cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microproducts in a Digital Economy: Trading Small, Gaining Large

The synergies between technological developments and market-exchange mechanisms hold considerable promise to unlock market inefficiencies and unleash a new era of digital commerce. Two powerful and fundamental techno-economic forces are already in motion in Internet commerce. One, micro-commoditization, is the ability of a producer to disaggregate a product or service into granular components and deliver it to consumers in a sequence. The other, micro-consumption, is the ability of users to consume such components over time to satisfy a specific need. These emerging phenomena are likely to revolutionize trade practices in the digital world. A model of the interactions among the underlying components of this emerging market structure is developed that envisions the consequents of their behavior on digital markets and consumer behavior, and derives a visionary framework for micro-product market structures of the future.
Symplectic Groupoids, Geometric Quantization, and Irrational Rotation Algebras

The rotation algebra A θ for a real parameter θ is defined as the crossed product of the additive group ℤ with the space of functions on the circle T = ℝ/2πℤ via the action n · φ = φ+nθ. 1 More concretely, A θ is the completion with respect to a certain norm of its subalgebra A θ ∞ of smooth elements. The elements of A θ ∞ are the smooth functions f (n, φ) on ℤ × T which, with all their φ-derivatives, are rapidly decreasing in n. The multiplication, which we denote by *, is defined by $$\left( {f * g} \right)\left( {n,\varphi } \right) = \sum\limits_{m,k \in z,m + k = n} {f\left( {m,\varphi } \right)} g\left( {k,\varphi + m\theta } \right)$$
Sexually transmitted diseases and the risk of tubal pregnancy.

Women who were hospitalized for tubal pregnancy in 5 hospitals in King County Washington between 1975-79 were interviewed in order to gather prior history of gonorrhea genital herpes genital warts and trichomoniasis. Their responses were compared to those of women who delivered a liveborn child during the same period. Multiple logistic regression was used to control for the effects of race gravidity smoking Dalkon shield use douching number of sexual partners and history of additional sexually transmitted diseases. The risk of tubal pregnancy in women who reported a history of gonorrhea relative to that in other women was 5.1. As compared to controls women with tubal pregnancy reported more often a history of genital herpes and a history of trichomoniasis. (authors)
Discipline Disproportionalities in Schools: The Relationship between Student Characteristics and School Disciplinary Outcomes

According to a 2014 report from the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, black students represent only 15% of students across the nation, but 35% of students suspended once are black, 44% of students suspended more than once are black, and 36% of expelled students are black. These disparate disciplinary aggregate outcomes, while troubling, do not provide as much information as policymakers need. In this study, we exploit three years of student-level discipline data from Arkansas to assess the extent to which black students or other minority students were more likely to receive certain types of punishments, even for the same infraction. In previous studies utilizing the same dataset, we find that, consistent with the recent reports on this topic, black students were punished more frequently; furthermore, we find that black students received slightly longer punishments than their white peers in the same school. The current study utilizes multinomial logit to assess the extent to which student demographics predict consequence type, even after controlling for infraction-level information and district characteristics. Black students, males, and low-income students (eligible for free- and reduced- lunch) were more likely to receive certain types of exclusionary consequences such as out-of-school suspension, expulsion, and referrals to Alternative Learning Environments relative to in-school-suspension.
Experimental Evaluation of a Bystander Prevention Program for Sexual Assault and Dating Violence

Emerging evidence suggests that bystander prevention programs are promising interventionsfor decreasing sexual violence (SV) and dating violence (DV) on college campuses, yet there have beenno experimental evaluations to date comparing such programs with other programs. The objective of thecurrent study was to test whether a bystander program was better than a traditional psychoeducationviolence prevention program.
23 THE RELATIONSHIP OF PLASMA HOMOCYSTEINE LEVELS TO BONE MINERAL DENSITY IN CHILDREN

Homocysteine, an amino acid intermediate in methionine metabolism, has been associated with cardiovascular disease, dementia, and osteoporosis. While recent studies show that elevated homocysteine levels is a predictor for the risk of bone fractures in older adults, and homocystinuria, a rare genetic disease, is often associated with generalized osteoporosis, little is known about the possible relationship of plasma homocysteine levels to bone mineral density in healthy female children who have reached peak bone mass. This study examined the potential link between peak bone mass, a major determinant of fractures in the elderly and in young women, and plasma homocysteine levels. We compared the plasma homocysteine concentrations of 25 healthy subjects in the highest quartile of bone density to 25 healthy subjects in the lower quartile of bone density. Student9s t-tests and linear regression models were used to analyze the data. A statistically significant difference was found between the highest and lowest quartiles of bone density as well as between the mean homocysteine levels of the two quartiles (95 percent confidence interval). Linear regression showed a negative association (r = -0.467) between homocysteine levels and bone density of the subjects. These finding show a possible association between elevated homocysteine concentrations and lowered bone density in healthy female children.
Characteristics of HIV /AIDS epidemic in Tianhe district of Guangzhou city,1995-2010

Objective To analyze the epidemic characteristics of HIV /AIDS in Tianhe district of Guangzhou city 1995 2010.Methods Data from China information systems for AIDS control and prevention was collected for analysis.Results The first HIV case was found in 1995.Until the end of 2010,the accumulative reports of HIV infection cases were 223,AIDS cases were 110,and AIDS death cases were 17.The number of reported case was increased rapidly in last 3 years,which was accounted for 60.4%.The reported HIV /AIDS cases were concentrated in Tianhe district,which was accounted for 14.7%.Among the 333 cases,the age was from 3 to 70 years old,91.9% was the young adults,251 males and 82 females,injection drug user was accounted for 16.2%,heterosexual contact was accounted for 36.3%,homosexual contact was accounted for 25.2%,and Guangdong citizen was accounted for 53.5%.Conclusion The HIV /AIDS cases report was increased rapidly in the last 3 years and the transmission route was still dominated by sexual contact.
The management of anticoagulant therapy.

Safe, effective anticoagulant therapy requires observance of certain principles of management. The physician must be certain that an absolute contraindication to such therapy does not exist, must be familiar with the agents employed, and must know how to reverse their effects promptly. He must rely on the laboratory for specific information concerning the effects of the drug on the clotting mechanism, but it is his responsibility to interpret the test results clinically.
Genome Sequence of Gordonia Phage BetterKatz.

ABSTRACT BetterKatz is a bacteriophage isolated from a soil sample collected in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania using the host Gordonia terrae 3612. BetterKatz9s genome is 50,636 bp long and contains 75 predicted protein-coding genes, 35 of which have been assigned putative functions. BetterKatz is not closely related to other sequenced Gordonia phages.
Deletion Of Samsn1 Underlies Genetic Susceptibility To Monoclonal Gammopathy Of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) In Mice

KaLwRij/C57Bl (KaLwRij, “Kal-ridge”) is a spontaneous mutant mouse strain predisposed to monoclonal gammopathy of uncertain significance (MGUS) and parallels many features of human pathology including progression to multiple myeloma (MM). In African Americans, an increased prevalence of MM is due to an increased risk of MGUS development (rather than increased rate of progression from MGUS) and is likely therefore mediated by germline MGUS risk alleles. In both humans and mice, the genetic basis for MGUS/MM risk is unknown. We sought to identify the genetic basis for MGUS/MM risk in KaLwRij mice to shed light on genes or pathways that might mediate risk in humans. We employed a novel integrative computational analysis, combining KaLwRij/B6 modified haplotype block analysis and low-power human MM/control single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. We used high-density SNP arrays to establish genetic distances of KaLwRij from 11 another diverse inbred strains and confirmed close homology to parent C57Bl/6. Haplotype block analysis identified genetic loci that diverged from C57Bl/6 and included over 500 genes. We filtered the haplotype list using previously published RNA expression data from the bone marrow of C57Bl/6 and KaLwRij mice, to identify 71 differentially expressed genes. As a final filter, we used SNP data from a genome wide association study (GWAS) of human Caucasian MM case and normal volunteer samples (∼300 each) to identify SNPs differentially represented in MM patients. Combining these sets yielded four (4) candidate genes. Our top candidate, Samsn1 ( Hacs1 ), is a negative regulator of B-cell activation and interestingly, was first identified as a gene differentially expressed in MM. Strikingly, we found that KaLwRij mice had a complete germline deletion of the Samsn1 gene. Samsn1 is expressed within the hematopoetic compartment, including B-cells, macrophages, and osteoclasts (OC), key cell types that participate in MM pathology. Consistent with the reported inhibitory function of SAMSN1, KaLwRij had enhanced naive B-cell response and constitutive Lyn phosphorylation. Further, we found that KaLwRij macrophages and OC also have constitutive Lyn activation consistent activation of cytokine signaling pathways in stromal cells. Absence of Samsn1 may lead to unregulated B-cell and macrophage/OC activation, priming both a pro-tumor bone microenvironment and B-cells for development of MGUS and predisposition to MM. Our approach focused on germline loci rather than malignant cell genetic alterations, advancing our understanding of host predisposition. Identification of the gene or genes predisposing patients to MGUS/MM will provide novel targets for identifying at-risk individuals and will potentially allow the develop of preventative therapeutics for MM. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
The Grande Ronde Model Watershed Program: A Case Study

The case study examines the efforts of local communities in the Grande Ronde area of Oregon to obtain and evelop social capital that allows them to tap economic and political resourc s of the state and federal government in order to develop the area's scare water resources. The case explores what is called the "tragedy of transformation thesis." Essentially this thesis argues that traditional rural communities of place lose their civic republican character, and thus much of their unique community capacity, as they seek economic, political and social capital from a pluralist society dominated by communities of interest (purposive associations). The analysis of the case does not basically support this thesis. Rather the case appears to show that the local political leadership in the Grande Ronde was successful in providing the area with an identity as a community of place while acting effectively as a community of interest.
Optimizing follow-up and study retention in the 21st century: Advances from the front line in alcohol and tobacco research

Abstract Aims Longitudinal studies are integral in addiction research but retention of participants over time can be challenging. While statistical algorithms for missing data have advanced, they remain less desirable than collecting actual data with high retention rates. An update to methodological primers with consideration of evolving technology and privacy concerns is needed for 21st century researchers. Methods Comprehensive follow-up methodological strategies were conducted in four concurrent laboratory- and intervention-based studies across N = 697 drinker and smokers enrolled in studies at the Clinical Addictions Research Laboratory at the University of Chicago. The methods of three key longitudinal research themes and their outcomes are outlined, including: a) mindset of the research team starting at study enrollment, b) modalities with a particular focus on advances in technological strategies in follow-up, and c) mitigating difficult to reach and challenging participants. Results The techniques described herein produced follow-up rates of 95% and 99% in two laboratory-based studies with follow-ups of 1- and 6-years, respectively and 94% and 97% in two intervention studies with follow-ups of 6- and 12- months. Adapting incentive strategies more than tripled on-time follow-up, from 18% to 68% of the sample, switching to more advanced technologies decreased participant burden and time by 30% from traditional telephone interviews, and difficult-to-reach participants averaged 47 contact attempts. Conclusions The methods presented produced exceptional follow-up retention across four studies. The principles and methodologies discussed may be modified across a range of studies to target various sub-populations in the addiction field.
Climate change and climate-driven disturbances in the San Juan River sub-basin of the Colorado River

Accelerated climate change and associated forest disturbances in the Southwestern USA are anticipated to have substantial impacts on regional water resources. Few studies have quantified the impact of both climate change and land cover disturbances on water balances at the basin scale, and none at the regional scale. In this work, we evaluate the impacts of forest disturbances and climate change for a headwater basin to the Colorado River, the San Juan River watershed, using a robustly-calibrated (Nash Sutcliff 0.80) hydrologic model run with updated formulations that improve estimates of evapotranspiration for semi-arid regions. Our results show that future disturbances will have a substantial impact on streamflow with implications for water resource management. Our findings are in contradiction with conventional thinking that forest disturbances reduce ET and increase streamflow. In this study, annual average regional streamflow under the coupled climate-disturbances scenarios is at least 6–11 % lower than those scenarios accounting for climate change alone, and for forested zones of the San Juan River basin streamflow is 15–21 % lower. The monthly signals of altered streamflow point to an emergent streamflow pattern related to changes in forests of the disturbed systems. Exacerbated reductions of mean and low flows under disturbance scenarios indicate a high risk of lower water availability for forested headwater systems to the Colorado River basin. These findings also indicate that explicit representation of land cover disturbances is required in modelling efforts that consider the impact of climate change on water resources.
Nanosensors for nucleic acid targets detection using SERS

Single cell analysis can aid the study of molecular events responsible for cellular functions and unveil their connections to the biological functions of an organism. Biosensors based on surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) can be used to this end and offer several advantages over other sensing platforms, such as sensitivity and multiplexed capabilities, among others. While SERS nanosensors/nanoparticles have been used for analysis in single cells, the delivery of such biosensors relies on cellular uptake, which requires long incubation time and has different efficiencies among cell lines. Nanosensors based on tapered optical fibers, instead, can be inserted in single cells and detect target molecules in subcellular compartment. The combination of these sensing devices with the transduction mechanism of nucleic acid based nanoprobes (i.e. inverse molecular sentinels) will permit the more direct detection of nucleic acids within single cells. This paper presents the development of tapered fiber-based biosensors for the detection of nucleic acid biomarkers in plant cells. The use of inverse molecular sentinels in plant cell was demonstrated. Sensors based on tapered fibers were fabricated and used to measure SERS from a single cell.
A Regioselective Synthesis of 6-Alkyl- and 6-Aryluracils by Cs2CO3- or K3PO4-Promoted Dimerization of 3-Alkyl- and 3-Aryl-2-Propynamides

A regioselective synthesis of 6-alkyl- and 6-aryluracils was developed by the dimerization of 3-alkyl- and 3-aryl-2-propynamides promoted by either Cs2CO3 or K3PO4. A range of 3-aryl-2-propynamides, with both electron-deficient and electron-rich 3-aryl substituents, were successfully reacted in high yields. Cs+ acts as a soft Lewis acid to polarize the carbon–carbon triple bond, and solid K3PO4 interacts with carbonyl oxygen, promoting intermolecular nucleophilic attack by the only weakly nucleophilic amide nitrogen. Experiments were conducted to support the proposed mechanism.
Managed Care and Health Care Rationing

With the rapid growth of managed care systems, health care providers have had to face new ethical issues. This article reviews the rise of managed care and addresses several prominent ethical questions posed by this approach to delivering health services. Clinicians are faced with concerns about confidentiality, informed consent, medical necessity, finances, and provision of care for persons with chronic conditions. Future ethical concerns will involve conflicts of interest for clinicians who practice in prepaid health care systems. Ethical issues are closely related to questions about appropriately allocating society‘s limited resources.
Being Left Behind Amidst Africa’s Rising Imagery: The Maasai In The World Of Information And Communication Technologies (ICTs)

Today the media is replete with stories about Africa rising and enjoying middle –income status. Those promoting the narrative of Africa rising include the World Bank and western –trained elites. The narrative of success assumes that prosperity trickles down to Indigenous communities, who are pictured consuming mobile phones and tablets. At the same time, Hollywood and western media outlets continue to present images of Indigenous Maasai as a cultural export to be consumed. With emphasis on social media narratives, this paper interrogates the continued marginalisation of the Maasai people amidst the myth of a rising Africa. In sum, the Africa rising myth and penetration of ICTs in rural areas masks the dispossession of Maasai means of livelihood, and therefore worsening the groups’ conditions of living.
Leveraging multi-domain prior knowledge in topic models

Topic models have been widely used to identify topics in text corpora. It is also known that purely unsupervised models often result in topics that are not comprehensible in applications. In recent years, a number of knowledge-based models have been proposed, which allow the user to input prior knowledge of the domain to produce more coherent and meaningful topics. In this paper, we go one step further to study how the prior knowledge from other domains can be exploited to help topic modeling in the new domain. This problem setting is important from both the application and the learning perspectives because knowledge is inherently accumulative. We human beings gain knowledge gradually and use the old knowledge to help solve new problems. To achieve this objective, existing models have some major difficulties. In this paper, we propose a novel knowledge-based model, called MDK-LDA, which is capable of using prior knowledge from multiple domains. Our evaluation results will demonstrate its effectiveness.
Convolution-based modified Clarkson integration (CMCI) for electron cutout factor calculation.

Electron therapy is widely used to treat shallow tumors because of its characteristic sharp dose fall-off beyond a certain range. A customized cutout is typically applied to block radiation to normal tissues. Determining the final monitor unit (MU) for electron treatment requires an output factor for the cutout, which is usually generated by measurement, especially for highly irregular cutouts. However, manual measurement requires a lengthy quality assurance process with possible errors. This work presents an accurate and efficient cutout output factor prediction model, convolution-based modified Clarkson integration (CMCI), to replace patient-specific output factor measurement. Like the Clarkson method, we decompose the field into basic sectors. Unlike the Clarkson integration method, we use annular sectors for output factor estimation. This decomposition method allows calculation via convolution. A 2D distribution of fluence is generated, and the output factor at any given point can be obtained. We applied our method to 10 irregularly shaped cutouts for breast patients for 6E, 9E, and 15E beams and compared the results with measurements and the electron Monte Carlo (eMC) calculation using the Eclipse planning system. While both the CMCI and eMC methods showed good agreement with chamber measurements and film measurements in relative distributions at the nominal source to surface distance (SSD) of 100 cm, eMC generated larger errors than the CMCI method at extended SSDs, with up to -9.28% deviations from the measurement for 6E beam. At extended SSD, the mean absolute errors of our method relative to measurements were 0.92 and 1.14, while the errors of eMC were 1.42 and 1.79 for SSD 105 cm and 110 cm, respectively. These results indicate that our method is more accurate than eMC, especially for low-energy beams, and can be used for MU calculation and as a QA tool for electron therapy.
DIFFERENCES IN CLINICAL OUTCOMES AND ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC PROFILES OF PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION IN MEDICALLY-MANAGED SEVERE AORTIC STENOSIS AND PRESERVED LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION

Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been associated with adverse outcomes in patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing valve replacement. However, its prognosis in medically-managed patients remained under-recognized. We compared patients with AF to those without in medically-managed severe AS
Performance of the 1976 University of Wisconsin Model for United States Long-Range Forecasts Made for 1976–80

The 1976 version of the University of Wisconsin model's ultra long-range forecasts of monthly mean temperature and precipitation were verified for selected United States stations over the period 19...
Platelet—von Willebrand Factor Interactions

Clinical observations indicate that the interaction between von Willebrand factor (VWF)* and platelets plays a central role in platelet physiology. The most convincing evidence is that patients with quantitative and/or qualitative abnormalities of their VWF protein have a hemorrhagic diathesis characterized by abnormal platelet function (Zimmerman and Ruggeri, 1983; Coller, 1984a). Additional support for the importance of this interaction comes from observations of patients whose platelets cannot bind VWF to their surface as a result of abnormalities in the platelet membrane receptor mechanisms; however, conclusions from these patients must be tempered by an appreciation of the complexity of the disorders. Thus, patients with the Bernard-Soulier syndrome, whose platelets do not bind human VWF in the presence of ristocetin (Zucker et al., 1977; Moake et al., 1980) and cannot be aggregated by bovine VWF (Bithell et al., 1972; Howard et al., 1973), have a serious bleeding disorder (George et al., 1984; Coller, 1984b). As discussed in Chapter 16, the platelets from these patients lack normal glycoprotein (GP) lb (Nurden and Caen, 1975), the glycoprotein that several lines of evidence indicate is the receptor for both human VWF (when platelets are incubated with ristocetin) and bovine VWF (Kirby, 1977; Phillips, 1980; Coller et al., 1983). In addition to the GP Ib abnormality, platelets from these patients also appear to lack GP V and a glycoprotein of M r 17-22,000 (Clemetson et al., 1982; Berndt et al., 1983; Nurden et al., 1983) that may be noncovalently associated with GP Ib (Coller et al, 1983; Bemdt et al., 1983; Chong et al., 1983; see Chapter 4). Patients with Glanzmann’s thrombasthenia, whose washed platelets fail to bind VWF when stimulated with either thrombin (Ruggeri et al., 1982a) or ADP (Gralnick et al., 1984), also suffer from a severe bleeding disorder (George et al., 1984; Coller, 1984b).
N-CAM is expressed in mature extraocular muscles in a pattern conserved among three species.

Purpose. Extraocular muscles express a number of characteristics not normally seen in mature skeletal muscle. The expression of neural cell adhesion molecule, N-CAM, was assessed immunohistochemically in the extraocular muscles of rabbits, monkeys, and humans to examine the hypothesis that there is greater complexity to extraocular muscle fiber types than the traditional description. The presence of N-CAM in normal mature extraocular muscles may play a role in the etiology and pathobiology of Graves' ophthalmopathy and/or other ocular myopathies. Methods. Extraocular muscles from rabbits, monkeys, and humans were obtained and processed for immunohistochemical localization of the more mature, less sialylated form of N-CAM in histologic sections and in individual, intact myofibers prepared by in vitro digestion techniques. N-CAM localization was compared to the immunohistochemical localization of fast, neonatal, and developmental myosin heavy chain isoforms on serially sectioned myofibers. Additional sections were examined for the presence of the early appearing polysialylated form of N-CAM (polyNCAM). Results. N-CAM-positive myofibers were found in all six extraocular muscles of the three species examined. The rectus muscles showed an increased proportion of N-CAM-positive fibers compared to the oblique muscles. Individual myofibers in the rectus muscles were N-CAM positive extracellularly and intracellularly ; in the oblique muscles, only extracellular staining was evident. Intact dissociated rectus muscle fibers were found that were N-CAM positive on their entire fiber surface. N-CAM was not regionally localized on these isolated fibers. Although polyNCAM was present in the extraocular muscles, only a few small diameter cells were positive for this form of N-CAM. Conclusions. Populations of mature myofibers from all six extraocular muscles express N-CAM homogeneously on their cell surfaces. The orbital layer was almost completely N-CAM positive. When the staining pattern of the global layer of the rectus and oblique muscles is compared, not only did the rectus muscles have greater numbers of N-CAM-positive fibers, all rectus muscles showed both extracellular and intracellular N-CAM expression. This was in contrast to the oblique muscles, in which the number of N-CAM-positive fibers was reduced but N-CAM was only present extracellularly. Because of the exclusive involvement of the extraocular muscles in Graves' ophthalmopathy, the absence of N-CAM expression on other mature skeletal muscles, and the increased expression of N-CAM in those muscles (rectus) more affected in this disease, the authors postulate that N-CAM expression may at least be a marker for susceptibility to, if not play a clinically significant role in, the etiology and pathobiology of this disease. Complex patterns of association were demonstrated between N-CAM expression and myosin types, indicating that N-CAM-positive myofibers do not conform to a specific fiber type as traditionally defined.
Prostate-specific antigen doubling time is a significant predictor of overall and disease-free survival in patients with prostate adenocarcinoma treated with brachytherapy.

Abstract Purpose Recently, new approaches have been implemented in treating patients with newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer (PCa). An interesting area of study is to determine which risk factors may be used as predictors of more aggressive PCa behavior in patients with biochemical failure. The aim of this study was to determine prognostic factors in patients with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure after undergoing brachytherapy. Methods and Materials Between 1990 and 2015, 2771 patients with localized PCa underwent treatment at our institution treated by a single radiation oncologist with low-dose-rate brachytherapy as a component of definitive radiation therapy. Disease-specific survival (DSS), distant metastases (DM), and overall survival were calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was also performed. Results In this group, 2126 patients (89%) had no evidence of PSA failure. Of the 251 of patients that did have biochemical failure, 115 (45.8%), 58 (23.1%), 78 (31.1%) had a PSA doubling time (PSADT) of 12 months, respectively. Doubling time was associated with a statistically significant impact on DSS and DM but not overall survival, which appears to be dominated by initial age at diagnosis as well as stage. Conclusions We have shown here that PSADT predicts for DSS and freedom from DM in our large prospectively followed cohort. Given the variable trajectory of metastatic and recurrent PCa, strong prognostic factors such as PSADT may be able to select a group of patients who benefit from earlier or escalated systemic therapies such as androgen deprivation or cytotoxic chemotherapy.
Shared biological pathways for frailty and cognitive impairment: A systematic review.

1.1. Background The rates of older adults with a functional disability related to frailty have been estimated to be about 30% in adults ages 80 and older (Fried et al., 2004). Frailty is a unique health condition characterized by a symptom cluster including fatigue, decreased physical activity, weight loss, grip strength, and slowed gait (Fried et al., 2001). Both cognitive impairment and physical frailty independently lead to increased disability, falls, mortality, an increase in health service need, and high direct/indirect costs to healthcare, often long-term care and hospitalization (Fried et al., 2001; Global Health and Aging, 2015). A growing body of evidence suggests that factors such as mental health and cognition may influence the frailty status of an older adult (Brown et al., 2014; Gray et al., 2013; Han et al., 2014). Frail older adults with cognitive impairment who have a fivefold increase (HR, 5.12) in mortality risk, a twelvefold increase (OR, 12.2) in functional disability, and lower quality of life compared to individuals with isolated frailty or cognitive impairment (Feng et al., 2017). The relationship between physical frailty and cognitive impairment with evidence of an interrelated neuropathology (Buchman et al., 2014; Lista and Sorrentino, 2010) may provide a means to identify individuals with cognitive impairment caused by non-neurodegenerative conditions that might be reversible (Buchman and Bennett, 2013; Kelaiditi et al., 2013; Solfrizzi et al., 2017). Although frailty and cognitive impairment have been shown to be related, both constructs have long been studied separately (Kelaiditi et al., 2013).
Scaling of major organs in hatchling female American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)

Allometric equations represent relationships between morphological/physiological traits and body mass Y = aMb , where Y is the trait, a is elevation, b is the exponent describing the shape of the line, and M is body mass. We measured visceral organ masses in hatchling alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) from five clutches from approximately 45 to 500 g wet body mass. The interaction between initial egg mass and clutch identity was significant for initial hatchling mass, but only egg mass, not clutch, had a significant effect on initial snout-vent and head length. Kidney and liver mass showed biphasic scaling with body mass, as determined by "breakpoint" analyses, with the breakpoint at 120 g wet body mass. Kidney and liver wet mass showed slopes b > 1.0 as animals increased approximately 45-120 g, with significantly lower b approximately 0.8-0.9 for alligators 120-500 g. Within kidney and liver mass, below and above the breakpoint, organ mass slopes tended to be similar across clutches. Lung and heart wet mass did not show biphasic scaling, with b approximately 0.8-0.9. Within lung and heart mass, clutches had statistically identical slopes. Combined clutch data for wet mass showed distinct regressions with b > 1.4 for approximately 45-120 g alligators' kidney and liver mass, compared with approximately 120-500 g alligators' kidney, liver, lung, and heart mass b < 1.0. Alligators show rapid kidney and liver growth following hatching, with higher rates than lung or heart tissue. Clutch, egg mass, and hatchling size influence organ size, and each factor should be accounted for in future studies exploring reptile morphology and physiology to assess environmental versus clutch contributions.
Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Kinase (CaMKII) Inhibition Protects Against Purkinje Cell Damage Following CA/CPR in Mice

Ischemic brain damage is triggered by glutamate excitotoxicity resulting in neuronal cell death. Previous research has demonstrated that N-methly-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor activation triggers downstream calcium-dependent signaling pathways, specifically Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). Inhibiting CaMKII is protective against hippocampal ischemic injury, but there is little known about its role in the cerebellum. To examine the neuroprotective potential of CaMKII inhibition in Purkinje cells, we subjected C57BL/6 or CaMKIIα KO male mice (8–12 weeks old) to cardiac arrest followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CA/CPR). We performed a dose-response study for tat-CN19o and cerebellar injury was analyzed at 7 days after CA/CPR. Acute signaling was assessed at 6 h after CA/CPR using Western blot analysis. We observed increased phosphorylation of the T286 residue of CaMKII, suggesting increased autonomous activation. Analysis of Purkinje cell density revealed a decrease in cell density at 7 days after CA/CPR that was prevented with tat-CN19o at doses of 0.1 and 1 mg/kg. However, neuroprotection in the cerebellum required doses that were 10-fold higher than what was needed in the hippocampus. CaMKIIα KO mice subjected to sham surgery or CA/CPR had similar Purkinje cell densities, suggesting CaMKIIα is required for CA/CPR-induced injury in the cerebellum. We also observed a CA/CPR-induced activation of death-associated protein kinase (DAPK1) that tat-CN19o did not block. In summary, our findings indicate that inhibition of autonomous CaMKII activity is a promising therapeutic approach that is effective across multiple brain regions.
Comparison of Mixed Diversity Schemes to Enhance Reliability of Wireless Networks

Erraticness of the radio spectrum makes communication on wireless networks scarcely deterministic, which renders them hardly suitable for the use in application scenarios that demand high reliability, e.g., industrial wireless control systems. To counteract unpredictable phenomena like electromagnetic noise, moving obstacles, and collisions with interfering traffic, diversity in time, frequency, and space is customarily exploited.
arcasHLA: high-resolution HLA typing from RNAseq.

Motivation The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) locus plays a critical role in tissue compatibility and regulates the host response to many diseases, including cancers and autoimmune di3orders. Recent improvements in the quality and accessibility of next-generation sequencing have made HLA typing from standard short-read data practical. However, this task remains challenging given the high level of polymorphism and homology between HLA genes. HLA typing from RNA sequencing is further complicated by post-transcriptional modifications and bias due to amplification. Results Here, we present arcasHLA: a fast and accurate in silico tool that infers HLA genotypes from RNA-sequencing data. Our tool outperforms established tools on the gold-standard benchmark dataset for HLA typing in terms of both accuracy and speed, with an accuracy rate of 100% at two-field resolution for Class I genes, and over 99.7% for Class II. Furthermore, we evaluate the performance of our tool on a new biological dataset of 447 single-end total RNA samples from nasopharyngeal swabs, and establish the applicability of arcasHLA in metatranscriptome studies. Availability and implementation arcasHLA is available at https://github.com/RabadanLab/arcasHLA. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Quality and Safety in Health Care, Part LXIX: Introduction to the Responsibilities of the Chief Medical Officer.

ABSTRACT The chief medical officer (CMO) is a key member of the administration of most large health care systems. The CMO helps with communication between the medical staff and the nonphysician administrators. The CMO typically plays an important role in utilization review, ensuring compliance with laws and regulations, peer review, credentialing, and privileging. One of the most important roles of the CMO has been to improve quality and safety while keeping costs under control, although now many institutions also have quality and safety officers. In addition, the CMO plays a major role in advising the administration regarding clinical equipment purchases, including those for emerging technologies, and in long-range clinical planning.
Are We Measuring What Matters? How Student and Clerkship Characteristics Influence Clinical Grading.

PURPOSE Given the growing emphasis placed on clerkship performance for residency selection, clinical evaluation and its grading implications are critically important; therefore, the authors conducted this study to determine which evaluation components best predict a clinical honors recommendation across 3 core clerkships. METHOD Student evaluation data were collected during academic years 2015-2017 from the third-year internal medicine (IM), pediatrics, and surgery clerkships at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. The authors used factor analysis to examine 12 evaluation components (12 items), and they applied multilevel logistic regression to correlate evaluation components with a clinical honors recommendation. RESULTS Of 3,947 completed evaluations, 1,508 (38%) recommended clinical honors. The top item that predicted a clinical honors recommendation was clinical reasoning skills for IM (odds ratio [OR] 2.8; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9 to 4.2; P < .001), presentation skills for surgery (OR 2.6; 95% CI, 1.6 to 4.2; P < .001), and knowledge application for pediatrics (OR 4.8; 95% CI, 2.8 to 8.2; P < .001). Students who spent more time with their evaluators were more likely to receive clinical honors (P < .001), and residents were more likely than faculty to recommend clinical honors (P < .001). Of the top 5 evaluation items associated with clinical honors, 4 composed a single factor for all clerkships: clinical reasoning, knowledge application, record keeping, and presentation skills. CONCLUSIONS The 4 characteristics that best predicted a clinical honors recommendation in all disciplines (clinical reasoning, knowledge application, record keeping, and presentation skills) correspond with traditional definitions of clinical competence. Structural components, such as contact time with evaluators, also correlated with a clinical honors recommendation. These findings provide empiric insight into the determination of clinical honors and the need for heightened attention to structural components of clerkships and increased scrutiny of evaluation rubrics.
Motifs of the C-terminal Domain of MCM9 Direct Localization to Sites of Mitomycin-C Damage for RAD51 Recruitment

The MCM8/9 complex is implicated in aiding fork progression and facilitating homologous recombination (HR) in response to several DNA damage agents. MCM9 itself is an outlier within the MCM family containing a long C-terminal extension (CTE) comprising 42% of the total length, but with no known functional components and high predicted disorder. In this report, we identify and characterize two unique motifs within the primarily unstructured CTE that are required for localization of MCM8/9 to sites of mitomycin C (MMC) induced DNA damage. First, an unconventional bipartite-like nuclear localization (NLS) motif consisting of two positively charged amino acid stretches separated by a long intervening sequence is required for the nuclear import of both MCM8 and MCM9. Second, a variant of the BRC motif (BRCv), similar to that found in other HR helicases, is necessary for localization to sites of MMC damage. The MCM9-BRCv directly interacts with and recruits RAD51 downstream to MMC-induced damage to aid in DNA repair. Patient lymphocytes devoid of functional MCM9 and discrete MCM9 knockout cells have a significantly impaired ability to form RAD51 foci after MMC treatment. Therefore, the disordered CTE in MCM9 is functionally important in promoting MCM8/9 activity and in recruiting downstream interactors; thus, requiring full length MCM9 for proper DNA repair.
Innate immune system function following systemic RNA-interference of the Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 gene in the cricket Acheta domesticus.

Abstract Fragile X syndrome (FXS), caused by a mutation in the Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) gene, is a common form of inherited mental retardation. Mutation of the gene leads to a loss of the gene product Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein (FMRP). While a loss of FMRP has been primarily associated with neural and cognitive deficits, it has also been reported to lead to immune system dysfunction in both humans and flies. We used the Acheta domesticus transcriptome to identify a highly conserved cricket ortholog of FMR1 (adfmr1). We cloned a partial cDNA of adfmr1, used systemic RNA interference (RNAi) to knockdown adfmr1 expression, and examined the impact of this knockdown (KD) on the cellular and humoral responses of the insect innate immune system. Following RNAi, both male and female crickets exhibited an increase in the number of circulating hemocytes, a decrease in total hemolymph phenoloxidase (PO) activity, and an increase in fat body lysozyme expression. Despite similar changes in these immune parameters in both sexes, male and female crickets responded differently to an immune challenge. Most KD males failed to survive an intra-abdominal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide, while KD females were just as likely as control females to survive this challenge. Our results support that decreased fmr1 expression can alter the cellular and humoral defenses of the insect innate immune system, and may lead to a decrease in male, but not female, immunocompetence.
Psychometric Properties of Flourishing Scales From a Comprehensive Well-Being Assessment

In this article, we develop a measure of complete well-being. The framework is derived from the theoretical model of human flourishing understood as a state in which all aspects of a human life are favorable. The approach extends beyond psychological well-being and reflects the World Health Organization definition of health that not only considers the health of body and mind but also embraces the wholeness of the person. The Well-Being Assessment (WBA) is a comprehensive instrument designed to assess holistic well-being in six domains: emotional health, physical health, meaning and purpose, character strengths, social connectedness, and financial security. Although each of these domains is distinct, all of them are nearly universally desired, and all but financial security constitute ends in themselves. Data were collected from a representative sample of working adults. A sample of 276 employees participated in the pilot, 2,370 participated in the first wave and 1,209 in the second wave of the survey. The WBA showed a good fitting (40 items, six factors), satisfactory reliability, test-retest correlation, and convergent/discriminant validity in relation to stability over time and relevant health measures, as well as a good fit to the data that were invariant over time, gender, age, education, and marital status. The instrument can be of use for scientists, practitioners, clinicians, public health officials, and patients. Adoption of more holistic measures of well-being that go beyond psychological well-being may help to shift the focus from health deficiencies to health and well-being promotion.
Draft Genome Sequences of Two Xanthomonas fragariae Strains

ABSTRACT Xanthomonas fragariae is the causal agent of angular leaf spot of strawberry. Short-read sequences were generated for two X. fragariae strains with different virulence phenotypes on the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. These genome sequences will contribute to a better understanding of pathogen evolution and the genes contributing to virulence in X. fragariae.
Coordinated leading- and lagging-strand synthesis at the Escherichia coli DNA replication fork. I. Multiple effectors act to modulate Okazaki fragment size.

The coordinated action of many enzymatic activities is required at the DNA replication fork to ensure the error-free, efficient, and simultaneous synthesis of the leading and lagging strands of DNA. In order to define the essential protein-protein interactions and model the regulatory pathways that control Okazaki fragment synthesis, we have reconstituted the replication fork of Escherichia coli in vitro in a rolling circle-type DNA replication system. In this system, in the presence of the single-stranded DNA binding protein, the helicase/primase function on the lagging-strand template is provided by the primosome, and the synthesis of DNA strands is catalyzed by the DNA polymerase III holoenzyme. These reconstituted replication forks synthesize equivalent amounts of leading- and lagging-strand DNA, move at rates comparable to those measured in vivo (600-800 nucleotides/s at 30 degrees C), and can synthesize leading strands in the range of 150-500 kilobases in length. Using this system, we have studied the cycle of Okazaki fragment synthesis at the replication fork. This cycle is likely to have several well defined decision points, steps in the cycle where incorrect execution by the enzymatic machinery will result in an alteration in the product of the reaction, i.e. in the size of the Okazaki fragments. Since identification of these decision points should aid in the determination of which of the enzymes acting at the replication fork control the cycle, we have endeavored to identify those reaction parameters that, when varied, alter the size of the Okazaki fragments synthesized. Here we demonstrate that some enzymes, such as the DnaB helicase, remain associated continuously with the fork while others, such as the primase, must be recruited from solution each time synthesis of an Okazaki fragment is initiated. We also show that variation of the concentration of the ribonucleoside triphosphates and the deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates affects Okazaki fragment size, that the control mechanisms acting at the fork to control Okazaki fragment size are not fixed at the time the fork is assembled but can be varied during the lifetime of the fork, and that alteration in the rate of the leading-strand DNA polymerase cannot account for the effect of the deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates.
Laws and Policy to Address the Link of Family Violence

This chapter argues that there is a link between animal cruelty and physical abuse of humans and advocates for focusing on the link between the two behavioral patterns. I suggest that the law may capitalize upon this link to better address the violence by incorporating compassion into educational programs, enacting laws that properly indicate the seriousness of animal abuse, with stiff penalties, require cross-reporting of abuses among agencies, providing safe havens for all victims of family abuse, and more aggressively prosecuting and punishing abusers.