A LONGITUDINAL STATISTICAL NETWORK ANALYSIS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ITIGATION AND ALLIANCES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1970-2001

This dissertation investigates the structural dynamics of the inter-organizational (litigation, alliance) relations in the environmental movement sector (EMS) in the United States, 1970-2001. Particularly, it focuses on the litigative and alliance ties between the environmental organizations (EORGs) including both environmental movement organizations (EMOs) and environmental government agencies (EGAs), and explaining the processes by which the contemporary inter-EORG structure has emerged over time. The methods used in analysis include (balance, structural) partitioning, p-star logit, and categorical data analysis in statistical network analysis. The data analyzed were collected from various sources including LexisNexis and Guide Star and include both organizational attributes and relations. To explicate the dynamic processes by which the contemporary inter-EORG structure has emerged, this dissertation investigates the formation of dyadic, triadic, and network structure with regard to litigative and alliance ties, respectively. Selected fundamental models of network dynamics (transitive dominance, strategic actor, and social balance) help explain the empirical inter-organizational (litigation, alliance) relations in later chapters. The theoretical and empirical findings help better understand the structural and dynamic issues in the study of the environment, social movement, complex organizations, and network evolution

Framing Climate Policy Debates: Science, Network, and U.S. Congress, 1976-2007

Debates on global climate change (GCC) have been heavily influenced by such factors as scientific evidence, media coverage, public concerns, partisan interest, and so forth. Focusing on the linkages among the congressional committees, hearings, and invited witnesses (and their sectors), this study investigates the relational conditions under which congressional committees have mobilized climate expertise to discuss climate change issues for the past decades in U.S. Congress. Our findings show that agenda setting and witness selection by the committees significantly differed across the party lines: more environmental scientists were invited to define GCC as a threat in Democratic Congresses, whereas industrial scientists, to search for solutions in Republican Congresses. Except for a few proactive committees, committee jurisdiction was limitedly exercised. Our findings presents strong evidence along which climate policy debates have been framed based on a biased input of climate expertise

Is Radical Surgery Necessary for All Patients Diagnosed as Having Non-Curative Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection?

If a lesion does not meet the expanded indication criteria for treatment with endoscopic therapy for early gastric cancer or has a positive resection margin, it is regarded as suitable for non-curative resection. Non-curative resection is closely related to the risk of local recurrence, lymph node metastasis, and poor prognosis. If the result is confirmed as non-curative resection, additional treatment should be considered depending on the risks of residual tumor, local recurrence, and lymph node metastasis. As lymphatic invasion is the most important risk factor of recurrence and poor prognosis, surgical treatment should be considered if lymphatic invasion is present. If patients are not suitable for additional surgery owing to old age or coexisting severe disease, close surveillance can be an alternative treatment option

Analysis of the Effects of Breast Reconstruction in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Radiotherapy after Mastectomy

BackgroundImmediate breast reconstruction after mastectomy and delayed breast reconstruction with post-supplementary treatment are the two types of breast reconstruction currently performed when treating breast cancer. Post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) not only reduces local recurrence but also improves overall survival. However, the complications and survival rates associated with PMRT need to be clear when determining the timing of breast reconstruction. Accordingly, we investigated the optimal timing of breast reconstruction by observing patients who underwent mastectomy followed by PMRT, based on their overall health and aesthetic satisfaction.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed 21 patients who underwent breast reconstruction with PMRT between November 2004 and November 2010. We collected data regarding the various methods of mastectomy, and the modality of adjuvant therapy, such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and radiotherapy. Telephone interviews were conducted to study the general and aesthetic satisfaction.ResultsPatients who received PMRT after breast reconstruction showed a greater complication rate than those undergoing breast reconstruction after PMRT (P=0.02). Aesthetic satisfaction was significantly higher in the groups undergoing breast reconstruction after PMRT (P=0.03). Patients who underwent breast reconstruction before PMRT developed complications more frequently, but they expressed greater aesthetic satisfaction with the treatment.ConclusionsIt is recommended that the complication rates and aesthetic satisfaction after breast reconstruction be carefully considered when determining the optimal timing for radiotherapy

Origin of Difference in the Reactivity of Aliphatic and Aromatic Guanidine-containing Pharmaceuticals Toward [18F]Fluorination: Coulombic Forces and Hydrogen Bonding

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151351/1/bkcs11842.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/151351/2/bkcs11842_am.pd

Disruption of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking as a cellular senescence driver

Senescent cells exhibit a reduced response to intrinsic and extrinsic stimuli. This diminished reaction may be explained by the disrupted transmission of nuclear signals. However, this hypothesis requires more evidence before it can be accepted as a mechanism of cellular senescence. A proteomic analysis of the cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions obtained from young and senescent cells revealed disruption of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking (NCT) as an essential feature of replicative senescence (RS) at the global level. Blocking NCT either chemically or genetically induced the acquisition of an RS-like senescence phenotype, named nuclear barrier-induced senescence (NBIS). A transcriptome analysis revealed that, among various types of cellular senescence, NBIS exhibited a gene expression pattern most similar to that of RS. Core proteomic and transcriptomic patterns common to both RS and NBIS included upregulation of the endocytosis-lysosome network and downregulation of NCT in senescent cells, patterns also observed in an aging yeast model. These results imply coordinated aging-dependent reduction in the transmission of extrinsic signals to the nucleus and in the nucleus-to-cytoplasm supply of proteins/RNAs. We further showed that the aging-associated decrease in Sp1 transcription factor expression was critical for the downregulation of NCT. Our results suggest that NBIS is a modality of cellular senescence that may represent the nature of physiological aging in eukaryotes. © 2021, The Author(s).1

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts