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This technical paper introduces a novel organ preservation system based on isochoric (constant volume) supercooling. The system is designed to enhance the stability of the metastable supercooling state, offering potential long-term preservation of large biological organs at subfreezing temperatures without the need for cryoprotectant additives. Detailed technical designs and usage protocols are provided for researchers interested in exploring this field. The paper also presents a control system based on the thermodynamics of isochoric freezing, utilizing pressure monitoring for process control. Sham experiments were performed using whole pig liver sourced from a local food supplier to evaluate the systems ability to sustain supercooling without ice nucleation for extended periods. The results demonstrated sustained supercooling without ice nucleation in pig liver tissue for 24 and 48 h. These findings suggest the potential of this technology for large-volume, cryoprotectant-free organ preservation with real-time control over the preservation process. The simplicity of the isochoric supercooling device and the design details provided in the paper are expected to serve as encouragement for other researchers in the field to pursue further research on isochoric supercooling. However, final evidence that these preserved organs can be successfully transplanted is still lacking.

This data paper inventories the records of 1763 trilobites (including agnostoids) from the Middle Cambrian inner and outer platform of the Argentine Precordillera (San Juan and Mendoza provinces). They were collected by Dr. Osvaldo Bordonaro and his colleagues between 1994 and 2013 and studied within the framework of scientific research. The specimens are stored in the Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA, CCT-CONICET Mendoza, Argentina), an official paleontological repository of Mendoza Province and are part of its Paleoinvertebrates Collection. The study of these trilobites contributed to the taxonomy of the group and allowed the establishment of important paleobiogeographic connections between Cuyania and Laurentia during the Cambrian. From a preliminary Microsoft Excel format, the dataset is now included in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF, https://www.gbif.org), under the publisher CCT-CONICET Mendoza (Argentina), making it available to the public.

Patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) are born with an underdeveloped left heart. They typically receive a sequence of surgeries that result in a single ventricle physiology called the Fontan circulation. While these patients usually survive into early adulthood, they are at risk for medical complications, partially due to their lower than normal cardiac output, which leads to insufficient cerebral and gut perfusion. While clinical imaging data can provide detailed insight into cardiovascular function within the imaged region, it is difficult to use these data for assessing deficiencies in the rest of the body and for deriving blood pressure dynamics. Data from patients used in this paper include three-dimensional, magnetic resonance angiograms (MRA), time-resolved phase contrast cardiac magnetic resonance images (4D-MRI) and sphygmomanometer blood pressure measurements. The 4D-MRI images provide detailed insight into velocity and flow in vessels within the imaged region, but they cannot predict flow in the rest of the body, nor do they provide values of blood pressure. To remedy these limitations, this study combines the MRA, 4D-MRI, and pressure data with 1D fluid dynamics models to predict hemodynamics in the major systemic arteries, including the cerebral and gut vasculature. A specific focus is placed on studying the impact of aortic reconstruction occurring during the first surgery that results in abnormal vessel morphology. To study these effects, we compare simulations for an HLHS patient with simulations for a matched control patient that has double outlet right ventricle (DORV) physiology with a native aorta. Our results show that the HLHS patient has hypertensive pressures in the brain as well as reduced flow to the gut. Wave intensity analysis suggests that the HLHS patient has irregular circulatory function during light upright exercise conditions and that predicted wall shear stresses are lower than normal, suggesting the HLHS patient ma

A feature issue is being presented by a team of guest editors containing papers based on studies presented at the Optica Biophotonics Congress: Biomedical Optics held on April 24-27, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA.

Personalized intervention strategies, in particular those that modify treatment based on a participants own response, are a core component of precision medicine approaches. Sequential multiple assignment randomized trials (SMARTs) are growing in popularity and are specifically designed to facilitate the evaluation of sequential adaptive strategies, in particular those embedded within the SMART. Advances in efficient estimation approaches that are able to incorporate machine learning while retaining valid inference can allow for more precise estimates of the effectiveness of these embedded regimes. However, to the best of our knowledge, such approaches have not yet been applied as the primary analysis in SMART trials. In this paper, we present a robust and efficient approach using targeted maximum likelihood estimation (TMLE) for estimating and contrasting expected outcomes under the dynamic regimes embedded in a SMART, together with generating simultaneous confidence intervals for the resulting estimates. We contrast this method with two alternatives (G-computation and inverse probability weighting estimators). The precision gains and robust inference achievable through the use of TMLE to evaluate the effects of embedded regimes are illustrated using both outcome-blind simulations and a real-data analysis from the Adaptive Strategies for Preventing and Treating Lapses of Retention in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Care (ADAPT-R) trial (NCT02338739), a SMART with a primary aim of identifying strategies to improve retention in HIV care among people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.

Soft robots have the potential to fundamentally change interactions between robots and the surrounding environment, and between robots and animals, and robots and humans in ways that today's hard robots are incapable of doing. However, to realize this potential, soft robot actuators require extremely high voltage supplies of more than 4 kV. The electronics that can satisfy this need currently are either too large and bulky or unable to achieve the high power efficiency required for mobile systems. To meet this challenge, this paper conceptualizes, analyzes, designs, and validates a hardware prototype of an ultra-high gain (UHG) converter that can support extremely large conversion ratios up to ∼1000× to provide up to 5 kV output voltage from an input voltage of ∼5-10 V. This converter is demonstrated to be able to drive HASEL (Hydraulically Amplified Self-Healing Electrostatic) actuators, a promising candidate to realize future soft mobile robotic fishes, from an input voltage range of a 1-cell battery pack. The circuit topology employs a unique hybrid combination of a high-gain switched magnetic element (HGSME) and a diode and capacitor-based voltage multiplier rectifier (DCVMR) to enable compact magnetic elements, efficient soft-charging in all flying capacitors, and adjustable output voltage capability with simple duty-cycle modulation. Achieving an efficiency of 78.2% at 15 W output power, while providing 3.85 kV output from 8.5 V input, the proposed UGH converter proves to be a promising candidate for future untethered soft robots.

Environmental toxic pollutants and pathogens that enter the ecosystem are major global issues. Detection of these toxic chemicals/pollutants and the diagnosis of a disease is a first step in efficiently controlling their contamination and spread, respectively. Various analytical techniques are available to detect and determine toxic chemicals/pathogens, including liquid chromatography, HPLC, mass spectroscopy, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. However, these sensing strategies have some drawbacks such as tedious sample pretreatment and preparation, the requirement for skilled technicians, and dependence on large laboratory-based instruments. Alternatively, biosensors, especially paper-based sensors, could be used extensively and are a cost-effective alternative to conventional laboratory testing. They can improve accessibility to testing to identify chemicals and pollutants, especially in developing countries. Due to its low cost, abundance, easy disposal (by incineration, for example) and biocompatible nature, paper is considered a versatile material for the development of environmentally friendly electrochemical/optical (bio) sensor devices. This review presents an overview of sensing platforms constructed from paper, pointing out the main merits and demerits of paper-based sensing systems, their fabrication techniques, and the different optical/electrochemical detection techniques that they exploit.

Computational models are increasingly used to investigate and predict the complex dynamics of biological and biochemical systems. Nevertheless, governing equations of a biochemical system may not be (fully) known, which would necessitate learning the system dynamics directly from, often limited and noisy, observed data. On the other hand, when expensive models are available, systematic and efficient quantification of the effects of model uncertainties on quantities of interest can be an arduous task. This paper leverages the notion of flow-map (de)compositions to present a framework that can address both of these challenges via learning data-driven models useful for capturing the dynamical behavior of biochemical systems. Data-driven flow-map models seek to directly learn the integration operators of the governing differential equations in a black-box manner, irrespective of structure of the underlying equations. As such, they can serve as a flexible approach for deriving fast-to-evaluate surrogates for expensive computational models of system dynamics, or, alternatively, for reconstructing the long-term system dynamics via experimental observations. We present a data-efficient approach to data-driven flow-map modeling based on polynomial chaos Kriging. The approach is demonstrated for discovery of the dynamics of various benchmark systems and a coculture bioreactor subject to external forcing, as well as for uncertainty quantification of a microbial electrosynthesis reactor. Such data-driven models and analyses of dynamical systems can be paramount in the design and optimization of bioprocesses and integrated biomanufacturing systems.

We consider the problem of finding an accurate representation of neuron shapes, extracting sub-cellular features, and classifying neurons based on neuron shapes. In neuroscience research, the skeleton representation is often used as a compact and abstract representation of neuron shapes. However, existing methods are limited to getting and analyzing curve skeletons which can only be applied for tubular shapes. This paper presents a 3D neuron morphology analysis method for more general and complex neuron shapes. First, we introduce the concept of skeleton mesh to represent general neuron shapes and propose a novel method for computing mesh representations from 3D surface point clouds. A skeleton graph is then obtained from skeleton mesh and is used to extract sub-cellular features. Finally, an unsupervised learning method is used to embed the skeleton graph for neuron classification. Extensive experiment results are provided and demonstrate the robustness of our method to analyze neuron morphology.

BackgroundSince the initial publication of clusterMaker, the need for tools to analyze large biological datasets has only increased. New datasets are significantly larger than a decade ago, and new experimental techniques such as single-cell transcriptomics continue to drive the need for clustering or classification techniques to focus on portions of datasets of interest. While many libraries and packages exist that implement various algorithms, there remains the need for clustering packages that are easy to use, integrated with visualization of the results, and integrated with other commonly used tools for biological data analysis. clusterMaker2 has added several new algorithms, including two entirely new categories of analyses: node ranking and dimensionality reduction. Furthermore, many of the new algorithms have been implemented using the Cytoscape jobs API, which provides a mechanism for executing remote jobs from within Cytoscape. Together, these advances facilitate meaningful analyses of modern biological datasets despite their ever-increasing size and complexity.ResultsThe use of clusterMaker2 is exemplified by reanalyzing the yeast heat shock expression experiment that was included in our original paper; however, here we explored this dataset in significantly more detail. Combining this dataset with the yeast protein-protein interaction network from STRING, we were able to perform a variety of analyses and visualizations from within clusterMaker2, including Leiden clustering to break the entire network into smaller clusters, hierarchical clustering to look at the overall expression dataset, dimensionality reduction using UMAP to find correlations between our hierarchical visualization and the UMAP plot, fuzzy clustering, and cluster ranking. Using these techniques, we were able to explore the highest-ranking cluster and determine that it represents a strong contender for proteins working together in response to heat shock. We found a series of clusters that

BackgroundIn 2020, the Health Resources and Services Administration's HIV/AIDS Bureau funded an initiative to promote implementation of rapid antiretroviral therapy initiation in 14 HIV treatment settings across the U.S. The goal of this initiative is to accelerate uptake of this evidence-based strategy and provide an implementation blueprint for other HIV care settings to reduce the time from HIV diagnosis to entry into care, for re-engagement in care for those out of care, initiation of treatment, and viral suppression. As part of the effort, an evaluation and technical assistance provider (ETAP) was funded to study implementation of the model in the 14 implementation sites.MethodThe ETAP has used implementation science methods framed by the Dynamic Capabilities Model integrated with the Conceptual Model of Implementation Research to develop a Hybrid Type II, multi-site mixed-methods evaluation, described in this paper. The results of the evaluation will describe strategies associated with uptake, implementation outcomes, and HIV-related health outcomes for patients.DiscussionThis approach will allow us to understand in detail the processes that sites to implement and integrate rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy as standard of care as a means of achieving equity in HIV care.

BACKGROUND: Uptake of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains low among transgender people as compared to other subgroups, despite high rates of HIV acquisition. In California, Latinx people comprise 40% of the population and Latina transgender women experience some of the highest burden of HIV of any subgroup, indicating a critical need for appropriate services. With funding from the California HIV/AIDS Research Programs, this academic-community partnership developed, implemented, and evaluated a PrEP project that co-located HIV services with gender affirming care in a Federally Qualified Heath Center (FQHC). Trans and Latinx staff led intervention adaptation and activities. METHODS: This paper engages qualitative methods to describe how a PrEP demonstration project- Triunfo- successfully engaged Spanish-speaking transgender Latinas in services. We conducted 13 in-depth interviews with project participants and five interviews with providers and clinic staff. Interviews were conducted in Spanish or English. We conducted six months of ethnographic observation of intervention activities and recorded field notes. We conducted thematic analysis. RESULTS: Beneficial elements of the intervention centered around three intertwined themes: creating trusted space, providing comprehensive patient navigation, and offering social support entre nosotras (between us women/girls). The combination of these factors contributed to the interventions success supporting participants to initiate and persist on PrEP, many of whom had previously never received healthcare. Participants shared past experiences with transphobia and concerns around discrimination in a healthcare setting. Developing trust proved foundational to making participants feel welcome and en casa/ at home in the healthcare setting, which began from the moment participants entered the clinic and continued throughout their interactions with staff and providers. A gender affirming, bilingual clinician and peer health e

BACKGROUND: The Targeted Learning roadmap provides a systematic guide for generating and evaluating real-world evidence (RWE). From a regulatory perspective, RWE arises from diverse sources such as randomized controlled trials that make use of real-world data, observational studies, and other study designs. This paper illustrates a principled approach to assessing the validity and interpretability of RWE. METHODS: We applied the roadmap to a published observational study of the dose-response association between ritodrine hydrochloride and pulmonary edema among women pregnant with twins in Japan. The goal was to identify barriers to causal effect estimation beyond unmeasured confounding reported by the studys authors, and to explore potential options for overcoming the barriers that robustify results. RESULTS: Following the roadmap raised issues that led us to formulate alternative causal questions that produced more reliable, interpretable RWE. The process revealed a lack of information in the available data to identify a causal dose-response curve. However, under explicit assumptions the effect of treatment with any amount of ritodrine versus none, albeit a less ambitious parameter, can be estimated from data. CONCLUSIONS: Before RWE can be used in support of clinical and regulatory decision-making, its quality and reliability must be systematically evaluated. The TL roadmap prescribes how to carry out a thorough, transparent, and realistic assessment of RWE. We recommend this approach be a routine part of any decision-making process.

Indirect standardization, and its associated parameter the standardized incidence ratio, is a commonly-used tool in hospital profiling for comparing the incidence of negative outcomes between an index hospital and a larger population of reference hospitals, while adjusting for confounding covariates. In statistical inference of the standardized incidence ratio, traditional methods often assume the covariate distribution of the index hospital to be known. This assumption severely compromises one's ability to compute required sample sizes for high-powered indirect standardization, as in contexts where sample size calculation is desired, there are usually no means of knowing this distribution. This paper presents novel statistical methodology to perform sample size calculation for the standardized incidence ratio without knowing the covariate distribution of the index hospital and without collecting information from the index hospital to estimate this covariate distribution. We apply our methods to simulation studies and to real hospitals, to assess both its capabilities in a vacuum and in comparison to traditional assumptions of indirect standardization.

BackgroundIndia's recent increase in urbanization alongside with feminization of rural agriculture could increase the existing gender disparities in dietary diversity. With many rural men migrating to urban areas, women have increased domestic burdens as well as productive burdens such as making informed crop production decisions so household members consume a diverse diet. Given the rapid and recent onset of this phenomenon, there is a need to explore gender differentials in diet diversity across urban and rural areas to assess if certain populations are being disproportionately impacted by this trend. There are limited established quantitative studies discussing this gender disparity with respect to urbanization. Therefore, this paper compares dietary diversity among adult men, adult women, adolescent males, and adolescent females in urban and peri-urban locations. The authors also assess if various sociodemographic factors correlate with dietary diversity.MethodsAnalyses were conducted on dietary diversity data collected by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) from selected urban (1108 individuals) and peri-urban (808 individuals) locations of Hyderabad, India. The total sample size of the population is n = 1816: 660 adult males, 662 adult females, 205 adolescent males, and 289 adolescent females.ResultsAdult women and adolescent females have a higher diet disparity between peri-urban and urban areas when compared to adult males and adolescent males. Multivariate analyses followed by post hoc multiple comparisons testing further support that peri-urban adult women consume a less diverse diet compared to their urban counterparts and less than other peri-urban adult men and adolescent women. It was also found that marital status, type of household card owned, and the highest degree of education are statistically significant correlators of an individual's dietary diversity.ConclusionsGiven that urbanization could negatively

BackgroundIn South Asia, roughly half of women attend at least four antenatal care visits with skilled health personnel, the minimum number recommended by the World Health Organization for optimal birth outcomes. A much greater proportion of women attend at least one antenatal care visit, suggesting that a key challenge is ensuring that women initiate antenatal care early in pregnancy and continue to attend after their first visit. One critical barrier to antenatal care attendance may be that women do not have sufficient power in their relationships, households, or communities to attend antenatal care when they want to. The main goals of this paper were to 1) understand the potential effects of intervening on direct measures of women's empowerment-including household decision making, freedom of movement, and control over assets-on antenatal care attendance in a rural population of women in Bangladesh, and 2) examine whether differential associations exist across strata of socioeconomic status.MethodsWe analyzed data on 1609 mothers with children under 24 months old in rural Bangladesh and employed targeted maximum likelihood estimation with ensemble machine learning to estimate population average treatment effects.ResultsGreater women's empowerment was associated with an increased number of antenatal care visits. Specifically, among women who attended at least one antenatal care visit, having high empowerment was associated with a greater probability of ≥ 4 antenatal care visits, both in comparison to low empowerment (15.2 pp, 95% CI: 6.0, 24.4) and medium empowerment (9.1 pp, 95% CI: 2.5, 15.7). The subscales of women's empowerment driving the associations were women's decision-making power and control over assets. We found that greater women's empowerment is associated with more antenatal care visits regardless of socioeconomic status.ConclusionsEmpowerment-based interventions, particularly those targeting women's involvement in household decisions

Primary care physicians (PCPs) play an indispensable role in providing comprehensive care and referring patients for specialty care and other medical services. As the COVID-19 outbreak disrupts patient access to care, understanding the quality of primary care is critical at this unprecedented moment to support patients with complex medical needs in the primary care setting and inform policymakers to redesign our primary care system. The traditional way of collecting information from patient surveys is time-consuming and costly, and novel data collection and analysis methods are needed. In this review paper, we describe the existing algorithms and metrics that use the real-world data to qualify and quantify primary care, including the identification of an individual's likely PCP (identification of plurality provider and major provider), assessment of process quality (for example, appropriate-care-model composite measures), and continuity and regularity of care index (including the interval index, variance index and relative variance index), and highlight the strength and limitation of real world data from electronic health records (EHRs) and claims data in determining the quality of PCP care. The EHR audits facilitate assessing the quality of the workflow process and clinical appropriateness of primary care practices. With extensive and diverse records, administrative claims data can provide reliable information as it assesses primary care quality through coded information from different providers or networks. The use of EHRs and administrative claims data may be a cost-effective analytic strategy for evaluating the quality of primary care.

BackgroundIn Nepal and across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has primed an environment for increased rates of violence against women (VAW). This paper explores pandemic-driven economic insecurity and increased alcohol use as instigators of VAW and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) within newly married households in the rural, Nawalparasi region of Nepal.MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of data obtained from the Sumadhur Intervention pilot study that has been previously described and demonstrates successful implementation of group-based, household-level intervention for women's empowerment and sexual and reproductive health education (1). Our three sets of data were collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first set is from a Longitudinal Cohort of 200 newly married women who were surveyed twice a year from February 2017 through July 2020. The second data set is a subset cohort of newly married women, their husbands, and their mothers-in-law (31 women, 31 husbands and 31 mothers-in-law) who participated in Sumadhur in January 2021. The third data set was obtained through in-depth interviews in July 2021 from 15 households following Sumadhur. The interviews were thematically coded, and subthemes were identified. A t-test of the January 2021 survey data set was run to look at correlations between income loss, alcohol consumption and experience of IPV among newly married women. All other survey data was analyzed for change over time.ResultsAt three months after the onset of the pandemic (July 2020), the Longitudinal Cohort survey data from newly married women reported increased rates of husbands' alcohol use as well as personal experiences of IPV as compared to pre-pandemic averages. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) in the effects of income loss on increased alcohol use and experience of IPV. Qualitative results iterated the common theme of alcohol use and economic insecurity as upstream instigators of VAW in the com

BACKGROUND: Sexual orientation refers to a persons enduring emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to other people. Sexual orientation measures do not typically consider desires for, or sexual behavior with, transgender people. We describe measures inclusive of transgender people and characterize sexual orientation identity, behavior, and attraction in a representative sample of the U.S. transgender population. METHODS: Between April 2016-December 2018, a U.S. national probability sample of transgender (n = 274) and cisgender (n = 1,162) adults were invited to complete a self-administered web or mailed paper survey. We assessed sexual identity with updated response options inclusive of recent identity terms (e.g., queer), and revised sexual behavior and attraction measures that included transgender people. Multiple response options were allowed for sexual behavior and attraction. Weighted descriptive statistics and sexual orientation differences by gender identity groups were estimated using age-adjusted comparisons. RESULTS: Compared to the cisgender population, the transgender population was more likely to identify as a sexual minority and have heterogeneity in sexual orientation, behavior, and attraction. In the transgender population, the most frequently endorsed sexual orientation identities were bisexual (18.9%), queer (18.1%), and straight (17.6%). Sexually active transgender respondents reported diverse partners in the prior 5 years: 52.6% cisgender women (CW), 42.7% cisgender men (CM), 16.9% transgender women (TW), and 19.5% transgender men (TM); 27.7% did not have sex in the past 5 years. Overall, 73.6% were somewhat/ very attracted to CW, 58.3% CM, 56.8% TW, 52.4% TM, 59.9% genderqueer/nonbinary-females-at-birth, 51.9% genderqueer/nonbinary-males-at-birth. Sexual orientation identity, behavior, and attraction significantly differed by gender identity for TW, TM, and nonbinary participants (all p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Inclusive measures of

OBJECTIVES: Globalisation and industrialisation can increase economic opportunity for low/middle-income nations, but these processes may also increase industrial accidents and harm workers. This paper examines the long-term, cohort-based health effects of the Bhopal gas disaster (BGD), one of the most serious industrial accidents in history. DESIGN: This retrospective analysis uses geolocated data on health and education from Indias National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) and the 1999 Indian Socio-Economic Survey by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO-1999) to examine the health effects of exposure to the BGD among men and women aged 15-49 years living in Madhya Pradesh in 2015-2016 (women n=40 786; men n=7031 (NFHS-4) and n=13 369 (NSSO-1999)), as well as their children (n=1260). A spatial difference-in-differences strategy estimated the relative effect of being in utero near Bhopal relative to other cohorts and to those further from Bhopal separately for each dataset. RESULTS: We document long-term, intergenerational impacts of the BGD, showing that men who were in utero at the time were more likely to have a disability that affected their employment 15 years later, and had higher rates of cancer and lower educational attainment over 30 years later. Changes in the sex ratio among children born in 1985 suggest an effect of the BGD up to 100 km from the accident. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate social costs stemming from the BGD that extend far beyond the mortality and morbidity experienced in the immediate aftermath. Quantifying these multigenerational impacts is important for policy consideration. Moreover, our results suggest that the BGD affected people across a substantially more widespread area than has previously been demonstrated.

INTRODUCTION: Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death in the USA. Low utilisation of treatments for smoking cessation remains a major barrier for reducing smoking rates. Financial incentives represent an innovative approach to increasing use of therapies for smoking cessation. This paper will describe the rationale and design of the Financial Incentives for Smoking Treatment II (FIESTA II) study, a randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of goal-directed and outcome-based financial incentives to promote smoking cessation among hospitalised smokers. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We are recruiting adult participants who smoked tobacco in the 30 days prior to initial interview and are contemplating quitting smoking. These participants will come from two hospitals in underserved communities in New York City and Los Angeles. They will be randomised into one of three arms. The first arm consists of goal-directed financial incentives plus enhanced usual care, which includes hospital-directed information about quitting smoking, nicotine replacement therapy and referral to a Quitline. The second arm involves outcome-based financial incentives plus enhanced usual care. The third arm consists of enhanced usual care alone. Multiple phone interviews with the participants will be completed after randomisation to assess smoking cessation. Participants will earn $20 for each follow-up interview completed and $30 for each smoking cessation test completed. Those who are randomised to the financial incentive groups can earn an additional $700. The participants in the outcome-based group will receive payments solely for exhibiting cessation, whereas the participants in the goal-based group are also eligible for receiving payments after meeting milestones such as speaking with a helpline coach. ETHICS: Human research protection committees at New York University School of Medicine and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen Sc

Euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis (EDKA) is an emerging complication of diabetes associated with an increasing use of sodium-glucose transporter type 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitor drugs. This review highlights the growing incidence of EDKA and its diagnostic challenges due to the absence of hallmark hyperglycemia seen in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The paper presents a classification system for the severity of EDKA, categorizing it into mild, moderate, and severe based on serum pH and bicarbonate levels. Another classification system is proposed to define stages of EDKA based on anion gap and ketones at the time of diagnosis and during the treatment period. A treatment algorithm is proposed to guide clinicians in managing EDKA. This treatment algorithm includes monitoring anion gap and ketones to guide insulin and fluid management, and slower transition to subcutaneous insulin to prevent a relapse. Increased awareness of EDKA is essential for a timely diagnosis because an early diagnosis and treatment can improve clinical outcomes.

This study investigated bee forewing vein density as it relates to body size and taxonomic group. Within the entomological field of study, it is known anecdotally that wing venation is primarily conserved at the genus level more than any other taxonomic level. Using dorsal and slide-plated wing images, wing vein density (WVD) and intertegular span (ITS) was measured for bee species within different genera and families. A novel way of effectively measuring WVD was developed, a measurement that combines many previously used vein morphology characteristics. The study found that both taxonomic level and body size influence WVD, of which the taxonomic level of genus has the most significant effect, regardless of body size. Thus, this paper found that WVD can be useful for determining genus within a family and gives further insight into insect wing vein evolution.

Windows account for about 4 Quads of US energy consumption or 12% of building energy use. After 20 years of public/private investment (from 1980 to 2000) in technology R&D, coupled with new rating and labeling organizations (NFRC) and with subsequent voluntary ENERGY STAR programs and tighter codes and standards, windows using low-E/argon gas fill (~R3) gained a dominant market share and now account for >86% of all annual sales. However, this remarkable transformation of prior markets has stagnated, with triple glazing (~R5-R7) comprising less than 2% of all window sales in 2016. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates the national technical potential savings using R5-R7 windows at ~ 2Q annually, but manufacturers claim they would have to redesign their entire sash/frame inventory to accommodate the thicker and heavier insulating glass units (IGUs) in conventional triple glazed window designs. This paper outlines the initial findings from the first phase of a new collaborative effort, now underway with industry partners, to transform window markets to the R5-R7 insulating levels by introducing a novel packaging of existing technology elements, implemented as a “drop-in replacement” for current IGUs. The program involves working with supply chain partners to ensure component availability, with leading window manufacturers to integrate the key technology elements and initially deploy the new designs, and with market pull partners to speed adoptions rates. Market pull partners include building code officials, utility rebate/incentive programs and ENERGY STAR, along with early adopters such as builders targeting net zero and passive house designers.

The demographic and epidemiological transitions of the past 200 years are well documented at an aggregate level. Understanding differences in individual and group risks for mortality during these transitions requires linkage between demographic data and detailed individual cause of death information. This paper describes the digitization of almost 185,000 causes of death for Ohio to supplement demographic information in the Longitudinal, Intergenerational Family Electronic Micro-database (LIFE-M). To extract causes of death, our methodology combines handwriting recognition, extensive data cleaning algorithms, and the semi-automated classification of causes of death into International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Our procedures are adaptable to other collections of handwritten data, which require both handwriting recognition and semi-automated coding of the information extracted.

By the Sweat of My Browser is a video installation that muddles the definitive slashes often placed between fact/fiction, reality/simulation, rehearsed/improvised, truths/lies. Utilizing performance, props, paper mache, and the language of the internet, I explore this muddling and its material effects on the phenomenology of the human body.This paper contextualizes the installation of work. In it, I discuss key frameworks of my art practice, what Nicole would call “the whys of my work,” through short monologue-style vignettes. These relate to communication and language, camp as a mode of survival, and existing as a teen in the year 2007 - when all media converged and the separation between the internet, TV, cinema, and user generated content collapsed. This body of work was formed as an attempt to navigate having a human body, one that breathes and bleeds and cries and smells, while simultaneously living in the user space of the internet, which is fundamentally anti-body. Through its content and form, it addresses lives lived in constant mediation and the new phenomenologies that have emerged because of this. I discuss my process of making and researching in this paper. These directly mimic the content and form of the work. Or do the content and form mimic the process? Maybe they are an infinite loop, with no end and no beginning. That would be fitting.

This paper is a preliminary environmental scan conducted by Sharon Mizota on behalf of UCI Libraries in 2023 as part of a research assessment designed to identify actionable strategies to support ethical and responsible representation of marginalized histories in digital collection aggregations and exhibitions.The research assessment is itself part of Community-Centered Archives Practice: Transforming Education, Archives and Community History (C-CAP TEACH), a Mellon-funded initiative led by the UCI Libraries Department of Special Collections & Archives — Orange County & Southeast Asian Archive Center. C-CAP TEACH aims to cultivate commitment among higher education institutions to community-centered archives approaches, simultaneously solidifying the ability and responsibility of academic libraries to engage critically and contribute to social justice-focused scholarship, training, pedagogy, and partnerships in their communities.

Native California bees and other wild pollinators, which are essential to many fruit and vegetable crops, are being threatened by climate change, pesticides and habitat degradation. Carbon farming, a set of practices that sequester carbon in the soil or woody biomass, can create habitat that supports these pollinators. This paper focuses on habitat management and farming practices that both increase carbon sequestration and benefit pollinator communities. By incentivizing and supporting conservation practices that incorporate carbon farming, we can protect wild pollinators and increase the resilience of California agriculture in the face of ongoing climate change.

Less than a year before his untimely death, Italo Calvino received an honorary degree from Mount Holyoke College. In his acceptance remarks, Calvino spoke about the importance of what he perceived as a lost skill, the art of description. Reflecting on different types of description, Calvino selected several readings from his own works: “The Button,” Invisible Cities, and Mr. Palomar. Calvino’s choice of readings invites a comparison with his posthumous Six Memos for the Next Millennium, recalling, in particular, his chapters on “Exactitude” and “Visibility.” Calvino’s 1984 recommendation to revive the art of description goes hand in hand with his invitation to reflect on the shades and nuances of language, on precision and rigor as solutions to rescue language and literature from ambiguity and vagueness. He found this rigor and precision in the writings of several authors (from Leopardi to Valéry), as well as in art, in Domenico Gnoli’s work in particular. The intersection between Calvino’s writing and art has been examined by many; my paper further explores this interdisciplinary area. Starting with Calvino’s selections for his Mount Holyoke readings, and with what he construed as “descriptions from life” and “from imagination” (Gnoli as the poet of objects as landscapes, the imaginary scenery of Marco Polo’s intellectual travels, and Palomar’s existential reflections on objects), my article investigates Calvino’s descriptive impulse and the interconnections between literature and art, word and image.&nbsp

Even though Mussolini’s famous definition of cinema as “the strongest weapon” implies a common ground between filmmaking, propaganda, technology, and warfare, a casual viewer of Fascist-era films would be hard-pressed to find explicit references to this interconnectedness. In fact, narrative films made at the time hardly ever dealt with the realities of the regime, to the point that in 1979 Carlo Lizzani spoke of Fascist cinema by calling it “an absence.” Nonetheless, the Fascist obsession with modernity and technological innovations emerges in different ways from most films produced during the Ventennio. Despite their surface-level optimism and faith in the process of modernization, many of these films betray the feelings of anxiety and uncertainty that accompanied the shift from tradition to modernity, reflecting the complexity of the regime’s own attitude towards these cultural modes. In particular, films shot on location in the colonial territories of Eastern Africa display an interesting ambivalence towards technology and the colonial effort itself: while their narratives are seemingly celebratory, the cinematic style they display reveals a more complicated relationship with the Fascist myth-making agenda.This paper will examine four titles belonging to this body of films, grouped by Ruth Ben-Ghiat under the label of Fascism’s Empire Cinema, and will explore their portrayal of modernity by focusing on their representation of the relationship between technology and the human body. I will argue that these films reflect the contradictions intrinsic to the Fascist ideology of progress, and the technological mediation of the camera allows for this ambivalence to emerge without being explicitly stated. That is why, rather than adopting a cultural studies approach, I will employ film analysis as a tool to conduct historical research. I will depart from the film texts and, by analyzing the formal structure of some of their key moments, will locate the places in which f

Sexual and reproductive healthcare restrictions imposed by faith-based hospitals prevent women, sexual minorities, and gender minorities from accessing the full range of comprehensive healthcare. The share of faith-based hospitals in California has increased rapidly in recent years, but no analysis has been completed to understand their distribution and rate of growth. In this paper, we calculate the percentage of religiously affiliated acute, short-term hospital beds per California county. We find that faith-based hospitals have a majority market share in 17 out of 58 California counties. Furthermore, while the percentage of faith-based hospitals in these counties has remained relatively stable from 2000-2010, this proportion has increased tenfold in the past decade. Our data suggest that the expansion of faith-based healthcare systems in California presents a significant barrier to sexual and reproductive healthcare access.

In November 2020, Alaska introduced a new electoral system, combining a “top four” all-party primary with ranked choice voting (RCV) general elections. Supporters of this reform claimed it would reduce the partisan polarization and minority victories generated by closed primaries and plurality elections. But critics suggest that it could make polarization worse by weakening political parties—an important check on political extremism. These are high-stakes issues that go well beyond Alaska, given the problem of political polarization and the search for institutional reforms in America today. Placing the Alaskan reforms in this broader national context, this paper presents an initial assessment of Alaska’s new system at the 2022 primary and mid-term elections. We find the reform was both consequential and largely beneficial, promoting greater choice for voters, more accommodative campaigning, and generally more moderate outcomes than likely under the old rules.

A fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) tool is a type of energy management and information system designed to continuously identify the presence of faults and efficiency improvement opportunities through a one-way interface to the building automation system and application of automated analytics. Building owners and operators at the leading edge of technology adoption are using FDD tools to enable average whole-building portfolio savings of 8 percent. Although FDD tools can inform building operators of operational faults, currently a manual action is always required to correct faults and generate the associated energy savings. A subset of faults, however, such as biased sensors and manual override, can be addressed automatically, removing the need for operations and maintenance staff intervention. Automating this fault “correction” can significantly increase the savings generated by FDD tools and reduce the reliance on human intervention. Doing so is expected to advance the usability, as well as the technical and economic performance, of FDD technologies. In this paper, we present the development of 10 innovative fault auto-correction algorithms for HVAC and lighting systems. When the auto-correction routine is triggered, it will overwrite the control setpoints or other variables (via BACnet or other protocol) to implement the intended changes. These algorithms are able to automatically correct the faults or improve the operation associated with an incorrectly programmed schedule, override manual control, sensor bias, control hunting, rogue zone, and less aggressive setpoints/setpoints setback. The paper will also discuss the implementation of the auto-correction algorithms in FDD software products.

BACKGROUND: Minimally invasive surgeries for non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (VATSs) and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (RATSs) have become standard of care for patients needing surgical resection in early stages. The role for neoadjuvant systemic therapy has increased with patients receiving neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy and immunotherapy. However, there has been some equipoise over the intraoperative and overall outcomes for these patients. Here, we review the current data regarding outcomes of patients undergoing minimally invasive thoracic surgical resection after systemic chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or both. METHODS: A systematic literature review of randomized controlled trials and observational studies presenting data on patients with NSCLC that underwent neoadjuvant systemic therapy followed by minimally invasive surgery was performed assessing complications, conversion rates, and lymph node yield. RESULTS: Our search strategy and review of references resulted in 239 publications to screen with 88 full texts assessed and 21 studies included in our final review. VATS had a statistically significant higher lymph node yield in five studies. The reported conversion rates ranged from 0 to 54%. Dense adhesions, bleeding, and difficult anatomy were the most common reported reasons for conversion to open surgeries. The most common complications between both groups were prolonged air leak, arrythmia, and pneumonia. VATS was found to have significantly fewer complications in three papers. CONCLUSIONS: The current literature supports VATS as safe and feasible for patients with NSCLC after neoadjuvant systemic treatment. Surgeons should remain prepared to convert to open surgeries in those patients with dense adhesions and bleeding risk.

In this paper, we altered an in-person high school tissue engineering program to create a virtual course. Through this alteration, we aimed to show that online programs can still be engaging and at the same time provide greater accessibility and flexibility to students. This was achieved through utilizing Google classroom as a virtual platform for students to engage with course modules and assessments. After analyzing pre- and post-program survey responses in both the in-person and online offerings of the CardioStart program, it was found that students improved in their understanding of all of the tissue engineering topics that were introduced in the programs. Furthermore, when comparing the results from the in-person versus online offerings of the program, it was found that the level of student understanding and learning of these topics was similar across the in-person and online programs. We were also able to engage five times the number of students online as compared to the in-person program, which was conducted yearly for six summers. However, many students indicated that their experience would have been better if hands-on activities were included to supplement their knowledge of cell culture techniques after completing the course. The online program improved accessibility and scalability of the program compared to in-person workshops. Future work will consist of bridging this virtual course and the hands-on experiments performed during the in-person program to provide interested students access to laboratory experiences.

The premutation of the fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMR1) gene is characterized by an expansion of the CGG trinucleotide repeats (55 to 200 CGGs) in the 5 untranslated region and increased levels of FMR1 mRNA. Molecular mechanisms leading to fragile X-premutation-associated conditions (FXPAC) include cotranscriptional R-loop formations, FMR1 mRNA toxicity through both RNA gelation into nuclear foci and sequestration of various CGG-repeat-binding proteins, and the repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN)-initiated translation of potentially toxic proteins. Such molecular mechanisms contribute to subsequent consequences, including mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal death. Clinically, premutation carriers may exhibit a wide range of symptoms and phenotypes. Any of the problems associated with the premutation can appropriately be called FXPAC. Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency (FXPOI), and fragile X-associated neuropsychiatric disorders (FXAND) can fall under FXPAC. Understanding the molecular and clinical aspects of the premutation of the FMR1 gene is crucial for the accurate diagnosis, genetic counseling, and appropriate management of affected individuals and families. This paper summarizes all the known problems associated with the premutation and documents the presentations and discussions that occurred at the International Premutation Conference, which took place in New Zealand in 2023.

Navigation of the state and federal child welfare and special education systems in the U.S. presents significant challenges for caregivers, particularly those of children with disabilities. This dissertation explores the experiences of caregivers who were involved in these two systems, discussing the challenges they faced and analyzing the strategies and resources they utilized for effective navigation. The paper’s study included semi-structured interviews, allowing for an in-depth exploration of caregiver perspectives and experiences: emotional challenges such as denial, anger, depression, isolation, stress, and eventual acceptance were prevalent among caregivers, and the lack of support from these two systems’ service providers created multiple barriers for caregivers. Yet, finding reveal that caregivers utilized their skills, expertise, and existing relationships to effectively navigate the complexities of the two systems, illustrating that caregivers possess strong aspirations for their children's futures and demonstrate determination in advocating for their needs within the systems.

Tracing and quantifying water fluxes in the hydrological cycle is crucial for understanding the current state of ecohydrological systems and their vulnerability to environmental change. Especially the interface between ecosystems and the atmosphere that is strongly mediated by plants is important to meaningfully describe ecohydrological system functioning. Many of the dynamic interactions generated by water fluxes between soil, plant and the atmosphere are not well understood, which is partly due to a lack of interdisciplinary research. This opinion paper reflects the outcome of a discussion among hydrologists, plant ecophysiologists and soil scientists on open questions and new opportunities for collaborative research on the topic "water fluxes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum" especially focusing on environmental and artificial tracers. We emphasize the need for a multi-scale experimental approach, where a hypothesis is tested at multiple spatial scales and under diverse environmental conditions to better describe the small-scale processes (i.e., causes) that lead to large-scale patterns of ecosystem functioning (i.e., consequences). Novel in-situ, high-frequency measurement techniques offer the opportunity to sample data at a high spatial and temporal resolution needed to understand the underlying processes. We advocate for a combination of long-term natural abundance measurements and event-based approaches. Multiple environmental and artificial tracers, such as stable isotopes, and a suite of experimental and analytical approaches should be combined to complement information gained by different methods. Virtual experiments using process-based models should be used to inform sampling campaigns and field experiments, e.g., to improve experimental designs and to simulate experimental outcomes. On the other hand, experimental data are a pre-requisite to improve our currently incomplete models. Interdisciplinary collaboration will help to overcome research gaps

With the development of high-throughput sequencing, whole-genome analysis, such as genomic prediction and genome-wide association studies (GWAS), plays an important role in animal and plant breeding. Under the infinitesimal model, complex traits are assumed to be affected by many genes with small additive effects, and the relationship between genotypes and phenotypes is linear. In most GWAS and genomic prediction studies, one goal is to estimate the joint effects of all SNP markers. The landmark paper by Meuwissen et al. (2001) introduced the Bayesian linear mixed model for whole-genome prediction, which has been widely used in breeding programs.However, as the amount and diversity of omics data continue to grow, several challenges arise for the linear mixed model. First, there is a need to extend mixed models to incorporate multiple sequential layers of data as one connected network (e.g., the regulatory cascades). Second, due to increasing concerns about data privacy, there is a need to adopt mixed models for encrypted data, enabling the sharing of confidential data in genome-to-phenome analyses.New methods were proposed in this thesis that try to solve these two challenges. For the first challenge, we provide a novel framework named mixed model neural network ("NNMM") to extend the mixed model ("MM") to a multilayer neural network ("NN"), thus incorporating sequential layers of data as a unified multilayer network. Nonlinear relationships between different layers of data are allowed via nonlinear activation functions in neural networks. Moreover, NNMM allows various missing patterns for the data in the middle layer, and the network architecture of NNMM can be predefined to be partially connected.For the second challenge, a homomorphic encryption method based on high-dimensional random orthogonal transformations of the raw data has been proposed in Mott et al. (2020). This method is specifically suited for single-marker regression in GWAS using linear mixed models

The COVID-19 pandemic produced a significant decline in international immigration to the USA between 2020 and 2021. This paper documents the timing, characteristics, and heterogeneity of the change in immigration across states and economic sectors. Additionally, we describe the trends in internal native mobility in the USA prior to and after the pandemic, investigating whether natives responded to the decrease in immigration by relocating either geographically or across sectors. Despite the substantial drop in international migration, we do not observe any significant changes in native internal mobility. Employing a panel regression and a shift-share IV, we study the effect of foreign immigration, the emergence of remote-work, and changes in labor demand on cross-state native mobility. Our results indicate that the decline in immigration following COVID-19 and the differential availability of remote-work opportunities across sectors and states did not drive changes in natives’ cross- state or cross-sector mobility.

This paper analyzes the intersection of individual lives and historical context by examining how cohort membership, historical conditions, and individual maturation influence subjective well-being in urban China. We use cross-classified multilevel models and repeated measures of happiness from seven waves of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS 2003–2013, N = 43,308). The results indicate that individuals born between 1956 and 1961 experienced setbacks at various pivotal moments throughout their life, including education, employment, economic stability, and social connections, and this cohort reports a lower overall sense of happiness when compared to other cohorts. The effect of aging on happiness comprises a U-shaped pattern; the middle-aged are the least happy. We observe an upward trend in happiness from 2003 to 2013. These results are confirmed by using subjective socioeconomic status (SES) as an alternative measure of well-being from CGSS 2003 and CGSS 2005 (N = 11,992). This paper contributes to studies of market transition by identifying the birth cohort as an important mechanism of inequality. It also augments the life-course paradigm by highlighting the significance of timing when individual lives intersect with historical context.

Servers’ field energy use remains poorly understood, given heterogeneous computing loads, configurable hardware and software, and operation over a wide range of management practices. This paper explores various characteristics of 1- and 2-socket volume servers that affect energy consumption, and quantifies the difference in power demand between higher-performing SPEC and ENERGY STAR servers and our best understanding of a typical server operating today. We first establish general characteristics of the U.S. installed base of volume servers from existing IDC data and the literature, before presenting information on server hardware configurations from data collection events at a major online retail website. We then compare cumulative distribution functions of server idle power across three separate datasets and explain the differences between them via examination of the hardware characteristics to which power draw is most sensitive. We find that idle server power demand is significantly higher than ENERGY STAR benchmarks and the industry-released energy use documented in SPEC, and that SPEC server configurations—and likely the associated power-scaling trends—are atypical of volume servers. Next, we examine recent trends in server power draw among high-performing servers across their full load range to consider how representative these trends are of all volume servers before inputting weighted average idle power load values into a recently published model of national server energy use. Finally, we present results from two surveys of IT managers (n=216) and IT vendors (n=178) that illustrate the prevalence of more-efficient equipment and operational practices in server rooms and closets; these findings highlight opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of the U.S. server stock.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a highly heterogeneous condition in terms of etiology, symptomatology, and severity. Our existing understanding of ASD derives mainly from research in children and young adults, with little known about neurobiological, cognitive, and behavioral changes later in life. This three-paper dissertation aimed to characterize changes in cortical architecture across middle to older age in ASD and determine how differences relate to cognition and behavior. Data were drawn from an ongoing study of adults with ASD and typical comparison (TC) participants, aged 40-70 years. Study 1 (nASD=20, nTC=21; mean age=50.51 years, SD=6.35; Kohli et al., 2019) examined cortical morphology, including cortical thickness (CT), surface area (SA), and local gyrification index (LGI). LGI, but not CT or SA, was regionally decreased bilaterally in the ASD group. LGI also showed several correlations with executive function scores in the ASD group. Study 2 (nASD=30, nTC=36; mean age=51.50 years, SD=7.09) aimed to identify regionally varying differences in CT and gray-white contrast (GWC) using both group-wise and subject-specific analyses. CT did not differ significantly between groups using either approach. GWC did not differ in the group-wise analysis, but the ASD group showed a greater spatial extent of decreased GWC than controls in subject-specific analyses, along with associations between decreased GWC and ASD symptomatology and dysexecutive symptoms. In the same sample, Study 3 examined intracortical myelin content (MC). Groupwise analyses showed no group differences in average MC or its associations with age. In subject-specific analyses, neuropsychological function differed between subgroups classified by presence or absence of aberrant MC, with poorer performance in the ASD subgroup with atypically high MC in spatially heterogeneous regions. LGI was the only cortical feature demonstrating differences in ASD when examining group level averages, but subject

This paper explores the concept of leveraging generative AI as a mapping assistant for enhancing the efficiency of collaborative mapping. We present the results of an experiment that combines multiple sources of volunteered geographic information (VGI) and large language models (LLMs). Three analysts described the content of crowdsourced Mapillary street-level photographs taken along roads in a small test area in Miami, Florida. GPT-3.5-turbo was instructed to suggest the most appropriate tagging for each road in OpenStreetMap (OSM). The study also explores the utilization of BLIP-2, a state-of-the-art multimodal pre-training method as an artificial analyst of street-level photographs in addition to human analysts. Results demonstrate two ways to effectively increase the accuracy of mapping suggestions without modifying the underlying AI models: by (1) providing a more detailed description of source photographs, and (2) combining prompt engineering with additional context (e.g. location and objects detected along a road). The first approach increases the accuracy of the suggestion by up to 29%, and the second one by up to 20%.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, inmates at USP Lompoc were subjected to increased exposure of the virus due to inaction from staff, guards, and the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). This paper focuses on the history behind prisons and incarceration as a punishment, the timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to events happening in Lompoc, and includes interviews from two former inmates at USP Lompoc, Bernd Appleby and Ron Shehee. Looking at the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and how it affected inmates at Lompoc, the conscious refusal by staff and guards to follow instructions given by the Attorney General, the absence of personal protective equipment, and the lack of structure and testing led to the death and health issues of inmates. Appleby and Shehee highlight the apathy, power imbalance, and inhumane conditions they faced during their time at USP Lompoc. They share specific details into accounts from other prisoners and the health and administrative problems that inmates faced.Incarceration not only affects inmates but their communities as well and more visibility around the injustices at USP Lompoc is needed to show that the ineffectiveness of prisons to handle a pandemic comes at the cost of inmates and their lives.

The Student Resource Building at UC Santa Barbara, finished in 2007, houses a multitude of departments in addition to the Cultural Resource Centers (CRCs). This paper focuses on the history behind student activism, a focus on Asian American student activism, for a resource center for Asian American students. Starting in the late 1980s to early 1990s, the small population of Asian American students and other students of color resulted in students organizing and working with student administrators, including more faculty of color, more focus on student retention, and support for first-generation college students. In March 1998, the Daily Nexus wrote an article that included a quote stating that missing dogs were due to the Vietnamese and Hmong population living in IV. What followed is a series of protests that would ultimately lead to the establishment of the Cultural Resource Centers, housed in the future Student Resource Building. Student activists, to this day, continue to fight for more resources and support in ways that parallel the Asian American activists a few decades prior.

The complex reconstructed structure of materials can be revealed by global optimization. This paper describes a hybrid evolutionary algorithm (HEA) that combines differential evolution and genetic algorithms with a multi-tribe framework. An on-the-fly machine learning calculator is adopted to expedite the identification of low-lying structures. With a superior performance to other well-established methods, we further demonstrate its efficacy by optimizing the complex oxidized surface of Pt/Pd/Cu with different facets under (4 × 4) periodicity. The obtained structures are consistent with experimental results and are energetically lower than the previously presented model.

This paper used cross-lagged panel models to test the longitudinal interplay between maternal cultural socialization, peer ethnic-racial discrimination, and ethnic-racial pride across 5th to 11th grade among Mexican American youth (N = 674, Mage  = 10.86; 72% born in the United States; 50% girls; Wave 1 collected 2006-2008). Maternal cultural socialization predicted increases in subsequent youth ethnic-racial pride, and youth ethnic-racial pride prompted greater maternal cultural socialization. However, peer ethnic-racial discrimination was associated with subsequent decreases in ethnic-racial pride. The magnitude of these associations was consistent across 5th to 11th grades suggesting that maternal cultural socialization messages are necessary to maintain ethnic-racial pride across adolescence, thus families must continually support the development of ethnic-racial pride in their youth to counter the effects of discrimination.

BACKGROUND: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a neoplastic transformation of myeloid precursors that commonly presents as an osteolytic lesion of the long or flat bones in children. Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABC) are benign neoplasms that frequently affect the metaphysis of long bones and the spine, often revealing a rapidly expansile lesion with fluid-fluid levels. LCH with secondary ABC-like changes is a rare condition that has only been reported five times, with two presentations in the cranium. The aim of this paper is to review the etiology, clinical and radiographic presentations, and treatment of this condition, as well as to present a novel case on the topic. CASE DESCRIPTION: We describe a 5-year-old boy with a rapidly growing head mass and eye pain resulting in a diagnosis of LCH with secondary ABC-like changes. Radiography demonstrated an expansile, lytic lesion of the left parietal bone with fluid-fluid levels. A confirmatory diagnosis was made through histopathology, demonstrating an inflammatory, histiocytic infiltrate staining positive for CD1a, CD68, CD207 (Langerin), and S-100. The lesion was surgically excised, and the patient recovered without any complications. CONCLUSION: We present a novel case of LCH with secondary ABC-like changes managed with surgical excision. While a radiographic workup with multiple imaging modalities is helpful for diagnosis, a thorough immunohistochemical analysis is essential as imaging characteristics are variable and nonspecific. Furthermore, surgical excision should be considered first-line treatment for lesions involving the skull in surgically accessible areas as it is curative, alleviates symptoms, and allows for histopathological diagnosis.

Modern states represent themselves with a set of official state symbols, designed to signify the values inherent to their political system. Citizens of those states typically learn the meanings of those symbols in childhood.  With this knowledge, most citizens are trained to read at least the basic symbolism for their countries.  Therefore, state symbols can be seen as coded messages from the state to its people.  An excellent example of this messaging system can be found in the state symbols of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.  Not only were the official state symbols imbued with the values of Marxism-Leninism, but individual elements of those symbols were widely used throughout the country to remind the people of the goal of Soviet society – the attainment of communism.  This paper will examine the Soviet state emblem and the state flag of the USSR to reveal the messages conveyed by the design elements of each.  In doing so, it will demonstrate how the Soviet state used state symbols as messengers of societal values.