cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Caudillismo along the Nile

AbstractThe “coup-volution” of 2011 removed President Mubarak but not his authoritarian regime, which is now guided by his successor, President Abd al Fattah al-Sisi. Both autocrats, there are nevertheless important differences between these two presidents and their respective regimes. Sisi’s tougher authoritarianism is analogous to the Latin American prototype of “delegative democracy”, a stalled phase of democratic institution-building in which voters delegate their authority to the president, who rules unconstrained by a balance of institutional powers. The primary feature of what in the Egyptian case might better be termed “delegative authoritarianism” is the decision-making autonomy of the president, who perceives himself as the “embodiment of the nation and the main custodian and definer of its interests”. This results in erratic, inconsistent and ineffective policymaking, which isolates the president yet more from institutions and political forces, while causing the entire polity to be suffused wit...
Nonlinear and Adaptive Suboptimal Control of Connected Vehicles: A Global Adaptive Dynamic Programming Approach

This paper studies the cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) problem of connected vehicles with unknown nonlinear dynamics. Different from the present literature on CACC, data-driven feedforward and optimal feedback control policies are developed by global adaptive dynamic programming (GADP). Due to the presence of nonvanishing disturbance, a modified version of GADP is presented. Interestingly, the developed policy is guaranteed to globally stabilize the vehicular platoon system, and is robust to unmeasurable nonvanishing disturbance. Numerical simulation results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the developed approach.
Conversion of Maersk Lines “L” Class Containerships to Strategic Sealift RO/RO, LO/LO Ships

This technical note provides an overview of some of the design issues presented by the complex undertaking noted in the title together with some insight into the historical events and strategic decisions that influenced the engineering process.
Selenium Enhances the Anti-Angiogenic Effects of Bevacuzimab (Anti-VEGF Antibody) in Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia Xenograft Models.

Selenium, a known antioxidant used in chemoprevention, has recently been shown to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy agents and mediate anti-angiogenic effects in preclinical solid tumor models. Prior data has also shown that sodium selenite can induce apoptosis of human acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells in vitro. While the use of high non-toxic doses of selenium has been demonstrated to effectively enhance the therapeutic efficacy and selectivity of various anti-cancer drugs in multiple solid tumor xenograft models (Cao et al, Clin Canc Res 10: 2561–2569, 2004), the in vivo effects of selenium compounds in hematological malignancies have not been extensively explored. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated the preclinical efficacy of VEGF inhibitors in human leukemia xenograft models. Here we investigated the in vitro and in vivo effects of seleno-L-methionine (SLM), alone and in combination with chemotherapy and anti-VEGF antibody, in human AML. The mechanism of action, dosage, and time course of SLM effects on AML cells (ML-2 and HL60) in vitro were determined using colorimetric (CCK-8) viability, tritiated thymidine proliferation, and Annexin-V flow cytometric assays. SLM therapy resulted in dose dependent inhibition of AML proliferation with marked induction of apoptosis and a 67–92% reduction in viable cells at 400–500 μM. Ten million AML cells (ML-2 and HL60-luciferase) were then subcutaneously engrafted into immunodeficient (SCID/SCID) mice. ML-2 tumor bearing mice were treated with PBS (vehicle), SLM (200 mcg p.o. daily), cytarabine (Ara-C 2 mg i.p. for 3 days), or combination SLM + Ara-C therapy for over two weeks. SLM showed no effective modulation of therapeutic efficacy and toxicity in AML tumor models, when combined with Ara-C. Neither SLM nor Ara-C alone or in combination resulted in significant reduction of AML growth. ML-2 and HL60-luciferase tumor bearing mice were then treated with PBS, SLM (200 mcg p.o. daily), anti-VEGF antibody bevacuzimab (BV 100mcg i.p. twice weekly), or SLM + BV for three weeks. Disease progression was monitored by tumor volume, end tumor weight, and bioluminescent imaging. Although SLM alone was ineffective in reducing HL60 leukemia growth, SLM + BV combination therapy effectively induced a 75% reduction in mean tumor volume after 21 days of treatment which was statistically greater than BV therapy alone (62% reduction). Synergistic effects of SLM+BV therapy was also confirmed by differences in mean tumor weights and bioluminescent imaging as compared with single agent BV and SLM treated mice. Similar results were seen in the ML-2 AML xenograft model. Conclusions: SLM improved the anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor effects of anti-VEGF therapy with bevacizumab in human AML xenograft models. Additional studies investigating the mechanisms of action of these synergistic effects will be presented.
Migraine Twin Studies

The influence of genetic versus environmental factors in the etiology of migraine was investigated by studies of two samples of female twin pairs - 154 raised together and 43 raised apart since infancy, in a report from the University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City and the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
The Number of Chandelier and Basket Cells Are Differentially Decreased in Prefrontal Cortex in Autism.

An interneuron alteration has been proposed as a source for the modified balance of excitation / inhibition in the cerebral cortex in autism. We previously demonstrated a decreased number of parvalbumin (PV)-expressing interneurons in prefrontal cortex in autism. PV-expressing interneurons include chandelier (Ch) and basket (Bsk) cells. We asked whether the decreased PV+ interneurons affected both Ch cells and Bsk cells in autism. The lack of single markers to specifically label Ch cells or Bsk cells presented an obstacle for addressing this question. We devised a method to discern between PV-Ch and PV-Bsk cells based on the differential expression of Vicia villosa lectin (VVA). VVA binds to N-acetylgalactosamine, that is present in the perineuronal net surrounding some cell types where it plays a role in intercellular communication. N-acetylgalactosamine is present in the perineuronal net surrounding Bsk but not Ch cells. We found that the number of Ch cells is consistently decreased in the prefrontal cortex of autistic (n = 10) when compared with control (n = 10) cases, while the number of Bsk cells is not as severely affected. This finding expand our understanding of GABAergic system functioning in the human cerebral cortex in autism, which will impact translational research directed towards providing better treatment paradigms for individuals with autism.
Novel Evidence That Statin-Mediated Perturbation of Lipid Raft Formation Ameliorates Bleeding- Related Thrombocytosis.

Abstract The a-chemokine stromal derived factor 1 (SDF-1) plays an important role in maturation/platelet formation of megakaryocytes (Megs), and we recently reported that the responsiveness of hematopoietic cells to SDF-1 is optimal when its corresponding CXCR4 receptor is included into membrane lipid rafts (Blood 2005; 105:40). The formation of lipid rafts in vivo may be perturbed by cholesterol-lowering drugs, e.g., statins. Statins are effective in lowering LDL cholesterol and exert several pleiotropic effects on mature platelets, e.g., inhibit their activation. This latter effect is probably due to lowering of the cholesterol content in the membranes of mature platelets leading to the perturbation of membrane lipid raft formation which is required for proper platelet activation and signaling. However, under steady state conditions statins do not influence platelet production, no studies have been performed on their effects on platelet production in reactive thrombocytosis. In determining whether lipid raft formation plays a role in SDF-1- and stress-dependent thrombocytosis, we found that SDF-1 most efficiently stimulates in vitro platelet production when CXCR4 is included into membrane lipid rafts on Megs. At the molecular level, depletion of cholesterol from Megs membranes i) perturbed the responsiveness of megakaryocytic progenitors to an SDF-1 gradient, ii) inhibited SDF-1-mediated calcium flux and MAPKp42/44, AKT and STAT 1–6 phosphorylation in normal human Megs and (iii) inhibited F-actin polymerization, MMP-9 and VEGF secretion, and adhesion to endothelium and fibrinogen. More importantly we found that ex vivo-expanded human Megs, produced significantly fewer platelets during their transendothelial migration after preincubation with cholesterol-lowering MbCD. To evaluate whether cholesterol depletion from Megs affects platelet production we exposed C57Bl6 mice to statins (orally, 21 days, 750 mg/mouse) and observed that statins did not influence peripheral blood cell counts. However, when mice were acutely bled this treatment led to a significant amelioration of post-bleeding thrombocytosis as compared to untreated (control) mice. At the same time, recovery of erythrocyte and leukocyte counts was unaffected. Thus we demonstrated for the first time that statins affect CXCR4-mediated thrombopoiesis by perturbing lipid raft formation and should be considered as potential drugs to prevent post-trauma or post-operative thrombocytosis.
The Romhilt-Estes electrocardiographic score predicts sudden cardiac arrest independent of left ventricular mass and ejection fraction.

Background The Romhilt-Estes point score system (RE) is an established ECG criterion for diagnosing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). In this study, we assessed for the first time, whether RE and its components are predictive of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) independent of left ventricular (LV) mass. Methods Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) cases occurring between 2002 and 2014 in a Northwestern US metro region (catchment area approx. 1 million) were compared to geographic controls. ECGs and echocardiograms performed prior to the SCA and those of controls were acquired from the medical records and evaluated for the ECG criteria established in the RE score and for LV mass. Results Two hundred forty-seven SCA cases (age 68.3 ± 14.6, male 64.4%) and 330 controls (age 67.4 ± 11.5, male 63.6) were included in the analysis. RE scores were greater in cases than controls (2.5 ± 2.1 vs. 1.9 ± 1.7, p < .001), and SCA cases were more likely to meet definite LVH criteria (18.6% vs. 7.9%, p < .001). In a multivariable model including echocardiographic LVH and LV function, definite LVH remained independently predictive of SCA (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.16–3.59, p = .013). The model was replicated with the individual ECG criteria, and only SV1.2 ≥ 30 mm and delayed intrinsicoid deflection remained significant predictors of SCA. Conclusion Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) as defined by the RE point score system is associated with SCA independent of echocardiographic LVH and reduced LV ejection fraction. These findings support an independent role for purely electrical LVH, in the genesis of lethal ventricular arrhythmias.
Early False-Belief Understanding

Intense controversy surrounds the question of when children first understand that others can hold false beliefs. Results from traditional tasks suggest that false-belief understanding does not emerge until about 4 years of age and constitutes a major developmental milestone in social cognition. By contrast, results from nontraditional tasks, which have steadily accumulated over the past 10 years, suggest that false-belief understanding is already present in infants (under age 2 years) and toddlers (age 2-3 years) and thus forms an integral part of social cognition from early in life. Here we first present an overview of the findings from nontraditional tasks. We then return to traditional tasks and argue that processing difficulties, rather than limitations in false-belief understanding, account for young children's failure at these tasks.
Indoor Follow Me Drone

With the availability of inexpensive and powerful drones, it is possible to let drones automatically follow a user for video taping. This can not only reduce cost, but also support video taping in situations where otherwise not possible (e.g., during private moments or at inconvenient locations like indoor rock climbing). While there have been many follow-me drones on the market for outdoors, which rely on GPS, enabling indoor follow-me function is more challenging due to the lack of an effective approach to track users in indoor environments. To this end, we develop a holistic system that lets a mobile phone carried by a user accurately track the drone's relative location and control it to maintain a specified distance and orientation for automatic video taping. We develop a series of techniques to (i) track a drone's location using acoustic signals with sub-centimeter errors even under strong propeller noise from the drone and complicated multipath in indoor environments, and (ii) solve practical challenges in applying model predictive control (MPC) framework to control the drone. The latter consists of developing measurement-based flight models, designing measurement techniques to provide feedback to the controller, and predicting the user's movement. We implement our system on AR Drone 2.0 and Samsung S7. The extensive evaluation shows that our drone can follow a user effectively and maintain a specified following distance and orientation within 2-3 cm and 1-3 degree errors, respectively. The videos taped by the drone during flight are smooth according to the jerk metric.
Field swimming performance of bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus: implications for field activity cost estimates and laboratory measures of swimming performance

Mobility is essential to the fitness of many animals, and the costs of locomotion can dominate daily energy budgets. Locomotor costs are determined by the physiological demands of sustaining mechanical performance, yet performance is poorly understood for most animals in the field, particularly aquatic organisms. We have used 3-D underwater videography to quantify the swimming trajectories and propulsive modes of bluegills sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus, Rafinesque) in the field with high spatial (1-3 mm per pixel) and temporal (60 Hz frame rate) resolution. Although field swimming trajectories were variable and nonlinear in comparison to quasi steady-state swimming in recirculating flumes, they were much less unsteady than the volitional swimming behaviors that underlie existing predictive models of field swimming cost. Performance analyses suggested that speed and path curvature data could be used to derive reasonable estimates of locomotor cost that fit within measured capacities for sustainable activity. The distinct differences between field swimming behavior and performance measures obtained under steady-state laboratory conditions suggest that field observations are essential for informing approaches to quantifying locomotor performance in the laboratory.
Genome Sequences of Four Subcluster L2 Mycobacterium Phages, Finemlucis, Miley16, Wilder, and Zakai.

ABSTRACT Four subcluster L2 mycobacteriophages, Finemlucis, Miley16, Wilder, and Zakai, that infect Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 were isolated. The four phages are closely related to each other and code for 12 to 14 tRNAs and 130 to 132 putative protein-coding genes, including tyrosine integrases, cro, immunity repressors, and excise genes involved in the establishment of lysogeny.
Predictive Factors for Vestibular Loss in Children With Hearing Loss.

Purpose The aim of this study was to determine if there are factors that can predict whether a child with hearing loss will also have vestibular loss. Method A retrospective chart review was comple...
Toxic Ties: The Reproduction of Legal Violence within Mixed- Status Intimate Partners, Relatives, and Friends

This article introduces the concept of toxic ties to analyze how relationships between documented and undocumented people are impacted by governmental policies that sanction legal violence and unev...
ACME: advanced counter mode encryption for secure non-volatile memories

Modern computing systems that integrate emerging non-volatile memories (NVMs) are vulnerable to classical security threats to data confidentiality (e.g., stolen DIMM and bus snooping attacks) as well as new security threats to system availability (e.g., denial of memory service (DoMS) attacks). Although counter mode encryption (CME) secures NVM-based main memories against confidentiality attacks, counter sizing is critical to balance tradeoffs between memory overhead, system performance, and re-encryption frequency (i.e., system availability). Furthermore, CME is particularly vulnerable to DoMS attacks, where a malicious application can severely impact memory availability by forcing frequent full memory re-encryption. This paper proposes Advanced Counter Mode Encryption, i.e., ACME, a low overhead CME-based main memory encryption solution to realize the twin security goals of confidentiality and availability in NVM-based main memories. At its core, ACME integrates counter write leveling (CWL) to reduce the frequency of full memory re-encryption while preserving the security properties of the underlying CME. Our evaluations on a phase change memory (PCM) architecture using SPEC CPU2006 benchmarks show that for a system availability of 99.999%, ACME not only requires 50% lower counter overhead, but also improves system performance by 20% in comparison to classical CME. When subject to a DoMS attack in the form of an unprivileged Linux process that sidesteps all levels of cache to constantly write to the same memory address to precipitate counter overflow, the ACME-based system provides 99.9% system availability in contrast to a classical CME-based system that is rendered non-operational.
Preliminary Injunctions in the Obamacare Religious-Objection Lawsuits: An Amicus Brief for Hobby Lobby v Sebelius

Various corporations, profit and nonprofit, have sued to be exempted from abortion-related mandates of Obamacare because of religious objections. They have also asked for preliminary injunctions against government enforcement of the offending provisions until the merits are decided. This paper is an amicus brief on the preliminary injunction issue for one of those cases, Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius. I argue for 4 points. 1. The government’s loss from a wrong injunction are limited by the dollar expenditure it would require for the government to pay for the disputed contraceptives for Hobby Lobby’s employees until the merits are decided, and it could recover even that from Hobby Lobby later. 2. In determining Hobby Lobby’s loss from a wrong injunction, one thing the court should look at is how the churches of its owners, the Green family, treat members who commit acts forbidden by the church’s doctrines. 3. In determining Hobby Lobby’s loss from a wrong injunction, the court should keep in mind that Sebelius is protected by qualified immunity from liability for a new kind of legal dispute, and so even if Hobby Lobby’s losses can be quantified, they are irreparable. 4. The court should use the Posner sliding-scale rule for balancing the equities.
Author Meets Critics: Saladin Ambar's 'Malcolm X at Oxford Union' Book Panel

Malcolm X at Oxford Union: Racial Politics in a Global Era (Oxford University Press, February 2014) tells the story of Malcolm X's 1964 Oxford address at the Oxford Union debate. Calling the speech a "lost jewel of the civil rights movement," Ambar argues that the speech reflects the dynamic changes in racial politics and national identity in both the US and UK at the time, and Malcolm X's efforts to broaden the American Black freedom struggle to the African and Asian diaspora in Europe. Panelists will offer analysis and critique and engage in an open discussion with the author.
Human Amniotic Membrane Improves Healing in a Chronic, Massive Rotator Cuff Repair Model:

Objectives:Rotator cuff tendon heals by fibrovascular scar that is weaker than native tissue leading to repairs that are prone to failure. Our objective was to investigate the ability of an amnioti...
Network Science Undergraduate Minor: Building a Foundation

Establishing new undergraduate curricula can be a challenge. Many learning and teaching issues need to be solved in addition to developing new courses and convincing others of the need for and the role of the new program. This is especially challenging when you are one of the early initiators of such a program. The United States Military Academy (USMA) was one of those early initiators when it established an undergraduate minor in Network Science (NS) in 2014. In addition to presenting information about this new academic program, this paper describes recently offered interdisciplinary NS courses in the program. These courses are a mix of theory and application, in which students are asked to learn network measures of structures and processes and then apply network concepts and strategies in models to solve problems that benefit the society. These courses also teach students to confront complexity through modeling, solving, analyzing, and understanding large dynamic systems and networks. Since the science and applications in this program often involve complex social, political, and scientific processes with many competing issues and challenges, these network science courses are usually interdisciplinary and sometimes team-taught. We also present a related effort to teach NS concepts through extracurricular competitive undergraduate student contests.
Abstract P119: Hypertension and Renal Dysfunction Are Mitigated by Surgical Renal Denervation in an Adult Rat Model of Polycystic Kidney Disease

Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is the most common form of inherited chronic kidney disease failure. PKD is also associated with hypertension (HTN) and increased peripheral sympathetic activity (SN...
Formal Timing Analysis of Digital Circuits

Formal verification provides complete and sound analysis results and has widely been advocated for the functional verification of digital circuits. Besides the functional verification, a very important aspect of digital circuit design process is their timing analysis. However, despite its importance and critical nature, timing analysis is usually performed using traditional techniques, like gate-level simulation or static timing analysis, which provide approximate results due to their in-exhaustive nature and thus may lead to an undesired functional behavior as well. To overcome these issues, we propose a generic framework to conduct the formal timing analysis using the Uppaal model checker in this paper. The first step in the proposed framework is to represent the timing characteristics of the given digital circuit using a state transition diagram in Uppaal. In this model, delays are integrated using the corresponding technology parameters and the information about timing paths is added using Quratus Prime Pro, which is used as a path extracting tool. The Uppaal timing model is then verified through TCTL properties to obtain timing related information, like maximum delay. For illustration purposes, we present the analysis of a number of real-world digital circuits, like Full Adder, 4-Bit Ripple Carry Adder, Shift Registers as well as C17, S27, S208, and S386 benchmark circuits.
Consumption in the closed von Neumann model

This new method for introducing extra consumption into the closed von Neumann model is not without flaw. In addition to requiring collusion by labor, the mechanism increases the dimension of the commodity space so that comparisons between intensity (or price) vectors before and after the introduction of consumption are difficult to make. It is claimed, however, that the method is free from the objection of Malinvaud. The method allows alternative processes for producing extra consumption and provides a mechanism for selecting among the alternative processes. Further, the new method solves the problem of allocating the extra consumption to the labor force.
The missing obese men? Labour force participation and obesity among prime-age men in the United States

The declining labour force participation among men between the ages 25 and 54 in the United State has attracted the attention of policymakers and the public. I document this trend by obesity status during the period 1990–2016 using the Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey. I find that the likelihood of being out of the labour force has been increasing by approximately 0.22 percentage points every year on average for non-obese men, while that of obese men has been increasing by approximately 0.28 percentage points. This indicates that the difference in the propensity to be out of the labour force has widened by 1.6 percentage points between the obese and the non-obese during 1990–2016. It seems that the labour force participation gap between obese men and non-obese men started to increase during the housing bubble period, 2001–2007. The difference in the trends seems to be driven by non-Hispanic whites, men without a college degree, and men aged 25–44.
Calling on Primary Care to Prevent BRCA-Related Cancers.

With the USPSTF reaffirming the importance of screening, counseling, and testing appropriate women for BRCA1/2 mutations, primary care has both an opportunity and a responsibility to lead in the implementation of these recommendations. Since the last UPSTF recommendations about preventing BRCA-related cancers in 2013, progress in incorporating risk assessment, counseling, and testing into primary care has been slow. There are multiple barriers to implementation outside of primary care, including limitations of the electronic medical record, availability of genetic counseling, and the administrative burden associated with obtaining insurance coverage. However, the early imbalance between hype and evidence in genomics led to a general skepticism among primary care providers about the importance of genomic medicine—a sharp contrast with many other areas of internal medicine. As a growing number of companies offer genetic testing directly to consumers and new models of genetic counseling are developed, primary care should capitalize on the opportunity to lead in the prevention of BRCA-related cancers—both to ensure that these services are delivered appropriately and in coordination with ongoing primary care and that primary care is not left behind as genomic medicine becomes a reality across internal medicine.
Additional Labors of the Entrepreneurial Self

Workers are increasingly expected to take on the responsibility and effort of preparing for employment in the new economy, where digital technologies play a central role in bridging access to resources, connections, and opportunity. Drawing from multi-year studies of entrepreneurs in Accra and Detroit, two cities that continue to experience high rates of inequality and persistently low incomes for the majority of their residents, this article highlights three key challenges to self-entrepreneurialization in the digital age: self-upgrading, maintaining technology, and overcoming exclusion. Locating these challenges at the intersection of (1) two powerful global discourses of entrepreneurialism and technology upgrade and (2) class frictions and racial dynamics, this paper uncovers ways in which CSCW might support entrepreneurialism in the new economy, particularly given that it is becoming a de facto space of work and mode of living.
Supporting Family Caregivers of Adult and Pediatric Persons with Leukemia

Abstract Objectives To describe the needs and formal assessment of family caregivers and ways to intervene to alleviate distress and enhance caregiving skills in the setting of adult and pediatric leukemia. Data Sources Literature review, clinical practice observations and experiences. Conclusion While rapid treatment advances in leukemia are a welcome development, the reliance on complex care delivered by family members across settings continues to grow and, concomitantly, so does the risk of mental, physical, and economic burden. Implications for Nursing Practice Oncology nurses and other clinicians should systematically incorporate screening and assessment services so that educational and referral needs are identified and intervened upon.
The road to reunification: Family- and state system-factors associated with successful reunification for children ages zero-to-five

Abstract Background Research suggests that up to one-third of children who reunify re-enter care because of continued maltreatment. For young children, this is particularly detrimental due to rapid brain development during the first years of life. Objective This study examined family- and state child welfare system predictors of successful reunification, or reunification with no reentries into foster care. Methods A sample of N=53,789 from the 2012 Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System of children ages zero-to-five who reunified was utilized. Children were tracked over the following three years and a multilevel model was run to compare family- and state system-factors among those that successfully and unsuccessfully reunified. Results Only 4.6 % of the variance in successful reunification was at the state child welfare system level. After adjusting for family-factors, state average time-to-reunify (OR=1.04, p Conclusions Given these findings, practitioners and child welfare agencies should prioritize family-centered interventions. Future research could identify which state child welfare systems have successfully improved outcomes for families of color and families with histories of drug abuse.
Biometric Data Comparison Between Lewis and Sprague Dawley Rats

Introduction: Pressure mapping systems are often used for indirect assessment of kinematic gait parameter differences after repair of critical peripheral nerve defects in small animal models. However, there does not appear to be any literature that studies the differences in normal gait pattern of Sprague Dawley rats compared to Lewis rats using a Tekscan VH4 pressure mat system. The purpose of this study is to assess the gait profile of Lewis and Sprague Dawley rats generated by Tekscan's VH4 system to detect similarities and/or differences in gait parameters involving both force and temporal variables. Materials and Methods: The gait profile of 14 Lewis and 14 Sprague Dawley rats was recorded using a Tekscan VH4 pressure map system with two successful walks per animal and gait parameter data was normalized for mean variance between the two rodent strains. Results: The results showed that temporal and normalized force parameters were not significantly different between the two types of rats. Maximum force, contact area, stride length, and adjusted pressure variables were significantly different between the two strains, likely attributed to the body size and weight differential between the strains. Variation in some of these parameters were considered due to differences in overall body size between the two strains, variations in gait kinematics between individual rodent subjects, and the limitations of the current experimental design. Conclusion: For future in vivo models, either Sprague Dawley or Lewis rat strains would be acceptable animal models when comparing base-line gait profiles using the Tekscan VH4 pressure map system when assessing critical defect repairs of peripheral nerves.
Revisiting Exchange Rate Rules

What distinguishes foreign exchange interventions that are stabilizing from those that are manipulative? In the current no-official-agreed-upon rules environment any country that intervenes and builds up bilateral trade surpluses opens itself to charges of currency manipulation. Emerging market countries are especially susceptible because many of them rely on exchange rate stabilization policies to offset external shocks and facilitate trade. This paper proposes an approach to setting international exchange rate policy rules that discourage currency manipulation as well as spurious allegations of manipulation. It examines how intervention operations work, and demonstrates how counterfactual matching techniques can be used to test for causal links between intervention policies and exchange rate movements.
Raney Algebras and Duality for $$T_0$$ T 0 -Spaces

In this note we adapt the treatment of topological spaces via Kuratowski closure and interior operators on powersets to the setting of $$T_0$$ -spaces. A Raney lattice is a complete completely distributive lattice that is generated by its completely join prime elements. A Raney algebra is a Raney lattice with an interior operator whose fixpoints completely generate the lattice. It is shown that there is a dual adjunction between the category of topological spaces and the category of Raney algebras that restricts to a dual equivalence between $$T_0$$ -spaces and Raney algebras. The underlying idea is to take the lattice of upsets of the specialization order with the restriction of the interior operator of a space as the Raney algebra associated to a topological space. Further properties of topological spaces are explored in the dual setting of Raney algebras. Spaces that are $$T_1$$ correspond to Raney algebras whose underlying lattices are Boolean, and Alexandroff $$T_0$$ -spaces correspond to Raney algebras whose interior operator is the identity. Algebraic description of sober spaces results in algebraic considerations that lead to a generalization of sober that lies strictly between $$T_0$$ and sober.
A Roadmap for Industry to Harness Biotechnology for a More Circular Economy

Biotechnology methods and applications have the potential to accelerate a transition to a more circular economy. This article identifies five distinct points within a typical product lifecycle as areas where biotechnology can be impactful, starting with so-called 'beginning-of-life', with the ability to make many widely-used chemicals and materials using renewable feedstocks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This extends into a discussion of novel materials; a holistic approach to designing for improved lifecycle outcomes; compostability; and the potential for reuse and up-cycling at end-of-life, to enable a circular flow of materials. We propose specific steps that can be taken by chemical and materials manufacturers, designers and brands.
High-throughput drug screening of fine-needle aspiration-derived cancer organoids.

Summary Generation of fine-needle aspiration (FNA)-derived cancer organoids has allowed us to develop a number of downstream applications. In this protocol, we start with organoids cultured in a semi-solid format. We dissociate organoids into single cells and then plate in a 384-well format for high-throughput drug screening. While this method must be fine-tuned for each individual organoid culture, it offers a format well suited for rapidly screening medium-sized drug/compound libraries (500–5,000 molecules) and generating dose-response curves to measure relative efficacy. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Lee et al. (2020) and Vilgelm et al. (2020) .
Octogenarian and Nonagenarians Are at a Higher Risk for Experiencing Adverse 30-Day Outcomes Following ORIF of Ankle Fractures.

Introduction:Despite an increasing number of elderly individuals undergoing surgical fixation for ankle fractures, few studies have investigated peri-operative outcomes and safety of surgery in an ...
Measuring Environmental Attitude and Environmental Behavior of Senior High School Students of Divine Word Colleges in Region I, Philippines

The study was motivated by the realities of climate change and its effect on the human life. The study argues that environmental problems are caused by human attitude toward environment and such attitude affects environmental behavior. In order to support such theory, the literature and studies were reviewed. The data gathered through questionnaires and 400 students were given the questionnaires. The descriptive correlational study was utilized to determine the extent of the correlation between environmental attitude and environmental behavior of the Senior High School Students of Divine Word Colleges in Region I, Philippines. The study revealed that anthropocentric attitude and eco-centric attitude were found to be dominant among students. However, the correlation was found only between eco-centric attitude and environmental behavior along environmental movement activism and personal conservation behavior, while anthropocentric and human dominance over nature attitude do not correlate to the environmental behavior.
Entrustable professional activities for pharmacy students: A primer for solid organ transplant preceptors.

Disclaimer In an effort to expedite the publication of articles , AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Purpose The role of a solid organ transplant pharmacist is multifaceted and translates to diverse experiential and elective learning experiences that can be provided to pharmacy learners. Here we provide a guide to integrating pharmacy students into patient care and other pharmacist activities in solid organ transplantation. Summary Thoughtful incorporation of learners into clinical practice and clinical research creates a positive learning environment for pharmacy students that can foster the development of core skills necessary for students to become "practice-ready" and "team-ready" pharmacy graduates and can equip them with valuable skills to incorporate into the specialty practice areas and careers they pursue. To help develop these educational experiences, attention to the list of core entrustable professional activities (EPAs) established by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy can help create a rich environment of learning with carefully cultivated tasks. Furthermore, learners can serve as transplant pharmacist extenders to assist in overall patient care and multidisciplinary involvement on the transplant team. This article serves as a "how-to" guide for applying the EPA framework to integrating pharmacy students in patient care and other pharmacist activities in solid organ transplantation and other specialty practice areas. Conclusion As pharmacy preceptors design and operationalize their teaching to incorporate EPAs, they can benefit from recommendations tailored to specialty practice areas such as solid organ transplantation. Students may start and finish these experiences at different EPA levels, but continuance of training will allow them to achieve the final EPA level across the 6 EPA domains.
Further RISE'ing to the Challenge of Type 2 Diabetes in Youth.

Despite three decades of increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in adolescents (1), the diabetes community continues to grapple with the pathophysiology of youth-onset T2D. Accumulating evidence indicates that when compared with T2D in adults, T2D in youth follows a more aggressive course (2–4). Adolescents are therefore entering adulthood with an advanced and perhaps misunderstood disease that puts them at risk for morbidity from micro- and macrovascular complications. Moreover, as the susceptibility of individuals with diabetes to poor outcomes during the coronavirus pandemic became increasingly apparent (5), the urgency to address the health crisis of T2D in youth has been amplified. The Restoring Insulin Secretion (RISE) study, designed in 2014, tested interventions in both adolescents and adults to determine whether β-cell decline could be halted in people with prediabetes or early T2D (6). The primary analyses were overall disheartening regarding slowing the progression of T2D in youth (7–12). However, the RISE study provides the most direct opportunity yet to examine differences between T2D in youth and adults. In this issue of Diabetes Care , the RISE Consortium delivers three articles that offer mechanistic insights into the pathogenesis of T2D and potentially a path forward for the treatment of T2D in youth (13–15). A summary of these articles is presented in Table 1 and discussed in subsequent paragraphs. View this table: Table 1 Summary of RISE papers in this issue RISE was predicated on the critical role of progressive β-cell decline in the pathogenesis of T2D, where β-cell dysfunction results in excessive glucose and fatty acid exposure, termed glucolipotoxicity (6). Glucolipotoxicity coupled with insulin resistance compounds β-cell stress and contributes to β-cell failure. Previous data in adults suggest that early intensive intervention may delay β-cell dysfunction and slow the course of T2D (16–18). Prior to RISE, no …
“Being Sick Is a Full‐Time Job”: A Job Analysis of Managing a Chronic Illness

Research ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to identify the duties, tasks, knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources needed for patients to manage chronic illness.Self‐management is a struggle for individuals with chronic illnesses. For many, the work involved in managing a chronic illness can feel like a full time job. The multitude of tasks and activities that are required are often not captured by the construct of self‐management. This study explored managing a chronic illness in an innovative way by combining both a human resources and nursing lens, with the premise that managing a chronic illness is work and it should be analyzed as a job.Study DesignIn this descriptive qualitative study, 3 focus groups (FGs) with a total of 29 participants, from across the U.S., were conducted in person (FG 1) or via video conferencing (FG 2 and 3) due to COVID 19. A recruitment flyer was shared via email to a random selection of university employees in the southeastern U.S. and posted on Facebook pages of the research team. Nominal group technique was used to collect focus group data about activities engaged in managing their chronic illnesses, health, and healthcare. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes were used to create a job description identifying the duties, tasks, knowledge, skills abilities, and resources needed for chronic illness self‐management.Population StudiedPeople 18 years of age or older with at least one chronic illness that is currently being managed by a healthcare provider.Principal FindingsThe job of a patient included 5 duties: self‐care, relationship management, resource management, coordination, and research/education. Each duty encompassed 6 tasks. Each task included the associated knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources necessary to be successful completing the task identified. For example, below is one of the six tasks related to coordination:ConclusionsHealth care providers focus on helping patients through symptom monitoring and management, lifestyle changes (i.e. diet and exercise), and treatment/medication adherence. However, individuals with chronic illness described many more tasks associated with self‐management. Without considering a patient work through a holistic lens that includes these additional tasks and responsibilities, the success of self‐management interventions is likely limited.Implications for Policy or PracticeDeveloping evidence‐based interventions that address the key knowledge, skills, abilities, and resources needed to successfully carry out self‐management activities are needed to reduce the burden of managing chronic illnesses, improve self‐management behaviors, and enhance patient quality of life.Primary Funding SourceUniversity of North Carolina Wilmington.
Compassion and the Personalism of American Jurisprudence: Bioethical Entailments

Prima facie, compassion seems to dictate the permissibility of assisted suicide for the terminally ill as well as the permissibility of in vitro fertilization for desperate would-be parents.
The Conversion from Classical Studies in Fungal Pathogenesis to the Molecular Era

This chapter focuses on pioneering works that have laid the foundation for the conversion from the classical study of fungal pathobiology to the molecular era. The most widely used and important molecular biology-based technologies that are now available and in use for the identification of pathogenic fungi and for study of fungal pathobiology are also discussed. The transition from the classical era to the molecular era necessitated the development of models, techniques, and strategies which would facilitate the definition of the genetic and molecular basis of pathogenicity according to the working hypothesis in the molecular Koch’s postulates formulated by Falkow. The chapter talks about classical versus molecular approaches applied to the identification of fungal pathogens. Nucleic acid-based molecular assays can be divided into two classes: PCR based and non-PCR. The major PCR-based assays for fungal diagnosis consist of three different strategies, each of which has a standard Taq polymerase amplification of template DNA as a central component. The discovery of effective drugs and the development of vaccines based on knowledge of molecular biology will indeed contribute to the prevention of and therapy for these infections and better management of patients. Education in medical mycology must be viewed on par with that of other infectious diseases in order to realize the full benefit of the evolution from the classical to molecular era of studies on pathogenic fungi.
Effect of obesity on conversion of plasma androstenedione to estrone in ovulatory and anovulatory young women

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the transfer constant of conversion of plasma androstenedione to estrone ([p]AE1BU) as a function of total body weight and excess body weight in ovulatory and anovulatory young adult women. Twenty-four ovulatory and 31 anovulatory women were studied; their weights ranged from 90 to 350 pounds. The [p]AE1BU among these women ranged from 0.006 to 0.048. The extent of conversion of plasma androstenedione to estrone was significantly correlated with total body weight and with excessive body weight in both ovulatory and anovulatory young women. However, the mean [p]AE1BU for the anovulatory women (0.018) was not significantly different from that of the ovulatory women (0.015). Indeed, when the [p]AE1BU values of ovulatory and anovulatory women of similar total body weight or excessive body weight were compared, no difference was found in the extent of conversion of plasma androstenedione to estrone between the two groups.
Kinetic treatment of unsegmented flow systems : Part 3. Flow-injection system with gradient chamber evaluated with a linearly responding detector

Abstract A variable-time kinetic model is evaluated for a flow-injection sample-processing system that includes a gradient chamber. Quantification of triiodide, including reaction with thiosulfate, is used as a model system. A thin-layer electrochemical detector consisting of a platinum working electrode and glassy carbon counter electrode with a 200-mV difference imposed between them yields linear current response for triiodide concentrations between 0.1 and 1.2 mM. Equations based on the kinetic model are evaluated for situations in which neither the flow stream nor gradient chamber contain reactant (thiosulfate) initially, only the flow stream containes reactant, and both the flow stream and gradient chamber contain reactant. Both calibration data and response curves exhibit very good agreement between theory and experiment except for the situation in which only the flow stream contains reactant. In this case, the theoretical treatment accurately predicts the general nature of responses but predicts slightly longer time intervals for completion of the process than are observed experimentally.