cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
AHR-related activities in a creosote-adapted population of adult atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, two decades post-EPA superfund status at the Atlantic Wood Site, Portsmouth, VA USA

Atlantic killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, are adapted to creosote-based PAHs at the US EPA Superfund site known as Atlantic Wood (AW) on the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, VA USA. Subsequent to the discovery of the AW population in the early 1990s, these fish were shown to be recalcitrant to CYP1A induction by PAHs under experimental conditions, and even to the time of this study, killifish embryos collected from the AW site are resistant to developmental deformities typically associated with exposure to PAHs in reference fish. Historically, however, 90 +% of the adult killifish at this site have proliferative hepatic lesions including cancer of varying severity. Several PAHs at this site are known to be ligands for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR). In this study, AHR-related activities in AW fish collected between 2011 and 2013 were re-examined nearly 2 decades after first discovery. This study shows that CYP1A mRNA expression is three-fold higher in intestines of AW killifish compared to a reference population. Using immunohistochemistry, CYP1A staining in intestines was uniformly positive compared to negative staining in reference fish. Livers of AW killifish were examined by IHC to show that CYP1A and AHR2 protein expression reflect lesions-specific patterns, probably representing differences in intrinsic cellular physiology of the spectrum of proliferative lesions comprising the hepatocarcinogenic process. We also found that COX2 mRNA expression levels were higher in AW fish livers compared to those in the reference population, suggesting a state of chronic inflammation. Overall, these findings suggest that adult AW fish are responsive to AHR signaling, and do express CYP1A and AHR2 proteins in intestines at a level above what was observed in the reference population.
TabEL: Entity Linking in Web Tables

Web tables form a valuable source of relational data. The Web contains an estimated 154 million HTML tables of relational data, with Wikipedia alone containing 1.6 million high-quality tables. Extracting the semantics of Web tables to produce machine-understandable knowledge has become an active area of research. A key step in extracting the semantics of Web content is entity linking EL: the task of mapping a phrase in text to its referent entity in a knowledge base KB. In this paper we present TabEL, a new EL system for Web tables. TabEL differs from previous work by weakening the assumption that the semantics of a table can be mapped to pre-defined types and relations found in the target KB. Instead, TabEL enforces soft constraints in the form of a graphical model that assigns higher likelihood to sets of entities that tend to co-occur in Wikipedia documents and tables. In experiments, TabEL significantly reduces error when compared to current state-of-the-art table EL systems, including a $$75\%$$ error reduction on Wikipedia tables and a $$60\%$$ error reduction on Web tables. We also make our parsed Wikipedia table corpus and test datasets publicly available for future work.
Developmental Heterochrony and the Evolution of Species Differences in Retinal Specializations

The vertebrate retina is relatively stable across phylogeny in the classes and types of cell that compose its radial organization. Mechanistic studies of development have described how aspects of retinal organization common to all retinas emerge, such as the control of neurogenesis of particular cell types, competitive control of cell survival and dendritic organization in the development of retinal lamination, and the mechanics of directed axon outgrowth. However, vertebrate eyes also differ markedly between species in overall size, shape, and resolving power as well as in the number and arrangement of cells in the retina. Thus, studies of retinal neurogenesis must account for the development of species differences in eye conformation and retinal organization and address the evolutionary regulation of these developmental programs.
A Proof of the Ideal-Observer Theory

4.1 So much for the proof of God’s existence. In what follows, I shall argue that God is a supremely perfect Ideal Observer (an SPIO).
Investigation of the influence of oil on soil adherence to skin

Dermal contact with contaminated soils may be a significant route of human exposure to toxic substances under some circumstances. Soil adherence to skin is an important determinant of such exposures, but factors influencing soil adherence are generally not well characterized. Petroleum hydrocarbons are often found in contaminated soils at relatively high concentrations. Results of an investigation of the influence of motor oil on soil adherence to skin are reported here. Studies were conducted at three oil concentrations (0, 1, and 10% by weight) under wet and dry conditions in three different soil types. Only two of six soil/moisture combinations showed consistently increasing adherence with increasing oil content. Overall, an increase was found in wet, but not dry soils. The results indicate that high concentrations of petroleum contaminants can increase the dermal adherence of soil, but that the magnitude of the effect is likely to be modest.
Structural complexity at nanoscale: From single nanoparticle to membrane

T structural complexity on nanometer scale can have a strong influence on the physical property of materials. This can occur within a single nanoparticle as well as an assembly of nanoparticles. In this talk, I will illustrate this phenomenon through two examples. At the single nanoprticle level, I will focus on our recent magnetic studies of chemically synthesized Fe@Fe3O4 core-shell and iron oxide hollow shell nanoparticles. The ability to obtain highly monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles through chemical synthesis has created new opportunities to investigate exchange bias (EB) phenomenon in these systems. By tuning the structural and chemical composition at nanometer scale, I will show that the EB effect in these systems is directly related to the amount of frozen spins in these systems. However, gradual oxidation in air can lead to structural change at the interface between core and shell, and ultimately leads to magnetic decoupling between core and shell. The second example is free-standing membrane made of colloidal nanoparticles. I will describe our recent experiments to study the mechanical properties of these membranes (Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s ratio) as well as our efforts to use these membranes as nanofiltration membrane. I will show that nano-size holes dominate the molecular transport through these membranes, leading to both size and charge selectivity.
Pyruvate as an Indicator of Quality in Grading Nonfat Dry Milk1

Samples of skim milk and nonfat dry milk (NDM) made from it were collected, paired and tested for pyruvate concentration, [P], and Direct Microscopic count (DMC). The skim milk was tested for Standard Plate Count (SPC) and Psychrotrophic Plate Count (PPC). The geometric average DMC of skim milk was more than three times higher than that of the paired NDM samples. However, [P] of NDM was not significantly different from that of the skim milk. Although [P] of skim milk was poorly correlated with SPC and PPC, r = .31 and .26, respectively, it was relatively well correlated with DMC, r = .64. Data were widely dispersed around the regression line when [P] was ≤ 4.0 mg/L. However, [P] increased rapidly when DMCs were > 106/ml. A limit of 10 mg/L of [P] in NDM reconstituted 1:9 was chosen to represent the current U.S. Department of Agriculture Standard for DMC in NDM. This limit failed to classify about 10% of the samples correctly, assuming that each geometric mean DMC was correct. However, the probability that...
MAvanet: Message authentication in VANET using social networks

Vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) have gained a lot of attention from both academic and industry due to its immense potential in revolutionizing the vehicular communication industry. VANETs facilitate vehicles to share safety and non-safety information through messages. Safety information includes road accidents, natural hazards, road blocks etc. Non-safety information includes tolling information, traveler information etc. The main goal behind sharing this information is to reduce road accidents by alerting the driver about the unexpected hazards. In our algorithm social networks are used to create an active topology from all possible users in sender's profile, who are active at a particular point of time. Message authentication achieved by providing profile of user and Quick Response Code (QR code) technique. The novelty in our approach lies in the fact that, we assume no hand held device is used. This proposed architecture is used from the car dashboard. Simulation results are presented and compared with P2P systems.
Sharing electricity storage

The emerging sharing economy has disrupted the housing and transportation sectors. The underlining business model exploits underutilized infrastructure through sharing. In this paper, we explore sharing economy opportunities in electricity sector. There are considerable obstacles to sharing electricity. First, the flow of electricity is governed by Kirchoff's Laws and we cannot prescribe a point to point path for its flow. Second, regulatory and policy obstacles may impede sharing opportunities. As a result, early adopters will be in the context of behind-the-meter sharing opportunities. In this paper, we study one of these opportunities. Specifically, we consider a collection of firms that invest in storage to arbitrage against the time of use pricing they face. We show that the investment decision of the firms form a Nash equilibrium which supports the social welfare. We offer explicit expressions for optimal storage investments and equilibrium prices for shared storage in a spot market. Finally, we use field data to assess the performance of our proposed sharing scheme.
A model of biological control of plant virus propagation with delays

Abstract Plants are a food source for man and many species. They also are sources of medicines, fibers for clothes and are essential for a healthy environment. But plants are subject to diseases. Many of these are caused by viruses. In plants most of the virus propagation is done by a vector, usually insects that bite infected plants and the susceptible plants. Chemical insecticides are commonly used to control the insects, but unfortunately these chemicals have toxic effects on humans, animals and the environment in general. An alternative is to introduce a new species, or just increase the number of a naturally present one, to prey on the insects and thus control their number. The different steps in the virus propagation process take time. In this paper we add a predator to a plant-virus propagation model with delays. The model is based on delay differential equations. There are five populations: susceptible and infected plants, susceptible and infected vectors, and predators. The infected vectors have no ill effects from the virus so they do not fight the virus and therefore they do not recover. The predators do not get sick from the virus. The total number of plants is assumed to be constant since for crops the framers will replace the death plants and one of the plant populations can be determined using the total constant plant population. Therefore we have a system of five delay ordinary differential equations in five unknowns. We assume that predators are introduced at the initial time and after their growth rate has a Holling 2 type dependence on the number of vectors. We consider two delays: the time it takes from the moment a plant is bitten by an infected vector to the moment the plant is infected; and a second smaller delay for the time from the moment a vector bites an infected plant to the moment the vector becomes infected. We determine the non-negative steady state solutions of the system of delay differential equations. We analyze their stability by calculating the eigenvalues of the linearized system about each equilibrium point. We do numerical simulations for certain values of the parameters. Finally we search for bifurcation points numerically using the software package biftool. Conditions are presented for which the disease is controlled or even eliminated. From the practical side, the model can be used to determine the amount of introduced predators necessary to eliminate the epidemic under different conditions.
Computing Minimum-Power Dipole Solutions for Interdipole Forces Using Nonlinear Constrained Optimization With Application to Electromagnetic Formation Flight

Electromagnetic formation flight (EMFF) denotes a method of formation flight control in which a cluster of spacecraft are equipped with controllable magnetic dipoles for coordination of their relative positions using interdipole forces. We present a method for finding a minimum-power dipole solution for a given set of desired interdipole forces. We approach this nonlinear constrained optimization problem using sequential quadratic programming, which requires a Jacobian relating changes in the dipoles to changes in forces, as well as the gradient and Hessian of a Lagrangian function. We derive compact analytic solutions for all three of these quantities, using linear-algebraic representations and vector calculus, which can be implemented numerically with a small set of simple functions. Our approach does not rely on arbitrary parameterizations as have prior approaches, and the structure enables further analysis of numerical conditioning and convergence. We conduct numerical simulations, using a number of configurations relevant to EMFF, to verify the method and characterize its performance when numerical routines are randomly initialized, which can serve as a benchmark against which future improvements can be quantified. The method presented may have other uses beyond EMFF, including being applied to new classes of modular magnetic systems.
Detection of Donor-Derived Microparticles in the Peripheral Blood of a Hand Transplant Recipient During Rejection.

Author(s): Kim, Joseph Y; Kelesidis, Theodoros; Yang, Otto O | Abstract: BackgroundMicroparticles (MPs) are released from the plasma membrane of activated or dying cells and bear surface molecules from those cells. We examined whether donor-derived MPs in the peripheral blood of the recipient could serve as a marker of tissue damage due to rejection of a transplanted hand.MethodsPlatelet-free plasma from the recipient of the transplanted hand was analyzed for MPs bearing the donor-specific HLA molecule A*02 using flow cytometry. Rejection status of the transplanted hand was monitored by histopathology of skin punch biopsies.ResultsDonor-specific MPs expressing HLA A*02 were quantifiable in the peripheral blood of the recipient. Levels of these MPs increased with worsening rejection of the transplanted hand.ConclusionsThese findings demonstrate the ability to detect donor specific MPs through staining of graft cell-specific HLA and promote further investigation into the potential utility of flow cytometry for donor-derived MPs as a noninvasive tool to assess rejection in solid organ transplantation patients.
A biomechanical analysis of the strongman log lift and comparison with weightlifting's clean and jerk

Many strength and conditioning coaches prescribe the Olympic weightlifting movement known as the clean and jerk to athletes who wish to develop and improve their power output. However, this movemen...
Photophysical Dynamics and Relaxation Pathways of Ligand-to-Metal Charge-Transfer States in the 5f1 [Np(VI)O2Cl4]2- Anion.

Although several publications report on the electronic structure of the neptunyl ion, experimental measurements to detail the photophysical dynamics of this open-shell actinyl system are limited in number. Time-resolved photoluminescence has been a useful experimental approach for understanding photophysical dynamics and relaxation pathways of a variety of other molecular and ionic systems, including gaseous plutonium hexafluoride and solid-state uranyl compounds. Here, we investigate time-resolved photoluminescence emission of the 5f1 neptunyl tetrachloride ([Np(VI)O2Cl4]2–) dianion following visible excitation. Photoemission of the lowest energy neptunyl ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) transitions to both the ground and first electronically excited states is observed. Analyses of the decay lifetimes of the excited states suggest different relaxation pathways as a function of excitation energy. Vibronic progressions associated with the Np-oxo symmetric stretching mode are measured in emission spec...
Neoadjuvant therapy versus upfront surgery for pancreatic adenocarcinoma: A propensity score matched analysis of short-term outcomes.

361Background: Neoadjuvant therapy is increasingly utilized and has demonstrated a survival advantage in borderline and locally advanced pancreatic cancer. However, many have feared that preoperati...
Improved contaminant removal in vegetated stormwater biofilters amended with biochar

The potential for carbonaceous sorbents to improve contaminant removal (particularly for trace organic contaminants, TOrCs) in stormwater biofilters was evaluated in intermittently dosed, vegetated columns simulating scaled-down treatment systems. Columns amended with biochar or granular activated carbon (GAC) were evaluated relative to performance benchmarks set by columns representing unamended treatment systems (i.e., sand filters and vegetated biofilters). Biochar amendment (6.7 wt%, 33 vol%) strongly improved TOrC removal, despite potential fouling due to the presence of an upper compost-amended layer. Biochar-amended biofilter columns maintained greater than 99% TOrC removal throughout five months of dosing with TOrC-spiked creek water (equivalent to approximately 1.3 years of runoff volume), relative to less than 50% removal of most TOrCs by unamended biofilter columns. GAC amendment (6.7 wt%, 12.5 vol%) also improved TOrC removal, though less effectively than biochar (>70% removal), because the biochar's lower density (i.e., higher volume composition) and smaller particles improved performance. These results indicate that full-scale biochar-amended biofilters could potentially remove TOrCs effectively for several years, as treatment depths up to five times greater than the 10 cm experimental depth may be feasible for full-scale systems. Further, contaminant removal survey experiments conducted after 6 months of operation revealed that biochar amendment improved removal of total organic carbon, total nitrogen, nitrate, and total dissolved phosphorus in biofilters by greater than 60%. The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of biochar amendment to broadly improve contaminant removal in biofilters, motivating and informing the application of full-scale biochar-amended biofilters for improved water quality.
Factors Affecting the Recognition of the Dilated Biliary Tree in the Jaundiced Patient

Dilated biliary canaliculi are well visualized by grey-scale ultrasound techniques and were first reported by Taylor et al.1 In an early evaluation of the accuracy of grey-scale ultrasound in the differential diagnosis of extra- from intrahepatic obstruction, an accuracy of 97% was reported in the first 104 patients.2 These findings have been confirmed by further work using commercially available equipment,3 and have been confirmed by other authors.4
Form vs Function, fighting the last war: a reflection on the exchange between Larrabee, Bianchini, Boone, and Rohling (2017) and Nichols (2017) over Nichols and Gass (2015). The Fake Bad Scale (FBS): malingering or ligation response syndrome–Which is it?

A reflection on the exchange between Larrabee et al. (2017) and Nichols (2017) is provided by a clinical psychologist who co-authored an early critique questioning the validity of the FBS as a measure of over reporting and who, based on subsequent studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the FBS in identifying non-credible report of somatic and cognitive complaints, changed his opinion regarding the utility of the FBS/FBS-r as a symptom validity measure. Given the accumulated evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of the FBS/FBS-r as a symptom validity measure, reasons for the continued debate over the validity and utility of the FBS/FBS-r are discussed.
Local Government Finance Office Orientation Revisited: Actually, It’s All About Control

In states with heavy oversight of local government finances, alternate levels of control orientation exist based on county government budget formulation and financing practices. However, previous r...
Subdiffraction Infrared Imaging of Mixed Cation Perovskites: Probing Local Cation Heterogeneities

Compositional engineering has led to dramatic improvements in hybrid perovskite-based solar cell stabilities and performance. Mixed cation perovskites have emerged as champion photovoltaic materials with power conversion efficiencies exceeding 22%. However, there has been relatively little work done to explore local cation-related compositional inhomogeneities in mixed cation perovskite films. Such studies are necessary because hybrid perovskite optical properties and, consequently, their photovoltaic performance strongly depend on composition. Here, we perform spatially resolved, subdiffraction infrared photothermal heterodyne imaging measurements to probe cation-specific compositional distributions within FAxMA1–xPbI3 perovskite films. Our measurements reveal that these perovskites possess large compositional spatial heterogeneities with cation distributions varying on average ∼20% from expected ensemble stoichiometries. Correlated emission measurements show intrafilm emission energies differing by over...
A Potential Oxygen Isotope Signature of Maize Beer Consumption: An Experimental Pilot Study

The consumption of alcohol in the past is a much-studied subject, largely because alcoholic beverages play an important role in numerous sociopolitical institutions. While alcoholic beverages have ...
Punching Above Their Digital Weight: Why Iran is Developing Cyberwarfare Capabilities Far Beyond Expectations

This article describes how in recent years, Iran has joined the top ranks of the world powers in cyberspace and has demonstrated the ability to leverage cyberwarfare as a significant tool in its ar...
28 School- and Community-Based Preventive Interventions During Adolescence: Preventing Delinquency Through Science-Guided Collective Action

This chapter reviews tested and effective school- and community-based prevention programs that target risk and protective factors to prevent the development of violence, delinquency, and substance use among youth. Further, we introduce the collective impact approach that calls for a wider collaboration across multiple environmental domains and service sectors to coordinate prevention efforts to achieve community wide change. Throughout the chapter, we highlight two prevention strategies, PROSPER and Communities That Care (CTC), that engage and empower communities to reach schools and communities as well as individuals and families for greater impact. Well-controlled trials of CTC and PROSPER have shown that a collective impact approach can achieve better outcomes for young people community wide.
Stroke prevention: Learning from the master (and COMMANDER)

Adding rivaroxaban to standard therapy in patients with heart failure and no atrial fibrillation did not show any beneficial effect on death risk.
Synthesis and structural characterization of 20-membered macrocyclic rings bearing trans-chelating bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) ligands and the catalytic activity of their palladium(ii) complexes.

Macrocycles consisting of a 20-membered ring containing two imidazolium salt functionalities and of the formula [PhCH2N(CH2CH2CH2)Im(CH2CH2CH2)2][Br]2 (Im = imidazole = 3a, benzimidazole = 3b) were synthesized in 70-75% yields. These salts serve as precursors to macrocycles containing two N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) moieties. Reaction of the macrocyclic salts 3a and 3b with silver oxide afforded macrocyclic-bis(NHC)silver(i) complexes 4a and 4b. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of macrocyclic-bis(NHC)silver(i) complex 4a revealed a tetranuclear silver core with a short Ag-Ag distance (2.9328 A). Complexes 4a and 4b serve as carbene transfer reagents to Pd. The treatment of macrocyclic-bis(NHC)silver(i) complexes 4a and 4b with one equivalent of PdCl2(MeCN)2 in methylene chloride afforded square-planar trans-macrocyclic-bis(NHC)Pd(ii)X2 complexes 5a and 5b. Preliminary screening of these palladium complexes showed they are competent precatalysts for Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions.
Kudzu (Pueraria montana var. lobata) age variability effects on total and nutrient-specific in situ rumen degradation

ABSTRACTEarly and late season kudzu leaves were collected to analyse dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) in situ rumen disappearance t...
Size effect in molecular dynamics simulation of nucleation process during solidification of pure metals: investigating modified embedded atom method interatomic potentials

Due to the significant increase in computing power in recent years, the simulation size of atomistic methods for studying the nucleation process during solidification has been gradually increased, even to billion atom simulations (sub-micron length scale). But the question is how big of a model is required for size-independent and accurate simulations of the nucleation process during solidification? In this work, molecular dynamics simulations with model sizes ranging from ~2000 to ~8 million atoms were used to study nucleation during solidification. To draw general conclusions independent of crystal structures, the most advanced second nearest-neighbor modified embedded atom method interatomic potentials for Al (face-centered cubic), Fe (body-centered cubic), and Mg (hexagonal-close packed) were utilized for molecular dynamics simulations. We have analyzed several quantitative characteristics such as nucleation time, density of nuclei, nucleation rate, self-diffusion coefficient, and change in free energy during solidification. The results showed that by increasing the model size to about two million atoms, the simulations and measurable quantities become entirely independent of simulation cell size. The prediction of cell size required for size-independent computed data can considerably reduce the computational costs of atomistic simulations and at the same time increase the accuracy and reliability of the computational data.
Density effects on post-shock turbulence structure and dynamics

Turbulence structure resulting from multi-fluid or multi-species, variable-density isotropic turbulence interaction with a Mach 2 shock is studied using turbulence-resolving shock-capturing simulations and Eulerian (grid) and Lagrangian (particle) methods. The complex roles that density plays in the modification of turbulence by the shock wave are identified. Statistical analyses of the velocity gradient tensor (VGT) show that density variations significantly change the turbulence structure and flow topology. Specifically, a stronger symmetrization of the joint probability density function (PDF) of second and third invariants of the anisotropic VGT, PDF in heavy-fluid regions, while the light-fluid regions retain the characteristic tear-drop shape. To understand this behaviour and the return to ‘standard’ turbulence structure as the flow evolves away from the shock, Lagrangian dynamics of the VGT and its invariants is studied by considering particle residence times and conditional particle variables in different flow regions. The pressure Hessian contributions to the VGT invariants transport equations are shown to be not only affected by the shock wave, but also by the density in the multi-fluid case, making them critically important to the flow dynamics and turbulence structure.
PatientSense: patient discrimination from in-bottle sensors data

Accurately accounting for medication use is important for the efficacy and safety of patients and family members. Monitoring is also important for medication adherence. This work investigates identification of persons taking medication using a sensor-equipped pill bottle. The bottle is equipped with inertial and switch sensors in both the cap and body, making the added hardware unobtrusive, low-cost, and wireless. Our system uses inertial data to build a patient discrimination model using classification techniques. We evaluated the system using 16 subjects. Our results show that using binary Support Vector Machine (SVM), the system can discriminate one patient among 16 subjects with 94% accuracy, and has a 93% using a single sensor. Identifying the exact person in a set of 3 subjects has an accuracy higher than 91%.
Differential Transformation of Nonlinear Power Flow Equations.

Differential transformation (DT) method has shown to be promising for power system simulation in our recent works. This letter applies the DT method to nonlinear power flow equations and proves that the nonlinear power flow equations are converted to formally linear equations after DT. This letter further extends the constant power load assumption in the classical power flow formulation to the more general and practical ZIP load assumption and proves that the linear equation after DT still holds for ZIP load model with slight modifications on the coefficient matrices. These results demonstrate great potential of the DT method in solving power system nonlinear problems.
Evaluation of the effectiveness of prevention and control measures in drinking water-born endemic fluorosis areas after water improvement in Xuchang City, Henan Province

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and control measures in drinking water-born endemic fluorosis areas after water improvement in Xuchang City, Henan Province. Methods In the drinking water-born endemic fluorosis areas of Xuchang City, Henan Province, 15 villages were selected based on the following parameters: the unimproved water group, the water improvement time 5 years group, using a multi-stage random sampling method. In those villages, the concentration of urinary fluoride was tested by the ion selective electrode method on 30 children selected by every village, and Deans method was applied for diagnosis of dental fluorosis on all students age 8-12 years old of the 15 villages. Results The dental fluorosis prevalence rates of the unimproved water group, the water improvement time 5 years group were 53.57% (120/224), 63.64% (98/154), 37.30% (47/126) and 22.99% (40/174), respectively, and the urinary fluoride geometry means were 2.10, 1.30, 1.07 and 1.02 mg/L, respectively. The prevalence of dental fluorosis was significantly different between the improvement time 3-5 years and the unimproved water groups (χ2= 8.56, P 5 years and the unimproved water groups too (χ2= 38.10, P 5 years and the unimproved water groups (q= 8.28, P < 0.01). The level of urine fluoride in children was positively correlated with the fluoride content in the village (r= 0.659, P < 0.01) , and was positively correlated with dental fluorosis index too (r= 0.758, P < 0.01) . Conclusions The content of urinary fluoride has decreased significantly in less than three years after water improvement in drinking water-born endemic fluorosis areas. The incidence of dental fluorosis in children is related to the improvement of water supply. The longer the time of the water improvement, the more obvious the detection rate decreased more obvious. Key words: Fluorosis, dental; Fluoride poisoning; Water improvement time
Whole blood for postpartum hemorrhage: early experience at two institutions.

Background Death from postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) remains a significant preventable problem worldwide. Cold-stored, low-titer, type-O whole blood (LTOWB) is increasingly being used for resuscitation of injured patients, but it is uncommon in PPH patients, and it is unclear what its role may be in this population. Study design and methods Brief report of the early experience of WB use for PPH in two institutions, one university hospital and one private hospital. Results Different approaches have been implemented at the two institutions, one designed for emergency release, uncrossmatched transfusion of LTOWB as part of a massive transfusion protocol (MTP) and one for high-risk obstetric patients with known placental abnormalities. A total of 7 PPH patients have received a total of 17 units of LTOWB between the two institutions. No severe adverse transfusion reactions were observed clinically in either institution and the clinical outcomes were favorable in all cases. Conclusion In our early experience, LTOWB can be implemented for two different PPH clinical scenarios. Larger studies are needed to compare outcomes between LTOWB and traditional component resuscitation strategies.
The nickel-chelator dimethylglyoxime inhibits human amyloid beta peptide in vitro aggregation

One of the hallmarks of the most common neurodegenerative disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is the extracellular deposition and aggregation of Amyloid Beta (Aβ)-peptides in the brain. Previous studies have shown that select metal ions, most specifically copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) ions, have a synergistic effect on the aggregation of Aβ-peptides. In the present study, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to determine the metal content of a commercial recombinant human Aβ40 peptide. Cu and Zn were among the metals detected; unexpectedly, nickel (Ni) was one of the most abundant elements. Using a fluorescence-based assay, we found that Aβ40 peptide in vitro aggregation was enhanced by addition of Zn2+ and Ni2+, and Ni2+-induced aggregation was facilitated by acidic conditions. Nickel binding to Aβ40 peptide was confirmed by isothermal titration calorimetry. Addition of the Ni-specific chelator dimethylglyoxime (DMG) inhibited Aβ40 aggregation in absence of added metal, as well as in presence of Cu2+ and Ni2+, but not in presence of Zn2+. Finally, mass spectrometry analysis revealed that DMG can coordinate Cu or Ni, but not Fe, Se or Zn. Taken together, our results indicate that Ni2+ ions enhance, whereas nickel chelation inhibits, Aβ peptide in vitro aggregation. Hence, DMG-mediated Ni-chelation constitutes a promising approach towards inhibiting or slowing down Aβ40 aggregation.
Fused Filament Fabrication (Three-Dimensional Printing) of Amorphous Magnesium Phosphate/Polylactic Acid Macroporous Biocomposite Scaffolds

The ultimate goal of this paper is to develop novel ceramic-polymer-based biocomposite orthopedic scaffolds with the help of additive manufacturing. Specifically, we incorporate a bioceramic known ...
Imaging spectroscopies to characterize a 13th century Japanese handscroll, The Miraculous Interventions of Jizō Bosatsu

Scientific imaging of a large fragile work of art can be especially challenging, but especially rewarding to better grasp the complexity and changes that have occurred during its creation and lifetime. Here, noninvasive imaging, macro X-ray fluorescence (MAXRF) imaging spectroscopy and reflectance imaging spectroscopy, from the visible to the near infrared spectral range, are utilized to document a 14-m-long Japanese narrative handscroll, The Miraculous Interventions of Jizō Bosatsu. Due to the scroll’s age and its handling during past use as a teaching tool, it has a number of conservation needs and shows evidence of past repairs. The scroll has extensive and severe creasing, breaks and tears, as well as unstable and powdering pigments. Microscopic observation and scientific analyses were performed both to document the current condition of the scroll and to better understand its long history. Combining RIS and MAXRF allowed for pigment characterization through elemental and molecular information. While RIS and MAXRF previously have been applied to the study of other painted materials, their application to East Asian paintings is rare. The obstacles of the scroll’s length and fragile uneven surface were overcome by optimizing the setups of the two imaging systems. The MAXRF and RIS analyses, here focused on a select scene of the scroll, found certain original pigments common in early Japanese scroll paintings were used frequently, such as vermilion, iron-based compounds (yellow and red ochres), and copper-containing greens, while others occurred sparingly, such as azurite and red lead. A chloride-containing lead-based white pigment was employed. Faded organic colorants, notably indigo as well as an organic yellow/brown, could be detected but their vibrancy has been muted over the centuries. In the case of indigo, it may be visibly observed in some areas; however, analysis revealed its previously unknown presence mixed with a copper green in a select area. This focused study sets a foundation for further studies on both this object and other Asian works of art.
Impact of maize hormonal interactions on the performance of Spodoptera frugiperda in plants infected with Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis

In nature, plants interact with multiple organisms, below and aboveground. Although interactions of plants with single biotic stressors are well characterized, knowledge of how the immune system responds to multiple biotic stressors is lacking. It is known that the two most important pathways involved in the plant immune defenses are jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). The crosstalk between these plant hormonal signaling pathways seems to fine-tune the plant responses to different stressors. In this study, we characterized maize (Zea mays) hormonal interactions under the attack of two economically important pests: the bacterial pathogen that causes Goss’s bacterial wilt and leaf blight (Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis), and the chewing insect, fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). Our results indicate that the Goss’s wilt-resistant maize plants when pretreated with bacteria became more vulnerable to the subsequent attack by the fall armyworm larvae. Furthermore, plant hormone analysis demonstrated that the antagonistic interactions of JA-Isoleucine (JA-Ile), biologically active form of JA, and SA in maize plants contributed to enhanced plant susceptibility to herbivory. Collectively, our results suggest that plant hormonal interactions may play a major role in maize defense against multiple biotic stressors. Furthermore, this study will improve our understanding and ability to predict plant-induced hormone responses in an economically important crop.
Programmed cell death recruits macrophages into the developing mouse cochlea

Programmed cell death (PCD) plays a critical role in the development and maturation of the cochlea. Significant remodeling occurs among cells of the greater epithelial ridge (GER) of Kollikers organ, leading to tissue regression and formation of the inner sulcus. In mice, this event normally occurs between postnatal days 5-15 (P5-15) and is regulated by thyroid hormone (T3). During this developmental time period, the cochlea also contains a large population of macrophages. Macrophages are frequently involved in the phagocytic clearance of dead cells, both during development and after injury, but the role of macrophages in the developing cochlea is unknown. This study examined the link between developmental cell death in the GER and the recruitment of macrophages into this region. Cell death in the basal GER begins at P5 and enhanced numbers of macrophages were observed at P7. This pattern of macrophage recruitment was unchanged in mice that were genetically deficient for CX3CR1, the receptor for fractalkine (a known macrophage chemoattractant). We found that injection of T3 at P0 and P1 caused GER cell death to begin at P3, and this premature PCD was accompanied by earlier recruitment of macrophages. We further found that depletion of macrophages from the developing cochlea (using CX3CR1DTR/+ mice and treatment with the CSF1R antagonist BLZ945) had no effects on the pattern of GER regression. Together, these findings suggest that macrophages are recruited into the GER region after initiation of developmental PCD, but that they are not essential for GER regression during cochlear remodeling.
A Collapsing Academy, Part II: How Cancel Culture Works on the Academy

Examines how the concept of "cancel culture" will impact higher education. Cancel culture is particularly insidious with respect to higher education. The doors are closing on this marketplace of ideas.
The Poincaré Recurrence Theorem

In the course of his studies in celestial mechanics, Poincare discovered a theorem which is remarkable both for its simplicity and for its far-reaching consequences. It is noteworthy also for having initiated the modern study of measure-preserving transformations, known as ergodic theory. From our point of view, this “recurrence theorem” has a special interest, because in proving it Poincare anticipated the notions of both measure and category. Publication of his treatise, “Les methodes nouvelles de la mecanique celeste” [29], antedated slightly the introduction of either notion.
Additive Models, Trees, and Related Methods

In this chapter we begin our discussion of some specific methods for supervised learning. These techniques each assume a (different) structured form for the unknown regression function, and by doing so they finesse the curse of dimensionality. Of course, they pay the possible price of misspecifying the model, and so in each case there is a tradeoff that has to be made. They take off where Chapters 3–6 left off. We describe five related techniques: generalized additive models, trees, multivariate adaptive regression splines, the patient rule induction method, and hierarchical mixtures of experts.
Investor States and the Rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)

SWFs manage large financial assets of sovereign states. The ownership by the governments has made it difficult to apply the conventional economic theories to SWFs. On the other hand, the economic nature of investment has made application of international relations theories to these funds more intricate. Almost all scholars (economists or political scientists) contend that the creation of SWFs has been a result of accumulation of foreign reserves. However, they diverge in their position with respect to the purposes of the sovereign funds. The economic view explains the purpose of these funds in terms of economic smoothing and shock absorbing. But economics is only one side of the story. States may have decided to establish sovereign funds for reasons other than economic smoothing or shock absorbing. The main argument here is that the economic view is insufficient in explaining operation and specifically evolution of these funds. In other words, the choices states make regarding the operation and management of sovereign funds can be based on reasons other than maintenance of the domestic economy. This research responds to an academically under-studied yet critical area, by first providing a systematic methodology for the study of these funds at the micro-level, and then applying this methodology to two prominent case studies, i.e., Norway and UAE. A better understanding of the functioning of SWFs is of high importance because it enables both the recipient states and the international community to better address the issues pertaining to SWFS such as governance, code of conduct, etc.
Arginine and immune function.

: L-Arginine (Arg) was traditionally classified as a nutritionally non-essential amino acid for infant and adult humans; however, it is now known that besides serving as a building block for protein, it plays an essential role in the functions of the immune system. Arg is a physiological substrate for the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), which is a key mediator of immune responses. Additionally, emerging evidence shows that Arg exerts a regulatory role in signal transduction pathways involving mammalian (or mechanistic) targets of rapamycin and specific mitogen-activated protein kinases in immunocytes, thereby affecting immunity. Because of high requirements for Arg in multiple metabolic pathways, dietary Arg supplementation may be a necessary strategy to maintain Arg homeostasis for good health and body functions under many physiological and pathological conditions. Much experimental and clinical data support the notion that Arg is an essential nutrient for both innate and adaptive immune systems in humans and other animals. An important outcome of this research is the availability of Arg- supplemented foods for humans and feed-grade Arg for livestock species. Future studies are needed to address the safety issue of chronic Arg supplementation to mammals so as to fully realize the health benefits of Arg as a functional amino acid.
Analog neural networks of limited precision I: computing with multilinear threshold functions (preliminary version)

Experimental evidence has shown analog neural networks to be extremely fault-tolerant; in particular, their performance does not appear to be significantly impaired when precision is limited. Analog neurons with limited precision essentially compute k-ary weighted multilinear threshold functions, which divide Rn into k regions with k-1 hyperplanes. The behaviour of k-ary neural networks is investigated. There is no canonical set of threshold values for k>3, although they exist for binary and ternary neural networks. The weights can be made integers of only O((z+k) log (z+k)) bits, where z is the number of processors, without increasing hardware or running time. The weights can be made ±1 while increasing running time by a constant multiple and hardware by a small polynomial in z and k. Binary neurons can be used if the running time is allowed to increase by a larger constant multiple and the hardware is allowed to increase by a slightly larger polynomial in z and k. Any symmetric k-ary function can be computed in constant depth and size O(nk-1/(k-2)!), and any k-ary function can be computed in constant depth and size O(nkn). The alternating neural networks of Olafsson and Abu-Mostafa, and the quantized neural networks of Fleisher are closely related to this model.
Infant pneumonitis associated with cytomegalovirus, Chlamydia, Pneumocystis, and Ureaplasma: follow-up.

A total of 205 infants who were hospitalized when younger than 3 months of age for pneumonitis were followed longitudinally. Of these patients, 145 (70%) had evidence of infection with one or more pathogens. The most common etiologic agents were Chlamydia trachomatis 61/193 (36%), respiratory syncytial virus 33/142 (23%), cytomegalovirus 42/203 (20%), Pneumocystis carinii 30/171 (17%), and Ureaplasma urealyticum 21/125 (16%). The initial clinical presentation was characterized by cough, rales, normal temperature, and diffuse obstructive airways disease by chest roentgenogram. Regardless of etiology; significant association occurred for cough and cytomegalovirus, apnea and Pneumocystis, and conjunctivitis and Chlamydia. Longitudinal follow-up demonstrates a mortality of 7/205 (3.4%). Morbidity was manifest as recurrent wheezing episodes in 86/187 (46%) patients, persistently abnormal chest roentgenographic findings for at least 12 months in 17/109 (15%) patients, and abnormal pulmonary functions in 15/25 (60%) patients. These abnormalities occurred irrespective of prematurity, atopy, or the initial etiologic agent associated with the pneumonitis. These data add further evidence that respiratory infections during infancy may well be predecessors of obstructive airways disease in later life.