cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preparation and characteristics of RE (Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy) doped TiO_2 photocatalytic films

Doping with five rare earth elements(Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Dy) respectively, a series of TiO2 films were prepared by sol-gel process. Based on the photodegradative ratio of Rhodamine B, the effects of RE doping amounts, the number of film coatings, the roasting temperature and the roasting time on the photocatalytic activity were investigated, and the respective optimum conditions for preparing the five types of RE doped TiO2 films mentioned above were obtained. All these films, on which there exists large amount of defects, contain only TiO2 but no any rare earth oxides and their structures are less anatase and more rutile phase, except that Pr-doped TiO2 is completely composed by rutile phase. Among these RE doped Ti02 films, the highest photocatalytic activity is obtained by Eu-doped TiO2 film since the photodegradative ratio of Rhodamine B is 89.3%. Comparing with pure TiO2 film, rare earth doping significantly increases the photocatalytic activity due to the higher response to visible light.
Serum epidemiological study of HFMD in Handan,2009

Objective To ascertain the prevalence of immunoglobulins against enterovirus type 71(EV71 IgG) and coxsackievirus A16(CoxA 16 IgG) in children under 15 years of age and to analyze the relationship between the incidence of hand,foot,and mouth disease(HFMD) and the rate of positivity for antibodies.Methods EV71 IgG and CoxA 16 IgG were detected in the sera of children under 15 years of age by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),and how the rate of EV71 IgG and CoxA16 IgG detection changed along with the age and the relationship between antibody positivity and the incidence of HFMD were analyzed with SPSS13.0 statistical software.Results There were 19 457 reported cases of HFMD.Four hundred and fifty of 567 samples from patients with HFMD were positive for enterovirus nucleic acid;302(67.11%) were positive for EV71 and 75(16.67%) were positive for CoxA16.EV71 and Cox A16 infections differed markedly in terms of region and age.There was a negative correlation between positivity for EV71 IgG and positivity for CoxA16 IgG.The two rates complemented one another in terms of age and region.The incidence of HFMD in 2009 was positively related to positivity for EV71 IgG but negatively related to positivity for CoxA16 IgG.Conclusion EV71 had been prevalent together with CoxA16 in Handan in 2009 but EV71 was the dominant strain of HFMD.EV71 and CoxA16 tend to alternate prevalence.IgG positivity increased gradually in children under 5 years of age but the incidence of that positivity varied in older children.
The AUDANA algorithm for automated protein 3D structure determination from NMR NOE data

We introduce AUDANA (Automated Database-Assisted NOE Assignment), an algorithm for determining three-dimensional structures of proteins from NMR data that automates the assignment of 3D-NOE spectra, generates distance constraints, and conducts iterative high temperature molecular dynamics and simulated annealing. The protein sequence, chemical shift assignments, and NOE spectra are the only required inputs. Distance constraints generated automatically from ambiguously assigned NOE peaks are validated during the structure calculation against information from an enlarged version of the freely available PACSY database that incorporates information on protein structures deposited in the Protein Data Bank (PDB). This approach yields robust sets of distance constraints and 3D structures. We evaluated the performance of AUDANA with input data for 14 proteins ranging in size from 6 to 25 kDa that had 27-98 % sequence identity to proteins in the database. In all cases, the automatically calculated 3D structures passed stringent validation tests. Structures were determined with and without database support. In 9/14 cases, database support improved the agreement with manually determined structures in the PDB and in 11/14 cases, database support lowered the r.m.s.d. of the family of 20 structural models.
Comparison of fibrin glue and sutures for attaching conjunctival auto grafts after pterygium excision

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of fibrin glue and suturing for at taching conjunctival autografts among patients undergoing pterygium excision. De sign: Prospective, randomized, interventional case series. Participants: Twenty -two patients undergoing excision of primary pterygium. Methods: A superior con junctival autograftwas harvested and transferred onto bare sclera after pterygiu mexcision. Fibrin glue (Beriplast P) was used to attach the autograft in 11 eyes and nylon 10-0 suture was used to attach the autograft in 11 eyes. The patient s were followed up for 2 months. Main Outcome Measures: Graft success, recurrenc e rate, operating time, patient comfort. Results: All conjunctival autografts in both groups were successfully attached and were intact after 2 months. The aver age operating time for the fibrin glue groupwas significantly shorter (P0.001). Postoperative symptoms were fewer for the fibrin glue group than the suture gro up. One patient (9%) from the fibrin group experienced subconjunctival hemorrha ge, and 1 patient (9%) from the suture group experienced partial graft dehiscen ce. Conclusions: Fibrin glue is a safe and effective method for attaching conjun ctival autografts. The use of fibrin glue results in shorter operating times and less postoperative discomfort.
Cell injury and repair

Occupational lung disease results from a remarkably complex interaction of the inhaled material with the lung parenchyma and the worker's immune and inflammatory mechanism, (Fig 1). The past decade has seen a marked increase in our understanding of individual events involved in the pathogenesis of occupational lung disease, and has seen increased appreciation of the prominent role of lung inflammation in the production of lung disease following inhalation of a potentially injurious agent. Further work with isolated cells and tissue in culture and with experimental animal models will be required to assess the contribution of individual pathogenetic events to the total disease picture, and to better understand the ability of the lung parenchyma to repair itself following injury.
The Med-Peds Hospitalist Workforce: Results From the American Academy of Pediatrics Workforce Survey.

OBJECTIVE: There is no published literature about the med-peds hospitalist workforce, physicians dually trained in internal medicine and pediatrics. Our objective was to analyze this subset of physicians by using data from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) workforce survey to assess practice patterns and workforce demographics. We hypothesized that demographic differences exist between hospitalists and nonhospitalists. METHODS: The AAP surveyed med-peds physicians from the Society of Hospital Medicine and the AAP to define workforce demographics and patterns of practice. We compared self-identified hospitalists with nonhospitalist physicians on multiple characteristics. Almost one-half of the hospitalists self-identified as being both primary care physicians and hospitalists; we therefore also compared the physicians self-identifying as being both primary care physicians and hospitalists with those who identified themselves solely as hospitalists. RESULTS: Of 1321 respondents, 297 physicians (22.4%) self-reported practicing as hospitalists. Hospitalists were more likely than nonhospitalists to have been practicing P P 50 hours per week ( P P P = .03) in their practice rather than a mix of both groups. Most, 191/229 (83.4%), see both adults and children in practice, and 250/277 (90.3%) stated that their training left them well prepared to practice both adult and pediatric medicine. CONCLUSIONS: Med-peds hospitalists are more likely to be newer to practice and be employed by a health care organization than nonhospitalists and to report satisfaction that their training sufficiently prepared them to see adults and children in practice.
Gender, Experience, and Self-Efficacy in Introductory Physics.

Using an in-the-moment sampling technique the differences between men and women's self-efficacy in different activity areas is investigated.
The Teacher as a Text: Un-centering Normative Gender Identities in the Secondary English Language Arts Classroom

Kedley suggests that the Secondary English Language Arts (SELA) classroom can serve as a crucial site for perpetuating or challenging normative gender categories. The teacher’s presence is one way students learn about gender—they “read” the teacher’s presumed gender before they read novels and short stories. Kedley suggests that well-intentioned Secondary English Language Arts teachers subconsciously risk underscoring the gender binary; when they don’t critically complicate themselves as a text that students read, they contribute to a social and educational environment which is at present risky and even dangerous for trans* and (a)gender diverse students. In illustrating the thesis of this chapter, Kedley utilizes the Queer Literacy Framework (QLF) to provide concrete suggestions for teachers to be “text” as a pedagogical strategy that supports students to understand how (a)gender functions in the classroom as a jumping off point for texts writ large.
The Problem with Gout Is That It's Still Such a Problem.

> The problem at this point is that there is a problem. > > — Captain Obvious Gout is a problem. It’s a big problem for patients, for caregivers and employers, and for healthcare systems characterized by dwindling resources, and it’s a burgeoning problem for society at large. By far the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, gout affects about 4% of US adults1 and leads to substantial healthcare use among affected patients2. Gout’s footprint is all the more relevant with its resulting morbidity, loss of productivity, and accelerated mortality experienced by its patients3,4. Two separate reports appearing in the current issue of The Journal examine emergency department (ED) use in gout care and serve to further highlight the burden of this ancient disease5,6. Both these studies examine ED use in gout care using the National Emergency Department Sample (NEDS), an element of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project sponsored by the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality7. Highly generalizable and publically available, NEDS captures and characterizes 20% of such visits occurring annually across the United States, and allows for national estimates of ED visits. Using NEDS data from 2006 through 2008, our group estimated that there were more than 170,000 ED visits for gout as a primary diagnosis in 2008 alone, accounting for ∼0.2% of all ED visits nationally and generating corresponding total charges of more than $160 million in a single year2. Extending this observation period, Jinno and colleagues note that between 2006 and 2012, ED visits for gout increased significantly by 14% overall, with an even greater increase observed for patients between 45 and 54 years of age5. Moreover, the authors note that resulting healthcare charges grew at an even higher rate, nearly doubling from … Address correspondence to Dr. T.R. Mikuls, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Division of Rheumatology, 983025 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198, USA; E-mail: tmikuls{at}unmc.edu
Indonesia’s Accidental Island: Composing the Environment in the Echo of Disaster

ABSTRACTBy presenting stakeholders’ competing representations of an extraordinary geological formation, an island with a surface that is comprised of runoff from an infamous mud volcano in East Java, this article explores the communicative openings and closures that arise during an environmental disaster. A particular concern is attuning communicative practices to the diverse human and nonhuman actors that not only produce disasters but also shape our understandings and responses to disasters. Drawing on the work of Bruno Latour, this article suggests that non-anthropocentric modes of inquiry present new communicative and political possibilities for pursuing both social justice and safe environments. While this article focuses on a specific set of incidents in Indonesia, this project develops tools and perspectives that can be applied to environmental conflicts at other places.
Effect of bubbling on the current carrying capacity of small BSCCO coils

One of the problems facing the applications of BSCCO/Ag tapes in HTC magnets is their deformation during heat treatment and/or after testing in liquid cryogen, known as bubbling. In this paper, we studied the effect of bubbles which occur during heat treatment, on the current carrying capacity of two single layer coils. The first coil was made from 2212/Ag Powder In Tube (PIT) monofilament tape which was fabricated by Oxford Instrument, Inc. The second coil was made from another 2212/Ag (PIT) monofilament tape which was fabricated at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After heat treatment, the first coil had several bubbles, while the second had only one. The current-voltage characteristic (I-V) curves were measured for both coils at 4.2 K and a zero external magnetic field. I-V curves for bubbled and unbubbled sections of the first coil were measured in external magnetic fields up to 0.5 Tesla (T). The critical current (Ic) of the first coil was 20 A (1 μV/cm criterion), which was only 20 % of the Ic of the good section of the coil. The Ic of the second coil was 147 A (1 μV/cm criterion). The critical current density (Jc) in the BSCCO core were 1.4×104 A/cm2 and 1.7×105 A/cm2 for the first and second coil respectively. We also observed that the I-V curve of the second coil had an unusual shape, consisting of a linear voltage section after the zero voltage section, followed by the usual non-linear I-V dependence.
Information theoretic approach to quantify causal neural interactions from EEG

In neurophysiology, it is important to quantify the causal neural interactions and infer the underlying complex networks from neurophysiological recordings such as electroen-cephalogram (EEG). Existing methods such as Granger causality are model dependent and thus cannot quantify nonlinear dependencies. In this paper, directed information (DI) is used to quantify the causality of the interactions and time-lagged directed information is proposed to simplify the computation of DI. To distinguish the direct from indirect connections in network inference, conditional directed information (CDI) is introduced. Based on DI and CDI, a network inference algorithm is proposed to infer the functional networks underlying EEG activity. The proposed algorithm is applied to both simulated data and EEG data to evaluate its effectiveness.
Celebrations of creativity

Edwin T Jaynes, the well known American scientist and educator, has made seminal contributions to several branches of physics and probability theory. This volume commemorates his extraordinarily diverse career in a collection of essays on topics ranging from the kinematics of complex wavefunctions to radar target identification. The book contains 23 papers written by former students, distinguished colleagues and by Jaynes himself, based on lectures presented at a symposium celebrating Jaynes' 70th birthday and official retirement.
Alcohol Dependence and Health Care Utilization in African Americans

Objective Ethnic and cultural differences in patterns of alcohol use disorders must be understood in order to address improvement in prevention of such disorders and accessibility to health care services. The purpose of this study was to evaluate factors that influence the utilization of medical and mental health services among alcohol-dependent and non–alcohol-dependent African Americans.
CONTINUOUS WEIGHTED JUMPING: EFFECTS ON VERTICAL JUMP HEIGHT

High intensity, near maximal exercise is a conditioning activity which can cause neural hyper-stimulation and lead to acute enhanced power production known as post-activation potentiation (PAP). Investigations need to be conducted to better understand the duration and intensity of the conditioning activity and subsequent effects on the fatigue-potentiation relationship. Purpose: To investigate the effect of 30 seconds of continuous vertical jumping while wearing a vest loaded with 30% of body weight on power output as measured with a maximal vertical jump (VJ). Methods: 14 volunteers (8 weight trained males [23.0+2.9 yrs, 79.8+13.8 kg, 179.9+8.6 cm] and 6 weight trained females [23.0+2.9 yrs, 69.9+13.3 kg, 171.6+7.0 cm]) participated in the study. Pre-testing consisted of each participant performing 3 VJs. The highest VJ was recorded as baseline. A weighted vest was then loaded equaling 30% of the individual's body weight; while wearing the weighted vest, participants performed 30 seconds of continuous VJs. Immediately after jumping participants were seated in a chair for 3 minutes; at 3 minutes, they performed a maximal VJ without the weighted vest in the same manner as done during pre-testing. Two additional VJs were repeated at 4 and 5 minutes post weighted jumping. A mixed design ANOVA with repeated measures was performed. Results: Results showed main effects for each of the independent variables tested, gender and jump. The posttest values at all 3 intervals for both males and females were significantly different from the pretest scores (F [3, 36] = 21.74, p < 0.05). Post hoc analysis indicated that the pretest VJ scores (M = 280.1±18.6 cm) decreased significantly at the 3 minute interval (M = 278.1±18.3 cm), followed by a significant increase in height at the 4 minute interval (M = 281.1±18.7 cm), and another increase at the 5 minute interval (M = 283.0±19.2 cm). Males jumped significantly higher than the females across all trials (p<0.05), however there was no significant difference between male and female VJ gain scores between pre-PAP VJ and 3, 4 and 5 minute post weighted exercise VJ. Conclusion: Results suggest that 30 seconds of weighted VJs causes fatigue which decreases VJ at 3 minutes post exercise. However, a PAP effect was seen at 4 and 5 minutes post weighted exercise significantly increasing VJ above pre testing. From a practical perspective, coaches must be aware of the complex nature of the fatigue-potentiation relationship when attempting to elicit a PAP effect in the individual athlete. Article visualizations:
A comparison of levofloxacin and oral third-generation cephalosporins as antibacterial prophylaxis in acute leukaemia patients during chemotherapy-induced neutropenia

Background There is demonstrated benefit with fluoroquinolones as infection prophylaxis in neutropenic patients; however, side effects, drug interactions and increasing resistance necessitate investigation of alternative therapies. Objectives To compare the incidence of febrile neutropenia in high-risk patients with haematological malignancy receiving a fluoroquinolone with those receiving an oral third-generation cephalosporin (OTGC) as antibacterial prophylaxis during chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Methods A retrospective, matched, single-centre study comparing clinical and microbiological outcomes in acute leukaemia patients receiving fluoroquinolones versus OTGCs as antibacterial prophylaxis after chemotherapy. Results A total of 120 patients (levofloxacin n = 80, OTGC n = 40) were included and matched. The 30 day incidence of febrile neutropenia was 89.7% (95% CI = 82.4-93.9). The rates of febrile neutropenia were similar between antimicrobials (OTGC versus levofloxacin HR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.54-1.52, P = 0.70). The most frequent site of infection was the bloodstream (line related) (n = 24, 62%) and the majority (n = 28, 72%) of infections were caused by Gram-positive organisms. Groups were similar in terms of site of infection (P = 0.91) and morphology of recovered microorganisms (P = 0.74). There were significantly more cultures positive for Enterobacter spp. in the OTGC group (P = 0.043). Three patients died during follow-up (from first dose up to 30 days after the last dose) (30 day survival = 99.2%, 95% CI = 97.5-100), with only two of the reported deaths attributable to infection. Conclusions These findings demonstrate comparable rates of febrile neutropenia and culture positivity with an increase in cultures positive for Enterobacter spp. when OTGCs are compared with levofloxacin for antibacterial prophylaxis during chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Further prospective, randomized investigation is warranted.
Total duplication of the small single copy region in the angiosperm plastome: Rearrangement and inverted repeat instability in Asarum.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY As more plastomes are assembled, it is evident that rearrangements, losses, intergenic spacer expansion and contraction, and syntenic breaks within otherwise functioning plastids are more common than was thought previously, and such changes have developed independently in disparate lineages. However, to date, the magnoliids remain characterized by their highly conserved plastid genomes (plastomes). METHODS Illumina HiSeq and MiSeq platforms were used to sequence the plastomes of Saruma henryi and those of representative species from each of the six taxonomic sections of Asarum. Sequenced plastomes were compared in a phylogenetic context provided by maximum likelihood and parsimony inferences made using an additional 18 publicly available plastomes from early-diverging angiosperm lineages. KEY RESULTS In contrast to previously published magnoliid plastomes and the newly sequenced Saruma henryi plastome published here, Asarum plastomes have undergone extensive disruption and contain extremely lengthy AT-repeat regions. The entirety of the small single copy region (SSC) of A. canadense and A. sieboldii var. sieboldii has been incorporated into the inverted repeat regions (IR), and the SSC of A. delavayi is only 14 bp long. All sampled Asarum plastomes share an inversion of a large portion of the large single copy region (LSC) such that trnE-UUC is adjacent to the LSC-IR boundary. CONCLUSIONS Plastome divergence in Asarum appears to be consistent with trends seen in highly rearranged plastomes of the monocots and eudicots. We propose that plastome instability in Asarum is due to repetitive motifs that serve as recombinatory substrates and reduce genome stability.
A Problem of Analytic Monotone Extension in Three Dimensions

Let Ω denote the simplicial complex [0,l]d in ℝd. For a nonnegative integer p with p ≤ d, let Ω(p) denote the p-skeleton of Ω. Let d = 3 and suppose that f is a monotone function on Ω(2). We give construction schemes which extend f as a monotone function on Ω, while maintaining smoothness. Our results are related to those of Dahmen, DeVore and Micchelli for the case d = 2 and p = 1 and those of Kilmer, Sun and Yu for the case d = 3 and p = 1.
An Integral Futures Lens on Future Security Issues

Conventional analysis of security issues tends to take a disjointed approach through tightly focused tactical lenses. Increasingly, however, security issues are embedded in a wider and diverse range of factors that may escape conventional analysis. An integral futures perspective to exploring security issues is proposed that provides a wider lens by taking an integrated holistic approach that explores individual and collective aspects of emerging issues from both an interior (e.g., motivation, culture) and exterior (e.g., behavior, systems, and infrastructures) perspective. We believe this approach provides a fresh way to identify issues as well as providing a more holistic explanatory framework.
Using virtual reality to control swarms of autonomous agents

Current two dimensional methods of controlling large numbers of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) have limitations such as a human's ability to track, efficiently control, and keep situational awareness on large numbers of sUASs. The 2017 DARPA-sponsored Service Academies Swarm Challenge inspired research producing novel command and control techniques that utilize a virtual reality (VR) environment and a multimodal interface. A swarm commander using this approach can select one sUAS, a sub-swarm, or even the entire swarm and assign that grouping a behavior to be carried out autonomously. This immersive VR environment improves situational awareness, optimizes command and control actions, reduces commander's task load, and ultimately provides a significant advantage over approaches that rely on traditional techniques.
Strategies for Tissue Engineering Vascularized Cardiac Patches to Treat Myocardial Infarctions

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in the western world. One of the most common forms of heart disease is myocardial infarction. As a result of infarction, the native myocardium is permanently damaged, and functionality is reduced. Due to the limited regenerative potential of the native myocardium, there exists a need to restore and repair the damaged zone. Cardiac tissue engineering offers a unique approach to regenerate the damaged myocardium. The high metabolic demands of the myocardium require dense vasculature to support the contractile properties of cardiomyocytes. Developing engineered cardiac tissues with dense, functional vasculature has therefore become an important goal of the field. Approaches to recapitulate the native myocardium typically involve combining multiple cell types, including cardiomyocytes (electrically excitable cells), endothelial cells (vessel development), and fibroblasts/mural cells (vasculature stabilization). These approaches have also utilized a number of different scaffold materials, culture conditions, and applied stimuli both to promote the functional development of the tissue and to increase the amount of vasculature present in the constructs. In this chapter, we will discuss the development of vascularized cardiac tissue and how all of these developments have drawn on and contributed to our understanding of how complex, multicellular interactions affect tissue development and vascular formation.
Evaluation of medial division of the medial geniculate (MGM) and posterior intralaminar nucleus (PIN) inputs to the rat auditory cortex, amygdala, and striatum

The medial division of the medial geniculate (MGM) and the posterior intralaminar nucleus (PIN) are association nuclei of the auditory thalamus. We made tracer injections in these nuclei to evaluate/compare their presynaptic terminal and postsynaptic target features in auditory cortex, amygdala and striatum, at the light and electron microscopic levels. Cortical labeling was concentrated in Layer 1 but in other layers distribution was location-dependent. In cortical areas designated dorsal, primary and ventral (AuD, Au1, AuV) terminals deep to Layer 1 were concentrated in infragranular layers and sparser in the supragranular and middle layers. In ectorhinal cortex (Ect), distributions below Layer 1 changed with concentrations in supragranular and middle layers. In temporal association cortex (TeA) terminal distributions below Layer 1 was intermediate between AuV/1/D and Ect. In amygdala and striatum, terminal concentrations were higher in striatum but not as dense as in cortical Layer 1. Ultrastructurally, presynaptic terminal size was similar in amygdala, striatum or cortex and in all cortical layers. Postsynaptically MGM/PIN terminals everywhere synapsed on spines or small distal dendrites but as a population the postsynaptic structures in cortex were larger than those in the striatum. In addition, primary cortical targets of terminals were larger in primary cortex than in area Ect. Thus, although postsynaptic size may play some role in changes in synaptic influence between areas it appears that terminal size is not a variable used for that purpose. In auditory cortex, cortical subdivision-dependent changes in the terminal distribution between cortical layers may also play a role.
Bursal-Side Partial-Thickness Rotator Cuff Tears

Bursal-side rotator cuff tears are a common source of shoulder pain and disability. The complex microanatomy and load distribution may contribute to their development. Symptoms and physical exam are similar to other rotator cuff syndromes. MRI is usually diagnostic. Non-operative treatment is rarely successful. However, repair, combined with acromioplasty, is usually associated with good to excellent outcomes.
Typologies of Decision-Makers in the ICU: A Qualitative Study of Patients With Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Sepsis and Their Surrogates.

To develop hypotheses of patient and surrogate's rationale for decision-making. Design We pursued a qualitative study of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome or sepsis and their surrogates. Fourteen patients and 28 surrogates were given semistructured interviews while in the ICU and again 30 days later. The interviews focused on goal outcomes for the ICU stay and why a patient or surrogate would want a specific intervention (e.g., intubation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Setting ICU of tertiary care academic hospital. Patients Fourteen acute respiratory distress syndrome or sepsis patients and 28 of their surrogates. Interventions None. Measurements and main results Interviews were analyzed using grounded theory and the constant comparative method on NVivo 10.0 (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). We identified the following four typologies of decision-making rationale: 1) "Timers"-determined decisions based on the length of time on life support; 2) "Natural Livers"-rejected interventions using a "machine"; 3) "Deferrers"-relied on physician for decision-making and prognosis; and 4) "Believers"-relied on a higher power for guidance. Conclusions Our hypothesized typologies need validation in a prospective observational trial. If validated, they may allow for better clinician communication.
Sexual Coercion, Gender Construction, and Responsibility for Freedom: A Beauvoirian Account of Me Too

The Me Too movement has focused mainstream attention on the pervasiveness of sexual coercion in public and private life. The fact that sexual coercion is so widespread suggests that gender hierarch...
Trans-Cinnamaldehyde, Eugenol and Carvacrol Reduce Campylobacter jejuni Biofilms and Modulate Expression of Select Genes and Proteins

Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of human foodborne illness globally, and is strongly linked with the consumption of contaminated poultry products. Several studies have shown that C. jejuni can form sanitizer tolerant biofilm leading to product contamination, however, limited research has been conducted to develop effective control strategies against C. jejuni biofilms. This study investigated the efficacy of three generally recognized as safe status phytochemicals namely, trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC), eugenol (EG), or carvacrol (CR) in inhibiting C. jejuni biofilm formation and inactivating mature biofilm on common food contact surfaces at 20 and 37°C. In addition, the effect of phytochemicals on biofilm architecture and expression of genes and proteins essential for biofilm formation was evaluated. For the inhibition study, C. jejuni was allowed to form biofilms either in the presence or absence of sub-inhibitory concentrations of TC (0.75 mM), EG (0.61 mM), or CR (0.13 mM) for 48 h and the biofilm formation was quantified at 24-h interval. For the inactivation study, C. jejuni biofilms developed at 20 or 37°C for 48 h were exposed to the phytochemicals for 1, 5, or 10 min and surviving C. jejuni in the biofilm were enumerated. All phytochemicals reduced C. jejuni biofilm formation as well as inactivated mature biofilm on polystyrene and steel surface at both temperatures (P 7 log reduction) biofilm developed on steel (20°C) within 5 min. The genes encoding for motility systems (flaA, flaB, and flgA) were downregulated by all phytochemicals (P < 0.05). The expression of stress response (cosR, ahpC) and cell surface modifying genes (waaF) was reduced by EG. LC-MS/MS based proteomic analysis revealed that TC, EG, and CR significantly downregulated the expression of NapA protein required for oxidative stress response. The expression of chaperone protein DnaK and bacterioferritin required for biofilm formation was reduced by TC and CR. Scanning electron microscopy revealed disruption of biofilm architecture and loss of extracellular polymeric substances after treatment. Results suggest that TC, EG, and CR could be used as a natural disinfectant for controlling C. jejuni biofilms in processing areas.
Plant-based Milks: A Review of the Science Underpinning Their Design, Fabrication, and Performance.

Many consumers are interested in decreasing their consumption of animal products, such as bovine milk, because of health, environmental, and ethical reasons. The food industry is therefore developing a range of plant-based milk alternatives. These milk substitutes should be affordable, convenient, desirable, nutritional, and sustainable. This article reviews our current understanding of the development of plant-based milks. Initially, an overview of the composition, structure, properties, and nutritional profile of conventional bovine milk is given, because the development of successful alternatives depends on understanding the characteristics of real milk. The two main production routes for fabricating plant-based milks are then highlighted: (i) disruption of plant materials (such as nuts, seeds, or legumes) to form aqueous suspensions of oil bodies; (ii) formation of oil-in-water emulsions by homogenization of oil, water, and emulsifiers. The roles of the different functional ingredients in plant-based milks are highlighted, including oils, emulsifiers, thickeners, antioxidants, minerals, and other additives. The physicochemical basis of the appearance, texture, and stability of plant-based milks is covered. The importance of the sensory attributes and gastrointestinal fate of bovine milk and plant-based alternatives is also highlighted. Finally, potential areas for future work are discussed.
Medical Doctors and Dementia: A Longitudinal Study

Objective To examine the association between being a medical doctor (MD) and the risk of incident dementia. Design Cohort study. Setting Olmsted County, Minnesota. Participants A total of 3460 participants (including 104 MDs), aged 70 years or older, of the population-based Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. Measurements Participants were randomly selected from the community and had comprehensive cognitive evaluations at baseline and approximately every 15 months to assess for diagnosis of dementia. For participants who withdrew from the follow-up, dementia diagnosis was also assessed using information available in their medical record. The associations were examined using Cox proportional hazards models, adjusting for sex, education, and apolipoprotein E e4, using age as the time scale. Results MDs were older (vs "general population"), and most were males (93.3%). MDs without dementia at baseline did not have a significantly different risk for incident dementia (hazard ratio = 1.12; 95% confidence interval = 0.69-1.82; P = .64) compared to the general population. Conclusions Although the study includes a small number of older, mainly male, MDs, it provides a preliminary insight on cognitive health later in life in MDs, while most previous studies examine the health of younger MDs. Larger longitudinal studies are needed to examine these associations and investigate if associations are modified by sex. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1250-1255, 2020.
CRISPR-based technology to silence the expression of IncRNAs.

The human genome contains more than 3 billion base pairs, and some estimates suggest that nearly 75% of the genome may be transcribed (1), yet only a small fraction (1 to 2%) of the genome that encodes for protein coding regions has been systematically probed for function. The transcribed genome consists of both short noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs). The lncRNAs are defined as being greater than 200 nucleotides in length and may be capped, polyadenylated, and spliced like protein-coding genes. By definition, lncRNAs do not contain open reading frames of greater than 50 amino acids, but recent work has uncovered a new world of smaller “microproteins” that are encoded by lncRNAs (2). Other functions of lncRNAs include their ability to form aptamers, which bind and regulate protein complexes (3). The lncRNAs can modulate gene expression by enhancer trapping (4), and by recruiting histone modifiers to chromatin (5, 6). These examples notwithstanding, the function of most lncRNAs is unknown. In PNAS, Raffeiner et al. (7) develop CRISPR-based technology to silence the expression of lncRNAs, and use their technology to identify functional lncRNAs that are regulated by the oncogene MYC. Recent efforts to identify functional lncRNAs have relied on CRISPR technology, which can exquisitely target CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins to specific genomic locations. This technology has ushered in a new era of functional genomics in which large-scale screens have exponentially increased our understanding of complex genotype−phenotype relationships (8⇓–10). CRISPR-Cas9 pooled screens have become a mainstay of cancer research (11, 12), revealing gene essentiality, synthetic lethality, and mechanisms of resistance to targeted therapy and immunotherapy, among countless other phenotypes. Most of these screens have relied on Cas9-induced DNA double-stranded … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: lstaudt{at}mail.nih.gov. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Revolution: Four Paradigmatic Views

Any explanation of revolution is based on a worldview. The premise of this book is that any worldview can be associated with one of the four broad paradigms: functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist, and radical structuralist. This chapter takes the case of revolution and discusses it from the four different viewpoints. It emphasizes that the four views expressed are equally scientific and informative; they look at the phenomenon from their certain paradigmatic viewpoint, and together they provide a more balanced and a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon under consideration. In this chapter, Sects. 1, 2, 3, and 4 present the four perspectives, and Sect. 5 concludes the chapter.
Comparing Shear Strength Prediction Models of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Girders

The use of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC) in bridge construction has been growing rapidly in the last 15 years due to its excellent mechanical and durability properties. One of the areas of interest to bridge engineers is the elimination of transverse reinforcement in precast/prestressed concrete girders as it simplifies girder fabrication and result in smaller and lighter girder sections. UHPC has a relatively high post-cracking tensile strength due to the presence of steel fibers, which enhance its shear strength and eliminate the need for transverse reinforcement. In this paper, three prediction models for the shear strength of UHPC are discussed: RILEM TC 162-TDF 2003, fib Model Code 2010, and French Standard NF P 18-710 2016. Data obtained from several UHPC shear experiments in the literature was collected to evaluate the prediction models of the shear strength of UHPC girders. Comparing predicted versus measured shear strength of UHPC girders indicated that the French Standard NF P 18-710 2016 model provides the closest prediction, while the fib Model Code 2010 model provides the least scattered prediction of UHPC shear strength.
BF2FA: Beacon Frame Two-factor Authentication

Beacon frame is a type of management frame that is transmitted periodically by Wi-Fi access points (APs) for the purpose of establishing connections; also, it announces the existence of a network, allowing devices to find and identify the network and subsequently to request access. It contains information about the network needed to make the request. Within a range of different radio frequency (RF) technologies, WiFi-capable devices can sense beacon frames. The primary advantage of a broadcast message is that devices can read and process the enclosed data with no need to be connected to the corresponding network. Our research uses data within these transmitted messages to perform two-factor authentication (2FA) system that, unlike existing methods, with minimal user involvement. We can ensure that both devices belong to the original user by determining if both of a user's devices are in the same physical area. The presented method relies on an object that a user knows, an object that a user owns, and - a significant contribution of this system - an object in the user's environment. The newly designed method presented in this study is empirically evaluated based on real login attempts.
State health disparities research in Rural America: Gaps and future directions in an era of COVID-19.

PURPOSE: In an era of the COVID-19 pandemic, improving health outcomes for diverse rural communities requires collective and sustained actions across transdisciplinary researchers, intersectoral partners, multilevel government action, and authentic engagement with those who carry the burden-rural communities. METHODS: Drawing from an analysis of transcriptions and documents from a national workshop on the "State of Rural Health Disparities: Research Gaps and Recommendations," this brief report underscores the gaps and priorities for future strategies for tackling persistent rural health inequities. FINDINGS: Four overarching recommendations were provided by national thought leaders in rural health: (1) create mechanisms to allow the rural research community time to build sustainable community-based participatory relationships; (2) support innovative research designs and approaches relevant to rural settings; (3) sustain effective interventions relevant to unique challenges in rural areas; and (4) recognize and identify the diversity within and across rural populations and adapt culturally and language-appropriate approaches. CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 public health crisis has exacerbated disparities for rural communities and underscored the need for diverse community-centered approaches in health research and dedicated funding to rural service agencies and populations.
Humans can navigate complex graph structures acquired during latent learning

Humans appear to represent many forms of knowledge in associative networks whose nodes are multiply connected, including sensory, spatial, and semantic. Recent work has shown that explicitly augmenting artificial agents with such graph-structured representations endows them with more human-like capabilities of compositionality and transfer learning. An open question is how humans acquire these representations. Previously, it has been shown that humans can learn to navigate graph-structured conceptual spaces on the basis of direct experience with trajectories that intentionally draw the network contours (Schapiro et al., 2012;2016), or through direct experience with rewards that covary with the underlying associative distance (Wu et al., 2018). Here, we provide initial evidence that this capability is more general, extending to learning to reason about shortest-path distances across a graph structure acquired across disjoint experiences with randomized edges of the graph - a form of latent learning. In other words, we show that humans can infer graph structures, assembling them from disordered experiences. We further show that the degree to which individuals learn to reason correctly and with reference to the structure of the graph corresponds to their propensity, in a separate task, to use model-based reinforcement learning to achieve rewards. This connection suggests that the correct acquisition of graph-structured relationships is a central ability underlying forward planning and reasoning, and may be a core computation across the many domains in which graph-based reasoning is advantageous.
Multi-stage deep neural network accelerated topology optimization

This paper introduces a novel deep learning approach for generating fine resolution structures that preserve all the information from the topology optimization (TO). The proposed approach utilizes neural networks (NNs) that map the desired engineering properties to seed for determining optimized structure. The main novelty of this framework is the utilization of parameters such as density and nodal deflections to predict optimized topologies for a wide range of design space. In this research, a three-stage NN framework is employed, wherein the first stage is a feedforward deep neural network. The second stage uses a convolutional neural network (CNN), and the final stage is the post-processing of results obtained from CNN. The first stage maps input design variables vector to output density distribution image. The image output of the first stage and design variables vector inputted to the first network serve as inputs to the second stage, which outputs optimized structure. Finally, post-processing of this optimized structure is done to ensure volume fraction constraint and optimal solution. These structures can be tessellated per the nodal displacement of an FEA solved larger structure. Because of this framework, the proposed approach makes TO computations faster and captures essential physics while using NNs to determine the final structure. The application of the proposed model to three-dimensional problems is also demonstrated.
Substituting azobenzene for proline in melittin to create photomelittin: A light-controlled membrane active peptide.

Abstract In this article we present the synthesis and characterization of a new form of the membrane active peptide melittin: photomelittin. This peptide was created by substituting the proline residue in melittin for a synthetic azobenzene amino acid derivative. This azobenzene altered the membrane activity of the peptide while retaining much of the secondary structure. Furthermore, the peptide demonstrates added light-dependent activity in leakage assays. There is a 1.5-fold increase in activity when exposed to UV light as opposed to visible light. The peptides further exhibit light-dependent hemolytic activity against human red blood cells. This will enable future studies optimizing photomelittin and other azobenzene-containing membrane active peptides for uses in medicine, drug delivery, and other biotechnological applications.
Using Temporal Information: Rigid Motion

“…. although the instantaneous velocity field contains sufficient information for the recovery of the 3-D shape, the reliable interpretation of local structure from motion requires the integration of information over a more extended time period.”
Court decisions in civil commitment: independence or deference?

As the civil rights movement has spread into the area of mental health law under the leadership of the mental health advocacy movement, courts and state legislatures have affirmed due process rights for persons alleged to be mentally ill and have limited state commitment power to the mentally ill who are dangerous (Groethe, 1977; McGarry et al, 1978; Ochberg and Brown, 1974). Where the law formerly emphasized medical concerns, that is, obtaining treatment for the mentally ill, it now emphasizes legal concerns, that is, preventing unnecessary deprivation of freedom. I To that end, the law guarantees respondents in involuntary commitment proceedings notice, speedy procedure, counsel, confrontation of witnesses, and regular court review. Prior to the spread of civil libertarian concerns into the mental commitment area, research reported legal procedures for involuntary commitment to be “perfunctory” and “a legal charade” (Cohen, 1966) which merely “rubber stamped” (Shah, 1974) medical recommendations. Most studies described exceedingly brief hearings in which little or no factual evidence was given on which to base a finding of mental illness or danger (Andalman & Chambers, 1974; Cohen, 1966; Hiday, 1977; Litwack, 1974; Stier & Stoebe, 1979; Warren, 1977; Zander, 1976). Despite arguments by prominent psychiatrists (American Psychiatric Association, 1974; Halleck, 1969; Stone, 1975) and other scholars (Cocozza & Steadman; 1976; Ennis & Litwack, 1974) on the inability of psychiatry to predict dangerousness, psychiatrists presented conclusory statements to the court on dangerousness as well as mental illness and the court uncritically and passively followed psychiatric recommendations. Not knowing the basis of psychiatrists’ conclusions about the legal criteria, the court defaulted in its responsibility to