cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multifunction GPS embedded wrist device for runners

In this paper we represent a wearable wrist device for runners that is equipped with a GPS chip and programmable features. While running, the device would offer velocity, distance and time measurements at a glance. A button to begin and end a tagged area would also be available so that runners could mark particular parts of their run over which they wish to improve their time. The primary components of the proposed wrist device are as follows: a Microchip dsPIC 33FJ128MC802, a Sparkfun 128×128 pixel color LCD, and the LS20031 GPS chip, also available through Sparkfun. However, these components will be reviewed again and replaced with more suitable ones later.
Age changes vs. natural selection in human skeletal traits, and statistics for their study

The statistical treatment of discrete traits can be improved as indicated in the text. Reinterpretation of a recent study gives suggestive evidence for age changes in almost half the traits used.
Major Progress in Planetary Aerobot Technologies

Aerobots (robotic balloons) may significantly change the future of in situ planetary exploration. On Venus, aerobots may serve as the scientific platforms for the in situ measurement of atmospheric gases and for the study of atmospheric circulation. They can be used to drop imaging and deep sounding probes at sites of interest and to acquire and relay high-rate imaging data. Balloon technology is enabling for any Venus surface sample return mission because of the need to lift the sample above most of the atmosphere for rocket return to Earth or Venus orbit. On Mars, aerobots can fill the gap in imaging resolution/coverage between the orbiters and rovers, and perform investigation involving atmospheric sampling, atmospheric circulation, magnetic field mapping and subsurface radar sounding. Solar-heated balloons could be used as low atmospheric decelerators for low-speed landing. On Titan, powered aerobots or even passive balloons can perform long duration low-altitude flight for surface mapping, in situ atmospheric measurements, periodic in situ surface sampling and deployment of surface packages.
Antithyroid action in rats of small doses of some naturally occurring compounds.

Thiocyanate, goitrin and allylisothiocyanate were administered orally, either individually or in various combinations, by force-feeding to rats for a period of 21 days. Thyroid weight, 4-hr 13lI uptake, and synthesis of iodoamino acids were compared in each group to that in controls force-fed only distilled water. The quantity of the various substances tested administered daily was approximately equal to that calculated to be present in the amount of cabbage which the rats would consume daily. Combinations of the 3 test materials produced a greater alteration in thyroid function and increase in thyroid size than did administration of any one of them individually. It is concluded that the goitrogenicity of cabbage and other cruciferous plants may be explained by the combined action of the thiocyanate, goitrin and isothiocyanates contained therein. (Endocrinology 79: 1117, 1966)
A 5 GHz, 21 dBm output-IP3 resistive feedback LNA in 90-nm CMOS

An inductor-less low noise amplifier is implemented in 90 nm CMOS using resistive feedback and non-linearity cancellation. In the high-linearity mode with non-linearity cancellation, the LNA achieves an output IP3 of 21.2 dBm and a noise figure of 2.9 dB at 5 GHz. In the low-noise mode, when the cancellation is switched off, it has a noise figure of 2.3 dB and an output IP3 of 14.3 dBm at 5 GHz. In both modes, the LNA has a gain above 24 dB with a bandwidth above 6.2 GHz. This circuit consumes 42 mW of power and occupies an active die area of 0.016 mm2.
Long-term efficacy of an ergonomics program that includes patient-handling devices on reducing musculoskeletal injuries to nursing personnel.

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term efficacy of an ergonomics program that included patient-handling devices in six long-term care facilities (LTC) and one chronic care hospit...
Coordination of velopharyngeal muscle activity during positioning of the soft palate.

Abstract The relative contributions of the levator veli palatini, palatoglossus, and palatopharyngeus muscles were assessed relative to a range of positions of the velopharynx during production of the vowels [a] and [i] by four normal adult speakers. The results indicate that velopharyngeal positioning is determined by the relative contributions of the levator veli palatini, palatoglossus, and palatopharyngeus muscles. There was an increase in coefficients of determination (i.e., amount of closure level variability explained) when activity levels of all three muscles are included in the statistical model compared to activity in any one muscle analyzed independently. Both consistent and inconsistent relations among activity levels in the three velopharyngeal muscles studied were observed across speaker and vowel produced.
Market scoring rules act as opinion pools for risk-averse agents

A market scoring rule (MSR) - a popular tool for designing algorithmic prediction markets - is an incentive-compatible mechanism for the aggregation of probabilistic beliefs from myopic risk-neutral agents. In this paper, we add to a growing body of research aimed at understanding the precise manner in which the price process induced by a MSR incorporates private information from agents who deviate from the assumption of risk-neutrality. We first establish that, for a myopic trading agent with a risk-averse utility function, a MSR satisfying mild regularity conditions elicits the agent's risk-neutral probability conditional on the latest market state rather than her true subjective probability. Hence, we show that a MSR under these conditions effectively behaves like a more traditional method of belief aggregation, namely an opinion pool, for agents' true probabilities. In particular, the logarithmic market scoring rule acts as a logarithmic pool for constant absolute risk aversion utility agents, and as a linear pool for an atypical budget-constrained agent utility with decreasing absolute risk aversion. We also point out the interpretation of a market maker under these conditions as a Bayesian learner even when agent beliefs are static.
Navigating the Nexus: DMCA Anti-Circumvention Protection of Computer Software

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) anti-circumvention provision addresses circumvention of measures controlling access to copyrighted works. While the application of this provision to digital, encrypted forms of traditional copyrighted works is relatively straightforward, software has seen widely varying degrees of protection applied by courts. In some instances, courts have interpreted the provision broadly, allowing copyright holders to wield the provision to protect other assets by claiming protection of a copyrighted work as a means to another end. In other cases, courts have construed the statute much more narrowly and have refused to provide protection to software that does not use sophisticated measures, such as encryption, to protect the object code.
Automatic identification of general and specific sentences by leveraging discourse annotations

In this paper, we introduce the task of identifying general and specific sentences in news articles. Given the novelty of the task, we explore the feasibility of using existing annotations of discourse relations as training data for a general/specific classifier. The classifier relies on several classes of features that capture lexical and syntactic information, as well as word specificity and polarity. We also validate our results on sentences that were directly judged by multiple annotators to be general or specific. We analyze the annotator agreement on specificity judgements and study the strengths and robustness of features. We also provide a task-based evaluation of our classifier on general and specific summaries written by people. Here we show that the specificity levels predicted by our classifier correlates with the intuitive judgement of specificity employed by people for creating these summaries.
Rescuing Science from Politics: Politicizing Peer Review: The Scientific Perspective

Peer review, or independent review by experts, is an important but limited mechanism for quality control within the scientific enterprise. While it has many manifestations, peer review generally involves a review of materials by experts who are thought to have adequate knowledge and technical expertise to judge the material's quality, while being sufficiently impartial and disinterested to provide judgment free of conflict of interest. Peer review is typically performed in two aspects of the production and shaping of scientific knowledge: in decision-making processes of institutions that provide financial support for scientific research, and in prepublication assessment of manuscripts submitted to scientific journals. More recently, a new, distinct form of peer review has emerged: evaluation of analytical and synthetic documents prepared by government agencies.
Republican Freedom - Three Problems

This article discusses and critiques a popular modern theory of freedom – republicanism. Largely through the extensive work of Princeton professor Philip Pettit, republicanism has stood as a third alternative in the freedom literature to other popular theories such as negative liberty (or liberalism) and positive liberty. The article identifies three troublesome areas in this theory that have not been adequately analyzed in the previous literature. First, by taking the focus off interference (such as represented by “the law”) and shifting it to “domination,” republican freedom leads to the result that a “tyranny of the majority” can impose harsh interference over the people, but claim that it is for the people’s own good, and therefore does not reduce their liberty. Secondly, while republicans suggest constitutional restrictions on the power of the majority to dominate the minority, all of the restrictions themselves are inextricably bound to the idea of majority rule, and therefore are ineffective. Finally, with its focus on domination instead of interference, republicanism destroys the possibility of objective freedom because all freedom enjoyed by a person or a state is subject to the potential for dominating action by another more powerful state. Freedom becomes subjective and relative. My article highlights these inherent problems in republican freedom theory and attempts to resolve the conflict between majority rule and protecting the fundamental freedoms of all members of society. Furthermore, this work highlights the danger in cloaking the concept of freedom in the heading of “domination,” which could actually lead to a greater reduction in the individual’s freedom by the state.
Institutional Support, Perceptions of Elite Motivation, and Representation

A great deal of research has documented and sought to explain American's discontent toward politics. Although most of this research is dedicated to understanding the determinants of the National Election Study's (NES) Trust in Government index, relatively less is known about the willingness of citizens to support institutional changes to their status quo political system. This research relies on social psychological theories of procedural justice to understand how perceptions of the distributive and procedural aspects of government shape both support for institutional changes in the broader U.S. political system and shorter-term trust in government evaluations. Analysis of a unique set of open-ended responses to the National Election Survey demonstrates that support for institutional and system level changes is mostly a function of economic perceptions and the belief that politicians are unresponsive to the public rather than any short-term dissatisfaction with policy outcomes. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates that although the desire for institutional changes in the political system and trust in government are shaped by similar perceptions toward the economy and representation, there remains some distinct variation in the desire for system level changes and trust in government.
Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry Profiling of Anthocyanins and Flavonols in Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) of Varying Genotypes

The structure of flavonoids in food plants affects bioactivity and important nutritional attributes, like micronutrient bioavailability. This study investigated flavonol and anthocyanin compositions of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) of varying genotypes. Black, red, green, white, light brown, and golden brown cowpea phenotypes were analyzed for anthocyanins and flavonols using ultra performance liquid chromatography–tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry. Eight anthocyanins and 23 flavonols (15 newly identified in cowpea) were characterized. Mono-, di-, and tri(acyl)glycosides of quercetin were predominant in most phenotypes; myricetin and kaempferol glycosides were present only in specific phenotypes. The red phenotypes had the highest flavonol content (880–1060 μg/g), whereas green and white phenotypes had the lowest (270–350 μg/g). Only black (1676–2094 μg/g) and green (875 μg/g) phenotypes had anthocyanins, predominantly delphinidin and cyanidin 3-O-glucosides. Cowpea phenotype influenced the type and amount...
Pre-oxidation Silicon Cleaning and its Relation to MOS Reliability and Process-Induced Damage

Material and device reliability issues play a critical role in the choice of materials and processing options for ULSI technology and manufacturing. Recently, chemical surface treatments (e.g., fluorine incorporation, nitridation) have been shown to benefit MOSFET gate dielectric reliability. This paper describes the impact of different pre-oxidation chemical surface treatments on the reliability characteristics of MOS structures by using a combination of x-ray irradiation and electrical stress-induced charge injection techniques. X-ray irradiation at 1-2 keV increases oxide-trapped charge and the density of interface states substantially (80-800X), but these changes depend significantly on the chemistry of pre-oxidation cleaning. Furthermore, the specific surface treatment strongly affects subsequent device reliability; MOS degradation is up to 5X lower when fluorine-based surface pre-cleaning is used.
Feeding and Oviposition Behavior and Life Cycle Strategies of Diabrotica : An Evolutionary View with Implications for Pest Management

Among the species of the genus Diabrotica that occupy the United States, voltinism and adult collection sites are closely related to the presence of suitable larval hosts; thus, species in the fucata group are multivoltine polyphags and species in the virgifera group are univoltine oligophags (or monophags). The group-specific differences in voltinism are attributed directly to the seasonal availability of the host plant and only indirectly to the climate. In the virgifera group, univoltinism combined with a narrow larval host range and limited search capability suggest that oviposition behavior is the primary determinant of whether the newly hatched larvae reach a suitable host. Review of the biosystematic, archaeological, and historical records indicates that D. virgifera sensu lato and D. l. barberi Smith and Lawrence have become pests of corn by convergent evolutlon. This evolutionary view suggests new avenues of research that are discussed in the text
Recent Trials Challenge the Benefits of Omega-3

Recent randomized trials and subsequent meta-analyses have questioned the value of n-3 fatty acid supplementation in cardiovascular disease risk reduction. This lecture will review the clinical trials published between 2010 and 2014 that failed to show benefits of n-3 fatty acids, and one meta-analysis from 2012 that used a controversial statistical approach to conclude no effect. The question of the extent to which n-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces risk for cardiovascular disease remains open. Future studies must be properly powered, use doses of n-3 fatty acids significantly higher than those provided in background diets, focus on patient populations with low n-3 fatty acid tissue levels, treat for longer periods of time, and consider the effects of these agents in the great majority of patients who are not on guideline-directed therapeutic regimens. The strong evidence-base from prospective cohort studies and the ever-deepening understanding of the cellular effects of long-chain n-3 fatty acids together support the need for these nutrients in reducing cardiovascular risk. Short-term findings from randomized controlled trials need to be interpreted in the light of all the evidence.(Presented at the 1907th Meeting, October 27, 2015).
Should central banks target investment prices

Yes, they should. Central banks nearly always state explicit or implicit ination targets in terms of consumer price ination. If there are nominal rigidities in the pricing of both consumption and investment goods and if the shocks to the two sectors are not identical, then monetary policy cannot stabilize ination and output gaps in both sectors. Thus, the central bank faces a tradeo between targeting consumption price ination and investment price ination. In this setting, ignoring investment prices typically leads to substantial welfare losses because the intertemporal elasticity of substitution in investment is much higher than in consumption. In our calibrated model, consumer price targeting leads to welfare losses that are at least three times the loss under optimal policy. A simple rule that puts equal weight on stabilizing consumption and investment price comes close to replicating the optimal policy. Thus, GDP deator targeting is not a good approximation to optimal policy. We conclude that signicant welfare gains can be achieved if central banks shift to targeting a weighted average of consumer and investment price ination, although this would require a major change in current central banking practice. JEL classication : E52; E58; E32; E31
Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator as a Model Substrate to Study Endoplasmic Reticulum Protein Quality Control in Mammalian Cells

Components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system function on the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to select misfolded proteins for degradation. Herein we describe methods that allow for the study of the pathway for proteasomal degradation of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). The experimental system described employs transiently transfected HEK-293 cells and is utilized to monitor the biogenesis of CFTR by Western blot and pulse-chase analysis.
Bank Competition, Stability, and Regulation

This chapter reviews the rationales that have motivated construction of the massive apparatus for implementing regulation and supervision of banking institutions. In addition, it discusses bank efforts to rein in their risks via screening and monitoring activities, and it reviews theories and evidence regarding the effects of market structure on banking fragility. Finally, it describes key aspects of banking regulation that constrain the activities of individual banks and impinge on the structure of the banking industry.
Effects of Training and Environment on Graduate Students’ Self-Rated Knowledge and Judgments of Responsible Research Behavior

Training programs, departmental/disciplinary norms, and individual factors (e.g., personality traits) have been hypothesized to influence (un)ethical behavior. This exploratory study surveyed gradu...
A Functional Data Analysis Approach to Traffic Volume Forecasting

Traffic volume forecasts are used by many transportation analysis and management systems to better characterize and react to fluctuating traffic patterns. Most current forecasting methods do not take advantage of the underlying functional characteristics of the time series to make predictions. This paper presents a methodology that uses functional principal components analysis to create high-quality online traffic volume forecasts. The methodology is validated with a data set of 1755 days of 15 min aggregated traffic volume time series. Compared with 365 randomly selected days, the functional forecasts are found to outperform traditional seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average-based methods in both count deviation and root mean squared error. In addition, through the functional data analysis approach the full exploitation of the continuous nature of the data can be achieved.
Remote detection of widespread indigenous water in lunar pyroclastic deposits

Laboratory analyses of lunar samples provide a direct means to identify indigenous volatiles and have been used to argue for the presence of Earth-like water content in the lunar interior. Some volatile elements, however, have been interpreted as evidence for a bulk lunar mantle that is dry. Here we demonstrate that, for a number of lunar pyroclastic deposits, near-infrared reflectance spectra acquired by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter exhibit absorptions consistent with enhanced OH- and/or H2O-bearing materials. These enhancements suggest a widespread occurrence of water in pyroclastic materials sourced from the deep lunar interior, and thus an indigenous origin. Water abundances of up to 150 ppm are estimated for large pyroclastic deposits, with localized values of about 300 to 400 ppm at potential vent areas. Enhanced water content associated with lunar pyroclastic deposits and the large areal extent, widespread distribution and variable chemistry of these deposits on the lunar surface are consistent with significant water in the bulk lunar mantle. We therefore suggest that water-bearing volcanic glasses from Apollo landing sites are not anomalous, and volatile loss during pyroclastic eruptions may represent a significant pathway for the transport of water to the lunar surface. Volcanic glasses sampled by Apollo missions display high water contents. Remotely sensed spectral data show that pyroclastic deposits are generally enriched in water across the Moon, suggesting significant amounts of water in the lunar interior.
Novel System for Robotic Single-port Surgery: Feasibility and State of the Art in Urology.

Abstract Robotic urology has evolved in parallel with the development of new robotic systems. A recently conceived robotic platform, specifically designed for single-port (SP) surgery, has reignited the interest for the approach. In this review, the evolution of robotic SP surgery was analyzed. Since the first published experience with a robot-assisted SP urological procedure in 2010, despite technical adjustments, robotic SP has remained with limited diffusion. However, the limitations of the available instrumentation are going to be softened with an upcoming next-generation robotic platform. Indeed, a purpose-built SP platform is being tested. The new purpose-built SP robotic system seems to represent a step forward. Based on the preliminary available experience, it facilitates the SP approach being the platform specifically designed for SP surgery. The novel SP robot could sponsor the alternative approaches to common urological interventions, allowing for potentially further minimization of the invasiveness of robotic surgery. Clinical trials will be awaited when this technology is commercially available. Patient summary A novel robotic platform has been designed to be used for single-port surgery. With this particular approach, the surgery is performed through a single skin incision. Alternative access for common urological interventions will be sponsored by the new robotic platform, allowing for further reduction of the invasiveness of robotic surgery.
Aristotelian Social Thought

This article examines both Aristotle's ideas about society and politics and the body of thought inspired by them. The discussion of Aristotle's ideas focuses on his distinctive understanding of social science as well as on the key concepts, such as community, justice, and regime, that shape his theories. The discussion of Aristotelian social thought after Aristotle's death focuses on three periods during which his ideas have been especially influential: the high Middle Ages, the years following the French Revolution, and the decades after World War II.
Conformational Studies of Phenothrin Analogs and Implications on Insecticidal Activity

Abstract A combined conformational and linear free energy analysis, using partition coefficients, was made for 3-phenoxybenzyl esters of several cyclopropane carboxylic and several phenylacetic acids. Each molecule was divided into three segments due to the number of bond rotations. Each segment was analyzed separately. The acyl-containing moiety (segment I) in both series is found to be very rigid. And one conformation predominates for each cis/trans , R/S configuration. The methyl groups and the unsaturated areas in segment I for both types of pyrethroids occupy very similar positions in space. Calculations on segment II, the -O-CH(X)- portion of the esters, are not complete because of the large number of local minima. They will be reported later. In segment III, substituents on either of the phenyl rings of the phenoxybenzyl group, have little effect on the conformation of this segment but nevertheless reduce potency. This reduction in insecticidal activity, which cannot be explained by partition coefficient alone, probably results from less effective interaction of the substituted phenoxybenzyl group with the receptor site. We conclude that conformational features as well as partition coefficient play a role in determining the insecticidal activity of these molecules.
Factored Inverses of Real Symmetric Matrices

The FORTRAN codes in this chapter address the question of computing distinct eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors of a real symmetric matrix by applying a single-vector Lanczos procedure to the inverse of an associated matrix B ≡ PCPT, where C = S0*A + SHIFT*I. The scalars S0 and SHIFT are specified by the user, selected in such a way that the resulting matrix C (or B) has a reasonable numerical condition. The permutation matrix P is chosen so that for a sparse matrix A, the resulting factorization of B is also sparse.
ATP hydrolysis inactivating Walker B mutation perturbs E. coli ClpA self-assembly energetics in the absence of nucleotide.

Abstract E. coli ClpA is an AAA+ (ATPase Associated with diverse cellular Activities) chaperone that catalyzes the ATP-dependent unfolding and translocation of substrate proteins for the purposes of proper proteome maintenance. Biologically active ClpA hexamers contain two nucleotide binding domains (NBD) per protomer, D1 and D2. Despite extensive study, complete understanding of how the twelve NBDs within a ClpA hexamer coordinate ATP binding and hydrolysis to polypeptide translocation is currently lacking. To examine nucleotide binding and coordination at D1 and D2, ClpA Walker B variants deficient in ATP hydrolysis at one or both NBDs have been employed in various studies. In the presence of ATP, it is widely assumed that ClpA Walker B variants are entirely hexameric. However, a thermodynamically rigorous examination of the self-assembly mechanism has not been obtained. Differences in the assembly due to the mutation can be misattributed to the active NBD, leading to potential misinterpretations of kinetic studies. Here we use sedimentation velocity studies to quantitatively examine the self-assembly mechanism of ClpA Walker B variants deficient in ATP hydrolysis at D1, D2, and both NBDs. We found that the Walker B mutations had clear, if modest, effects on the assembly. Most notably, the Walker B mutation stabilizes the population of a larger oligomer in the absence of nucleotide, that is not present for analogous concentrations of wild type ClpA. Our results indicate that Walker B mutants, widely used in studies of AAA+ family proteins, require additional characterization as the mutation affects not only ATP hydrolysis, but also the ligand linked assembly of these complexes. This linkage must be considered in investigations of unfolding or other ATP dependent functions.
Risk factors for positive urine cultures in cats with subcutaneous ureteral bypass and ureteral stents (2010-2016)

Author(s): Kopecny, Lucy; Palm, Carrie A; Drobatz, Kenneth J; Balsa, Ingrid M; Culp, William TN | Abstract: BackgroundUreteral stent and subcutaneous ureteral bypass (SUB) placement are commonly used for managing ureteral obstructions. Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a recognized complication.ObjectivesTo determine postoperative incidence of positive urine cultures in cats undergoing ureteral stent and SUB placement and to identify risk factors associated with positive urine cultures.DesignRetrospective study.AnimalsForty-three cats that underwent 48 surgical events.ProceduresMedical records were reviewed. Cats were included if urine cultures were performed before and after surgery. Variables were compared to identify risk factors.ResultsUrine cultures were positive postoperatively pre-discharge in 5/20 (25%) cats. Median duration of follow-up post-discharge was 209 days (range, 11-2184 days), with a total of 143 urine cultures performed in cats post-discharge. Of these, 16 (11%) were positive in 12/48 (25%) cats. Nine different bacteria were identified; Enterococcus spp. (n = 8) predominated as monomicrobic or mixed infections. In 14/16 instances of positive urine cultures, affected cats had lower urinary tract signs, signs of pyelonephritis or both. Cats that received antibiotics postoperatively were significantly less likely to have a positive urine culture compared to those that did not (odds ratio, 0.2, 95% confidence interval, 0.05, 0.8, P = 0.02). Chronic kidney disease, renal implant type and postoperative urinary catheterization were not associated with positive urine cultures.Conclusions and clinical relevancePostoperatively, occurrence of positive urine cultures was similar to previous reports. Subclinical bacteriuria was less common than UTI. Postoperative urinary catheterization has been speculated to increase risk of bacteriuria, but this was not the case in this cohort.
Gemella morbillorum isolated from a pelvic abscess in an HIV-positive patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the perianal region

Gemella morbillorumis a known commensal organism of the human oropharynx, gastrointestinal tract and genitourinary tract which is a rare cause of infections and even more rarely implicated in skin and soft tissue infections. We present a case of a young, HIV-positive patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the perianal region who presented with difficulty initiating urination for 1 week as well as increasing left leg swelling. His CD4 count was found to be 186, predisposing him to infection, and he had also received chemotherapy in the past year for his malignancy. He was febrile and tachycardic on presentation and admitted for further care. CT scan of the pelvis at time of admission demonstrated a pelvic abscess. Aspiration cultures ultimately grew G. morbillorum. Despite initial improvement with drainage and targeted antimicrobial therapy, the patient’s abscess recurred, and he ultimately elected transition to hospice due to worsening prognosis of malignancy.
Skeletal muscle LINE-1 retrotransposon activity is upregulated in older versus younger rats.

Long interspersed element-1 (LINE-1) is a retrotransposon capable of replicating and inserting LINE-1 copies into the genome. Others have reported skeletal muscle LINE-1 markers are higher in older...
Intralaryngeal paraganglioma workup and discussion of surgical approach

Laryngeal paragangliomas are an uncommon presentation of head and neck paragangliomas, with laryngeal paragangliomas along with a synchronous paraganglioma being exceptionally rare. We present two challenging cases of laryngeal paragangliomas with extralaryngeal extension, completely resected through a transcervical approach without endolaryngeal disruption, with one case having synchronous bilateral carotid body tumours. Both patients had excellent results with complete tumour resection and no resultant functional impact. The surgical approaches for large laryngeal paraganglioma are discussed with considerations for endolaryngeal, transcervical and combined approaches as well as decision-making when approaching these rare lesions in the setting of synchronous head and neck paragangliomas.
Digital Appearance Manipulation Increases Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background: Social media has gained significant popularity over the last decade. We now have the opportunity to digitally enhance our physical appearance using a variety of applications in the palm...
On Convergence of Sequences in Complete Lattices

We generalize the famous Tarski result by showing that: if X is a complete lattice, and f : X → X is an order-preserving mapping, then for all points x ∈ X, the limit superior and the limit inferior of the (possibly transfinite) sequence of iterations x, f(x), f2(x)..., fβ(x),... are fixed points of f. These limits are the sharp fixed-point bounds between which sufficiently large transfinite iterations are located.
Use of a novel single-use disposable duodenoscope for ERCP: selected clips from a real-world case series.

Abstract Background and Aims Single-use/disposable duodenoscopes represent one strategy to decrease the risk of patient infection related to ERCP. A preliminary case series was performed to demonstrate the feasibility and performance of a new single-use duodenoscope in a real-world clinical setting. Methods A single expert endoscopist performed ERCP for standard indications using a single-use duodenoscope. Results Videos of several key steps of ERCP obtained from 4 patients are shown to demonstrate that these steps can successfully be performed using the new single-use device. Clip 1 shows a patient with a large pancreatic duct stone in whom the image quality and maneuverability are demonstrated. Clip 2 shows a patient with choledocholithiasis and demonstrates bile duct cannulation, cholangiography, and sphincterotomy. Clip 3 shows a patient with acute cholecystitis and choledocholithiasis who underwent bile duct cannulation, sphincterotomy, and balloon sweeps. Clip 4 shows a patient with a history of liver transplant and refractory biliary anastomotic stricture who presented with abnormal liver tests and fever and underwent removal of a metal stent and placement of plastic stents. Conclusions A single-use duodenoscope can successfully accomplish fundamental steps of ERCP. This device can potentially eliminate the risk of patient-to-patient infections linked to contaminated instruments. Larger studies are required to assess device performance.
Placenta Accreta Spectrum

Placenta accreta spectrum is a term used to describe abnormal adherence and abnormal invasion of the placenta into the uterine wall during pregnancy. The incidence of placenta accreta spectrum has steadily increased over the last 40 years and is most notably linked to rising cesarean birth rates. This condition is associated with increased maternal morbidity and mortality because of the high risk of severe hemorrhage and likely need for hysterectomy at the time of birth. Early diagnosis of abnormal placentation is preferable in order to coordinate birth planning with a interprofessional collaborative team within a high-level perinatal care center. This article describes the case of a woman diagnosed with placenta accreta spectrum and the clinical course of her pregnancy and birth.
Initial Investigation of a Reality Therapy Model of Clinical Supervision

A single-case research design was conducted to evaluate a reality therapy driven model of clinical supervision as an effective modality for increasing supervisee report of counseling skill use and counseling self-efficacy. Three white, female participant supervisees from the United States received reality therapy driven site supervision during part of a nine-week clinical field experience. The findings indicated that for two of the three participants, self-report of skills and self-efficacy significantly increased during the reality therapy driven supervision phase, while accounting for the supervisees’ predicted growth trend. The third participant did not have a significant change in self-report of skills or self-efficacy; however, all three participants evaluated the reality therapy driven supervision process positively, stating that the model promoted self-evaluation and accountability. The results indicate that reality therapy driven supervision may be an effective model for some supervisees. Discussion includes implications for supervision practice and future research.
Prevalence of Delirium and its Risk Factors in Hospitalized Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Infection (1577)

Objective: To describe the prevalence and risk factors of delirium in hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Background: Delirium is acute brain dysfunction that is seen among hospitalized patients with systemic illnesses. Since its emergence as a worldwide pandemic, infection with SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with variable degrees of delirium. However, the risk factors of delirium among these patients are yet to be determined. Design/Methods: This was a retrospective study of hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in one academic center from April through August 2020. Patient demographics, baseline comorbidities, and hospital complications were recorded. Univariable analyses were completed using Chi-Square, T-test, or Man-Whitney U Test. Binary logistic regression models were subsequently performed for the significant associations in the univariable analyses. Results: Data of 145 patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were available (age 61.4±18.1 years, 41% female, and 29% African American). Delirium occurred in 33.8% of the patients. Patients with delirium were older, and had higher rates of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, dementia, and psychiatric illness compared to those without delirium (P< 0.05). Furthermore, patients with delirium more frequently received supplemental oxygen, had lower PaO2/FiO2 ratio on admission, and higher levels of LDH, CRP and IL-6 compared to those without delirium (P<0.05). In logistic regression models, among the patients' baseline characteristics, dementia was associated with greater odds of developing delirium (OR 4.25, 95% CI: 1.17-15.37, P=0.027). Additionally, among in-hospital complications, only cardiac complications and sepsis were independently associated with delirium in the logistic regression analysis (OR 9.02, 95% CI: 1.63-50.03, P=0.012, and OR 5.1 95%, CI: 1.88-13.84, P=0.001, respectively). Conclusions: Delirium is common among hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Baseline dementia, in-hospital cardiac complications, and sepsis were independently associated with occurrence of delirium. Delirium in SARS-CoV-2 infection is likely related to the extent of systemic complications that are seen in these patients.
From Utopia to Retrotopia: The Cosmopolitan City in the Aftermath of Modernity

Bar-Itzhak examines the idea of the city as a cosmopolitan utopia and the changes it has undergone in the shift from modernity to liquid modernity. She argues that these changes can be explained by a shift from utopia to Retrotopia: from the projection of an imagined ideal social order onto a possible future, to the ability to imagine such an ideal existence only in a lost, unattainable past. Through a revealing case study—the changes in the literary depictions of the city of Haifa as a cosmopolitan utopia over the course of a century—she demonstrates how the hopes and longings put into the literary creation of possible and no-longer-possible cities can shed new light on contemporary societies’ ability to reimagine themselves and their futures.
Synthesis and Analysis of Environment Friendly Gelatin Grafted Biodegradable Polymer

Polymers are extensively used in human life with a serious problem of disposal. The non-biodegradable polymers cause severe environmental concerns therefore synthesis of biodegradable green polymer was targeted in this study. Gelatin based grafted copolymer was synthesized with vinyl acetate and acrylonitrile monomers by the use of free radical polymerization technique with potassium per sulfate as initiator. The polymer was characterized by the use of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermo Gravimetric Analysis and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TGA-DSC). FTIR proved the grafting of monomers on the backbone of the gelatin. TGA-DSC analyzed the degradation and melting of the copolymer and nanocomposite polymer. The nanocomposite biopolymer was prepared with the incorporation of suitable quantity of Nickel doped nanoparticles. Soil burial method was used for the study of biodegradation of this polymer for 60 days. The degradation study of the two prepared samples W-1 (copolymer) and W-2 (nanocomposite biopolymer) showed degradation percentage of 29.9% and 11.05% respectively. Initially, weight of the W-1 increased due to the absorption of moisture from the soil but after 20 days the weight of polymer decreased constantly due to degradation. The W-2 sample showed resistance against the biodegradation with slower degradation rate and was also less moisture absorber. Results depicted that the blended nanoparticles imparted resistance against the fungi and bacteria, therefore these nanocomposite biopolymers are more suitable for biodegradable packing.
Do Immigrants Gain or Lose? A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Occupational Licensing

This study examines the likelihood for immigrants in different cohorts of getting occupational licenses and the impacts of licensing on the labor market. It does this by using two sources of data: The Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Consistent with previous research, we found that immigrants, especially new and high-skilled immigrants, are less likely to get licenses. The longer immigrants stay in the U.S. after migration, the higher the possibility of getting a license. Immigrants gain significantly lower wages than similar natives in all cohorts, but new immigrants perform better in the labor market because they are more educated and highly skilled. Overall, there is a significantly positive licensing wage premium for immigrants. However, this paper presents new findings that this wage premium is not shown among new immigrants who are primarily from developing regions. Only immigrants from English-speaking regions or European countries could enjoy wage premiums through licensing. In contrast, immigrants from other countries get no, or even negative, wage premium through licensing. Moreover, the ability for an immigrant to speak English provides higher wages, but this positive effect gradually disappears during more years in the host country since migration. Finally, acquiring certain licenses, such as cosmetology, is not a successful labor investment for immigrants.
Inhibitors of Mitotic Kinesins for Cancer Treatment: Consequences for Neurons

Detailed analyses of the behavior of cancer cells have revealed a significant deregulation of the cell cycle leading to increased proliferation rates along with often aggressive invasive properties of the affected cells. Microtubules, the first major target for cancer therapy, are cytoskeletal elements crucial for cell division, architecture of cells and transport of proteins and organelles within them. To this day, pharmacologic intervention at the level of microtubules remains one of the most common approaches for chemotherapy, with various drugs disabling the mitotic apparatus usually through hyper-stabilization of microtubules. Given that microtubules are so important for terminally post-mitotic neurons, it is not surprising that such drugs cause painful and debilitating neuropathies. These and other undesirable effects have inspired researchers to seek alternative microtubule-based therapies, focusing on proteins believed to be vital for successful mitosis but irrelevant to other cellular events. Such targets include a category of kinesins believed to be mitosis-specific. However, recent studies indicate that these so-called mitotic kinesins are also expressed in terminally post-mitotic neurons, where they are repurposed to perform important functions, at least during development. The levels of these kinesins wane as the nervous system matures, so the question remains as to whether they perform important functions in adult neurons. While no major nervous system maladies have been reported from studies to date on such drugs, chemotherapists should be cognizant of potential effects on neurons that might prove deleterious for patients.
Assimilation of Foreigners in Former West Germany

Migration movements to industrialized countries have grown in number and size, and the presence of large numbers of immigrants has raised concerns about their integration and assimilation into host societies. This article is an empirical study of assimilation of foreign nationals in Germany. Their experience may hold lessons for other relatively recent immigration destinations. As expected, language is one of the most critical factors for determining integration and assimilation at the workplace and in society. Our results indicate uneven success in these two areas, and suggest that greater language skills may be required for social assimilation, compared to economic assimilation. Among the most important findings of our study are the strong and statistically significant effects of the attitudes by Germans toward immigrants, the significant influence of the region of residence, and the ambivalence of German-born foreign residents toward naturalization and continued stay. This signals the failure of past integration and assimilation policies. The results show that negative attitudes by ethnic Germans against others at work or in society, in general, reduce interest in integration and assimilation. This is neither new nor surprising and this research does not contribute new theoretical insights, but it demonstrates the magnitude and significance of the effects. The question of why different locations seemed to have different impacts on citizenship aspirations is beyond the scope of this article. The data do not provide information to pursue this question and we suspect that the causes are too complex for a short answer. As expected, non-EU citizens showed greater interest in acquiring German citizenship than EU citizens. Finally, the results also indicate that the immediate post-World War II notion of “guest workers” was not completely false. There has been significant return migration and a significant number of respondents to the survey say that they intend to return.
Cooling it after drug induced hyperthermia

Laskowski and colleagues in this issue of the journal1 report on two cases of severe drug-induced hyperthermia treated with ice water submersion. Hyperthermia is a common presentation in medicine a...
Summon Your Inner Kingsfield

Much legal writing is flat and boring. Law students and lawyers need to punch up their writing by adopting a vigorous, forceful style. This brief article illustrates the point by contrasting Professor Kingsfield's dramatic explanation of the Socratic method in The Paper Chase with the Harvard Law School catalog's description of its signature pedagogy.
Multivalued Logic for Reduced Pin Count and Multi-site SoC Testing

With the reduced-pin-count test (RPCT) being adopted for multi-core systems-on-chip (SoCs) that usually support test compression as well, test speed is reduced due to the narrower input bandwidth. In this work, we propose an idea to combine multi-valued logic (MVL) test application with RPCT technology, which increases the data rate of test channels to avoid compromising test speed for the interface. The hardware modifications for the tester and device under test (DUT) are proposed with the corresponding test flow. Simulation result shows that the test speed is increased by four times with 4-bit MVL test channel. An actual ATE experiment verifies that only 61,757 cycles are used to complete a RPCT with MVL test application, compared to 247,020 cycles for an RPCT only scenario.