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"Burns, Scott"
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Classification and sudden departure mechanism of high-speed landslides caused by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
The sudden departure mechanism of high-speed landslides has always constituted a popular yet difficult research topic. Therefore, although a systematic classification of high-speed landslides is necessary, particularly since different types of landslides exhibit different mechanisms, an associated methodology has yet to be established. This paper investigates an easily overlooked phenomenon—landslide-quake, which is defined as a local ground vibration triggered by the sudden rupture of the locked segment of a high-speed landslide that occurs immediately prior to the departure of the landslide. This new concept is employed as a foundation for a new classification. The characteristics and formation conditions of landslide-quake are discussed, based upon which the high-speed landslides that occurred following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake are classified into three different types. Subsequently, the sudden departure mechanism of each type of landslide is analyzed, thereby providing a new method for research on the sudden departure mechanism of high-speed landslides.
Journal Article
Simultaneous Analysis and Quality Assurance for Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables non-invasive, cyto-architectural mapping of in vivo tissue microarchitecture through voxel-wise mathematical modeling of multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) acquisitions, each differently sensitized to water diffusion. DTI computations are fundamentally estimation processes and are sensitive to noise and artifacts. Despite widespread adoption in the neuroimaging community, maintaining consistent DTI data quality remains challenging given the propensity for patient motion, artifacts associated with fast imaging techniques, and the possibility of hardware changes/failures. Furthermore, the quantity of data acquired per voxel, the non-linear estimation process, and numerous potential use cases complicate traditional visual data inspection approaches. Currently, quality inspection of DTI data has relied on visual inspection and individual processing in DTI analysis software programs (e.g. DTIPrep, DTI-studio). However, recent advances in applied statistical methods have yielded several different metrics to assess noise level, artifact propensity, quality of tensor fit, variance of estimated measures, and bias in estimated measures. To date, these metrics have been largely studied in isolation. Herein, we select complementary metrics for integration into an automatic DTI analysis and quality assurance pipeline. The pipeline completes in 24 hours, stores statistical outputs, and produces a graphical summary quality analysis (QA) report. We assess the utility of this streamlined approach for empirical quality assessment on 608 DTI datasets from pediatric neuroimaging studies. The efficiency and accuracy of quality analysis using the proposed pipeline is compared with quality analysis based on visual inspection. The unified pipeline is found to save a statistically significant amount of time (over 70%) while improving the consistency of QA between a DTI expert and a pool of research associates. Projection of QA metrics to a low dimensional manifold reveal qualitative, but clear, QA-study associations and suggest that automated outlier/anomaly detection would be feasible.
Journal Article
Friends with kids : love, happiness, kids pick two
A daring and hilarious ensemble comedy about a close-knit circle of friends whose lives change once they have kids. The last two singles in the group observe the effect that kids have had on their friends' relationships and wonder if there's a better way to make it work. When they decide to have a child together, and date other people, their unconventional 'experiment' leads everyone in the group to question the nature of friendship, family, and, above all, true love.
DVD
Tuberculosis Outbreaks in State Prisons, United States, 2011–2019
Objectives. To understand the frequency, magnitude, geography, and characteristics of tuberculosis outbreaks in US state prisons. Methods. Using data from the National Tuberculosis Surveillance System, we identified all cases of tuberculosis during 2011 to 2019 that were reported as occurring among individuals incarcerated in a state prison at the time of diagnosis. We used whole-genome sequencing to define 3 or more cases within 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms within 3 years as clustered; we classified clusters with 6 or more cases during a 3-year period as tuberculosis outbreaks. Results. During 2011 to 2019, 566 tuberculosis cases occurred in 41 state prison systems (a median of 3 cases per state). A total of 19 tuberculosis genotype clusters comprising 134 cases were identified in 6 state prison systems; these clusters included a subset of 5 outbreaks in 2 states. Two Alabama outbreaks during 2011 to 2017 totaled 20 cases; 3 Texas outbreaks during 2014 to 2019 totaled 51 cases. Conclusions. Only Alabama and Texas reported outbreaks during the 9-year period; only Texas state prisons had ongoing transmission in 2019. Effective interventions are needed to stop tuberculosis outbreaks in Texas state prisons. (Am J Public Health. 2022;112(8):1170–1179. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2022.306864 )
Journal Article
Institutions and Entrepreneurship: Pushing the Boundaries
New institutional economics (NIE) and Austrian economics (AE) both emphasize the role that institutions play in facilitating or impeding entrepreneurship and hence economic growth. In this paper, we discuss the complementarities between AE and NIE for advancing our understanding of the relationship between institutions and entrepreneurship. We argue that a subjectivist view of institutions, entrepreneurial microfoundations, and capital heterogeneity can enrich our understanding of within-country variation in entrepreneurial strategies, institutional evolution, and the relationship between institutions and production processes. We hope our discussion serves as an invitation both for further theoretical collaboration between the two camps and as a spur to applied research at the intersection of institutions and entrepreneurship.
Journal Article
Therapeutics of Alzheimer’s Disease: Recent Developments
With increasing aging, dementia is a growing public health concern globally. Patients with dementia have multiple psychological and behavioral changes, including depression, anxiety, inappropriate behavior, paranoia, agitation, and hallucinations. The major types of dementia are Alzheimer’s disease (AD), vascular dementia (VCID), Lewy body dementia (LBD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and mixed dementia (MiAD). Among these, AD is the most common form of dementia in the elderly population. In the last three decades, tremendous progress has been made in understanding AD’s biology and disease progression, particularly its molecular basis, biomarker development, and drug discovery. Multiple cellular changes have been implicated in the progression of AD, including amyloid beta, phosphorylated tau, synaptic damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, deregulated microRNAs, inflammatory changes, hormonal deregulation, and others; based on these changes, therapeutic strategies have been developed, which are currently being tested in animal models and human clinical trials. The purpose of our article is to highlight recent therapeutic strategies’ developments, critically discuss current strategies’ failures, and propose new strategies to combat this devasting mental illness.
Journal Article
Correction to: Classification and sudden departure mechanism of high-speed landslides caused by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake
The original article has been published inadvertently with some errors in Fig. 1 and a keyword.
Journal Article
A landscape of genomic alterations at the root of a near-untreatable tuberculosis epidemic
Background
Atypical Beijing genotype
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
strains are widespread in South Africa and have acquired resistance to up to 13 drugs on multiple occasions. It is puzzling that these strains have retained fitness and transmissibility despite the potential fitness cost associated with drug resistance mutations.
Methods
We conducted Illumina sequencing of 211 Beijing genotype
M. tuberculosis
isolates to facilitate the detection of genomic features that may promote acquisition of drug resistance and restore fitness in highly resistant atypical Beijing forms. Phylogenetic and comparative genomic analysis was done to determine changes that are unique to the resistant strains that also transmit well. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination for streptomycin and bedaquiline was done for a limited number of isolates to demonstrate a difference in MIC between isolates with and without certain variants.
Results
Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that two clades of atypical Beijing strains have independently developed resistance to virtually all the potent drugs included in standard (pre-bedaquiline) drug-resistant TB treatment regimens. We show that undetected drug resistance in a progenitor strain was likely instrumental in this resistance acquisition. In this cohort, ethionamide (
ethA
A381P) resistance would be missed in first-line drug-susceptible isolates, and streptomycin (
gidB
L79S) resistance may be missed due to an MIC close to the critical concentration. Subsequent inadequate treatment historically led to amplification of resistance and facilitated spread of the strains. Bedaquiline resistance was found in a small number of isolates, despite lack of exposure to the drug. The highly resistant clades also carry
inhA
promoter mutations, which arose after
ethA
and
katG
mutations. In these isolates,
inhA
promoter mutations do not alter drug resistance, suggesting a possible alternative role.
Conclusion
The presence of the
ethA
mutation in otherwise susceptible isolates from ethionamide-naïve patients demonstrates that known exposure is not an adequate indicator of drug susceptibility. Similarly, it is demonstrated that bedaquiline resistance can occur without exposure to the drug. Inappropriate treatment regimens, due to missed resistance, leads to amplification of resistance, and transmission. We put these results into the context of current WHO treatment regimens, underscoring the risks of treatment without knowledge of the full drug resistance profile.
Journal Article