cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Racial and ethnic disparities in cancer treatment

PL06-03 Measurable declines for overall cancer death rates for many of the top 15 cancers, along with improved survival rates, have been reported. This is the result of research focused on discovering and proving the efficacy of new interventions to reduce cancer mortality. Evidence suggests that, even in settings where proven efficacious treatments exist, some racial and ethnic subgroups are not receiving these treatments, and this may contribute to racial and ethnic disparities in survival and the risk of death from cancer. Racial disparities in cancer outcome have been attributed to many factors, including access to health services, resulting in more advanced stage at presentation and differences in tumor biology resulting in increased aggressiveness or resistance to treatment. Even on a stage for stage bases, and controlling for differences in tumor biology, disparities still remain. Recently, differences in the quality of post-diagnostic care, such as surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and follow-up care have been investigated, and are thought to play a role in cancer outcome disparities. For example, Studies by our group and others have suggested that black women are less likely to receive optimal systemic adjuvant therapy than white women and this may account in part for the disparities in survival outcomes. For example, black patients receive less aggressive intravenous chemotherapy and have fewer consultations with oncologist and radiation oncologists. Treatment delays, while uncommon, also contribute to worse outcomes among black women. And even once treatment is initiated, black women are more likely to discontinue treatment early. Similar patterns have been observed in colon cancer and ovarian cancer. Differences in surgery may account for some of the disparities in survival from lung, esophageal and prostate cancer. Currently, the reasons why disparities in cancer treatment exist have not been well studied. A decision not to initiate treatment or to discontinue treatment early may be based on such factors as the side effects of medications, patient lack of knowledge about the illness or the potential benefits of the treatment, financial barriers, poor patient-physician communication, and the presence of comorbid conditions. Personal belief in the efficacy of the therapy may also play a significant role in adherence. Patients, physicians, families, and the health care system may all play greater or lesser roles in determining the quality of treatment. A better understanding of barriers to optimal treatment is essential as interventions can focus on improving treatment quality to reduce these health care disparities.
Abstract 61: Are Door to Balloon Times An Adequate Measure of STEMI Acute Care?

Background: Early reperfusion of patients with STEMI, with a target door to balloon (D2B) time < 90 min, is a core measure of acute myocardial infarction treatment. However, it only applies to patients going to the lab emergently. Patients with STEMI may undergo catheterization outside this initial window or may be unrecognized and not undergo catheterization at all. This study was performed to identify patients with an ECG consistent with an acute MI and clarify the reasons they did not undergo catheterization during their admission. Methods: During the period of January- July 2011 all patients with an ECG consistent with STEMI were identified by interrogation of the MUSE computerized ECG system. This list of patients was compared to the list of patients undergoing cardiac catheterization to identify those patients with ECG evidence of STEMI that did not undergo catheterization. This list was analyzed for common factors and to clarify whether care was appropriate and timely. Results: During the observed time period there were 217 patients with STEMI by ECG. Emergency revascularization was requested in 88, with 8 subsequently cancelled. The median D2B time was 60.5 minutes [D2B time from our ED was 62.5 minutes, 43 minutes for transfer patients from arrival time at Stony Brook]. During their admissions 148 of the patients underwent cardiac catheterization; 62 did not undergo catheterization. The single largest (25 patients) subgroup ruled out for myocardial injury; ECGs reflected early repolarization, prior infarction. The 2nd largest subgroup (15 patients) had serious comorbidities (active GI bleeding 2, intracerebral bleeding/acute CVA 7, sepsis/DIC 3, multiple comorbidities 3). A subgroup of 10 patients refused cardiac catheterization or were DNR/DNI. Myocarditis was diagnosed in 3 patients. The work-up to rule out MI was incomplete in 7 patients. Two patients died in the ED prior to reaching the cath lab. Overall 11 of the 62 patients not undergoing catheterization died. Conclusions: The D2B time is an important quality measure STEMI treatment. However, it is important to ensure that STEMI patients are not being missed and that treatment is not delayed. Comparing all patients with an ECG consistent with STEMI with those undergoing emergent catheterization for STEMI allows opportunities for improvement in the system to be identified and modified and should be a part of the ongoing quality assurance monitoring system.
Atom-partitioned multipole expansions for electrostatic potential boundary conditions

Applications such as grid-based real-space density functional theory (DFT) use the Poisson equation to compute electrostatics. However, the expected long tail of the electrostatic potential requires either the use of a large and costly outer domain or Dirichlet boundary conditions estimated via multipole expansion. We find that the oft-used single-center spherical multipole expansion is only appropriate for isotropic mesh domains such as spheres and cubes. In this work, we introduce a method suitable for high aspect ratio meshes whereby the charge density is partitioned into atomic domains and multipoles are computed for each domain. While this approach is moderately more expensive than a single-center expansion, it is numerically stable and still a small fraction of the overall cost of a DFT calculation. The net result is that when high aspect ratio systems are being studied, form-fitted meshes can now be used in lieu of cubic meshes to gain computational speedup.
Locomotor endurance predicts differences in realized dispersal between sympatric sexual and unisexual salamanders

Summary Dispersal is the central mechanism that determines connectivity between populations yet few studies connect the mechanisms of movement with realized dispersal in natural populations. To make such a link, we assessed how physiological variation among individuals predicted dispersal in natural populations of unisexual (all-female) and sexual Ambystoma salamanders on the same fragmented landscape in Ohio. Specifically, we assessed variation in a trait that influences long-distance animal movement (locomotor endurance) and determined whether variation in endurance matched patterns of realized dispersal assessed using genetic assignment tests. A possible mechanism for why unisexuals would have lower locomotor endurance than a sympatric sexual species (Ambystoma texanum) is the potential energetic cost of evolutionarily mismatched mitochondrial and nuclear genomes within polyploid unisexuals. We found that sexuals walked four times farther than unisexuals during treadmill endurance trials that mimic the locomotor endurance required for dispersal. We then applied landscape genetic methods to identify dispersed adults and quantify realized dispersal. We show that the differences in locomotor endurance between unisexual and sexual salamanders scale to realized dispersal: dispersing sexual individuals travelled approximately twice the distance between presumed natal wetlands and the site of capture compared to dispersing unisexuals. This study links variation in individual performance in terms of endurance with realized dispersal in the field and suggests a potential mechanism (physiological limitation due to mitonuclear mismatch) for the reduced endurance of unisexual individuals relative to sexual individuals although we discuss other possible explanations. The differences in dispersal between these two types of salamanders also informs our understanding of sexual/unisexual coexistence by suggesting that unisexuals are at a competitive disadvantage in terms of colonization ability under a extinction-colonization model of coexistence. A lay summary is available for this article.
Utilizing stricture indices to predict dilation of strictures after esophageal atresia repair.

Abstract Background Anastomotic stricture is the most common postoperative complication in infants undergoing repair of esophageal atresia with or without tracheoesophageal fistula (EA/TEF). Stricture indices (SIs) are used to predict infants at risk for stricture requiring dilation. We sought to determine the most accurate SI and optimal timing for predicting anastomotic dilation. Materials and methods A retrospective study of infants undergoing repair of EA/TEF between 2008 and 2013 was performed. Esophagrams were used to calculate four SIs (upper pouch esophageal anastomotic stricture index [U-EASI], lower pouch esophageal anastomotic stricture index [L-EASI], lateral SI, and anterior/posterior SI). The best performing SI was identified. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine if a first or second esophagram SI threshold was associated with dilation. A receiver operating characteristic curve measured the accuracy of the model using SIs to predict dilation. Results Of 45 EA/TEF infants included, 20 (44%) had postoperative strictures requiring dilation. As the best performing SI, logistic regression analysis showed that U-EASI as a continuous variable was predictive of dilation ( P = 0.03) but was not significant at U-EASI ≤ 0.37. However, U-EASI ≤ 0.37 was associated with needing earlier dilation. On second esophagram (median, 38 days), U-EASI of ≤0.39 was significantly associated with dilation (OR: 7.8, 95% CI: 1.05-57.58, P = 0.04). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the U-EASI model controlling for days to esophagram demonstrated improved predictive ability from first (AUC 0.73) to second esophagram (AUC 0.81). Conclusions Calculation of the SI utilizing a U-EASI ≤ 0.39 on the delayed esophagram is associated with future anastomotic dilation. A multi-institutional study is necessary to confirm the predictive ability of the U-EASI.
Influence of Section Thickness on Fatigue Crack Growth in Type 304 Stainless Steel

AbstractFatigue crack propagation rates at 24, 427, and 593°C were not affected by specimen thickness within the range 7.6 to 25.4 mm. Also, singleedge-notch cantilever and compact tension specimens gave comparable crack growth rates for a given stress intensity factor range. Crack growth behavior was analyzed with respect to fracture mechanics criteria.
The Endocrinology of the Adult Female Mosquito

Because of its medical importance, the mosquito is one of the most intensively studied insects. The reproductive endocrinology of the adult female is an important topic of current research in this area. This is so not only because of the medical importance of the animal, but also because mosquitoes provide many technical advantages for such research. The ease with which mosquitoes can be reared in large numbers, the cyclic nature of reproduction, and the simplicity of dissection all have contributed to the vast amount of information available on this topic. Thus despite its small size, the mosquito can hold its own against larger model insects such as the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta.
‘Source Silver’: An Informant, Collaboration and the Ambiguity of an Indian Socialist Ideal

ABSTRACTThis paper examines Indian socialist ideals that transcended India's Independence in 1947. It introduces a Delhi Police Special Branch confidential informant, ‘Source Silver’, who monitored socialist activities in 1946 and 1947—a peculiar situation in which the conduct of socialist Congressmen was scrutinised by Congressmen in office. The essay also highlights the precise continuity of socialist ideals which originated within the first few years of the Congress Socialist Party's founding and continued after Independence. Likewise, it suggests that these ideals proved ill-suited to the Interim Government period from September 1946 up to the eventual transfer of power in August 1947, a misalignment which prompted Congress socialists to separate from, or have their separation engineered by, the Indian National Congress in early 1948.
Rock-Salt Growth-Induced (003) Cracking in a Layered Positive Electrode for Li-Ion Batteries

For the first time, (003) cracking is observed and determined to be the major cracking mechanism for the primary particles of Ni-rich layered dioxides as the positive electrode for Li-ion batteries. Using transmission electron microscopy techniques, here we show that the propagation and fracturing of platelet-like rock-salt phase along the (003) plane of the layered oxide are the leading cause for the cracking of primary particles. The fracturing of the rock-salt platelet is induced by the stress discontinuity between the parent layered oxide and the rock-salt phase. The high nickel content is considered to be the key factor for the formation of the rock-salt platelet and thus the (003) cracking. The (003)-type cracking can be a major factor for the structural degradation and associated capacity fade of the layered positive electrode.
Effect of creative writing on mood in cancer patients.

178Background: Patients with cancer may have significant mental health comorbidity. Creative writing has a substantial history in providing a wide range of psychological benefits for cancer patients. Methods: We conducted a pilot study to determine feasibility whether cancer patients can be enrolled, randomized and retained for four weeks for creative writing classes (Feasibility was defined as 50% of our enrolled patients on intervention arm (IA) could attend at least 2 classes). We anticipated enrolling 45 patients over the period of 2 months with randomization into 2 arms: IA and standard of care (SOC). “Write from the Heart”, a series of creative writing workshops (CWW) were conducted on IA. Subjects in IA had four, 2-hour weekly CWW whereas SOC arm did not receive any sessions. We used validated Emotional Thermometer Scales (ETS), ranging from 0 (best)-10 (worst), to predict changes in parameters reflecting patient’s mental health pre and post intervention. ETS has five dimensions (distress, anxiety,...
Emissions of Tetrachlorobiphenyls (PCBs 47, 51, and 68) from Polymer Resin on Kitchen Cabinets as a Non-Aroclor Source to Residential Air

Both Aroclor and non-Aroclor sources of airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found in residential homes. We deployed passive air samplers at 16 residences and found PCB-47, PCB-51, and PCB-68 to account for up to 50% of measured indoor ΣPCBs (2700 pg m–3). Although PCB-47 and PCB-51 are neurotoxins present in Aroclor mixtures (<2.5 and <0.3 wt %, respectively), we found them at much higher levels than expected for any Aroclor source. PCB-68 is not present in Aroclor mixtures. Another non-Aroclor congener, PCB-11, a byproduct of pigment manufacturing, was found inside and outside of every household and was frequently the predominate congener. We conducted direct measurements of surface emissions and identified finished cabinetry to be a major source of PCB-47, PCB-51, and PCB-68. We hypothesize that these congeners are inadvertent byproducts of polymer sealant manufacturing and produced from the decomposition of 2,4-dichlorobenzoyl peroxide used as an initiator in free-radical polymerization of p...
Reflexive Communities: The Non-Western Church as Healing Community

Many non-Western Christian communities have experienced terrible human rights violations at the hands of fellow citizens, civil authorities, or rebel groups, Christian or otherwise. This article presents a brief and practical model of healing that attempts to remain consistent with the general characteristics of non-Western social realities. It suggests that rather than relying on the paucity of professional therapies offered in those contexts, non-Western churches themselves can become harbingers of healing for the traumatized community. By blending social theory with biblical narratives, this article proffers an example of how healing can take place within sociocentric communities.
Covalent Bonds and Tensile Strength of Materials

A very important physical principle that is pertinent to biology and to geology, but is also pertinent to the working of many man-made structures and machines, is the concept of “the strength of materials”. When a rope, for example, is under enough stress it will rupture and it will do so in a direction at right angles to the stress and, importantly, at the weakest point. This is the precursor to the principle of Griffith, a key concept from the central branch of mechanics. However, Griffith’s principle applies to solids and it extends to, and includes, the cell walls of bacteria.
Multi-cultural surveillance for ectopic pregnancy: California 1991-2000.

Background National surveillance for ectopic pregnancy (EP), the primary cause of maternal death in the first trimester, began in 1970. EP rates peeked during the late 1980s and have been highest for African Americans. However, limited reports on EP rates exist for other racial/ethnic groups. Objectives To report state-level, multicultural trends in EP rates from 1991 to 2000. Methods Secondary data analysis of the California hospital discharge database collected by the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development by using codes 633.0-633.9, from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision. EP rates are reported per 1000 pregnancies. Results From 1991 to 2000, 62,839 EP were reported in California. Mean EP rate was 11.2/1000, decreased from 15/1000 to 9.3/1000, and varied significantly by race/ethnicity and age. EP rates were highest among African Americans (25/1000) and lowest among Hispanics (7.7/1000); African Americans had higher odds of having EP relative to non-Hispanic Whites (odds ratio [OR] 2.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.09-2.19). Women 35-44 years of age had the highest EP rates (17.6/1000) and higher odds of having EP compared to other age groups (OR 2.45, 95% CI 2.39-2.50). The highest rate of EP was found among African Americans 35-44 years of age (43.1/1000). Conclusions The study showed declining EP rates in California for all groups but highlights disparities in EP rates and the attenuated rate of decline for African Americans, which places them at highest risk of death in the first trimester. This study demonstrates the usefulness of analyzing state-level data that may differ from aggregated national data when studying culturally diverse populations.
End of Life Care for Older Russian Immigrants - Perspectives of Russian Immigrants and Hospice Staff

This pilot study examined immigrant Russian seniors and adult children’s views on end-of-life care, and hospice staff members’ experiences providing care to diverse immigrant clients, in areas of North Carolina with a high proportion of immigrants. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with informants, including Russian immigrant seniors, Russian adult children, and hospice staff, and analyzed by qualitative techniques. Findings indicate that there is little awareness of end-of-life care options among the Russian immigrant community in North Carolina. End-of-life care is rarely discussed within the family of first generation Russian immigrants but second-generation families are more open to doing so. First generation immigrant Russian seniors in our study do not seem to want any specialized end-of-life care often due to lack of awareness, and prefer family care. Second generation seniors’ attitudes are more accepting of this type of care. Hospice staff serve all those who seek care, receive training to serve diverse clients, and prioritize professional policies. There is sometimes potential for a gap between hospice policies regarding care and immigrant families’ expectations for care. Results suggest a great need for community outreach to immigrant groups to raise awareness of end-of-life care, including advance directives and hospice care and the role of interpreters in health care settings.
Timeline2GUI: A Log2Timeline CSV parser and training scenarios

Abstract Crimes involving digital evidence are getting more complex due to the increasing storage capacities and utilization of devices. Event reconstruction (i.e., understanding the timeline) is an essential step for investigators to understand a case where a prominent tool is Log2Timeline (a tool that creates super timelines which is a combination of several log files and events throughout a system). While these timelines provide great evidence and help to understand a case, they are complex and require tools as well as training scenarios. In this paper we present Timeline2GUI an easy-to-use python implementation to analyze CSV log files create by Log2Timeline. Additionally, we present three training scenarios – beginner, intermediate and advanced – to practice timeline analysis skills as well as familiarity with visualization tools. Lastly, we provide a comprehensive overview of tools.
Caulimoviruses: General Features

The family Caulimoviridae comprises plant viruses that replicate by reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate and whose virions contain circular, double-stranded DNA. There are six genera in this family and they are divided into two groups based on virion morphology. The genera Caulimovirus, Petuvirus, Cavemovirus, and Soymovirus contain viruses that form icosahedral particles with a diameter of approximately 50 nm, whereas viruses from the genera Badnavirus and Tungrovirus form bacilliform particles that have a width of 30 nm and a modal length of 130 nm. One aspect that distinguishes the caulimoviruses from true retroviruses and retrotransposons is that the caulimoviruses do not integrate into host chromosomes as part of their replication cycle. Instead, episomal copies of the viral DNA are found in the nucleus as minichromosomes. A terminally redundant RNA is produced from the minichromosome, and this RNA is then transported out of the nucleus into the cytoplasm where it serves as a template for reverse transcription. Although integration is not required, the complete genomes of some of the caulimoviruses have been found to be integrated in the chromosomes of their hosts, and the integrated copies can be activated to yield episomal infections, especially when the plant is exposed to environmental stress.
Network degeneracy and the dynamics of task switching in the feeding circuit in Aplysia

The characteristics of a network are determined by parameters that describe the intrinsic properties of the component neurons and their synapses. Degeneracy occurs when more than one set of parameters produces the same (or very similar) output. It is not clear whether network degeneracy impacts network function or is simply a reflection of the fact that, although it is important for a network to be able to generate a particular output, it is not important how this is achieved. We address this issue in the feeding network of the mollusc Aplysia In this system, there are two stimulation paradigms that generate egestive motor programs: repetition priming and positive biasing. We demonstrate that circuit parameters differ in the 2 cases (e.g., egestive repetition priming requires activity in an interneuron, B20, which is not essential for positive biasing). We show that degeneracy has consequences for task switching. If egestive repetition priming is immediately followed by stimulation of an ingestive input to the feeding central pattern generator, the first few cycles of activity are egestive (not ingestive). In this situation, there is a task switch cost. This "cost" is in part due to the potentiating effect of egestive repetition priming on B20. In contrast, there is no switch cost after positive biasing. Stimulation of the ingestive central pattern generator input immediately triggers ingestive activity. Our results indicate that the mechanisms used to pattern activity can impact network function in that they can determine how readily a network can switch from one configuration to another.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A particular pattern of neural activity can be generated by more than one set of circuit parameters. How or whether this impacts network function is unclear. We address this issue in the feeding network of Aplysia and demonstrate that degeneracy in network function can have consequences for task switching. Namely, we show that, when egestive activity is generated via one set of circuit modifications, an immediate switch to ingestive activity is not possible. In contrast, rapid transitions to ingestive activity are possible if egestive activity is generated via a different set of circuit modifications.
Religiosity, Filial Piety, and Drinking in Adolescence

AbstractResearch suggests that religiosity, familial factors, and smoking are associated with adolescent alcohol use. The aims of the current study were to investigate whether filial piety, resista...
Junction growth and interdiffusion during ultrasonic additive manufacturing of multi-material laminates

Abstract Ultrasonic additive manufacturing is a promising approach for making net-shaped multi-material laminates from material combinations difficult to process with fusion-based additive manufacturing techniques. The properties of these multi-material laminates depend sensitively on the interface between the constituents, which can be decorated with pores as well as thin intermetallic layers. Here, we develop process models for junction growth and interdiffusion during ultrasonic additive manufacturing of dissimilar metals. These process models are validated against published experimental data, then used to generate process diagrams which reveal that high normal loads and high sonotrode velocities can reduce intermetallic growth while maintaining strong interlayer bonding.
Heat shock proteins as immunological carriers and vaccines

HSPs are among the major targets of the immune response to bacterial, fungal and parasitic pathogens. The antigenic nature of HSPs is emphasized by evidence that mammals are capable of recognizing multiple B- and T cell epitopes in these proteins. The powerful immunological features of HSPs have led to their experimental use as immunomodulators and as subunit vaccine candidates. Mycobacterial hsp70 and hsp60 have been found to be excellent immunological carriers of molecules against which an immune response is desired; in the absence of adjuvants, the HSPs can stimulate strong and long-lasting immune responses against molecules which have been covalently attached to the HSPs. When used as subunit vaccines, HSPs derived from a variety of bacterial and fungal pathogens have been found to stimulate protective immunity in animal models. These studies suggest that HSPs might be used as immunomodulators or subunit vaccines against infectious disease in man.
Speed up random walk by leveraging community affiliation information

Large online networks are most massive and opulent data sources these days. The inherent growing demands of analyses related data fetching conflict greatly with network providers’ efforts to protect their digital assets as well as users’ increasing awareness of privacy. Restrictions on web interfaces of online networks prevent third party researchers from gathering sufficient data and further global images of these networks are also hidden. Under such circumstances, only techniques like random walk approaches that can run under local neighborhood access will be adopted to fulfill large online network sampling tasks. Meanwhile, the presence of highly clustered community like structure in large networks leads to random walk’s poor conductance, causing intolerable and hard-to-foresee long mixing time before useful samples can be collected. With lack of techniques incorporate online network topology features being the context, in this paper we focus on taking use of community affiliation information that possibly comes with metadata when querying objects in online networks, and proposed a speeded version of random walk by raising the probability of inter-community edges being selected. Assuming the community structure is well established as promised, the community speeded random walk expects better conductance and faster convergence. Our method forces the sampler to travel rapidly among different communities that conquers the bottlenecks and thus the samples being collected are of higher quality. We also consider the scenario when community affiliation is not directly available, where we apply feature selection algorithms to select features as community.
Biomimetic System for the Application of Nanomaterials in Fluid Purification: Removal of Arsenic with Ferrihydrite

The use of nanomaterials has transformed fields such as medicine and electronics. However, aggregation of nanomaterials in aqueous solutions, difficult recovery of spent nano-adsorbents from reacto...
Contributions of Prenatal Exposures and Child Lifestyle to Insulin Sensitivity.

Context Prenatal exposures and lifestyle factors are important for metabolic health. Objective Determine how prenatal exposures to maternal obesity and/or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and childhood lifestyle factors independently contribute to child insulin sensitivity. Design and participants Ninety children aged 7 to 11 years (56% girls, 60% exposed to GDM), born at Kaiser-Permanente Southern California, completed an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as part of the BrainChild Study. Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI) was used to estimate insulin sensitivity. Participants completed two 24-hour dietary recalls, and daily energy intake (EI), dietary added sugar, and total sugar were calculated. The 3-day physical activity recall determined the average minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and the average minutes per day spent sedentary. Maternal prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and GDM status were extracted from electronic medical records. Main outcome measure Matsuda-ISI. Results Linear regression showed that children who spent more time in MVPA had better ISI (β = 0.33; P = 0.001), and results remained after adjustment for maternal prepregnancy BMI, GDM exposure, child age, sex, daily EI, dietary added sugar (β = 0.34; P = 0.001), and further adjustment for child adiposity (β = 0.29; P = 0.001). Time spent sedentary, maternal prepregnancy BMI, GDM exposure, dietary added sugar, total sugar, and EI were not associated with ISI. Conclusions Physical activity was the only predictor of ISI at this age, suggesting that engaging in physical activity during childhood is beneficial for insulin sensitivity and may ameliorate future risk for metabolic disease.
Acceptable risk: Regulatory aspects

Abstract This chapter reflects on the challenges and opportunities associated with establishing risk acceptance for risk assessment and management. Risk assessment and management have evolved from significant accidents associated with industrial activities—the same industrial activities that are created for our benefit to supply energy, food, and commodities. If risks cannot be eliminated, then how low is low enough in reducing the level of risk? The notation of acceptability immediately raises the question of acceptable to whom? At some point, someone needs to decide if risks are acceptable, but the general public has great difficulty with the concept of acceptable risk. Public perception plays a critical role in defining the risk versus development relationship. The public perception of risk is dependent on awareness and understanding of potential hazards and their likelihood of occurrence, and most importantly, effective communication of these along with the associated uncertainty. Public awareness can have a profound effect on the development of public policy, which in many cases is driven more by perception rather than by sound science. This chapter sheds light on this crucial issue. It investigates two commonly used concepts of policy and decision-making, the Precautionary Principle (PP) and As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). The paper provides a clearer understanding of both approaches and proposes a process to help readers understand where and when PP versus ALARP would be most applicable.
Improving Rectal Cancer Outcomes with the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer.

Background The treatment of rectal cancer has undergone dramatic changes over the past 50 years. It has evolved from a rather morbid disease usually requiring a permanent stoma, almost exclusively managed by surgeons, to one that involves experts across numerous disciplines to provide the best care for the patient. With significant improvements in surgical techniques, the use of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, advanced imaging, and standardization of pathological assessment, the perioperative morbidity and permanent colostomy rates have significantly decreased. We have seen improvements in the quality of the specimen and rates of recurrence as well as disease-free survival. Rectal cancer, as demonstrated in European trials, has now been recognized as a disease best managed by a multidisciplinary team. Objective The aim of this article is to evaluate the main body of literature leading to the advances made possible by the new American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer. Results Following the launch of the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer, we expect dramatic increases in membership and accreditation, with associated improvement in center performance and, ultimately, in patient outcomes. Limitations The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer began in 2017. To date, the only data that have been analyzed are from the preintervention phase. Conclusions Based on the results of studies within the United States and on the successes demonstrated in Europe, it remains our hope and expectation that the management of rectal cancer in the United States will rapidly improve.
Flipped Lessons and the Secondary-Level Performance-Based Music Classroom: A Review of Literature and Suggestions for Practice.

The purpose of this literature review was to synthesize relevant research concerning the blended learning and flipped lesson models, and their potential role in performance-based music classrooms. ...
Sculpting New Visual Concepts into the Human Brain

Abstract Learning requires changing the brain. This typically occurs through experience, study, or instruction. We report a new way of acquiring conceptual knowledge by directly sculpting activity patterns in the human brain. We used a non-invasive technique (closed-loop real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging) to create novel categories of visual objects in the brain. After training, participants exhibited behavioral and neural biases for the sculpted, but not control categories. The ability to sculpt new conceptual distinctions in the human brain, applied here to perception, has broad relevance to other domains of cognition such as decision-making, memory, and motor control. As such, the work opens up new frontiers in brain-machine interface design, neuroprosthetics, and neurorehabilitation. One Sentence Summary Sculpting new visual categories in the brain with neurofeedback restructured subjective experience and neural processing.
Poetic Expressions of Transdisciplinary Food Systems Collaborations

Transdisciplinary research, involving scholars and practitioners from a variety of fields, disciplines, and experiences, helps identify and explore the dynamic, multidimensional intersections among food systems challenges. While a valuable practice for exploring the food system in a meaningful way, transdisciplinary research in and of itself is a complex collaborative process. To support efforts for transdisciplinary approaches to food systems challenges, the Food Systems department at the University of Vermont sponsored a two-day workshop. This article uses poetic transcription drawn from participants’ written evaluation of the workshop to analyze and share themes in experi­ences with transdisciplinary research and collabora­tions. The results, presented in a set of poems, promote conversation and understanding around the importance of transdisciplinary collaborations, as well as their challenges and opportunities for food systems.
Workplace Hazing: Toward an Organizational Science of a Cryptic Group Practice:

The purpose of this paper is to establish a foundation for studying and managing new employee hazing in workgroups. Available empirical evidence indicates 25–75% of American employees encounter wor...
Hyperbaric oxygen alters intracellular bioenergetics distribution in human dermal fibroblasts.

Abstract Aims Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), used to promote wound healing, has limited efficacy in many clinical conditions. Wound healing exerts bioenergetic demands on cells that can exceed their intrinsic bioenergetic capacity to proliferate and migrate. The aim of this investigation was to quantify the effects of HBOT on mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics functions in cells relevant to wound healing. Main methods High-resolution respirometry and fluorescence microscopy were used to quantify mitochondrial respiration, intermembrane potential, dynamics, including motility, and the intracellular distribution of mitochondrial bioenergetic capacity partitioned into perinuclear and cell peripheral regions in cultured human dermal fibroblasts. Cells were subjected to a range of gas mixtures and hyperbaric pressures, including conditions utilized in clinical care. Key findings Motility was reduced immediately following all HBOT exposures utilized in experiments. Inhomogeneities in intermembrane potential and respiration parameters were produced by different HBOT conditions. The partitioning of ATP-linked respiration was also HBOT-condition dependent. Application of HBOT at common clinical pressure and oxygen conditions resulted in the largest immediate decrement in mitochondrial motility and reductions in ATP-linked respiration in both the cell periphery and perinuclear zones. Aberrations in motility and respiration were also present 6 h after exposure. Significance HBOT produces intracellular distinctions and inhomogeneities in mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics. HBOT as is commonly applied in clinical medicine induced undesirable and persistent alterations in bioenergy function needed to support cell migration and/or proliferation. There may be alternative HBOT parameters that more effectively engender maintenance and adequacy of intracellular bioenergy supply to promote wound healing.
Decline in U.S. Turbine Exports

U.S. exports of turbines and turbine generating sets (“turbines”) for power generation and mechanical drive applications fell 40 percent during 2014–18. Excluding parts, the decline was more significant, with exports falling 56 percent. This briefing will discuss export trends and the reasons for the decline in exports.
Remaking the Constitution: A Critical Reexamination of the Bowers v. Hardwick Dissent

Not only in folklore do historical watersheds spring from trickles. We all have heard that Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a lamp to start the Chicago fire, and even sober history texts tell us that one Gavrilo Princip started World War I. Princip was a politically overactive Serbian nationalist destined to die of tuberculosis in an Austrian prison, but not before immortalizing himself on June 28, 1914. That day the nineteen-year-old Princip shot and killed Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife as they rode in an open car through Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The occasion, or excuse, for release of smoldering political tensions and blunted ambitions to remake the world order had arrived. The "war to end all wars" —The Great War—was on. A constitutional Armageddon called Bowers v. Hardwick was detonated even more inconspicuously. Playing the role of Princip was twenty-nine-year-old Atlantan Michael Hardwick. In mid-1982 he was ticketed for carrying an open bottle of booze. He did not answer the summons, and a bench warrant was issued. The ticketing police officer went to Hardwick's home and was let in by an unknown male resident. Where was Hardwick? The man gestured toward a bedroom down a long hallway. The term coitus interruptus was about to acquire new meaning as causus bellis. Through a partly opened door the officer observed Hardwick and another man fellating, "sodomy" under a Georgia statute that apparently had not been enforced for several decades. Hardwick was arrested on the warrant and charged with sodomy.
Do Centrally Administered Neuropeptides Access Cognate Receptors?: An Analysis in the Central Corticotropin-Releasing Factor System

To determine the extent to which centrally administered corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) activates neurons that express CRF receptors (CRF-Rs), we followed the kinetics and distribution (relative to those of CRF-Rs) of Fos induction seen in response to intracerebroventricular (icv) injection of the peptide (1-10 microg). CRF provoked widespread Fos expression: its strength was dose-related, it peaked at 2 hr after injection, and it was antagonized in a dose-dependent manner by coinjection of CRF-R antagonists. The activation pattern closely mimicked the distribution of CRF-R1 mRNA, in including widespread Fos induction throughout the cortical mantle, in cell groups involved in sensory information processing, and in the cerebellum and several of its major afferents and targets. Dual labeling revealed extensive correspondence of CRF-stimulated Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) and CRF-R1 mRNA at these and other loci. Unique sites of CRF-R2 expression were relatively unresponsive to CRF but were more so after icv administration of urocortin (UCN), a new mammalian CRF-related peptide. Both CRF and UCN elicited activational responses in cell groups that are involved in central autonomic control but that express neither CRF-R, including the central amygdaloid and paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei, and brainstem catecholaminergic cell groups. The results support an ability of CRF-related peptides in the ventricular system to access receptor-expressing cells directly but leave open questions as to the basis for the recruitment of central autonomic structures, many of which have been identified as stress-related sites of CRF action.
A study of Y/sub 1/Ba/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ thick films on ferroelectric substrates

The goal of the study reported was to qualify the use of yttrium barium copper oxide films (the orthorhombic superconducting phase commonly referred to as one-two-three, termed as YBCO) as electrodes on ferroic materials for use in dielectric and piezoelectric devices. The substrates used were barium titanate (BT), lead zirconate titanate (PZT), and lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate (92.5PMN-7.5PT). The YBCO films were synthesized on the substrates by spin coating, spraying, screen-printing, and tape cast laminations. The dielectric loss data as a function of temperature and frequency of YBCO electrode samples indicate differing degrees of interfacial interaction. The coatings did not have a good adhesion on PMN-7.5PT. The interaction with BT was excessive. The PZT-YBCO system appears to be the most compatible with minimum adverse interactions and excellent adhesion properties without substantial loss of electrical properties. >
Anorexia/cachexia-related quality of life for children with cancer

BACKGROUND Anorexia is a common symptom in patients with cancer, which can lead to poor tolerance of treatment and can contribute to cachexia in extreme cases. Children with advanced-stage cancer are especially vulnerable to malnutrition resulting from anorexia and cachexia. Currently, there are no instruments that measure common concerns specifically associated with anorexia and cachexia in children with cancer. The purpose of the current article was to test the psychometric properties of a newly developed pediatric Functional Assessment of Anorexia and Cachexia Therapy (peds-FAACT) for children with cancer. METHODS Ninety-six patients (ages 7–17 yrs) receiving cancer treatment and their parents were asked to complete the 12-item peds-FAACT. The authors implemented both classical test theory and item response theory to evaluate the agreement between parents and patients, internal consistency and unidimensionality of the scale, and stability of items across subgroups. RESULTS As a result, a patient-reported six-item scale was recommended as the core measure for all pediatric patients with cancer and four additional peripheral items were recommended for adolescent patients. CONCLUSIONS The peds-FAACT demonstrated good psychometric properties, differentiated patients with different functional performance status, and was determined to be a useful tool for future clinical trials. Cancer 2005. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
An Algebraic Parallel Treecode in Arbitrary Dimensions

We present a parallel tree code for fast kernel summation in high dimensions -- a common problem in data analysis and computational statistics. Fast kernel summations can be viewed as approximation schemes for dense kernel matrices. Tree code algorithms (or simply tree codes) construct low-rank approximations of certain off-diagonal blocks of the kernel matrix. These blocks are identified with the help of spatial data structures, typically trees. There is extensive work on tree codes and their parallelization for kernel summations in three dimensions, but there is little work on high-dimensional problems. Recently, we introduced a novel tree code, ASKIT, which resolves most of the shortcomings of existing methods. We introduce novel parallel algorithms for ASKIT, derive complexity estimates, and demonstrate scalability on synthetic, scientific, and image datasets. In particular, we introduce a local essential tree construction that extends to arbitrary dimensions in a scalable manner. We introduce data transformations for memory locality and useGPU acceleration. We report results on the "Maverick" and "Stampede" systems at the Texas Advanced Computing Centre. Our largest computations involve two billion points in 64 dimensions on 32, 768 x86 cores and 8 million points in 784 dimensions on 16, 384 x86 cores.
A role for the C3a anaphylatoxin receptor in the effector phase of asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways and lung mucosa with a strong correlation to atopy and acquired (IgE) immunity1. However, many features of bronchial asthma, such as smooth muscle contraction, mucus secretion and recruitment of inflammatory cells, are consistent with the actions of complement anaphylatoxins, in particular C3a and C5a2. Complement activation forms a central core of innate immune defence against mucosal bacteria, viruses, fungi, helminths and other pathogens. As a system of ‘pattern-recognition molecules’, foreign surface antigens and immune complexes lead to a proteolytic cascade culminating in a lytic membrane attack2,3. The anaphylatoxins C3a and C5a are liberated as activation byproducts and are potent pro-inflammatory mediators that bind to specific cell surface receptors and cause leukocyte activation, smooth muscle contraction and vascular permeability2. Here we show that in a murine model of allergic airway disease, genetic deletion of the C3a receptor protects against the changes in lung physiology seen after allergen challenge. Furthermore, human asthmatics develop significant levels of ligand C3a following intra-pulmonary deposition of allergen, but not saline. We propose that, in addition to acquired immune responses, the innate immune system and complement (C3a in particular) are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma.
Minimax solution of n+1 inconsistent linear equations in n unknowns

An algorithm for computingChebyshev solution ofn+1 inconsistent linear equations inn unknowns is given. It makes use of orthogonal triangularization followed by the backsubstitution part of theGaussian elimination.