated in several laboratories, providing insight into the relative contributions of various types of cytotoxic effectors operative against mammary tumors. Our understanding of the function of such cells in the context of in vivo tumor development is a first step in devising logical protocols for immu-notherapeutic approaches.
Treatment With Simvastatin Suppresses the Development of Experimental Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in Normal and Hypercholesterolemic Mice

Objective: To determine if treatment with hydroxymethylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) can influence the development of experimental abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs).
How Students Pay for College

Fifty years ago, just over half of U.S. high school graduates went immediately to college. More than 85 percent of these students attended four-year colleges and universities, as there were about h...
MENTAL HEALTH CARE FOR LGBT OLDER ADULTS IN LONG-TERM CARE: COMPETENCY, TRAINING, AND BARRIERS FOR PROVIDERS

Providers (N=57) completed an online survey on practice characteristics. They were asked about: number of LGBT residents they’ve worked with, relevance of LGBT issues to their practice, preparedness, willingness to learn, hours of formal/informal training, and barriers to providing care to LGBT patients. Respondents were 63% psychologists, 16% social workers, 14% psychiatrists, and 5% nurses, most of whom practiced in LTC consulting roles. Most providers felt working with LGBT issues was relevant to their practice and felt willing to learn, though they were unaware of evidence based practices (EBTs), especially for LTC settings. They had little coursework on LGBT issues, and identified lack of training, stigma, and residents concealing their identity as the greatest barriers to care. Mental health providers in LTC facilities would benefit from training in LGBT-specific mental health problems and EBTs, and efforts to destigmatize LGBT identities in these settings might improve access to mental health care.
Predictors of thrombolysis in the telestroke and non telestroke settings for hypertensive acute ischemic stroke patients

In acute ischemic stroke patients, telestroke technology provides sustainable approaches to improve the use of thrombolysis therapy. How this is achieved as it relates to inclusion or exclusion of clinical risk factors for thrombolysis is not fully understood. We investigated this in a population of hypertensive stroke patients. Structured data from a regional stroke registry that contained telestroke and non telestroke patients with a primary diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke with history of hypertension were collected between January 2014 and June 2016. Clinical risk factors associated with inclusion or exclusion for recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) in the telestroke and non telestroke were identified using multiple regression analysis. Associations between variables and rtPA in the regression models were determined using variance inflation factors while the fitness of each model was determined using the ROC curve to predict the power of each logistic regression model. The non telestroke admitted more patients (62% vs 38%), when compared with the telestroke. Although the telestroke admitted fewer patients, it excluded 11% and administered thrombolysis therapy to 89% of stroke patients with hypertension. In the non telestroke group, adjusted odd ratios showed significant associations of NIH stroke scale score (OR = 1.059, 95% CI, 1.025–1.093, P < 0.001) and coronary artery disease (OR = 2.003, 95% CI, 1.16–3.457, P = 0.013) with inclusion, while increasing age (OR = 0.979, 95% CI, 0.961–0.996, P = 0.017), higher INR (OR = 0.146, 95% CI, 0.032–0.665, P = 0.013), history of previous stroke (OR = 0.39, 95% CI, 0.223–0.68, P = 0.001), and renal insufficiency (OR = 0.153, 95% CI, 0.046–0.508, P = 0.002) were associated with rtPA exclusion. In the telestroke, only direct admission to the telestroke was associated with rtPA administration, (OR = 4.083, 95% CI, 1.322–12.611, P = 0.014). The direct admission of hypertensive stroke patients to the telestroke network was the only factor associated with inclusion for thrombolysis therapy even after adjustment for baseline variables. The telestroke technology provides less restrictive criteria for clinical risk factors associated with the inclusion of hypertensive stroke patients for thrombolysis.
Deimplementation of Routine Chest X-rays in Adult Intensive Care Units.

BACKGROUNDChoosing Wisely® is a national initiative to deimplement or reduce low-value care. However, there is limited evidence on the effectiveness of strategies to influence ordering patterns.OBJECTIVEWe aimed to describe the effectiveness of an intervention to reduce daily chest X-ray (CXR) order
Dual-Band Wireless Power Transfer With Reactance Steering Network and Reconfigurable Receivers

Wireless power transfer (WPT) via near-field magnetic coupling is an enabling technology for many applications. A few WPT standards are under development with frequencies ranging from kilohertz (kHz) to megahertz (MHz). Operation in kHz offers a higher power rating and that in MHz offers a smaller size. This paper presents a dual-band WPT architecture with novel transmitter and receiver topologies that can achieve high performance at both 100 kHz and 13.56 MHz with low component count and decoupled power delivery at different frequencies. On the transmitter side, we introduce an enhanced push–pull Class-E topology together with a reactance steering network (RSN), which can seamlessly compensate the load impedance variation for MHz wireless power transmitters. On the receiver side, we present a reconfigurable dual-band rectifier that can achieve a power density of 300 W/in $^3$ with low component count and low total harmonic distortion. A complete dual-band WPT system comprising an RSN-based dual-band transmitter and multiple reconfigurable receivers has been built and tested. The WPT system can simultaneously deliver a total of 30 W of power to multiple receivers (15 W maximum each) with 82.5% efficiency at 100 kHz and 74.8% efficiency at 13.56 MHz with 2.8 cm of coil distance and up to 5 cm of coil misalignment.
Scholarly Collaboration, Mentorship, and Friendship: A New Model for Success in Academic Medicine.

Abstract Mentorship can be one of the most important factors in helping faculty members successfully advance academic careers. Finding effective mentorship, however, is extremely challenging and lack of mentorship may negatively impact productivity, promotion, and retention. Women, in particular, identify lack of mentorship as a major factor inhibiting career advancement, which in turn may be one element contributing to the significant gender gaps existing in academic medicine. Here we describe a model of mentoring drawn from our personal experiences as four female faculty that has resulted in a successful collaboration spanning nearly a decade. This model combines different elements of mentoring models previously described in the literature into a single model of network mentoring. Our model aims to promote longitudinal, collaborative scholarship around a broad common research theme, provide long-term mentorship focused on successfully navigating personal and academic hurdles, and create a forum of mentorship for faculty at all academic ranks. Keys to the success of our model, The Accelerate Scholarship through Personal Engagement with a Collaborative Team (ASPECT) Model, are: 1) a shared overarching research goal that allows for multiple projects to be worked on over time; 2) regular, structured meetings; 3) a collaborative yet flexible arrangement with “group accountability;” and 4) a focus on the human connection. Our goal in writing this paper is to describe, in detail, lessons learned from our experiences and reflect on why and how this model may be effective in addressing mentoring gaps many faculty members, particularly women, experience.
Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma and Its Variants

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDCA) represents the most common primary pancreatic malignancy, with patients presenting with a variety of nonspecific abdominal symptoms. Radiographic studies, which include a combination of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, are useful for characterizing the lesion and for staging purposes. However, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is necessary for diagnosis. In addition to the conventional type of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, there are a diverse group of histologic variants. However, with the exception of colloid carcinoma, the remaining types of ductal adenocarcinoma carry a grim prognosis. An understanding of the cytomorphologic and histologic features of conventional type of ductal adenocarcinoma and the variants is important to ensure accurate diagnoses, as certain variants can have significant prognostic implications. Ancillary studies, including immunohistochemistry and molecular testing, may be useful adjuncts in distinguishing between variants.
ENPP1, an Old Enzyme with New Functions, and Small Molecule Inhibitors-A STING in the Tale of ENPP1.

Ectonucleotide pyrophosphatase/phosphodiesterase I (ENPP1) was identified several decades ago as a type II transmembrane glycoprotein with nucleotide pyrophosphatase and phosphodiesterase enzymatic activities, critical for purinergic signaling. Recently, ENPP1 has emerged as a critical phosphodiesterase that degrades the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) ligand, cyclic GMP–AMP (cGAMP). cGAMP or analogs thereof have emerged as potent immunostimulatory agents, which have potential applications in immunotherapy. This emerging role of ENPP1 has placed this “old” enzyme at the frontier of immunotherapy. This review highlights the roles played by ENPP1, the mechanism of cGAMP hydrolysis by ENPP1, and small molecule inhibitors of ENPP1 with potential applications in diverse disease states, including cancer.
Caring for Contemporary Mystics: Pentecostalism and the Mystical Worldview:

Pentecostals can be understood as contemporary Christian mystics, and doing so can aid one in both understanding and caring for them. The task of understanding them is facilitated by this category ...
T2-Weighted Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the prostate universally includes T2-weighted imaging (T2WI), which provides great anatomical detail and plays important roles in the localization and characterization of abnormalities in the prostate and surrounding organs. Multiplanar T2WI is usually obtained using conventional 2D rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) pulse sequences such as fast spin echo (FSE) or turbo spin echo (TSE). Other available T2WI pulse sequences such as those with radial sampling of k-space or with 3D volumetric acquisitions can help overcome some of the limitations of conventional T2WI acquisition. In this chapter, we will compare the different types of T2 acquisitions and discuss hardware considerations and technical parameters to optimize image quality. We will also provide insights on patient preparation and other patient-specific parameters that may affect the quality of T2WI.
Abstract 447: Integrated omics modeling of transcriptional regulation in medulloblastoma subtypes

Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most common pediatric brain tumors. Current treatment options carry substantial risk for lifelong cognitive and neurological impairment. Consequently, there is a pressing need to elucidate molecular mechanisms with the ultimate goal of developing targeted tumor-specific therapies. In a recent study on proteomes and phospho-proteomes of primary MB tumors, we identified proteomic MB subtypes that were not apparent from transcriptional or methylation data. To identify gene regulatory circuitries that drive these MB subtypes, we have now mapped accessible chromatin and 3D chromosome conformation in 23 and 13 MB tumors from the same cohort, using ATAC-seq and Hi-C respectively. We identify subtype-specific accessible regulatory chromatin regions, including a subset of regions not identifiable by the enhancer mark H3K27ac. We associate regulatory regions to their target gene promoters by correlating transcription with ATAC-seq signal strength, and confirm these relationships using the newly generated Hi-C data. Using an unpublished adaptation of the GSEA algorithm, which we tailored for an enrichment analysis of non-coding regulatory elements instead of genes, we identify transcription factors and master regulators with binding sites specific to an MB subtype. By associating these master regulators with their transcriptional targets, we have derived models of regulatory circuitry in MB which implicate central mechanisms of MB pathogenesis and may inform future therapeutic targeting. Citation Format: Owen S. Chapman, Tobias Ehrenberger, Tenley C. Archer, Maxwell P. Gold, Filip Mundt, Miriam Adam, Clarence K. Mah, Karsten Krug, Sahaana Chandran, Jesse R. Dixon, Scot L. Pomeroy, Ernest Fraenkel, Jill P. Mesirov, Lukas Chavez. Integrated omics modeling of transcriptional regulation in medulloblastoma subtypes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 447.
The Meat Question: Animals, Humans, and the Deep History of Food: by Josh Berson, Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 2019, 312 pp., $29.95/£22.50 (cloth)

Josh Berson’s meat question is, “Should humans be eating meat, and if so who, and what kinds, and how much?” (2). Answers emerge in the Prologue and two Parts united by a Bridge, Part 1, “Did Meat ...
Complications of Lung Transplantation: Update on Imaging Manifestations and Management

As lung transplantation has become the most effective definitive treatment option for end-stage chronic respiratory diseases, yearly rates of this surgery have been steadily increasing. Despite improvement in surgical techniques and medical management of transplant recipients, complications from lung transplantation are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Some of these complications can be classified on the basis of the time they typically occur after lung transplantation, while others may occur at any time. Imaging studies, in conjunction with clinical and laboratory evaluation, are key components in diagnosing and monitoring these conditions. Therefore, radiologists play a critical role in recognizing and communicating findings suggestive of lung transplantation complications. A description of imaging features of the most common lung transplantation complications, including surgical, medical, immunologic, and infectious complications, as well as an update on their management, will be reviewed here. Keywords: Pulmonary, Thorax, Surgery, Transplantation Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2021.
Soluble Klotho and Incident Hypertension

Background and objectives Hypertension is associated with significant morbidity and mortality despite effective antihypertensive therapies. Soluble klotho is a circulating protein that in preclinical studies is protective against the development of hypertension. There are limited studies of klotho and blood pressure in humans. Design, setting, participants, & measurements Within the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study, a cohort of well-functioning older adults, soluble klotho was measured in serum. We evaluated the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between klotho and blood pressure, prevalent hypertension, incident hypertension, and BP trajectories. Analyses were adjusted for demographics, cardiovascular disease and kidney disease risk factors, and measures of mineral metabolism including calcium, phosphate, parathyroid hormone, 25(OH) vitamin D, and fibroblast growth factor 23. Results The median klotho concentration was 630 pg/ml (478–816, 25th to 75th percentile). Within the cohort, 2093 (76%) of 2774 participants had prevalent hypertension and 476 (70%) of the remaining 681 developed incident hypertension. There was no association between klotho and prevalent hypertension or baseline systolic BP, but higher klotho was associated with higher baseline diastolic BP (fully adjusted β=0.92 mmHg, 95% confidence interval, 0.24 to 1.60 mmHg, higher per two-fold higher klotho). Higher baseline serum klotho levels were significantly associated with a lower rate of incident hypertension (fully adjusted hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.69 to 0.93 for every two-fold higher klotho). Higher klotho was also associated with lower subsequent systolic BP and diastolic BP (−0.16, 95% confidence interval, −0.31 to −0.01, mmHg lower systolic BP per year and −0.10, 95% confidence interval, −0.18 to −0.02, mmHg lower diastolic BP per year, for each two-fold higher klotho). Conclusions Higher klotho is associated with higher baseline diastolic but not systolic BP, a lower risk of incident hypertension, and lower BP trajectories during follow-up.
Calibrations and Manifolds with Special Holonomy

The purpose of this paper is to introduce Harvey–Lawson manifolds and review the construction of certain “mirror dual” Calabi–Yau submanifolds inside a G 2 manifold. More specifically, given a Harvey–Lawson manifold HL, we explain how to assign a pair of tangent bundle valued 2 and 3-forms to a G 2 manifold \((M,HL,\varphi,\varLambda )\), with the calibration 3-form \(\varphi\) and an oriented 2-plane field Λ. As in [3] these forms can then be used to define different complex and symplectic structures on certain 6-dimensional subbundles of T(M). When these bundles are integrated they give mirror CY manifolds (related through HL manifolds).
Homogenization of Ti-Hastelloy-N

To homogenize Ti-Hastelloy-N, the segregated MC-type carbide stringers must be dissolved during solution annealing and enough time allowed for the carbide forming elements to diffuse uniformly throughout the matrix. A solubility product-l/Τplot and simple diffusion equation were used to estimate the parameters for a successful homogenization treatment. Compared to the material which contained stringers, the homogenized material had: 1) greater postirradiation ductility with significantly reduced scatter in values and 2) better resistance to intergranular cracking caused by tellurium vapor at 1033 K. The basic principles used to develop the homogenization treatment are applicable to other Ti or Nb stabilized alloys.
Taxation and the Extraction of Exhaustible Resources: Evidence From California Oil Production

Rapid oil price increases frequently bring calls for special oil industry taxes. This paper uses new well-level production data and price variation induced by federal oil taxes and price controls to estimate how taxes a↵ect production. Theory suggests temporary taxes create strong incentives for retiming productioneven well shutting. Empirical estimates suggest little shut-in in response to taxes, but substantial production retiming with an estimated elasticity between 0.208 and 0.261. The estimates are used to calibrate a simple model of the eciency cost of tax-induced distortions, implying that a 15% tax reduces social eciency by between 3% and 25% of the revenue raised.
The management and control of written information: growing concern amid the failure of traditional methods

Abstract The control and management of written information in business is growing in importance, and the consequences of its mismanagement are coming more clearly into focus. Written information which cannot be found impairs decision making, planning, evaluation, and organizational growth. The problem is reflected in the costly duplication of effort when available information is not or cannot be shared. Managers are frequently overwhelmed by the rising tide of useless information that crosses their desks and often hides the occasional truly significant document. The control of written information is often based implicity on the Library Model; that is, the control of written information in business is much like the management of books in a library. This article discusses what the difficulties are in applying the Library Model to business information systems and offers a more appropriate model for business to manage their written information.
Pion scattering lengths, the veneziano amplitude and ρ universality

The Veneziano amplitude, Adler's self-consistency condition, and universality of the ρ-coupling are shown to determine theS-wave scattering lengths for the process πA→πA. A discussion is presented with reference to the current algebra result.
Pulsed power system for the HAPLS Diode Pumped Laser System

Industrial and Scientific High Energy Laser Systems with output energies in the Joule to Megajoule range typically rely on flash lamps to energize the gain media. Especially in rep rated laser systems the advantage of low capital cost per lamp is outweighed by many disadvantages, such as low pump efficiency, heating of the gain medium, frequent maintenance requirement, significant capital cost for its pulsed power system, and laser performance stability. Diode Pumped Solid State Laser (DPSSL) systems represent a viable alternative. In this paper we will present an efficient, integrated power conditioning system developed for the High-Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser System (HAPLS) that is being developed by LLNL for deployment in the international user facility Extreme Light Infrastructure Beamlines (ELI-Beamlines) in Czech Republic [1]. The High Energy Pump Laser of HAPLS is energized by 4 High Peak Power Laser Diode Arrays with total peak power of 3.2 MW that were developed by Lasertel and LLNL. The diode arrays deliver ∼1kJ at repetition rate 10Hz. Each diode array is comprised of 40 individual diode tiles where every tile generates >20 kilowatts of peak power. Each tile is driven by a single pulser that contains its own energy storage, control and high current drive circuitry. As part of the HAPLS laser the pulsers are operated at approximately 520A, a pulse width of 300μs at 10Hz. In another LLNL laser system basically identical pulsers are operated at 315A, 300us at 120Hz. The pulsers were designed to be operated in a support frame called a pulser crate. Each crate is designed to hold up to 45 pulsers in a volume similar to a desktop computer. Communication with the pulsers is by means of a one-way digital optical link which greatly simplifies the internal wiring. Each crate contains a “Brain Box” which in turn contains the front end processor (FEP), machine safety system (MSS) and energy storage dump subsystems. Providing flexibility and system balancing capability each pulser can be tailored to the diode tile: it has an internal Arbitrary Waveform Generator (AWG) on board that controls the shape of the diode current pulse. The AWG can vary the pulse shape in any combination of programmable increments with resolutions 1A and 1μs up to maximums of 1kA and 350μs. Under command of the crate controller each pulser can create its own distinct waveform and deliver that waveform when triggered.
Changes in anxiety feelings following marihuana smoking. The alternation in feelings of anxiety resulting from the smoking of marihuana (Cannabis sativa L.).

A within subjects design was used to assess the effects of smoking marihujana upon feelings of anxiety. Marihuana did not increase the intensity of an individual's feelings of anxiety. Instead, anxious subjects tended to become less anxious and more euphoric, while nonanxious individuals tended to become somewhat more anxious.
On the Potential for Entangled States Between Chaotic Systems

We report on the tendency of chaotic systems to be controlled onto their unstable periodic orbits in such a way that these orbits are stabilized. The resulting orbits are known as cupolets and collectively provide a rich source of qualitative information on the associated chaotic dynamical system. We show that pairs of interacting cupolets may be induced into a state of mutually sustained stabilization that requires no external intervention in order to be maintained and is thus considered bound or entangled. A number of properties of this sort of entanglement are discussed. For instance, should the interaction be disturbed, then the chaotic entanglement would be broken. Based on certain properties of chaotic systems and on examples which we present, there is further potential for chaotic entanglement to be naturally occurring. A discussion of this and of the implications of chaotic entanglement in future research investigations is also presented.
Potentiation of insulin stimulation of hexose transport by kallikrein and bradykinin in isolated rat adipocytes

Abstract Kallikrein and bradykinin additively increased adipocyte hexose transport under conditions of maximal intrinsic insulin stimulation, while no such effect occurred in the absence of insulin. This potentiation of insulin action follows a dose-response relationship with kallikrein and bradykinin concentrations consistent with a physiological role for the latter in the modulation of insulin action. Insulin degradation by isolated adipocytes and insulin binding to its receptors on adipocyte plasma membranes were not affected by either kallikrein or bradykinin. Thus, the kallikrein and bradykinin potentiation of insulin action occur at post-insulin binding sites. In conclusion, the kallikrein-bradykinin system increases the supply of substrates to target tissues through vasodilation and augmented blood perfusion, and it also stimulates glucose uptake and metabolism via its potentiation of insulin action. These actions suggest that the kallikrein-bradykinin system regulate both the availability and utilization of metabolic substrates, in target tissues.
Steroid epoxides in biologic systems: A review

Abstract Epoxides are molecules which occur naturally and which may participate in the metabolism of some unsaturated steroids in a variety of species. They also have been postulated as intermediates in several different biosynthetic pathways. Additionally, cholesterol-5α,6α-epoxide is formed by ultraviolet light irradiation of skin.